Current Affairs For SSC CGL Exam - 24 January, 2014

Current Affairs For SSC CGL Exam

Indian-American Farah Pandith, the first-ever US special representative to Muslim communities, is leaving her position at the State Department to join the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.
Appointed to the position in June 2009 by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Pandith always places people above politics, and she has performed groundbreaking work.
Originally from Srinagar, Ms Pandith will be joining the Institute of Politics as a resident fellow for the spring semester. She will lead weekly study groups on a range of topics.
Ms Pandith has a master's degree from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, and an AB from Smith College.

Three states - Tripura, Rajasthan and Delhi - will be awarded by the Election Commission for best management during the recent Assembly polls.
Since 2011, National Voters Day has been observed on January 25 across the country to enlighten people about the significance of elections.
These states in the recent Assembly elections, have shown exemplary instances of high voter turnout and smooth and peaceful conduct of polling.
Tripura made electoral history when a record 93.61 per cent votes were cast in last year's February 14 election to the 60-seat Assembly.

Government has set the ball rolling for appointment of chairperson and eight members of Lokpal by inviting applications for the posts.
It has also decided to expedite passage of four pending anti-corruption legislations in Parliament as part of the resolve to give the nation an effective anti-corruption framework.
Out of eight members in the Lokpal, four posts are of judicial members and rest are for non-judicial ones. Fifty per cent of members of Lokpal shall be from amongst Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), minorities and women.
This Bill was introduced in Parliament on August 19, 2013 and has been referred to the Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, and Law & Justice for examination.
The Centre has introduced 'The Right of Citizens for Time-bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill', aimed at empowering citizens and to improve accountability and transparency in governance in the Lok Sabha in December, 2011.
The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has submitted its report on the Bill to Parliament. The Bill is presently pending in Lok Sabha.

The second edition of the Hero Hockey India League will get underway soon with Jaypee Punjab Warriors taking on Delhi Waveriders in the opening match at the newly-built International Hockey Stadium here under lights.
With the winner taking home a whooping Rs 2.5 crore, and the runner up getting Rs 1.25 crore, there is a lot at stake for teams to win the tournament and both Punjab and Delhi would aim to begin the tournament on a winning note.
In the previous edition of the HIL, the two teams faced each other in the semi-final, in which Delhi defeated Punjab 3-1.

Sania Mirza stands just one win away from clinching her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title after the Indian and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau entered the Australian Open final with a come-from-behind win.
Sania and Tecau defeated the Australian pair of Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden 2-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a contest lasting an hour and 13 minutes.
Sania and Tecau will be up against the winners of the clash between Sino-American pair of Jie Zheng and Scott Lipsky and the French-Canadian combination of Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor.
If Sania and Tecau win the summit clash, it would be the Indian's second Australian Open mixed doubles title. Sania had earlier won the trophy with Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009.