Wilfried Martens

Wilfried Martens Nine-time Prime Minister of Belgium died in October 2013. He was a Belgian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Belgium from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992.

He served as the PM in nine coalition governments during these tenures. He was the Chairman of Belgian Christian People's Party, which is now renamed as Christian Democratic and Flemish party from 1972–79. He was the co-founder of the European People's Party (EPP) in 1976 and remained its President since 1992. He was preceded by Jacques Santer.

OPCW won Nobel Peace Prize

OPCW The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) won the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2013 for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons. The Nobel Committee praised the OPCW for its extensive work in eliminating chemical weapons.

* The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an independent, international body set up in 1997 to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention.

* The organization is presently involved in destroying Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons - the first time the OPCW has worked in a war zone.

* It carries out inspections of destruction procedures, as well as evaluating members' own declarations, in order to verify that the convention is being adhered to.

* It is based in The Hague, Netherland and has 189 member states, covering around 98 percent of the world's population. These member nations have agreed to work together to create a world free from chemical weapons.

* The OPCW employs around 500 people and has a budget of 75m Euros (102m Dollars, 63m Pounds) in 2010.

* It is an autonomous organisation with a working relationship with the United Nations.

* Ahmet Uzumcu is the Present Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

I Am Malala

I Am Malala  the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban. The autobiography of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban for supporting girls’ education released on 8 October 2013 in London.

Malala Yousafzai’s story is detailed in I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, co-written with British journalist Christina Lamb, and tells of the day two Taliban gunmen boarded her school bus on 9 October 2012, and shot her in the head.

Nobel Prize for medicine

Nobel Prize
Three scientists have won the Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology after discovering how cells precisely transport material. US scientists James Rothman and Randy Schekman and Thomas Sudhof, from Germany, shared the prize. 
They found the way "vesicles" act like a fleet of ships transporting their goods to the exact destination.They found the way "vesicles" act like a fleet of ships transporting their goods to the exact destination.

Moe Set Wine

Moe Set Wine of Myanmar’s  was  selected as the first Miss Universe contestant to represent her country in more than 50 years time. The US-educated business graduate was chosen as the first Miss Universe contestant who will represent Myanmar in over 50 years. 

She will be seen on the stage at the global beauty pageant in Moscow in November 2013. She will be seen on the stage at the global beauty pageant in Moscow in November 2013.Myanmar last sent the Miss Universe contender in the year 1961.

Five States Legislative Assemblies Elections Announced

Five States Elections, Election Commission on 4 October 2013 announced the dates of holding the General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of the States whose terms expire around the same time together. The election dates were announced in five states of India-Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, and Delhi. 

As per the norm, the Election Commission holds the General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of the States.

Poll Schedule 

 Chhattisgarh- 11 Nov 2013 (Phase I), 19 Nov 2013 (Phase II)
 Madhya Pradesh- 25 Nov 2013
 Rajasthan- 1 Dec 2013
 Delhi- 4 Dec 2013
Mizoram- 4 Dec 2013

Ruchira Kamboj

Ruchira Kamboj was appointed as the Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, Paris with the rank of Ambassador.  She will succeed VS Oberoi. At present, Ruchira is joint secretary in Ministry of External Affairs. 

Kamboj joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1987. She last served as the Deputy Head, in the office of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, London.  she also served as a Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York. She also served at the High Commission of India, Mauritius and at the Indian embassy in Paris.

Brand Ambassador for National Tobacco Control Campaign

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare  announced former Indian cricket team captain Rahul Dravid as brand ambassador for its National Tobacco Control Campaign. The national anti-tobacco control campaign has to continue till it achieves desired results.
 It shows that India is committed towards tobacco control. World Health Assembly aims a target of 30 per cent relative reduction in tobacco use by 2025.

Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party President became the campaign committee chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He was appointed as the campaign committee chief after the  parliamentary board meeting of BJP. 

He replaced the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP- Narendra Modi. Modi was declared as the PM candidate of BJP on 13 September 2013. He proposed the name of Rajnath Singh for the Election Campaign Committee Chief post. 

The World Heart Day

Every year on 29 September celebrated as the World Heart Day since 1999. A life course approach to the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with a focus on women and children because healthy children lead to healthy adults and healthy adults lead to healthy families and communities. 

The World Heart Day is organised by World Heart Federation. The World Heart Federation is dedicated to leading the global fight against cardiovascular disease (CVD) – including heart disease and stroke - with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, via a united community of more than 200 member organizations.

Ranjib Biswal

Ranjib Biswal was  appointed as chairman of the IPL during the Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at Chennai.

Prior to this appointment Ranjib Biswal was manager of the Indian Cricket team during the ICC World Cup 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He is also the head of Orissa Cricket Association.

BCCI President

Narayanaswamy Srinivasan was  re-elected as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a third term at its 84th annual general meeting (AGM) held at Chennai. 

He was unanimously re-elected as the president of BCCI for the term of 2013-14. Other office bearers were also elected on the same day. N. Srinivasan had taken over as the 30th BCCI President in September 2011

Brics Set up 100 Billion US Dollars Fund

Leaders of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group of nations announced to set up a 100 billion US dollar fund to steady currency markets destablised by an expected pullback of US monetary stimulus. The announcement was made at the meeting of BRICS leaders. 

Brazil, India and Russia committed 18 billion dollars each while China announced 41 billion US dollars. South Africa announced 5 billion US dollars. Earlier this year, Brics nations had discussed the formation of a new development bank to fund infrastructure and development projects throughout the developing nations.

Megan Young

Megan Young of Philippines  was crowned Miss World 2013 at the Bali Nasa Dua Convention Center in Bali, Indonesia. Miss France, Marine Lorphelin finished as the first runner-up, Miss Ghana Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter was the second runner up. Megan Young won the competition after beating 130 contestants across the globe. 

She is 23 years old. She is a student of filmmaking.Megan was born in US and she moved to the Philippines. Megan wants to become a director after gaining experience and finishing her qualifications.

World Tourism Day observed on 27 September 2013 across the world to bring awareness about the importance of tourism.The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.Theme for 2013: Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) decided in September 1979 to institute World Tourism Day.

Women’s Asia Cup Hockey Tournament

India won bronze medal in the 8th Women’s Asia Cup 2013 as they defeated China 3-2 at the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in September 2013. The two teams had ended 2-2 in the regulation time. Ritu Rani captained Indian side in the tournment, whereas Weilin Mao captained the China team.
India had to win this tournament to qualify for the 2014 World Cup at The Hague, Holland. However, it came at the third place.

Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award

Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani education rights campaigner presented with the 2013 Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award (Harvard Humanitarian of the year) by Harvard University on 27 September 2013. 

Malala received the award by Dr Allen Counter, Director of the Harvard Foundation for her contribution in promoting the education among girls.

Ravindra Kumar, Editor of The Statesman is elected as President of The Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2013-14 at its 74th Annual General Meeting on 27 September 2013.

Indian Newspaper Society (INS) (formerly Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society) acts as the central organisation of the Press of India, an independent body authenticating circulation figures of newspapers and periodicals in India. INS is an organization which plays a major role in protecting and promoting the freedom of press in India. 

Criteria for Special Category Status to State Government

The committee headed by  Raghuram Rajan  (now RBI governor) submitted its report  to the Union Government. The committee was appointed by the Union Government of India to decide the criteria for granting special category status to states. According the criteria given by the report Odisha, Bihar least developed states and Goa and Kerala are most developed states.
* According to the report depending upon their Multi Dimensional Index (MDI) scores 28 states should be divided into three categories.

                  • Least developed • Less developed  • Relatively developed

* The report suggested that irrespective the allocation of funds,each state should get a basic fixed allocation and an additional allocation depending on its development needs and development performance.

* The report also presented the allocation methodology.

Based on Multi Dimensional Index (MDI) scores top seven developed stats are Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Haryana.

Based on the Multi Dimensional Index (MDI) scores the 10 least developed states are Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The committee was appointed in the background of raising demand for special category status by states like Bihar, west Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand.

                                   About Special Category Status criteria

* The special status is given to certain states depending on their resources and geography. Some of the features required to grant Special Category Status are Low Population density, Hilly and difficult terrain , Location of states, Economic and Infrastructural backwardness and Non viable nature of state finances 

Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel, 

German Chancellor won a third term by a landslide victory in German elections in September 2013. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Union bloc - the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) won 41.5 percent of vote, but finished just short of an absolute majority. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) won 25.7 percent of votes and the ecologist Greens won 8.4 percent votes. Final results gave the CDU/CSU 311 seats, the Social Democrats 192, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) 64 seats and the ecologist Greens 63 seats.

Angela Dorothea Merkel is a German politician and former research scientist who has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005, and the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000. She is the first woman to hold either office.Having initially trained as a physical chemist, Merkel entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989, briefly serving as the deputy spokesperson for the East German Government.

Raijin

Raijin, Australia unveiled its most powerful super computer in Canberra, Raijin is named after the Japanese God of thunder and rain. 

Raijin is considered the 27th most powerful computer in the world. The supercomputer can perform the same number of calculations in one hour that 7 billion people with calculators could perform in 20 years. Raijin forms a part of the new National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) facility at the campus. The computer itself is bigger than the size of a house.

Gandhi Before India

Ramchandra Guha, Historian and author  wrote a book on early years of Mahatma Gandhi. The book titled with Gandhi Before India. In this book Ramachandra Guha outlined the life of Mahatma Gandhi from his birth on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar, Gujarat to till his return to India from South Africa in 1915.

Ramachandra Guha is an Indian historian and writer. He is a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is also a columnist for the newspapers The Telegraph (syndicated in several Indian languages) and Hindustan Times.

Justice Vangala Eswaraiah

Government of India appointed Justice Vangala Eswaraiah, former Acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) in September 2013. He was succeeded by Justice M. N. Rao, a retired Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court.

Bunker Roy and Malala Yousafzai

 Bunker Roy Indian environmentalist and Pakistan's teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai on 23 September 2013 declared as winners of the Clinton Global Citizens Awards for the year 2013. 

Bunker Roy is the founder of the Barefoot College, which has been providing solutions to problems in rural communities for more than 40 years. 
Sixteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai, who, after being shot by the Taliban for her outspoken support for girls' education, has co-founded the Malala Fund to continue advocating for universal access to education.

The Good Road

The Good Road is a 2013 Indian drama film written and directed by Gyan Correa. The film has been selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. The film won the award for Best Gujarati film at the 60th National Film Awards. 

The film is told in a hyperlink format, where several stories are intertwined with the center of the action being a highway in the rural lands of Gujarat near the town of Kachch. The film is the first Gujarati film ever selected to represent India at the Oscars. Ajay Gehi, Keval Katrodia, Shamji Dhana Kerasia, Sonali Kulkarni, Poonam Kesar Singh and Priyank Upadhyay 

Bo Xilai

Bo Xilai, Top  China Communist Party leader   sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chinese court which upheld the charges of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power against him. In its judgement, court sentenced Bo Xilai to life in prison on the bribery charges, 15 years for embezzlement and seven years for abuse of power. The court also stripped Bo of all political rights and ordered the confiscation of his property.

He was accused of receiving 20 million Yuan (3.5 Million US Dollars) as bribes and owning a luxury villa in France. Bo Xilai is a former Chinese politician. He came to prominence through his tenures as the mayor of Dalian and then governor of Liaoning. From 2004 to November 2007, he served as Minister of Commerce. Between 2007 and 2012 he served as a member of the Central Politburo and secretary of the Communist Party's Chongqing branch.

Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola

Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola, Miss Nigeria won the Miss Muslimah World contest which was organised by the World Muslimah Foundation in Jakartha, Indonesia on 18 September 2013.The annual Muslim event was held exclusively for Muslim women, who are assessed not only for their appearance in Islamic dress but also for their piety, religious knowledge and understanding of the Quran. 

Entrants were asked to talk people through their path to the religion and what wearing a headscarf meant to them.The Miss Muslimah World is an Islamic beauty pageant held every year at Indonesia. The contest was launched as a response to the Miss World pageant.

ICNC Award

Aamir Khan, Indian Film Actor  selected for a US award for his television show Satyamev Jayate along with eminent American director Kathryn Bigelow and the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC).

The awards were constituted by a US Media Organisation, America Abroad Media (AAM) and the awards will be given at the inaugural awards dinner by the America Abroad Media (AAM) in Washington DC on 28 October 2013. Aamir's TV series, Satyamev Jayate, explored India's biggest social challenges and has been seen by hundreds of millions of people in India and across Asia. 

First woman Chief Information Commissioner

Deepak Sandhu became the first woman Chief Information Commissioner. Deepak Sandhu took over the office from Satyananda Mishra. Mishra served the 5 year term in the office. Deepak Sandhu is the former Indian Information Service officer of 1971 batch.

She served at various crucial positions such as Principal Director General (media and communications); Press Information Bureau; Director General, DD News; Director General (news), All India Radio. The Central Information Commission was established under the Right to Information Act, 2005.  CIC was established under the Government of India for acting on complaints of the people.

Tommy Morrison

Tommy Morrison, the former heavy weight champion, who was diagnosed positive for HIV died  in Omaha, Nebraska. As a boxer, he was nicknamed as The Duke and in his entire boxing career; he played 52 professional fights and lost only 3 of them.  

Morrison came in limelight in the year 1993 after he defeated George Foreman to win the World Boxing Organ. He also became famous after being casted as a co-star against Sylvester Stallone in the 1990 boxing movie Rocky V. 

Find My Stuff

German Scientists of  Ulm University, Developed a New App Called Find My Stuff to Find Lost Things which facilitates tracing the lost items such as keys and wallets in just a few seconds. Florian Schaub is the creator of this application.

Find My Stuff allows a user to just type the name of the thing that they have lost in the app which is just like Google. The network of tiny sensors is placed on the valuables, around the home or within the furniture. The application will work owing to these sensors. Therefore, in case a user asks where the keys are, the app will answer, behind the sofa cushions.

Nadal Won Men’s Singles Title in Rogers Cup 2013

Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Canada's Milos Raonic  in the final of the men's Rogers Cup in August 2013 in Montreal, Canada. This is the Nadal’s third Rogers Cup title. He was also won Rogers cup in 2005 and 2008.
His success on clay has earned him the nickname "King of Clay" and has led many sports journalists and commentators, as well as former and current players, to regard him as the greatest clay court player in history. Nadal has won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 25 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and a record 14 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments.

Tax Administration Reform Commission

The Government of India approved the proposal for setting up of the TARC (Tax Administration Reform Commission) to remove ambiguity and establish a stable and non-adversarial tax administration. 
The Commission will consist of a Chairman, two full time members and four part-time members, of which at least two part-time members will be from the private sector.

The Commission will review the application of tax policies and tax laws in India in the context of global best practices and recommend measures to strengthen the capacity of the tax system in India that would reflect best global practices. 

Usain Bolt: 200-Metre Sprint World Athletics Champion

Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the 200-metre sprint at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow on 17 August 2013. This was his third successive 200 meter world title. This was Bolt's seventh world title, and surely one of the easiest of the lot.

He is widely regarded as the fastest person ever.  He is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977. Along with his teammates, he also set the world record in the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events, the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting, and a six-time World champion. He was the first to achieve a "double double" by winning 100 m and 200 m titles at consecutive Olympics (2008 and 2012).

NSEL

Q: What is NSEL?
ANS:- NSEL is a national level, institutionalized, electronic and transparent spot market commonly called as national spot exchange limited. It is a structured delivery based market place providing hedging for risk free and hassle free purchase and sell of various commodities across the country. This market is used by the investors to save the cost of indermediation and thus improving the returns and efficiency.
Q:- What is the NSEL turmoil in today’s economy ?
ANS:- For higher returns many HNI’s institutions and PSU’s has put their money in a strange product in NSEL. Now they fear the money has been stuck. Actually here the investor puts money for 25-30 days on a return higher than 14-15%.  Since the transaction happened on a spot exchange both borrowers and lenders enter into a contract initially for 3 days where lender will give money to borrower and gets a receipt of commodity warehouse and again on the 26th day where the borrower will pay the pre agreed money and will get back his collateral.

Now after that both the two side roll their positions by entering a new contract almost similar to the previous one. The problem started in July when the government asked NSEL not to issue any contract. This brought all trades to get stopped and the money got stucked. Although it was a warning in the previous year but the exchange was into a denial mode.

Q:- Non Repayment of Money ?
ANS:- Its all because the money has also been parked into non liquid assets like real estate and all which can not  be monetized immediately and their return is also lower than the returns/receipts claimed. The fear is there are so many big investors/Institutions (Almost 13000) that they can go after the brokers. The borrowers are almost 30. Only 150 Cr has been paid against a liability of 5500 Cr.
Now its a government call to put the investors and borrowers into a fix and find a way to get the borrowers an adequate time to pay back the investors their money.

Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe sworn in for his seventh term as the President of the country. Mugabe of Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) party won the Presidential election (Parliamentary Election) by winning 61 percent votes in his favor on 3 August 2013.
Robert Mugabe is one of the leaders of the guerrilla movements against white-minority rule of Zimbabwe and was elected to power in 1980. He served as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987 and as the first executive head of state since 1987. Mugabe was a political prisoner in Rhodesia for more than 10 years from 1964 and 1974.

National Food Security Bill passed

Lok Sabha  passed the National Food Security Bill 2013. The Bill was adopted by the House through a voice vote after a day-long debate. The Bill seeks to give legal rights to get subsidized grains every month to 67 percent of the overall population of which 75 percent is rural and 50 percent is urban population.

As per the provisions of the Bill, the responsibility to identify the beneficiaries and implement the program under the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme is the responsibility of the states. The passage of the Bill in Parliament will guarantee 5 kilograms of rice, wheat and coarse cereals per month per person at the highly subsidised rates of 1-3 rupees a Kg.

Justice K.N Basha

Justice K.N Basha,  retired judge of the Madras High Court, took charge as the chairman of the Intellectual Property Appellate Tribunal . He was appointed by the Director of the Department of Industrial Policy And Promotion of The Union Ministry of Industry And Commerce.

Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was constituted by the Union Government in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in  2003 to hear appeals against the decisions of the Registrar under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. 
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board has its headquarters at Chennai and holds sitting benches at Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

Ratan Thiyam

Ratan Thiyam appointed as the Chairperson of the National School of Drama by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. His term will be of 4 years. Ratan Thiyam is an Indian playwright and theatre director, and the winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, one of leading figures of the "theatre of roots" movement in Indian theatre, which started in 1970s.

He is a painter-playwright-actor-director by profession, and the founder director of Chorus Repertory Theatre in Imphal. He is the theatre director of some of the renowned plays such as Chakravyuh and Urubhangam.

Internet.org

Social networking giant Facebook joined forces with six other technology giants to launch Internet.org with an aim to make Internet access affordable for people across the globe. internet.org is an initiative of  seven technology giants namely Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung.The initiative will see the partners collaborate on developing lower-cost, higher-quality smartphones and deploying Internet access in undeserved communities. The founding members of Internet.org will develop joint projects, share knowledge, and mobilise industry and governments to bring the world online

The World Needs More

Renowned Film actor  and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan  joined the UN and its humanitarian partners to promote The World Needs More global campaign. The campaign seeks to turn words into real assistance for communities affected by humanitarian crises. It was launched on 19 August 2013.

The World Needs More campaign was produced in collaboration with Leo Burnett New York that allows brands and the public to sponsor a word (such as Education, Inclusion, Strength, Empowerment or Dialogue) they believe the world could use more of. Gucci, Intel, Western Union, Barclays Bank, and Crescent Enterprises have already sponsored words. Besides Amitabh Bachchan, international celebrities who have supported the campaign, includes Beyonce, Kid President, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J, Geena Davis, Trey Songz and Christina Applegate.

Anjana Dhavalu Thamke

Anjana Dhavalu Thamake won the third gold for India by winning the girl's 800m race on the concluding day of the track and field events in the second Asian Youth Games held at Nanjing, China. Thamake clocked a personal best of two minutes 11.47 seconds to bag the gold ahead of Savinder Kaur of Malaysia and Sri Lanka's K Dilhani Fernando.

Anjana Thamake, who was participating as an Independent Olympic Athlete as India is serving a ban, led the eight-athlete field all through and won the race comfortably.

National Media Centre

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday inaugurated the National Media Centre here on Raisina Road which is said to be equipped with the latest technologies of information dissemination.  the National Media Centre has been constructed by the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) at a cost of Rs. 60 crore over a period of three years.

The Centre is equipped with a wi-fi enabled press conference hall for 283 media persons, a briefing room for about 60 persons, 24 work stations for journalists, a library, media lounge with wi-fi facilities and a cafeteria. Reports state other facilities at the Centre are optic fibre Internet backbone with redundancy, mini data centre for application development and hosting webcast, including live webcast, Video feed to TV channels, IT facilities to media persons in work area and lounge, Internet telephony and AV Video Wall.

Ashes Test Series

Ashes Test Series-2013  won by England cricket team  3-0 against Australia on 25 August 2013 at England. England and Australia drew the fifth Test as the Ashes series ended in a dramatic draw on the final day at The Oval.  With this fifth test match draw England finished the five-match contest as 3-0 winners having triumphed in three successive Test series against Australia for the first time since the 1950s. 

England retained the Ashes after the third Test match was drawn to give them an unassailable 2–0 lead in the series. England took an unbeatable 3–0 lead in the series with a 74-run win in the fourth Test at Chester-le-Street. Alastair Cook captained the England Side in the tournament, whereas, Michael Clarke captained the Australian team.

International Children’s Peace Prize 2013

Malala Yousafzai  won the International Children’s Peace Prize 2013. She will receive the award from 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner and women's rights campaigner Tawakkol Karman at a ceremony in The Hague on 6 September 2013. The peace prize carries a cash value of 100000 euros (133000 US dollars) which is invested in projects relating to the winner's cause. Malala campaigned for girls' right to education.
                                                
The International Children's Peace Prize is an initiative of the Amsterdam based Dutch Kids Rights Foundation. It was launched in the year 2005 by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, when he chaired the Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome. Since then, the prize has been awarded every year by a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Dhyan Chand-The Wizard of Hockey

Dhyan Chand, The graphic biography on former Indian Hockey player Dhyan Chand titled Dhyan Chand-The Wizard of Hockey was launched  in New Delhi on 29 August 2013. The biography was launched on the National Sports Day to commemorate the 108th birth anniversary of the legend. The graphic biography is the first-of-its-kind book on a sportsman.

The book has been written by Luis Fernandes, who researched extensively on the subject. The book is being printed by comic-series publication Amar Chitra Katha. The book focussed on Dhyan Chand’s achievements and goal-scoring feats at 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics that got him the title The Wizard.