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.