Srishti Rana of India Was Crowned Miss Asia Pacific World 2013

Srishti Rana of India on 30 October 2013 was crowned Miss Asia Pacific World 2013 in Busan,
South Korea.

Srishti Rana, 21, is the second Indian in a row to win the oldest Miss Asia Pacific World 2013.

Earlier, Zeenat Aman (1970), Tara Anne Fonseca (1973), Dia Mirza(2000) and Himangini Singh
Yadu(2012) won Miss Asia Pacific World titles.
Subhas Goswami Appointed as the Director General of ITBP
Subhas Goswami, director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy appointed
as the Director General (DG) of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on 30 October 2013. He will
succeed Ajay Chadha, IPS.
World's First Bitcoin ATM Launched in Vancouver, Canada
The worlds first Bitcoin ATM machine which can exchange digital currency - Bitcoins -for any
official currency has launched in Vancouver, Canada on 29 October 2013.
The ATM machine, named Robocoin, installed at Waves Coffee Shop at Howe and Smithe,
allows users to buy or sell the digital currency known as bitcoins. The ATM in Vancouver is
operated by Las Vegas-based Robocoin and Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs.
About Bitcoins
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that is unregulated by any central bank or government, but still works
for purchasing goods and services from retailers willing to accept it.
Bitcoins, which are created when they are "mined" or generated by a super computer, also trade on
an open market that fluctuates much like a stock market.
How Bitcoin ATM works?
Customers will need to have their palms scanned in order to exchange up to 3000 US dollars
worth of bitcoins per day.
The bitcoins will then be transferred to and from the customer's on-line bitcoin wallet.
Users will have the option to receive a paper voucher representing the transaction.
Bitcoin, which came into existence in 2009, is not controlled by any authority such as a central
bank. The concept was introduced in 2008 by a pseudonymous developer known only as
"Satoshi Nakamoto." The currency has reportedly gained notoriety for its use to buy illicit goods
such as drugs on websites. However, bitcoins are increasingly being accepted by legitimate
businesses around the world.

Who: Canada entrepreneurs
Where: Vancouver, Canada
What: World's First Bitcoin ATM
When: 29 October 2013
Bhubaneswar and Imphal airports were Declared as International Airports
India and Cuba signed MoU for cooperation in broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and ICRT
India and Cuba on 30 October 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for
cooperation in broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and Cuban Radio and Television Institute
(ICRT).

The MoU was signed by India's ambassador to Cuba Chinthapalli Rajasekhar and vice-president
of the ICRT Emillio Moises Garcia Borroto.

Under the agreement both countries will explore co-production opportunites on matters of mutual
interest. The pact would facilitate exchange programmes in fields of cultural entertainment,
education, science, sports and news. It also opens up avenues for co-production of broadcast
content for creative ventures including films and coverage of events.

The MoU was signed during the official visit of Indias vice President Hamid Ansari to Cuba.
SC: Fix the tenure of bureaucrats to immunize them from the Political Influence
The Supreme Court of India on 31 October 2013 directed the Government of India and the
States to pass order within three months on giving the fixed tenure to civil servants. The
Supreme Court has also directed to constitute a Civil Services Board at nation and state levels
for management of the transfers, posting, reward, inquiries and process of promotion,
punishment and disciplinary matters of bureaucracy. The decisions were taken to bring
bureaucracy out from political interference and to give end to regular transfers of the civil
servants from political executive.

The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice K S Radhakrishnan said that the fixed tenure of
the bureaucrats would help to promote the professionalism, efficiency and good governance.

The Parliament has been also directed by the Supreme Court to enact a law to regulate transfer,
posting and disciplinary action on the IAS officers and to immunize them from political
interference.

As the Supreme Court held that the condition of bureaucracy is deteriorated due to the
interference from the political people. The court also said that the civil servants should not act on
the verbal orders given by the political executives and all the actions taken by the political
executives on the basis of written communication.

The Court directed on a petition submitted by 83 former civil servants, like former cabinet
secretary T S R Subramanian, former Indian ambassador to the US Abid Hussain, former chief
election commissioner, N Gopalaswami and others, demanding reforms to ensure bureaucracy
to get them out from the political influences.
Scientists discovered a New Planet called Kepler 78b
Scientists discovered a new planet called Kepler 78b which has a similar mass and density to
that of Earth. It orbits a star 400 light years away. Kepler78b is composed mostly of rock and
iron, very similar to our own planet. It is extremely close to its host star which is a hundredth of
the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
But the temperature on Kepler 78b ranges from 2000 C to 2800 C in daytime which is far too hot
to support any form of life.
The newly discovered planet belongs to a new class of ultrashort period planets. These planets
complete one circuit of their host star in less than 12 hours.
Gujarat CM Laid the Foundation Stone of the Statute of Unity
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2013 laid the foundation stone of the
Statute of Unity-a 182-metre tall statue (Worlds largest statue) of iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel on his 138th birth anniversary at Sardar Sarovar Dam site in Bharuch district in Gujarat.

The Statue of Unity will be double of the height of the Statue of Liberty (93 metres) in the USA.
Joint Parliamentary Committee Submitted Report on 2G Spectrum to Lok Sabha Speaker
Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on allocation and pricing of telecom licences and 2G
Spectrum during 1998-2009 was submitted its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on 29
October 2013.

Joint Parliamentary Committee Recommendations

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G spectrum has recommended a comprehensive
audit of spectrum to ensure greater transparency in its allocations. It also suggested
quantification of available spectrum for maximum utilization.

In its report the Committee also underlined the need for amending the TRAI Act for harmonious
balance between the Regulator and the Licensor.

The Committee also recommended the review of policy and formation of stringent guidelines on
allocation of additional spectrum.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) constituted on 4 March, 2011 to examine matters
relating to Allocation and Pricing of Telecom Licences and Spectrum. The Joint Parliamentary
Committee was headed by PC Chako and consists of 30 memebers ( 20 Loka Sabha MPs and
10 Rajya Sabha MPs).

Joint Parliamentary committee is an Ad hoc committee of the Indian parliament. The chairperson
and the members of the committee will be appointed by Lok Sabha Speaker.
Gurdeep Singh Pall Appointed as the Corporate VP of Skype
Microsoft appointed on 30 October 2013 Gurdeep Singh Pall as the corporate vice president of
Skype, a popular and free international voiceover and messaging service and Lync
communications product. He will replace the Mark Gillett.

About Gurdeep Singh Pall

Gurdeep Singh Pall, 46, born in Chandigarh.
He completed his engineering degree in computer science from the Birla Institute of
Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani.
He also holds a master's degree in computer science from the University of Oregon.
He has more than 20 patents (in process or approved) in networking, VoIP and collaboration
areas.
He is on the board of trustees of Ashesi University, Ghana.
He joined in Microsoft Company in January 1990 as a software design engineer.
He worked on many breakthrough products in his tenure, starting with LAN Manager Remote
Access Service.
He was part of the Windows NT development team and led design and implementation of core
networking technologies.
He was named one of the "15 Innovators & Influencers Who Will Make A Difference" in 2008 by
Information Week.
He co-authored "Institutional Memory Goes Digital", which was published by Harvard Business
Review as part of Breakthrough Ideas for 2009 and subsequently presented at the World
Economic Forum 2009 in Davos
Delhi HC refused to stay the Launch of Air Asia India
A Delhi high court bench on 30 October 2013 declined to put stay on the launch of AirAsia India
in response to a PIL filed against it. The government recently granted a no-objection certificate to
AirAsia India to start an airline in India. It seeks an airline licence from regulator Directorate
General of Civil Aviation.
Malaysias AirAsia owns a 49 percent stake in AirAsia India while Tata Sons Ltd owns 30
percent, and Arun Bhatias Telestra Tradeplace Pvt. Ltd has the rest. The PIL also sought a stay
on the governments approval and regulatory approvals to Air Asia. The court is yet to take the
decision on the issue of stay.
India developed Surface-to-Surface Missile Pragati
Kirit Parikh Panel on advising Pricing Methodology for Diesel, Domestic LPG and PDS
Kerosene submitted report to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on 30 October 2013.

The panel in its report recommended a price increase of 5 Rupees per litre in diesel, 4 Rupees
per litre in kerosene, and 250 Rupees in LPG cylinder with immediate effect.
Pankaj Razdan Appointed as the CEO and MD of the Birla Sun Life Insurance
Pankaj Razdan was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Birla
Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), life insurance arm of Aditya Birla Group on 30 October 2013.