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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 September 2014

National

Justice Handyala Lakshminarayana Swamy Dattu as the new CJI

• Hours after being sworn in as the 42nd Chief Justice of India at the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Justice Handyala Lakshminarayana swamy Dattu pledged to be a common man’s judge on the Bench.
• The 63-year-old Chief Justice was sworn in by President Pranab Mukherjee. He will serve for 14 months and retire on December 2, 2015.
• Asked about the changes in the Supreme Court over the years, the CJI said the workload had increased tremendously and many sensitive cases were being filed now. Justice Dattu is presiding over the Bench monitoring the 2G spectrum scam.

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Person in news

Ashraf Ghani as Afghanistan new President

• Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s new President, replacing Hamid Karzai in the country’s first democratic transfer of power since the 2001 U.S-led invasion toppled the Taliban.
• He became President of Afghanistan in a peaceful transition after a six-month election season that ended with marathon negotiations that gave the newly created position of chief executive to his challenger Abdullah Abdullah.
• Afghanistan has now experienced its first-ever peaceful power transition in its history as outgoing President Hamid Karzai transfers power to the new President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
• Mr. Karzai had been Afghanistan’s only leader since 2001.

Business & economy

India’s e-commerce market is growing by “leaps and bounds”: Jeff Bezos

• India’s e-commerce market is growing by “leaps and bounds”, according to the founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos.
• Mr. Bezos said that the launch experience of his business in India was “better and faster” than in any other market which is why he was committing $2 billion in fresh investment here. Amazon launched about a year ago in India.
• Mr. Bezos said that connecting small and medium businesses with the digital market is a prime area for Amazon and will be a key differentiator compared to competition.
• Refusing to be drawn into a discussion on the competition with Google in key businesses, he said that drone-deliveries are technologically proven but will have to wait for rules and regulations to be framed.

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International

'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' is India’s philosophy: Mr. Narendra Modi at UNGA

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened his historic United Nations General Assembly with a tribute to India’s ancient civilisational traditions, telling a packed Assembly hall of delegates that India’s philosophy, which was not an ideology, was the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or world family, and this has guided the nation since Vedic times.
• In a wide-ranging address to the Assembly Mr. Modi also made a strong pitch for nations to “fulfill promise to reform the U.N. Security Council by 2015,” and called for a greater role for the G-4 coalition including India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, one that would help all countries move beyond thinking of policy as a “zero-sum game.”
• Devoting a significant end segment of his speech to the benefits of Yoga Mr. Modi called for an International Yoga Day, arguing, “It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, Yoga can help us deal with climate change.”

Sports

17th Asian games: india on day 10th

• The Indian paddlers’ campaign in the 17th Asian Games ended after the men’s team, led by Achanta Sharath Kamal, and the women’s outfit lost in the quarterfinal stage to China and Singapore respectively.
• Sanam Singh could not add a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal to his kitty as he and Saketh Myneni settled for a silver after losing the hard-fought final in straight sets to Korea’s Yongkyu Lim and Hyeon Chung, in Incheon.
• The Indian squash players wrapped up a historic performance in the Asian Games, clinching an unprecedented men’s team gold after the women’s side settled for its first ever silver in Incheon.
• With a silver and a bronze, through Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal respectively in the individual events, the squash players signed off with their best ever medal haul in the Games.

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Science & Technology

Whale shark found washed ashore at Panambur

• A 10-ft-long whale shark was found washed ashore at the Panambur beach. The whale shark, among the largest fish species in the world, is commonly found in deep seas around the Lakshadweep Islands, and it, probably, is the first incident of a whale shark found washed ashore at Panambur.
• An average whale shark is around 30 feet in length and weighs around 9,000 kg.