February 1-10 2013 Current Affairs

• Mali’s cultural heritage got a shock when militants set ablaze a building that housed priceless ancient manuscripts in  country’s fabled desert city of Timbuktu, where the French-led troops are making a speedy advance towards north. Timbuktu Manuscripts is a collective term for thousands of manuscripts been preserved by private households in Timbuktu, Mali.
•  An Expert Committee has been set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting with the task of reviewing the institutional frame work of Prasar Bharati including its relationship with Government, its continuing role as a public broadcaster and steps needed to ensure technical up-gradation of the organization. The panel will be chaired by Sam Pitroda (Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations).
• A global research team led by the International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), have succeeded in decoding the genome sequence of the CDC Frontier chickpea variety and genome sequence of 90 cultivated and wild genotypes from 10 different countries. Chickpea is Second largest cultivated grain food legume in the world and India is the largest producer of chickpea.
• SpiceJet has become the only private Indian airline to offer flights to China. The low cost carrier will launch four weekly flights from New Delhi to Guangzhou.  
• Democratic Senator from Massachusetts and former presidential candidate John Kerry chosen as the new U.S. Secretary of State replacing Hillary Clinton.
•  China gave green light for the construction of three new hydropower dams on the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra River, ending a two-year halt in approving new projects on the river amid concerns from India and environmental groups.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed the erstwhile Hyderabad Stock Exchange (now Hyderabad Securities and Enterprises Limited (HSEL)) to exit as a stock exchange.
•  India has stumbled nine places to 140th position in the list of 179 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index 2013. India’s show is worst since 2002. The decline is attributed to increasing impunity for violence against journalists and because internet censorship continues to grow.
•  The first triangular India-US-Africa partnership in agricultural training was inaugurated by India and the US at the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad.
• Pakistan has handed over the operations responsibility of its strategically located Gwadar port to China’s Overseas Port Holdings.
• P.R. Vasudeva Rao has been appointed as the new director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).
•  Indian American scientist Rangaswamy Srinivasan has been honored with the prestigious 2011 National Medal of Technology and Innovation by U.S. President Barack Obama.
• India handed over a Dornier 228 surveillance aircraft to Seychelles. The maritime surveillance aircraft will be used to guard the extensive coastline of the island nation in the Indian Ocean.The Dornier 228 or DO-228 is manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).  
• Two PSUs BHEL and GAIL have been conferred with the Maharatna status by the government. A Maharatna firm can take investment decision of up to Rs 5,000 crore without going to the government. For Navratna firms, this limit is Rs 1,000 crore. As per Department of Public Enterprises the Key qualifications for Maharatna status:The Company should have an average annual turnover of more  than Rs 25,000 crore in the last 3 years.The PSU must have a net worth of over Rs 15,000 crore and net profit of more than Rs 5,000 crore during the last 3 years.
• Rare migratory bird Whooper Swan was spotted in Pong Dam lake of Kangra valley in Himachal Pradesh after 113 years.Whooper Swans, which migrate from Central Asia and Europe and are rare migrants to India, were last seen in the country in 1900 near river Beas.
• As per a latest study, a hole in the Antarctic ozone layer has changed the way waters in the southern oceans mix, which researchers say could impact global climate change. As per scientists this phenomenon has the potential to alter the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. It has been found that subtropical intermediate waters in the southern oceans have become "younger" as the upwelling, circumpolar waters have gotten "older" – changes that are consistent with the fact that surface winds have strengthened as the ozone layer has thinned.
• Movie star Jackie Chan and the 2012 winner of Nobel prize for literature Mo Yan has been selected as members of one of the houses of Chinese parliament, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
• The Solicitor General of India, senior advocate Rohinton F Nariman has resigned from the post amid speculation that the decision came over his differences with the Law ministry.
• 30 Indian software product companies have decided to form a new association called the Indian Software Product Industry Round Table, or “iSpirt” splitting away from NASSCOM as it focusses more on IT services companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro etc. 
• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the first Iranian leader to visit Egypt after Tehran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. He visited Egypt capital Cairo for attending the summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)