Current Affairs : 16 April 2014

Current Affairs : 16 April 2014

Written By Admin on June 17, 2014 | Tuesday, June 17, 2014

1) World Cup 2014: Germany's Thomas Mueller nets hat-trick as dismal Portugal is routed 4-0: Thomas Mueller's hat-trick inspired Germany to a 4-0 mauling of 10-man Portugal in their opening World Cup Group G match on Monday. The Germans delivered a sizzling attacking display that underlined their tag as strong title contenders and the match, billed as a clash of European heavyweights, was over as a contest by half-time. Two Mueller goals and a thumping Mats Hummels header blew away a Portugal side whose first-half misery was compounded by a needless 37th-minute red card for Pepe.

2) Michael Schumacher out of coma, left French hospital - spokesperson:Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is no longer in a coma and has left the French hospital where he was being treated since suffering severe head injuries in a skiing accident late last year. "Michael has left the CHU Grenoble (hospital) to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore," a statement from spokeswoman Sabina Kehm read. On Monday, his spokesman told Reuters that Schumacher had been admitted on Monday morning to University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland after leaving hospital in France.

3) Juan Manuel Santos re-elected Colombia president in peace vote: Juan Manuel Santos convincingly won re-election Sunday after Colombia's tightest presidential contest in years, an endorsement of his 18-month-old peace talks to end the Western Hemisphere's longest-running conflict. Santos defeated right-wing challenger Oscar Ivan Zuluaga with 53 percent-to-47 per cent of valid votes with 99.9 per cent of precincts reporting.

4) Government hikes import tariff value on gold, silver: The government on Monday hiked import tariff value on gold and silver to $411 per 10 grams and $632 per kg as global prices have increased in the wake of escalating violence in Iraq.

5) Delhi becomes first kerosene-free city in India: The Delhi Government on Tuesday announced that the national capital has become the first ‘kerosene-free city’ in the country. “With the successful implementation of Delhi: A Kerosene-Free City Scheme, 2012, no subsidised kerosene is being issued in the national capital and the country can save upto Rs 200 crores every year,” said S.S. Yadav, Commissioner, Food Supply and Weights and Measures. The scheme was launched in 2012 in collaboration with three Oil Marketing Companies and Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for which Delhi Government had incurred an expenditure of Rs 62 crores.

6) Union Minister Shri Kalraj Mishra launched the SME Finance Facilitation Centre: To facilitate access to finance and credit for SMEs, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Monday set up an Online Finance Facilitation Centre for SMEs, with the aim of providing advisory and credit facilitation support to SMEs, according to a CII release. The centre will operate as a one-stop shop, aggregating financing options from various major financial institutions.

7) Shaktikanta Das assumed charge as Revenue Secretary: Shaktikanta Das, a 1980 batch Tamil Nadu Cadre IAS officer, assumed charge as Revenue Secretary in the Finance Ministry on Monday.

8) Micromax launched the first Indian-made Windows phones: Indian smartphone maker Micromax has launched its first set of Windows Phone-based smartphones – Canvas Win W092 and Canvas Win Q121 in the country. With this Micromax has become the first Indian smartphone-maker to introduce Windows Phone devices in India. Win W092 and Win Q121 are budget phones, with the former priced at Rs 6,500, while the latter will come for Rs 9,500