DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS FACTS

1.	Lokpal Bill gets Presidential assent.    I.                    A Lokpal can enquire into offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCA) committed by members of Parliament, group A and B government officials, employees of a company, society or a trust set up by an Act of Parliament, or financed or controlled by the central government.  II.                    The anti-graft act also mandates States to make their own law for setting up Lokayuktas along the lines of the 'Lokpal' within a year.
2.	India scraps controversial AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.   I.                    These choppers were supposed to replace ageing Russian-origin 'Mi-8' helicopters currently used by VVIP to travel within the country. II.                    The contract for supplying 12 VVIP helicopters (3 already delivered) amounted to over Rs 3500 crore.
3.	B. Mahipal Reddy receives the 'Best Scientist Award' of Science-Tech Foundation (STF), Bangalore for the year 2013.  I.                    He is currently a Chief Scientist & Head of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Division of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology.
4.	Serena Williams honoured with Associated Press' (AP) female 'Athlete of the year' award 2013 for the 3rd time after 2002 and 2009. American Basket ball player 'LeBron James' won the male 'Athlete of the year' award for this season.
5.	International Petroleum Conference 2014 to take place in New Delhi from 12th – 15th January 2014 with 'Vision 2030: Emerging Global Energy Basket - Challenges and Opportunities' as itstheme.   I.                    The biennial event offers a platform for national and international experts in the oil & gas industry to exchange views and share knowledge, expertise and experiences.
6.	Ashraf Jehan becomes the first female judge in National Sharia Court of Pakistan.
7.	New Zealand's Corey Anderson slams fastest ODI century.
8.	Arup Raha becomes the chief of Indian Air Force.
9.	Government approves amendments in the Mega Power Policy 2009 for provisional Mega Power projects.  -The objective is to increase power availability and bring down the power tariff for consumers to a reasonable level.
10.	P Madhusudan takes over as the new Chairman and Managing Director of PSU 'Rashtriya IspatNigam Limited' (RINL).  I.                    He has succeeded AP Choudhary as such for a tenure of 5 years.
11.	The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gives the nod for construction of 220kVtransmission system from Alusteng (Srinagar) to Leh and interconnection system for Drass,Kargil, Khalsti and Leh substations in Jammu & Kashmir.   I.                    The transmission project shall provide, connectivity with Northern Grid and reliable power supply to the strategically important Ladakh region which so far depends on local small hydro generation.
12.	S K Sharma assumes charge as the Chairman & Managing Director of Defence PSU 'Bharat Electronics Limited' (BEL).
13.	India’s supercomputer PARAM Yuva-II has been rated the 9th most power efficient computer systems in the Asia Pacific Region and 44th in the world as per the Green500 List.   I.                    Supercomputers consume a lot of electrical power and produce much heat. II.                    This leads to the need for elaborate and expensive cooling facilities.