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2
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Contents
PREFACE ........................................................................
..................................................................... 2
ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ...........................................................
................................................. 29
Infosys Ltd signed agreements with Microsoft Corp, Hitachi Data Systems and Huaw
ei .................................... 29
Indian Air Force gifted vintage Dakota aircraft to Bangladesh Air Force ........
.................................................... 29
Union Textiles Ministry approved setting up of 13 textile parks ................
........................................................ 29
Nepal government cleared GMR Company proposal to build 900 MW Upper Karnali HEP
in Nepal ................... 29
IndiGo signed agreement with ICBC to purchase over 30 A320 aircrafts............
................................................ 30
India-China signed sixteen agreements during the visit of Chinese President Xi J
ingping to India ...................... 30
China fined British drug maker firm GSK Plc 489 million US dollars for paying br
ibes ......................................... 30
Infosys BPO Poland signed largest office lease deal with Skanska Property in Pol
and ........................................ 30
Puma India appointed Abhishek Ganguly as Managing Director .....................
................................................... 31
Cognizant acquired healthcare software company TriZetto ........................
...................................................... 31
Microsoft Corp acquired Minecraft game maker Mojang ............................
...................................................... 31
Croma and Snapdeal tied up to sell electronic items online .....................
......................................................... 31
SEBI extended deadline by six months to appoint atleast one women director on bo
ard .................................. 32
CCEA approved 4754 crore for power transmission scheme in Arunachal and Sikkim .
....................................... 32
FICCIs Economic Outlook Survey estimated Indias GDP growth rate at 5.6 percent in
2014-15 ........................ 32
Raya Power to set up 50 MW solar park in Andhra Pradesh ........................
...................................................... 32
Union government decided to wind up HMT Watches ................................
...................................................... 32
Apple Inc launched iWatch designed to work with iPhone 6 .......................
...................................................... 33
BlackBerry acquired UK mobile technology start-up Movirtu ......................
...................................................... 33
Tata Technologies Ltd appointed Warren Harris as MD and CEO.....................
.................................................. 33
Union Government launched New Payment Gateway Integrated to e-Filing System ....
..................................... 33
Union Government launched RVC service for smooth transportation of perishable go
ods ................................ 33
Highest percentage of hired workers in India is in Arunachal Pradesh: 6th Econom
ic Census ............................ 34
CCEA approved stake sale in CIL, ONGC abd NHPC..................................
.......................................................... 34
Intel launched new range of Processors Xeon E5-v3 for Data Centres .............
.................................................. 34
Uttarakhand Government declared 9 September as Himalaya Diwas ..................
.............................................. 34
Assam government withdrew Assamese as official language from Barak Valley ......
.......................................... 34
India and Germany agreed to cooperate in skill development and solid waste manag
ement ............................ 35
Bharti Airtel announced agreement with Eaton Towers to divest 3500 towers in Afr
ica .................................... 35
Cipla announced commercial tie-up with UK firm S&D Pharma ......................
................................................... 35
Electrolux agreed to buy GE Appliances for 3.3 billion US dollars ..............
........................................................ 35
Snapdeal signed joint venture with Den Networks.................................
........................................................... 35
V Nagarajan joined IGL as a new director .......................................
.................................................................. 36
Government approved 7% hike in Dearness Allowance ..............................
...................................................... 36
India slipped to 71st rank in WEF s annual Global Competitiveness List 2014-2015
........................................... 36
Union Government relaxed onion import norms ....................................
.......................................................... 36
Union Government to SC: It wants re-auction of all 218 coal blocks .............
..................................................... 36
USFDA granted QIDP status to Indian pharmaceutical firm Wockhardt ..............
............................................... 37
Baba Kalyani re-nominated as Co-Chairman of IJBLF...............................
.......................................................... 37
Adani bought Carmichael Australia coal mine royalty rights from Linc Energy ....
............................................... 37
ONGC board approved 5219 crore rupees investment in Daman gas fields ...........
............................................ 37
3
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
India Signed agreement with World Bank for MSRPII project ......................
...................................................... 38
Tata Value Homes and Snapdeal tied up to sell homes online .....................
...................................................... 38
SC ordered DLF to pay 630 crore rupees fine imposed by CCI .....................
...................................................... 38
Union Cabinet announced to lift the restriction of one LPG cylinder per month ..
.............................................. 38
Cox & Kings Ltd got the outsourcing contract of Deccan Odyssey for five years...
.............................................. 39
Reliance Jio Infocomm signed tower sharing deal with BSNL ......................
...................................................... 39
C.S.Verma elected as First President of Indian Steel Association ...............
........................................................ 39
Union Finance Ministry ordered forensic audit of Dena bank and Oriental Bank of
Commerce.......................... 39
T M Bhasin elected as Chairman of Indian Banks Association .....................
....................................................... 40
India to be the launch-pad for Amazon s plan to deliver packages using drones ..
.............................................. 40
CCEA approved sale of 10 million tonnes of wheat in Open Market to Check Prices
.......................................... 40
Union Government revised Investment target for DFC to 80000 crore rupees .......
........................................... 40
India decided against signing WTO s Trade Facilitation Agreement ...............
.................................................... 41
TCS became first Indian Company to achieve Market Capitalization of 5 lakh crore
rupees ............................... 41
Google announced to launch Hindi version of Google Maps on Android and PC.......
......................................... 41
ADB released Asian Development Outlook 2014 Supplement .........................
.................................................. 41
SEBI barred Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju and 4 others from accessing capital ma
rkets................................ 42
Per Student Cooking Cost under Mid Day Meal Scheme Enhanced ....................
............................................... 42
Retail inflation fell to 30-month low of 7.31 percent in June 2014 .............
....................................................... 42
Air India formally joined global airline group Star Alliance ...................
............................................................. 42
Railways register 9.48 percent increase in its earning .........................
.............................................................. 42
Union Budget 2014-15: Weaker Sections...........................................
............................................................... 42
Union Budget 2104-15: Financial Sector .........................................
.................................................................. 43
Union Budget 2014-15: Infrastructure ...........................................
................................................................... 43
Union Budget 2014-15: Industry, MSME & Textiles.................................
.......................................................... 43
Union Budget 2014-15: Employment and Skill development..........................
................................................... 43
Union Budget 2014-15: Energy Sector ............................................
.................................................................. 43
Union Budget 2014-15: Women and Child Development ..............................
.................................................... 44
Railway Budget 2014-15: New Initiatives ........................................
.................................................................. 44
TCS and Bharti Foundation announced to spend 200 crore rupees for Clean India Ca
mpaign ............................ 44
RBI directed all banks to install disabled friendly new ATMs ...................
.......................................................... 49
Bharatiya Mahila Bank included in Second Schedule of RBI Act, 1934 .............
.................................................. 49
Plastic currency notes to be launched in 2015: Raghuram Ranjan .................
.................................................... 49
India to become the third largest oil consumer by 2025: US EIA .................
...................................................... 50
RBI allowed bank branches abroad to sell structured products ...................
...................................................... 50
RBI allowed the minors of age above 10 years to open Savings bank accounts .....
............................................. 50
Deadline ended for non-CTS cheques .............................................
.................................................................. 50
DGCA allowed Portable Electronic Device including cellphones during Flights ....
............................................... 51
RBI issued uniform accounting norms for Asset Reconstruction Companies .........
............................................. 51
RBI will decide NPA guidelines rules: Gujarat High Court .......................
........................................................... 51
IFFCO got permission from Quebec Provincial Government to set up Urea plant ....
.......................................... 51
Union Government decided to continue export subsidy of 3300 rupees per tonne on
raw sugar export ........... 52
SEBI issued detailed Corporate Governance Norms ................................
.......................................................... 52
CAG empowered to audit private telecom companies: SC ...........................
..................................................... 52
Securities of 7 firms to be moved from restricted to normal trading category: SE
BI .......................................... 52
World Trade to grow by 4.7 percent in 2014: WTO ................................
........................................................... 53
WB projected economic growth rate of 5.7% for India in 2014-15 fiscal...........
................................................. 53
India ranked 102 out of 132 countries on Social Progress Index .................
....................................................... 53
Reserve Bank of India adopted CPI as new measure of Inflation ..................
..................................................... 53
Asian Development Outlook 2014 released ........................................
.............................................................. 54
RBI capped WMA limit for central government at 35000 crore rupees for 2015 first
half .................................. 54
Repo Rate kept unchanged by RBI in First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 20
14-15 .............................. 54
Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs notified rules for ten more chapters in the
new Company Act ................... 54
India GDP rises to 5.5 percent in 2014-15: Asian Development Outlook 2014 ......
............................................. 55
President cleared the re-promulgation of SEBI Ordinance 2013 ...................
..................................................... 55
BHEL signed contract of 125crore rupees of hydro power in Uttarakhand ..........
.............................................. 55
RBI extended the timeline for full implementation of Basel III norms by 2019....
............................................... 55
SEBI to release FATCA compliance norms in the fiscal year 2014-15...............
................................................... 56
EPFO announced to provide Universal Account Number from October 2014 ...........
......................................... 56
Bank of India launched Instant Money Transfer Scheme ...........................
........................................................ 56
EGoM approved SUC of 5 percent of annual Gross Revenue on all new airwaves .....
......................................... 61
RBI raised Repo Rate by 25 basis points to 8 percent ...........................
............................................................. 62
RBI issued new guidelines for loan restructuring in NBFCs ......................
.......................................................... 62
Finance Ministry nod for 1000 rupees minimum monthly pension plan ..............
.............................................. 62
Currency notes issued before 2005 to be withdrawn: RBI .........................
........................................................ 62
Indian economy to grow by 6 percent: CRISIL ....................................
............................................................... 63
RBI appointed a Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks in India .....
........................................... 63
Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs Signed MoUs with FICCI ...................
......................................................... 63
Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Union Minister Shashi Tharoor found dead in a Delhi hot
el....................................... 63
IIFCL signed MoU with EXIM Bank of Korea .......................................
............................................................... 63
EGoM approved the sale of 10% stake in IOC to ONGC and OIL .....................
................................................... 64
RBI included Hong Kong and Macau in the sensitive list .........................
........................................................... 64
Wholesale Inflation declined to five-month low of 6.16 percent in December 2013
.......................................... 64
Coal India Ltd declared dividend of 290 percent for 2013-14 ....................
........................................................ 64
Sudan offered two oil and gas blocks to ONGC at Petrotech 2014 .................
.................................................... 64
Consumer Retail Inflation declined to 9.87 percent in December 2013 ............
................................................. 65
NABARD reduced refinance rate for banks ........................................
............................................................... 65
Indian Economy GDP growth rate to be revised for 2011-..........................
....................................................... 65
Bank of Japan and RBI concluded an agreement to raise BSA to 50 billion dollar .
.............................................. 65
SEBI notified stricter Settlement System for serious offences ..................
......................................................... 65
SEBI Barred Cash Transactions In Collective Investment Schemes To Check Launderi
ng .................................... 66
India s trade deficit narrowed to 10.1 billion dollar in December 2013..........
.................................................... 66
Government notified new natural Gas Pricing Formula.............................
........................................................ 66
RBI relaxed Gold loan norms to lend up to 75 percent loan ......................
........................................................ 66
China to be become a partner in the proposed NIMZ in Andhra Pradesh ............
.............................................. 67
Reserve Bank of India selected CCIL as Legal Entity Identifier .................
........................................................... 67
Mergers & Acquisitions declined by 11.5 percent in 2013 ........................
......................................................... 67
Price of the Non-subsidized LPG hiked by 220 rupees per cylinder ...............
..................................................... 67
BANKING, MONEY & FINANCE........................................................
............................................. 68
RBI closed six UCBs suspected of money laundering ..............................
........................................................... 68
SBI celebrated 150 years of its operations in Sri Lanka ........................
.............................................................. 68
ICICI launched Cardless Cash Withdrawal service ................................
............................................................. 68
United Bank of India declared Vijay Mallya as wilful defaulter .................
......................................................... 68
ICICI Bank became the first bank in India to launch EMI facility on Debit Card .
.................................................. 68
RBI penalised 12 Banks in Deccan Chronicle Holdings case .......................
........................................................ 69
RBI released Draft Guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks and Small Banks ..
............................................. 69
RBI issued drafted guidelines for implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System .
............................................ 69
NABARD and SFAC signed a MoU for development of Small Farm Producers ...........
......................................... 69
Udhampur-Katra rail line inaugurated by the Prime Minister .....................
....................................................... 69
Indian Railways successfully conducted test run of Delhi-Agra semi-high speed tr
ain ........................................ 70
Union Government upgraded NIC-1987 to NIC-2008 to make it more investor friendly
..................................... 70
Union Government delicensed manufacturing of defence items .....................
.................................................. 70
Union Government granted Navratna Status to EIL and NBCC .......................
................................................... 70
UNCTAD released World Investment Report 2014 ...................................
......................................................... 70
World Bank released a report on power sector reforms in India ..................
..................................................... 70
RBI permitted NBFCs-ND to work as BCs for banks ................................
........................................................... 71
RBI directed Banks and FIs to provide information to SIT .......................
........................................................... 71
Union Government decided to provide interest free loans of 4400 crore to cash-st
arved sugar ........................ 71
Switzerland prepared list of Indians with suspected black money in its banks ...
................................................ 71
6
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Railway passenger fares increased by 14.2 percent and freight charges by 6.5 per
cent ..................................... 71
RBI asked banks to disclose sector-wise advances in financial statements........
................................................. 71
SEBI issued new norms for public issuance of debt securities ...................
........................................................ 72
Union MSME Ministry launched Online Finance Facilitation Centre for SMEs .......
............................................. 72
World Bank lowered growth forecast for developing world to 4.8 percent .........
.............................................. 72
NABARD reduced rates of refinance to boost investment credit ...................
.................................................... 72
IICA signed MoU with Grant Thornton to implement CSR Rules of Companies Act 2013
.................................... 72
India became the second largest exporter of textiles in the world: UN Comtrade .
............................................ 73
RBI announced second Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement ......................
.................................................. 73
DGCA for the first time issued Standards of Services Document ..................
..................................................... 73
UK based Marks & Spencer announced to open 100 stores in India .................
................................................. 73
Competition Appellate Tribunal upheld 630 crore rupees penalty on DLF ..........
............................................... 73
Sistema Shyam Teleservices launched messaging app MBuddy for feature phones ....
....................................... 74
Amul to set up five lakh litres per day capacity dairy plant in Varanasi .......
....................................................... 74
Apple and Google settled Smartphone patent war .................................
.......................................................... 74
Sundaram BNP Paribas received ISAE recognition..................................
........................................................... 74
MTS announced to provide free Wi-Fi in Gurgaon Rapid Metro Rail.................
................................................. 74
Cipla announced to invest in Chase Pharmaceuticals to develop Alzheimer s drug .
........................................... 75
SEBI exempted Etihad from making open offer in Jet deal ........................
........................................................ 75
Indias Punj Llyond won Expressway project in Yemen...............................
....................................................... 75
Kuwait renewed crude supply contracts with BPCL ................................
........................................................... 75
Air India will join Star Alliance in July 2014 .................................
...................................................................... 75
Microsoft acquired Nokia handset business ......................................
............................................................... 76
Vic Gundotra head of Google+ resigned ..........................................
................................................................. 76
IRCON signed MoU with Transparency International India .........................
....................................................... 76
Cognizant acquired itaas, a US-based Digital Video Solutions Company ...........
................................................. 76
Cadbury India changed its name to Mondelez India Foods Limited .................
.................................................. 76
GSK announced to slash the price of Crocin Advance by 50 percent ...............
................................................... 76
TCS joined top 10 global IT services companies club: HfS Research Survey .......
................................................. 77
Hero MotoCorp formed JV with Nitol Nilloy of Bangladesh ........................
....................................................... 78
GE Healthcare and CTSI announced to set up 25 cancer detection and treatment cen
tres in India .................... 82
CEO of Marico Saugata Gupta promoted as Managing Director ......................
.................................................. 83
TCPSL launched white Label Automated Teller Machines ...........................
...................................................... 83
e-Commerce firm ibiboGroup acquired Bangalore-based bus tracking service YourBus
..................................... 83
NTPC approved 14366-crore rupees investment for Jharkhand plant ................
................................................ 83
US lifted contract ban on BP....................................................
......................................................................... 83
Spice jet and Boeing signed a deal worth 4.4 billion dollar ....................
............................................................ 84
SBI Life to appeal against the order of IRDA to refund 275 crore rupees ........
................................................... 84
Local assembly of S-Class started by Mercedes in India..........................
........................................................... 84
Tech Mahindra and Alstom Transport announced to set up a global development cent
re ................................. 84
Airbus launched subsidiary Airbus India ........................................
................................................................... 85
Tata Motors to set up assembly units in Southeast Asia and Africa ..............
..................................................... 85
New India Assurance announced Asha Kiran a health insurance cover for girl child
........................................... 86
Tom Albanese appointed as CEO of Vedanta Resources..............................
...................................................... 86
Mahindra entered Bhutan with the launch of electric car e2o ....................
...................................................... 87
Venom GT, worlds fastest car recorded 435 kilometer per hour ....................
.................................................. 87
LinkedIn announced to launch Chinese version ...................................
............................................................. 88
Mahila Bank signed three health insurance Pacts with New India .................
.................................................... 88
Facebook acquired WhatsApp for 19 billion dollar................................
............................................................ 89
Production of Maruti 800 stopped by Maruti Suzuki India ........................
........................................................ 90
Google agreed to negotiate with EU over Anti-trust case.........................
......................................................... 90
Six PSUs signed MoU to set up Worlds largest Solar Power Project ................
.................................................. 91
Google purchased DeepMind Technologies of UK....................................
......................................................... 92
Samsung and Google signed Global Patent Agreement ..............................
....................................................... 92
SBI launch Youtube channel .....................................................
........................................................................ 92
AirAsia aimed to start India operations by April ...............................
................................................................. 93
Google acquired cyber security firm Impermium for 9 million dollar .............
.................................................... 93
Etihad Airways demonstrated flight with Biofuel mix.............................
........................................................... 94
RBI allowed Foreign Investors to invest in South Indian Bank....................
........................................................ 94
Facebook acquired Little Eye Labs for 90 crore rupees...........................
........................................................... 95
Assam became the First State to legally ban smokeless tobacco ..................
................................................... 120
ADB and Government of India signed for a 275 million dollar loan under RCIP ....
............................................ 121
Union Government made it mandatory to install GPS devices in public transport ..
......................................... 121
Sikkim became first state to achieve 100 percent sanitation coverage ...........
................................................. 122
Cabinet approved Amendment to Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2014 ....
............................................ 122
Implement recommendations of Majithia Wage Board: SC ...........................
.................................................. 122
CCEA approved 5 Port projects worth 17630 crore Rupees .........................
.................................................... 123
Indias Visa-on-arrival facility extended for tourists of 180 nations, except eigh
t............................................. 123
CCEA approved implementation of National Mission Agricultural Extension and Tech
nology .......................... 124
Mother and Child Tracking Facilitation Centre Inaugurated ......................
...................................................... 124
Union Ministry of Culture launched National Mission on Libraries ...............
................................................... 125
Indias first Mono rail inaugurated ..............................................
................................................................... 125
India Post to install 3000 ATM & 1.35 lakh micro-ATM by September 2015 .........
........................................... 126
Union Civil Aviation Ministry removed restrictions on Airbus A-380 in India.....
............................................... 126
Union Government launched National Waterway-4 project in Tamil Nadu ............
......................................... 127
NALSA launched free legal service clinics across the country ...................
....................................................... 128
Viscera test must in death due to poisoning: SC ................................
............................................................. 128
Union Government of India extended the implementation of NFSA to Karnataka and C
hhattisgarh ................ 129
Union Cabinet approved to set up Rail Tariff Authority .........................
.......................................................... 129
Union Cabinet granted minority status to Jain community across India............
............................................... 130
10
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
........................................... 140
Libyan parliament reappointed Abdullah al-Thinni as Prime Minister..............
................................................ 140
Pak Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif appointed as mediator to defuse political crisi
s .......................................... 140
Recep Tayyip Erdogan sworn in as 12th President of Turkey ......................
..................................................... 140
Seven countries joined United States in arming Iraqi Kurds against ISIS ........
.................................................. 141
US Army destroyed experimental test of its Advanced Hypersonic weapon for public
safety........................... 141
US President authorised surveillance flights over Syria ........................
........................................................... 141
Afghanistan celebrated 95th Independence Day ...................................
......................................................... 141
Chinese authority arrested thousand members of Quannengshen religious cult .....
........................................ 142
Iraqi Parliament elected Fuad Masum as the seventh President of Iraq ...........
............................................... 142
Indian mission in Tripoli advised all Indian nationals to leave strife torn Liby
a................................................. 142
EU extended sanctions on Russia in wake of MH-17 incident ......................
.................................................... 142
India voted in favour of the UNHRC resolution on Israel s offensive in Gaza ....
................................................ 143
UNSC adopted the resolution for an international probe into MH-17 plane crash ..
......................................... 143
Deadline for reaching an agreement on Iran s Nuclear Programme extended till Nov
ember 24....................... 143
Bolivia legalised Child Labour for Kids from Age 10 ............................
............................................................. 143
Fortaleza Declaration issued at the 6th BRICS Summit ...........................
......................................................... 144
India and Brazil signed three agreements to strengthen the bilateral relation ..
............................................... 144
Bashar al-Assad sworn in as President of Syria..................................
.............................................................. 144
PM Narendra Modi met Russian President Putin in Fortaleza ......................
................................................... 144
11
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Japan nuclear regulator gave nod to restart work at Sendai nuclear plant .......
............................................... 144
BRICS to create 100 billion dollar development bank and emergency reserve fund .
........................................ 145
PM Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Fortaleza..................
................................................. 145
15-member UNSC adopted resolution to allow cross-border aid to Syrians..........
........................................... 145
India & Sri Lanka signed MoU to set up Engineering & Agricultural faculty for Un
iversity of Jaffna .................. 145
Afghanistan s presidential candidates agreed on the audit of votes casted in Jun
e 2014 election .................... 145
India-Canada Audiovisual Co-production Treaty Signed ...........................
....................................................... 146
UN Tribunal ruled Indo-Bangladesh Maritime border dispute ......................
................................................... 146
India and UK to launch civil nuclear cooperation ...............................
............................................................. 146
Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary level talks called-off ..............................
............................................................... 146
UNHRC appointed members of Commission of Inquiry to probe human rights violation
s in Gaza .................... 146
72-hour ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza ..
....................................... 147
Haider al-Abadi named as New Iraqi Prime Minister ..............................
......................................................... 147
Switzerland amended Federal Act on International Administrative Assistance in Ta
x Matters ......................... 147
US launched air strike against Islamic militants in Iraq .......................
............................................................. 148
UK destroyed Syrian chemical weapon at Ellesmere Port...........................
..................................................... 148
German Cabinet Approved Dual Citizenship for Children of Immigrants ............
.............................................. 148
Senegal President Macky Sall sacked Prime Minister Aminata Toure ...............
............................................... 148
Japanese Cabinet adopted resolution to end 60 years of pacifism ................
.................................................. 148
China South Korea bilateral summit held in Seoul ...............................
......................................................... 148
Japan issued multiple entry visas to Indians ...................................
................................................................ 149
Four-party meet in Berlin agreed to resume ceasefire in eastern Ukraine ........
............................................... 149
National Assembly of Pakistan approved Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014 ........
............................................... 149
Pakistan Army launched Phase-II of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb against militants ..
........................................... 149
India announced new liberal visa policy for Afghanistan nationals ..............
.................................................... 149
Jean-Claude Juncker named as the next president of the European Commission .....
....................................... 149
Kim Jong-Un replaced Defence Minister of North Korea ...........................
...................................................... 150
Sri Lankas Parliament voted against the UNHRC probe into human rights violations
...................................... 150
Dmitry O Rogozin, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister visited India ..............
.................................................. 150
337 person died in West Africa due to Ebola virus disease: WHO .................
................................................... 150
India emerged as the largest non oil trading partner for Dubai in 2013-14 ......
................................................ 170
Saudi Arabia declared Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organisation ..............
................................................ 170
China announced biggest hike of 12.2 percent in defence budget .................
.................................................. 170
National Security Advisor-level meet on Maritime Security Cooperation held in Ne
w Delhi............................. 170
India decided to block the US investigations over trade policies and patents law
s of India .............................. 171
India and Saudi Arabia signed MoU on defence cooperation .......................
................................................... 171
India signed Public and Homeland security agreement with Israel ................
.................................................. 171
FNCII and CII agreed to organise Nepal-India Economic Summit annually ..........
............................................. 172
British Army unmanned aircraft The Watchkeeper to start flying over Wiltshire ..
........................................... 172
India and Canada signed three MoUs .............................................
................................................................ 172
G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meet .........................
.................................................... 173
Radioactive water leaked at Fukushima Plant ....................................
............................................................. 173
India and Bahrain signed Agreements to expand Cooperation in Key Areas .........
........................................... 173
India and Kyrgyz Republic signed two agreements.................................
......................................................... 173
Hillary R Clinton launched a new global review of data on women empowerment ....
...................................... 174
Belgium became second country to allow Mercy Killing for Children ..............
................................................. 174
Canada announced to open Consulate General in Bangalore ........................
.................................................. 174
Domestic Content requirement of Indias Solar Mission challenged by US ...........
........................................... 175
US Navy ANM66 bomb, the largest ever WWII bomb was successfully dismantled .....
.................................... 175
India and Germany signed 2 pacts for financial and tech co-operation............
................................................ 176
Nepal and India amended bilateral transit treaty................................
............................................................ 176
Indian Rupee to be a legal tender in Zimbabwe ..................................
............................................................ 176
India and Japan inked MoUs to strengthen cooperation in tourism and power genera
tion ............................. 177
Russia and China to conduct war games in the Mediterranean Sea .................
................................................ 177
USA allowed Sikh military men to wear turban ...................................
............................................................ 177
Cumbria University of UK became the first public university to accept fees in Bi
tcoin ..................................... 178
GDP of China decelerated to 7.7 Percent in 2013-14 .............................
......................................................... 178
India and UAE agreed to Promote Cooperation in Renewable Energy ................
............................................. 178
Obama established Af-Pak strategic partnership office ..........................
......................................................... 178
Peshawar, largest reservoir of polio in world: WHO .............................
........................................................... 179
Tea Board of India postponed the implementation of Plant Protection Code .......
........................................... 184
Union Government constituted a panel to review environment laws ................
.............................................. 184
Supreme Court rejected the plea of the Gujarat government on moving Gir lions ..
......................................... 185
Union Tourism Ministry launched comprehensive Sustainable Tourism Criteria .....
......................................... 185
Landslides struck Japan s Hiroshima prefecture .................................
............................................................. 185
South Africa announced to evacuate 500 rhinos from Kruger National Park to curb
illegal poaching ............... 185
Sneha, a White tigress, gave birth to a black cub ..............................
.............................................................. 186
3rd Phase of Science Express Biodiversity Special flagged off from Safdarjung Ra
ilway Station........................ 186
SC permitted UP government to cut 697 trees of protected forests in the Taj Trap
ezium zone........................ 186
Typhoon Matmo struck east of Taiwan.............................................
.............................................................. 186
Nagoya Protocol on Biodiversity Received Necessary Ratifications ...............
.................................................. 187
Typhoon Rammasun struck large parts of the Philippines .........................
...................................................... 187
Australias Senate voted to repeal Carbon tax ....................................
............................................................ 187
Halong typhoon stuck south-west Japan ..........................................
.............................................................. 187
Hurricane Arthur hit the coast of North Carolina ...............................
............................................................. 187
Bor Wildlife Sanctuary of Maharashtra to be the country s 47th Tiger Reserve ...
............................................ 188
Tsunami warning issued after quake measuring 8 on Richter scale hits off coast o
f Alaska .............................. 188
Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area inscribed in World Heritage List
........................................ 188
367 exotic new species discovered in greater Mekong region in S-E Asia .........
............................................... 188
US President Barack Obama announced to create the worlds biggest MPA in Pacific .
.................................... 188
Japan killed 30 Minke whales in hunt since the ICJ ruling in March 2014 ........
................................................. 189
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species released ...................................
............................................................. 189
Union Ministry of Environment and Forest launched online Environment clearance .
...................................... 189
TERI Environment Survey 2014 claimed worsening of Environment ..................
.............................................. 189
Revised NCR norms restrict tourism in Green zones ..............................
......................................................... 189
Chances of El Nino would exceed 65 percent this year: US Climate Prediction Cent
er ..................................... 190
New dancing frog species found in Western Ghats ................................
......................................................... 190
New species of snake Himalayanus discovered in Himalayas .......................
................................................... 191
Climate Change effecting nutrient content of staple crops: Study ...............
.................................................... 191
The only Gorilla of India, Polo died in Mysore Zoo .............................
............................................................. 191
.............................................................. 207
Ritu Rani to lead Indian Womens Hockey team in Asian Games 2014..................
........................................... 207
Saina Nehwal decided to train under new Coach Vimal Kumar ......................
................................................. 207
World Badminton championships 2014 .............................................
............................................................. 208
Zimbabwe defeated Australia in one-day cricket match for first time in 31 years
............................................ 208
Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland set world record in womens hammer throw .............
.......................................... 208
Jaipur Pink Panthers won the inaugural title of Pro Kabaddi League .............
.................................................. 208
Yohann Diniz broke 50km Walk World Record at the European Athletics Championship
................................. 209
Samsung unveiled 12 Sports Ratnas for the Incheon Asian Games ..................
................................................ 209
Weightlifter Ragala Venkat Rahul won first medal for India at 2nd Youth Olympics
......................................... 209
Hockey Madhya Pradesh became 23rd Associate Member of Hockey India .............
....................................... 210
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen to become youngest Formula One driver ............
......................................... 210
CSF agreed to reinstate shooting Pair events in 2018 CWG on Indias request.......
.......................................... 210
Cycling: Italian Vincenzo Nibali won 101st edition of Tour de France ...........
................................................... 210
Abhinav Bindra won Gold medal in Men s 10m Air Rifle at the 2014 Commonwealth Ga
mes .......................... 211
Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 got off at the Celtic Park in Glasgow in Scotlan
d .................................. 211
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza appointed as Brand Ambassador of Telangana ......
........................................... 211
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won 2014 German Grand Prix ........................
................................................. 211
Irishman Rory McIlroy won British Golf Open 2014 ...............................
......................................................... 212
Germanys football team captain Philipp Lahm announced retirement ................
........................................... 212
16
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
MCC XI won the match played to celebrate 200 years of Lords Cricket Ground ......
........................................ 218
Sania Mirza ranked career-best fifth in WTA doubles rankings ...................
..................................................... 219
Pankaj Advani won IBSF 6-Red World Snooker title in Egypt ......................
..................................................... 219
Saina Nehwal won Australian Open Super Series title ............................
......................................................... 219
35th National Games to be held in Kerala from 31 January to 14 February 2015 ...
.......................................... 219
Jitu Rai became first Indian shooter to win three medals in successive ISSF Shoo
ting World C......................... 219
N Srinivasan unanimously elected as chief of TNCA ..............................
.......................................................... 220
AB de Villiers of South Africa replaced Virat Kohli as No. 1 batsman in ICC ODI
batsman rankings ................... 220
Magnus Carlsen bagged FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship ......................
............................................... 220
India won three ODI series against Bangladesh 2-0...............................
.......................................................... 220
Former Captain of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful banned for eight years ..........
........................................ 220
Murli Kartik announced his retirement from all forms of cricket ................
..................................................... 221
Jitu Rai won Silver medal in 10m air pistol at Munich Shooting World Cup .......
............................................... 221
Commemorative postage stamps on 2014 FIFA World Cup released by PM Narendra Modi
............................ 221
Rafael Nadal won French Open Title for the ninth time ..........................
........................................................ 221
Sourav Ganguly joined Mudgal Committee on IPL spot-fixing ......................
................................................... 221
India slipped to 3rd position in ICC ODI rankings...............................
.............................................................. 221
Amla appointed as test cricket captain of South Africa .........................
.......................................................... 222
Wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar won Gold and Silver...................
................................................ 222
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Kings XI Punjab to win IPL 2014 for second time .
............................................ 222
17
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Shikhar Dhawan named among Wisdens Five Cricketers of the Year ..................
............................................ 232
Sachin became 1st Indian cricketer on cover page of Wisden Cricketers Almanack ..
...................................... 232
India s Heena Sidhu clinched World s No. 1 spot in 10 mts air pistol event .....
................................................. 233
Dhoni named captain of ICC World T20 team ......................................
........................................................... 233
Lee Chong Wei & Shixian Wang won India Super Series Badminton titles............
............................................ 233
Australian cricket team won Women s T20 World Cup 2014 .........................
.................................................. 233
Punjab won Junior National Hockey Title 2014 ...................................
............................................................ 234
Sri Lanka won its maiden ICC Twenty20 World Cup title ..........................
....................................................... 234
FIFA imposed transfer ban on Barcelona .........................................
............................................................... 235
India ranked as No. 1 cricket team in ICC T20 rankings .........................
.......................................................... 235
Viswanathan Anand raises to No. 3 in FIDE world chess rankings .................
................................................... 235
Djokovic defeated Nadal to win fourth Miami Masters crown ......................
.................................................. 236
Lewis Hamilton Won Malaysian Grand Prix ........................................
............................................................ 236
Simon Santoso, Indonesian Shuttler won Malaysia Grand Prix gold.................
................................................ 236
West Zone won cricket s Deodhar Trophy 2014 ....................................
.......................................................... 237
Rusi Dinshaw, Pakistans only Parsi cricketer died................................
........................................................... 237
RSPB won senior women hockey National Title ....................................
.......................................................... 237
Stuart Oliver won 1st-ever Indian truck-racing championship ....................
..................................................... 238
Sachin Tendulkar voted Cricketer of the Generation .............................
.......................................................... 238
Asian Grand Prix Archery Championship: Indian archers won 2 gold & silver in tea
m events ........................... 238
18
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Brazil honoured 100 years of Indian cinema by releasing two postage stamps .....
........................................... 258
Largest diamond of World and Mughal necklace to be auctioned in Geneva .........
.......................................... 258
Union Ministry of Culture launched Logo of Festival of India in China ..........
................................................... 258
Gulabi Gang documentary to be screened at New York India film festival .......
.............................................. 259
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag screened at seventh Asian Film Festival 2014 in Saudi Arabia
......................................... 259
India nominated Rani-ki-Vav and GHNP for UNESCOs World Heritage Site Status......
..................................... 259
Film Black was screened at Fakel Theatre in Moscow .............................
........................................................ 260
Surajkund International crafts Mela began in Haryana............................
........................................................ 260
AWARDS | HONOURS ...............................................................
................................................... 262
The President of Taiwan presented the first Tang Prizes in Taipei ..............
..................................................... 262
President of India presented Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa Awards .....................
.................................................... 262
WHO honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste for Excellence in Public Health ........
.......................................... 262
Bhartendu Harishchandra Awards conferred .......................................
........................................................... 262
Indian institutions IARI and NAAS awarded Doctor Honoris Causa to FAO Director-G
eneral ............................ 263
President Pranab Mukherjee presented Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014................
........................................... 263
Dr. Kamal Bawa won MIDORI Prize in Biodiversity 2014............................
...................................................... 263
Indian movie Court won best debut award at Venice Film Festival ................
.................................................. 263
Vinod Mehta selected for G K Reddy Memorial Award 2014 .........................
.................................................. 263
Hockey Player Manpreet Singh named Junior Men Player of the Year by AHF ........
......................................... 264
US actor Harry Belafonte to receive Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Oscar Award .....
.......................................... 264
President Pranab Mukherjee presented National Sports Awards to eminent sportsper
son ............................. 264
President presented Hindi Sevi Samman ..........................................
.............................................................. 264
Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards of BIS announced...........................
...................................................... 264
Guru Hanuman Akhara chosen for 2014 Rashtritya Khel Protsahan Puraskar .........
......................................... 265
Faisalabad Agriculture University conferred M S Swaminathan with honorary degree
.................................... 265
Filmmaker Muzaffar Ali presented with 22nd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Awar
d................................. 265
Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt won the Gandhi Peace prize 2013 ...........
............................................ 265
Delhi University professor Dr. Sunil Kumar received Global South Award of IPSA .
........................................... 266
Fields Medal for the year 2014 awarded .........................................
............................................................... 266
Jaitley, Karan Singh, Sharad Yadav felicitated with Outstanding Parliamentarian
Killa, a Marathi film bagged Crystal Bear award at 64th Berlin International Fil
m Festival ............................... 287
President Pranab Mukherjee conferred Award of Honour of Rotary International ...
....................................... 288
Krishi Karman Awards for 2012-13 ...............................................
.................................................................. 288
Sachin Tendulkar and CNR Rao conferred with Bharat Ratna .......................
................................................... 288
Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station awarded a Gold Shield.........................
.................................................... 289
Anand Kumar, the founder of Super30 got Ramanujan Mathematics award 2014 .......
.................................... 289
56th annual Grammy Awards for 2014 announced ...................................
...................................................... 289
Cyrus Mistry won the DSC prize 2014 ............................................
................................................................. 290
Yushi, Taiwanese poet awarded Thiruvalluvar award...............................
....................................................... 291
Deepika and Farhan won best actors at Screen Awards ............................
...................................................... 291
President presented Sunil Gangopadhyay Award 2012 & 2013 .......................
................................................ 291
Andhra Pradesh bagged Oil and Gas Conservation Award, 2013 .....................
................................................ 292
71st Golden Globe Awards 2014 announced ........................................
.......................................................... 292
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards conferred by the President......................
................................................. 293
PERSON IN NEWS .................................................................
....................................................... 295
Padmini Prakash became the first transgender television news anchor in India ...
........................................... 295
Miss Kira Kazantsev won the Miss America pageant ...............................
........................................................ 295
SC asked Union Government to reinstate Rajeshwar singh as Deputy Director of ED.
...................................... 295
Suresh Kumar became first Indian to visit Stratosphere .........................
......................................................... 295
21
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
South Africa denied visa to Dalai Lama for Nobel Summit ........................
....................................................... 296
Taslima received one year Visa to stay in India ................................
............................................................... 296
Tessy Thomas and V. Ravindranath became first Women directors in IIT council ...
......................................... 296
A Nageswara Rao became first Indian actor to be honoured by US post service ....
.......................................... 296
Shah Rukh Khan became Ambassador of Turn Back Crime campaign of Interpol .......
...................................... 297
Om Prakash Kohli sworn in as the Governor of Gujarat............................
....................................................... 297
Veteran actress Suchitra Sen s house to be converted into a museum .............
............................................... 297
Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman to bag Fields Medal ...................
.............................................. 297
Edward Snowden granted three-year residence in Russia ..........................
..................................................... 297
Former French President Sarkozy charged with corruption & influence peddling ...
......................................... 298
Sujit Choudhry became the first Indian-American dean of Berkeley Law School ....
.......................................... 298
US named a mountain in Antarctica after an Indian-American scientist, Akhouri Si
nha ................................... 298
Indian-origin judge V K Rajah appointed as 8th Attorney-General of Singapore....
........................................... 298
Chung Hung Won retained as PM of S Korea .......................................
........................................................... 298
Founder of Himalayan Natural Mineral Water Brand Dadi Balsara died at 81 .......
........................................... 299
Gro Harlem Brundtland awarded Tang Prize in sustainable development ............
........................................... 299
India-born Pratishtha Khanna honoured with Champions of Change..................
............................................. 299
India-born Mexican citizen Sanjaya Rajaram to be honoured with World Food Prize
of 2014 .......................... 299
Johann Breyer arrested in US on Nazi death camp charges ........................
..................................................... 299
Supreme Court judge Justice Vikramajit Sen recused from hearing Ansal plea .....
........................................... 299
Kathleen Stephens took charge as US interim Ambassador .........................
.................................................... 300
Anil Chopra took over as Commander-in-Chief of Western Naval Command ...........
........................................ 300
Retired Indian Army Officer Abhijit Guha appointed member of UN expert panel on
peacekeep..................... 300
Sushma Swaraj became the first woman External Affairs Minister of India.........
............................................. 300
Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli won National Geographic Bee Championsh
ip ................................ 300
EC confirmed Amir Khan as its National Icon for Lok Sabha election 2014 ........
............................................... 301
Mexico celebrated the 100th birth anniversary of late Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz
........................................ 301
India based American Dr. Sumit Chugh chosen for Prestigious Simon Dack Award ...
....................................... 301
Sheila Dikshit took oath as Kerala Governor ....................................
............................................................... 301
Spicejet appointed R. Neelakantan new CFO ......................................
............................................................ 302
Dr. Tej Vir Singh won the UNWTO Ulysses Prize ..................................
............................................................ 302
Anand Sinha, the Deputy Governor of RBI retired ................................
........................................................... 302
Qamar Ahmed, third cricket journalist, to cover 400 Test Matches ...............
.................................................. 302
MS Dhir elected as Speaker of Delhi Assembly ...................................
............................................................ 303
PERSON APPOINTED ...............................................................
................................................... 304
US President Barack Obama nominated Richard Rahul Verma as new US envoy to India
................................. 304
Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed as chairperson of National Commission for Women
............................... 304
Chinese President appointed Le Yucheng as China s New Ambassador to India ......
......................................... 304
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio appointed as UN Messenger of Peace......................
................................................ 304
International Economic Association appointed Kaushik Basu as President-Elect....
.......................................... 305
Antara Haldar of India became first non-European law lecturer at Cambridge .....
........................................... 305
Krishan Kant Paul sworn-in as Governor of Manipur ..............................
......................................................... 305
Narendra Ambwani elected as chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of Ind
ia (ASC ........................... 305
Subhash Chandra Garg appointed as Executive Director of World Bank .............
............................................. 305
Ravindra Nath took charge as CMD of NSIC .......................................
............................................................. 306
Chandrakala Padia appointed as first women chairperson of IIAS .................
.................................................. 306
Former CJI P Sathasivam appointed as Governor of Kerala ........................
..................................................... 306
President cleared the appointment of Justice H.L. Dattu as 42nd CJI ............
................................................... 306
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha took over as the Chairman of COSC ..................
.................................................. 307
22
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
........................................................... 362
UNESCO released 11th EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-14 ......................
................................................ 363
Pakistan only polio-endemic nation with more cases..............................
........................................................ 363
SUMMIT AND CONFERENCES .........................................................
.......................................... 365
G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial meet ....................................
......................................................... 365
OSCE-Japan Conference held in Tokyo.............................................
............................................................... 365
Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict launched in London ............
................................................ 365
6th International Nuclear Energy Forum ATOMEXPO-2014 held in Moscow.............
....................................... 365
40th G-7 summit 2014 held at Brussels ..........................................
................................................................ 365
Union Government launched anti-tobacco advertisement, The Price We Pay .........
........................................ 366
3rd Nuclear Security Summit 2014 ...............................................
.................................................................. 366
Wharton India Economic Forum to be held in Pennsylvania ........................
.................................................... 366
G-4 Director Generals for UN Affairs met in New Delhi ..........................
......................................................... 367
Third World Congress on Agro-Forestry...........................................
............................................................... 367
ASSOCHAM organized Seventh Global Insurance Summit at Hyderabad ................
......................................... 369
IMPORTANT DATES ................................................................
.................................................... 370
26
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Logo Design Competition launched for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign ..........
.......................................... 383
National Geographic launched magazine Explorer for schoolchildren in India .....
............................................ 384
Operation to refloat wrecked Italian ship Costa Concordia launched .............
................................................. 384
President joined on Twitter with @RashtrapatiBhvn ..............................
........................................................ 384
First Aid Post inaugurated at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi ........................
........................................................ 384
UK firm East India Company issued legal tender gold coin in honour of Sachin Ten
dulkar ............................... 384
Malavath Poorna of Andhra became youngest woman to climb Mount Everest .........
..................................... 385
Travel planning Portal Tripigator.com launched in Partnership with Incredible In
dia ....................................... 385
Arch to be built over Chernobyl to safeguard citizens from radioactive dust ....
............................................... 385
Two former Popes John XXIII and John Paul II declared as Saints by Pope Francis.
........................................... 385
US President Barack Obama nominated three Indian-Americans to AAPI .............
........................................... 386
A new robot, Borewell Robot, developed to rescue kids who fall into borewells ..
........................................... 386
Comic book icon Archie to die in July s final issue ............................
............................................................... 386
Portal RAILSAVER launched to Improve Energy Efficiency in Indian Railways ........
......................................... 386
Ernesto Gainza set a new Guinness record of skydiving using smallest parachute .
.......................................... 387
Three statues belonged to Napatan civilisation were stolen from Northern Sudan..
........................................ 387
University of Chicago opened an academic centre in Connaught Place, Delhi ......
............................................ 387
Nirbheek, a lightweight revolver for protection of women launched ..............
................................................ 387
UK decided to honour the Indian heroes of World War I...........................
...................................................... 387
National Campaign titled U & Me Against Dengue launched ........................
................................................... 388
World Longest aircraft Airlander unveiled in Britain ...........................
............................................................ 388
Election Commission of India organized Election Awakening for Women and Youth ca
mpaign........................ 388
Music album, Raunaq written by Sibal and composed by AR Rahman launched ........
...................................... 388
Indira Paryavaran Bhawan inaugurated by Prime Minister .........................
..................................................... 389
IRCTC launched E-wallet Scheme to make payment process fast ....................
................................................ 389
First Braille-signage coach in India to be attached with Purushottam Express ...
.............................................. 389
South Africa launched commemorative silver stamp of Nelson Mandela .............
........................................... 389
Garuda Vasudha Advanced Light Helicopter of Geological Survey of India launched
....................................... 389
Lewis Clarke youngest person to reach South Pole ...............................
.......................................................... 390
RBI issued 5 rupees and 10 rupees coins bearing Goddess Vaishno Devi ...........
.............................................. 390
5. Japan
6. Germany
7. U.S.A
8. Cyprus
9. Switzerland
10. France
RBI DIRECTED ALL BANKS TO INSTALL DISABLED FRIENDLY NEW
ATMS
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 May 2014 directed all banks to install disable
d friendly new
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). All the new ATMs that are to be installed afte
r 1 July 2014
needs to provide audible instructions and Braille keypads to customers.
BHARATIYA MAHILA BANK INCLUDED IN SECOND SCHEDULE OF
RBI ACT, 1934
Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) was included in the second schedule of the Reserve B
ank of India
(RBI) Act, 1934. The inclusion of the BMB in the second schedule was announced b
y RBI in a
notification issued in Mumbai on 21 May 2014.
With the inclusion of BMB, total number of scheduled commercial banks in India n
ow stands at
90. As on 2 May 2014, there were 89 Scheduled commercial banks in India. The inc
lusion of
BMB in the second schedule of the RBI Act, 1934 means that now it will be eligib
le for loans
from RBI on bank rate and also acquired membership of clearing houses.
Chairman and Managing Director - Usha Ananthasubramanian
PLASTIC CURRENCY
RAGHURAM RANJAN
NOTES
TO BE
LAUNCHED IN 2015:
Raghuram Rajan, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 May 2014 a
nnounced
that plastic currency notes will be launched in 2015 after field trials. He said
it after the Central
Board of Directors of the RBI Meet in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier in February 2013, Union Government had informed Parliament that it will
introduce one
billion plastic currency notes in five cities in later half of 2014 on a pilot b
asis. The five selected
cities for pilot testing are Shimla, Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, and Bhubaneswar.
49
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
RBI approved banking licences to IDFC Ltd and Bandhan financial services
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 2 April 2014 granted in-principle approvals t
o IDFC Ltd and
Bandhan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd to start new banks in India. These approvals
have been
granted under the guidelines on licensing of new banks in the private sector. Th
e two have
been granted the permission to set-up banks from a field of 25 aspirants.
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK 2014 RELEASED
Asian Development Outlook 2014 was released on 1 April 2014 by the Asian Develop
ment
Bank. According to the ADB Outlook 2014, developing Asia is expected to extend i
ts steady
growth from 6.1 percent in 2013 to 6.2 percent in 2014 and 6.4 percent in 2015.
RBI CAPPED WMA LIMIT FOR CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AT 35000
CRORE RUPEES FOR 2015 FIRST HALF
RBI in consultation with Union Government on 1 April 2014 capped the Ways and Me
ans
Advances (WMA) limits for the first half of the new financial year 2014-15 (Apri
l 2014-Sep 2014)
at 35000 crore rupees.
This notification of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is aimed at triggering fresh fl
otation of market
loans when the government utilises 75 percent of the WMA limit. The second half
of the limit
would be fixed in September 2014.
REPO RATE KEPT UNCHANGED BY RBI IN FIRST BI-MONTHLY
MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT 2014-15
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its first Bi-monthly Monetary Policy statement 20
14-15
announced on 1 April 2014, has kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 8.0%.
UNION MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS NOTIFIED RULES FOR
TEN MORE CHAPTERS IN THE NEW COMPANY ACT
Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs notified rules for ten more chapters in the
new Companies
Act, 2013. The new Companies Act, 2013 that was passed by the Parliament in Augu
st 2013
came into effect on 1 April 2014. The new companies act includes 29 chapters, 7
Schedules and
470 Sections.
54
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
cent to 2.18
revealed by
20 March 201
per cent to
6 PERCENT: CRISIL
CRISIL released its Indian Economic Forecast for 2014Indian economy will grow at 6 percent in 2014-15, whic
the 4.8 percent CRISIL has forecast for financial year
the signed MoU covers cooperation in project and investment financing related to
infrastructure as well as other finance areas of mutual interest.
EGOM APPROVED THE SALE OF 10% STAKE IN IOC TO ONGC
AND OIL
Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Union Minister of Finance P Chidam
bram
approved on 16 January 2014, the sale of 10 percent government stake in Indian O
il
Corporation (IOC) to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limite
d (OIL).
RBI INCLUDED HONG KONG AND MACAU IN THE SENSITIVE LIST
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) included Hong Kong and Macau in the sensitive li
st of countries
along with Pakistan and China on 15 January 2014. Macau and Hong Kong are two Sp
ecial
Administrative Regions controlled by China.
WHOLESALE INFLATION DECLINED TO FIVE-MONTH LOW OF
6.16 PERCENT IN DECEMBER 2013
The Wholesale inflation declined to a five-month low of 6.16 percent in the mont
h of December
2013. This was revealed by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data released by the
Office of
Economic Adviser, Union Ministry of Commerce, on 14 January 2014.
COAL INDIA LTD DECLARED DIVIDEND OF 290 PERCENT FOR
2013-14
Coal India Ltd (CIL) board declared a dividend of 290 percent to its shareholder
s for the financial
year 2013-14 on 14 January 2014. The declared dividend of 290 percent effectivel
y translates
into a payout of 18317 crore rupees at 29 rupees per share.
SUDAN OFFERED TWO OIL AND GAS BLOCKS TO ONGC AT
PETROTECH 2014
Oil-rich Sudan offered two oil and gas blocks to ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) on th
e sidelines of
Petrotech 2014 on 14 January 2014. The offer by Sudan will help India strengthen
its energy ties
with the African nations.
64
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
dealing with settlement processes. As per the new notifications the serious offe
nces such as
illegal money pooling, insider trading and fraudulent trades are excluded from t
he scope of
settlement.
SEBI BARRED CASH TRANSACTIONS IN COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT
SCHEMES TO CHECK LAUNDERING
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 9 January 2014 made it compulso
ry for all
investments into Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) funds to be made through ban
king
channels and not in cash. SEBI has raised the step to prevent money laundering a
ctivities
through such scheme. The norms came into effect from 9 January 2014.
INDIA S TRADE DEFICIT NARROWED TO 10.1 BILLION DOLLAR IN
DECEMBER 2013
The export of India has grown 3.49 percent to 26.3 billion dollars and the impor
ts dipped 15.25
percent to 36.4 billion dollar in December 2013. SR Rao, the Commerce Secretary
informed that
the export growth slowed because of the drop in petroleum exports.
GOVERNMENT
FORMULA
NOTIFIED
NEW
NATURAL
GAS
PRICING
The Government of India on 10 January 2014 notified the new natural gas pricing
formulae,
which will be in effect from 1 April 2014. As per the newly issued notification,
the rate of all
domestically produced fuel will be almost doubled to 8.2 to 8.4 dollar per unit
RBI RELAXED GOLD LOAN NORMS TO LEND UP TO 75 PERCENT
LOAN
The Reserve Bank of India on 8 January 2014 allowed the Non-Banking Financial Co
mpanies
(NBFCs) to lend up to 75 percent of the value of gold. With this order of the ce
ntral bank, the
people seeking loan against gold can now borrow more. Earlier, the limitation of
loan on gold
was 60 percent.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Mishra on
Medium Ent
(CII). The
for SMEs.
capacity of the Indian companies for effective implementation of the CSR (Corpor
ate Social
Responsibility) Rules laid in Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The MoU was signed by Bhaskar Chatterjee, DG & CEO of IICA and Vikesh Harish Meh
ta, partner
of Grant Thornton Indian LLP.
INDIA BECAME THE SECOND LARGEST EXPORTER OF TEXTILES IN
THE WORLD: UN COMTRADE
India became the second largest exporter of textiles in the world. This was reve
aled by the
recent data released by UN Comtrade in Global Textiles as well as Apparel Export
s.
RBI ANNOUNCED SECOND BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY
STATEMENT
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced second Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Stat
ement on 3
June 2014. RBI in its second bi-monthly monetary policy statement has kept the p
olicy rates
unchanged.
DGCA FOR THE FIRST TIME ISSUED STANDARDS OF SERVICES
DOCUMENT
Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 22 May 2014 for the first time issued
the Standards of
Services Document. The document enlists services and transactions offered by it
to the public,
operators and others.
UK BASED MARKS & SPENCER ANNOUNCED TO OPEN 100
STORES IN INDIA
UK based Marks & Spencer on 20 May 2014 announced that the company will open 100
stores
in India by 2016. Earlier it had planned to open 86 stores in India.
At present, Marks & Spencer (clothing retailer) operates 40 stores in India and
it same-storesales grew 13 percent in the fiscal year 2013-14.
COMPETITION APPELLATE
RUPEES PENALTY ON DLF
TRIBUNAL UPHELD
630 CRORE
The Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) on 19 May 2014 upheld a penalty of 6
30 crore
rupees imposed on real estate firm DLF by the Competition Commission of India (C
CI). DLF, as a
result, will have to pay the penalty of 630 crore rupees levied by the CCI along
with 9 per cent
interest.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The announcement was made after the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (
NPPA)
rejected the application of GSK seeking an exemption from price control. NPAA is
the drug
pricing regulator of the country.
TCS JOINED TOP 10 GLOBAL IT SERVICES COMPANIES CLUB: HFS
RESEARCH SURVEY
The largest IT services provider of India, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), on 2
1 April 2014
joined the league of top 10 global IT services companies. TCS moved from the 13t
h position in
2012 to the 10th spot in 2013. This was revealed by the HfS Research Survey on c
ompetitive
landscape for IT Services in 2013.
According to the Survey, IBM leads the list and is followed by Fujitsu, HewlettPackard,
Accenture and NTT.
India-based companies Cognizant, Infosys, Wipro and HCL are at the 15th, 18th, 2
0th and 25th
positions, respectively, all of them rising by one to three spots compared to 20
12.
77
2013 Rank
Services Provider
Marked Share (%)
1
IBM
8.6
2
Fujitsu
5.1
3
HP
4.6
4
Accenture
4.0
5
NTT
2.6
6
SAP
2.4
7
Oracle
2.1
8
Capgemini
2.1
9
CSC
2.0
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
10
TCS
1.7
15
Cognizant
1.2
18
Infosys
0.9
20
Wipro
0.7
25
HCL
0.6
HERO MOTOCORP FORMED
BANGLADESH
JV WITH NITOL NILLOY
OF
Hero MotoCorp on 21 April 2014 announced that it has entered Bangladesh in two w
heeler
segment. Hero MotoCorp will enter the market of Bangladesh through a joint ventu
re of 55:45
with Bangladeshs Nitol Niloy and will invest 40 million US dollar in the country
in next five
years.
BMB SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH TRENDS TO PROMOTE
WOMEN ENTREPRENUERSHIP
Trends in Vogue on 19 April 2014 entered into an agreement with Bhartiya Mahila
Bank (BMB)
to promote women entrepreneurship. Trends in Vogue is a CavinKare initiative tha
t manages
hair saloons under Green Trends.
Under the agreement, Green Trends plans to have 500 salons nationally set up by
women
entrepreneurs by the end of 2014-15. Green Trends has also introduced mobile and
online
check- in service for customers
HDFC BANK SET WORLD RECORD FOR BLOOD COLLECTION IN A
SINGLE DAY
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank set World record for Blood c
ollection
in a single day. The blood donation camp organised by HDFC Bank on 6 December 20
13 was
recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The camp involved 61902 participants with 1115 blood donation camps held across
709
locations in the country. The camp has found a place in Guinness Book of Records
as the largest
such drive on a single day.
PIRAMAL ENTERPRISES LTD DECIDED TO ACQUIRE 20 PERCENT
STAKE IN SHRIRAM CAPITAL
Piramal Enterprises Ltd decided on 17 April 2014 to acquire 20 percent stake in
Shriram Capital
Ltd for 20.14 billion rupees. The new acquisition will make Piramal presence in
financial services
sector and will create a long-term shareholder value-creation of partnership wit
h Shriram
Capital.
UNION CABINET APPROVED THE APPOINTMENT OF NARENDRA
KOTHARI AS CHAIRMAN OF NMDC
Union Cabinet on 16 April 2014 approved the appointment of Narendra Kothari as f
ull time
Chairman of the state-run miner National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Manmoha
n Singh
approved the appointment.
GOOGLE BOUGHT DRONE MAKER TITAN AEROSPACE TO
DELIVER INTERNET ACROSS THE GLOBE
Google on 14 April 2014 bought Titan Aerospace, a maker of high-altitude solar-p
owered
drones. It has acquired the drone making company to bring internet access to the
remotest
parts of the world and also to solve problems related to it.
Some of the important Mergers and acquisition by Google in 2014
Green Throttle a Gadgets company on 12 March 2014
Spider.io an Anti ad-fraud firm on 21 February 2014
SlickLogin and internet Security Company on 16 February 2014
DeepMind Technologies an Artificial Intelligence company on 26 January 2014
Impermium an Internet security company on 15 January 2014
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
It also directed Google to give its full cooperation during the pending investig
ation. Google had
refused to supply information and documents demanded by the Director General.
TATA TELESERVICES LAUNCHED WI-FI BUSINESS IN CHENNAI
Tata Teleservices limited (TTL) on 27 March 2014 launched new Wi-Fi business in
Chennai. The
company plans to connect everything from India Incs employee buses to educational
institutions. Apart from the usual sectors like airport, hospitality and malls,
the company plans
roping in sectors such as education and transit busses.
FACEBOOK TO ACQUIRE VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY FIRM
OCULUS VR
Facebook on 26 March 2014 decided to acquire two year old virtual reality techno
logy firm
Oculus VR for 2 billion dollar. As per the analyst, virtual reality technology c
ould be a new way
for people to communicate, learn or be entertained.
IBM UNVEILED SMAC SOLUTIONS FOR TELECOM OPERATORS
IBM on 26 March 2014 unveiled Social, Mobile, Cloud and Analytics (SMAC) solutio
ns for
telecom operators in India. SMAC solutions will enable telecom operators in Indi
a derive more
value from enhanced customer engagement.
GE HEALTHCARE AND CTSI ANNOUNCED TO SET UP 25 CANCER
DETECTION AND TREATMENT CENTRES IN INDIA
GE Healthcare and US-based Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI) announ
ced on 25
March 2014 to set up a chain of 25 cancer detection and treatment centres in Ind
ia. The two
companies will be jointly investing 720 crore rupees over the next five years.
The partnership was a part of GEs 1 billion dollar commitment to Research and Dev
elopment
to diagnose cancer. The main focus was to make detection and treatment of cancer
timely,
affordable and easy to get treated anywhere in the world.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The centre will also focus on the growing need for efficient vertical integratio
n capabilities from
engineering to manufacturing on rising stock interior field. It also enables bot
h companies to
accelerate joint development of integrated engineering solutions that deliver un
ique value to
our customers.
The partnership will further increase the flexibility and competitiveness and al
so a further step
of our engineering ramp-up in India.
AIRBUS LAUNCHED SUBSIDIARY AIRBUS INDIA
The French company Airbus launched its wholly owned subsidiary in India called A
irbus India on
11 March 2014. The move is aimed at restructuring the Airbus operations in India
and
consolidate it to tap the growing Indian aviation market.
Recognising India as a strategic hub Airbus appointed Srinivasan Dwarakanath as
Airbus India
CEO and Charles Champion as Chairman. Charles Champion is member of the Airbus E
xecutive
Committee.
Airbus India will manage all the Airbus activities in India spread across severa
l Indian cities.
With this view it will also set up customer centres in Delhi and Mumbai.
The Indian entity of Airbus will include strategy, customer services and procure
ment teams
under one organisation. Airbus also planned to set up a Maintenance Repair and O
verhaul
(MRO) capability.
Airbus India is the fifth country subsidiary outside Europe for the Airbus. The
Indian subsidiary
will build upon the success of the Airbus Engineering Centre India (AECI) in Ban
galore.
TATA MOTORS TO SET UP ASSEMBLY UNITS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
AND AFRICA
Tata Motors on 10 March 2014 announced its plan to set up assembly units and sal
es offices in
Southeast Asia and Africa.
As per the plan, the company will sell commercial as well as passenger vehicles
through its
recently formed subsidiary in Indonesia. The subsidiary will also help the compa
ny export to
other countries in Southeast Asia.
In Africa, the Tata Motors plan to set up assembly units in Nigeria and Kenya fo
r its commercial
vehicles.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The company already has a subsidiary in South Africa that had expanded its range
in 2013. It
plans to increase the sale of passenger and light commercial vehicles nearly fou
r-fold by 2018.
The company s announcement is seen by analyst as a move to overcome cyclicality
in the Indian
subcontinent. Also its decision to expand comes at a time when the commercial ve
hicle sector
is in the grip of a prolonged slump. Total sales of commercial vehicles declined
25.53 per cent to
46757 units in 2013 from 62786 units in 2012.
NEW INDIA ASSURANCE ANNOUNCED ASHA KIRAN A HEALTH
INSURANCE COVER FOR GIRL CHILD
Public sector general insurer New India Assurance announced an exclusive health
insurance
cover New India Asha Kiran for girl child on 7 March 2014. New India Assurance c
ut health
insurance rate for 50 per cent for the girl child.
The discount is restricted to the families with only girl child.
Besides being cheaper, the girl child policy also provides a personal accident c
over for parents.
On occurrence of any accident to parent, the sum insured would be placed as a fi
xed deposit in
the names of the girl child.
The ASHA KIRAN policy has daily cash benefit on hospitalization, critical care b
enefit up to 10
per cent sum insured and emergency ambulance charges.
New India also announced health policies with added benefits for the women custo
mer of
bank. General Insurance had its tie up with Bhartiya Mahila Bank.
TOM ALBANESE APPOINTED AS CEO OF VEDANTA RESOURCES
Tom Albanese is appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vedanta Re
sources on 6
March 2014. Tom will take over as the charges of CEO and join the Vedanta board
with effect
from 1 April 2014.
He will also be appointed as CEO of Sesa Sterlite, main operating entity of Veda
nta from 1 April
2014.
Tom will replace Mahendra Singh Mehta, the CEO for both Vedanta Resources and Se
sa Sterlite
who is retiring on 31 March 2014.
Tom joined the Vedanta Group in September 2013 as Chairman of Vendanta Resources
Holding
Ltd, the holding company of Sesa Sterlite and Konkola Copper Mines.
86
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Earlier Tom served as head of an Anglo-Australian company, Rio Tinto for six yea
rs and resigned
in January 2013.
Tom holds a Bachelor s degree in Mineral Economics and a Master s degree in Mini
ng
Engineering from the University of Alaska.
MAHINDRA ENTERED BHUTAN WITH THE LAUNCH OF ELECTRIC
CAR E2O
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd on 27 February 2014 launched electric car e2o in Thimp
hu, Bhutan.
The company has also signed an MoU with the Government of Bhutan for a strategic
partnership to promote the usage of electric vehicles in the Kingdom of Bhutan.
The e2o has is the future ready all electric zero emission urban mobility soluti
on and its launch
in the country is a part of the commitment of the company with Bhutan to partner
with its
vision to create a sustainable, clean and green society.
As per the signed MoU, Mahindra will establish infrastructure including set-up o
f a service
stations for swappable batteries for the customers of the car.
The e2o Mahindra will be available in three variants
Base model it will be priced for at 6.99 Ngultrum ex-showrooms Bhutan
7.99 Ngultrum (ex-showroom Bhutan) for the premium variant
8.39 Ngultrum (ex-showroom Bhutan) for the premium variant with Quick2Charge
VENOM GT, WORLDS FASTEST CAR RECORDED 435 KILOMETER
PER HOUR
Engineers of US firm Hennessey have developed the worlds fastest car Venom GT wit
h a top
speed of a speed of 435 kilometers per hour. The firm set a new record for the f
astest car in the
world during a test run at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on 25 February 20
14 by beating
the previous best record of 431 kilometer per hour set by the Bugatti Veyron Sup
er Sport.
Venom GT has been stretched of
Lotus Exige with 7 liter
927 kW twin-turbo V8 that is wedged between its axles
87
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
During the test run, the driver Brain Smith broke the record and stopped on 5.1
kilometer
stretch of tarmac rather than using a high-speed oval to give the car a running
start.
Although, Venom GT has broken the record of fastest car of Bugatti but the place
in the
Guinness book of records will be retained by Bugatti only. The record of Venom w
ill not be
entered into the record book because Hennessey has verified the speed independen
tly and the
car can only be driven on the NASA landing strip.
To replace the record of Bugatti the book requires cars that run in two directio
ns to account for
variables including gradients and wind direction.
LINKEDIN ANNOUNCED TO LAUNCH CHINESE VERSION
LinkedIn announced to launch of Chinese version of its site on 25 February 2014.
The Chinese
language website will be a beta or test version of the site.
China will give a license to the company but the company will have to locate its
servers in China
and allow the local government to control content in the manner it does with Chi
nese social
media sites.
LinkedIn seeing a potential market of 140 professionals for its Chinese language
version
accepted Chinas condition on censoring content.
LinkedIn already has more than 4 million users in China who use its English lang
uage website,
but the company has signaled that it is interested in making a broader expansion
in the country.
China has the world s largest online community with more than 618 million users.
However,
Great Firewall of China Government blocks any online forums or content deemed to
be
sensitive. For instance, China had barred access to Facebook and Twitter for sev
eral years.
Even China s Supreme Court ruled in October 2013 that Internet users could face
three years in
jail if slanderous information spread online was viewed more than 5000 times or
forwarded
more than 500 times.
MAHILA BANK SIGNED THREE HEALTH INSURANCE PACTS WITH
NEW INDIA
Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) signed Pact with New India Assurance Company on 21 F
ebruary
2014. The pact aims to deliver three unique innovative health insurance policies
for women
account holders of the bank. The policies named as BMB-Sakhee, BMB-Nirbhaya and
BMBParivar Suraksha.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The policies will provide customised health insurance package for women. This wa
s the first
launch of women centric insurance policies.
The policies are:
The BMB-Sakhee aimed at rural women and those in the unorganised sector. It will
offer
a cover up to 50000 rupees a year.
The Nirbhaya scheme aimed particularly for working women. It offer cover limit u
p to 5
lakh rupees. It will include insurance for accidental situations unique to women
.
The BMB-Parivar Suraksha aimed to cover the family of the woman account holder o
f
the bank.
All the three policies cover all women whether in the unorganised sector with no
maternity
benefits, or working and even their families.
All the three products would be available soon on the portals of the branches of
the bank and
mobile applications as part of the women empowerment process.
FACEBOOK ACQUIRED WHATSAPP FOR 19 BILLION DOLLAR
Social media giant Facebook Inc acquired WhatsApp for 19 billion dollars in a ca
sh and stock
deal on 19 February 2014. Whatsapp is a mobile messaging company.
Under the Agreement
WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum will join Facebook Board of Directors.
Also, the acquisition will not impact the WhatsApp s brand, which will be mainta
ined
and the company s headquarters will remain in California s Mountain View.
WhatsApp s core messaging product and Facebook s existing messenger app will
continue to operate as standalone applications.
The acquisition price included 4 billion dollars in cash, about 12 billion dolla
rs worth of
Facebook shares and 3 billion dollars in restricted stock units to be granted to
WhatsApp s
founders and employees.
The deal would give WhatsApp the flexibility to grow and expand and noted that u
sers of the
service will not experience any change in usage.
About WhatsApp
WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to
exchange
messages without having to pay for SMS.
89
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Jan Koum co-founded WhatsApp with Brian Acton in 2009, both former Yahoo executi
ves.
PRODUCTION OF MARUTI 800 STOPPED BY MARUTI SUZUKI
INDIA
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) on 7 February 2014 announced that it has stop
ped the
production of the iconic car brand Maruti 800 that had been carrier for millions
of middle class
Indian families. The company in its announcement claimed the production was the
car was
stopped in 18 January 2014.
Executive Director of MSIL, CV Raman in the announcement said that the spare par
ts of the car
will be available in the market for next 8 to 10 years as per the rules, even af
ter the production
was stopped.
The sale of the car was stopped in 13-cities in April 2010 including Bangalore,
Hyderabad,
Kanpur and Pune. It was launched in India in early 1980s and the time of its lau
nch it was priced
50000 rupees only and at the time of closure of production it was priced at 2.35
lakh rupees.
GOOGLE AGREED TO NEGOTIATE WITH EU OVER ANTI-TRUST
CASE
Google Inc agreed to negotiate with European Union (EU) over Anti-trust case on
5 February
2014. The agreement was announced by the Federal Trade commission of the US.
Under a tentative deal with European Commission regulators, Google agreed to twe
ak the way
it presents search results in Europe. The deal reached will help address concern
s in EU that
Google is abusing its dominance in online search to favour its own services at t
he expense of
rivals. However, Google would not pay a fine under the agreement.
Google used a strategy of accommodation to resolve a potential anti-trust lawsui
t in the U.S.
Google agreed to bring small changes to its search practices to avoid formal cha
rges by the
Federal Trade Commission in 2013.
Google faced the allegation that when users search for products, Google features
results from
Google Shopping and relegates products featured on rival sites lower, where they
may not be
seen.
Under the deal, Google agreed to reserve space near the top of its European sear
ch pages for
competitors to serve specialized search results for things like hotel rooms alon
gside Google
services that do the same thing.
90
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Its current Chairman is Arundhatti Bhattacharya. She is the first woman to head
the 206 year
old State Bank of India.
AIRASIA AIMED TO START INDIA OPERATIONS BY APRIL
Tony Fernandes, the chief of the Malaysian carrier AirAsia on 22 January 2014 an
nounced that
its India operations will start from April 2014. The decision came during Fernan
des India visit to
attend the World Economic Forums (WEFs) annual meeting.
AirAsia has set up a joint venture with Tata and Mittu Chandilya is the CEO of t
he Indian
venture of AirAsia. The stakeholders also include Telstra Tradeplace.
Earleir, AirAsia India got a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Civil Aviat
ion Ministry on 20
September 2013 to start its airline operations in the country. The permission wa
s given after
AirAsia applied to the aviation regulator for a permit. As per the decision, it
has planned to
operate fleet of Airbus A320-200 aircraft to start with 4 to 5 planes, which wil
l be expanded to
ten within 12 months.
GOOGLE ACQUIRED CYBER SECURITY FIRM IMPERMIUM FOR 9
MILLION DOLLAR
Google acquired Bengaluru based Impermium for 9 million dollar on 20 January 201
4. The
acquisition will help Google improve its abuse monitoring efforts and make inter
net a safer
place.
Bengaluru based Impermium is a three year old startup. The startup focused on bu
ilding
security products for websites.
Impermium was founded by two Indians, Vish Ramarao and Naveen Jamal and American
Mark
Risher. Mark Risher is the CEO of the company.
Prior to Impermium, all three co-founders were in Yahoo Mail, where they dealt w
ith problems
of spam, web security and fraudulent account creation.
Impermium has 300000 clients, including Tumblr, Pinterest, CNN, ESPN, Typepad an
d
Washington Post.
The company had built a number of services that worked as a risk-determination s
ystem, which
could help identify when an account had been compromised.
93
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Earlier, Facebook had acquired Bangalore based Little eye Labs. Acquisitions of
India-based
startups by the likes of Google and Facebook are expected to provide a big boost
to the startup
ecosystem.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS DEMONSTRATED FLIGHT WITH BIOFUEL MIX
Ethihad Airways on 19 January 2014 flew a Boeing 777 plane on a 45-minutes demon
stration
flight that was powered in part by biofuel. The biofuel was developed in collabo
ration with a
French firm Total. With this exercise, UAE has turned among the countries that h
ave produced
and flown on their own aviation biofuel. The biofuel driven flights emits about
50 percent less
carbon dioxide that the fossil fuel over its lifecycle.
The initiative to support a sustainable aviation biofuled industry in United Ara
b Emirates, the
Abu-Dhabi based carrier teamed up with Total, US-manufacturer Boeing local refin
er Takreer
and Masdar research institute.
The biofuel amounted to 10 percent of the fuel in the demonstration flight was a
lso used in the
past in similar flight during the Paris airshow. Total partially converted the b
iofuel from plants
which was refined into a jet fuel by government-owned Takreer (a wholly-owned su
bsidiary of
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.).
At present, a sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium is being hosted by Masda
r Institute in
Abu Dhabi, of which Boeing and Etihad Airways are among the founding partners. T
he team is
researching and developing salt-tolerant plants that will act as the raw materia
l for refining
processes, which will be used in production of renewable fuel for the flights of
Etihad Airways.
The initiative focuses on research and development as well as investments in fee
dstock
production and refining capability in UAE and across the world.
RBI ALLOWED FOREIGN INVESTORS TO INVEST IN SOUTH
INDIAN BANK
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed the foreign investors to buy the sha
res of South
Indian Bank. The permission has been given as the foreign shareholding in the ba
nk has gone
below the prescribed limit that is stipulated under the extant FDI policy.
RBI said that the FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors), PIOs (Persons of India
n Origin) and NRIs
(Non-Resident Indians) have been allowed to make investments in the primary as w
ell as
secondary markets in India through the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS). It als
o said that the
South Indian Banks equity can also be purchased through primary market and stock
exchanges.
94
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The ceilings on FII, NRI and PIO investments are monitored by RBI in Indian comp
anies on a
daily basis. The foreign investment ceiling limits that has fixed by RBI for eff
ective monitoring is
two percent points lower than the actual ceilings.
About South Indian Bank
South Indian Bank is one of the earliest launched banks of South India. It came
into being during
the Swadeshi Movement that happened in 1905 and continued till 1911. It was crea
ted with
the aim for service oriented repository of savings of the community on one hand
and to free
the business community from the clutches of money lenders on the other by provid
ing need
based credit at reasonable rates of interest.
South Indian Bank is among the private banks in Kerala to become a scheduled ban
k in
1946 under the RBI Act
It is the first bank in the private sector in India to open a Currency Chest on
behalf of the
RBI in April 1992
It is the first private sector bank to open a NRI branch in November 1992
It is the first bank in the private sector to start an Industrial Finance Branch
in March
1993
FACEBOOK ACQUIRED LITTLE EYE LABS FOR 90 CRORE RUPEES
Facebook acquired Bengaluru-based Little Eye Labs for 90 crore rupees on 7 Janua
ry 2014. It
has become the first Indian and the third Asian company to be acquired by Facebo
ok. Facebook
is the world s largest social networking site.
Little Eye Labs was founded in May 2012 by Giridhar Murthy, Kumar Rangarajan, Sa
tyam
Kandula, and Lakshman Kakkirala.
Kumar Rangarajan is the current CEO of Little Eye Labs.
Little Eye Labs, a company that develops a tool to helps Android app developers
to measure,
analyse and optimise Facebook apps.
TCS TO SET UP WORLD S LARGEST CORPORATE LEARNING
CENTRE IN THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Country s largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) decided
to set up the
world s largest corporate learning and development centre in Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala. The
95
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
corporate learning centre will have a total capacity to train 50,000 professiona
ls every year. The
foundation stone for the corporate learning centre was laid by the Prime Ministe
r Manmohan
Singh on 4 January 2014. The learning facility will be built over area of 6.1 mi
llion square feet
and will have the capacity to train 15,000 professionals at one time and 50,000
professionals
annually. The learning centre is located on a 97-acre property in the Technopark
area of the
city. The campus will also have residential accommodation for professionals and
faculty at the
centre. The project will provide direct employment to over 2000 skilled and unsk
illed local
people for a period of 4 years. An integral part of the project will be the skil
l development
programmes run by TCS to upgrade the skills of local youth and facilitate opport
unities to work
in the construction project, through contractors. If you have any Question/Point
on the above
information, please ask/discuss it in the Current Affairs Group.
96
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
National
UNION I&B MINISTRY LAUNCHED NEWS SMS SERVICE IN 5
INDIAN LANGUAGES
Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry on 19 September 2014 launched
free news
SMS service of All India Radio (AIR) in five Indian languages. These five langua
ges are Hindi,
Marathi, Sanskrit, Dogri and Nepali.
The SMS service is aimed at providing important news to the subscribers in their
preferred
language on their mobile phones.
UNION CABINET APPROVED THE LAUNCHING OF NATIONAL
AYUSH MISSION
The Union Cabinet on 15 September 2014 approved the launching of National AYUSH
Mission
(NAM). The word AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha a
nd
Homoeopathy.
NAM is aimed at addressing the gaps in health services particularly in vulnerabl
e and far-off
areas.
UNION GOVERNMENT
VIDYALAYA CAMPAIGN
ANNOUNCED
TO
FUND
SWACHH
Union Human Resource Development Ministry on 11 September 2014 announced to fund
Swachh Vidyalaya campaign.
Funding of the campaign will be through Swachh Bharat Kosh that the Union Govern
ment has
announced to set up to fund the Swachh Bharat Campaign.
SC RULED 3 PERCENT QUOTA FOR DISABLED PERSONS IN ALL
GOVERNMENT JOBS
The Supreme Court on 12 September 2014 ruled 3 percent quota for disabled person
s in all
government jobs.
A bench headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha said that the disabled people have not
got their due
in the last 19 years. Despite the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities
, Protection of
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Rights and Full Participation) Act was passed in 1995. The bench also comprised
Justices Kurian
Joseph and Rohinton F Nariman.
SC ASKED UNION GOVERNMENT TO RESPOND ON DELHI
GOVERNMENT FORMATION BY OCTOBER 10
Supreme Court on 10 September 2014 asked the Union government to respond on the
process
undertaken by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on Delhi government formation by 10 Octobe
r 2014.
Setting a new time line the Supreme Court said that lack of clarity over the gov
ernment
formation will lead to alleged horse-trading.
PMO CONSTITUTED COMMITTEE TO FACILITATE UTILIZATION OF
MINERAL RESOURCES IN MEGHALAYA
Prime Ministers Office on 11 September 2014 constituted a six-member committee to
facilitate
systemic, scientific and planned utilisation of mineral resources in Meghalaya t
o prevent
environmental degradation.
The Committee will be chaired by the cabinet secretary and other members are Hom
e
secretary, Coal ministry secretary, Mines secretary and Meghalaya chief secretar
y.
UNION GOVERNMENT MANDATED SCIENTISTS TO UNDERTAKE
LECTURES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS & COLLEGES
Union Government mandated the scientists to formally take classes in schools and
colleges in
an academic year. It was announced by the Union Minister for Science and Technol
ogy Jitendra
Singh on 8 September 2014.
Scientists working in different central agencies including the Council for Scien
tific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) will undertake 12 hours of lecture classes in an academic year i
n public-funded
schools and colleges across the country.
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED 28 ROAD PROJECTS IN
LADAKH REGION IN J & K
Union Government on 10 September 2014 approved 28 rural road projects worth 438
crores
rupees for building roads in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region in Jammu
and Kashmir. It
was announced by Union Minister for Rural Development, Sanitation, Drinking Wate
r &
Panchayat Raj, Nitin Gadkari.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The judgement was given by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justi
ce of India, R
M Lodha. The other judges were Justices Dipak Misra, Madan B. Lokur, Kurien Jose
ph and S.A.
Bobde.
SC ASKED UNION GOVERNMENT TO CLARIFY ITS STAND ON
CITIZENSHIP OF SURROGATE CHILDREN
The Supreme Court of India on 4 September 2014 asked the Union Government to cla
rify its
stand on granting dual citizenship of children who are born in India via an Indi
an surrogate
mother, while the biological mother of children is a foreign national.
UNION MHA APPROVED FOREST LAND DIVERSION TO FIGHT
MAOISTS
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 2 September 2014 approved diversion of f
orest land
to fight Maoists. The forest land under the Forest Conservation (FC) Act of 1980
will be diverted
to construct all categories of public roads.
CONGRESS PARTY SECURED CHAIRMANSHIP OF FIVE DRSCS OF
THE PARLIAMENT
In a major boost to Indian National Congress party, five of its members secured
the
chairmanship of Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) of the Parliament
.
UNION HEALTH MINISTRY LAUNCHED REVISED STRATEGY TO
ERADICATE KALA AZAR BY 2015 IN PATNA
Union Health Ministry launched the revised strategy to eradicate Kala azar from
India by 2015
on 2 September 2014.
The new strategy has been developed by a core group comprising experts and offic
ials of the
Health Ministry. The roadmap document focused on efforts at the national, state,
district and
sub-district levels.
J & K LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION URGING
UNION TO RESUME INDO-PAK TALKS
Jammu & Kashmir legislative council on 28 August 2014 passed a resolution urging
Union to
resume Indo-Pak talks. The resolution called upon the Centre to ensure preventio
n of cross100
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
border firing besides peace and stability in the subcontinent and Jammu & Kashmi
r in
particular.
UNION GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED DOT BHARAT DOMAIN
Union Government on 27 August 2014 launched a
Devanagari script in New Delhi. Initially the
like Hindi, Bodo,
Dogri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali and
from the list
of 22 languages that has been included in the
n of India.
However, the Attorney General said this was a matter to be considered by the leg
islature,
because it raised multiple issues, aside from coming with the possibility of mis
use.
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR R & D IN BULK DRUGS TO BE SET UP IN
NIPER HYDERABAD
Union Ministry of Chemical and Fertilisers decided on 14 July 2014 to set up Nat
ional Centre for
Research & Development in Bulk Drugs (NCRDBD) at National Institute of Pharmaceu
tical
Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad.
SC ORDERED UNION GOVERNMENT TO BRING MGNREGS S
WAGE RATES ON PAR WITH MINIMUM WAGES
Supreme Court ordered Union government to bring wages under Mahatma Gandhi Natio
nal
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) on par with minimum wages existing u
nder
different States. The order was passed by the SC on 11 July 2014.
UNION MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LAUNCHED SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORM FOR INDIAN RAILWAYS
Union Ministry of Railways launched Social Media Platform for the Indian Railway
s on 7 July
2014.
With this, customers can connect with the Railways through Facebook and Twitter.
Besides, all
the important announcements of Railways starting with Rail Budget 2014-15 will b
e available to
the customers on 247 basis.
UNION BUDGET 2014-15: BANKING AND INSURANCE SECTOR
Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014 presented Union Budget 2014
-15. The
Union Budget introduced many new initiatives like Financial Inclusion Mission, D
ebt Recovery
Tribunals to improve the economic system in India and also introduced National S
avings
Certificate, a new insurance cover to provide additional benefits for the small
saver.
LAW COMMISSION SUBMITTED A REPORT TITLED MANPOWER
PLANNING IN JUDICIARY: A BLUE PRINT TO UNION GOVT
Law Commission of India on 7 July 2014 a report titled Manpower Planning in Judi
ciary: A Blue
Print was submitted to the Union Government. Chairman of Law Commission Former J
ustice, A
P Shah submitted the report to the Union Minister of Law & Justice and Communica
tions & IT
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The centre is first of its kind in India for women who are victims of violence.
It will provide help
and assistance to rape survivors and victims of dowry harassment, domestic viole
nce and other
atrocities on women, all under one roof.
INDIA BECAME PERMANENT SIGNATORY TO WASHINGTON
ACCORD
India on 13 June 2014 became a permanent signatory to Washington Accord. The Acc
ord was
signed by National Board of Accreditation at a meet of International Engineering
Alliance of WA
member countries held in Wellington, New Zealand.
NARENDRA MODI SCRAPPED FOUR STANDING COMMITTEES OF
CABINET
Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India on 10 June 2014 decided to discontinu
e four
Standing Committees of the Cabinet. The discontinued standing committees include
d Cabinet
Committee on Management of Natural Calamities, Cabinet Committee on Prices, Cabi
net
Committee on World Trade Organisation Matters and Cabinet Committee on Unique
Identification Authority of India related issues.
UNION MORTH & UNION MOHFW SIGNED MOU TO PROVIDE
HIV PREVENTIVE SERVICES
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and Union Ministry of
Health and
Family Welfare (MoHFW) on 9 June 2014 signed a MoU to provide HIV preventive ser
vices to
transport sector workers.
WEST BENGAL AND MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT INKED PACT
ON VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING
State governments of West Bengal and Maharashtra in last week of May 2014 signed
a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) on victims of trafficking. As per the MoU, the
governments will identify and repatriate women and children, who are victims of
trafficking.
TELANGANA BECAME THE 29TH STATE OF INDIA ON 2 JUNE
2014
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Telangana became the 29th State of India with Hyderabad as its capital on 2 June
2014. With
this formation, ten districts of the then Andhra Pradesh will now become a part
of the
Telangana.
NARENDRA MODI TOOK OATH AS 15TH PRIME MINISTER OF
INDIA
Narendra Damodardas Modi was sworn-in as the 15th Prime Minister of India on 26
May 2014.
Along with him, 45-member Council of Ministers that includes 23 Ministers with C
abinet rank,
10 Ministers of State with independent charges and 12 Ministers of State also to
ok oath of their
offices. President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka
DHUBRI CONSTITUENCY IN ASSAM REGISTERED HIGHEST VOTER
TURNOUT IN GENERAL ELECTION 2014
Dhubri Parliamentary constituency in Assam registered the highest voter turnout
in the General
Election 2014 while Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir saw the lowest voter turnout in
the Election
2014.
15TH LOK SABHA DISSOLVED BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 18 May 2014 dissolved the 15th Lok Sabha
. He
dissolved the Lok Sabha on the advice of the outgoing Union Cabinet led by Prime
Minister
Manmohan Singh who resigned on 17 May 2014.
SC UPHELD VALIDITY OF RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT
The Constitution Bench of Supreme Court of India on 6 May 2014 upheld the Consti
tutional
validity of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. In its decision, the apex court sa
id that the Act is not
applied to unaided minority institutions.
The five-judge Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court in its decision also up
held the
provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 an
d the Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Young women under and up to the age of 25 years will be recruited as direct entr
y officers in
the rank of assistant commandants (ACs). The women officers will have an opportu
nity to serve
in far-flung border of Indian Territory like Nepal and Bhutan.
SUPREME COURT ORDERED SACKING OF INCUMBENT BCCI
CHIEF N SRINIVASAN
The Suporeme Court ordered the sacking of incumbent Chairman of Board of Cricket
of India
(BCCI) while delivering a series of judgments on 28 March 2014 to overhaul the B
CCI. The order
was given against the backdrop of Mudgal Committee Report on IPL spot fixing dur
ing IPL 2013.
SC UPHOLD THE AGE OF JUVENILE TO 18 YEARS
The Supreme Court on 30 March 2014 uphold the age of juvenile to 18 years. SC ci
ted that the
legislature has fixed the age which is constitutionally permissible.
Two petitions were filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy challenging the constit
utional
validity of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000.
The petitioners had sought fresh interpretation of the term juvenile in the statut
e and leaving
it to the criminal court, instead of Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), to determine
the juvenility of an
offender in heinous crimes.
SUPREME COURT DIRECTED ALL STATES
IMPLEMENT MANUAL SCAVENGERS ACT
AND
UTS
TO
Supreme Court on 27 March 2014 directed all the States and Union Territories to
implement
Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 201
3.
The three-judge Bench comprised of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justice Ranjan Go
goi and
Justice N V Ramana ordered a series of directions to abolish the practice of man
ual scavenging
and to prevent future generations from this inhuman practice. The Apex court als
o deprecated
the practice of manually removing night soil with bare hands, brooms or metal sc
rappers.
WHO CERTIFIED INDIA AS POLIO FREE COUNTRY
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 27 March 2014 certified India as a Polio
Free country.
This action of WHO made India one of the 11 countries of South-East Region to be
free from
polio virus.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
polls. The intelligence agency will regularly update Election Commission about s
uspected
financial movements.
MEDICAL VISA NOT REQUIRED IN CASES OF SURROGACY FOR
OCIS & PIOS
Union Home Ministry issued an order on 6 March 2014 saying that an Overseas Citi
zens of India
(OCIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) can visit India without a medical vis
a for
commissioning surrogacy. This facility will be applicable for those couples who
are married for
at least two years and will only require permission only from the Foreigners Regi
onal
Registration Office (FRRO) or the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO).
LOK SABHA ELECTIONS TO HELD FROM 7 APRIL 2014 IN 9PHASES
The 16th Lok Sabha Elections in India was held from 7 April 2014 to 12 May 2014
and the
counting took place on 16 May 2014. The Lok Sabha elections spread over nine pha
ses. The Lok
Sabha elections held as the five year term of the 15th Lok Sabha was due to expi
re on 31 May
2014.
K.T.THOMAS REFUSED TO HEAD LOKPAL COMMITTEE SEARCH
PANEL
Retired Supreme Court judge K.T.Thomas refused to head the Lokpal Committee Sear
ch panel
on 3 March 2014. He was unanimously chosen to head the Search Panel by the Lokpa
l Selection
Committee on 21 February 2014.
Thomas refused on the ground that Lokpal Search panel will not be able to conduc
t an
independent eminent Lawyer Fali Nariman had also refused to become the part of t
he Lokpal
Search Panel.
UNION
CABINET
APPROVED
MANUFACTURING UNIT IN KOLAR
A
NEW
RAIL
COACH
The Union Cabinet on 28 February 2014 approved setting up of a new rail coach ma
nufacturing
unit at Kolar, Karnataka. The unit will manufacture 500 coaches per annum at an
estimated cost
of 1460.92 crore rupees with active participation of State Government.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The Ministry of Railways will finance 50 percent of the cost. The government of
Karnataka will
provide the remaining 50 percent of the project cost with escalation and require
d land to the
extent of about 1118.38 acres, free of cost.
The proposed plant shall help Indian Railways in ensuring timely availability of
passenger
coaches to meet the increasing demands of passenger transportation.
UNION MINISTRY
BHUBANESWAR
OF
H
&
FW
INAUGURATED
AIIMS
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Gulam Nabi Azad inaugurated the All Ind
ia Institute
of Medical Science (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar on 26 February 2014. During inauguration
an e-Card
system was also introduced. e-Card system (also known as health card) will help
the patients to
know about the disease, doctor assigned and treatment.
After the allocation of land by the state government, a satellite Centre of the
AIIMS,
Bhubaneswar will be established at Balasore.
Under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Sahayata Yojana (PMSSY), the Union Government has
already
approved establishing of four medical colleges at Balasore, Balangir, Koraput an
d Baripada in
Odisha. Further, two medical collages, at Berhampur and Burla will be upgraded.
Including aforementioned and some other projects Union government has planned an
investment of 1250 crore rupees for the health sector of Odisha.
LARGEST SOLAR POWER PLANT OF INDIA LAUNCHED IN
MADHYA PRADESH
The largest 130-MW Solar Power Plant of India Welspun Solar MP Project was launc
hed at
Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh on 26 February 2014. It is also the Asia s
Largest
Solar Power Plant.
The Welspun Solar MP project was constructed at a cost of 1100 crore rupees on 3
05 hectares
of land. It will supply power at 8.05 rupees a kWh.
This Project will raise Indian solar capacity by 7 percent.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Iran
Iraq
Nigeria
Sri Lanka
Somalia
The decision of the high-level meeting to offer visa on arrival can be treated a
s ironing on the
objections raised by the Union Home Ministry for extension of the facility to na
tionals of 40
more countries that included US, UK and Germany. Home Ministry nod was a prerequ
isite for
extending the facility.
CCEA APPROVED IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL MISSION
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND TECHNOLOGY
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved on 4 February 2014 the
implementation of the National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology
(NMAET)
during the 12th Plan period.
The extension of NMAET and its components will be expanded and up-scaled appropr
iately and
implemented in a more coordinated and convergent manner.
The Mission will have a total outlay of 13073.08 crore rupees with Government of
Indias share
of Rs. 11390.68 crore and State share of 1682.40 crore rupees.
NMAET consists of 4 Sub Missions
Sub Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE)
Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP)
Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)
Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine (SMPP)
MOTHER AND
INAUGURATED
CHILD
TRACKING
FACILITATION
CENTRE
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the Mother and Child Tra
cking
Facilitation Centre at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare in Ne
w Delhi on 31
January 2014.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS) initiative was launched under National R
ural Health
Mission (NRHM) in December 2009.
UNION MINISTRY OF CULTURE LAUNCHED NATIONAL MISSION
ON LIBRARIES
President of India Pranab Mukherjee launched the National Mission on Libraries (
NML) on 3
February 2014. The mission was launched by Union Ministry of Culture.
National Mission on Libraries has following features:
Creation of National Virtual Library of India
Setting up of NML model Libraries
Quantitative and Qualitative survey of Libraries
Capacity Building
The creation of a National Virtual Library of India (NVLI) is one of the major c
omponent
schemes of the National Mission on Libraries.
INDIAS FIRST MONO RAIL INAUGURATED
Indias first monorail service was inaugurated by the Maharashtra Chief Minister P
rithviraj
Chavan on 1 February 2014 in Mumbai.
The First phase of Mumbai Monorail is comprised of 8.9 km long Wadala-Chembur se
ction. The
first phase was constructed at the cost of 1900 crore rupees which have seven st
ations.
It will operate between 7 am and 3 pm at an interval of 15 minutes initially. Th
e fully airconditioned monorails minimum fare will be five rupees while maximum f
are will be twenty
rupees.
The monorail service will have four coaches, which will ferry about 2500 passeng
ers .The
traveling time between Wadala and Chembur will be reduced from 40 minutes to nea
rly 21
minutes at present.
Mumbai Mono rail will display itself in three colours green, pink and sky blue.
Monorail will
have a smart card facility available like Delhi Metro.
About Mumbai Mono rail
The Mumbai Mono rail project has been implemented in two phases. The first phase
comprise
the Wadala- Chembur where as the second phase will be extended to Sant Gadge Mah
araj
Chowk in South Mumbai.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
National Waterway 6: It is the proposed waterway in Assam state and will connect
Lakhipur to
Bhanga in river Barak.
NALSA LAUNCHED FREE LEGAL SERVICE CLINICS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY
National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) launched the 2648 village legal servic
e clinics across
the country on 24 January 2014. The move aims to bring legal services to the doo
rsteps of the
weakest section of the country.
Chief Justice of India P.Sathasivam open free legal clinics in New Delhi. As per
the regulation,
NALSA will set up village legal services clinics in one village in each Taluk of
the country.
On the lines of health centres in villages, these legal services will provide le
gal care to villagers
who are not aware about laws and their rights.
With the help of Para-legal volunteers and empanelled lawyers, clinics will also
assist villagers in
getting BPL card, Election ID, Aadhaar Card, gas connection and other government
welfare
schemes.
**About NALSA
The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Leg
al Services
Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of t
he society and to
organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.
VISCERA TEST MUST IN DEATH DUE TO POISONING: SC
Supreme Court made it mandatory for the investigating agency to seek viscera tes
t in death due
to poisoning on 21 January 2014.
A bench of Justices Ranjana P Desai and J Chelameswar ruled that in all the case
s where
poisoning is suspected, immediately after the post-mortem, the viscera should be
sent to the
forensic science laboratories (FSL).
**About Viscera test
In the Viscera test the internal organs of the body, specifically those within t
he chest (as the
heart or lungs) or abdomen (as the liver, pancreas or intestines) are tested tho
roughly.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
for the
passenger and freight segments of the Indian Railways business.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
It will help the government to generate requisite surpluses for growth in the fu
ture.
RTA will be the first external pricing regulatory body for the countrys rail sect
or. The RTA will
be given mandatory powers only after the amendment of the Railway Act, 1989 by t
he
Parliament.
The RTA will make recommendations to the Railway Ministry which usually will hav
e to accept
it. If in case Railway Ministry disagrees, the ministry will send the recommenda
tions back to the
RTA to review its decision.
UNION CABINET GRANTED
COMMUNITY ACROSS INDIA
MINORITY
STATUS
TO
JAIN
Jain community has been granted the minority status by Union Cabinet on 20 Janua
ry 2014.
This nod has enabled the community to avail the benefits in government schemes a
nd
programmes. With this nod of the Union Community, Jain community became the sixt
h
community to attain minority status. Other five communities that has been grante
d the status
of minority are
Muslims
Christians
Sikhs
Buddhists
Parsis
INDIA REGISTERED AN INCREASE OF FIVE YEARS IN LIFE
EXPECTANCY RATE
India registered an increase of five years in the average life expectancy rate.
The average life
expectancy rate increased from 63.9 years in 2004 to 69.6 years in 2014. The inc
rease in the life
expectancy was the result of consistent investments in public health sector by t
he government.
Life expectancy is defined as the average number of years a person born in a giv
en country
would live if mortality rates at each age were to remain constant in the future.
As per the census of 2011, the life expectancy in India was 65.48 years as compa
red to the
global average life expectancy of 67.88 years. Japan, Switzerland, San Marino ar
e the countries
with highest average life expectancy of 83 years. On the other hand, poor countr
ies of Africa
like Somalia, Lesotho have an average life expectancy of 50 years with Sierra Le
one having the
least life expectancy at 47 years.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The court has ruled that the CAG has powers and jurisdiction to audit telecom co
mpanies
accounts. Companies that are operating in power, telecom sectors provide that se
rvices to the
common man. License fee is paid for spectrum and the profit generated by compani
es is a
public resource. The people have right to know whether the income goes into publ
ic exchequer
is proper or not.
CABINET COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS APPROVED MSP
FOR JUTE
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved on 2 January 2014 the
Minimum
Support Price (MSP) of Jute for 2014-15.
The government announced Jute MSP of TD-5 variety at 2400 rupees per quintal wit
h an
increase of 100 rupees from previous year.
The increase in the MSP of raw jute is expected to encourage farmers to step up
investment in
jute cultivation and thereby production and productivity of jute in the country.
The premium for TD-3 and TD-4 varieties of raw jute will be maintained at 20 per
cent and 8
percent respectively in relation to the price of TD-5 to encourage farmers for t
he production of
higher grades.
SUPERCOMPUTER, PARAM YUVA-II RANKED 1 IN INDIA
PARAM Yuva-II supercomputer rated 1st in India, 9th in the Asia Pacific Region a
nd 44th in the
world among the most power efficient computer systems as per the Green500 List.
It was announced at the Super computer Conference (SC 2013) in Denver, Colorado,
US.
PARAM Yuva-II was developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
(C-DAC).
C-DAC is the second organization worldwide to have carried out the Level 3 measu
rement of
Power versus Performance for the Green500 List
PARAM Yuva II uses hybrid technology, processor, co-processor and hardware accel
erators.
PARAM uses hybrid technology to provide the peak compute power of 520.4 Teraflop
/s using
210 kilowatt power.
The interconnect network comprises of homegrown PARAMNet-III and Infiniband FDR
System
Area Network.
This system is designed to solve large and complex computational problems.
The system has 200 Terabytes of high performance storage, and requisite system s
oftware and
utilities for parallel applications development.
132
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Swedish metals and armaments major to replace the old field guns and artillery a
vailable with
Indian army. The government of India decided the induction of the Calibre 155 mm
howitzers.
AB bofors of Sweden manufactured the FH-77 gun, which was owned by Alfred Nobel
one.
Scorpene Submarine Scandal of 2005: It alleges bribery of 500 crore rupees by Th
ales, a
defence company of France to purchase the submarine of Scorpene for Indian Navy.
No
evidence was found by CBI in its preliminary enquiry. Pranab Mukherjee the then
Union
Defence Minister approved a deal worth 19000 crore rupees in October 2005. These
submarines are being in India at present under a technology transfer agreement.
The
technology transfer agreement was a part of the agreement signed.
Barack Missiles Scandal in 2000: RK Jain, the treasurer of Samata Party was arre
sted and
former Defence Minister of India George Fernandes was named for the allegations
of bribery
for acquisition of Barack missile by Israel. In 2006 a case was lodged by CBI an
d the case was
closed in 2011.
Tatra Trucks Scandal of 2012: The former chief of Army General VK Singh alleged
that he was
offered a bribe to clear the purchase of these trucks. Questions were raised on
the quality of
the heavy duty trucks made by Tatra.
GOVERNMENT ISSUED FOOD SAFETY GUIDELINES
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES SCHEME
FOR
The Government of India on 31 December 2013 issued food safety and hygiene guide
lines to
prevent contamination of supplementary nutrition provided to pregnant women and
children.
The guidelines were issued under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS
) scheme.
The guidelines were issued by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The issued guidelines have barred the anganwadi workers and helpers from wearing
nail polish,
and artificial nails. The anganwadi workers and helpers have been asked to trim
their nails and
should keep them clean while washing the hands. It has also banned them from wea
ring wrist
watches and rings and bangles or any type of jewellery item, while cooking and s
erving food.
These have been banned as these jewellery items may carry foreign bodied and com
promise
with the hygiene standard.
The Operational Guidelines for Food Safety and Hygiene of ICDS has also mentions
that the
workers and helpers should tie their hairs neatly and it should be covered. It a
lso mentions that
any type of glass should not be allowed in the cooking areas.
As per the issued guidelines, an adequate precaution for cleanliness has been is
sued for the
staffs to prevent the food from getting contaminated during cleaning of rooms, u
tensils or any
other equipment. It has also mentioned that before using any equipment, while co
oking food
should be washed with water.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
It has also mentioned that toilets should be cleaned all the times to make safe
disposal of stool
and wastes. It has said that the activity rooms, should be well ventilated and a
lso be spacious,
which should be cleaned every day before the start of the functions in the morni
ng.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
International
SCOTLAND REJECTED THE REFERENDUM FOR INDEPENDENCE
People of Scotland on 19 September 2014 rejected the historic referendum for ind
ependence
from United Kingdom. In the referendum asking simple question, Should Scotland b
e an
independent country? 55.3 percent of the Scots voted No whereas 44.7 percent of
the Scots
voted Yes. In effect the referendum was rejected by a huge margin of 10.6 percen
t.
LOCKDOWN IN SIERRA LEONE TO FIGHT EBOLA
The three day lockdown began in Sierra Leone to fight Ebola. During the lockdown
, 30000
volunteers will look for people infected with Ebola, or bodies, which are especi
ally contagious.
They will hand out bars of soap and information on preventing infection.
INDIA-CHINA AGREED FOR JOINT WORKING GROUP ON FILMS
MEET IN GOA
India and China on 18 September 2014 agreed to establish a Joint Working Group t
o promote
facilitation in the film sector. The group will meet for the first time in Novem
ber 2014 on the
sidelines of the International Film Festival India 2014 at Goa.
FRANCE JOINED US AIR STRIKES AGAINST ISIS IN IRAQ
France on 19 September 2014 joined US air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. French j
ets have carried
out their first strikes on IS depot in north-east Iraq.
Four Rafale planes hit the town of Zumar, killing dozens of militants.
INDIA AND CHINA SIGNED THREE MOUS FOR COOPERATION
The President of China, Xi Jinping arrived in India at Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 17
September
2014. He is on a three-day official visit to India. On the very first day of his
visit, he signed three
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
growing gap in the labour market. He aimed to recruit women for 30 percent of se
nior business
and political positions by 2020.
ISRAEL TO TAKE OVER WEST BANK LAND
Israel on 31 August 2014 announced to take over West Bank land. The area will be
named as
Gevaot.
The land portion is located south of Bethlehem. The seizure of the land is said
to be the largest
seizure by Israel in last 30 years.
Israel will expropriate 4 sq km (1.5 sq miles) of Palestinian land in the occupi
ed West Bank.
Israel Government planned to build on the land, while Palestinian officials clai
med that the land
include many olive groves.
PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI INAUGURATED TCS JAPAN
TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE ACADEMY IN JAPAN
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the TCS Japan Technology and Culture Ac
ademy in
Japan on 2 September 2014. The Academy was opened during Narendra Modi s five-da
y visit to
Japan.
The TCS Japan Technology and Culture Academy is a Joint Venture of Tata Consulta
ncy Services
and Mitsubishi Corporation and the aim of establishing this academy is to enhanc
e the
technological and cultural knowledge between Indian and Japanese IT professional
s.
SINT MARTIN GENERAL ELECTION 2014
The General election of Sint Marteen was held on 29 August 2014. The United Peop
le s Party
won the election with seven of the 15 seats in the Estates.
They were the first elections since Sint Maarten became a constituent country wi
thin the
Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010.
JAPAN REMOVED SIX INDIAN SPACE AND DEFENCE ENTITIES
FROM FOREIGN END USERS LIST
Japan on 1 September 2014 removed six Indian space and defence entities from the
foreign end
users list, which will help in defence technology cooperation. This decision was
taken during the
meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Japans PM Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. PM Narendra M
odi
is on a five-day visit to Japan.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
month long conflict in Gaza. The panel will also investigate human rights violat
ions in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory including Jerusalem. The conflict on the Gaza str
ip began on 13
June 2014.
The commission will be headed by William Schabas a Canadian international crimin
al law and
human rights professor at Middlesex University in London. The other two members
include Amal Alamuddin of United Kingdom (British-Lebanese lawyer, specialising
in
international law and human rights) and Doudou Diene of Senegal (was the United
Nations
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, xenophobia and related intol
erance from
2002 to 2008).
72-HOUR CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT
HAMAS CAME INTO EFFECT IN GAZA
BETWEEN
ISRAEL
AND
The fresh 72-hour ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect
in Gaza one
minute after midnight on 11 August 2014. The ceasefire will pave the way for tal
ks in Egypt
aimed at a durable end to a month-long conflict.
HAIDER AL-ABADI NAMED AS NEW IRAQI PRIME MINISTER
Iraqi President Mohammed Fuad Masum named Haider al-Abadi as the new Iraqi Prime
Minister on 11 August 2014. Masum has given thirty days to Haider al-Abadi to fo
rm the next
government and present it for the approval of parliament.
Before being nominated for the post of Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi was
deputy
parliament speaker. He was nominated for the post by the Iraqi National Alliance
, a coalition of
Shia parties.
SWITZERLAND AMENDED FEDERAL ACT ON INTERNATIONAL
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE IN TAX MATTERS
Switzerland amended Federal Act on International Administrative Assistance in Ta
x
Matters and made key changes in its local laws on information exchange with fore
ign countries.
The amendment will assist foreign countries including India in their pursuit of
black money
allegedly stashed in Swiss Banks. The revised Federal Act on International Admin
istrative
Assistance in Tax Matters entered into force on 1 August 2014.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
was hiked amid surge in Taliban insurgency in the country and volatile security
environment of
the country.
OBAMA PROPOSED 1 BILLION DOLLAR US SECURITY PLAN FOR
EASTERN EUROPE
The US President Barack Obama on 3 June 2014 proposed a 1 billion US dollar (abo
ut 730
million Euros) US security plan for Eastern Europe to finance extra US troop and
military
deployments to new allies in Eastern Europe.
PALESTINIAN UNITY GOVERNMENT OF HAMAS AND FATAH
SWORN-IN BY PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS
The Palestinian National Unity Government of Hamas and Fatah was sworn-in on 2 J
une 2014
by the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas in West Bank City of Ramal
lah. With
the formation of new government, the Hamas government in Gaza strip resigned.
KING OF SPAIN JUAN CARLOS I DECIDED TO ABDICATE THE
THRONE
King of Spain Juan Carlos I announced on 2 June 2014 to abdicate the throne due
to health
problems. The decision to abdicate was announced in the Zarzuela Palace in Madri
d. The
abdication of throne by Carlos will pave the way for his son Crown Prince Felipe
to become the
successor of King Juan Carlos I.
PETER MUTHARIKA SWORN-IN AS PRESIDENT OF MALAWI
Peter Mutharika was sworn-in as President of Malawi on 31 May 2014. He won the p
residential
election of Malawi by defeating previous President Joyce Banda. The result was a
nnounced by
the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) on 30 May 2014.
MAURITIUS DECIDED TO
PROVIDE
INFORMATION EXCHANGE TO INDIA
AUTOMATIC
TAX
Mauritius on 27 May 2014 decided to provide automatic tax information exchange t
o India. The
decision was announced by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam after
his meeting
with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
Navin Ramgoolam was in India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi
as 15th
PM of India.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The decision was taken by Mauritius because during last few months the Foreign D
irect
Investment (FDI) inflows from Mauritius have started drying up on the fears of t
he impact of
General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) and possible re-negotiation of the tax avoid
ance treaty.
**Automatic Tax Information Exchange
Automatic exchange of information involves the systematic and periodic transmiss
ion of bulk
taxpayer information by the source country to the residence country concerning v
arious
categories of income. The categories of income include dividends, interest, roya
lties, salaries,
pensions, etc.
PM OF INDIA NARENDRA MODI HELD TALKS WITH PM OF
PAKISTAN NAWAZ SHARIF
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi held talks with Prime Minister of Pakista
n, Nawaz Sharif
in New Delhi on 27 May 2014.
Nawaz Sharif visited India as part of swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as t
he Prime
Minister of India along with other SAARC leaders.
During the meeting of the two leaders following issues were discussed
Mutual concern over the terrorism and commitment to fight terrorism
Mumbai terror attack in 2008 and expediting the legal process on 26/11 trial
ROYAL THAI ARMY ANNOUNCED MILITARY COUP IN THAILAND
The Royal Thai Army led by Commander-in-Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha in fourt
h week of
May 2014 announced military coup in Thailand. Earlier on 20 May 2014, the army d
eclared
imposition of martial law in Thailand.
This is the second military coup in Thailand after the 2006 military coup in whi
ch the then Prime
Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinatwara was toppled on account of corruption cha
rges.
DALIA GRYBAUSKAITE WON THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF
LITHUANIA
Dalia Grybauskaite, the Iron Lady of Lithuania, on 25 May 2014 won the President
ial elections
of Lithuania. As a result she became the first person to serve as the President
of Lithuania for
consecutive second term. She served the first term as President from 2009 to 201
4 as the term
of President of Lithuania is five years.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The agreement was signed at the ongoing 16th Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and
Trade in
Fuzhou.
THAILAND ARMY CHIEF GENERAL
DECLARED TO IMPOSE MARTIAL LAW
PRAYUTH
CHAN-OCHA
Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Army, General Prayuth Chan-ocha declared to imp
ose
martial law in Thailand on 20 May 2014.
The decision to impose martial law was taken after caretaker government headed b
y Prime
Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan refused to step down.
The Army chief signed the military statement imposing the martial law in accorda
nce with the
1914 law that allowed military to intervene during crisis time.
QATAR DECIDED TO ABOLISH SPONSORSHIP SYSTEM FOR
FOREIGN WORKERS
Qatar on 14 May 2014 announced about its decision to abolish it controversial sp
onsorship
system for foreign workers. The sponsorship system (Kafala system) will be repla
ced with a
system based on employment contracts as part of a package of labour reforms.
MOLDOVA & GEORGIA TO SIGN EU ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT
ON 27 JUNE 2014
Moldova and Georgia on 13 May 2014 agreed to sign European Union (EU) Associatio
n
Agreement on 27 June 2014. The President of the European Council Herman Van Romp
uy
revealed this in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
The signing of the Association Agreement will help strengthen the trade and poli
tical ties
between the EU and the two countries.
Besides, it will also help expedite the process of full membership for Moldova a
nd Georgia to
the 28-EU bloc which is the original foreign policy objective of both the countr
ies.
GOOGLE MUST AMEND
EUROPEAN COURT
SEARCH
RESULTS
ON
REQUEST:
The European Court on 13 May 2014 ruled that Google must amend some of its searc
h results
at the request of ordinary people when they show links to outdated, irrelevant i
nformation.
157
The court decision will allow individuals the right to ask internet search engin
es to remove links
to information about them that they do not want to be known. This is because suc
h availability
of irrelevant and outdated information would be an attack on free speech and rig
ht to privacy.
The Court said that Google and other search engines do have control of private i
nformation of
individual, given that they sometimes compile and present links to it in a syste
matic way.
IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM OF UK LAUNCHED ONLINE DATABASE
OF WORLD WAR-I
Imperial War Museum of the United Kingdom (UK) on 11 May 2014 launched an ambiti
ous
online database of the World War-I (WW-I). The website was launched to mark the
100th
anniversary of WW-I. The online database will help remember the lives of the mil
lions of men
and women who served in WW-I.
The online database titled Lives of the First World War so far features records
for 4.5 million
people who served with Britain s army overseas. The records have been pulled tog
ether from
existing archives and family collections.
The museum aims to add millions more records over the next months to include peo
ple who
served with forces from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India, as well as con
scientious
objectors and home front workers.
SOUTH SUDAN GOVERNMENT AND REBEL ARMY SIGNED A
PEACE DEAL
The South Sudan President Salva Kiir and rebel army leader Riek Machar on 9 May
2014 signed
a peace deal in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The deal calls for immediate peace and end of the ongoing conflict in Jonglei st
ate between the
two parties. The deal also calls for the formation of a transitional government
ahead of the
drafting of a new constitution and new elections.
The general principles agreed by the parties were that will be in line with the
constitution of
South Sudan includes
Creation of joint military technical committee,
Establishment of Greater Pibor administrative areas
Funds for Greater Pibor areas
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn hosted the talks and he also signe
d the deal.
Bishop Paride Taban is the chief mediator of the peace process between the gover
nment and
rebels.
FIVE NUCLEAR POWERS SIGNED A PROTOCOL ON CENTRAL
ASIAN NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE-ZONE TREATY
The Five Nuclear Powers and UN Security Council members (United States, Russia,
China,
Britain and France) on 6 May 2014 signed a new protocol on existing Central Asia
n NuclearWeapon-Free-Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty in New York. The agenda of singing the
protocol was
creation of a nuclear free zone in five central Asian countries namely Kazakhsta
n, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
**Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty
The CANWFZ treaty is a legally binding commitment of Central Asian states (Kazak
hstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) that demands not to manufac
ture,
acquire, test, or possess nuclear weapons.
The treaty was signed on 8 September 2006 at Semipalatinsk (a major Soviet nucle
ar site),
Kazakhstan. Hence it is also known as Treaty of Semipalatinsk, Treaty of Semei o
r Treaty of
Semey.
PAKISTAN TEST-FIRED HATAF-III GHAZNAVI MISSILE
Pakistan on 8 May 2014 successfully test-fired Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile during
war exercises of
Armys Strategic Force Command. Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile is a short range surfac
e-to-surface
Ballistic Missile and is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional weapons up
to 290
kilometers.
The field training exercise was performed with an aim to test the operational re
adiness of a
Strategic Missile Group besides up gradation of various capabilities of Weapon S
ystems.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan is General Raheel Sharif.
US TO INDUCT CHINESE RAILROAD WORKERS INTO HALL OF
HONOUR
US on 7 May 2014 announced that it will induct about 12000 Chinese workers into
Hall of
Honour. The honour came in the wake of building trans-pacific railroad between 1
865 and
1869. This will be the first time for the Asian-Americans to receive such a trib
ute since the Hall
was established in 1988.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
US President Barack Obama designated May 2014 as Asian-American and Pacific Isla
nder
Heritage Month. May was choosen as the month because the Trans-continental Railr
oad was
completed on 10 May 1869.
The national theme of AAPI Heritage Month 2014 is I Am Beyond.
WORLDS HIGHEST TUNNEL FOR HIGH-SPEED TRAIN OPENED IN
CHINA
The worlds highest tunnel for high-speed train in northwest China at an altitude
of 3607.4
metres became operational on 1 May 2014. The 16.3 km long tunnel links Gansu pro
vince and
Xinjiang provinces. The tunnel passes through the Qilian Mountains with two sect
ions and
bridge.
INDIA-MADE EVMS TO BE USED IN NAMIBIAS PRESIDENTIAL
POLLS
Namibian government on 30 April 2014 purchased 3400 India-made Electronic Voting
Machines
(EVMs) for use in the countries Presidential Election, scheduled in November 201
4. With this
Namibia became the first African country that will use such machines in any of i
ts Polls.
The 3400 EVMs were purchased by Namibia at a cost of Namibian 10 million dollar
(Dh3.4
million/approx $948,000) from a public sector unit, Bharat Electronic Limited (B
EL) based in
Bangaluru.
PETITION FILED IN COURT OF PAKISTAN TO PROVE BHAGAT
SINGH S INNOCENCE
Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, the chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation in A
pril 2014
registered a FIR in Pakistan to prove innocence of the legendary freedom fighter
, Bhagat Singh
in the murder case of the Lahore SSP, John P Saunders in 1928.
Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi has filed the petition seeking attested copy of the FIR re
gistered against
Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing the then SSP.
MAHATMA GANDHI PRAVASI SURAKSHA YOJANA SCHEME
LAUNCHED IN UAE
Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) was launched in the UAE in the fo
urth week
of April 2014. A leading Indian financial and health care service player has tie
d up with the UAE
Exchange to offer Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana Scheme in the Gulf coun
try.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
THE PRESIDENT
for the fourth time consecutively in Alg
Front party.
huge 81 percent of the vote. In 2008, he
The
nge
its
The
up
test came a day after North Korea raised tensions by test-firing 30 short-ra
rockets off
east coast on 22 March 2014.
new missile with a range of 310 miles (500 Km) is able to carry a warhead of
to onetonnes.
End extreme poverty by decreasing the percentage of people living on less than $
1.25 a
day to no more than 3 percent
Promote shared prosperity by fostering the income growth of the bottom 40% for e
very
country. It has five institutions that are managed by their member countries and
as a
whole it forms the World Bank Group.
The five institutions are
IBRD: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) that lend
s to
governments of middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries.
IDA: The International Development Association (IDA) that provides interest-free
loanscalled credits and grants to governments of the poorest countries.
IFC: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), is the largest global developm
ent
institution focused exclusively on the private sector.
MIGA: The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) was created in 1988 as
a
member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment into develop
ing
countries to support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve peoples lives.
MIGA fulfills this mandate by offering political risk insurance (guarantees) to
investors
and lenders.
ICSID: The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) pr
ovides
international facilities for conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes
.
INDIA INCREASED THE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR OMANI STUDENTS
India increased the scholarships for Omani student from 125 to 150 on 1 April 20
14. The
scholarships were increased under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation
(ITEC)
programme. Since the first issuance of 50 scholarships to Omani students in 2011
-12 to 150,
the increase has been of 200 percent.
JAPAN ANNOUNCED 15000 CRORE LOAN FOR 5 INDIAN
PROJECTS
Japan announced Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for more than 15000 c
rore
rupees for 5 Indian Projects on 31 March 2014. This is the largest amount in the
history of the
ODA loans ever signed in the single occasion.
The loan agreement was signed by Rajesh Khullar, Joint Secretary, Department of
Economic
Affairs in the Union Finance Ministry and Takeshi Yagi, ambassador of Japan to I
ndia.
Indian Projects covered under loan are:
New and Renewable energy development Project
165
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
In its directive the Court also said that ISPs must ensure that this blocking ac
tivity of the
websites may not deprive users from the possibility of lawfully access to the in
formation
available.
UNHRC PASSED A CHANGED DRAFT RESOLUTION ON SRI LANKA
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a changed draft resolution on
Sri Lanka
during the 25th session held in Geneva on 27 March 2014. The resolution seeks to
authorize
UNHRC to set up an independent international inquiry in Sri Lanka to probe into
human rights
violations during Sri Lankan civil war against LTTE in 2009.
THIRD NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT 2014 HELD IN THE HAGUE
The Third Nuclear Security Summit was held in The Hague, Switzerland from 24 to
25 March
2014. The summit was attended by 58 World leaders. At the summit, the leaders re
ached an
agreement to prevent terrorists getting their hands on nuclear material that cou
ld be used to
make a nuclear weapon. This will further reduce the threat of a nuclear attack.
Japan signed an agreement to hand over nuclear material to the US
Japan and the United States on 24 March 2014 signed an agreement for removal of
315
kilograms of weapon-grade Plutonium and Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) to United
States. As
per the deal, the fissile material would be transported from Fast Critical Assem
bly (FCA) at the
Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to a secure facility in the United States.
This deal was reached between the two nations during the 2014 International Nucl
ear security
summit in The Hague, Netherlands.
FIVE INDIAN LANGUAGES REINSTATED AS OFFICIAL SUBJECTS IN
SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS
Five Indian languages were reinstated as official subjects that will be taught i
n South African
state schools. The five Indian languages which have been reinstated are Hindi, T
amil, Gujarati,
Telugu and Urdu. These languages were offered as official subjects in schools of
South Africa
until 1994.
These languages first will be offered as an optional third language for learners
only in KwaZuluNatal province where about 70 percent of the Indian-origin popul
ation inhabit.
Further these five Indian languages along with Arabic language will be offered a
s official
subjects up to matric level (final year of schooling) in South Africa.
UNSC extended mandate of UNAMA till March 2015
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The UN Security Council on 17 March 2014 extended the mandate of the United Nati
ons
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year until 17 March 2015.
The mandate
is focused on local ownership and leadership regarding security, governance and
development
in Afghanistan.
Russia suspended from G-8 Countries Club over its incursion into Crimea
G-8 nations (Group of the eight Countries) on 18 March 2014 suspended Russia fro
m elite club
of world powers. It has been suspended amid heightened tensions over its incursi
on in Crimea
of Ukraine. This announcement of suspension of Russia was made by Laurent Fabius
, the
Foreign Minister of France.
**G-8 Countries are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, USA
and Russia
(now suspended).
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION SUED 16 WORLD
LARGEST BANKS
The US regulator, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on 14 March 2014 filed a
law-suit on
16 of the worlds largest banks. The regulator accused the banks for allegedly man
ipulating the
Libor interest rate.
The Banks that has been sued includes Barclays Plc, HSBC, Citigroup and Royal Ba
nk of Scotland,
UBS and British Bankers Association (BBA) and others.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PASSED A LAW TO INTRODUCE A
UNIVERSAL MOBILE DEVICE CHARGER
European Parliament on 17 March 2014 passed a law to develop a common charger fo
r all
mobile phones sold in the continent of Europe. European Parliament had amended i
ts radio
equipment laws to develop a common charger for all mobile phones.
The law was approved by 550 votes to 12, with 8 abstentions.
The introduction of a common charger will serve the interests of both consumers
and the
environment. It will help to put an end to charger clutter and would reduce 5100
0 tonnes of
electronic waste annually.
It was expected that the universal charging configuration would come into force
by 2017.
As per the Expert estimation there are some 30 different types of charger curren
tly in the
market. Phone makers such as Apple, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and
ALCATEL
have all signed an agreement to make their phones compatible with a single, USB
style charger.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
AGREEMENTS
agreements with Kyrgyz Republic during the
Minister of Kyrgyz to India. The two sides
assistance in criminal matters and to simpl
holders.
The office of Consulate General will work on the supervision of Visa and Immigra
tion services.
The services will be offered for the entire South India. That is, the new office
is supposed to
cater to the needs of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Vice President of India launched India-China Year of Friendly Exchanges
The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari launched the India-China Year of Fri
endly
Exchanges on 11 February 2014. The Year 2014 has been designated by the Governme
nts of
India and China as the Year of Friendly Exchanges.
The Year of Friendly Exchanges will help in forging a closer and stronger relati
onship between
India and China.
DOMESTIC CONTENT REQUIREMENT OF INDIAS SOLAR MISSION
CHALLENGED BY US
Domestic content requirement of India s solar mission on 10 February 2014 was ch
allenged by
the United States, which it alleged as discriminatory and against international
norms including
the laws of WTO. It has badly affected the American domestic solar panel manufac
turing
industry.
US NAVY ANM66 BOMB, THE LARGEST EVER WWII BOMB WAS
SUCCESSFULLY DISMANTLED
Hong Kong police on 7 February 2014 successfully dismantled the largest ever fou
nd World War
II bomb. The bomb was found in the city at the construction site, which was disc
overed on 6
February 2014. It was unearthed near a Sikh Temple, residential housing and hote
ls. The police
evacuated 2260 people from the construction site.
The US Navy ANM66 bomb of nearly one tonne in weight was discovered by the build
ing
workers in the Happy Valley District, near the citys famous downtown racing track
. The bomb
disposal experts took a time of 15 hours to remove the live explosives from the
bomb.
The bomb weighed 900 kilograms and more than five meters long. Its diameter was
two feet
and it is believed that the bomb was dropped by US forces in 1945. As per the Po
lice, the time
was taken because the explosives inside the bomb were sensitive and they needed
to cut the
shell in a low temperature environment.
Hong Kong was a former colony of British and it saw a fierce fight in December 1
941 against the
invasion of Japanese, who occupied it until 1945.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Earlier, similar type of British shell was detonated in November 2013 in a contr
olled explosion
at the Peak. Similar unexploded wartime ordnances are routinely found in the sou
thern Chinese
city.
INDIA AND GERMANY SIGNED 2 PACTS FOR FINANCIAL AND
TECH CO-OPERATION
India and Germany on 5 February 2014 signed two umbrella agreements for financia
l and
technical co-operation under Indo German bilateral Development Cooperation frame
work. P
Chidambaram, the Union Finance Minister and Gerd Mueller, the German Federal Min
ister for
Economic Cooperation and Development signed the pacts during their bilateral mee
ting.
These agreements were signed during an official visit of Joachim Gauck the Presi
dent of Federal
Republic of Germany is on a six day (4-9 February 2014) State Visit to India. Pr
esident Joachim
Gauck is being accompanied by a high-level delegation including Ministers, Membe
r of
Parliament and business leaders.
NEPAL AND INDIA AMENDED BILATERAL TRANSIT TREATY
India and Nepal amended a bilateral transit treaty on 2 February 2014. The amend
ment to the
export procedure in the Memorandum to the Protocol to the Treaty of Transit of 1
999 will
facilitate the transit of goods of third country origin exported from Nepal.
This amendment in the provisions of the Treaty of Transit brought into effect a
significant
decision which was reached between the two sides during the Nepal-India Inter-Go
vernmental
Committee (IGC) meeting on Trade, Transit and Cooperation to Control Unauthorise
d Trade
held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 21 22 December 2013
India pledged 44.12 million rupees grant assistance to Nepal Academy Library
India on 30 January 2014 pledged Nepal to grant assistance of 44.12 million rupe
es for the
construction of Nepal Academys library building in Kathmandu.
Nepal Academy, established in 1957, is a premier national institution devoted to
the promotion
of language, literature, culture, philosophy and research activities.
INDIAN RUPEE TO BE A LEGAL TENDER IN ZIMBABWE
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced Indian rupee as a legal tender on 2
9 January
2014.
176
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
RBZ was adding Indian Rupee and three other Asian currencies to the basket of cu
rrencies to be
circulated in the country. These include China, Japan and Australia.
The public can now open accounts in Chinese Yuans, Australian Dollars, Indian Ru
pees and
Japanese Yens.
Till now, Zimbabwe accepted the US dollar and the South African rand as the main
legal tender,
which helped the country to stabilize the economy after world-record inflation t
hrew it into a
tailspin.
INDIA AND JAPAN INKED MOUS TO STRENGTHEN
COOPERATION IN TOURISM AND POWER GENERATION
India and Japan inked several pacts during the official visit of the Prime Minis
ter of Japan to
India from 25 to 27 January 2014. Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan was th
e Chief Guest
of India on the occasion of the Republic Day parade on 26 January 2014.
RUSSIA AND CHINA TO CONDUCT WAR GAMES IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
Russia and China will conduct their first ever naval war games in the Mediterran
ean Sea from 1
February 2014.
The joint naval drill, involves Russias heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the G
reat and Chinese
frigate Yancheng.
The main purpose of the drill is to enhance the interoperability of Russian and
Chinese combat
ships for joint operation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
USA ALLOWED SIKH MILITARY MEN TO WEAR TURBAN
USA allowed the Sikh military men to wear turbans, head scarfs and other religio
us clothing
with their uniform. USA updated its policy on 23 January 2014.
This move is likely to improve military job prospects for members of the Sikhs c
ommunity in
USA.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
2014. The objective is to oversee smooth transition and promote normalised diplo
matic
presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
APSPO has been tasked to perform the specific project of supporting executive de
partments
and agencies in facilitating a partnership with the two South Asian countries of
Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
APSPO will be a temporary office and would be based in Washington, Islamabad and
Kabul. It
would promote security and stabilisation and transitioning to a normalised diplo
matic presence
in both the countries.
PESHAWAR, LARGEST RESERVOIR OF POLIO IN WORLD: WHO
Peshawar in Pakistan had the largest number of polio cases in the world in 2013.
This was
revealed by World Health Organisation (WHO) in a global analysis for polio cases
on 17 January
2014.
The analysis by World Health Organisation (WHO) further said that Pakistan is th
e only polioendemic country which reported more polio cases in 2013 than in 2012
. Pakistan reported 83
cases in 2013 compared to 58 cases in 2012. In 2013, 369 cases were reported wor
ldwide.
HERY RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA DECLARED AS THE PRESIDENT
OF MADAGASCAR
Hery Rajaonarimampianina, a former Finance Minister of Madagascar on 17 January
2014 was
declared as the new President of the nation. His election as the President came
as the result of
the elections conducted on 20 December 2013 with an aim to restore democracy in
the nation.
Hery Rajaonarimampianina was officially declared as the president of the country
by Francois
Rakotozafy, the president of the electoral court. He was successful in garnering
53 percent of
votes in the elections.
INDIA & UK SIGNED MOU TO ENHANCE THE COLLABORATION
WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF UKIERI
Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Ministry of Labour and E
mployment
(MoLE) on 16 January 2014 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance th
e
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Pakistan took this decision to combat the problem of shortage of power supply in
the country.
Nuclear power was set to become a major player in the country s power sector.
INDIA & SAUDI ARABIA SIGNED PACT TO PROTECT INTERESTS
OF INDIAN DOMESTIC SECTOR WORKERS
India and Saudi Arabia on 2 January 2013 signed an agreement to protect the inte
rests and
rights of Indian domestic sector workers in the Gulf Kingdom. The pact was signe
d by Overseas
Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and the visiting Adel bin Mohammed Fakeih,
the Labour
Minister of Saudi Arabia in New Delhi.
LATVIA BECAME THE 18TH MEMBER OF EURO ZONE
Latvia on 2 January 2014 became the 18th member of the Euro zone. The small ex-S
oviet state
has been preparing for the switch, since European Union finance ministers formal
ly announced
in July 2013 that Latvia could adopt the Euro.
Both Standard & Poors and Fitch have raised the countrys credit ratings in anticip
ation of its
euro entry.
Latvia gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and joined the Euro
pean Union
and NATO in 2004. Latvia became the fourth smallest member of the currency area,
ahead of
Cyprus, Estonia and Malta. Estonia joined the euro zone in 2011 and Lithuania ai
ms to do so in
2015.
JAPAN S POPULATION DIPPED TO RECORD LOW IN 2013
The Health Ministry of Japan on 1 January 2014 estimated that a quarter of the p
opulation is
currently aged over 65 and the figure is expected to reach nearly 40 percent by
2060. It has
estimated that the population of the country in 2013 declined by a record 244000
people. It
also says that if in case the same trend persists in future, the population of J
apan will lose a
third of its population in next 50 years.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Environment Ecology
BNP PARIBAS LAUNCHED EQUITY INDEX LINKED GREEN BOND
TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE
BNP Paribas on 18 September 2014 launched equity index linked green bond. It was
launched in
collaboration with the World Bank which will help raise funds for products seeki
ng to mitigate
climate change. It is the first equity index linked with green bond.
SCIENTISTS WARNED CLIMATE CHANGE WILL EXACERBATE THE
THREAT OF MEGADROUGHTS
Scientists warned that Climate change will exacerbate the threat of Megadroughts
. This was
revealed in a report titled Assessing the risk of persistent drought using clima
te model
simulations and paleoclimate data published in September 2014 issue of American
Meterological Societys Journal of Climate. The lead author of the study is Dr Tob
y Ault.
The report is the first to scientifically establish that climate change exacerba
tes the threat of
Megadroughts.
TEA BOARD OF INDIA POSTPONED THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
PLANT PROTECTION CODE
The Tea Board of India decided on 31 August 2014 to postpone the full implementa
tion of the
plant protection code (PPC) which was supposed to be effective from 1 September
2014.
The implementation of PPC has been postponed till January 2015, but some of othe
r provisions
of the code will come into force from September 2014.
UNION GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTED A PANEL TO REVIEW
ENVIRONMENT LAWS
Union Government on 2 September 2014 constituted a high-level committee to revie
w five
environment laws. The Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian will head the committe
e
comprising of four members.
The members of the committee are former Environment Ministry secretary Viswanath
Anand,
Justice (Retd) A K Srivastav and senior advocate of Supreme Court K N Bhat.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The board also decided that the sacred Mangar Bani and a 500-metre buffer radius
around it
will be earmarked as a no-construction zone.
CHANCES OF EL NINO WOULD EXCEED 65 PERCENT THIS YEAR:
US CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER
The US Climate Prediction Center on 5 May 2014 said that the chances of weatheraltering El
Nino will develop in Pacific Ocean. In its forecast it highlighted that El Nino
would exceed from
50 percent to 65 percent.
El Nino is one part of Southern Oscillation and is caused due to an abnormal war
ming of surface
ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific. On the other hand, the Australian
Bureau of
Meteorology in the second week of May 2014 also updated that El Nino development
would be
up to 70 percent.
**About El Nino and La Nina
El Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial
Pacific. La
Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pac
ific.
El Nino is an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific
having important
consequences for weather around the globe. These are increased rainfall across t
he southern
tier of the US and in Peru, which has caused destructive flooding and drought in
the West
Pacific, and sometimes associated with devastating brush fires in Australia.
NEW DANCING FROG SPECIES FOUND IN WESTERN GHATS
14 new species of dancing frogs were discovered in the Western Ghats of southern
India by the
scientists/biologists. These tiny acrobatic amphibians (frogs) were found by Ind
ian biologists.
The Indian Dancing frogs are scientifically known as Micrixalidae and their fami
ly comprises a
single genus Micrixalus. Name of the species has been derived by their style of
unusual kicks
used to attract the mates.
The species of other dancing frogs are found in Central America and Southeast As
ia. The Indian
family evolved about 85 million years ago.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
NEIGHBOURHOOD
TREES
CAMPAIGN
INTERNATIONAL MOTHER EARTH DAY
LAUNCHED
ON
Neighbourhood Trees Campaign was launched on International Mother Earth Day by t
he India
Biodiversity Portal on 22 April 2014. The Campaign will be organized from 22 Apr
il to 27 April
2014.
It is a unique citizen science project that aims to document tree species across
the country
through crowd sourcing. The Crowd sourcing is the practice of obtaining needed s
ervices, ideas,
or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of online community.
Neighbourhood Trees campaign is probably the first Crowd sourcing project in Ind
ia. Such
crowd-sourcing projects have been popular in the West.
The campaign is part of the TreesIndia group activity on the India Biodiversity
Portal in
association with ATREE, SeasonWatch, Nizhal (Chennai), Keystone Foundation (Kota
giri), Strand
Life Sciences and Azim Premji University.
The aim of the online campaign is to spread awareness on the importance of trees
and to
aggregate information on tree diversity across the country. As a part of campaig
n, volunteers
need to click photographs of trees in their gardens and neighbourhood and sign u
p at
treesindia.in and upload their observations.
CHERRAPUNJI REGAINED THE WORLD RECORD FOR HIGHEST
RAINFALL IN 48 HOURS
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) panel on 4 April 2014 announced that Che
rrapunji
in India regained the world record for highest rainfall in 48 hours with 2493 mi
llimeters. The
previous highest rainfall in Cherrapunji was recorded on 1516 June 1995.
The previous world record for 48-hour rainfall was held by La Reunion Island in
the Indian
Ocean. La Reunion Island holds the record with 2467 millimeters from April 1958.
L Reunion is
a French island with a population of 840974 inhabitants located in the Indian Oc
ean, southwest
of Mauritius.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Usually they are found throughout in south of River Ganges, southern part of Wes
tern Ghats
and Eastern Ghats, Central India Highlands, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya.
Dhole is listed under endangered category in the IUCN Red list. In a group, Dhol
e can be
dangerous for the tigers too.
ICJ ORDERED THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT TO STOP ITS
WHALING PROGRAMME JARPA II
The UN s International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherland on 31 Mar
ch 2014 has
ruled that the Japanese government must halt its whaling programme Jarpa II in t
he Antarctic
Ocean. Japan has agreed to abide by the decision.
IPCC RELEASED FIFTH ASSESSMENT REPORT ON CLIMATE
IMPACTS ON HUMAN AND NATURAL SYSTEMS
UN report released on 30 March 2014 has warned that the increasing magnitude of
global
warning will have severe, pervasive and irreversible impact on the climate. The
UN backed
panels report was finalised by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This comprehensive scientific and technical assessment on the impacts of climate
change across
the world was published after a weeklong intense discussion of scientists and of
ficials in
Yokohama, Japan. The meeting was held from 25 to 29 March 2014 and this report i
s based on
more than 12000 peer-reviewed scientific studies.
GEAC REVALIDATED 10-GM CROPS FOR FIELD TRAILS
Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) on 21 March 2014 revalidated ten
varieties of
Genetically Modified (GM) crops including wheat, rice, maize, cotton and sorghum
for field
trails.
Revalidation of GM crops varieties was required due to the lapse of validity per
iod on account
of State governments not allowing field trial. The GEAC had given its clearance
in those 10 cases
way back in 2011 and 2012.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
against drinking water with radioactivity levels higher than 10 becquerels per l
itre.
The level is about 7.6 million times the governments limit for water allowed to b
e released into
the ocean.
The leak, according to TEPCO, might have been caused by a faulty valve in the pi
pes that
transfers water from a decontamination facility to storage tanks.
However, the contaminated water had not reached the Pacific Ocean because the ta
nk is
located several hundred metres away from the sea and there are no spillways near
the tank.
The Fukushima nuclear plant was damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 fac
ed
multiple problems including leaks and power cuts since the disaster.
STUDY FOUND THAT FERTILIZATION DESTABILIZES GLOBAL
GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS
A new research study named Nutrient Network (NutNet) published in the third week
of
February 2014 says that use of fertilizers in farming and industries have destab
ilizing effects on
global grassland ecosystems. The study was carried out by an international team
of researchers
and scientists from Lancaster University and University of Minnesota, who found
that the
natural ecosystem creates more stable ecosystems overtime, because of less synch
ronized
growth of pants.
COUNTRYS FIRST WILD DOG BREEDING CENTRE TO BE CREATED
IGZP IN VIZAG
Central Zoo Authority on 18 February 2014 selected the Indira Gandhi Zoological
Park (IGZP) of
Vizag for creation of a conservation breeding centre for the endangered wild dog
Dhole. This
will be the first zoo in India to have a breeding centre for Dholes and it will
be created in two to
three months. 50 lakh rupees will be invested to undertake the project.
IUCN has classified Dholes as an endangered species. The population of wild dogs
has gone up
from just two to 22 in the country in a series of successful in-breeding of wild
dogs in the zoo.
22 is the highest number of wild dogs in captivity in India.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
species will be enlisted as endangered status of IUCN Red list. The small group
of river dolphins
was discovered by a team of experts from Federal University of Amazons in Manaus
, Brazil.
This species has been named as botos and were found in the Araguaia basin where
they were
separated from other populations by only a narrow canal and series of rapids. Ar
aguaian boto
name was suggested by the team who discovered the fact that this species is dist
inct after
closer inspection and DNA test.
Scientists say that these Araguaian botos are the closest relatives of Inia geof
frensis and Inia
boliviensis genetically.
BAN ON BURNING TYRES IN PUBLIC PLACES: NATIONAL GREEN
TRIBUNAL
National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 7 February 2014 issued a ban on the process of
burning of
tyres at public places like roads and areas surrounded by residential buildings.
The order was
passed following the actions of burning tyres during the religious and political
possessions by
groups as it cause health hazard.
Burning tyres creates toxic smoke, which is also a serious environmental threat.
This ban was
issued by Western Zone Bench of NGT after hearing a petition against the Maharas
htra
Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the State of Maharashtra.
OLDEST TIGRESS MACHLI FOUND IN RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL
PARK
Machli, Queen Mother of tiger dynasty was found in the Ranthambhore National Par
k on 5
February 2014. The tigress was missing from 9 January 2014 from zone 5 of the pa
rk.
The 17-year-old Machli is the longest living wild-tigress in the world, besides
being the most
photographed big cat. The tigress was identified as T-16.
Machli had survived in the dense forest by hunting her own prey despite her adva
nced age.
FIRST ONLINE GLOBAL FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY ATLAS
LAUNCHED
A new online Atlas of freshwater biodiversity that presents spatial information
and species
distribution patterns was launched on 29 January 2014 at the landmark Water Live
s
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
symposium. The symposium (conference) brought together the European Union policy
makers
and freshwater scientists.
Delhi Metro awarded GSF certification for efficient energy use
The Delhi Metro was awarded the prestigious Gold Standard Foundation (GSF) certi
fication
standard for using the energy efficiently on 2 February 2014. Delhi Metro became
the first ever
Railway system in the world with GSF certification standard.
GSF standard certification is a globally accepted certification standard for car
bon mitigation
projects. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) registered for the certificati
on standard for
its energy efficiency measures undertaken in 51 stations in Phase II of the DMRC
Project.
WORLDS OLDEST FLAMINGO DIED AT ADELAIDE ZOO OF
AUSTRALIA
Worlds oldest flamingo known as Greater died at the age of 83 on 30 January 2014
at Adelaide
Zoo of Australia. Greater was brought to the zoo in 1933 and lived long with the
Chilean
flamingo named Chilly, who is in his 60s. Chilly is the only remaining flamingo
in Australia.
The worlds oldest Flamingo was the last Greater flamingo that has resided in Aust
ralia. Its
known that the lifespan of the flamingos is of about 25 years in the wild but th
ey can live for
many decades in captivity.
SAVING ASIAS VULTURES FROM EXTINCTION PROJECT FOR
ASIAN VULTURES
A programme named Saving Asias Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) in its plan wants
to release
up to 25 birds into the 30000 kilometer square safe zone. The captive-bred birds
will be
released into the wild by 2016 under the project would. The project has been pla
nned following
the devastation in the populations due to vetting of drugs named Diclofenac on c
attle.
INDIA
RANKED
155TH
PERFORMANCE INDEX
IN
GLOBAL
ENVIRONMENT
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2014 was released on 25 January 2014.
As per the
Index, India was ranked 155 out of 178 countries with an index score of 31.23 po
ints in its
efforts to address environmental challenges.
India was ranked behind neighbouring countries China at 118, Pakistan at 148 and
Nepal at 139
respectively.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Among the BRICS countries, South Africa was placed at 72nd position, followed by
Russia (73),
Brazil (77) and China (118).
EPI ranks how well countries perform on high-priority environmental issues mainl
y in the areas
of protection of human health from environmental harm and protection of ecosyste
ms.
2013 IS FOURTH WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD FOR THE PLANET:
REPORTS
Two top American scientific agencies NOAA and NASA in their separate releases ha
ve
confirmed the trend of global warming is continuing. The releases were made on 2
2 January
2014.
Annual climate report of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
shows that
above-average annual temperature was experienced in most of the planet in 2013.
As per the
release, 2013 was the fourth warmest year, since record keeping began in 1880. T
he
temperature of 2013 tied with the temperature experienced by the world in 2003.
CHILIKA LAGOON NAMED DESTINATION FLYWAYS BY UNWTO
Chilika lagoon in Odisha was named Destination Flyways by the United Nations Wor
ld Tourism
Organization (UNWTO) on 21 January 2014. The lagoon was named so for its sustain
able and
resilient destination for migratory birds.
Chilika is the only site to be selected from Asia by the UNWTO and was included
in a list of eight
such sites. The Destination Flyways initiative of UNWTO aims at promotion of sus
tainable
tourism.
BEIJING GOT SEVERE NEW LAW TO CONTROL HAZARDOUS
SMOG AND AIR POLLUTION
Beijing, the Chinese Capital on 22 January 2014 passed a regulation to curb air
pollution
featuring emission controls. The comprehension measure to tackle air pollution a
lso carries
harsher penalties in the citys latest effort to battle its notorious smog. At pre
sent the Chinese
capital city is plagued by its dangerous unclean air. This is the first pollutio
n warning of China in
2014.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
asked the global community to cut the emissions without any delay and also sugge
sted to make
a shift towards the clean energy.
PARLIAMENT OF EUROPEAN UNION APPROVED CO2 EMISSION
RESTRICTIONS FOR COMMERCIAL VANS
The Parliament of Europe approved new carbon dioxide restrictions for commercial
vans on 14
January 2014 that will slash emissions by 28 percent from 2020.
Under the rules are all new light commercial vehicles sold across the European U
nion (EU) will
emit a maximum 147 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre instead of 203 gramme
s as per
the level set in 2007. The legislation would be reviewed in 2015.
DINOSAURS FOOTPRINTS SPOTTED IN JAISALMER: SCIENTISTS
An International team of 34 scientists on 13 January 2014 spotted the footprints
of Dinosaurs at
Thaiat village in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan. At present, the team of scien
tists from a number
of countries is camping in Jaisalmer to study the fossils of Dinosaurs found in
sandy desert
areas.
The research related to fossils is centered on the evolution, extinction and pal
eo-biogenography of the dinosaurs. The team of scientists also includes scientis
ts from India. It also
includes scientists from France and Germany.
EXCEPTIONALLY RARE CONJOINED WHALES DISCOVERED
Fishermen found a conjoined gray whale calves in the lagoon in Baja California i
n second week
of January 2014 as per the Mexican officials. The discovery of the conjoined gra
y whale is
exceptional and rare. This discovery is exceptional because till date any preced
ent of such a
whale has not been found.
The whale was found alive in the lagoon of Ojo de Liebre, which opens to the Pac
ific Ocean in
the Baja California peninsula but it died shortly after birth according a govern
ment biologist.
INDIAN PITTAS, ENDEMIC BIRD SPOTTED IN DELHI
India Pitta, a small and colourful bird which is endemic was spotted at Aravalli
Biodiversity Park
in Delhi after 60 years recently.
A rare butterfly, Striped Blue Crow, was also seen for the first time at Aravall
i Biodiversity Park.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Indian pitta is mainly found in the Himalayan foothills and Western Ghats in win
ters is mainly
seen in closed canopy forest.
Pittas belong to the family of Pittidate that has 32 species distributed through
out Asia, Africa
and Australia.
The bird is also known as the Blue-Winged Pitta, the Bengal Pitta, the Painted T
hrush and
Navaratna in Hindi because of its vibrant colours.
The bird sighting was last reported by ornithologist Usha Ganguli in her book A
Guide to the
Birds of Delhi.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Sports
UNION SPORTS MINISTRY FINALLY AGREED TO HONOUR BOXER
MANOJ KUMAR WITH ARJUNA AWARD
Union Sports Ministry on 17 September 2014 finally agreed to honour Boxer Manoj
Kumar with
Arjuna Award.
The decision to give Arjuna Award to Manoj Kumar came after Manoj Kumar approach
ed the
Delhi High Court challenging the Arjuna Awards list prepared by the Kapil Dev le
d Selection
Committee. The Committee had instead nominated Boxer Jai Bhagwan for the Award.
HOCKEY INDIA INDUCTED HOCKEY VILLAGE INDIA AS AN
ACADEMY MEMBER
Hockey India (HI) on 19 September 2014 inducted Hockey Village India (HVI) as an
Academy
Member to reach out to underprivileged children who are keen to make a career in
the sport.
At present, Hockey India has 26 permanent Members, 23 associate Members, one Mem
ber
through State Olympic Associations, eight Academy Members and one Hoc-Key Member
.
SARDAR SINGH BECAME INDIA S FLAG BEARER AT 17TH ASIAN
GAMES OPENING
Sardar Singh on 19 September 2014 became India s flag bearer at 17th Asian Games
opening.
Sardar Singh is the captain of Indian Hockey team.
Sardar singh lead the Indian Contingent of 130 Indian athletes as the organizers
had put the
limitations of 130 persons from any country to be participated in the opening ce
remony.
The strength of Indian contingent was 679, which included 516 athletes.
17TH ASIAN GAMES BEGAN IN INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA
The 17th Asian Games also known as XVII Asiad commenced at Asiad Main Stadium in
Incheon,
South Korea on 19 September 2104. The theme of the 2014 Asian Games is Meet Asias
Future.
The games will see participation of about 13000 athletes from 45 nations in diff
erent sports
categories for over 1300 medals. In 16 days the games will see the participants
competing in
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
439 events spread across 36 sports disciplines. The 17th edition of the game wil
l come to an
end on 4 October 2014.
AIBA PERMITTED INDIAN BOXERS TO TAKE PART IN ASIAN
GAMES UNDER TRICOLOUR
International Boxing Association (AIBA) on 16 September 2014 permitted Indian bo
xers
(pugilists) to take part in the 17th Asian Games 2014 under the national tricolo
r. This
permission was given by AIBA after it gave provisional recognition to Boxing Ind
ia on 15
September.
This action of AIBA means that national anthem will be rendered during the medal
ceremony
when an Indian wins a gold medal at the Asian Games (Asiad) that will be played
from 19
September to 4 October 2014 at Incheon, South Korea.
LADAKH AUTONOMOUS HILL DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISED 3RD LADAKH MARATHON AT LEH
COUNCIL
The third Ladakh Marathon was organised by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Co
uncil
(LAHDC) on 14 September 2014 at Leh in Jammu and Kashmir. Around 3000 people fro
m across
the world participated in the Marathon.
The Ladakh Marathon was organised with an aim to foster National Spirit and enco
urage Sports
in Ladakh.
BOXING INDIA EARNED OFFICIAL RECOGNITION FROM AIBA
AIBA Executive Committee Bureau on 15 September 2014 formally recognised Boxing
India as
the provisional AIBA National Federation to represent the sport of boxing in Ind
ia.
The recognition of Boxing India was confirmed through an official letter of the
President of the
International Boxing Association (AIBA), Dr Ching-Kuo Wu to the President of Box
ing India
Sandeep Jajodia.
USA WON FIBA BASKETBALL WORLD CUP 2014
USA on 14 September 2014 won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 by defeating Serbia.
The
World Cup was held at Madrid, Spain.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The United States became the third country to win consecutive world titles and e
xtended its
winning streak in international play to 63 games.
HS PRANNOY WON INDONESIAN MASTERS TITLE
HS Prannoy, the young Indian shuttler won Indonesian Badminton Masters Grand Pri
x Gold on
14 September 2014. He defeated Indonesian Firman Abdul Kholik 21-11, 22-20 to gr
ab his
maiden Grand Prix (GP) title in the finals played at GOR Jakabaring stadium, Ind
onesia.
CHITRESH TATHA IS THE YOUNGEST SAILOR AT THE ASIAN
GAMES 2014
Chitresh Tatha, 12, is the youngest sailor to represent India at the 2014 Asian
Games . He sails
in the Optimist Dinghy category.
The 17th edition Asian Games will be held in Incheon, South Korea from 19 Septem
ber to 4
October 2014.
ICC SUSPENDED PAKISTAN S SAEED AJMAL FOR
BOWLING ACTION
ILLEGAL
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 9 September 2014 suspended Saeed Ajma
l, the offspinner of Pakistan, from bowling in international cricket with immedi
ate effect for illegal
bowling action.
PANKAJ ADVANI ANNOUNCED TO RETIRE FROM PROFESSIONAL
SNOOKER
Pankaj Advani on 5 September 2014 announced to retire from the professional snoo
ker tour.
He decided to retire as he was finding it difficult to divide the time between b
illiards and
snooker. However, he will continue to participate in Billiards.
He will retire after Indian Snooker Open which is scheduled to be held in Pune f
rom 15
September to 19 September 2014 in which he will compete in the wild card qualify
ing round. If
he qualifies than he will compete in the tournament proper at Mumbai.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
MIKE AND BOB BRYAN WON FIFTH U.S. TENNIS OPEN MEN S
DOUBLES TITLE
American twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan on 7 September 2014 won the mens double
s titles
of the US Tennis Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, USA.
They defeated 11th seed Spain s Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-4 in the
final match of
U.S. Open men s doubles.
IOC AND INTERPOL MEET TO COMBAT MATCH FIXING & ILLEGAL
BETTING
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Interpol (International Police agency)
have
increased their collaboration to combat match-fixing and illegal betting.
To enhance the cooperation between the two bodies, the IOC President Thomas Bach
on 9
September 2014 met with secretary general of the international police agency Ron
ald Noble
and discussed the issue.
MARIN CILIC WON MEN S SINGLES TITLE OF US OPEN
Croatias Marin Cilic on 8 September 2014 won the Mens Singles title of the US Open
of Tennis.
To win his first Grand Slam title, the 14th seed Cilic defeated 10th seeded Kei
Nishikori of Japan
in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The final match of the title was played at Arth
ur Ashe Stadium in
New York.
RITU RANI TO LEAD INDIAN WOMENS HOCKEY TEAM IN ASIAN
GAMES 2014
Midfielder Ritu Rani was selected to lead Indian women s hockey team in Asian Ga
mes 2014. It
was announced by a panel comprising B P Govinda, Harbinder Singh and Surinder Ka
ur along
with Director High Performance Roelant Oltmans and chief coach Neil Hawgood on 3
September 2014.
SAINA NEHWAL DECIDED TO TRAIN UNDER NEW COACH VIMAL
KUMAR
Saina Nehwal on 1 September 2014 decided to train under new Coach Vimal Kumar. S
he
decided to split with the national head coach Pullela Gopichand.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
She confirmed that her loss of form and the rise of other players like PV Sindhu
and K Srikanth
had made her rethink her coaching options as Gopi was forced to split his time b
etween these
top shuttlers
WORLD BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS
World Badminton Championships
t 2014.
China topped the Championship
Silver and
Bronze medal. South Korea and
.
2014
was held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 25 - 31 Augus
with a total of 7 medals which includes 3 Gold, 3
Spain occupied second and third place respectively
MEMBER
Madhya Pradesh as its 23rd associate
under the wings of Hockey India.
to Hockey India was formerly known a
The committee will have 15 members, including 12 eminent sportspersons and three
officials.
The three officials -- Director General of the Sports Authority of India and a j
oint secretary and
deputy secretary from the ministry -- will also be in the committee.
KAPIL DEV TO HEAD ARJUNA AWARDS SELECTION COMMITTEE
Former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev Nikhanj was selected as the Chairperson of the
Arjuna Awards
Selection Committee on 7 August 2014. This Committee will choose outstanding spo
rtspersons
for 2014 of the Country. This Committees will have 15 members which includes12
sportspersons and 3 officials.
INDIA EQUALED WORLD RECORD OF MAXIMUM NUMBER OF 6
DUCKS IN A TEST INNINGS
Indian cricket team on 7 August 2014 equaled the world record of maximum number
of 6 ducks
(zero runs) in a Test innings. India equaled the record on the first day of the
Manchester Test
played against England.
KVITOVA WON THE WOMENS WIMBLEDON TENNIS OPEN
Petra Kvitova of Czechslovakia on 5 July 2014 won the womens single of Wimbledon
Tennis
Open of 2014. To win her second title, she defeated the Canadian Eugenie Bouchar
d 6-3, 6-0.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC WON THE MENS WIMBLEDON TENNIS OPEN
DEFEATING ROGER FEDERER
Novak Djokovic of Serbia on 6 July 2014 won the Mens Wimbledon Tennis Open defeat
ing
Roger Federer of Switzerland. He defeated Federer 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4.
This is the
second Wimbledon title for 27-year-old, Djokovic and seventh career Grand Slam.
Djokovic won
his first Wimbledon title in 2011.
MCC XI WON THE MATCH PLAYED TO CELEBRATE 200 YEARS OF
LORDS CRICKET GROUND
Marylebone Cricket Club XI on 5 July 2014 won the match played to celebrate 200years (bicentenary) of Lords Cricket Ground the Home of Cricket. Sachin Tendulkar
-led MCC XI beat
Shane Warne-led Rest of the World XI in Lords in London, UK.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The Italian Open 2014 was held in Rome Italy from 11 May 2014 to 18 May 2014. It
is red clay
tennis tournament after French Tournament. It is also known as Rome Masters or I
talians
Championships.
SERENA WILLIAMS WON THE WOMEN S ITALIAN TENNIS OPEN
2014 FOR THE THIRD TIME
Serena Williams of US won the Women s Italian Tennis Open 2014 on 18 May 2014. S
he
defeated World No. 11 Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-0 in the final held in Rome, I
taly.
This was the third Italian Open won by Serena. For the first time she won the It
alian Open in
2002 and the second Italian Open was won by her in 2013.
Also, the win gave Serena her 60th WTA titles and as a result she moved to Numbe
r 7 position
on the all-time list for most WTA titles.
The six highest on the all-time list for most WTA titles are Martina Navratilova
(who won 167
WTA titles), Chris Evert (154), Steffi Graf (107), Margaret Court (92), Evonne G
oolagong Cawley
(68) and Billie Jean King (67).
Besides, Errani is the first Italian to make to the final of Italian Open since
1985.
SIR JACK BRABHAM, THREE-TIME F-1 CHAMPION DIED IN
AUSTRALIA
Sir Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula One world champion died on 19 May 2014
at his
home in Australia after a long illness. He was 88.
He won the F-1 titles in 1959, 1960 and 1966. In 1966, he won the F-1 title in h
is own car named
Brabham, which was built by him.
PANKAJ ADVANI WON CCI BILIARDS TITLE
Pankaj Advani on 14 May 2014 won Cricket Club of India (CCI) Classic Billiards a
nd Snooker
tournament. He defeated two-time world runner-up Dhruv Sitwala 1425-447 in the f
inal.
The Bangalore-based Eight-time world champion Pankaj Advani also won the Highest
Break
award for the 530, which he scored against Devendra Joshi in the quarterfinals.
At the halfway mark of the four-hour final, Sitwala was trailing 227-787 with th
e aid of a 95
break. While, Advani had procured breaks of 243, 193, 98, 87 and 78.
About Pankaj Advani
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Pankaj Advani is a 8-time World Champion. He won his first world title when he w
as just 18. He
is the only Asian to have ever won both the Billiards and Snooker World Champion
ships.
Pankaj Advani is one of the youngest Indian to be honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna
award. He has also been conferred with the Arjuna and Padmashree awards.
HOCKEY INDIA HONOURED HEROES OF 1975 WORLD CUP TEAM
Hockey India (HI) honoured heroes of 1975 World Cup team on 14 May 2014. Hockey
India (HI)
felicitated 13 living members of the 1975 World Cup.
Hockey India honoured the team with a cheque of 175000 rupees to each member.
Ajit Pal Singh was the captain of the 1975 team. Other members were Ashok Kumar,
Aslam Sher
Khan, Brigadier (retd) Harcharan Singh, Leslie Fernandez, Varinder Singh, Ashok
Diwan, Michael
Kindo, BP Govinda, Brigadier (retd) HJS Chimni, VJ Phillips, Onkar Singh and Kal
iah PE.
The 1975 World Cup team was felicitated on the eve of announcement of the squad
for the
World Cup. The Hockey World Cup will be held in The Hague in May 2014. Till now,
India had
won the gold medal in Hockey world Cup only once in 1975.
GRANT FLOWER NAMED AS PAKISTAN BATTING COACH
Grant Flower, the former Zimbabwe batsman on 15 May 2014 was named as the battin
g coach
of Pakistan cricket team for two years. He will join the Pakistan side on 1 Augu
st 2014 just
before the Sri Lanka series of the team.
Grant Flower name was finalised on the recommendation of the coaching committee
comprised of
Moin Khan - Chief Selector
Intikhab Alam - director domestic cricket operations
Haroon Rashid - director game development
MANIPUR WON SENIOR
CHAMPIONS TITLE
NATIONAL
WOMEN S
FOOTBALL
Manipur on 12 May 2014 won the 20th Senior National Womens Football Championships
title
at the Golaghat Stadium in Assam. To clinch the title, Manipur defeated the defe
nding
champions Orissa by 3-1.
Bala Devi of Manipur scored two goals and the third was made by Oinam Benbem (th
e
AIFF Womens Player of the Year)
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Sakina Nesa of Orissa reduced the margin of goals by scoring a goal in the last
minutes
At the end of the tournament, Bala Devi was adjudged as the player of the tourna
ment.
Last time, Manipur won the Championships in 2010.
MARIA SHARAPOVA
MADRID OPEN TITLE
DEFEATED SIMONA
HALEP
TO
WIN
Maria Sharapova of Russia on 11 May 2014 won the Mutua Madrid Open Tennis title.
To win
her 1st Madrid Open title, Sharapova defeated the Romanian Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2
, 6-3 in the
finals.
With this win, Sharapova has captured 31st career title. For Halep, this was fir
st appearance in
the finals at one of the WTAs Premier tournament.
Earlier in 2013, Sharapova lost the finals of Madrid to Serena Williams. Since 2
011, the eighth
seed Sharapova has lost only three times on the clay and all the defeats by the
hand of world
number one Serena Williams.
RAFAEL NADAL WON MADRID OPEN TITLE
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal on 11 May 2014 won his 27th ATP World Tour Masters 1000
title at
Mutua Madrid Tennis Open final. He won after Kei Nishikori of Japan was forced t
o withdraw
with a back injury when was trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final set.
With this win Nadal of Spain became the first player to win four Madrid open ten
nis titles.
His previous victories were
In 2005 against Ljugicic
In 2010 against Federer
In 2013 against Wawrinka
OSULLIVAN NAMED AS SNOOKERS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ronnie OSullivan on 8 may 2014 was crowned World Snookers Player of the Year at th
e sport s
annual awards ceremony in London. Apart from this, OSullivan was also handed the
Fans
Player of the Year award after being voted by snooker supporters.
During the 2013/14 season, he won four titles, which included the Masters in Jan
uary when he
beat Mark Selby 10-4 in the final. He triumphed in the Welsh Open in March 2014
by rounding
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
off a 9-3 defeat of Ding Junhui with a 147 break. This was 12th maximum of his c
areer and a
new record too.
Awards given in the ceremony are
World Snooker Player of the Year: Ronnie O Sullivan
Snooker Writers Player of the Year: Ding Junhui
Fans Player of the Year: Ronnie O Sullivan
Rookie of the Year: John Astley
Performance of the Year: Mark Selby
Magic Moment of the Year: Mark Selby
Special award for 100 Centuries: Neil Robertson
147 Club (players making a 147 during the season): Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, M
ark
Selby, Dechawat Poomjaeng, Gary Wilson, Shaun Murphy, Ronnie O Sullivan
Hall of Fame inductees: Dennis Taylor and Cliff Thorburn
WAQAR YOUNIS APPOINTED AS HEAD COACH OF PAKISTAN
CRICKET TEAM
Waqar Younis, the former fast bowler of Pakistan on 6 May 2014 was appointed as
the national
coach of the national cricket team of Pakistan for a period of two years. His na
me was finally
formalised by the Pakistan Cricket Board after his name was declared a week ago
by Najam
Sethi, the Chairman of the Board.
His name was selected by a committee constituted by PCB that met in Lahore.
The committee included
Intikhab Alam - Director Domestic Cricket Operations
Haroon Rashid - Director Game Development
Moin Khan the Chief selector
VIRAT KOHLI RANKED NO 1 IN ICC ONE DAY INTERNATIONAL
RANKINGS
Virat Kohli was ranked no 1 in ICC list of One Day International (ODI) rankings
released in Dubai
on 4 May 2014. He remained on the top rank in batsmen list with 881 points and i
s followed by
the AB de Villiers with 872 points.
The other two Indians under top 10 list are Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni
and Shikhar
Dhawan.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Jadeja remained at fifth position with 676 points and Ravichandran Ashwin (rank
14) in the
bowling list. Jadeja is ranked fourth in the list of the all-rounder.
Top ten ranking of ICC of ODI batsmen
Rank
Name
points
1
V Kohli
India
2
A B de Villiers
South Africa
3
G J Bailey
Australia
4
H M Amla
South Africa
5
K C Sangakkara
Sri Lanka
6
M S Dhoni
India
7
S Dhawan
India
8
TM Dilshan
Sri Lanka
9
Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakistan
10
R L Taylor
Australia
MARK SELBY WON WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP 2014
Mark Selby of England won the World Snooker Championship 2014 in Sheffield, Engl
and on 6
May 2014. He won the title against the defending champion Ronnie O Sullivan with
18-14 in the
final. This is his first World title and he was runner-up in 2007. With this win
he was ranked
world no 1 in the Snooker.
Mark Selby, 30, won cash prize of 300000 pounds and he is the ninth player to wi
n Triple Crown
(World Championship, the Masters and UK Championship).
Earlier he won three Master titles (2008, 2010 and 2013) and a UK Championship i
n 2012.
The other titles include the Welsh Open in 2008 and the Shanghai Masters in 2011
.
Champion O Sullivan won the World title for five times, ranked 19 and this was t
he first world
final he lost.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
OPEN OF
Open of Squash at the Country Club of Vir
Australian Champion Rachael Grinham. Chin
in the finals and this was her first win
This was Chinappas ninth Women Squash Association (WSA) tour title in Country Clu
b of
Virginia. This was the 16th final of Joshna and 65th for Grinham since her caree
r started in
1998. Joshna was defeated by the Grinham at the Texas Open held from 8 April to
13 April 2014
in US.
STANISLAS WAWRINKA WON MONTE CARLO MASTERS TENNIS
TITLE BY DEFEATING ROGER FEDERER
Stanislas Wawrinka on 20 April 2014 won the men s single Monte Carlo Masters Ten
nis title by
defeating former world number one Roger Federer, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2. With this, th
e 29-year-old
Wawrinka has won his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.
CBI ESTABLISHED SPORT INTEGRITY UNIT TO INVESTIGATE
SPORTS FRAUD CASES
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) established a Sport Integrity Unit on
15 April 2014 to
investigate the cases related to fraud in sports. Betting and Match fixing are t
he most common
cases of sports fraud.
CBI had held discussions with officials of International Cricket Council (ICC) a
nd Federation
Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) before setting up the unit.
EIGHT FRANCHISEES OF INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE OF AIFF
ANNOUNCED
The names of the eight franchisees of All India Football Federation s (AIFF) Ind
ian Super League
(ISL) were announced on 13 April 2014. The names were announced after competitiv
e bidding
was held for the rights to own eight soccer teams in the ISL. The ISL is schedul
ed to be held in
September-November 2014.
During the competitive bidding each winning bidder paid about 25 million dollar
for a 10-year
contract for each of the eight soccer teams. The base price of each time was fix
ed at 12 crore
rupees and the total money spent on acquiring eight team was 120 crore rupees. T
he highest
price of 18 crore rupees was paid for Kolkata team.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
with 29 balls left to be bowled. This was the third successive Womens World Twent
y20 title
won by Australian womens cricket team.
Australias captain Meg Lanning (she was the highest scorer of the tournament with
257 runs)
Englands captain Charlotte Edwards
Player of the match SJ Coyte (Australia)
Player of the series A Shrubsole (England) for taking 12 wickets in the tourname
nt
Group stage
Group A: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Ireland
Group B: England, West Indies, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
PUNJAB WON JUNIOR NATIONAL HOCKEY TITLE 2014
Punjab on 6 April 2014 won the 4th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship
2014
(Division A) by defeating Hockey Odisha 6-2 in the finals at Chennai, Tamil Nadu
. With this win,
Punjab had retained the championship title.
To gain the third place in the tournament, Haryana defeated the Sports Authority
of India (7-3).
Awards
Best Goalkeeper Jugraj of Punjab
Best Deep Defender Nilam Sanjeev Xess of Odisha
Best Midfielder Sumit of Haryana
Best Forward Joseph Toppo of Odisha
Man of the Tournament Harjeet Singh of Punjab
SRI LANKA WON ITS MAIDEN ICC TWENTY20 WORLD CUP TITLE
Sri Lankan cricket team on 6 April 2014 won the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2014 titl
e after
defeating Indian cricket team by six wickets in the final match at Sher-e-Bangla
National Cricket
Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur, Dhaka.
In the final, India batting first scored 130 runs. In response Sri Lanka achieve
d the target of 131
runs by losing only 4 wickets in 17.5 overs. From Indian side, once again, Virat
Kohli led the
scorecard of Indian team. He made a valiant 77 runs of 58 balls. From the Sri La
nkan side, it was
Kumar Sangakkara who led his team to victory by making an unbeaten 52 runs of 38
balls.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Earlier in the semi-finals, India defeated South Africa and Sri Lanka defeated W
est Indies to
reach to the final of the T20 Cricket World Cup.
Man of the match Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka
Player of the Tournament Virat Kohli for hitting 319 runs in the tournament.
Captain of Sri Lankan cricket team in the final - Lasith Malinga
Capatin of Indian team - MS Dhoni
FIFA IMPOSED TRANSFER BAN ON BARCELONA
International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) imposed a transfer ban a
t both national
and international level on 2 April 2014 on Spanish club FC Barcelona. The ban pr
ohibited FC
Barcelona from buying and/or selling players for the next two transfer windows (
June 2014 and
January 2015).
This ban will last for one year. Apart from this ban, FIFA also imposed financia
l penalty on FC
Barcelona and Real Madrid.
INDIA RANKED AS NO. 1 CRICKET TEAM IN ICC T20 RANKINGS
The Indian Cricket Team was ranked as number one team in recently released Inter
national
Cricket Council (ICC) T20 rankings. ICC T20 ranking was released on 2 April 2014
. It replaced Sri
Lanka from the number one position.
India was able to push Sri Lanka to Number two due to its unbeaten run in its gro
up in the
ongoing T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
VISWANATHAN ANAND RAISES TO NO. 3 IN FIDE WORLD CHESS
RANKINGS
Viswanathan Anand ranked World number 3 in the rating list released by FIDE on 1
April 2014.
Anand with the Victory at the Candidates Tournament held in Russia in March 2014
has moved
five places ahead from 8 to 3 with 2785 Elo points.
According the rating list, Magnus Carlsen of Norway with Elo points 2881 ranks n
o 1 and Levon
Aronian of America with 2812 ranks 2.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The second phase of the tournament from 1 May to 12 May 2014 will be held in Ban
gladesh
only if Union Home Ministry doesnt permits to hold the event in India. The BCCI a
t present is
seeking permission to play IPL matches in Indian cities, where the polling will
be concluded in
respective states till then.
The third and the last phase of the tournament will be played in India once the
polling will
conclude in all states of the country. As per the decision, the board of BCCI ha
s decided to
conduct the remaining league matches plus the playoffs in India from 13 May 2014
1 June 2014.
It has also decided that no matches will be conducted on the day of counting of
the polls on 16
May 2014.
HEENA SIDHU AND CHAIN SINGH WON GOLD AT 7TH ASIAN AIR
GUN CHAMPIONSHIP
Heena Sidhu on 10 March 2014 won the Gold medal in the Womens Air pistol event at
the 7th
Asian Air Gun Championship in Kuwait.
Heena topped the qualification stage with 386 and won the Gold medal with a scor
e of 200.3,
Chia Ying Wu of Chinese Taipei won the Silver (198.3) and Wadha Al Balushi from
Oman won
the Bronze (177.3).
In Team Event, Heena along with Shweta Chaudhary and Harveen Srao won the Silver
medal
with a total score of 1138 (20x). China won the Gold with a score of 1138 (21x)
and Chinese
Taipei won the Bronze with a score of 1134.
MIZORAM WON 68TH SANTOSH TROPHY OF FOOTBALL BY
DEFEATING RAILWAYS
Mizoram on 9 March 2014 won the 68th senior National football championship of Sa
ntosh
Trophy by defeating Railways 3-0 in the final match played at Kanchenjungha Stad
ium in
Siliguri, West Bengal. This is the maiden Santosh Trophy for Mizoram and this wa
s also the first
appearance for them in the final match.
Railways for the last time bagged Santosh Trophy in 1966 and since then (48 year
s) it has never
won a single trophy.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Sindhu, 18 reached the finals of Syed Modi International before winning the All
India Open
Senior Ranking in Kochi. Sindhu is just 3928 points behind the Olympic bronze me
dalist, Saina
Nehwal.
Sindhu and Saina will be playing the All England Open Championships from 4 to 9
March 2014 in
Birmingham, England.
Parupalli Kashyap was ranked 18th place and Sourabh Verma reached the 41st rank
in the BWF
mens singles ranking.
The top ten ranks of BWF womens Singles
Ranking
Names
Country
1
2
Li Xuerui
Wang Yihan
China
China
3
Intanon
Thailand
4
5
Wang Shixian
Sung Ji Hyun
6
Bae Yeon Ju
7
Saina Nehwal
China
South
Korea
South
Korea
India
8
9
10
Tai Tzu Ying
P V Sindhu
Porntip
Buranaprasertsuk
Taiwan
India
Thailand
RENAUD LAVILLENIE BROKE 21-YEAR POLE VAULT RECORD OF
SERGEY BUBKA
Renaud Lavillenie, the French Olympic champion on 15 February 2014 broke 21-year
-old world
record of pole vault of Sergey Bubka with a leap of 6.16 meter at Donetsk in the
Ukraine.
Lavillenie aged 27 cleared the height in his first attempt by going 1 centimeter
higher than the
record set indoors by Bubka on 21 February 1993 at the age of 21. Bubka, the for
mer Olympic
champion also holds the world outdoor record of 6.14 meter achieved by him in Se
striere, Italy
in 1994.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Bubka was the pioneer of the sport to become the first man to clear 6 meter and
was present in
Donetsk, when Lavillenie eclipsed his world record. Lavillenie is the six-time o
utdoor world
champion. In pole vault, the world records set indoors or outdoors are accepted.
Sergey Bubka
Sergey Bubka is a former pole vaulter from Ukrain and was born on 4 December 196
3
He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991, was twice named A
thlete
of the Year by Track & Field News, and in 2012 was one of 24 athletes inducted a
s
inaugural members of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall
of
Fame
He has been a consecutive IAAD World Championships winner for six times
He is also a gold winner of Olympics
He has broken the world record of mens pole vaulting 35 times of which 18 were
broken indoors and 17 times outdoor
At present Bubka is a key member of the IOC and in 2013 he lost out to Thomas Ba
ch on
the race for President of the organization.
NEW ZEALAND WON TWO-CRICKET TEST SERIES AGAINST INDIA
1-0
New Zealand on 18 February 2014 won the two match Test Series against India 1-0
as the
second match played in Wellington ended in a draw. Brendon McCullum, the skipper
of the
team of New Zealand in the second test match created a history by becoming first
Kiwi player
to score triple hundred. He scored 302 runs in the second innings.
PENG SHUAI OF CHINA RANKED WORLD NO. 1 IN WTA DOUBLES
RANKING
Peng Shuai of China was ranked World Number 1 in the latest Womens Tennis Associa
tion
(WTA) Doubles ranking released on 17 February 2014. Peng Shuai is the first Chin
ese player to
ascend to the top of the WTA s doubles ranking.
Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei was ranked No.2 in WTA Doubles ranking which is t
he highest
ranking ever for a player from Chinese Taipei.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
8
Angelique
Kerber
Germany
9
Simona Halep
Romania
245
Country
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
10
Sara Erranil
Italy
CANCER AWARENESS PROGRAMME LAUNCHED BY YUVRAJ
SINGH
Yuvraj Singh, the Indian cricketer cancer foundation named YouWeCan joined its h
and with an
NGO Navbharat Sewa Samiti on 10 February 2014 to roll out a campaign named Cance
r Mukt
Purvi Dilli. The aim of joining the hand is to focus on awareness, early detecti
on of the disease
and education.
Yuvraj Singh during the launch of the programme highlighted the need for an earl
y detection of
the dangerous disease to save more lives.
About YouWeCan foundation
The YouWeCan foundation was launched by Yuvraj Singh on 6 July 2012 after he suc
cessfully
fought his battle against cancer. This organisation was launched as an initiativ
e dedicated to
raise cancer-awareness.
JUSTICE MUDGAL COMMITTEE SUBMITTED ITS REPORT ON IPL
SPOT FIXING SCANDAL
Mukul Mudgal, the Former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana led committee on 9
February
2014 submitted its report on IPL spot fixing scandal that involved the son-in-la
w of BCCI Chief,
Srinivasan. The committee was probing the charges against team owners of Chennai
Super
Kings and Rajasthan Royals
The report submitted by justice Mudgal says that the allegations of betting and
passing of
information during Indian Premier League 2013 against Gurunath Meiyappan has bee
n proved.
The report also says that more investigation is needed against Rajasthan Royals
owner Raj
Kundra, who is facing charges of betting and fixing the match.
YULIA LIPNITSKAYA IS THE YOUNGEST RUSSIAN TO WIN GOLD
MEDAL IN WINTER OLYMPICS
Yulia Lipnitskaya became the youngest Russian athlete to win a gold medal at the
Winter
Olympics. Yulia, 15-years-old won this medal in Winter Olympics 2014 at Sochi, R
ussia on 9
February 2014 in free skating in the team figure skating competition.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Yulia scored 141.51 points and earned a combined total of 214.41 under the Inter
national
Judging System. Kim Yuna of South Korea is the current record holder, who scored
150.06 and
combined total of 228.56 in womens single in Winter Olympics 2010.
The youngest athlete is South Korean short track speed skater Kim Yun-mi, who wo
n the medal
at the age of 13 in Winter Olympics, 1994.
About Yulia Lipnitskaya
Yulia was born in the Ural Mountains, Russia.
Yulia won a silver medal at the Russian Senior Championships, 2012 and a gold me
dal at
the Russian Junior Championships, 2012.
Yulia holds the title of Master of Sport of International Class in Russia.
BINDRA BECAME 1ST PERSON TO WIN THREE GOLD MEDALS IN
TRI-SERIES SHOOTING
Abhinav Bindra, the Indian shooter on 8 February 2014 won his third gold-medal i
n the InterShoot Tri-series Shooting in the Air Pistol event. With this, he beca
me the first person to win
three gold medals in the event that is being held at the Hague, Netherlands.
SRINIVASAN ELECTED AS THE NEW CHAIRMAN OF ICC FROM
JULY 2014 ONWARDS
Narayanswamy Srinivasan, the President of BCCI on 8 February 2014 was elected as
the new
Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). His tenure of the office wi
ll begin in July
2014 for a period of 2 years. This decision was taken by the ICC Board during th
eir meet in
Singapore. He will succeed Alan Raymond Isaac.
Apart from the approval on his name, the new model of Governance, finance and co
mpetition
was also approved by the voice-vote. The new proposal was voted by eight member
countries
of ten member nations. Sri Lanka and Pakistan abstained from voting saying that
more time was
needed by them to consult with their boards on the amended resolution.
With this appointment, the ICCs Board will be headed by Srinivasan. ICC Board is
the apex
decision making body of the world cricket. Srinivasan will be assisted by a new
Executive
Committee that will be chaired by Wally Edwards from Australia. The Finance and
Commercial
Affairs Committee chaired by Giles Clarke from the English cricket Board.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Man of the match: Lokesh Rahul of Karnataka, who scored highest 131 in the first
innings and 29 in the second.
Brief Score:
Karnataka: 515 and 157 for three
Maharashtra: 305 and 366 all out
Captains of the two teams
Karnataka: R Vinay
Maharashtra: Rohit Motwani
Karnataka s moment of glory arrived after 14 years of wait. This is the seventh
title win for
Karnataka; the first trophy was won in 1988-99 season. Captain of Karnataka, R V
inay became
the sixth captain of the state to win the title. The previous captains of the st
ate who have won
the title are
EAS Prasanna (twice)
Brijesh Patel
Anil Kumble
Rahul Dravid
Sunil Joshi
INDIA SUFFERED 4-0 LOSS IN 5 MATCH ODI SERIES AGAINST
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand on 31 January 2014 won the five ODI Series of 5 matches against Indi
a by 4-0 after
defeating India in the fifth match by 87 runs at the Westpac Stadium at Wellingt
on. New
Zealand that batted first gave a score of 304 runs to chase to the visitors, who
were all out at
the score of 216.
While chasing the score of 303 runs in the fifth and final match, India lost wic
kets at regular
intervals apart from Kohli and Dhoni, who scored 82 and 47 respectively, 20 runs
was scored by
two players and five batsmen fell for single digits along with one duck. From In
dia Varun Aaron
took 2 wickets by giving 60 runs and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as well as Mohammad Shami
took
one wicket each.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the fifth match became the fourth fastest
batsman to
complete 8000 runs in one-day cricket.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
In the mixed doubles final Yilv Wang and Huang Yaqiong of China beat compatriot
Kaixiang
Huang and Qingchen Chen 21-18, 21-14.
Womens Doubles
In the womens doubles final, Qingchen Chen and Yi Fan Jia of China registered a 2
2-24, 21-19,
21-11 victory against Yu Xiaohan and Huang Yaqiong of China.
Mens Doubles
In the mens doubles final, Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China beat compatriot Kaix
iang Huang
and Si Wi Zheng 21-17, 19-21, 22-20.
MS DHONI BECAME FIRST CAPTAIN TO PLAY IN FOUR TIED ODIS
MS Dhoni on 25 January 2014 became the first captain to be involved in four tied
One Day
International matches. Indian cricket team captain achieved this feat in Aucklan
d, while playing
third ODI match against New Zealand. The third match of India-New Zealand ODI se
ries that
tied by the end is the first tied game between the two countries in ODI.
The last three tied matches Dhoni has played are
ICC World Cup 2011 match in Bangalore against England
ODI match played on 11 September 2011 at Lords against England
ODI match played in February 2012 at Adelaide against Sri Lanka
Other cricketers who have faced tied matches in three cases are
Richie Richardson of West Indies
Steve Waugh of Australia
Shaun Pollock of South Africa
Australia won ODI series against England by 4-1
Australia on 26 January 2014 won the five matches ODI series against England 4-1
. England lost
the fifth match by five runs, while chasing 217 run target score set by Aussies
at Adelaide Oval.
Earlier, England won the fourth ODI match in Perth with a margin of 57 runs afte
r losing the
first three matched of the series.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Kerala on 17 July 2014 started observing Ramayana month in the temples. In Malay
alam it is
termed as the Ramayana Masam.
BURRA KATHA, A FOLK ART FORM OF STORYTELLING
Burra Katha was in news because one of the last exponents of Burra Katha passed
away on 12
August 2014. Burra Katha or Burrakatha is a Telugu art of oral storytelling. It
is performed in
Coastal Andhra region, Rayalaseema and Telangana.
KAWA MUSIC GROUP OF JAIPUR TO PERFORM AT XX
COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2014
Kawa Music Group of Jaipur, Rajasthan is set to perform during the XX Commonweal
th Games
(CWG) 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. The CWG 2014 will be held from 23 July to 3 Aug
ust 2014.
INDIA ELECTED TO INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR
SAFEGUARDING INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE
India has been elected to the Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of th
e Intangible
Cultural Heritage for the next four years (2014-18). India won the election to t
his committee
held on 4 June 2014 at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris by a resounding 135 votes agai
nst a total of
142 votes cast by Member States, who were present in the voting.
THREE ANCIENT HINDU TEMPLE STATUES RETURNED TO
CAMBODIA
Three Ancient Hindu temple statues were returned to Cambodia on 3 June 2014. The
three
statues were stolen from the Koh Ker temple in Siem Reap province temple in 2004
.
Statues were of mythological figures Duryodhana, Balarama and Bhima. The statues
were
SPAIN SUSPENDED THE 12TH BULL FIGHT FESTIVAL AFTER
MATADORS GOT INJURED BY BULLS
Spain on 22 May 2014 suspended the 12th bull fight festival (called San Isidro f
estival in Spain)
after matadors got injured by bulls. The fight was suspended after the bulls inj
ured two
matadors torero, David Mora and Antonio Nazare and tossed a third one, Jimenez F
ortes, into
the air.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
It was for the first time that event had been suspended in 35 years.
The two bulls were Deslio, a 532-kilogram animal from the El Ventorrillo breedin
g ranch, and
the 537-kilogram Feten of the Los Chospes ranch.
BRAZIL HONOURED 100 YEARS OF
RELEASING TWO POSTAGE STAMPS
INDIAN CINEMA BY
To pay tribute to the 100 years of Indian cinema, Brazil on 5 May 2014 released
two postage
stamps designed by an Indian graphic designer. The stamp was released in Brasili
a to mark the
Indian Cinema Film Festival which is dedicated to contemporary Indian cinemas.
The postage stamps have been designed by Kochi-based graphic designer Satya Raj
and were
released by Indias Ambassador to Brazil, Ashok Tomar along with Anand Jyothi and
Carina Bini
Palackapilly, the curators and directors of the festival.
LARGEST DIAMOND OF WORLD AND MUGHAL NECKLACE TO BE
AUCTIONED IN GENEVA
The largest flawless blue diamond of World and a rare Mughal necklace were aucti
oned by
Christie on 14 May 2014 in Geneva. The sale is expected to fetch a total of 80 m
illion US dollar.
Dating back to 17th century, the seven Mughal engraved spinel bead necklace will
be sold at
Magnificent Jewels sale. The pendent necklace engraved with names of Mughal empe
rors
Akbar and Jahangir is expected to fetch well over 2000000 US dollar for Christie
.
UNION MINISTRY OF CULTURE LAUNCHED LOGO OF FESTIVAL
OF INDIA IN CHINA
Union Ministry of Culture on 24 April 2014 launched the logo, posters and webpag
e of the
Festival of India in China. The festival has been organized as the year 2014 was
declared as the
India-China Year of Friendly Exchanges. The festival will be celebrated from May
2014 to
March 2015 in 12 cities of China in 4 circuits. The festival is being organized
by Union Ministry
of Culture and Union Ministry of External Affairs.
The Colourful logo was made by putting together the face of a Kathakali dancer (
left side) and a
Beijing opera mask (right side) and it represents the spirit of cooperation and
harmony
underlying the Glimpses of India Festival.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN)
for evaluation mandate by the World Heritage Convention.
The intergovernmental World Heritage Committee meets to decide which sites will
be
inscribed on the World Heritage list.
FILM BLACK WAS SCREENED AT FAKEL THEATRE IN MOSCOW
Black, the popular Indian film starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee was
screened at
Fakel Theatre, Shosse Enthusiastov in Moscow on 9 February 2014. This screening
was done in
Indian Cinema Club in association with the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre in E
mbassy of India
(JNCCEI), Moscow.
The film was screened after dubbing it into Russian language. Indian Ambassador
of India to the
Russian Federation PS Raghvan and Barbara Raghavan were the Guests of Honor at t
he
inauguration ceremony. This was also attended by Art-Director of Fakel Theatre,
Natalia
Gavruk-Gavarlina, General Director of MOSKINO, Vasilisa Orestova and Head of Ind
ian Cinema
Club, Moscow, Anna Abalueva.
SURAJKUND
HARYANA
INTERNATIONAL
CRAFTS
MELA
BEGAN
IN
The 28th Surajkund International crafts Mela began at Surajkund in Faridabad on
1 February
2014. The fortnight long festival of craft will continue till 15 February 2014.T
he Goa is the
theme state for the 28th Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2014.
National and State craftspersons from India and also SAARC nations are participa
ting,
showcasing their ethnic art and crafts in the Surajkund Crafts Mela.
The fortnight long celebrations also come as a food festival, some popular food
traditions from
Punjab, South India, Chinese and snack foods have arrived. And also the mela has
grown equally
famous for the rhythms of folk theatre.
Dhanu Yatra of Bargarh started in Odisha
The world Famous Dhanu Yatra of Bargarh started on 6 January 2014. The yatra is
a 11-day long
festival, which will continue till 16 January 2014.
About Dhanu Yatra
During this Dhanu Yatra celebration, Bargarh town is virtually transformed into
Mathuranagar,
the capital of King Kansa, whereas nearby Ambapalli village across river Jeera b
ecomes into
Gopapura, the adobe of Lord Krishna and Jeera river between the two places stand
s for
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Yamuna river. Dhanu Yatra of Bargarh is considered as worlds biggest open-air the
atre. Almost
the entire population of Bargarh town takes part in the festival and it is the b
iggest assembly of
actors that a play can ever have. It is a conglomeration of several open-air the
atres, with the
action taking place simultaneously at different places. Both actors and viewers
keep moving
from one place to another as the drama unfolds. The age-old story of Lord Krishn
a killing the
tyrannical King Kansa of Mathura forms the central theme of the play.
It is believed that, Dhanu Yatra in its present form started in 1948, post-Indep
endence, as a
performance charged with a nationalistic fervour. Kansa, the demon king, symboli
zes the
imperialist British government on its way out and Lord Krishna stands for the na
tionalistic
aspiration of the people.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Awards | Honours
THE PRESIDENT OF TAIWAN PRESENTED THE FIRST TANG PRIZES
IN TAIPEI
Ma Ying-jeou, The President of Taiwan presented the Tang Prizes in Taiwans capita
l Taipei on
18 September 2014. This award honours the outstanding contributions to the envir
onment,
human rights, medicine and Sinology. The Tang Prize is treated as Asia s version
of the Nobels.
PRESIDENT OF INDIA PRESENTED INDIRA GANDHI RAJBHASA
AWARDS
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 14 September 2014 presented Indira Ga
ndhi
Rajbhasa awards on the occasion of National Hindi Divas at Rashtrapati Bhavan, N
ew Delhi.
Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa awards also known as Indira Gandhi Official Language Awar
ds are
celebrated every year on 14 September.
WHO HONOURED BANGLADESH
EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH
AND
TIMOR-LESTE
FOR
The World Health Organisation (WHO) honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste with Sou
th East
Asia Regional Award for Excellence in Public Health. The newly instituted awards
were
presented to Saima Hossain of Bangladesh and National Malaria Control Programme
of TimorLeste in Dhaka on 10 September 2014.
BHARTENDU HARISHCHANDRA AWARDS CONFERRED
Union Ministry for Information & Broadcasting on 9 September 2014 conferred the
Bhartendu
Harishchandra Awards for the years 2011 and 2012.
The Bharatendu Harishchandra awards were implemented by the Publications Divisio
n annually
since 1983.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
FRANCE
LEGION
France
ion of
Honour
The National Film Awards are most prominent awards given away to the film frater
nity. These
awards were established in 1954. Annually, the national panel is appointed by Go
vernment of
India to select the winner in different categories. The awards are presented by
the President of
India in the official ceremony.
INDIA BORN POET VIJAY SESHADRI WON 2014 PULITZER PRIZE
IN POETRY CATEGORY
Vijay Seshadri on 14 April 2014 won the prestigious 2014 Pulitzer Prize in the p
oetry category
for his collection of poems entitled 3 Sections published in 2013. The Pulitzer
Committee
described Vijay s (India-born US poet) creation 3 Sections as a compelling colle
ction of poems
that examines human consciousness, from birth to dementia that turns witty and g
rave
compassionate and remorseless.
The 98th annual Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism, Drama, Letters and Music was anno
unced by
Columbia University in New York. As a reward, Vijay would receive 10000 US dolla
r.
The prize is given in the poetry category for a distinguished volume of original
verse by an
American author.
With this, Seshadri became the fifth person of Indian origin to win the prestigi
ous award. The
other four Indian origin people to bag the award are:
Gobind Behari Lal in 1937 was a science editor and was awarded in the reporting
category
Jhumpa Lahiri (Indian-American author) got Pulitzer for fiction in 2000 for her
collection
of stories Interpreters of Maladies
Geeta Anand (Journalist-writer of Indian origin) was awarded in 2003
Siddhartha Mukherjee (Indian-American physician) was awarded in 2011 for his boo
k on
cancer named The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
**2014 Pulitzer Prize Winners in Journalism
Public Service - Two Prizes: The Guardian US and The Washington Post
Breaking News Reporting - The Boston Globe Staff
Investigative Reporting - Chris Hamby of The Center for Public Integrity, Washin
gton,
D.C.
Explanatory Reporting - Eli Saslow of The Washington Post
Local Reporting - Will Hobson and Michael LaForgia of the Tampa Bay Times
National Reporting - David Philipps of The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO
International Reporting - Jason Szep and Andrew R.C. Marshall of Reuters
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Ratan Tata was honoured for his services to UK/India relations, inward investmen
t to the UK
and philanthropy.
LEGENDARY POET GULZAR SELECTED FOR THE DADASAHEB
PHALKE AWARD 2013
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced on 12 April 2014 th
at
legendary poet and film lyricist Gulzar was selected for the Dadasaheb Phalke Aw
ard 2013. He
is the 45th winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Sampooran Singh Kalra famous as Gulzar is a lyricist, director, screen writer, p
roducer and poet.
The award is conferred by the government for outstanding contribution to the gro
wth and
development of Indian cinema.
Gulzar was conferred by the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan
in 2004.
He had won a number of National Film Awards and 20 Filmfare Awards.
At the 81st Oscars in 2009, he won the Academy Award for best original song for
Jai ho with
Rahman.
He was born in 1934 in Punjab in pre-independence India. He started his career i
n 1956. As a
lyricist, he got his first break in Bimal Roys Bandini.
STUART PARKIN WON MILLENNIUM TECHNOLOGY PRIZE 2014
British-American physicist Stuart Parkin won Millennium Technology Prize 2014 fo
r discoveries
leading to a thousand-fold increase in digital data storage on magnetic disks. T
he Prize is worth
of 1 million euro and it was announced by the Technology Academy Finland in Finl
and on 9
April 2014.
His discoveries facilitated the cloud services and online distribution of social
networks, music
and film.
Former director of the IBM-Stanford spintronic science centre, Sturart Parkin, 5
8, helped to
make our contemporary online world largely possible. Spintronics relies on the m
agnetic spin of
electrons rather than their charge to store bits.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Judge panel included - Malika Arora Khan, Abhay Deol, Jacqueline Fernandez, Mani
sh
Malhotra, singer Honey Singh, Miss World 2013 Megan Yang, actor Vidyut Jamwal, a
ctor Aditi
Rao Hydari and world champion boxer Vijender Singh.
MS DHONI WON UNITED KINGDOMS 2014 ASIAN AWARD FOR
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SPORTS
MS Dhoni, the captain of Indian cricket team on 4 April 2014 won the United King
doms 2014
Asian Award for outstanding achievement in Sports. The award was announced at Lo
ndons at
The Grosvenor House Hotel.
At present Dhoni is in Bangladesh and will lead the Indian team into the finals
of the ICC T20
World Cup 2014 against Sri Lanka.
HAL RECEIVED THE MOST EFFICIENT NAVRATNA AWARD 2013
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on 3 April 2014 received the Most Efficient Navr
atna Award
for the year 2013. It received the award at the 5th Dalal Street Investment Jour
nal Awards
ceremony held in New Delhi. The award was collected by the Chairman of HAL, Dr.
R K Tyagi.
The awards were presented to the various PSUs in different categories in recogni
tion of their
performance and contribution to the Indian economy.
The award was given to the company for the measure it has taken on various front
s such as
R&D, modernization, customer initiatives, quality and thrust given on indigeniza
tion.
ZUBIN MEHTA WON SPECIAL JURY AWARD OF TIMES NOW NRI
AWARDS 2014
Renowned music director and concert conductor Zubin Mehta on 30 March 2014 won t
he
special jury award of Times Now NRI Awards 2014. The award ceremony was held in
Mumbai.
Other winners of inaugral Times Now NRI Award 2014
Yusuff Ali M A, managing director of Abu Dhabi-based Emke Lulu group was given t
he
popular choice award
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was named India s global icon
Keertika Rawat was awarded in the entertainment category
Dr Kunal Saha won the NRI award in My India category
Dr Raminder Singh Ranger, Rupesh Srivastava, Anand Kumar and Nitish Jain were
awarded in the entrepreneur category
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Husain Khaki, Mala Kiran Talekar, Abdul Muqeet and Aastha Chauhan won the awards
in
the NRI students category
Dr Ramesh Babu, Chandrabhan Singh, Chandrashekar Natarajan, Y Sudhir Kumar Shett
y
and Venkatesha Murthy won the award in professional category
Suman Kapoor, Vijay Goradia, Keshav Murleedharan and Dr D Chandroo were felicita
ted
for philanthropy
INDIAN-ORIGIN STUDENT GOPAL RAO WON UK TWITTER PRIZE
Indian-origin Gopal Rao on 27 March 2014 won UK Twitter Prize. The prize was to
meet the
British Foreign Secretary William Hague and to discuss the Preventing Sexual Vio
lence Initiative
(PSVI).
PSVI was launched on 29 May 2012 by William Hague. PSVI aimed to strengthen and
support
international efforts to respond to sexual violence in conflict which included t
o enhance the
capacity of countries, institutions, and communities to support survivors and en
d impunity for
perpetrators.
Gopal Rao, MBA student at Cambridge University won the accolades from British Fo
reign
Secretary William Hague after winning a Twitter competition which asked a questi
on regarding
UKs foreign policy.
The question asked was What do you think is the biggest contribution UK foreign
policy can
make to the world?
Gopal Rao answered that UK foreign policy should focus on emancipation of girlsa
ndwomen
through enterprise, supported by vibrant #socent culture within UK. #meetFS.
GOVIND MISHRA, THE HINDI
SARASWATI SAMMAN 2013
WRITER
SELECTED
FOR
Govind Mishra, the renowned Hindi author will receive Sarawasti Samman for the y
ear 2013 for
his book Dhool Paudho Par published in 2008. This honour will make Mishra the se
cond Hindi
author to receive the honour after Harivansh Rai Bachchan.
In 1991, Harivansh Rai Bachchan became the first Hindi author to receive this ho
nour.
First novel of Mishra was Wo Apna Chehra published in 1969. Lal Peeli Zameen pub
lished in
1976 is Mishra s much talked novel.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
PRESIDENT CONFERRED
SERVICE AWARDS
GALLANTRY
AND
DISTINGUISHED
Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 22 March 2014 conferred Gallantry an
d
Distinguished Service Awards. He conferred three Kriti Chakras and ten Shurya Ch
akras to
Armed Personnel at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The five Surya Chakra was given posth
umously.
The awards were given to them for displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable
courage and
extreme devotion to duty.
Other medals conferred by Mukherjee on the day were
Param Vishisht Seva Medals to fifteen persons
Uttam Yudh Seva Medals to two persons
Bar to Ari Vishist Seva Medals to three persons
Ati Vishisht Seva Medals to twenty two persons
Pranab Mukherjee being a President of India is also the Supreme Commander of the
Indian
Armed Forces.
PHYSICIST RAJESH GOPAKUMAR SELECTED FOR G D BIRLA
AWARD 2013
Physicist Rajesh Gopakumar was selected for the 23rd G D Birla Award for scienti
fic research for
the year 2013. It was announced by the K K Birla Foundation on 21 March 2014. Th
e award
carries a cash prize of 1.5 lakh rupees and a citation.
Gopakumar has been awarded for his important contributions on topics in Quantum
Field
Theory and String Theory. At present he is working as a theoretical physicist at
Harish Chandra
Research Institute, Allahabad.
Gopakumar, 46 has won many other awards including B M Birla Science prize in 200
4 andThird
World Academy of Sciences Award in 2013.
For 2012, G D Birla Award was given to Prof. Nibir Mandal of Jadavpur University
for his work in
area of structural geology.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
She received the award at the State Department ceremony in Washington by Michell
e Obama,
first lady of US. The award was presented to Laxmi along with other awardees fro
m different
countries.
CHANDI PRASAD BHATT WON GANDHI PEACE PRIZE FOR 2013
Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the noted Gandhian environmentalist and social activist won
the Gandhi
Peace Prize for the year 2013 on 28 February 2014.
Chandi Prasad Bhatt
Bhatt was one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement (His founded Dasholi Gram S
warajya
Sangh became the mother-organisation to Chipko movement) for which he was awarde
d with
the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982
In 2005, he was awarded with Padma Bhushan
He was born in 1934
He is known for his work on Subaltem social ecology and in one of the first mode
rn
environmentalists
MADAN BABU WON PROTEIN SCIENCE YOUNG INVESTIGATOR
AWARD FOR 2014
Madan Babu, an Indian-born scientist, won the Protein Science Young Investigator
Award for
2014 at Cambridge, UK on 20 February 2014. The Protein Science Young Investigato
r Award is
given by the Protein Society for important contribution made in the study of pro
teins.
Madan received the award for his contributions to the understanding of the princ
iples of
regulation in biological systems, especially in the fields of intrinsically diso
rdered proteins and
gene regulation. With this award, he became the first scientist of Laboratory of
Molecular
Biology (LMB) to win the award.
At present Madan Babu heads the Regulatory Genomics and Systems Biology group at
the MRC
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.
THE 67TH BAFTA AWARDS
The 67th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards were given i
n London on
16 February 2014. The Awards were conferred for the outstanding performances in
films and
documentaries screened at British Cinemas in 2013.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Best Cinematography
Gravity
Best Editing
Rush
Best Sound
Gravity
Best Animated Film
Frozen
Best Visual Effects
Gravity
Best Makeup and Hair
American Hustle
Best Production Design
The Great Gatsby
Best Costumes
The Great Gatsby
Best Short Film
Room 8
Best Animated Short
Sleeping With The Fishes
BAFTA Rising Star Award
Will Poulter
KILLA, A MARATHI FILM BAGGED CRYSTAL BEAR AWARD AT
64TH BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Killa, a Marathi film on 17 February 2014 won the Crystal Bear (Glasernen Bar) f
or the best film
award by the Childrens jury in Generation Kplus section at the 64th Berlin Intern
ational Film
Festival. The film has been directed by Avinash Arun.
The jury in its citation for the award to the film said that the film deals with
the universal
conflict of migration and how it impacts the lives of people, especially childre
n made them
want to discover India. The film Killa convinced the jury in all respects with g
ood camera work
and the great actors.
287
Category
Album
Name of Artist
Album of the year Random
Memories
Access Daft Punk
Record of the year Get Lucky
Daft Punk , Pharrell
Williams and Nile
Rodgers
New artist
Macklemore
Ryan Lewis
Song of the year
Royals
Childrens album
Throw a Penny in Jennifer Gasoi
the Wishing Well
Pop
performance
solo Royals
and
Lorde
Lorde
CYRUS MISTRY WON THE DSC PRIZE 2014
Cyrus Mistry won the DSC prize 2014 for South Asian literature for his book Chro
nicles of a
Corpse Bearer on 18 January 2014. Mistry was awarded with a cash price of 50000
dollars at
Jaipur International Literature Festival 2014.
Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer derives a true story of the son of a Parsi priest,
who falls in love
with the daughter of a corpse bearer, a community segregated and shunned by soci
ety.
290
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Renu Khator from USA has been awarded for Education and enhancing Indias prestige
abroad.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Person in news
PADMINI PRAKASH BECAME THE
TELEVISION NEWS ANCHOR IN INDIA
FIRST
TRANSGENDER
Padmini Prakash became the first transgender television news anchor in India. On
the eve of
Independence Day on 15 August 2014, she for the first time read out the days head
lines from a
teleprompter for the Lotus News Channel Studios.
A month after she started, Padmini has become the face of the Coimbatore-based L
otus News
Channel s daily 7pm special bulletin.
MISS KIRA KAZANTSEV WON THE MISS AMERICA PAGEANT
Miss Kira Kazantsev on 14 September 2014 won the Miss America pageant. She belon
gs to New
York.
Kazantsev received the crown at Atlantic City s Boardwalk Hall from outgoing Mis
s America and
Miss New York Nina Davuluri.
SC ASKED UNION GOVERNMENT TO REINSTATE RAJESHWAR
SINGH AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ED
Supreme Court on 8 September 2014 asked the Union Government to reinstate Rajesh
war
singh as permanent Deputy Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Rajeshwar Singh is an officer probing the money laundering cases in the 2G scam.
SURESH
KUMAR
STRATOSPHERE
BECAME
FIRST
INDIAN
TO
VISIT
TN Suresh Kumar on 15 August 2014 became the first Indian
sphere, the
second layer of the Earths atmosphere. He traveled to an
in MIG-29
from Sokol Airbase near Nizhny Novgorod in Russia. During
e stratosphere
in 48 minutes, the aircraft reached to a maximum speed of
295
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The asylum granted to the National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Snowden a
llows him
to move freely and travel abroad. But, he will not be allowed to stay abroad for
not longer than
three months.
FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT SARKOZY
CORRUPTION & INFLUENCE PEDDLING
CHARGED
WITH
Nicolas Sarkozy, the former President of France, on 2 July 2014 was charged with
corruption
and influence peddling.
SUJIT CHOUDHRY BECAME THE FIRST INDIAN-AMERICAN DEAN
OF BERKELEY LAW SCHOOL
Sujit Choudhry became the first Indian-American dean of the Berkeley Law School,
University of
California. He is the 12th dean of the famed Law school and he will serve the in
stitution for five
years starting from 1 July 2014.
US NAMED A MOUNTAIN IN ANTARCTICA AFTER AN INDIANAMERICAN SCIENTIST, AKHOURI SIN
HA
The United States on 30 June 2014 named a mountain in Antarctica as Mt. Sinha to
honour an
eminent Indian-American scientist, Akhouri Sinha. The mountain was named in reco
gnition of
Sinhas work done as an explorer in 1971-72. Sinhas pioneering biological research
expedition
has provided critical data about animal populations in Antarctica.
INDIAN-ORIGIN JUDGE V K RAJAH APPOINTED AS
ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF SINGAPORE
8TH
Indian-origin judge V K Rajah on 25 June 2014 was appointed as 8th Attorney-Gene
ral of
Singapore. President of Singapore Tony Tan Keng Yam presided at the swearing-in
of Justice V K
Rajah.
CHUNG HUNG WON RETAINED AS PM OF S KOREA
Chung Hung Won was retained as Prime Minster of South Korea on 25 June 2014. The
President
of South Korea, Park Geun-Hye announced the decision to retain the Chung Hung Wo
n who had
resigned over ferry disaster in April 2014.
298
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
KATHLEEN STEPHENS
AMBASSADOR
TOOK
CHARGE
AS
US
INTERIM
Kathleen Stephens on 6 June 2014 took charge as US interim Ambassador to India.
ANIL CHOPRA TOOK OVER AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF
WESTERN NAVAL COMMAND
Vice Admiral Anil Chopra took over the charge of Western Naval Command (WNC) as
Commander-in-Chief on 6 June 2014. He was appointed two months after Vice Admira
l Shekar
Sinha took voluntary retirement.
RETIRED INDIAN ARMY OFFICER ABHIJIT GUHA APPOINTED
MEMBER OF UN EXPERT PANEL ON PEACEKEEP
Lieutenant General (retired) Abhijit Guha of Indian Army was on 5 June 2014 appo
inted as
member of a UN Expert Panel on Technology and Innovation in UN peacekeeping. Abh
ijit Guha
is a member of the five-member expert panel.
SUSHMA SWARAJ BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN EXTERNAL
AFFAIRS MINISTER OF INDIA
Sushma Swaraj became the first woman External Affairs Minister of India on 26 Ma
y 2014. She
was also been given the charge of Overseas Indian Affairs.
Although, Indira Gandhi held the post of Union External Affairs Minister prior t
o Sushma Swaraj,
but it was in addition to the post of Prime Minister which she held in 1967 and
1984.
INDIAN-AMERICAN STUDENT AKHIL REKULAPELLI
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE CHAMPIONSHIP
WON
Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli on 21 May 2014 won the National Geogra
phic Bee
championship in Washington, USA.
Ameya Mujumdar from Florida stood second, while California s Tuvya Bergson-Miche
lson
finished third. Ameya Mujumdar is also an Indian American student.
300
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
She has succeeded Nikhil Kumar, who in the past has served as the Police Chief o
f Delhi. Her
appointment to the post came following resignation of Nikhil Kumar.
SPICEJET APPOINTED R. NEELAKANTAN NEW CFO
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet appointed R.Neelakantan as its Chief Financial Officer
(CFO) on 4
March 2014. He will replace Sam Isaac.
He was serving as the Head of Internal Audit for the Sun Group. Earlier, Neelaka
ntan had served
as SpiceJets CFO from November 2010 to February 2013.
DR. TEJ VIR SINGH WON THE UNWTO ULYSSES PRIZE
Dr. Tej Vir Singh from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh won the 2013 UNWTO Ulysses Prize f
or
Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge on 22 January 2014. Dr
.Singh is the
professor and Founding Director of the Centre for Tourism Research & Development
(CTRD) in
India.
ANAND SINHA, THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF RBI RETIRED
Anand Sinha, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India retired on 20 Janu
ary 2014. His
retirement came following his superannuation and his portfolio has been allocate
d to other
three Deputy Governors.
The reallocation was necessitated consequent upon Anand Sinha relinquishing his
charge as
Deputy Governor. Earlier, Singh was looking after the process of granting new ba
nk licences
along with the procedure for granting the licencse to the private sector. The pr
ocess and
procedures of allocation of new licence is incomplete till now.
QAMAR AHMED,
TEST MATCHES
Qamar Ahmed,
the only
third man in
between
Pakistan and
er.
302
Ahmed of 76 years follows the British journalist John Woodcock and Australian ca
ptain-turnedwriter and commentator Richie Benaud to achieve the milestone. He is
fondly known as Q to
friends and cricketers around the world.
MS DHIR ELECTED AS SPEAKER OF DELHI ASSEMBLY
MS Dhir an MLA of Aam Aadmi Party has been elected as the Speaker of the Delhi A
ssembly on
3 January 2014. His election as the speaker was announced by the Pro-tem Speaker
, Mateen
Ahmad in the House. He was elected as the Speaker of the House after his party w
on the trust
vote on 2 January 2014.
Dhir defeated his BJP rival Jagdish Mukhi. He got 37 votes in support as compare
d to 32 votes
won by Mukhi. The session of Delhi Assembly that bagan functioning on 1 January
2014 will end
on 7 January 2014.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Person Appointed
US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA NOMINATED RICHARD RAHUL
VERMA AS NEW US ENVOY TO INDIA
US President Barack Obama on 18 September 2014 nominated Indian-American Richard
Rahul
Verma as the next US Ambassador to India. The US Embassy in New Delhi is current
ly headed
by a Charge d affaires Kathleen Stephens.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Richard Rahul Verma will be the first Indian-Amer
ican to serve
the top US diplomatic position in India.
LALITHA KUMARAMANGALAM APPOINTED AS CHAIRPERSON OF
NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN
Lalitha Kumaramangalam was appointed as chairperson of National Commission for W
omen
(NCW). She was appointed by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, M
enaka
Gandhi on 17 September 2014. She is the eighth chairperson of NCW.
At the time of appointment, Lalitha Kumaramangalam was the National Spokesperson
and
Member of National Executive of Bharatiya Janata Party.
CHINESE PRESIDENT APPOINTED LE YUCHENG AS CHINA S NEW
AMBASSADOR TO INDIA
Chinese President Xi Jinping on 16 September 2014 appointed Le Yucheng as China
s new
Ambassador to India. Le Yucheng replaced Wei Wei who previously served as China
s envoy to
India.
ACTOR LEONARDO DICAPRIO APPOINTED AS UN MESSENGER OF
PEACE
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was appointed as United Nations Messenger of Peace with
a special
focus on climate change. He was appointed by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moo
n on 16
September 2014.
304
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
will work for empowerment of young women and also as an advocate for UN Womens
HeForShe campaign in promoting gender equality.
SUPREME COURT APPOINTED THREE JUDGES
Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Rohington F Nariman w
ere
appointed as Supreme Court judges on 7 July 2014. The three judges were administ
ered the
oath of office by Chief Justice of India, R M Lodha.
M S MEHTA APPOINTED AS CEO OF RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE
M S Mehta was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance Infrastruct
ure on 7 July
2014. He took charge as CEO for a period of five years.
He replaced Lalit Jalan, who held the post of CEO of Reliance Infrastructure for
more than seven
years.
SUPREME COURT APPOINTED THREE JUDGES
Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Rohington F Nariman w
ere
appointed as Supreme Court judges on 7 July 2014. The three judges were administ
ered the
oath of office by Chief Justice of India, R M Lodha.
BIHAR GOVERNOR DY PATIL TOOK ADDITIONAL CHARGE OF
WEST BENGAL
DY Patil, the Governor of Bihar, on 4 July 2014 assumed the additional charge of
West Bengal as
the acting Governor. His oath of the office was administered by senior most judg
e Justice Asim
Kumar Bandyopadhya of the Calcutta High Court at a function in Raj Bhawan in Kol
kata.
A.K. DUBEY APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN OF COAL INDIA LIMITED
Additional secretary A.K. Dubey on 25 June 2014 was appointed as Chairman of Coa
l India
Limited with immediate effect. He will serve his post as an additional charge ti
ll a full-time
chairman is appointed.
310
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
ECONOMIC
AFFAIRS
SECRETARY
ARVIND
DESIGNATED AS NEW FINANCE SECRETARY
MAYARAM
Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has been designated as new Finance Sec
retary.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved a proposal to designate
Arvind
Mayaram as the new Finance Secretary on 15 April 2014.
Previous Finance secretary, Sumit Bose retired on 31 March 2014 and the post was
vacant since
that time.
JUSTICE G ROHINI APPOINTED AS THE FIRST WOMEN CHIEF
JUSTICE OF DELHI HIGH COURT
President of India on 11 April 2014 approved the name of Justice G Rohini (58) f
or appointment
as the Next Chief Justice of Delhi High Court. With this approval, she will beco
me the first
women Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. At the time of appointment, Rohini
was serving as
the senior-most judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. She will sevre the High
Court of Delhi
as its Chief Justice for a period of four years.
She will succeed Acting Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed. Justice Ahmed was appo
inted after
Justice NV Ramana was elevated to the Supreme Court as a Judge in February 2014.
Earlier, her name was suggested by the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief J
ustice of
India P Sathasivam.
JUSTICE R.M.LODHA APPOINTED AS NEXT CHIEF JUSTICE OF
INDIA
President of India on 11 April 2014 appointed Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha as Next
Chief Justice
of India. Justice Lodha will take his charge from 27 April 2014. He will be the
41st Chief Justice
of India. He will succeed Justice P. Sathasivam.
Justice Lodha will have a brief tenure of five months as the Chief Justice of In
dia (CJI). He is
scheduled to retire on 27 September 2014. He is 64.
Justice Lodha is the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after CJI P. Sathasi
vam. The name
of Justice Lodha was recommended as the next CJI by Justice Sathasivam.
317
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
R Gandhi was appointed as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on 3
April 2014
for a period of three years. His appointment came into effect from 3 April 2014.
Before being
elevated to the position of Deputy Governor, he was serving the Reserve Bank as
its executive
director.
He has been appointed as the successor of Anand Sinha, who retired from the offi
ce on 20
January 2014. Till the time of retirement, Sinha was looking after the new bank
licence process.
D K PATHAK APPOINTED AS THE NEW DIRECTOR GENERAL OF
BSF
Union Government on 2 April 2014 appointed senior IPS officer D K Pathak as the
new Director
General of the Border Security Force (BSF). BSF is country s largest border guar
ding force. His
name for the post of DG was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabine
t (ACC)
headed by Prime Minister Mamohan Singh. He is expected to continue till February
, 2016.
Pathak is a 1979-batch officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. Prior to the appoin
tment of DG,
he was posted as the Special DG and was also officiating as the DG since 1 March
2014.
FRENCH PRESIDENT HOLLANDE NAMES VALLS AS NEW PM
President Francois Hollande on 31 March 2014 appointed Interior Minister Manuel
Valls as next
prime minister of France. Manuel Carlos Valls is a Spanish-born French Socialist
Party politician.
He was the Mayor of vry from 2001 to 2012 and a Member of the National Assembly s
ince
2002.
SUNIL GAVASKAR APPOINTED AS INTERIM PRESIDENT OF BCCI
Sunil Gavaskar was appointed as the interim president of the Board of Control fo
r Cricket in
India (BCCI) by the Supreme Court on 28 March 2014. He was appointed as acting p
resident of
BCCI to discharge the functions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014.
Sunil Gavaskar replaced the present BCCI chief N Srinivasan. The Supreme Court a
lso directed
administrative responsibilities of the BCCI board to the BCCI vice-president Shi
vlal Yadav,
former off-spinner of Indian cricket team.
319
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Srikrishna is a retired judge of Supreme Court and has served as the Chief Justi
ce of Kerala High
Court.
He has also served as the Chairman of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms C
ommission
(FSLRC) set up in March 2011 by the Union Ministry of Finance. He also headed th
e Sixth
Central Pay Commission set up by the Union Government on 5 October 2006.
AVAYA APPOINTED PRIYADARSHI MOHAPATRA AS MANAGING
DIRECTOR FOR INDIA AND SAARC
Technology firm Avaya on 6 March 2014 appointed Priyadarshi Mohapatra as Managin
g
Director for its India and SAARC operations.
A 17 year veteran of the industry, Mohapatra will provide strategic direction to
India
operations. He will manage business priorities and will enhance Avaya s position
as a leading
business communications company.
He will play a key role in strengthening channel partner relations and driving s
ignificant growth
in the mid-market segment.
Mohapatra had join Avaya from SAP. He had joined SAP in 2008 and had held variou
s
leadership positions.
Before SAP, Priyadarshi had worked for retail practice for Sun Microsystems in I
ndia and
previously co-founded, Oyzterbay, a venture capital funded jewellery chain.
SHEILA DIKSHIT APPOINTED AS THE NEW GOVERNOR OF
KERALA
Sheila Dikshit, the former chief minister of Delhi on 4 March 2014 was appointed
as the 22nd
Governor of Kerala. She will succeed Nikhil Kumar, a former Delhi Police Commiss
ioner who
took over as the governor of Kerala in March 2013. Nikhil Kumar had tendered his
resignation
to the President of India that has been accepted.
DINESH SARRAF APPOINTED NEXT ONGC CHIEF
Dinesh Sarraf appointed as next Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil and
Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) on 26 February 2014.
321
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PSEB) recommended Dinesh K Sarraf as the
next head
of the country s most valuable company ONGC.
Dinesh Sarraf will replace Sudhir Vasudeva who will be due to retire on 28 Febru
ary 2014.
Sarraf is currently working as the head of OVL. He had successfully transformed
ONGC Videsh
Limited (OVL) into an aggressive overseas firm, stitching 4 deals worth over 11
billion dollar
since taking charge of the company.
Dinesh Sarraf had previously worked as the director (Finance) of ONGC.
IBRAHIM MAHLAB SWORN IN AS PRIME MINISTER OF EGYPT
Ibrahim Mahlab was sworn in as new Egypt Prime Minister on 25 February 2014. He
is a former
member of Hosni Mubarak s political party.
Mahlab was the housing minister in the previous administration. He will head Egy
pt s sixth
government since the 2011 uprising that toppled the autocratic Mubarak.
Ibrahim Mahlab will replace Hazem el-Beblawi government.
He is the former CEO of Arab Contractors, one of the region s largest constructi
on firms.
He is expected to lead an interim government at least until the election of a ne
w president.
MATTEO RENZI SWORN-IN AS PM OF ITALY
Matteo Renzi on 22 February 2014 sworn-in as Italys Prime Minister replacing Enri
co Letta,
who resigned from the office on 14 February 2014. Apart from this a new cabinet
of 16
ministers also took the sworn of their offices at the Presidential palace in Rom
e.
Renzi, 39 is the Italys youngest Prime Minister and he is the third prime ministe
r to reach office
without winning an election. Renzi belongs to the Democratic Party, who was the
former mayor
of the Florence.
The Renzis 16-member cabinet is the smallest cabinet of the country. This cabinet
is also the
youngest one with an average age of 48. Half of the cabinet ministers are women
in Italian
history.
Italys new Finance Minister is Pier Carlo Padoan who is a deputy secretary-genera
l and chief
economist of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
322
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Piyush Gupta
DBS Group Holding
Sanjay Jha
Global Foundries
Dinesh Paliwal
Harman Intl
Anshu Jain
Deutsche Bank
Rakesh Kapoor
Reckitt Benckiser
Ajay Banga
Master Card
Sanjay Meharotra
San Disk
Shantanu Narayen
Adobe
Rajiv Vasudeva
Egon Zehnder
JUSTICE ASHOK KUMAR MATHUR APPOINTED TO HEAD 7TH
CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION
Former Supreme Court Justice, Ashok Kumar Mathur on 4 February 2014 was appointe
d as the
Chairman of the 7th Pay Commission. Vivek Rae, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Sec
retary will
be the full time member director.
Ratin Roy of National Institute of Public Finances and Policy will be part-time
member of the
commission. Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Expenditure, Meena Agar
wal will be
the Secretary of the Pay panel.
The Commission has been mandated to submit its report in two years time. Its
recommendation would be implemented from 1 January 2016. Manmohan Singh, the Pri
me
Minister of India has approved composition of the 7th Pay Commission in Septembe
r 2013 that
will revise the salaries of over 50 lakh central government employees and about
30 lakh
pensioners.
The Pay Commission is constituted every ten years by the government of India to
revise the pay
scales of its employees and often these are adopted by states after some modific
ation. The 6th
Pay Commission was implemented with the effect from 1 January 2006, while the fi
fth and
fourth commissions were implemented from 1 January 1996 and 1 January 1986 respe
ctively.
In May 1946, the first Pay commission was constituted under the chairmanship of
Srinivasa
Varadachariar. It submitted its report in a year. The first commission was based
upon the idea
of living wages to the employees, which was taken by the Islington Commission.
326
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
HARISH RAWAT
UTTRAKHAND
APPOINTED
8TH
CHIEF
MINISTER
OF
Harish Rawat was appointed as the 8th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on 1 Februar
y 2014. He
was administered the oath of office by Governor Aziz Qureshi at Raj Bhawan.
He succeeded Vijay Bahuguna. Harish Rawat was a Union Minister for Water Resourc
es.
Rawat is a MP from Haridwar. He was made a Minister of State for Labour and Empl
oyment in
2009 and then MoS for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries.
In July 2011, he was made MoS for Parliamentary Affairs.
He was elevated to the rank of a Cabinet Minister in 2012 in an apparent bid to
placate him
after Bahuguna was made the CM. Rawat has earlier served as a member of the Rajy
a Sabha
from 2002-08.
He won his first Lok Sabha election in 1980 from Almora by defeating BJP leader
Murli Manohar
Joshi. He won the Lok Sabha polls in 1984 and 1989 as well.
MICHEL ROGERS NOMINATED AS DIRECTOR OF NSA
Michael Rogers has been nominated as the Director of National Security Agency by
the US
president Barack Obama. His name was announced by Defence Secretary of US on 30
January
2014.
Defence Secretary also announced the name of Rick Ledgett as the new Deputy Dire
ctor of NSA
who is at present its Chief Operating Officer.
Vice Admiral Michel Roger will succeed Keith Alexander who served as the Directo
r of NSA for
almost nine years. Michel Roger will take the charge as Director of NSA in March
2014.
PROFESSOR RAKESH KHURANA OF INDIAN ORIGIN APPOINTED
AS DEAN OF HARVARD COLLEGE
Indian American Professor Rakesh Khurana on 23 January 2014 was appointed as the
Dean of
Havard College. With this appointment, Khurana has joined the long list of India
n-origin
academicians, who has assumed the leadership roles at the renowned global univer
sities. With
this appointment will succeed Evelynn Hammonds, the professor of History of Scie
nce and of
African and African American Studies at Harvard.
He will assume the charge of the dean from 1 July 2014. Harvard College is the s
chool within
the Harvard University that grants undergraduate degrees.
328
She succeeds the Chairman Ben Bernanke as the next head of Americas central bank.
Ben
Bernanke is stepping down after serving as the Chairman of Federal Bank for eigh
t years, which
was dominated by the Great Recession and the efforts of the bank to combat it. H
er term in the
office will begin on 1 February 2014. Her appointment marks an important shift i
n the direction
of the efforts of the banks policies as the monetary policy of past 5 years have
resulted in fed
pouring about 3.8 trillion dollars into the US economy leading to the financial
crisis.
CHANDRASHEKHAR APPOINTED THE PRESIDENT OF NASSCOM
R. Chandrashekhar was appointed as President of National Association of Software
and Service
Companies (NASSCOM) on 4 January 2014.
R. Chandrasekhar succeeded Som Mittal whose tenure with the NASSCOM ended on 3 J
anuary
2014. He was at the helm of NASSCOM for six long years.
After taking over as the President of NASSCOM his immediate challenge would be t
o achieve
NASSCOMs ambitious target of 300 billion dollar of revenue by 2020 from the IT se
ctor.
He had previously worked as the chairman of telecom commission and secretary of
the
department of telecom till March 2013.
Chandrasekhar established the first department of Information Technology in the
country in
Andhra Pradesh and was secretary of the department from June 1997 to December 19
99.
Besides, drafting National Telecom Policy 2012, he played a key role in the draf
ting the first
National IT Policy and National Policy on Electronics during his dual role of IT
and Telecom
Secretary with the Union Government.
SRINIVAS AND PRAVIN RAO APPOINTED INFOSYS PRESIDENTS
B. G. Srinivas and U.B. Pravin Rao appointed as presidents of the Infosys Ltd Co
mpany on 3
January 2014.
B. G. Srinivas will focus on global markets while U. B. Pravin Rao will focus on
global delivery
and service innovation.
The financial services, insurance, manufacturing, engineering services, energy &
communications, Infosys public services, Infosys Lodestone, strategic global sou
rcing, marketing
and alliances will report to Srinivas
331
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Retail, consumer packaged goods and logistics, life sciences, resources & utilit
ies, services,
growth markets, cloud and mobility, quality & productivity and Infosys Leadershi
p Institute will
report to Rao
332
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Person Died
PAKISTANS LIBERAL RELIGIOUS SCHOLAR DR. SHAKEEL AUJ
SHOT DEAD IN KARACHI
Dr. Shakeel Auj, a liberal religious scholar and professor and a dean of Islamic
Studies at Karachi
University was shot dead on 18 September 2014 in Karachi, Pakistan. He was shot
down by
unknown assailants. He was accused of blasphemy for a speech given by him during
his visit to
the United States in 2012.
MANDOLIN MAESTRO UPPALAPU SRINIVAS DIED
Music Maestro Mandolin player Uppalapu Srinivas died on 19 September 2014 in Che
nnai. He
died following a failed liver transplant at the age of 45. He is now survived by
his father,
mother, a sister and brother Rajesh, who is also a mandolin player.
EX-ASSAM DGP SHANKAR BARUAH ACCUSED IN SARADHA CHIT
FUND SCAM DIED
Former Director General of Police of Assam, Sanker Baruah committed suicide on 1
7 September
2014. He shot himself down with his .32 licensed-revolver at his Uzan Bazar resi
dence in
Guwahati.
His suicide came after CBI raided his residence during the course of investigati
on of multi-crore
Saradha chit fund case. CBI raided his house on 28 August 2014.
Sanker Baruah was a 1974 batch IPS officer and became DGP of Assam on 31 July 20
09. He
served the state as the head of Assam police till January 2012.
JAPAN ACTRESS YOSHIKO YAMAGUCHI DIED
Yoshiko Yamaguchi, the film actress of Japan died due to heart failure on 7 Sept
ember 2014.
She was 94. She was known as Rikoran and Shirley Yamaguchi in the US.
Yamaguchi was one of biggest Japanese film stars during and after World War II.
333
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
HINNERS DIED
Noel W. Hinners died on 5 September 2014 due t
exploration of the moon for the Apollo program
Surveyor Program.
Norman
alive
played
uckett
oldest
Gordon was the oldest living international cricketer and was the last man
to have
Test cricket before World War II. Now, the former South African Lindsay T
is the
living international cricketer.
Campos, a former governor of the north-eastern state of Pernambuco, was the lead
er of the
Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB). He was the frontrunner in the presidential elec
tion in Brazil which
was due to take place in October 2014.
GOALKEEPING GREAT VLADIMIR BEARA OF CROATIA DIED AT 85
Goalkeeping great Vladimir Beara of Croatia died in city Split of Croatia on 11
August 2014. He
died after a series of strokes over the past year. He was 85.
He was considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time in Football
history. In 1963
legendary Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin while receiving FIFAs Golden Ball had repo
rtedly said,
I am not the best goalkeeper in the world, it is Vladimir Beara.
LEGENDARY BURRA KATHA EXPONENT DAROJI ERAMMA DIED
Daroji Eramma, one of the last exponents of Burra katha, passed away on 12 Augus
t 2014 at a
private hospital in Bellary, Karnataka. She was 84.
OSCAR WINNING ACTOR ROBIN WILLIAMS DIED
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at his home in Ti
buron,
California on 11 August 2014. He was 63.
Robin Williams was remarkably known for his accurate impersonations. He will be
remembered
for his crazy comic personality and great dramatic performances hereafter.
RESHAMLAL JANGADE, THE MEMBER OF FIRST LOK SABHA,
DIED
Reshamlal Jangade, the veteran politician and a member of the country s first Lo
k Sabha from
undivided Madhya Pradesh, died on 11 August 2014. He died at a private hospital
in Raipur
following a prolonged illness. He was 90.
SIR PETER GEOFFREY HALL, THE URBAN TOWN PLANNER DIED
AT 82
Sir Peter Hall, United Kingdoms planning academician and professor died on 30 Jul
y 2014 at
University College Hospital, London. He was 82. His death was confirmed by Unive
rsity College
London where he taught as a professor of planning.
341
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
British actor Bob Hoskins died of pneumonia at the age of 71 in London on 29 Apr
il 2014. He is
best known for roles in The Long Good Friday, Mona Lisa and Who Framed Roger Rab
bit.
His most memorable performance was as the Cockney cabbie in Mona Lisa film for w
hich he
was nominated for Oscar and won best actor awards at Cannes, the BAFTAs and the
Golden
Globes. He also worked in the US film likes The Cotton Club, Maid in Manhattan a
nd Nixon.
ARTURO LICATA, THE WORLD S OLDEST MAN DIED IN ITALY AT
AGE 111
Arturo Licata, the Worlds oldest man died in Italy on 27 April 2014 at the age of
111. He was
awarded the Guinness World Records title of oldest living man on 28 February 201
4 at the age
of 111 years and 302 days.
He was named as the oldest living man after the death of previous holder of the
record
Salustiano Sanchez. Salustiano Sanchez died in September 2013 at the age of 112
years and 97
days.
Licata was born into a family of four brothers and two sisters in Sicily. He had
seven children,
eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. He joined army in 1921 and se
rved it as a
soldier in East Africa during invasion of Ethiopia as ordered by the Italian fas
cist regime.
Currently 115-year-old female, Misao Okawa of Japan, is recognised by Guinness W
orld Records
as the world s oldest living person.
CANADIAN AUTHOR ALISTAIR MACLEOD DIED
Canadian author Alistair MacLeod on 20 April 2014 died due to a heart stroke. He
was 77. He
was best known for his short story collections and novel No Great Mischief.
He wrote his first short story The Boat in 1968. MacLeod s only novel No Great M
ischief was
published in 1999. The novel won Ontario s Trillium Prize and the prestigious 20
01 IMPAC
Dublin Literary Award.
It was recognized as Atlantic Canada s best book in the 2009 survey Atlantic Can
ada s 100
Greatest Books.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The other memorable films in Bengali include Saat Paake Bandha, Agnipariksha, Sa
ptapadi and
Deep Jwele Jai.
In 1955, Suchitra Sen starred as Paro in her first Hindi film Devdas which was B
imal Roy s
adaptation of Bengali classic Devdas. She played the leading lady opposite Dilip
Kumar and
Vyjayanthimala in the film.
In 1963, Suchitra Sen became the first Indian actress to win an international aw
ard. She had
received the Silver Prize for Best Actress at the Moscow Film Festival for Sapta
padi.
In 2012, Suchitra Sen received the Banga Bibhushan award from the government of
West
BengaL.
FAMOUS MARATHI WRITER NAMDEO DHASAL DIED
Namdeo Dhasal, the famous Marathi poet, writer and social activist died in Mumba
i on 15
January 2014. He was born on 15 February 1949 in Pune district.
His selected poems were translated into English under the title Namdeo Dhasal: P
oet of the
Underworld, Poems 1972-2006. He practiced the ideals of BR Ambedkar throughout h
is life. He
used his works like Golpitha, Khel and Tu Hi Yatta Kunchi to highlight problems
of dalit
community.
He was one of the founders of the militant Dalit Panther movement after the cast
eist riots in
Worli s BDD chawls.
Awards won by Namdeo Dhasal
In 1999, he was honored with the prestigious Padma Shri Award
In 2004, he won Sahitya Akadamis Life time achievement award
He received the Soviet Land Nehru award in 1974 for his collection of poems Golp
itha
ISRAELS FORMER PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON DIED
Israels former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died on 11 January 2014.The former gen
eral
of Israeli Army had been in coma since 4 January 2006. He was 85.
He served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel until he was incapacitated by a s
troke.
Sharon was a commander in the Israeli Army from its creation in 1948.
Sharon was born in British-mandate Palestine on February 26, 1928, to immigrants
from
Belarus. He was just 17 when he joined the Haganah, the militia that fought in t
he 1948
war of independence and eventually became the Israeli army.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Report | Survey
WEALTH-X AND UBS BILLIONAIRE CENSUS 2014 RELEASED
The Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 was released on 17 September 2014.
The census
looked at the global billionaire population from July 2013 to June 2014.
The Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 is the only comprehensive global st
udy on the
composition and dynamics of the top-tier of the global ultra high net worth (UHN
W)
population.
20TH ASIAN JUNIOR & CADET TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
2014
The 20th Asian Junior & Cadet Table Tennis Championship was held at Sardar Valla
bhai Patel
Indoor Stadium in Mumbai from 12 to 16 September 2014. China topped the medals l
ist with
six Gold medals (in singles and doubles and in team events), five silvers and fo
ur bronze medals.
WHO RELEASED
PREVENTION
FIRST
GLOBAL
REPORT
ON
SUICIDE
The World Health Organization (WHO) on 4 September 2014 released its first globa
l report on
suicide prevention. The report is aimed to increase awareness of suicide and sui
cide attempts
among the people and urge governments to develop comprehensive suicide preventio
n
strategies.
The report was launched just a week before World Suicide Prevention Day that is
observed
every year on 10 September. The Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness a
bout suicide
and suicide prevention around the world.
KPMG-FICCI STUDY RANKED INDIA AMONG
MEDICAL TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN ASIA
TOP
THREE
KPMG-FICCI on 1 September 2014 released a study on medical tourism destinations
titled
Medical Value Travel in India. The study has ranked India among top three medica
l tourism
destinations in Asia. The other two countries within Asia that receive maximum m
edical tourists
are Thailand and Singapore. As per the report, these three countries together ac
counted for
about 60 percent of the total Asian revenue in 2012.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The top three biggest public companies and five of the top 10 are from China and
added 25
firms to the list. The top 5 companies in the list are
1. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Banking
2. China Construction Bank, China Bankin
3. Agricultural Bank of China, China Banking
4. JPMorgan Chase, United States Banking
5. Berkshire Hathaway, United States Conglomerate
WHO DECLARED OUTBREAK OF POLIO AS WORLD HEALTH
EMERGENCY
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 5 May 2014 declared outbreak of polio as
a World
Health Emergency after detecting new cases of polio across borders from countrie
s like Syria
and Pakistan.
WHO recommended citizens of affected countries travelling abroad to carry a vacc
ination
certificate.
As per the WHO, the virus is considered endemic in only three countries: Afghani
stan, Nigeria
and Pakistan.
Although, WHO has also listed Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel and Soma
lia as countries
among posing an ongoing risk for new wild poliovirus exportations in 2014.
As per WHO, Syria which was polio-free for 14 years was re-infected with the vir
us from
Pakistan.
It is only the second time in the WHO s history it has made such a declaration,
the first being
during the swine flu pandemic of 2009.
WHO recorded 417 cases of polio worldwide in 2013, while till April 2014, it had
already
recorded 68 cases. Between January 2014 and April 2014, three new importations o
f the virus
were detected, from Pakistan to Afghanistan, Syria to Iraq and Cameroon to Equat
orial Guinea.
Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal viral disease that mainly affects chi
ldren under the age
of five.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The virus is transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in
the intestine.
It can then invade the nervous system, causing paralysis in one in every 200 inf
ections. It is
capable of causing death within hours.
IMPROVE THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA REPORT
RELEASED
Improving the Business Environment in India report was released on 6 May 2014. T
he report on
Best Practices to Improve Business Environment across States/Union Territories i
n India was
prepared by consultancy firm Accenture on behalf of the Department of Industrial
Policy and
Promotion.
The report highlighted few facts and best practices adopted by some states like
Gujarat - model of land acquisition was termed as the best in the country
Karnataka integrated and comprehensive system for VAT in
Maharashtra Labour Management solution and setting up Maharashtra Industry, Trad
e and
Investment Facilitation Cell
Rajasthan and Punjab single window clearance system
INTERNET TO HAVE 3 BILLION USERS BY END OF 2014: ITU
REPORT
United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on 5 May 2014 releas
ed the new
statistics ICT [Information and Communications Technology]. The statistics claim
ed that by the
end of 2014 the world will have about 3 billion internet users two-thirds of the
m will be from
the developing world with mobile-broadband penetration approaching 32 percent. T
he 3
billion people accounts for about 40 percent of worlds population.
The ICT figures also highlighted that by the end of 2014, the mobile-cellular wi
ll reach 7 billion
of which over 75 percent users will be a part of developing countries.
Figurative details of for other countries and region by the end of 2014
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Africa about one fifth of the population will have an access to Internet
Americas nearly two-thirds of the population will be online
Europe highest Internet penetration rate of 75 percent
Asia-Pacific region the largest population of Internet users
Other economies are Sri Lanka (rank 69), Bangladesh (rank 114), Nepal (rank 126)
and Pakistan
(rank 105).
The drop in rankings of India can be traced back mainly to difficulties in impro
ving historical
limitations and keeping up with other emerging in several dimensions. The qualit
y of political,
regulatory, business environment and lack of digital infrastructure are differen
t issues hindered
the network readiness profile of India.
About World Economic Forum (WEF)
WEF is an International Institution committed to improving the state of the worl
d through
public-private cooperation. It was founded in 1971.
The WEF will publish reports such as the Global Competitiveness Report, the Glob
al Risks
Report and the Global Gender Gap Report. And also produces landmark titles cover
ing the
environment, education, individual industries and technologies.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
WORLDWIDE RELEASED
REPORT
ON
DEATH
PENALTY
Amnesty International released its annual report on death penalty in London on 2
7 March
2014. According to report, at least 22 countries which are still applying death
penalty, consider
the abolition of capital punishment as a top priority. Also the number of countr
ies which use
the death penalty has reduced in the last 20 years.
Main highlights of the Report
In 2013, at least 778 executions were recorded which is an increase of almost 15
percent as
compared to 682 in 2012 excluding the China.
There was a sharp increase in global trend in the number of executions in Iran (
369) and Iraq
(169) in 2013.
China, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the USA topped the list in executions. In fa
ct China is the
country where more people are executed than anywhere else in the world.
The USA is the only country in the Americas to carry out executions in 2013. The
death
penalty in the USA continued to be marked by error, inconsistency, racial dispar
ities and, in a
number of cases, a lack of adherence to specific provisions of international law
or safeguards.
In 2013, there were 39 executions carried out in 9 states of USA which is an inc
rease of 34
percent in 2012 and there were 3108 people on death row in 2013.
356
Europe and northern Central Asia became execution-free zones, where no case of c
apital
punishment has been reported since 2009.
WIPRO AND TATA POWER AMONG WORLD S MOST ETHICAL
FIRMS
Wipro Limited and Tata Power Company on 20 March 2014 emerged as the only Indian
entities
in the 2014 list of World s Most Ethical Companies. The list was prepared by the
US-based
entity, Ethisphere Institute.
Ethisphere Institute has prepared a list of 144 companies has featured at least
three global
firms are headed by an India-origin individuals. They are namely
Satya Nadella-led software giant Microsoft Corporation
Indra Nooyi-led beverages company PepsiCo
Shantanu Narayen-led software major Adobe Systems
The list of 144 companies has 21 first-time entrants. The 144 companies are of d
ifferent sectors
like Aerospace and Defence, Agriculture, Automative, Banking, Computer Services,
Chemicals,
Electronics and others. None of the companies have been ranked in any sector.
INDIA RANKED 4TH IN SPAM E-MAILS EXPORT: MICROSOFT
REPORT
India was ranked fourth in a Microsoft report in the list of the countries sendi
ng out spam emails. Microsoft on 28 February 2014 released security intelligence
report saying that spam
emails contents are malicious and carries advertisements for pharma products and
sexually
explicit material. The report is based on the survey conducted during January to
June 2013.
In the list of the Microsoft report, India has followed three nations namely
US topped the list for sending maximum number of Botnet spam
China
The UK
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Cyber criminals share out malicious software or malware that can turn a computer
into a bot
also known as a zombie or robot. Zombie or robot automates the tasks of the comp
uter over
the internet without being in knowledge of the PC (personal computer) owner.
Governments and industry response team can understand the magnitude of security
problems
by determining the originating place of bonet spam.
India was also victim of a number of cybercrimes and ranked fifth in terms of ma
lware
encounters. The encounter rate increased slightly from 29.31 percent in the firs
t quarter to
29.44 percent in second quarter of 2013. Worms, Trojans and viruses were most pr
evalent form
of attack in India.
The US topped the encounter rate followed by Brazil, Russia and Turkey. Other co
untries are
Mexico, Germany, France, China and the UK. Encounter rate refers to a percentage
of
computers running Microsoft real-time security products encountering malware dur
ing
particular period.
INDIA IS THE WORLDS LARGEST ARMS IMPORTER: SIPRI
A new data on international arms transfers released on 17 March 2014 said that I
ndias import
of weapon systems is three times more than Pakistan and China. The report publis
hed by as
Swedish Think Tank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has
claimed that
India continues to be the largest buyer of arms in the world.
The new data has ranked China and Pakistan second and third respectively as the
largest arms
importer. China was replaced as the worlds biggest arms buyer by India in 2010. O
verall, the
volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons grew by 14 perce
nt between
200408 and 200913.
Findings of the data released by the think tank
Between 2004 and 2008, the imports of major weapons by India rose by 111 percent
Indias share in the volume of international arms import between 2009 and 2013
increased from 7 to 14 percent
Between 2009 and 2013, Russia was ranked as the major supplier of arms to India
accounting for 75 percent of imports
It claims that the United States with 7 percent imports to India from 2009-13 fo
r the
first time became the second largest arms supplier for India and in the same tim
e,
Pakistani imports of arms from US was 27 percent
China has played an important role in imports of arms for Pakistan with its shar
e of 54
percent and 82 percent in the case of imports in Bangladesh
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
According SIPRI release, the five largest arms suppliers worldwide between 2009
and
2013, who collectively accounts for 74 percent of total arms exports were:
United States with 29 percent of global exports
Russia with 27 percent of global exports
Germany with 7 percent of global exports
China with 6 percent of global exports
France with 5 percent of global exports
The USA and Russia together accounted for 56 per cent of the volume of arms expo
rts.
SIPRI data of top five arms importer
India
China
Pakistan
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM RELEASED YOUNG GLOBAL LEADERS
2014 LIST
World Economic Forum (WEF) released Young Global Leaders 2014 list on 11 March 20
14. The
WEF recognised 214 Young Global Leaders (YGLs). Among them 109 are woman who wer
e
recognised for leadership and service to society.
The Young Global Leaders 2014 came from 66 countries across 7 regions and equall
y represent
the public and private sector and belong to professions including academia, arts
and culture,
civil society, government, media and not-for-profit organisations.
The YGL Class of 2014 includes 49 individuals from East Asia, 46 from Europe, 17
from Latin
America, 18 from the Middle East and North Africa, 48 from North America, 17 fro
m South Asia
and 19 from sub-Saharan Africa.
There were 17 young global leaders in South Asia, out of which 14 were from Indi
a. Following
are the Indians among the YGLs list.
Name
Pallavi S. Aiyar
Profession
Organisation
Author and Journalist The Hindu and Free
Lance
Farhan Akhtar
Film Director, Actor, Excel Entertainment
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Producer
Sachin Bansal
Production House
Co-Founder
Chief
and Flipkart.com
Executive Officer
Avani Davda
Chief
Officer
Mohit Joshi
Vice-President
Head, Europe
Roshni
Malhotra
Nadar Executive
and CEO
Executive Tata
Limited
Starbucks
and Infosys Ltd
Director HCL Corporation Ltd
Vishwarupe Narain
Nandini Piramal
Indias Head
Texas Pacific Group
Executive
Director Piramal Enterprises
and Head of HR
Limited
Rishad Premji
Chief
Strategy Wipro
Officer, IT Business
Anoop Ratnaker Rao
Chief
Officer
Chief
Officer
Chiki Sarkar
Operating Naandi Foundation
Executive Penguin
House
Parmesh Shahani
Head of Innovation
Anurag Thakur
Laboratory
MP
&
National BJP s Youth
President BJYM
Wing
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Random
Godrej Industries Ltd
IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Ratheesan
Yoganathan
Co-Founder
Group
and Lebara Group
Chairman
INDIAN MIGRANTS AMONG TOP MIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS IN
UK: REPORT
A report entitled Migrant Entrepreneurs: Building Our Business, Creating Our Job
s released in
March 2014 released claims that migrant entrepreneurs are one in seven of all UK
companies.
The report released by Centre for Entrepreneurs and financial technology company
Duedil has
listed Indian migrants at second position.
As per the report 456073 migrants have launched a small or medium-sized business
in Britain.
Top performing nationalities with and number of migrants with their companies
Irish - 48854 people
Indian 32593 people
German 30755
American
Chinese
In case of American and Chinese entrepreneurs the report claimed that they are a
lso behind a
significant number of UK-based businesses.
The report that claims that Young entrepreneurs are among top five nationalities
whose
citizens have created jobs in Britain by setting companies and have challenged t
he antiimmigration rhetoric that discourages public in recent past years.
BIMAL JALAN COMMITTEE ON NEW BANK LICENCES SUBMITTED
ITS REPORT TO RBI
Bimal Jalan Committee on New Bank Licenses submitted its report to the Reserve B
ank of India
(RBI) on 25 February 2014. The report contains names of entities eligible for ba
nk licences.
The committee was constituted by RBI under the chairmanship of Bimal Jalan in Oc
tober 2013.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
RBI had constituted the committee to examine the criteria, business plans and co
rporate
governance practices of applicants applying for new bank Licenses.
Other members of the committee are former RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat, forme
r
Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman C B Bhave and Nachiket M Mor, Di
rector of
the Central Board of Directors of the RBI.
The central bank issued guidelines for licensing of new banks on 22 February 201
3.
There are around 25 players in the group to get bank license, among them primari
ly are Public
sector units, India Post and IFCI and private sector Anil Ambani group and Adity
a Birla group.
Bajaj Finance, Muthoot Finance, Religare Enterprises and Shriram Capital have al
so applied.
In the past 20 years, the RBI has licensed 12 banks in the private sector in two
phases. Ten
banks were licensed on the basis of guidelines issued in January 1993.
Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank were the last two entities to get banking licen
ses from the
RBI in 200304.
India has 27 public sector banks, 22 private sector banks and 56 regional rural
banks.
MGI
RELEASED
EMPOWERMENT
THE
REPORT
FROM
POVERTY
TO
McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) released the report titled From Poverty to Empow
erment:
India s imperative for jobs, growth and effective basic services on 19 February
2014. The report
praising the reduction in poverty in India from 45% in 1994 to 22% in 2014 has s
uggested for
creating a new national vision for economically empowering the people living in
poverty.
For realizing the vision, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has created the Empowe
rment Line.
The Empowerment Line is an analytical framework that determines the level of con
sumption
required to fulfill eight basic needsfood, energy, housing, drinking water, sanit
ation, health
care, education, and social securityat a level sufficient to achieve a decent sta
ndard of living
rather than bare subsistence.
INDIA RANKED 8TH IN DEMAND FOR DIGITAL GOVERNANCE
India was ranked 8th in the list of ten countries in terms of digital governance
. The report on
The list was topped by Singapore followed by Norway and UAE at second and third
place
respectively.
The report revealed the demand for the digital governance is rising in India and
emerging
economies which will enhance efficiency and output. In India the Government emba
rked on eGovernance model and the infrastructure which would pay the dividends i
n the long run.
The report is based on survey of 5000 respondents in ten countries including Bra
zil, Germany,
India, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the
United
Kingdom and the United States.
UNESCO RELEASED 11TH EFA GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT
2013-14
UNESCO released the 11th Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2013 14 on 2
8 January
2014. The theme of the report was Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for a
ll.
The report warns that despite advances made in education, not a single goal laid
down in
Dakar, Senegal in 2000 will be achieved globally by 2015.
The EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-14 vividly underlines the fact that people
in the most
marginalized groups have continued to be denied opportunities for education over
the decade.
The Report has advocated to put in place a robust global post-2015 education fra
mework to
tackle unfinished business while addressing new challenges.
It further said that post-2015 education goals will only be achieved if they are
accompanied by
clear, measurable targets with indicators tracking that no one is left behind, a
nd if specific
education financing targets for governments and aid donors are set.
PAKISTAN ONLY POLIO-ENDEMIC NATION WITH MORE CASES
A report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that Pakistan
is the only
polio-endemic country in the world and it reported most cases of crippling disea
se in 2013 and
2012.
Pakistan had 83 polio cases in 2013 and 58 cases in 2012. In 2013, a total of 36
9 cases from the
endemic and non-endemic countries have been recorded from the world, which also
includes
Pakistan. Of 83 cases recorded in Pakistan, 59 cases are from Fata, 10 were from
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and seven each from the Punjab and Sind. All the recorded cases are
type-1 cases
but no cases of type-3 was recovered.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
UNION
GOVERNMENT
LAUNCHED
ADVERTISEMENT, THE PRICE WE PAY
ANTI-TOBACCO
Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in first week of June 2014 launched a
new fourminute video titled, The Price We Pay. The video was launched to highlig
ht the health and
economic impacts of tobacco consumption.
3RD NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT 2014
The Third Nuclear Security Summit was held in The Hague, Netherlands from 24 to
25 March
2014. The summit was attended by 58 World leaders. The third NSS synergizes prev
ious two
summits without their backdrops.
At the Summit, the leaders agreed to build a robust Nuclear Security Structure.
Besides, the
summit also saw the agreement on Strengthening Initiative wherein 35 countries a
greed to
incorporate the guidelines of IAEA into their national legislation to assess the
security of nuclear
materials.
About Nuclear Security Summit
The goal of the Summit is to address the threat of nuclear terrorism by enhancin
g
international cooperation to prevent the illicit acquisition of nuclear material
by non-state
actors such as terrorist groups and smugglers.
The first NSS was held in Washington DC in 2010 and the second NSS was held in S
eoul in
2012. The United States will host the next Summit in 2016.
WHARTON INDIA
PENNSYLVANIA
ECONOMIC
FORUM
TO
BE
HELD
IN
The 18th Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) will be held on 22 February 2014 at
Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, USA. WIEF is an annual student-run India-focused c
onference
hosted by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
The theme for WIEF 2014 is India: Time to Reboot.
The conference will bring together business and political leaders, professionals
, academics and
students from around the world to discuss India s evolution into a global econom
ic power.
The WIEF conference started in 1996. WIEF has not only been the leading business
forum
focused on India in the United States, but is also one of the largest and most p
restigious in the
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
world. It is attended by over 500 people annually, and features renowned speaker
s who are at
the forefront of Indias economic and business growth and development.
G-4 DIRECTOR GENERALS FOR UN AFFAIRS MET IN NEW DELHI
New Delhi a place where Director Generals for UN Affairs of G-4 nations met
G-4 Director Generals for UN Affairs met on 11 February 2014 in New Delhi. Durin
g the meet,
the four G-4 nations namely Brazil, Germany, India and Japan also conducted an O
utreach
Seminar on UNSC Reform on 12 February 2014.
During the meeting, the Director Generals (DGs) of the four nations exchanged th
eir views on
Security Council Reform. Similar such a meet was held on 26 September 2013 in Ne
w York on
the sidelines of the 68th UN General Assembly.
The DGs of the four nations discussed the current state of play on UNSC reforms
in New York as
well as the way forward with the view to move the process urgently to text-based
intergovernmental negotiations. For betterment of the geopolitical realities of
the 21st Century
they underlines the broad support that exists among UN member states for expansi
on of the
UNSC in both permanent and non-permanent categories. This was done to make the c
ouncil
more representative, transparent and efficient. The DGs of the G-4 nations also
stressed on a
point that reforms will enhance effectiveness and credibility as well as the leg
itimacy of the
decisions of UNSC.
The G-4 countries reiterated their commitments as aspiring new permanent members
of the
UN Security Council, as well as their support for each others candidatures. They
also reaffirmed
their view of the importance of developing countries, in particular Africa, to b
e represented in
both the permanent and non-permanent categories of an enlarged Council.
They also agreed to continue their discussions leading up to the 2015 Summit, wi
th Japan
offering to host the next meeting in Tokyo. The G-4 nation DGs of also met Exter
nal Affairs
Minister of India, Salman Khurshid on 12 February 2014.
A one day Outreach Seminar on United Nations Security Council Reform: Perspectiv
es and
Prospects was organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and Mi
nistry of
External Affairs on 12 February 2014.
Background of September 2013 meeting
The Foreign Ministers of the G-4 nations met in New York and stressed the need t
o intensify
efforts to translate the commitments made in the Outcome of the 2005 World Summi
t into
Concrete outcomes at latest by 2015.
THIRD WORLD CONGRESS ON AGRO-FORESTRY
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Important Dates
INDIA OBSERVED HINDI DIVAS ON 14 SEPTEMBER
National Hindi Divas (Hindi Day) was observed across India on 14 September 2014.
The day was
observed to promote the Matra Bhasha the mother tongue of India and show its imp
ortance
as a language in the country.
WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE WORLD
ON 19 AUGUST
19 August: World Humanitarian Day
World Humanitarian Day was observed across the world on 19 August 2014. The day
is
observed to recognise humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives
working for
humanitarian causes. The theme for the year 2014 is The World Needs More Humanit
arian
Heroes.
World Humanitarian Day is also an opportunity to celebrate the spirit that inspi
res
humanitarian work around the globe. The events of the day included wreath-laying
ceremony
at UN Headquarters in New York to honour aid workers killed in the line of duty.
INDIA CELEBRATED 68TH INDEPENDENCE DAY ON 15 AUGUST
2014
15 August: Independence Day of India
India celebrated its 68th Independence Day on 15 August 2014, as India became in
dependent
nation from British Rule on 15 August 1947. On this day citizens of India pay ho
mage to their
leaders and freedom fighters.
INTERNATIONAL TIGER DAY 2014 OBSERVED ACROSS THE
WORLD
29 July: International Tiger Day
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The World on 29 July 2014 observed the International Tiger Day. The day is celeb
rated as an
awareness day. The goal of the Tiger Day is to promote protection and expansion
of the wild
tiger habitats and also to gain support awareness for tiger conservation.
At present the number of wild tigers is at its lowest. In last 100 years, around
97 percent of the
total tigers population have been lost. In 1913, the world has about 1 lakh wild
tigers, which has
dropped to 3000 in 2014. As per estimates, India in 2010 had 1706 wild tigers th
at increased
from 1411 in 2006. Among the 13 tiger-range countries, India has the highest num
ber of tiger
population.
WORLD HEPATITIS DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE WORLD ON 28
JULY
World Hepatitis Day was observed across the world on 28 July 2014. The years them
e Think
Again, acknowledges that we do not know nearly enough about viral hepatitis as
a health
threat in much of the world.
The day s observed to raise awareness and influence real change in disease preve
ntion and
access to testing and treatment.
WORLD ELEPHANT DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE WORLD ON 12
AUGUST
12 August: World Elephant Day
World Elephant Day was observed across the world on 12 August 2014. It is an int
ernational
annual event and is dedicated towards the preservation and protection of the wor
lds
elephants.
NATIONAL DOCTORS DAY OBSERVED ACROSS INDIA ON 1 JULY
1 July: National Doctors Day
India on 1 July 2014 observed the National Doctors Day. The day is observed to ho
nour
legendary physician, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy whose birth and death anniversary fal
ls on the
same day. On 4 February 1961, he received the Bharat Ratna.
INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND ILLICIT
TRAFFICKING OBSERVED ON 26 JUNE
26 June: International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed on 26
June 2014. The
theme of the 2014 is A message of hope: Drug use disorders are preventable and t
reatable.
INTERNATIONAL SEAFARER S DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE
WORLD ON 25 JUNE
25 June: International Seafarer s day
International Seafarer s day was observed on 25 June 2014. The day is observed t
o give thanks
to the seafarers for their contribution to the economy and civil society of the
world, also for
risks and personal costs borne by them while being in their jobs.
WORLD VITILIGO DAY OBSERVED ON 25 JUNE
25 June: World Vitiligo Day
World Vitiligo Day was observed across the world on 25 June 2014. The day is spe
cially
dedicated to people with vitiligo.
UNITED NATIONS PUBLIC SERVICE DAY CELEBRATED ON 23
JUNE
23 June: United Nations Public Service Day
The United Nations Public Service Day was celebrated on 23 June 2014. The theme
for 2014 is
Innovating Governance for Sustainable Development and Well-being of the People.
The day was celebrated every year to mark the invaluable contributions of public
servants and
administrators in an effort to build a better world for all.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE WORLD ON 20
JUNE
World Refugee Day was observed across the world on 20 June 2014. The day is obse
rved
annually to draw attention to the plight of refugees, celebrate their courage an
d resilience and
renew commitment to solve refugee problems. It also recognises contributions of
the refugees
made to the countries that host them.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
The day celebrations include the honour of all peacekeepers who lost their lives
while serving
under the UN flag. Besides, the Dag Hammarskjold Medal is awarded posthumously t
o the
peacekeepers who lost the lives while serving in the cause of peace, during the
preceding year.
ANTI-TERRORISM DAY OBSERVED
21 May 2014: Anti Terrorism
Anti-Terrorism Day observed
s 23rd Death
Anniversary of former Prime
a pledge
taking ceremony among other
Over 7000 cities in 150 countries joined the movement with places like the Golde
n Gate Bridge
in San Francisco, Times Square in New York City, the Acropolis hill in Athens an
d even the
Kremlin in Moscow participating.
WORLD WATER DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE WORLD
22 March- World Water Day
World Water Day was observed on 22 March 2014 with the theme Water and Energy to
raise
awareness of the inter-linkages between water and energy. World Water Day is obs
erved to
preserve and ration consumption of water.
The Day was celebrated with the events like the UN-Water Decade Programme on Adv
ocacy
and communications with journalist workshop in Tokyo, releasing of the World Wat
er
Development Report, giving away of Water for Life Awards, high-level policy pane
l, side events
and key note speeches.
WORLD POETRY DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE
21 March-World Poetry Day
World Poetry Day was observed across
erved to
support linguistic diversity through
anguages the
opportunity to be heard within their
WORLD
the world on 21 March 2014. The day was obs
poetic expression and to offer endangered l
communities.
National Voters Day is started from 25 January 2011. NVD functions were held at
more than
6.5 lakh locations across the country covering nearly all 8.5 lakh Polling Stati
ons. Around 46000
Educational Institutions also celebrated National Voters Day.
25th January is also the foundation day of the Commission, which came into being
on this day
in 1950. The Commissions objective through NVD is to increase enrolment of voters
, especially
of the newly eligible ones, to make universal adult suffrage a complete reality.
NATIONAL GIRL CHILD DAY OBSERVED ON 24 JANUARY
National Girl Child Day observed on 24 January 2014 across India by the Governme
nt. This day
is observed every year to raise awareness and consciousness of the society towar
ds girl
children. This years theme of Girl Child Day is Safety and Development of girl ch
ild. This day is
being observed every year on 24 January, since 2008.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
Miscellaneous
SKELETON OF GIANT WATER-LIVING DINOSAUR UNVEILED IN
MOROCCO
The skeleton of a giant water-living Dinosaur was unveiled in Morocco. This 50-f
oot Dinosaur
belonged to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus group and was the biggest carnivorous dinosa
ur. The
findings were published in the journal Science on 11 September 2014.
The skeleton was brought at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.
where
scientists studied the creature. It is after 70 years that a new skeleton of Spi
nosaurus
aegyptiacus was found in Morocco.
AUSTRALIAN PM TONY ABBOTT RETURNED 11TH CENTURY
STOLEN IDOLS TO INDIA
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on 5 September 2014 returned two stolen an
tique
statues of Hindu deities to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
One of the idol is a Nataraja, the dancing Shiva. Nataraja statue belonged to th
e Chola dynasty
of 11th-12th century. The other sculpture is of Ardhanariswara which represents
Shiva in halffemale form. It belonged to the 10th century.
REVIVED NALANDA UNIVERSITY STARTED ITS FIRST SESSION ON
1 SEPTEMBER 2014
The revived Nalanda University on 1 September 2014 started its first session wit
h 15 students in
its makeshift campus at the Buddhist pilgrim town of Rajgir, about 100 km from P
atna.
The University started its first session 2014-15 with the classes for theSchool
of Ecology and
Environmental Studies and the School of Historical Studies. At present, the Univ
ersity has 10
faculty members. The University started its first session after completing the t
hree-day
orientation programme for students.
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IBPS PO Exam 2014: General Awareness (Current)
web platform
Engagement in
for specific t
government wit
LEWIS
Lewis
on 18
2014.
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