GYANM GENERAL AWARENESS ISSUE SEPTEMBER 2015

GENERAL AWARENESS – SEPTEMBER 2015 1

An Ode to Mahatma Kalam

Former President Bharat Ratna APJ Abdul Kalam passed away in Shillong on July 27 after delivering his lecture in the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. He was 83. Known as the "Missile Man" of India, he rose from humble beginnings and earned the reputation of being the "People's President" who endeared himself to all sections, especially the young. In his sudden demise, India lost not only a visionary scientist and an institution-builder, but also a staunch nationalist who was an inspirational figure for people across generations. A devout Muslim and son of a boat owner, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born and raised in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu on October 15, 1931. An Aeronautical Engineer from Madras Institute of Technology, he is acknowledged as the driving force behind India's quest for cutting-edge defence technologies. His contributions to India's satellite programmes, guided and ballistic missiles project, nuclear weapons programme and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project made him a household name. He made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of the space club. During his tenure as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister from July 1992 to December 1999, he led the weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests, which made India a nuclear weapon state. He has been awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1997. Royal Society, UK decorated him with King Charles II Medal in 2007. He became the 11th President of India on July 18, 2002, with a focus to transform India into a developed nation by 2020. The country's first bachelor President’s flowing grey hair was seen as being at odds with what Indians thought a President ought to look like, but he proved to

be one amongst the most respected people of the country who contributed immensely both as a scientist and as a President. He transformed the office of President from being merely formal and ceremonial in nature in to a platform to inspire youth, who were readily impressed by his earthy demeanour and discursive approach to public speaking.

The missile man had his critics, but India’s

most popular president leaves behind the legacy of more than one generation of

inspired Indians.

SOME FAMOUS BOOK BY Dr. KALAM

Wings of Fire – An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam by Dr. Kalam and Arun Tiwari Ignited Minds –

Unleashing the Power Within India by Dr. Kalam India 2020: A Vision for

the New Millennium by Dr. Kalam and Y S Rajan

Target 3 Billion by Dr. Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh

Indomitable Spirit by Dr. Kalam

WORDS OF WISDOM BY Dr. KALAM

You have to dream before your dreams can come true. All birds find shelter during a rain. But eagle

avoids rain by flying above the clouds “If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a

sun Dream is not that which you see while sleeping, it is

something that does not let you sleep Learning gives Creativity, Creativity leads to

Thinking, Thinking provides Knowledge, Knowledge makes you Great.


GENERAL AWARENESS

SEPTEMBER 2015 Vol. 4, Issue 03

A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD.

SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH

Contents

CURRENT AFFAIRS MAY TO JULY 2015 01-38

BULLET NEWS FEB TO APRIL 2015 39-53

IBPS PO MOCK TEST 54-64

SSC CORNER 65-69

LATEST 100 GK MCQs 70-77

6 MONTHS GK BYTES 80-100

FIGURES TO REMEMBER

REPO RATE (02.06.2015) 7. 25% REVERSE REPO RATE 6.25% MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY RATE

8.25%

STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 21.5% CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.00% BANK RATE 8.25% BASE RATE(s) (of various banks)

9.70 to 10 %

INDIA’S RANK IN

Global Competitiveness 44th

In terms of Peace 143rd

Motherhood Index 140th

Environmental Democracy Index 24th

Human Capital Index 100th

Global Resilience Index 119th

Global E-Waste Monitor 5th

World Happiness Report 117th

Global Networked Readiness 89th Social Progress Index 101st Open Government Index 2015 37th Press Freedom Index 2015 136th Talent Competitiveness 78th Travel and Tourism Index 65th Corruption Perceptions Index 85th The Web Index 2014 48th Global Terrorism Index 2014 6th Global Slavery Index 2014 1st Gender Gap Index 114th

NATIONAL NEWS

JULY 2015

INDIA TOPS IN 3 SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEMES The World Bank has ranked the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as the world's largest public works programme, providing social security net to almost 15 per cent of the country's population. India's Mid-day Meal Scheme has been classified as the biggest school feeding programme covering 10.5 crore beneficiaries. The Janani Suraksha Yojna, with 7.8 crore beneficiaries, has topped the category of social security programme with conditional cash transfers.

INDIA MAKES PROGRESS IN ACHIEVING MDGs As per a UN report on the progress made under the UNO’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), India has already achieved the target for reducing poverty by half and is set to achieve reducing hunger also by half. But India lags behind in meeting goals like universal primary school education and universal youth literacy and lags in empowering women through wage employment and political participation. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were set by the United Nations in the year 2000 and were to be achieved by December 2015.

MODI VISITS 5 COUNTRIES Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook 8 day trip to five Central Asian countries and Russia on from July 6 to 13. He visited Uzbekistan (July 6-7), Kazakhstan (July 7-8), Russia (Ufa) (July 8-10), Turkmenistan (July 10-11), Kyrgyzstan (July 11-12) and Tajikistan (July 12-13) for the summits of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China and South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

SIX SOLAR CITIES IN NORTHEAST The six cities - Guwahati and Jorhat in Assam, Kohima and Dimapur in Nagaland, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh and Agartala in Tripura - will be developed under the Development of Solar Cities Programme of the union ministry of new and renewable energy.


LONGEST TUNNEL TO START NEXT YEAR The last wall between the 9-km long Patnitop tunnel between Chenani and Nashri, the longest in South Asia, was broken, thereby reducing the road distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 30 km. The tunnel is likely to be operational in the next ten months. 2ANGLOINDIANS NOMINATED TO LOK SABHA President has nominated 2 members of Anglo-Indian Community to Lok Sabha as per the provisions of Article 331 of Indian Constitution. They are – Prof. Richard Hay, Economist from Kerala and George Baker, noted film actor from West Bengal. WORLD BANK HELP FOR ANDHRA The World Bank has agreed to provide $250-million financial assistance for the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project which will help the state enhance its capacity to respond promptly in times of crisis. INDIA FORMS 17.25 % OF WORLD POPULATION

On the World Population Day (July 11), at 5 pm, the number of Indians hit 127, 42, 39, 769, which is 17.25 per cent of the global population, as per the National Population Stabilization Fund (NPSF), an autonomous body under the Union Health Ministry. NSSO 71ST ROUND DATA RELEASED National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) released the survey data of the 71st round related to key indicators of Social Consumption: Education, showing prime indicators on education as on 31 March 2014. NAKSHATRA VATIKA LAID OUT IN HYDERABAD President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a 'Nakshatra Vatika' in the Rashtrapati Nilayam gardens in Hyderabad. The layout of the garden has been developed in various geometrical combinations corresponding to the Sree Chakra of Vedic astrology. PANEL FOR HIKE IN MPs SALARY A panel, headed by BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, has sought doubling of the existing Rs 50,000 salary of MPs and favoured increasing their pension from Rs 20,000 to Rs 35,000. It has also recommended doubling of the daily allowance of MPs for attending the Parliament sessions, from Rs 2,000 at present to Rs 4,000.

CASTE CENSUS SHOWS DEPRIVED RURAL INDIA The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data released on July 3 shows that of the total 17.9 crore rural households across the country, 2.37 crore or 13% still live in houses with only one room, kuccha walls and kuccha roof. This is the first such survey in more than 8 decades.The country has a total of 24.39 crore households, putting 73% of them in rural areas. Manual casual labour is the main source of income for rural households, with nearly 51% engaged in such jobs, followed by cultivation, which provides employment to 30% of households. About a fourth of the rural households don't have a literate adult above the age of 25 and only 64 per cent of the rural Indian population is literate, The Union Cabinet has formed an expert group chaired by Arvind Panagariya, Vice-Chairperson of NITI Aayog, to classify the Caste names returned in the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011.

RAIL LINK WITH BANGLADESH Government has sanctioned around Rs.1,000 crore for a 15-km India-Bangladesh railway project from Agartala in Tripura to Akhaura in Chitagong, Bangladesh. The link will reduce distance between Kolkata and Agartala by over 1100 kms.

ADB LOAN FOR NORTHEAST The Asian Development Bank to give a loan of $ 300 million to India for improving road connectivity and increasing the domestic and regional trade along the North Bengal—North Eastern Region (NER).

IDEAS INVITED FOR INDIAN CITIES The Union Urban Development Ministry organized a six day competition "Mera Shahar Mera Sapna" in New Delhi to encourage the citizens to contribute their ideas and solutions for addressing the challenges faced by Indian cities. FOR BEST COACHING BY BEST TEACHERS FOR

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India and Kazakhastan issued a joint statement - Tej Kadam highlighting the continuation of strategic partnership between the two nations.

Government has decided to give Cabinet minister’s rank to the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, Arvind Panagariya.

Asian Development Bank to provide $ 300 million loan to support the Government’s flagship program, the National Urban Health Mission.

The 46th Session of the Indian Labour Conference held in New Delhi.

India and Georgia signed an MoU in New Delhi for cooperation in election management and administration.

26th July was celebrated as the Kargil Vijay Diwas as the 16th anniversary of the Indian victory in the 1999 Kargil war.

Of the 31 countries which produce power from nuclear sources, India is ranked 12th, producing 5308 MWe. The list is topped by USA producing 98639 MWe.

National Broadcasting Day was observed on 23 July. It is on this day in 1927, the Indian Broadcasting Company started first radio broadcasting from Bombay.

Government has announced that 14 States and Union Territories have achieved or exceeded the literacy rate of 80 percent.

JUNE 2015

INDIA BREAKS TWO GUINNESS RECORDS Led by the Prime Minister himself, India broke two Guinness records – one for the largest yoga assembly of 35,985 at a single venue and the other for participation from 84 nationalities in a single event on the occasion of the

International Yoga Day at Rajpath, New Delhi. The Department of Posts released a special stamp on yoga and the Finance Ministry released coins of the denomination of Rs 10 and Rs 100 on the occasion. MODI VISITS BANGLADESH Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Dhaka on June 6 on a two-day visit to Bangladesh. 22 agreements were signed between two countries during the visit and a credit line of $2 billion was announced for the neighbouring country.

Mr Modi also received the “Bangladesh Liberation War Honour” on behalf of former Prime

Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in recognition of his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War.

The two countries agreed to start Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala (466+152 kms) bus service and Guwahati – Dhaka (496 kms) bus services.

PRESIDENT VISITS SWEDEN President of India visited Sweden on May 31 on his five- day visit to the country and Belarus. This is first ever visit by an Indian President to Sweden. Several agreements were signed with Sweden to boost ties and to find ways for investment in India’s defence sector under the ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative.

INDIA, BELARUS SIGN SIX AGREEMENTS During the visit of Indian President, the Belarus Goernment signed six agreements in fields like textiles, double taxation, media etc. Besides, the State University of Belarus conferred the Professor Honoris Causa degree on the President. India has extended a USD 100 million line of credit to Belarus.

INDIA BEST CHOICE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT As per the Baseline Profitability Index (BPI) compiled in New York, USA, India has been ranked the best country in terms of attracting foreign investors, in a study of 110 countries. China has secured the 65th position and the U.S. is at the 50th place.

INDIA GOOD FOR INVESTMENTS According to a World Bank report, India figures among top five emerging economies for the highest investment commitments in private sector, infrastructure sectors - energy, transport and water. The top five countries are Brazil, Turkey, Peru, Colombia and India.

DUTCH PRIME MINISTER VISITS INDIA Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Netherland, arrived in New Delhi on a two-day visit to India. The two countries announced a joint working group on counter terrorism and working closely in areas such as extremism, defence, maritime and cyber security while the Dutch expressed interest in supporting the Make in India and Clean India campaign.

MINIMAL ELDER ABUSE IN INDIA A new global study reveals that elder abuse in India is the lowest in Asia with an incidence of 14 per cent only while it is the highest in China at 36 per cent. In other countries, it varied from 2 percent in Ireland to 61 percent in Croatia. Elder abuse includes psychological, physical and sexual abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.


GITA MARKS ITS DEBUT IN CHINA Bhagavad Gita, the sacred ancient Indian scripture, has made its debut in China after its Chinese version was released during an international yoga conference held in Dujiangyan in the south-western Sichuan, China.

NATHU LA ROUTE OPENED BY CHINA

China opened the second land crossing in Tibet via Nathu La in Sikkim, 4,000 metres above the sea level to allow the first batch of Indian pilgrims undertaking the arduous Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra. The route was closed after the 1962 clash with China. PRABHU ATTENDS G 20 MEET AT ISTANBUL At the G-20 sherpa meeting in Turkey, India pressed for petroleum pricing reforms globally to ensure stability in the energy sector. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu represented India at the meet. 'Sherpa' is a senior official responsible for preparing the agenda for top leaders for a big meet. E C SUSPENDS NATIONAL PEOPLE’s PARTY The Election Commission has suspended the recognition of former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma’s National People’s Party because it failed to submit its poll expenditure statement within the specified time frame of 90 days since the general election last year. IIT TO VENTURE INTO MEDICAL SCIENCE Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur will soon become the first engineering institute in India to venture into medical education. The super-specialty hospital named Dr BC Roy Institute of Medical Science & Research is to become operational by 2017. HEALTH AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH USA India and USA have signed a series of agreements for cooperation in health sector in areas like cancer research, medical infrastructure development and application of new diagnostic technologies etc. TALKS HELD WITH JAPAN, AUSTRALIA India, Australia and Japan held trilateral talks in New Delhi to discuss a range of issues including the security situation in the Asia Pacific as also infrastructure and developmental projects.

INDIA SIGNS GLOBAL TAX TREATY India has joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information by signing the pact in Paris. This will enable India to access the data related to bank accounts from across the world, including tax havens that had refused to cooperate earlier. 54 countries have already joined the MCAA. India is among the six countries that signed the pact, taking the number to 60. The target is to reach 94 countries by 2017.

INDIA STILL LOW IN COMPETITIVENESS India was ranked 44th in the annual global competitiveness report by a Switzerland-based business school, which cited problems like high corporate taxes and a parallel economy for the low ranking. The USA ranked number one in the study.

INDIA HOME TO 24% OF WORLD’S HUNGRY India is home to the highest number of hungry people in the world, at 194 million, surpassing China, according to the United Nations annual hunger report - 'The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015' by FAO. India accounts for over 24 per cent of the total 795 million hungry people in the world.

INDIA RANKED 143RD IN TERMS OF PEACE According to research by Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), India ranked among 20 most violent places globally, standing at 143rd rank in 2014. Syria and Afghanistan were rated the least peaceful countries in the world while Iceland held its position as most peaceful, followed by Denmark.

INDIA RANKS HIGH IN CARBON EMISSIONS Data released by the US based World Resources Institute shows that in terms of emissions of climate - damaging greenhouse gases, India ranks fourth in world, accounting for roughly 7 per cent of emissions.

The top three are China, USA and European Union. However, in terms of per capita emissions, India ranks far below at the 10th place. The three-day World Bangla Conference organized by

the Vishwa Bangla Sammelan was held in Nagpur, Madhya Pradesh.

India has emerged as Britain's third biggest job creator in 2014 as it saw a 65% increase in FDI from India, leading to 9,350 new jobs in 122 projects.

India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh signed a Motor Vehicles Agreement for the regulation of passenger and cargo vehicular traffic.

India emerged the top donor country for Nepal by pledging $ one billion aid for reconstruction of earthquake hit Nepal

World Bank gave a $250 million loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction of flood-affected infrastructure in J&K.


MAY 2015

MODI VISITS THREE NATIONS Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a six day (May 14-20) visit to three countries – China, Mongolia and South Korea.

May 14 - Reached Xi'an city, home town of Chinese President in Shaanxi province. Breaking the protocol, President Xi Jinping received him in Xi’an city and accompanied him on his local sightseeing. Modi visited the famous Terracotta Warriors Museum, which has a large collection of clay sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. May 15- He met Chinese Premier (Prime Minister) Le Keqiang. The two leaders launched the State and Provincial Leaders’ Forum in Beijing. Mr Modi announced to extend electronic tourist visas to Chinese nationals. India and China signed 24 agreements to strengthen bilateral relationship in several fields including trade and commerce, railways, education, skill development, human resource and other areas. May 16-17 - Arrived in Mongolian capital Ulaan Baator, making the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Mongolia. He met Prime Minister Chimed Saikhanbileg and announced a $1-billion credit line to Mongolia for infrastructure development. He received a brown race horse named Kanthaka as gift. President: Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj Currency: Togrog Parliament: State Great Khural May 18-20 - Arrived in Seoul, capital of South Korea. A slew of agreements were signed, including one on Double Taxation Avoidance Convention, cooperation in shipping and logistics, audiovisual co-production, transport, highways and electric power development in new energy industries. South Korea agreed to provide $ 10 billion to India for infrastructure, development of smart cities, railways, power generation. President: Park Geun-hye–Currency: South Korean Won DELHI AIRPORT RANKS FIRST IN WORLD

Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi has been adjudged the world's best airport for the year 2014, under the category of handling 25 to 40 million passengers per annum by the Airports Council International of Canada.

PRESIDENT VISITS RUSSIA President Pranab Mukherjee visited Russia from May 7 to 10. He was conferred with honorary Doctorate by the Russian Diplomatic Academy. He attended the magnificent celebrations of the 70th Victory Day Parade. Eight agreements in the field of science and technology and higher education were signed during the visit. The Institutions of higher learning in India and Russia signed eleven Memorandum of Intent to establish Network of Institutions of Higher Education 50 YEARS OF CONQUERING MOUNT EVEREST Indian Mountaineering Foundation celebrated 50 years of first climbing by Indian team, of Mt. Everest, the world’s highest peak, on 20 May 1965. Indian team was led by Captain Mohan Singh Kohli of Indian Navy and team’s Sherpa, Nawang Gombu was the first person to reach the peak. CABINET NOD FOR EXCHANGE OF ENCLAVES

The Parliament passed the Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill 2013 to implement the land boundary agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh. It is 100th Amendment to the constitution and was approved by President on May 28, opening the process for exchange of identified territories (enclaves) between the two countries. Enclaves are tiny landlocked territories that each country has within the borders of the other nation. SC BANS USE OF PHOTOS IN GOVT ADs The Supreme Court issued guidelines to place a ban on the use of photographs of ministers and party leaders in the advertisements released by government institutions, public sector undertakings, local bodies and other autonomous bodies established under a statute to prevent ruling politicians from misusing tax payers’ money to enhance their image or of their parties. Further, official advertisements cannot carry the name of any political party, political symbol, logo or flag. The ban, however, would not cover late national leaders, while the President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India (CJI) were free to use or not to use their photographs in such advertisements.


INDIA RANKS POOR IN ENVIRONMENT CARE India has ranked 24th out of 70 countries in the first Environmental Democracy Index that evaluates nations' progress in enacting laws to promote transparency, accountability and citizen engagement in

environmental decision making. Lithuania tops the list released by the Washington-based World Resources Institute and Access Initiative. INDIA RANKS 140TH IN MOTHERHOOD INDEX Save the Children's 'State of the World's Mothers' report for 2015 shows that India ranks at 140th place in a study of 179 countries to assess risk of maternal death, under-five mortality rate, expected number of years of formal schooling, the gross national per capita income and participation of women in government. Norway was ranked first, followed by Finland.

India ranks 100th on 124 nations Human Capital Index, which measures countries on development and deployment of human capital. Finland topped the list.

A commemorative coin released to mark the birth centenary of Swami Chinmayananda to honour his work in the field of education and social reform.

World Bank to offer $ 250 million to Bihar govt as part of a programme to help improve effectiveness of elementary school teachers in the state

India and Vietnam signed a Joint Vision Statement on Defence Cooperation in New Delhi to promote the mutual cooperation in maritime security.

6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy was held in New Delhi on 15 May 2015.

The 10th World Hindi Conference will be held from 10 September to 12 September 2015 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

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NEWS FROM STATES

JULY 2015

GOA TO HOLD YOUTH DELPHIC GAMES 2016 The 5th Youth Delphic Games for cultural events will be held in Goa in February 2016. Started a 100 years after the modern Olympics in Delphy, Greece, the games are hosted every four years for participants in the age group 15-25 years. They are being hosted in India for the first time. The motto of the 2016 Games is ‘Celebrating Arts and Cultures.’ It will include competitions in six categories — musical arts & sounds, performing arts, language arts, visual arts, social arts and ecological arts & architecture. BANGALORE RANKS 12TH IN WORLD AS IT CITY Bangalore has been ranked 12th in the list of top 20 technology-rich cities in the world, according to a survey conducted by global property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle. Good economic growth, investments in infrastructure, presence of startups and significant supply of prime office space are some of the factors that contributed in Bangalore's strong performance in the survey. London, San Jose (California) and Beijing are top three c NADIA WINS UN PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD The "Abar Souchagar" (toilet for all) project in West Bengal's Nadia district, aimed at making the district free from open defecation, has won the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award for making Nadia the first 'Open Defecation Free' district in the country. ities on the list. XINJIANG TO AID GROWTH OF VADODARA Vadodara in Gujarat and China's Xinjinag province have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance infrastructure growth and development between the two regions. U P TO HAVE GPS IN ALL STATE BUSES Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has become the first State transport corporation to have a vehicle tracking system for its over 9600 inter-city buses, which has led to a reduction in accidents and deaths as drivers are wary of crossing the speed limits. HARYANA TOPS IN SKILL DEVELOPMENT A report brought out by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) states that Haryana is number one state in India in automobile production, accounting for 50% of total passenger cars and two-wheelers produced in India.


HARYANA TO GIVE 24 HR ELECTRICITY SUPPLY The Haryana government has launched the ‘Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon’ scheme from Dyalpur village of Kurukshetra district to ensure 24-hour power supply to the villages which fulfill all parameters, particularly avoiding power theft. NAGALAND DECLARED ‘DISTURBED AREA’ The Home Ministry has declared Nagaland a “disturbed area” under section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, as it finds that a “dangerous condition” prevails in the State and the armed forces should assist the civil administration in maintaining law and order.

The Kerala Tourism has won Pacific Asia Travel Association award for its Muziris Heritage Conservation Project in the 'Heritage & Culture' category.

Uttarakhand became the first state in India to successfully install an Earthquake Warning System to detect earthquakes and disseminate warnings.

Chennai is 6th city in India to have the Metro train. The first train covered an overhead stretch between Koyambedu and Alandur for 10 km.

The Tripura government has introduced a pension scheme for transgenders allowing them a pension of Rs 500 per month.

JUNE 2015

KERALA STARTS PUBLIC DIGITAL LOCKERS Kerala Government launched the Digital locker system ‘Akshay’, under which the public can store important records and certificates such as birth and marriage certificates, pan card, school/ college transfer certificate, passport etc. in the digital format. The records can be downloaded as and when required. RAJASTHAN TOPS IN SOLAR POWER

Data released by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy shows that Rajasthan, with an installed capacity of 1147 megawatt for solar power, topped the list of states commissioning grid connected solar power projects in the country, followed by Gujarat (1,000 mw).

HEMIS FESTIVAL HELD AT LADAK A two-day long annual Hemis festival dedicated to Guru Padmasambha was held in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir the largest monastery of Ladakh - Hemis monastery.

3 MORE DISTRICTS COME UNDER NCR The Government has decided to include Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh and the Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana as part of the urban conglomerate of National Capital Region (NCR).

LIPULEKH PASS OPENED FOR BUSINESS The 17,500-feet high Lipulekh Pass in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand was opened for this year's India-China trade and Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The route will remain open till October 31.

Jaipur Metro, touted as one of the fastest built metro systems in the country, has been thrown open to public.

India’s first of its kind Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre for Mumbai Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and ONGC near Mumbai was inaugurated.

Steffi Graf, Tennis legend from Germany, has been appointed the brand ambassador for Ayurveda by Kerala.

MAY 2015

BLUE WHALE FOUND NEAR MAHARASHTRA

A group of researchers has spotted for the first time, two Blue Whales (mother-calf pair) and four Bryde’s whales near Kunkeshwar off the Sindhudurg coast in Maharashtra. This is for the first time after 100 years that the Blue Whales were sighted off the coast of Maharashtra. Punjab becomes first state to issue Soil Health Cards

to all its farmers. The cards will show the details of the soil composition for every farm.

In Gujarat, the number of Asiatic lions in Gir sanctuary and its surrounding areas has gone up to 523, registering 27 percent increase since 2010.

World’s largest solar power plant is to be set up at Gurh tehsil in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh to produce 750 megawatt (MW) of electricity.

Govt of Tripura withdrew on May 27 the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 from the remaining areas of the state with immediate effect.

Among Indian states, Maharashtra attracts largest number of foreign tourists followed by Tamil Nadu.


GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

JULY 2015

E-KISSAN TO START ONLINE MANDIS The Ministry of Agriculture plans to launch E-kisan, a portal that will go online on July 27, to allow the farmers to showcase their farm produce on the Internet for wholesalers to bid remotely before the crop is harvested and sent to the buyer. Now the farmer need not bring produce to the mandi and play in the hands of commission agents for right price. Apart from ensuring remunerative prices to farmers, the portal will be an attractive alternative for wholesale buyers as they will not have to pay any mandi tax. PORTAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has launched a web portal for online submission of applications for Environment Clearance by State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities for Category ‘B’ projects. This facility is already there for projects cleared directly by the Ministry. WEB PORTAL LAUNCHED FOR EMPLOYMENT The government has launched the National Career Counseling Portal under the National Career Service (NCS) project to coordinate all government-run employment exchanges. The web portal will act as a one-stop platform for both job seekers and job providers where registration can be done online. ‘DIGITAL INDIA’ INITIATIVE LAUNCHED The government has launched the 'Digital India' initiative for digital delivery of all essential services online to citizens and transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy by leveraging IT. It plans to cover all the 2, 50, 000 village panchayats with broad band connectivity. It aims to reduce corruption in government services by making them available online. It plans to provide Aadhaar card-based ‘digital lockers’, wherein one can store all documents like birth/death certificates, various permissions, registrations etc.

DIGITAL INDIA

15 SALIENT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PM NARENDRA MODI'S PROJECT Moving ahead on yet another pet project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 'Digital India' campaign, aimed at creating a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The programme comprises of various initiatives, each targeted to prepare India for becoming a knowledge economy and for bringing good governance to citizens through synchronized and co-ordinated engagement of the entire government. The vision of Digital India programme also aims at inclusive growth in areas of electronic services, products, manufacturing and job opportunities etc. The vision of Digital India is centred on three key areas – (i) Digital Infrastructure as a utility to every citizen (ii) Governance & services on demand (iii) Digital Empowerment of citizens 9 PILLARS OF DIGITAL INDIA The Digital India programme aims to provide Broadband highways; Universal access to mobile connectivity; Public internet access programme; E-governance’ eKranti - Electronic delivery of services; Information for all; Electronics manufacturing: Targeted at net zero imports; IT for jobs & Early harvest programmes aimed at wifi in all universities, e-books etc. In line with these objectives, the government has launched several initiatives. We take a look at some of them: 1. Digital Locker System aims to minimize the usage

of physical documents and enable sharing of e-documents across agencies. The sharing of the e-documents will be done through registered repositories thereby ensuring the authenticity of the documents online, says the government.


2. MyGov.in has been implemented as a platform for citizen engagement in governance, through a "Discuss", "Do" and "Disseminate" approach. The mobile app for MyGov would bring these features to users on a mobile phone.

3. Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Mobile app would

be used by people and Government organizations for achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission.

4. eSign framework would allow citizens to digitally

sign a document online using Aadhaar authentication.

5. The Online Registration System (ORS) under the

eHospital application has been introduced. This application provides important services such as online registration, payment of fees and appointment, online diagnostic reports, enquiring availability of blood online etc, the government claims.

6. National Scholarships Portal is said to be a one

stop solution for end to end scholarship process right from submission of student application, verification, sanction and disbursal to end beneficiary for all the scholarships provided by the Government of India.

7. DeitY has undertaken an initiative namely

Digitize India Platform (DIP) for large scale digitization of records in the country that would facilitate efficient delivery of services to the citizens.

8. The Government of India has undertaken an

initiative namely Bharat Net, a high speed digital highway to connect all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats of country. This would be the world's largest rural broadband connectivity project using optical fibre.

9. Policy initiatives have also been undertaken by

DeitY in the e-Governance domain like e-Kranti Framework, Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software for Government of India, Framework for Adoption of Open Source Software in e-Governance Systems, Policy on Open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for Government of India, E-mail Policy of Government of India, Policy on Use of IT Resources of Government of India, Policy on Collaborative Application Development by Opening the Source Code of Government Applications, Application Development & Re-Engineering Guidelines for Cloud Ready Applications.

10. BSNL has introduced Next Generation Network

(NGN), to replace 30 year old exchanges, which is an IP based technology to manage all types of

services like voice, data, multimedia/ video and other types of packet switched communication services.

11. BSNL has undertaken large scale deployment of

Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country. The user can latch on the BSNL Wi-Fi network through their mobile devices.

12. BPO Policy has been approved to create BPO

centres in different North Eastern states and also in smaller / mofussil towns of other states.

13. Electronics Development Fund (EDF) Policy aims

to promote Innovation, R&D, and Product Development and to create a resource pool of IP within the country to create a self-sustaining eco-system of Venture Funds.

14. National Centre for Flexible Electronics

(NCFlexE) is an initiative of Government of India to promote research and innovation in the emerging area of Flexible Electronics.

15. Centre of Excellence on Internet on Things (IoT)

is a joint initiative of Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY), ERNET and NASSCOM.

It is understood that programme of this scale has never been conceived and implemented hitherto. It is an ambitious programme with a projected cost of 1,13,000 crore, an investment for knowledge based transformation of India and delivery of good governance to citizen both at central and the state level. The programme will generate huge number of IT, Telecom and Electronics jobs, both directly and indirectly. Success of this programme will make India Digitally empowered and the leader in usage of IT in delivery of services related to various domains such as health, education, agriculture, banking, etc," the government claims.

Source Economic Times: July 1, 2015 Don’t Waste Your Time Here & There

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ALL INDIA NUMBER PORTABILITY The nationwide mobile number portability, MNP which will allow customers to keep their existing mobile phone numbers while shifting between States and circles, is now operational. Until recently the users could change their operator while retaining the same number only in the same State or telecom circle. HELPLINE LAUNCHED FOR RAILWAYS The government has launched an All India Railway Helpline number, 1512, using which the passengers can lodge a complaint in the event of falling prey to a crime on both, running trains and stations across, anywhere in the country. HRIDAY SCHEME LAUNCHED FROM AMRITSAR

The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) was launched from Amritsar in Punjab for development of 12 historical cities in the country. The central government has sanctioned Rs. 69.31 crore as 100% grant for Amritsar.. OVER 100 MILLION YOUTH TO BE SKILLED The government has set a target to provide skill development training to 102 million youth over the next five years under the National Skill Development Mission. A skill loan initiative will also be started, under which loans from Rs 5000 to Rs 1.5 lakh will be given to more than 34 lakh youth. MINIMUM WAGE HIKED TO Rs 160 The National Floor Level Minimum Wage has been increased to Rs. 160 per day from the existing Rs. 137 effective from July 1 this year. It is expected from the state governments that they do not pay less than this rate as it is mandatory. GOVT TO CONDUCT SOCIAL AUDITS With a view to focus on safety and health aspects of workers, govt plans to prescribe norms for the quality of air and water within the factory premises, along with the extent of exposure of employees to particulate matters within the factory. Social audits of workers will be conducted to check implementation of these norms. Over 93% of the country's workforce is still in the unorganised sector, where most workers are deprived of protection measures and are often exposed to hazardous air and water.

RULES NOTIFIED FOR FOREIGN ASSETS

The government has notified the rules for calculating overseas income and assets under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. The rules notified by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) say that the value of overseas assets, including immovable property, jewellery, archaeological collections and paintings, shares and securities and shares in unlisted firms abroad will be calculated at their fair market value. BLACK MONEY WINDOW TILL 30th SEPTEMBER The government has given three months time till 30th September for people to declare their undisclosed foreign income and assets to escape prosecution under the new Black Money Law. Those making the disclosure during this period will have a further three-month period till 31st December this year to pay the taxes and the penalty on their foreign income and assets. Those availing of the one-time compliance window would have to pay a tax of 30% and a penalty of a similar amount. The ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana’ for power sector reforms in rural areas to ensure round the clock electricity supply to farmers and rural households, was formally launched in Patna on July 25. The earlier scheme Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana has been subsumed in the new scheme.

The govt will give national awards with a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh to 3 best rag-pickers and 3 associations for their contribution to keeping India clean.

The govt has launched the Surakshit Khadya Abhiyan to create mass awareness and capacity building for safe and hygienic food.

The govt has decided to start an exhibition train— Science Express to sensitise the people, especially children and the youth, about Climate Change.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana with an outlay of Rs. 50000 crore.

The retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, EPFO, has launched a public outreach initiative by the name ‘Nidhi Aapke Nikat'.


JUNE 2015

3 SCHEMES LAUNCHED FOR URBAN INDIA Prime Minister launched three schemes to rejuvenate the urban infrastructure in India.

i) Smart Cities Mission for applying smart solutions to improve infrastructure and service delivery in the cities. The Rs 48,000 crore mission aims to develop the overall quality of life for citizens in 100 selected cities and make them role models for others to follow.

ii) Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation-AMRUT: A Rs 50,000 crore project for infrastructure development of 500 cities with population of over one lakh, covering basic infrastructure like sanitation, drinking water, solid and waste management and transport.

iii) Housing For All: To ensure decent houses for all the needy, particularly the economically weaker sections and low income group in all the 4041 notified towns across the country. The scheme aims to construct 2 crores house for urban poor with central assistance of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.3 lakh to promote slum-free cities.

NAND-GHAR YOJANA LAUNCHED The government launched the first modernised Anganwadi centre of India at Hasanpur village of Sonepat in Haryana.. The centre has been set up as part of Nand-Ghar Yojana of Union Government which aims to transform the anganwadi centres.

JAL KRANTI ABHIYAN LAUNCHED Ministry for water resources launched a Jal Kranti Abhiyan from Jaipur on June 6 aimed at turning at least one water stressed village in each district of the country into a water surplus village.

HEALTH PHONE PROGRAMME LAUNCHED Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in collaboration with Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the IAP Health Phone programme, the world's largest digital mass education programme to address malnutrition in women and children. WEBSITE LAUNCHED FOR ‘MISSING CHILDREN’

The Women and Child Development Ministry has launched a new website - www.khoyapaya.gov.in to serve as a platform for people to not only report a missing child but also track the efforts towards his or her recovery. The website will answer all queries as to what action is to be taken when a child goes missing.

APP LAUNCHED TO CLEAN GANGA

The Centre has started a mobile application, Bhuvan Ganga, where the public can upload pictures of pollution sources of the Ganga River for further action by the authorities concerned. The app will be supported by the National Remote Sensing Centre and ISRO.

EPFO MAKES ‘UAN’ MANDATORY Employees Provident Funds Organisation-EPFO has decided to make Universal Account Number (UAN) mandatory for all employers covered under the EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952.

BILL TO REPLACE BIS ACT 1986 The government approved a new bill to replace the existing Bureau of Indian Standards, BIS Act 1986 to ensure supply of quality products and services to the consumers. Currently, only products and systems come under the ambit of standards and the bill proposes to include services under the standardisation regime.

FREE WI-FI HOT SPOT AT TAJ MAHAL Visitors to Taj Mahal will soon be able to access internet through wi-fi hotspots with launched by the BSNL from June 16. The service will be free of cost for 30 minutes in 24 hours and shall be charged subsequently. BSNL plans to set up 40,000 such Wi-Fi hotspots across the country in three years at a cost of Rs. 6,000 crore.

INSURANCE POOL FOR NUCLEAR RISKS The Union government has launched an insurance pool of Rs. 1,500 crore, mandatory under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to offset the financial burden on foreign nuclear suppliers in case of an accident. Under the pool, nuclear operators’ liability and suppliers’ special contingency insurance policies will be offered.

SMS WEATHER ALERTS FOR FARMERS The government has launched a web portal and weather alert system for the benefit of farmers called Crop Insurance Portal www.farmer.gov.in/insurance, which will give information on adverse weather condition to farmers through SMS. So far, one crore farmers have registered with the portal for receiving SMS alerts. APP LAUNCHED FOR BLOOD BANK LOCATION Government has launched a mobile application for easy access of information regarding the nearest blood bank in the country. Prepared by the National Blood Transfusion Council, it covers all the 2760 licensed blood banks of the country.

http://www.khoyapaya.gov.in

http://www.farmer.gov.in/insurance,


WORKDAYS UNDER NREGA INCREASED TO 150

Govt. has decided to increase the number of workdays under NREGA scheme from 100 days to 150 days, only in drought affected areas. The scheme will be applicable only to those households which complete 100 days of work. RAILWAY TIES UP WITH AIRLINES Railways have entered in to a tie-up with Spice Jet and Go Air airlines to enable the train travellers whose ticket is wait-listed to cancel the train ticket and instead get on to a flight of either airline by paying some extra fare. NEW INCOME TAX RETURN FORMS Union Finance Ministry has introduced two new forms for filing income tax returns (ITR) for the year 2014-15 - ITR-2 and ITR-2A. Form ITR-2 is for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) having income from more than one house property and capital gains. Form ITR-2A is for individuals who have income from more than one residence.

Individuals having income only from salary / interest will fill Form ITR-1 (Sahaj) and those having income from business will fill Form ITR-4S.

The Govt has decided to rename Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) as the Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI).

The Government has withdrawn the customs import duties for drugs and test kits used to treat HIV and AIDS infections.

The Railway Ministry has decided to run Suvidha trains from next month with dynamic fares to address the rush during the peak travel season.

The second border haat (rural market) opened at Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district of Tripura bordering Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.

Indian Renewable Energy and Development Agency has been awarded the Mini Ratna-I status by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Indian Railways has named Haridwar Mail running between Ahmedabad-Haridwar as Yoga Express to commemorate the International Yoga Day.

The Railways has commenced the SMS alerts to inform the passengers about the cancelled trains to enable them to make alternative arrangements.

MAY 2015

‘KISSAN CHANNEL’ LAUNCHED FOR FARMERS A farmer-centric 24 hour TV channel by Doordarshan named DD Kissan was formally launched on May 26. The channel programmes would focus on promoting development of agriculture sector and rural India. It will be mandatory for every cable and DTH operator to relay this channel.

THREE SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEMES LAUNCHED Prime Minister launched three social security schemes at Kolkata on May 9. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for accidental insurance cover of Rs two lakh for a premium of Rs.12. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana for life insurance cover of Rs two lakh for a premium of Rs. 330. Atal Pension Yojana to address old age income security needs.

ANTI BLACK MONEY BILL PASSED Seeking to unearth unaccounted funds and assets stashed by Indians abroad, Parliament on May 13th passed the historic “Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of New Tax) Bill, 2015”. For the first time, unlawful, undisclosed income abroad has been taxed under this law at a tax rate of 30 per cent with an additional 30 percent penalty. Further, it provides for 120 % tax and penalty in addition to 10-year jail term.

LOK SABHA CLEARS GST BILL The Goods and Services Tax Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on May 6, clearing its way to Rajya Sabha. The GST is proposed to be implemented from 1st of April next year. It seeks to create a new indirect tax regime which will replace various central and state levies like sales tax, excise and services tax except taxes on the supply of alcohol for human consumption and petroleum products. Select Your Pathway to Success


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SOCIAL SECURITY FOR MNREGA WORKERS The Centre has asked all the states to enrol all MNREGA workers under the three newly-launched social security schemes and open bank accounts for each worker under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. 3 schemes include Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana. CABINET APPROVES SMART CITIES MISSION Union Cabinet on April 29 approved the Smart Cities Mission for development of 100 smart cities with an outlay of Rs. 48,000 crore. It also approved the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for 500 cities with outlay of Rs. 50,000 crore to replace the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). GOLD MONETISATION SCHEME LAUNCHED

The government on May 19 unveiled the draft of the Gold Monetisation Scheme aimed at getting gold-hoarding Indians to deposit their holdings with banks in return for an interest payment. The finance ministry has sought the comments from the public on the scheme by June 2. A minimum 30 grams of gold could be deposited and Banks will decide the rate of interest. Minimum deposit period is one year, after which the customer may ask for gold or cash. GOVT TO START HIGHWAY RADIO In a move to keep highway commuters updated about road blocks, crashes, bad road condition and even weather forecast, government plans to start Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) system like a radio channel. Besides broadcasting music/ songs, it will also provide uninterrupted real-time information on traffic condition, local points of interest, suggest alternate routes etc.

USTAAD SCHEME FOR BANARAS WEAVERS Union Government formally launched USTAAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Ancestral Arts/Crafts for Development) Scheme in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in order to improve degrading conditions of world famous Banarasi Saree weavers and other artisans of the state.

LOK SABHA PASSES JUVENILE JUSTICE BILL After elaborate discus-sions on the merits of trying juveniles as adults in case of grave offences such as the 2012 Delhi gang rape, the Lok Sabha passed on May 7 the controversial Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014 which allows 16 to 18 year old child offenders in heinous crimes to be tried like adults. The law defines heinous offences as IPC offences with minimum punishment of seven years. These include rape, murder, dacoity, kidnapping, and even attempted murder. 20,000 CR FOR ‘NAMAMI GANGE’ PROGRAMME The Union Cabinet approved a massive Rs 20,000 crore budget for the ‘Namami Gange Programme’ for the next five years. The amount is a five-fold increase over the money spent in the last three decades towards the conservation of the river. The government plans to involve people living on the banks of the river to attain sustainable results. LOK SABHA PASSES N I ACT AMENDMENT The Lok Sabha passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015, on May 13. The amendment aims at easing the process of lodging court cases for cheque-bouncing. Now all such cases can only be filed at the place where the account of beneficiary is there i.e. place where the cheque was deposited for clearance. CHILDREN BELOW 14 ALLOWED TO WORK The government has approved a proposal for allowing children below 14 years of age to work only in family enterprises or entertainment industry with certain conditions, while completely banning their employment elsewhere. It also says that children up to 18 years of age will not be allowed to work in the hazardous industries.

FIPB POWERS RAISED TO 3,000 CRORE With an aim to expedite FDI clearance process, the govt has enhanced FIPB's powers to recommend foreign investment proposals of up to Rs. 3,000 crore, against Rs 1,200-crore limit at present. The FIPB recommended proposals are cleared by the Finance Minister and any investment beyond the new ceiling of Rs. 3,000 crore will go to Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by the Prime Minister. FIPB: Foreign Investment Promotion Board


CHANGES TO COMPANIES ACT NOTIFIED New amendments to the Companies Act have done away with the norms of minimum capital requirement of Rs 1 lakh for private limited company and Rs 5 lakh in case of a public sector unit. Besides, the concept of company seal has also been done away with.

PAN CARD MUST FOR EXCISE REGISTRATION Ministry of Finance has made quoting the Permanent Account Number (PAN) manda-tory for private firms seeking central excise registration to facilitate

efficient online collection of excise duty. Applicant shall also quote his or her e-mail address and mobile number in the application form for quick and online communication with the department.

Govt launched “Kayakalp” scheme for awarding public health facilities to encourage improvement in keeping the facilities clean and hygienic.

“Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for SC” launched to finance to the SC entrepre-neurs. The scheme will be implemented by the IFCI Ltd.

Doordarshan News has launched an app to enable live streaming of DD news channel by lakhs of smart phone users in the country.

Govt approves continuation of minimum monthly pension at not less than Rs 1000 for pensioners under the Employees' Pension Scheme

Amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 approved for enhancing the penalty under it to a maximum of 7 years imprisonment from 5 years.

A 10-member panel formed under Vijay Kelkar to revisit and revitalise public private partnership mode of infrastructure development.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

JULY 2015 ADB PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.8% The Asian Development Bank has projected that Indian economy is likely to grow at 7.8 per cent in the year 2014-15, making it the fastest growing economy, but cautioned that delay in land and taxation reforms could hinder growth. INDIA TO GROW BY 7.8% - FITCH Global rating agency Fitch says that India is expected to grow at 7.8 per cent in 2015. Its Global Growth Outlook report says that the Indian Government's strong drive to implement structural reforms should lead to improvements in the business environment and, over the time, to an increase in investments.

INDIA SET TO GROW BY 7.5% - IMF In its World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF has retained India's growth forecast for current year at 7.5 percent, which is higher than China's 6.8 per cent. The report projects current year global economy growth forecast at 3.3 per cent. GDP CROSSES $2 TRILLION MARK – W B

According to latest World Bank data, India’s GDP reached the $2.06 trillion mark in 2014. After taking 60 years to reach the $1-trillion mark, India added the next trillion in just seven years. India’s gross national income per person rose to $1,610 (around Rs. 1 lakh) a year during 2014. India’s growth rate, at 7.4 per cent in 2014, makes it the fastest growing major economy. MAY IIP UP BY 2.7 % Industrial output growth slowed in May due to sluggish manufacturing sector expansion, triggering demand for a cut in interest rates to support growth. The data show that the index of industrial production (IIP) rose 2.7% in May compared to a downwardly revised 3.4% growth. CORE SECTOR UP BY 4.4 % IN MAY The index of eight core industries rose by 4.4 per cent in May 2015, compared to its level in May 2014, the fastest growth seen since November 2014, after two straight months of contraction. The eight core industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity — account for a combined weight of 37.9 per cent in the overall IIP. TRADE DEFICIT SHRINKS TO $ 10.8 BN Falling for the seventh straight month, India's exports plunged 15.8 per cent in June, year-on-year, to 22.3 billion dollars. Exports fell due to the global slowdown, and a fall in crude oil prices that impacted shipments of petroleum products. The imports declined 13.4 per cent, to 33.1 billion dollars in June, amid a fall in oil and gold shipments, resulting in a trade deficit of $10.8 billion.

Recording losses for fourth week in a row, India’s foreign exchange reserves shrunk by $1.03 billion to $353.33 billion in the week ended 17th July.


JUNE 2015

GDP GROWS BY 7.3% IN 2014-15

According to the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the Indian economy grew at 7.3 per cent in 2014-15 (base year 2011-12) due to improvement in the performance of both services as well as manufacturing sectors. It was 6.9 per cent in 2013-14. The fourth quarter (January-March) of last fiscal saw the economy grow at 7.5 per cent. INDIA MAY GROW BY 8 %: NOMURA Global brokerage firm Nomura said in a research note that lower inflation, easier financial conditions, policy efforts and rising profit margins are expected to back up a cyclical recovery in Indian economy that may grow by 8 per cent this fiscal. INDIA TO TOP IN GROWTH – WORLD BANK The latest Global Economic Prospects report from the World Bank says that India is expected to top the growth chart in world, growing by 7.5 per cent this year, surpassing China which is projected to grow at 7.1 per cent this year. OECD PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.3% Paris-based think tank Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said that India’s economic growth is projected to remain “strong and stable” at 7.3% in 2015 on the back of revival in investments even as more reforms are needed to reduce uncertainties over taxation norms. RBI LOWERS GDP GROWTH TO 7.6% The Reserve Bank has lowered the economic growth forecast for the year 2015-16 to 7.6 per cent from 7.8 per cent projected in April, citing various risks, including poor monsoon and rising crude oil prices. Both lower than average monsoon and higher food inflation would lead to reduction in demand.

MAY 2015

UN REPORT PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 8.1% Indian economy is likely to clock 8.1 per cent growth in the current financial year, spurred by strong consumer spending amid low inflation, infrastructure projects and government's reform measures, says a UN report.

INDIA TO GROW BY 7.5 % - MOODY’s Global rating agency Moody's says that India will grow at a strong pace of 7.5 per cent in 2015-16, the highest among G20 economies, helped by the reforms drive and lower oil prices.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DOWN BY 5.25% As per the third advance estimates released for 2014-15, India’s foodgrain production is estimated to decline by 5.25 per cent to 251.12 million tonnes. Production of most of the Kharif crops fell because of the poor monsoon last year and Rabi crops due to the recent unseasonal rain and hailstorms. The country had registered a record foodgrain production of 265.04 million tonnes in 2013-14 crop year.

ECONOMY & INDUSTRY

JULY 2015 IOC IS TOP CORPORATE OF INDIA

Seven Indian companies are among the world's 500 largest companies, according to a list compiled by Fortune Magazine, USA. The list is topped by retail giant Walmart. The 7 Indian companies are Indian Oil (119th), followed by Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, and ONGC.

SUBSIDY ON KEROSENE FIXED AT Rs 12/LTR The government has decided to cap the subsidy on kerosene at Rs 12 per litre. Currently, it is being sold through the public distribution system at Rs 14.96 per litre against the actual cost of Rs 33.47.

TELE CONNECTIONS CROSS 1 BILLION MARK The total number of telephone connections in India crossed the 1 billion mark in May, reaching 1,002.05 million, of which 975.78 million connections were wireless or mobile, the data released by TRAI shows MILLIONAIRES GROWING IN INDIA A report by the Wealth X and UBS bank, Switzerland says that the number of dollar millionaires in India in 2014 rose to 2.5 lakh from 1.96 lakh in 2013, an increase of 27 per cent.


RECORD MARINE EXPORTS IN 2014-15

The marine product exports from India crossed all previous records in quantity, rupee value and dollar terms in 2014-15, touching an all time high of Rs 33,441 crore. Frozen shrimps continued to be the flagship product among Indian seafood exports by earning 67 per cent of the total value. MOBILE APP FOR DAIRY FARMERS The National Dairy Development Board has launched a mobile application named ‘Pashu Poshan’ that will help dairy farmers in boosting their income by raising milk yield and cutting feed cost. INDIAN ARMY/RLYs AMONG TOP EMPLOYERS As per the World Economic Forum, the Indian Army and the Indian Railways are among the world’s biggest employers, employing 1.4 and 1.3 million, respectively, securing 7th and 8th rank. The US Department of Defence is at number one, employing over 3.2 million persons, followed by China’s People’s Liberation Army with 2.3 million employees. ICRISAT LAUNCHES GREEN PHABLET Scientists at the Hyderabad based ICRISAT-International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics and the Government of Telangana have collaborated to launch the Green Phablet for farmers in Telangana to provide online information and weather alerts. WORLD BANK FUNDING FOR EDFC The World Bank has approved an additional loan of $650 million for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), which is aimed at faster delivery of goods between the northern and eastern parts of the country, from Ludhiana to Kolkata. LIMIT ON EPF WITHDRAWAL The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has proposed that an employee be allowed to withdraw only 75% of the overall kitty, instead of 100% as permitted under the existing Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, in case of resignation from a job or for any other use before retirement.

CIBIL TO CHECK BIMA CLAIMS The Life Insurance Council has engaged Credit Information Bureau India Ltd (CIBIL) to detect duplication of death claims under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna. There is a possibility that several customers bought policies from many banks and therefore the need to check duplicate claims arise.

The Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system was launched on the Chennai-Bengaluru corridor on July26, aiming to help road-users save time and money.

BSNL, along with Andhra Bank and Pyro, has launched a mobile VISA prepaid card SPEEDPAY to allow users to do cash transactions up to Rs 1 lakh.

The government plans to import 5,000 tonnes of Urad dal to improve domestic availability and check price rise. India and Thailand signed the Double Taxation avoidance treaty and the extradition treaty for seeking extradition of fugitive offenders.

JUNE 2015

MSP FOR PADDY AND PULSES HIKED The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has increased the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy by Rs 50 to Rs 1,410 per quintal for this year, as per the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

Commodity (Rs. per quintal) Commodity (Rs./quintal)

Paddy 1410 Ragi 1650 Paddy 1450 Tuar / Urad 4625 Jowar 1570 Moong 4850 Bajra 1275 Groundnut 4030 Maize 1325 Sunflower Seed 3800

Cotton Med. 3800 Cotton long 4100

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TARGET FOR SOLAR ENERGY UP BY 5 TIMES The Cabinet has approved stepping up of India’s solar power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission by five times, reaching 1,00,000 Mega Watt by 2022. The target will principally comprise of 40,000 mega watt Rooftop and 60,000 mega watt through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar Power Projects. TWO COMMITTEES FOR GST IMPLEMENTATION Finance Ministry has set up two committees for facilitating the implementation of Goods and Services Tax from 1st of April next year. The first committee will suggest tax rates and look into IT preparedness for the new indirect tax regime. The second committee would monitor the progress of IT preparedness of GSTN/CBEC/Tax authorities. LITTLE INDIAN MONEY IN SWISS BANKS As per the latest data released by Switzerland's central banking authority SNB (Swiss National Bank), Indians' money in Swiss banks declined by over 10 per cent to about 1.8 billion Swiss francs (USD 1.98 billion or Rs 12,615 crore) in 2014. India has moved down to the 61st place in terms of foreigners' money in Swiss banks, having a share of just 0.123 per cent. MEP HIKED FOR ONIONS

The government has hiked the Minimum Export Price (MEP) of onion by 175 dollar per tonne to 425 dollar per tonne to discourage exports and ensure adequate supply in the domestic market and contain price rise of the commodity

LISTING NORMS RELAXED FOR STARTUPS The Securities & Exchange Board of India has announced relaxed listing norms and liberalized several other terms to encourage the booming start-up industry to tap the local market so that local investors can also access to the dramatic growth opportunities offered by such firms. IPO NORMS REVISED BY SEBI Investment in all IPOs (Initial Public Offering) opening on or after 1 January 2016, has been made cheque-free by SEBI by making ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount) mandatory for investors. Further, in a bid to reduce the time period between the closure of an IPO to its listing, the time allowed has been reduced from the current 12 days to 6 days. In the ASBA facility, the required amount is blocked in the investor’s bank account and is debited only when the shares are allotted to the investor. This helps in doing away with the entire refund process that normally takes a couple of days.

MUMBAI MOST EXPENSIVE IN INDIA

Luanda, capital of Angola has been rated as the world’s costliest city to live in, as per Global HR firm Mercer’s "Cost of Living Survey 2015". Mumbai was rated as the most expensive city in India. INDIA HAS GOOD NUMBER OF SUPER RICH India is home to the fourth largest number (928) of ultra-high-net-worth households that have more than 100 million dollars in private wealth, according to the Boston Consulting Group's 'Global Wealth 2015 report. USA stands at number one (5201), followed by China (1037) and UK (1019). VEDANTA TAKES OVER CAIRN INDIA India’s largest private miner Vedanta, headed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, decided to absorb oil firm Cairn India in a $2.3-billion all-share deal to create India’s largest diversified natural resources company. IMPORT PRICE HIKED FOR ARECA NUTS The government has decided to increase the Minimum Import Price, MIP on import of Areca nuts from existing Rs 110 per kilogram to Rs 162 with immediate effect in order to protect local growers from the cheaper imports. PROJECT LAUNCHED FOR WATERWAYS The 'Jal Marg Vikas' (National Waterway-1) project on River Ganges, which envisages developing a 1620 kms water way between Allahabad and Haldia stretch, has taken off with a $3.5 million funding from World Bank.

Bangladesh has granted permission to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to do business in the country

India has agreed to be a partner country in Russia’s major Industrial Fair named INNOPROM-2016 to be held at Yekaterinburg, Russia in July 2016

World Bank granted a $400-million loan for the Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project to improve services in urban local bodies.


MAY 2015

NORTH EAST GETS ITS FIRST MEGA FOOD PARK The first mega food park of the North East was inaugurated on May 28 at Nathkuchi in Nalbari distt. of Assam. The park has 27 food processing units spread over 50 acre of land. The park will prevent wastage of local farm produce and find ready customers.

NGT IMPOSES ‘SEWAGE CESS’ IN DELHI The National Green Tribunal has directed every household in Delhi that is generating sewage, to pay a monthly charge proportionate to their property tax or water bill and, in the case of unauthorized colonies, a minimum of Rs.100 per family, on the polluters pay principle. The collected funds shall be utilized for cleaning of drains and Yamuna River.

MoU SIGNED WITH IRAN FOR CHABAHAR PORT India and Iran have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of the strategically important Chabahar Port in Iran. The port will be used to ship crude oil and urea, saving India transportation costs. India will get sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.

BIG BAZAAR MERGES WITH BHARTI RETAIL Owners of Big Bazaar retail chain, Future Retail Ltd have agreed to merge its retail operations with rival Bharti Retail Ltd to create one of India's biggest retail chain with more than 570 stores across the country.

INFOSYS JOINS RE100 GROUP The Climate Group, the global NGO working for climate change has announced that Indian IT giant Infosys has become the first Indian company to join RE100, a global platform for corporates committed to use 100% renewable power. SEBI has replaced the three colour risk code with a

'riskometer' that will help investors to better understand the risks involved in mutual funds.

Asian Development Bank signed a 31 million US dollars loan agreement to boost water availability in selected river basins in Karnataka.

Government has cleared the lone bid of Airbus-TATA consortium for replacing Indian Air Force's ageing fleet of Avro transport aircraft for Rs 11,930 crore.

P M dedicated the Rs 16,000-crore revamped IISCO Steel plant at Burnpur, West Bengal to the nation. It now has largest blast furnace in India.

Govt decides to sell 10% stake in Indian Oil Corporation and 5% in NTPC to mop up Rs 13,600 crore in this fiscal’s first disinvestment approval.

Reliance Industries tops the 56 Indian companies listed in the world's 2000 largest and most powerful public companies list compiled by the Forbes.

BANKING & FINANCE

JULY 2015

BANK ACCOUNTS SWELL UNDER PMJDY Latest data on the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana website shows that 16.9 crore accounts were opened as of July 15, across public, private and rural regional banks with a combined balance of Rs 20,288 crore. The share of zero-balance accounts has come down to 50.6%, suggesting that the usage of accounts is increasing. SMALL BANKS MAY ISSUE DEBIT CARDS The Reserve Bank has permitted the banks without ATM network to collaborate with bigger banks that have their ATM network to issue debit cards in tie-up to promote cashless transactions. Co-op banks will also be allowed to issue debit cards with a bigger bank as a sponsor. INTT SUBVENTION OF 3% ON FARM LOANS The Union Cabinet has agreed to continue the interest subvention of three per cent on short-term crop loans of up to Rs. 3 lakh to farmers to enable public sector banks, private sector commercial banks, regional rural banks, cooperative banks and NABARD to provide these loans at 7 per cent per anum during 2015-16. RBI ASKS BANKS TO MAKE USE OF CRILC DATA With a view to improving credit discipline and reducing the NPA levels, the Reserve Bank has asked the banks to use the credit information available with Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC), a database for all big borrowers launched by it, for verifying the credit history of the applicant before the opening their current accounts. QUICK AUTO LOANS FROM HDFC BANK HDFC Bank's digital banking offering christened Go Digital has designed a 30-minute auto loan and 15-minute two-wheeler loan for loan seekers, based on their Aadhaar card and finger prints. NPAs IN PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS JUMP TO 5.4% Bad loans in public sector banks have increased to Rs 2.67 lakh crore at the end of March 2015 from Rs 2.16 lakh crore in the last year. Gross NPA Ratio of these banks increased to 5.43 per cent at the end of March 2015 as compared to 4.72 per cent last year.


UNITED BANK DOWN WITH NPAs The United Bank of India has topped the list of public sector banks with the maximum bad loans including restructured assets as a percentage of total advances; with 21.5 per cent of its loans classified as NPA or have been restructured to save them from turning NPA. FASTER HOME LOANS FROM SBI

The State Bank of India has launched 'Project Tatkal' to attract home loan seekers by offering them the loan within 10 days after the receipt of application form and the relevant supporting documents. ICICI BANK GOES FOR FASTER TRANSACTIONS ICICI Bank has created a dedicated payments gateway for much faster transactions for its customers. Over 60 per cent of the bank’s transactions are happening through mobile and internet banking channels. SBI TO REWARD ITS CUSTOMERS The State Bank of India has launched a mobile banking app State Bank Rewardz to give reward points to all its customers for almost every banking transaction done with the bank. The customers can view and redeem their reward points by shopping through this mobile app or at merchant establishments. Every 4 points earned by a customer would get a reward of Rs 1. MTS OPERATORS TO ISSUE PRE PAID CARDS The RBI has allowed Mass Transit System operators such as Mumbai Metro, Delhi Metro, Indian Railways and even local buses to issue their pre-paid cards to provide ease to the commuters. The balance in these cards should not exceed Rs 2000 at any point of time. The card will have a minimum validity of six months and the amount will be non-refundable

Axis Bank has signed a $200 million loan deal with the Asian Development Bank for extending customized and affordable agriculture credit to farmers.

Axis bank has launched 'Touch ID' - a one touch authentication for doing transactions through its mobile app using Apple iPhone 5s and above.

The State Bank of India plans to offer up to 3% of its annual profit to employees as part of a talent retention and motivation initiative.

RBI has set up a committee headed by Deepak Mohanty to work out a five-year action plan to spread the reach of financial services to unbanked population.

Corporation Bank has launched the country’s first MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) card based on the RuPay platform.

The Reserve Bank has signed a currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to let it draw up to $ 1.1 billion for up to 6 months.

HDFC Bank plans to roll out handheld machines that could work like micro ATMs, in areas where setting up of full-fledged ATMs is not commercially viable.

The State Bank to open more digital branches like InTouch and InTouch Light, e-corners at existing branches to target young, tech-savvy customers.

JUNE 2015

RBI LOWERS REPO RATE TO 7.25% Reserve Bank of India has cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25 per cent from 7.5% in its first monetary policy review on June 2. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was kept unchanged at 4%. This is the third reduction in rates during this year aimed at boosting investment and growth. It is expected that now the banks may lower the interest rate on loans, leading to reduction in the amount of EMIs. The new rates are as under: (w.e.f. 02.06.2015) Repo Rate………………………7.25% Reverse Repo…………………6.25% Marginal Standing Facility…8.25% Bank Rate…………………………8.25% Statutory Liquidity Ratio…..21.5% Cash Reserve Ratio……………4.0%

NEW DOCUMENTS FOR ADDRESS PROOF Reserve Bank of India has allowed postpaid mobile service, piped gas and water supply bills to be submitted as proof of address (not more than 2 months old) for opening bank account of low-risk persons. The government has amended the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 for providing these relaxations. Some other documents approved as officially valid documents (OVDs) for proof of address include Bank/ post office account statement; pension or family pension payment orders (PPOs), letter of allotment of accommodation from official bodies.

NEW SAFER 100 RUPEE NOTE

The RBI has issued Rs 100 denomination bank notes in Mahatma Gandhi Series - 2005 with new security features. Now the numerals in both the number panels of these bank notes will be in ascending size from left to right, while the first three alpha0numeric characters (prefix) will remain constant in size.


BANKS ALLOWED BORROWING FROM ABROAD The Reserve Bank has allowed the banks to borrow from global multilateral financial institutions for general banking business. They can do so without seeking the central bank’s approval. The objective is to make the funding process easier. RBI ALLOWS RUPEE LINKED BONDS OVERSEAS RBI has permitted Indian corporates, eligible to raise external commercial borrowings (ECBs), to issue rupee- linked bonds overseas. The RBI has proposed that the subscription, coupon payments and redemption might be settled in foreign currency. NEW RBI RULES FOR GOVT SECURITIES

The RBI has issued the final guidelines for the 6-year and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF) on government securities with residual maturity of 4-8 years and 11-15 years, respectively, under the Interest Rate Futures (RBI) Directions, 2015. BANKS TO TAKEOVER LOANEE COMPANIES The Reserve Bank has allowed the banks to take control of debt-laden companies by converting loans into equity if a debt restructuring fails to revive them within a stipulated time frame. Allowing loan conversion will now be a pre-condition for all debt restructuring deals. In a first such case, IDFC has replaced the promoters of SV Power and brought in a new equity investor to revive the company that missed payment schedules. NSFR GUIDELINES ISSUED BY RBI The Reserve Bank has issued the draft guidelines on the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) under Basel III framework on liquidity standards for banks and sought comments from all stakeholders by June 26.

The NSFR is defined as the amount of available stable funding relative to the amount of required stable funding. PAYMENT NORMS FOR BANK DIRECTORS The Reserve Bank has capped the remuneration of non-executive director of private banks to Rs 10 lakh per annum while the compensation of non-executive part-time chairman will require a prior approval from the RBI. Banks will have to disclose the remuneration paid to the directors on an annual basis in their annual financial statements.

CARD FREE PAYMENT APP FROM HDFC BANK HDFC Bank has launched a mobile phone application, PayZapp, for online payments and money transfer. Customers would be able to make money transfers, e- shopping, buy tickets, pay utility bills and recharge their mobile and DTH connections with just one click and a single PIN entry, without using debit / credit cards.

SBI TO PROMOTE ‘YOUTH FOR INDIA’ State Bank of India has selected 100 highly qualified candidates for its 13-month fellowship programme `Youth for India'. These candidates will work with one of the seven NGOs that have a partnership with the bank to work in rural areas.

PURI IS HIGHEST PAID CEO IN INDIAN BANKS Aditya Puri, the Managing Director of HDFC Bank, has again become the highest paid bank chief in the country, earning a salary of Rs 7.39 crore compared to Rs 6.07 crore last year, up 21.74%. The next in line is Chanda Kochhar, CEO ICICI Bank at Rs 5.85 crore, followed by Shikha Sharma, CEO, Axis Bank at Rs 4.17 crore.

10 LAKH CARD SWIPE MACHINES FROM SBI State Bank of India will install 10 lakh payment card swipe machines (point of sales terminals) across the country, which will double the number of places where card payments are accepted. The bank will also launch a huge campaign to make public aware about the cash withdrawal of up to Rs 1,000 at these terminals to reduce pressure on ATMs. The Department of Post (India Post) has signed a deal

with CMS Info Systems to personalise over 15 million debit cards for its savings account holders.

The RBI has extended the date for exchange of pre-2005 currency notes by six months to December 31, 2015. The earlier deadline was to expire on June 30.

Reserve Bank of India has allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit funds to encourage flow of capital into the country.

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ICICI Bank became the first bank to partner with Alibaba.com for providing trade finance to their India-based sellers

Kolkata-based micro lender Bandhan Financial Services has been cleared by the RBI to start functioning as Bandhan Bank from August 23.

SBI has launched an internet-based platform ‘SBI eforex’, to enable customers to book their foreign exchange transactions online.

MAY 2015

BANKS TO HAVE THEIR OWN OMBUDSMAN The Reserve Bank has asked all public sector banks and large private and foreign banks to appoint internal ombudsman for resolution of customer complaints. The internal ombudsman would be designated Chief Customer Service Officer (CCSO) and he should not be from the same bank in which he is being appointed. NFC PAYMENTS ALLOWED UP TO Rs. 2000 The Reserve Bank has relaxed the additional factor of authentication (AFA) requirement for transactions by cards up to Rs.2,000 per transaction to facilitate contact-less payments (without PIN authentication) through NFC (Near Field Communications technology). Further, banks were free to facilitate their customers to set lower per transaction limits. ‘EARLY WARNING SYSTEM’ FOR BANK LOANS

To check the rising instance of frauds in the banking system, the Reserve Bank has asked banks to put in place early detection and prompt reporting mechanism in place. The early warning signals in a loan account should immediately put the bank on alert regarding a weakness or wrong doing which may ultimately turn out to be fraudulent. Besides, the central bank will set up a Central Fraud Registry that can be accessed by all banks to identify borrowers having committed frauds with any bank in the past. A new concept of a ‘Red Flagged Account’ (RFA) is being introduced. An RFA is one where a suspicion of fraudulent activity is thrown up by the presence of one or more early warning signals.

BANKS PENALIZED FOR VIOLATING KYC NORMS

RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 1.5 crore each on Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce for violation of Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and anti-money laundering norms. NFC CARDS LAUNCHED BY SBI State Bank of India has launched the contactless debit and credit cards-SBIinTouch. These cards are more secure and hassle-free to use at merchant outlets or ATMs as they use the NFC technology to enable users to make payments by waving or tapping the card near the contactless reader instead of swiping or dipping it.

SBI LAUNCHES PLATINUM DEBIT CARD State Bank of India in association with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched ‘State Bank RuPay Platinum Debit Card’ targeting the affluent segment. It offers a range of value added benefits such as 5 % cash-back on utility bill payments, up to one per cent fuel surcharge waiver and complimentary airport lounge access.

RBI has asked banks to issue only chip-based and PIN-enabled debit/credit cards from September 1 onwards to protect customers from frauds.

RBI has advised that the urban coop banks can issue only general purpose cards to their customers and not allowed to issue co-branded credit cards.

The RBI has done away with the mandatory calendar of reviews for boards of banks in order to make their functioning of more effective.

The Reserve Bank has dropped the condition of its prior permission for distribution of mutual fund products by non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).

India’s largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank opened its branch in Shanghai, China. It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Modi on May 16.

Scheduled commercial banks' credit grew at 10.16% to Rs 66.32 trillion in the fortnight ended May 15, and deposits were up by 11.85% to Rs 87.39 trillion.

ICICI Bank launched a service where customers can make transactions using just their voice, without using other means of authentication like a password.

IDBI Bank plans to roll out e-huts to provide services to people in rural areas. E-hut is a western concept set up at relatively populated areas, such as malls.


DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

JULY 2015

INS VIRAAT TO BECOME A MUSEUM INS Viraat, the oldest aircraft carrier in the world, will soon be converted into a museum. It will be docked at the shores of Kakinada port on Andhra coast and is to be decommissioned in 2016. It was first commissioned in 1959 in the British Royal Navy as HMS Hermes and was transferred to India in 1987.

‘AKASH’ INDUCTED INTO AIR FORCE The ingeniously-developed supersonic surface-to-air missile "Akash" was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in Gwalior. It has a speed three times faster than that of sound and can hit eight targets at a time. It has already been inducted into the Indian Army. The USA has agreed to provide technological support

to India for building the next aircraft carrier and the Light Combat Aircraft jet engine.

India and Russia have agreed to jointly manufacture 200 military helicopters in India.

India test-fired its indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile ‘Helina’ in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. It can hit a target up to seven km away from a helicopter.

The indigenously-built Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) ICGS Rani Durgavati was commissioned by the Indian Coast Guard in Vishakhapatnam.

ISRO TESTS ITS CRYOGENIC ENGINE The ISRO successfully test-fired the first indigenous high-thrust cryogenic rocket engine for more than its full duration at its Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in southern Tamil Nadu. The engine was run for 800 seconds, which is 25 per cent more than the burn duration of the engine during flight. This test will boost India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV-Mark III project aimed at carrying four-tonne payloads. ISRO LAUNCHES ITS HEAVIEST EVER PAYLOAD The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C-28 successfully put into orbit five British satellites within 20 minutes of its lift off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta, Andhra Pradesh. It was Indian Space Research Organisation’s biggest and the heaviest commercial launch till date. The overall liftoff mass of the five satellites added up to 1,440 kg that was placed at a height of about 653 km above the earth.

RASHTRIYA AVISHKAR ABHIYAN The HRD Ministry has launched a Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan under which the government schools will be mentored by top-level higher education institutes like IITs, IIMs, Universities etc. to inculcate a spirit of inquiry, creativity and love for science and mathematics among school children. The govt. has decided to name this programme after late Sh. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. NEW HORIZONS PASSES BY PLUTO NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has provi-ded the closest-ever pictures of the Pluto, showing the details of its geology. It was launched nine years ago, and is still going on at a speed of 50,000 kmph. ONLINE SIGNING SERVICE LAUNCHED eMudhra Ltd of Bengaluru became the first company in India to launch online electronic signature service called eSign. Based on the Aadhaar number, these signatures are legally valid under the Information Technology Act, 2000. EARTH LIKE PLANET DISCOVERED Astronomers at NASA have found a planet which is 'the closest twin to Earth' ever seen. Named Kepler-452b, it is the smallest world discovered orbiting in the habitable zone of a star. It is located about 1,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus. FIRST EVER VACCINE AGAINST MALARIA The world's first malaria vaccine Mosquirix has got a green signal from the European drugs regulators. It has been licensed for use on babies in Africa to contain the risk of the mosquito-borne disease. WORLD’S LARGEST RADIO TELESCOPE China is about to complete construction of the world's largest single-aperture radio telescope FAST in 2016. Built in the deep mountains of China’s Guizhou province, the diameter of the telescope’s reflector will be 500 meters and will be made up of 4,450 panels. Each panel is an equilateral triangle with a side length of 11 metres. SOLAR PLANE CREATES NEW RECORDS Solar Impulse, the solar-powered airplane, created two new world records when it landed in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200 km flight across the Pacific in 118 hours from Nagoya, Japan. The distance covered and the times spent in the air are the new records by a manned, solar-powered flight.


JUNE 30 TO HAVE LEAP SECOND

June 30 this year will officially be a bit longer than usual because an extra second, or 'leap' second, will be added to the day. According to NASA, the earth's rotation is gradually slowing down a bit, so leap seconds are a way to account for this change. CLIMATE SCIENTISTS MEET IN PARIS Nearly 2,000 climate scientists gathered in Paris for a four day international science conference to deliberate on curbing the greenhouse gas emission levels. The meet was in preparation for the forthcoming UN climate conference to be held in December 2015, at which 195 nations will finalize a new global climate pact.

A tiny butterfly species has been discovered in the forests of Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh. It has been named Banded Tit (Hypolycaena Narada).

Facebook has launched a new version of its app- Facebook Lite, a lighter version optimised for slower data connections for Android phones in India.

JUNE 2015

INS VIKRANT COMPLETES FIRST PHASE India crossed a major milestone in defence shipbuilding when its first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was undocked on completion of structural work at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd. The ship will undergo a series of fitment and trial processes before it is ready for induction in the Navy.

ARMY KILLS 50 MILITANTS IN MYANMAR Indian Army, in coordination with the Air Force, carried out surgical operations (cross-border operation) inside Myanmar to target the militant groups responsible for killing of 18 Indian soldiers. In this first-of-its-kind cross-border operation, about 50 militants of groups namely NSCN (K) and KYKL were killed.

DEFENCE AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH USA India and US have signed a new strategically important 10-year defence framework agreement setting the stage for co-development of defence equipment manufacturing and technology.

AJEYA WARRIOR, joint military exercise of India and UK held from June 13 to 28 in UK. The exercise is held biannually in the two countries, alternately. CSIR SETS UP MAV TEST TUNNEL Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has set up a first-of-its-kind in India, Micro Air Vehicle Aerodynamics Research Tunnel (MART) in Bengaluru to test the fixed-wing, flapping-wing and rotary-wing MAVs (Micro Air Vehicle). ANDROID APP ‘SAKAAR’ LAUNCHED BY ISRO ISRO has developed an android-based, augmented reality application named ‘Sakaar’ to highlight the achievements of the Department of Space during the past one year. Augmented Reality is a live, direct view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated 3D models, animations, videos etc. COLOUR CHANGING SKIN INVENTED Scientists led by an Indian-origin researcher in USA have developed the world's first full-colour, flexible ultra-thin nano-structured film that can change colours by applying voltage. Traditional displays like those on a mobile phone require a light source, filters and glass plates but this new method doesn't need its own light source. Rather, it reflects the ambient light around it, just like colour changing by octopus and chameleons.

OPTION TO ‘UNDO’ SENT MAIL Technology giant Google has now introduced an ‘Undo’ option that will help its users to cancel the delivery of misdirected or inappropriate emails within 30 seconds of hitting the send button. GALAXY NAMED AFTER RONALDO A team of European scientists has discovered the brightest galaxy in the early universe – CR-7 that contains the first generation of stars, and have nicknamed it after popular Portuguese foot-ball player Cristiano Ronaldo. CHINA MAKES WORLD’s FIRST ELECTRIC PLANE China has made the world's first electric passenger aircraft that could be used in pilot training, tourism, meteorology and rescue operations. Named BX1E, it can carry a payload of up to 230 kgs. at an altitude of 3,000 meters. Its charging is completed within two hours, allowing a flight time of 45 minutes to one hour, at a maximum speed of 160 km per hour.


PHILAE WAKES UP TO SAY ‘HELLO EARTH’ The European space probe Philae woke up overnight on June 13 after seven months-long sleep as it hurtled towards the Sun on the back of a comet. "Hello Earth! Can you hear me?" the tiny robot lab tweeted under the hashtag #WakeUpPhilae. The 100-kilogramme robot lab touched down on the comet "67P /Churyumov-Gerasimenko” on November 12, 2014, after a 10-year piggybacking on space ship Rosetta. WATER BASED COMPUTER DEVELOPED A computer that operates using the unique physics of moving water droplets has been developed by Manu Prakash, an Indian-origin scientist and his team at Stanford University, California, USA.

Chinese researchers have successfully developed the first ATM with facial recognition technology to reduce the risk of frauds related to ATMs.

MAY 2015

MIRAGE 2000 LANDS ON HIGHWAY

In a first in the history of Indian Air Force, a Mirage 2000, supersonic fighter jet of Indian Air Force landed successfully on Yamuna Expressway in U P on May 21as part of developing road runway for emergency landing. NAVY GETS NEW SUBMARINE–SINDHUKIRTI INS Sindhukirti, the Russia made diesel electric submarine of Indian Navy, was launched for sea trials on May 21, after successful completion of retrofitting at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam. JOINT NAVAL EXERCISE WITH SINGAPORE Indian Navy along with The Republic of Singapore Navy conducted the annual Singapore-Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX), from 23 to 26 May in sea east of Singapore. ‘AKASH’ JOINS INDIAN ARMY The Army inducted on May 5 its first regiment of the indigenously-developed Akash surface-to-air missile system, capable of targeting a multitude of aerial threats up to a range of 25 km.

INS Sardar Patel, new naval base commissioned in Porbandar, Gujarat for better coordination of ships, submarines deployed in coastal regions of Gujarat.

Indian Navy's latest anti-submarine warfare class stealth corvette, the INS Kavaratti was launched on May 19 at Kolkata

ISRO MAKES INDIA’s GPS- ‘GAGAN’ ISRO and Airports Authority of India have implemented the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation-GAGAN project as a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) for the Indian Airspace. It will be also be useful for intelligent transportation, maritime, highways, railways, surveying, geodesy, security agencies, telecom industry, personal users of position location applications etc LHC CREATES NEW WORLD RECORD The world’s largest particle smasher- the Large Hadron Collider [LHC] broke the record for energy levels on May 20 when it successfully collided protons at the record-breaking energy of 13 TeV for the first time. The LHC’s previous highest energy for collisions was 8TeV, reached in 2012. NEW SUPER METAL DISCOVERED Scientists in Japan have discovered a new state of matter called the ‘Jahn-Teller-metal’ that appears to be an insulator, superconductor, metal and magnet all rolled into one. The research could help develop new molecular materials that are superconductors at even higher temperatures. SCIENTISTS LOCATE FARTHEST GALAXY Astronomers have found the most distant exceptionally luminous galaxy, EGS-zs8-1, located some 13.1 billion light-years away from Earth. This is the largest distance ever measured between Earth and another galaxy.

The light from distant galaxies we see via today's advanced telescopes travels for billions of years before it reaches us - so we're seeing what those galaxies looked like billions of years ago.

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‘MESSENGER’ CRASHES IN TO MERCURY NASA's Messenger spacecraft has ended a four-year mission to Mercury by crashing into the planet after running out of fuel. Messenger (an acronym for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) was launched in 2004 and travelled more than 6½ years before it started orbiting Mercury in March, 2011. It was the first spacecraft to orbit the planet closest to the sun.

FIRST FULLY WARM-BLOODED FISH Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA, discovered the world’s first fully warm-blooded fish species named Opah. These fish are found in the deep waters off the US, Australia and several other countries.

India has reached to sixth position, up from 10th last year, in terms of publishing scientific research papers in different journals in the world.

Microsoft launched Edu-Cloud, a cloud computing-based offering to enhance digital learning and teaching in schools and higher education institutions.

INTERNATIONAL

JULY 2015

BRICS SUMMIT HELD IN UFA The seventh BRICS summit was held at Ufa in Russia.. The theme of the summit was “BRICS partnership - a powerful factor for global development”. The meet was attended by Indian prime minister.

Mr Modi suggested “Dus Kadam" or 10 steps for boosting cooperation among the BRICS nations. These are – A trade fair, a railway research centre, cooperation among supreme audit institutions, a digital initiative, an agricultural research centre, a forum of state/local governments among the BRICS nations, cooperation among cities in the field of urbanization, an annual sports meet, first major project of the New Development Bank to be in the field of clean energy and a film festival.

BRICS LAUNCHES NEW DEV BANK The BRICS group of emerging economies has launched its New Development Bank (NDB) in Shanghai. The NDB will lend money to developing countries to help finance infrastructure projects. The bank is seen as an alternative to the World Bank. BRICS TO START FX POOL

India will contri-bute $18 billion to the $100 billion

foreign-exchange reserve pool being set up by the BRICS grouping to help each other "in case of any problems with dollar liquidity". Brazil and Russia

will also contribute the same amount while China and South Africa will contribute $41 billion and $ 5 billion, respectively. INDIA INDUCTED INTO SCO PM Modi also attended the SCO – Shanghai Cooperation Organization meet at Ufa. The SCO decided to include India and Pakistan as a full member to enhance connectivity, combat terror and create an environment for boosting trade by easing barriers. Currently, both India and Pakistan enjoy an observer status. WTO TO CUT PRICES OF IT PRODUCTS The World Trade Organization on July 24 finalised a list of 201 information technology products to be freed from import tariffs. It is the first global tariff-cutting deal in 18 years which will result in reduction of prices for products such as computers, touch-screen devices, games consoles and hi-fi systems causing a boost in international trade. SUEZ CANAL-II OPENED FOR TEST RUN Trial run of the Egypt's second Suez Canal went off successfully on July 25. The 72km (44 mile) route allows two-way traffic and can accommodate larger vessels. The original Suez Canal opened almost 150 years ago and links the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. NUCLEAR DEAL FINALIZED WITH IRAN A landmark nuclear agreement was finalized between Iran and USA in Vienna to allow the UN inspectors to visit Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties. Under the deal, Iran would have the right to challenge the UN request and an arbitration board composed of Iran and the six world powers that negotiated with it, would have to decide on the issue.


GREECE AGREES TO EUROZONE TERMS In a referendum on July 5 to determine whether Greece should accept the lenders-proposed bailout plan that envisages serious spending cuts and tax increases, voters resoundingly gave a ‘no’ verdict, backing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

However, on July 13, Euro zone leaders led by Germany clinched a deal with Greece to negotiate a third bailout package of $86 billion to keep the near-bankrupt country in the euro zone. On July 15 the Greek Parliament approved the austerity bill as demanded by its bailout creditors. The bill imposing sweeping tax hikes and spending cuts will clear the way for availing the bailout package. WORLD POPULATION DAY OBSERVED The World Population Day was observed on July 11. This year’s theme was 'vulnerable populations in emergencies', which has been set against the backdrop of the growing number of displaced people. The United Nations Development Programme had, in 1989, recommended July 11 as World Population Day to draw attention to the importance of population issues. RIMES TO DEVELOP EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS The ministerial conference of The Regional Integrated Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems (RIMES) nations was held in New Delhi to jointly develop advanced warning systems for cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes and floods in Asia and Africa. FRENCH VINEYARDS IN WORLD HERITAGE LIST

France’s vineyards in Champagne, where the world’s famous sparkling wine Champagne is produced have been included in UNESCO ‘World Heritage’ sites, joining the likes of Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

The World Trade Organisation has admitted Kazakhstan as its 162nd member.

JUNE 2015

S KOREA SUFFERS ATTACK OF MERS Hundreds of schools were closed in South Korea as officials struggled to ease growing panic over an outbreak of the MERS (Middle East Respir-atory Syndrome) virus that had infected 181 persons and claimed over 31 lives. MERS has now infected 1,161 people globally, with 436 deaths in more than 20 countries, with most cases in Saudi Arabia. The virus found in Arabian Dromedary camels, has no known cure or vaccine and, thus, is considered a deadly disease. AGREEMENT SIGNED FOR FORMING AIIB 57 countries, including India, signed an agreement in Beijing for the formation of China sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The bank will have an authorised capital of $100 billion. The bank is expected to be operational by the end of this year. 800 YEARS OF MAGNA CARTA

On June 15, Britain marked the 800th anniversary of the historic charter Magna Carta. The Magna Carta, Latin for 'Great Charter' that was also an inspiration for the US Constitution, is hailed as the cornerstone of parliamentary democracy. On June 15, 1215, King John had met disgruntled barons and agreed to a list of basic rights under which the foundations of parliamentary democracy, human rights and the supremacy of the law over the crown were first enshrined. G-7 SUMMIT HELD IN GERMANY The leaders of G-7 countries held their 41st summit at Schloss Elmau, southern Germany. Russia is no more a member of this elite group as it has been accused of forced annexation of Crimea. G-7 is a group of seven most industrialized nations of the world and includes the European Union also. 26 AFRICAN STATES SIGN TRADE AGREEMENT African leaders have agreed to create the continent's largest free trade zone, covering 26 countries in an area from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. The deal named as The Tripartite Free Trade Area, aims to ease the movement of goods across member countries which represent more than half the continent's GDP.


US TOPS IN OIL PRODUCTION

The United States has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer in 2014 by producing 11.6 million barrels of oil per day to topple Saudi Arabia's 11.5 million bpd production. Russia with 10.8 million bpd oil production was placed third. WORLD’s LONGEST FREIGHT TRAIN LAUNCHED China launched the world’s longest freight train route, linking the city of Harbin in northeast China with the German city of Hamburg, via Russia’s Trans-Siberian line, covering a distance of 9820 km passing through Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Poland in 15 days. OPCW DESTROYS 90% CHEMICAL WEAPONS The world's chemical weapons watchdog Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has declared that it has succeeded in destroying 90 per cent of the global chemical weapons stockpile, calling it a "major milestone". The stockpiles included chemicals needed to make deadly nerve agents like Sarin. USA SANCTIONS SAME SEX MARRIAGES In a landmark judgment, the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide, establishing a new civil right and handing gay rights advocates a historic victory. USA FREEDOM ACT PASSED BY US SENATE The US Senate passed the USA Freedom Act, making it the first time in over thirty years that both houses of Congress have approved a bill placing real restrictions and oversight on the National Security Agency’s surveillance powers. ‘JURASSIC WORLD’ CREATES RECORD The fourth installment in the Jurassic Park series- Jurassic World has become the first film to have collections of more than 500 million dollars at the box office in its opening weekend. It was the most popular screening in all 66 countries where it was released. The 25th African Union summit was held at Pretoria, South Africa on 7-8. The summit is being held with the theme, "Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa's Agenda 2063."

The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed globally on 26 June, 2015 with the theme “Let’s Develop our Lives, our Communities, our identities without Drugs”.

China plans to form a huge gold investment fund of about 100 billion Yuan (over $16 billion) aiming to bolster Beijing's role in global gold trade.

Global wealth intelligence agency Wealth-X in a survey of self made billionaires has ranked the Bill Gates at number one, with $86 billion of wealth.

President of Sri Lanka dissolved the Parliament, paving the way for fresh parliamentary elections in mid August, eight months ahead of the schedule.

France has put a ban on wearing earphones while driving a vehicle and riding a cycle, w.e.f. July 1, 2015.

Parliament of Japan has lowered the age of voters from 20 to 18.

MAY 2015

USA TOPS IN COMPETITIVENESS A study of 61 countries by the Swiss business school IMD on the parameters of competitiveness shows that the USA continues to enjoy top position, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland. The rankings were based on four aspects - Economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

IRELAND APPROVES SAME SEX MARRIAGE The Republic of Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage through popular vote, passing a referendum on May 23 on the issue with a resounding 62.1 per cent ‘Yes’, despite the fact that 84 percent of country’s population is Catholic.

U K GETS ITS 4th HEIR TO THE THRONE Prince William of UK Royalty was blessed with his second baby as his wife Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby girl on April 2 at a London hospital. The new baby is

fourth-in-line to the throne, behind her grandfather Prince Charles, father Prince William and brother Prince George. The baby named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. JAPAN TO INVEST $100 BILLION IN ASIA Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced a $110 billion investment plan for infrastructure projects in Asia in an apparent counter to China's move to launch a new development bank - Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.


A PAINTING SOLD FOR Rs 1,155 CRORE

A painting from Pablo Picasso set a world record for auction of a work of art, selling for $179.4 million (about Rs. 1,155 crore) at an auction by Christie’s at New York. The oil painting is a cubist depiction of nude courtesans WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY May 3 is observed every year as the “World Press Freedom Day” to assert that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights. This year’s theme is “Let Journalism Thrive!” China overtook the United States as the world's top

importer of crude oil for the first time in April, and its purchases are expected to grow further.

The 68th World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland from 18 to 27 May, 2015. India was given the Presidency of the Assembly.

Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands, 1500 kms east of African mainland, became the 161st member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

NATO forces launched the Arctic Challenge Exercise in the Arctic sea north of Europe on May 26, involving 115 fighter planes & 3600 troops from nine countries.

The United States economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter of the year to just 0.2% due to the slowdown by unusually foul winter weather.

68th Cannes Film Festival held at Cannes, France from 13 to 24 May

World Asthma Day observed on 5 May 2015. This year’s theme is “You Can Control Your Asthma”



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PERSONS IN NEWS

JULY 2015

MANISH S. SHARMA: A senior IPS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre was in news as the Mayor of San Diego, California, proclaimed July 20, 2015, as “Manish S. Sharma Day” in recognition of his contribution towards enhancing India-U.S. relationship. BENOY BEHL: Noted documentary maker won the Best Documentary Producer award at Madrid International Film Festival for his documentary film titled Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism.

MILIND SOMAN: Bollywood actor-model aged 50, has won the Ironman title at a triathlon held in Zurich in Switzerland. The triathlon includes a .8-km swim, 180.2-km cycle ride and 42.2-km run, to be completed in 16 hours.

VICTOR PONTA: Romania's Prime Minister resigned as he battled corruption charges against him. GENNADY PADALKA: Russian cosmonaut entered Guinness World Records for spending most number of days in the space. He achieved the feat by spending 804 days on the International Space Station (ISS). He is scheduled to return to earth in September 2015, spending a total of 877 days in space by then.

JUNE 2015

BENO ZEPHINE: The 25-year-old woman from Chennai became the first ever 100 per cent visually-challenged person to get selected for the prestigious Indian Foreign Service. NIKESH ARORA: India-born former Google executive has been appointed the president of Japan’s telecommunications giant SoftBank Corp that paid the “rising star” a whopping $135 million for the financial year 2014, making him the highest paid executive in the world.

Dr BIMAL K ROY: Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) was in news as he was removed from office by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on charges of indiscipline just one-and-a-half months before the end of his term.


OMARAL-BASHIR: Sudanese President flew out of South Africa today, defying a court order for him to stay as judges weighed up whether he should be arrested for alleged war crimes and genocide.

CHIRIL GABURICI: Prime Minister of Moldova, a small state on the border of Ukraine, was in news as he resigned after the prosecutors questioned the authenticity of his school-leaving certificate. He became the PM in February, 2015.

EDWARD SNOWDEN: Former US security contractor and electronic surveillance whistleblower was in news as he was awarded a Norwegian prize for freedom of expression (also called as Bjornson Prize). SEPP BLATTER: President of world’s top football body – FIFA was in news as he offered to step down after a US criminal investigation report levied charges of corruption against him in the functioning of FIFA.

MAY 2015 ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA: SBI Chairperson and ICICI Bank’s MD Chanda Kochhar figure at 30th and 35th place in the world’s top 100 powerful women list by Forbes. The list is topped by German chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by Hilary Clinton and Milinda Gates. ARUNA SHANBAUG: A former nurse who lived in a vegetative state for the past 42 years after being brutally sexually assaulted at KEM Hospital, Mumbai died on May 18. She became the face of the debate on euthanasia in India. MANABI BANDOPADHYAY: She became the first transgender in India to head an educational institute when she took over as Principal of Krishnagar Women's College in Nadia district, West Bengal. BARACK OBAMA: On 20 May 2015, he entered Guinness Book of World Record for reaching a million followers in a span of mere 5 hours after going live on Twitter, @POTUS account — named for the in-house acronym derived from “President of the United States”. MOHAMMED MORSI: Deposed Egyptian President was in news as he along with his 100 supporters was sentenced to death by a court in Cairo in connection with a mass jail break in 2011.

APPOINTMENTS

JULY 2015 R. S. SHARMA: Appointed as the new Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for three years. PRASHANT PATHRABE: Appointed Director, Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) SRIRAM KALYANARAMAN: New Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO of the National Housing Bank (NHB), the national regulator for housing finance. JIN LIQUN: Former Finance Minster of China was nominated the first President of the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

JUNE 2015

VIJAI SHARMA: New Chief Information Commissioner K V CHOWDARY: New Central Vigilance Commissioner R C TAYAL: Appointed new Director General of the elite counter-terror force National Security Guards SYED ASIF IBRAHIM: Appointed Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Countering Terrorism and Extremism GEORGE YEO: Former Foreign Minister of Singapore has been appointed the new Chancellor of Nalanda University, Rajgir, Bihar. M K SHARMA: New non-executive Chairman of the Board of ICICI Bank R. SESHASAYEE: Appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of IT giant Infosys Ltd. PAWAN MUNJAL: Has taken over as Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, world’s number one two-wheeler company. MOGENS LYKKETOFT: Elected President for the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. AMEENAH GURIB-FAKIM: First woman President of Mauritius.

MAY 2015

PRADEEP KUMAR SINHA: New Cabinet Secretary. Usually senior most IAS officer is appointed to this post. Dr. S CHRISTOPHER: Director General of DRDO. He is also the Secretary, Department of Defence Research. G MOHAN KUMAR: Union Defence Secretary


K.V. KAMATH: Eminent banker was appointed as head of the 50 billion dollars New Development Bank being set up by the five emerging economies of BRICS group, with headquarters at Shanghai ARUN SHRIVASTAVA: Managing Director & CEO of Syndicate Bank. M J JOSEPH: Appointed as the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in the Union Ministry of Finance.

NEW GOVERNORS APPOINTED

Tathagata Roy: Governor of Tripura Draupadi Murmu: Governor of Jharkhand, first tribal women to become Governor V Shanmuganthan: Governor of Meghalaya J P Rakkhowa: Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Lt Gen (retd) Nirbhay Sharma: Governor of Mizoram Syed Ahmed: Governor of Manipur

K V THOMAS: Re-nominated as Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee

ACHAL KUMAR JYOTI: appointed as the new Election Commissioner (EC), he is a retired IAS officer from Gujarat.

MUKESH KHANNA: Appointed as the Chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI). He is popular for his role of super hero ‘Shaktimaan’ and also remembered for his portrayal of Bhishma Pitamah in tele serial Mahabharat

SURENDER SINGH: Appointed new Director General of Central Industrial Security Force, CISF. ANDRZEJ DUDA: New President of Poland DAVID GRANGER: New President of Guyana

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AWARDS & HONOURS

JULY 2015

RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD: Whistleblower bureaucrat Sanjeev Chaturvedi and human rights activist Anshu Gupta, the founder of NGO Goonj, are among five persons selected for Asia’s coveted award. The other three awardees are Kommaly Chanthavong, from Laos, Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa from the Philippines and Kyaw Thu from Myanmar. 28th MOORTI DEVI AWARD 2014: The prize was presented to veteran Writer Vishwanath Tripathi for his book Vyomkesh Darvesh, a lifetime story of veteran literateur Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi. The Prem Bhatia Awards for Journalism: Suhasini Haider of The Hindu for political reporting and Priyanka Kakodkar, The Times of India, for excellence in environmental and development reporting. G.D. BIRLA AWARD FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH: Prof. Sanjeev Galande from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. NELSON MANDELA PRIZE: awarded for the first time by UNO to Helena Ndume of Namibia and Jorge Sampaio of Portugal for their extraordinary service to humanity. Grand Prix World Press Cartoon Award-2014: Noted Telugu cartoonist Pamarthy Shankar for his sketch of Nelson Mandela. ROYAL SOCIETY’s COPLEY MEDAL: World’s oldest scientific prize awarded to Nobel Prize winner Peter Higgs for his pioneering work on the theory of the Higgs boson (God Particle) which was discovered in 2012. SAYED HAIDER RAZA: Noted modern Indian artist, has been conferred with the highest French civilian honour, the Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur (the Legion of Honour) for his peerless achievements. WORLD FOOD PRIZE: Sir Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangla Desh. It is the most prominent global award given by the World Food Foundation of the USA for individuals whose breakthrough achievements help to alleviate hunger and promote global food security. Global Confederation for Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences World Agriculture Prize: Indian-American professor R Paul Singh for inventing food-processing equipment for a manned mission to the Mars.


JUNE 2015

IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Awards announced at Kualalumpur, Malaysia Best Picture: Queen by Vikas Bahl Best Actress Kangana Ranaut for Queen Best Actor: Shahid Kapoor for Haider Best Direction: Rajkumar Hirani for PK 10th NAVLEKHAN AWARD OF BHARATIYA JNANPITH: Hindi writers Babusha Kohli and Upasana for the poem Prem Gilhari Dil Akhrot and novel Ek Zindagi Ek Ek Script Bhar, respectively. SANGITA KALANIDHI AWARD: Sanjay Subrahmanyam, veteran Carnatic music maestro from Tamil Nadu. SPACE PIONEER AWARD 2015: Awarded to ISRO by the US National Space Society for its low-cost Mangalyaan Mars orbiter mission. BEST WELFARE ORGANISATION OF THE YEAR – 2015: Won by the National Union of Seafarers of India, NUSI, India's oldest and largest shipping trade union. The award is given by the U K based International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network. SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE CONTEST: The prestigious spelling contest in the USA was won by Indian origin American children - Vanya Shivashankar, 13, and Gokul Venkatachalam, 14.

MAY 2015

THE ORDER OF THE RISING SUN, GOLD AND SILVER STAR: Japan's highest civilian award was conferred on eminent scientist CNR Rao for his outstanding contributions to Science and Indo-Japan Science cooperation. Shri Rao was honoured with Bharat Ratna in 2013. Pt. HARIDUTT SHARMA AWARD: To senior T V journalist Anuradha Prasad for her contribution in the field of Journalism NATIONAL FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE AWARDS: 35 Nurses selected from all over India were honoured with this prize by the President of India on International Nurses Day – May 12, birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing. COMMONWEALTH SHORT STORY PRIZE 2015: Srinagar-born novelist Siddhartha Gigoo won the prize for Asia region for his work Umbrella Man, a tale of surreal meditation on mental health and the environment WHITLEY AWARDS: (also known as Green Oscar) won by two Indians, Dr Ananda Kumar and Dr Pramod Patil for their contribution to wildlife conservation.

PALME d'Or: Award for best feature film at the Cannes Film Festival won by the French thriller – ‘Dheepan’, directed by Jacques Audiard, spotlighting the plight of traumatised refugees from Sri Lanka. NEERAJ GHAYWAN’S directorial debut “Masaan”, won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival, - International Jury of Film Critics prize and Promising Future prize in the Un Certain Regard section. MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2015: Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Hungarian writer has won Britain’s prestigious life time achievement award for literature. This prize is given once in two years. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION COURAGE AWARD: won by the French satirical weekly ‘Charlie Hebdo’. The award is given by the PEN American Center.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

JULY 2015 R. D. Burman: The Prince of Music by Khagesh Dev Burman

Locale, Everyday Islam and Modernity by M. Raisur Rahman

Ghosts of Calcutta by Sebastian Ortiz

Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India by former Union Environment and Forest Minister, Jairam Ramesh.

India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension by Amiya Chandra

‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’ by A S Dulat. He was the Chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Special Advisor on Kashmir in Vajpayee's PMO after his retirement.

JUNE 2015

The Making of Miracles in Indian States: by Arvind Panagariya and M Govinda Rao

Who Will Cry When You Die -by Robin S Sharma

Conflict Resolution in Multicultural Societies — The Indian Experience by Jhumpa Mukherjee

Chaos of the Senses by Ahlem Mosteghanemi

Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh

Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

The Crown Prince, the Gladiator and the Hope: Battle for Change by Ashutosh.

Super Economies: America, India, China and the Future of the World by Raghav Bahl


MAY 2015

A Practitioner’s Diary by Pradip Baijal

Me Hijra Me Laxmi by Laxminarayan Tripathi, autobiography of a transgender, a crusader for rights of LGBT community.

Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar,

Gandhi at First Sight by Thomas Weber

India – Central Asia Relations by Amiya Chandra

More Bad Time Tales by Humra Quraishi.

Unbelievable – Delhi to Islamabad by senior Advocate Prof. Bhim Singh World’s Best Boyfriend by Durjoy Datta

Your Dreams are Mine Now by Ravinder Singh

The Past Before Us by Romila Thapar

At Home in India- The Muslim Saga by Salman Khurshid

Green Signals: Ecology, Growth and Democracy in India by Jairam Ramesh, ex Union Minister for environment

OBITUARY

JULY 2015 APJ ABDUL KALAM: Former President of India, great scientist and philosopher, popular as ‘Missile Man’ breathed his last on July 27. (See details on Page 1.)

B K Handique: Senior Congress leader, six times Lok Sabha member from Jorhat, Assam, passed away on 26 July. He was 82.

R.S. GAVAI: Former Governor of Kerala, Sikkim and Bihar, MP and a veteran associate of Dr Ambedkar passed away on July 25. SARDAR ANJUM: Renowned revolutionary poet, Urdu lyricist and a Padma Bhushan awardee, passed away in Panchkula, Haryana. M S VISWANATHAN: One of the most popular music composers of south Indian cinema, having over 750 movies to his credit, passed away in Chennai.

Y K SABHARWAL: Former Chief Justice of India has passed away.

BASHAR NAVAAZ: Noted Urdu poet and critic passed away in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

TOM MOORE: Noted cartoonist who brought to life the escapades of Riverdale residents in Archie comics, passed away in his home town El Paso, Texas, USA.

ALEX ROCCO: The US actor best known for his role in The Godfather, passed away in California, USA. ALCIDES E GHIGGIA: The Uruguayan soccer legend, died following a heart attack. He was 88 years old.

OMAR SHARIF: Noted Hollywood film actor from Egypt, best known for his portrayal of Doctor Zhivago in the hit 1966 film and for his work in “Lawrence of Arabia”, died in Cairo at the age of 83.

MATTI MAKKONEN: The man who invented the idea of short messaging service (SMS) technology, died in Finland. He was 63.

JUNE 2015

PRAFUL BIDWAI: A veteran press journalist, author and anti-nuclear activist, died in the Netherlands while having dinner. He was 65. SISTER NIRMALA: The nun who succeeded Mother Teresa in 1997 as the head of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, died at the age of 81, after serving at the top for 12 years. She was honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 2009. CHARLES CORREA: Noted America trained Mumbai based Indian architect, known for his unique indigenous architectural style, melding 20th-century Western modernism with Indian traditions, died at age of 84. SHEILA KAUL: Former Union Minister, a sister-in-law of Jawaharlal Nehru and oldest surviving former parliamentarian, died after A brief illness in Ghaziabad, UP. She was 100. NEK CHAND SAINI: Padma Sri awardee, creator of THE world famous iconic ‘Rock Garden’ at Chandigarh, passed away AT the age of 90 years. He was an art wizard who used waste like broken crockery, ceramic tiles, sanitary waste, electrical fittings, glass bangles and other waste items to make mosaic sculptures of men, women, animals etc.

SULEYMAN DEMIREL: Turkey’s former President and Prime Minister, a political giant for over half a century, heading the nation for over five times, died at 90.

SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE: Legendary English actor, singer and writer passed away in London, United Kingdom. He was 93. He is remembered for his charismatic negative roles in movies such as Dracula, The Wicker Man, James Bond, Lord of the Rings etc.


IRWIN ROSE: Noted biochemist from America who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry passed away at the age of 88.

MAY 2015

AMITABHA CHOWDHURY: Veteran journalist, writer and renowned Tagore researcher passed away in Kolkata on May 2 at the age of 88. He was associated with three leading Bengali dailies Anandabazar Patrika, Jugantar and Aajkal for more than three decades. AMALENDU GUHA: Noted historian, social scientist, academician and author passed away in Guwahati on May 7 at the age of 91 after a protracted illness. SUDHA SHIVPURI: Popular Indian stage, film and television actress died on 20 May at the age of 77. She was very popular for her role as Baa in the longest running TV show Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, B.B. KING: One of the most famous electric guitar players of all time, died in Las Vegas, USA at the age of 89. Famous as the King of Blues, he won 15 Grammys. JOHN FORBES NASH JR: A mathematical genius whose struggle with schizophrenia was chronicled in the 2001 movie "A Beautiful Mind," died along with his wife in a car crash in New Jersey, USA. He was 86. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994 for his work in game theory. He won Abel Prize for Mathematics for 2015. MICHAEL BLAKE: The Oscar-winning US author passed away; famous for his novel “Dances with Wolves”

PLACES IN NEWS

JULY 2015

DINANAGAR: Town in Gurdaspur district of Punjab was in news as it suffered a terrorist attack that killed seven people including one SP and 3 policemen. PUDUCHERRY: City’s application for smart city became the first nomination to be received by the Urban Development Ministry for the Smart City Mission. VARANASI has been selected by the UNESCO as the "City of Music" under the Creative Cities Network. MOUNT RAUNG: The volcano in East Java (Indonesia) suddenly started eruption in the first week of July, spewing clouds of ash into the air, forcing temporary closure of six airports. CONAKRY: The capital of the Republic of Guinea, was named as the World Book Capital for 2017 by UNESCO.

JUNE 2015

SHRI ANANDPUR SAHIB: Holy city of Punjab celebrated its 350th foundation day of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib in the city. The city was founded by the 9th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1665 and here only, the foundation of ‘Khalsa Panth’ was laid by the 10th Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh on Baisakhi day in 1699.

ASHOBAA: The cyclonic storm over east-central Arabian Sea that was expected to hit Maharashtra and Gujarat coast, moved away westward towards Oman.

MALVANI: Locality in Mumbai was in news as over 100 persons were killed there due to consumption of spurious liquor. CHANDEL: District in Manipur was in news it witnessed on one of the worst attacks by insurgents on the Indian Army in two decades, when they ambushed a military convoy near Tengnoupal in the Moltuk valley, killing at least 20 army personnel and injuring 11 others. CHARLESTON: The historic black church in South Carolina was in news as a 21 year old white gunman Dylann Roof opened sudden fire, killing nine Afro–American devotees in one of the worst racial hate crimes in USA. KARACHI: Pakistan's port city in south was in news as about 1200 people, including women and children, were killed in the city and the surrounding areas due to the country's worst heat wave in more than a decade, forcing the government to call in the Army to deal with the crippling crisis. KABUL: Capital of Afghanistan was in news as the Parliament there was attacked by six Taliban gunmen on June 22. All six were killed after a gun battle lasting nearly two hours. YANGTZE: The Eastern Star, a cruise ship carrying 456 people, capsized on the Yangtze River in China on the night of June 1 in high winds and heavy rain. Only 14 persons survived the tragedy, leaving remaining as missing or dead. ACCRA: Capital of Ghana was in news as at least 150 people died in a fire at a petrol station. President of Ghana announced three days of national mourning for the dead.

MAY 2015

PALMYRA: Ancient city in Syria was in news as the militants of the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS) seized its full control on May 21. It is an oasis in the Syrian Desert and is a World Heritage Site because of its ancient architecture.


MARIA ELENA SOUTH: Place in the Atacama Desert in Chile has been discovered as the driest place on the Earth. This site is dry as Mars and has a mean atmospheric Relative Humidity (RH) of 17.3 percent and a soil RH of a constant 14% at a depth of one meter.

BUENOS AIRES: According to a recent study by the World Cities Cultural Forum, this capital city of Argentina, with around 700 bookstores has more bookstores per capita than any other major city in the world.

SPORTS WORLD

JULY 2015

NATIONAL CREATES HISTORY IN GOLF

10-year old Indian Golfer Shubham Jaglan scripted history as he became the first Indian to win the International Junior Golf Academy's World Stars Junior Golf Tournament played at Las Vegas, USA. This

was his second Junior Golf Title in a span of 2 weeks as he also won the Junior World Golf Championships played in San Diego, USA. Sania Mirza has become the first woman tennis player from India to become top-seeded in a grand slam in the Wimbledon tournament in London. Rajat Chauhan created a new national record in archery by scoring 711 points in the Senior National Ranking Archery Tournament held at Patiala, Punjab. Skipper Mithali Raj scripted a new chapter in the history of Indian women's cricket as she became the first Indian and the second globally to reach the 5000-run milestone in one-day internationals. She crossed the milestone by scoring unbeaten 81while playing against New Zealand at Bengaluru. Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta won the 19th Commonwealth Chess Championship in Mumbai. Ajinkya Rahane was captain of the Indian team for the Zimbabwe tour held in July. Jwala Gutta and Ashwni Ponappa won the women's doubles title of the Canada Open Badminton tournament in Calgary, Canada.

The Indian women's wrestling team finished second in the fifth Senior International Wrestling Tournament -- Cup of the President of Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana. Indian wrestlers secured 16 medals, including three gold, at the Junior Asian Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Female Wrestling championship at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. India won the three-match One Day International (ODI) Series against Zimbabwe 3-0 played in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe. The finals of the 2016 World Twenty20 cricket tournament will be held in the iconic Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata on April 3, 2016. Considering the declining interest of the fans and popularity, the BCCI has decided to scrap the Champions League Twenty 20 (CLT20) with immediate effect. The BCCI has decided to scrap the Duleep Trophy due to packed schedule. TWO IPL TEAMS SUSPENDED FOR TWO YEARS The Justice R M Lodha Committee appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the IPL spot fixing and betting scandal, has submitted its report. It suspended the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals teams from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for two years. Former CSK team official Gurunath Meiyappan and Royals co-owner Raj Kundra were suspended for life from any cricketing activity undertaken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as they were found guilty of betting.


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INTERNATIONAL

WIMBLEDON Finals played in London, 2015 Men’s singles: Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Roger Federer of Switzerland Women’s singles: Serena Williams of United States beat Garbine Muguruza of Spain Women’s doubles: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina Mixed doubles: Leander Paes and Martina Hingis beat Timea Babos and Alexander Peya Boys doubles: Sumit Nagal with Nam Hoang Ly of Vietnam won the title. He is the sixth Indian to win a Grand Slam junior title.

CHRIS FROOME of Britain won the three week multiple stage bicycle race - Tour de France at Champs Elysees in Paris on July 26. Veselin Topalov won the Norway Chess 2015 title in Stavanger, Norway by defeating the Indian grand master Viswanathan Anand. Sebastian Vettel, German driver won the Hungarian Grand Prix at Budapest, Hungary on July 26. Roelant Oltmans of Netherlands has been appointed chief coach of the Indian hockey team till the 2016 Rio Olympics. Genezebe Dibaba of Ethiopia created a new world record in the women’s 1500m, clocking a time of 3:50:07, shattering old world record of 3:50:46 set in 1993 by China’s Qu Yunxia. Amelie Mauresmo, a former number one tennis player of France, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She is also the first woman to coach a top male tennis player – Andy Murray. FLOYD MAYWEATHER: International boxer was in news as he was stripped by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) of the Welterweight World title which he had won two months ago, as he had failed to pay $200,000 fee required by the WBO after he won the richest fight of all time, earning $220 million. FIFA Women's World Cup: United States lifted the cup for the third time, beating Japan. In the Final played at Vancouver, Canada. Copa America Football Tournament: Chile defeated Argentina on penalties on July 5 to end their 99-year wait for this prestigious crown. Finals were played in Santiago, capital of Chile. British Grand Prix F1 won by the reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton of UK on July5 at Silverstone circuit, UK.

The 9th World Youth Athletics Championship was held in Cali, Colombia. South Asian Basketball Championship: India won by beating Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. World University Games, Gwangju, South Korea: Inderjeet Singh won the gold in shot-put event on July 8. 2015 World Police and Fire Games held in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. The first day-night test match under lights will be played in Australia against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in November this year. Canada Open Badminton Tournament: Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and Michelle Li of Canada won the men's and women’s singles title, respectively in Calgary, Canada. To end the undue advantage to batsmen, the ICC has decided to scrap the batting power–plays and allow five fielders outside the 30-yard circle in the last ten overs in one-dayers to be played from July 5.

JUNE 2015

BHAMRA FIRST INDIAN TO JOIN NBA, USA Satnam Singh Bhamra created history by becoming the first Indian basketball player to be drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after being picked by Dallas Mavericks in New York. The 19-year-old, who hails from a remote village near Ludhiana in Punjab, stands 7 feet 2 inches tall. 21st Asian Athletics Championships at Wuhan, China Star athlete Inderjeet Singh bagged the gold medal in the men’s shot put event at this meet. Tintu Luka won the gold in women’s 800 mt race. Lalita Babar bagged gold in 3000m steeplechase race while Vikas Gowda won the gold for discuss throw. China topped the medal tally with 41 medals while India stood third with 13 medals. Star cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman joined the BCCI in a newly-constituted advisory panel to guide the board in all matters related to the game. Indian wrestlers won nine medals, including eight gold in Men's Freestyle event in the International Wrestling tournament in Sassari City, Italy. Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumari clinched the bronze medal in the women's individual Recurve event of the World Cup at Antalya, Turkey


Sachin Tendulkar: India’s legendary batsman got the highest number of votes to emerge on top of the list of the 100 best Test players since 2000, in a poll conducted by cricket.com.au. in Australia.

Bangladesh defeated Team India by 6 wickets at Mirpur, Dhaka to register their first ever series win against India.

Sunil Chhetri became the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals in 87 matches. He scored his 50th goal in the 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Guam.

DHONI IS RICHEST INDIAN SPORTSMAN Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni with earnings of over $ 31 million in 2014-15, ranks 23rd among Forbes magazine's 100 highest-paid sportspersons in the world. He is the only Indian sportsman on the list that has been topped again by American boxer Floyd Mayweather with earnings of $300 million. Inderjit Singh and Jinson Johnson of India bagged a gold in shot put and 800 mt race, respectively, in the Asian Athletics Grand Prix in Bangkok, Thailand.

Anantjeet Singh Naruka won the gold in the skeet match in the 7th International junior shotgun cup held in Orimattila, Finland.

Leander Paes became the first Indian to play with 100 different partners on ATP Circuit.

RAVI SHASTRI: Re-appointed Director of Indian cricket team.

Former captain Rahul Dravid has been appointed coach of the India A and Under-19 cricket teams

India missed a chance to take part in the 2018 FIFA World Cup as it lost to Oman in a qualifier match played in Bengaluru.

INDIA THIRD IN DOPING IN SPORTS According to a report for 2013 by WADA (World Anti doping Agency), Russia has the maximum number of dope offenders with 212 testing positive while the figures for Turkey and India were 155 and 91 respectively.

Zaheer Abbas, Former Pakistan captain has been selected the new President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a one year term.

Nico Rosberg of Germany won the Austrian Grand Prix F1 championship for the second year in a row at Spielberg, Austria.

Halle Open ATP title won by Roger Federer (Swiss) defeating Italian Andreas Seppi in Halle, Germany.

Barcelona lifted the UEFA Champions League Football trophy for the fifth time by beating Juventus at Berlin, Germany.

Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal, Canada beating his rival Nico Rosberg.

FRENCH OPEN CONCLUDES IN PARIS Men’s title was won by Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland by beating world champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Serena Williams of USA won the women’s singles title by beating Czech Lucie Safarova. The event is popularly known as Rolland Garros tournament and is famous for its red clay courts

MAY 2015

19th FEDERATION CUP National Senior Athletic Championships held in Mangalore, Karnataka. Men’s team title won by the Indian Army team and Kerala won in the women’s category. The event is dubbed as a selection trial for the Asian Athletics Championships at Wuhan (China).

5th National women hockey championship: Railways won the title by beating Jharkhand at Saifai, Uttar Pradesh

VIKAS GOWDA: Ace Indian discus thrower won gold in the Jamaican International Invitation meet in Kingston, capital of Jamaica with a throwing distance of 65.14 mts. He also won a bronze medal in the IAAF Diamond League series in Shanghai. JITU RAI: Ace marksman was declared the ‘Sportsperson of the Year' by the Times of India Sports Awards Geeta Phogat and Lalita Sherawat, each won a bronze medal in the women's freestyle category in the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship held at Doha, UAE. International Shooting Competition: India's top rifle shooters have won a rich haul of three gold and two bronze medals at this competition held in Hannover, Germany. Chain Singh, Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang won the gold and Apurvi Chandela along with Gagan Narang won the bronze. Indian boxers completed a brilliant run at the Doha International Boxing Tournament, winning four gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the event. Gagan Narang won the bronze medal in the 50 metre Rifle Prone Event of the ISSF World Cup at Fort Benning in the USA Tejaswini Sagar, Indian school girl won her maiden world title by bagging the gold in the under-15 category of World School Chess Championships held in Pattaya, Thailand.


Mumbai Indians won their second IPL title defeating Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 24.

Women’s World Team Chess Championship: won by Georgia beating China at Chengdu, China. India's D Harika and K Humpy won the silver and bronze medal respectively, in individual category.

Kumar Sangakkara, former Sri Lanka captain was named as the CEAT International Cricketer of the Year 2015

Ajinkya Rahane, Indian batsman was named as the CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year 2015.

Nico Rosberg of Germany won the Monaco Grand Prix Formula 1 World Championship held in Monaco on May 24. He also won the Spanish Grand Prix F1 championship at Barcelona, Spain ‘MONEY’ WINS THE ‘FIGHT OF THE CENTURY’ American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Money) of USA defeated Manny Pacquiao from Philippines to win the unified World Welterweight title. The legendary bout termed as ‘Fight of the Century’ took place on May 2 at Las Vegas, USA. Mayweather is expected to take home $180 million and Manny $ 120 million as prize money.

Novak Djokovic won the Rome Masters Tennis title with beating Roger Federer in Rome, Italy. Women’s singles title was won by Maria Sharapova by beating Carla Suarez of Spain.

World Team Chess Championship-Men’s: China won the championship leaving Ukraine at second place at Tsaghkadzor, Armenia

Australian Open Badminton Tournament begins in Sydney from May 26

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DAYS AND DATES

JULY Architecture day / Doctor’s day 01st July World Sports Journalists Day 02nd July Free 4th of July 04th July World Zonnosis Day 06th July International day of Co-Operatives 07th July World Population Day 11th July Man Walks on the Moon 20th July Kargil Vijay Divas 26th July

AUGUST World Breast – Feeding Week 01-07 August Friendship Day 05th August Hiroshima Day 06th August August Kranti Divas / Nagasaki Day 09th August Dengue Prevention Day 10th August International Youth Day 12th August National Independence Day 15th August World Photography Day 19th August Sanskrit Day 24th August Women’s Equality Day 26th August National Sports Day (B’day of Dhyan Chand)

29th August

SEPTEMBER Teacher’s Day (Birth Day of S. Radhakrishnan) 05th Sept.

World Literacy Day 08th Sept. Raj Bhasha Divas (Hindi Divas) 14th Sept. World Deaf Day 23rd Sept. World Tourism Day 27th Sept. World Heart Day 29th Sept.

ALL THE NEWS ITEMS IN THIS MAGAZINE HAVE BEEN SOURCED FROM VARIOUS NEWS PAPERS AND GOVT. PRESS RELEASES


(FEBRUARY – APRIL 2015)

For details please visit our website: www.gyanm.in

NATIONAL NEWS

APRIL 2015 A massive earthquake struck Nepal with a

devastating impact, killing over 5000 persons and injuring double this number.

India responded quickly, under its “Operation Maitri” by dispatching several National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams

During PM Modi’s 3-day visit to France, an agreement was signed for the supply of 36 Rafale fighter jets in flyaway condition.

French company Areva, in collaboration with Larsen and Toubro to set up six nuclear reactors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra.

During his three Germany visit, PM Modi inaugurated the world’s largest industrial technology fair - Hannover Fair in Hannover.

The Prime Minister during his three-day visit to Canada inked 13 agreements on skill development with the host country.

The Indian Navy conducted ‘Operation Rahat’ to evacuate over 5600 Indians and several other persons from war-torn Yemen.

U.S. President Barack Obama, addressed Mr Modi as the ‘India’s Reformer-in-Chief’ in an article in the Time magazine.

The President has appointed Election Commissioner Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the new Chief Election Commissioner of India.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, making it the first Private Member’s Bill to be cleared by the House in 46 years

India has been elected to four key subsidiary bodies of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council including the United Nations Children's Fund.

The Supreme Court has asked all private hospitals in India to provide full free treatment to acid attack victims, including medicines and surgeries.

India has been ranked 119th out of 130 countries on the 2015 FM Global Resilience Index which measures business resilience

The ‘Global E-Waste Monitor 2014 report by the United Nations University says that India is the fifth biggest producer of e-waste in the world.

As per the 2015 World Happiness Report, India comes at the 117th spot out of 158 countries, faring below even Pakistan (81) and Bangladesh (109).

India has slipped six places to rank 89th in Global Networked Readiness Index compiled by the World Economic Forum.

Out of the 133 countries rated in the Social Progress Index on indicators of well-being, India ranks at the 101st place.

The government has frozen the bank accounts of the international environment campaign group- Greenpeace India for six months.

India Post released special commemorative stamps to mark 50 years of Indo-French co-operation in space research at a function held in Puducherry.

Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan President arrived in New Delhi on April 27 on a 3 day visit.

The 5th meeting of the Health Ministers of SAARC countries held in New Delhi in April 8.

MARCH 2015 P M Modi visited Seychelles on March 11 and signed

four agreements for cooperation in hydrography, renewable energy, infrastructure development

Prime Minister visited Mauritius on March 12 and inked five MoUs with Mauritius to give new impetus to bilateral co-operation.

India and Sri Lanka signed four agreements during Mr. Modi's maiden visit to the island nation on March 13-14.

The agreements are on visa, customs, youth development and building Rabindranath Tagore memorial in Sri Lanka.

Facility of Tourist Visa on Arrival and Electronic Travel Authorization Scheme to Sri Lankan citizens to start from April 14, 2015.

India to cooperate in developing a Ramayana Trail in Sri Lanka and a Buddhist Circuit in India.

PM Modi (5th) and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi (28th) have been named among the 50 greatest leaders in the world by Fortune magazine

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Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of Qatar visited India and inked six pacts for cooperation in energy sector and boosting trade and investment.

The Supreme Court of India has nullified the Central Government's decision to include Jats in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Aadhaar card is not compulsory for availing of various government subsidies and any other benefits.

A 3-day International Conference on Counter Terrorism 2015 was held at Jaipur in March.

The Supreme Court has struck down the section 66 a of Information Technology Act as it was “unconstitutional” and a restriction on freedom of speech.

The Delhi High Court has ruled that the Attorney General is a constitutional authority and thus falls under the ambit of the RTI Act.

The world’s largest and tallest Indian national flag was unfurled in Faridabad, Haryana.

Solar Impulse, claimed to be the world’s only solar-powered aircraft, made a stopover in Ahmadabad on its maiden global journey.

The 58th All India Ayurvedic Congress was held at Panjab University, Chandigarh – March 14-15.

The 5th National Community Radio Sammelan held in New Delhi – March 16.

A three-day conference for strengthening maritime trade and security among Indian Ocean Rim countries held at Bhubaneshwar – March 20-22.

The government has announced that India's first National Skill Development University will be established in Chhattisgarh.

In the World Justice Project's ‘Open Government Index 2015’ report, India was ranked 37th amongst 102 countries. Sweden was placed at first position.

FEBRUARY 2015 Govt has accepted the recommendations of the 14th

Finance Commission for devolution of revenue collection from the Centre to the states

A three day Heads of the Missions Conference was held in New Delhi from Feb 7 to 9 in New Delhi.

The 10th edition of Aero India Show concluded in Bengaluru.

Bharti Airtel tied-up with UNICEF to provide health, education and youth-focused content to its customers in 17 African countries.

PETA will create India's first fenced elephant sanctuary within the Bannerghatta Biological Park in Karnataka.

India ranks 136TH in terms of press freedom in the 180 nations World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters without Borders.

Rajya Sabha was informed that 76.83 crore Aadhaar cards have been generated till 15 February 2015 out of a total population of 121.01 crore

Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of Singapore visited India on Feb. 10 and inaugurated the Singapore Festival in New Delhi.

18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 30 to 31 January 2015.

Three postage stamps on the theme of Swachh Bharat Mission were released on 30 January 2015 to mark the Martyrdom Day of Mahatma Gandhi.

The first National Tribal Festival “VANAJ”-2015 held at New Delhi from 13 to 18 Feb., 2015.

India and Sri Lanka have agreed to explore avenues for enhancing cooperation in oil and gas sector.

NEWS FROM STATES

APRIL 2015 The Kerala government, supported by UNICEF, has

launched a major campaign Subodham, to wean people away from liquor addiction.

The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, GIFT City was inaugurated near Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Thane, a city in Maharashtra has been declared as the India’s National Earth Hour Capital as it won the Earth Hour City Challenge held in Seoul, South Korea.

20 labourers engaged in illegal felling of red sanders wood were shot dead by the Andhra police in the Seshachalam forests in district Chitoor.

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to name its new capital as Amravati, considering its historic, mythological and spiritual significance.

Punjab has launched ‘Padho Punjab-Khedo Punjab Mission’ to provide school students a separate period 40-50 minute period exclusively for playing games.

The Kudermukh National Park, Karnataka and Rajaji National Park, Uttarkhand declared ‘tiger reserves’ by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

Assam to erect bio-fences with thickets of thorny bamboos to replace the electric fences, to ward off straying elephants.

MARCH 2015 In March, the Delhi high court became the first court

in India to set up dedicated commercial divisions within it,

'Aapki Beti Humari Beti' scheme launched in Haryana to provide cash assistance of Rs 21,000 to first-born girl child of SC and BPL families.


The mass nesting of Olive Ridley sea turtles, an endangered species, started in March near river Rushikulya mouth in Odisha's Ganjam district.

The Haryana Legislative Assembly passed the Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvar-dhan Bill, 2015, which bans cow slaughter, sale of beef

Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland have been excluded from the Protected Area Permit (PAP) regime for foreign tourists till December 31.

FEBRUARY 2015 The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party on Feb

10 swept to power with 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, leaving only three to BJP.

Uttarakhand govt launched on Feb 7 its ambitious “Himalaya Darshan” programme as part of its ongoing efforts to boost tourism in the state.

Haryana to set up Gram Sachivalayas to bring Gram Panchayat and village level functionaries of all departments under one roof for better functioning.

The ten day long annual Taj Mahotsava, a cultural extravaganza, began in Agra, UP from 18th February.

Gujarat govt. has decided to set up ‘Plast India International University’ in Vapi in partnership with University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA.

Madhya Pradesh won the 10th National Award for excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA).

Haryana launched e-registration of properties in all the 130 tehsil and sub-tehsils of the State on Feb 04.

The First World Ocean Science Congress (WOSC) was held in Kochi, Kerala from 5 to 8 February 2015.

GOVT INITIATIVES

APRIL 2015 India's first Air Quality Index launched to provide

information on the quality of air / air pollution in 10 major cities in the country on a daily basis.

The Railways has launched a new web portal ‘E-Samiksha’ to focus on Budget Review, Board Meetings, Zonal Railway Review, Infrastructure Targets etc.

The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana of the Labour and Employment Ministry will now be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The government has asked the states to introduce a "gender" field for land owners in their property records.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to change the name of the scheme 'Tourist Visa on Arrival-Electronic Travel Authorization' to 'e-Tourist Visa' (eTV).

Union Government has launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme to promote eco-friendly vehicles

The IAS and IPS officers now will have to take prior permission from the Central Government before accepting gifts worth more than Rs 5,000.

The Railway launched the ‘UTS on mobile’ (unreserved ticket system) app to relieve suburban train passengers from the serpentine queues for getting tickets

From April 1, 2015, the transport allowance exemption for employees has been raised to Rs 1600 per month for the purpose of Income tax.

The Govt. has set up a task force chaired by B N Navalawala to examine relevant issues to expedite the work on the interlinking of rivers in the country.

MARCH 2015 Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana launched to

provide Rs 2 lakh cover in case of death by accident to persons in the age group of 18-70 years at annual premium of Rs 12 only.

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana to offer life insurance to persons in the age of 18 to 50 at an annual premium of Rs 330.

Atal Pension Yojana where persons in the age group of 18-40 years can open pension account to receive pension from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 after 60 years of age.

The controversial Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill was approved by the Lok Sabha in March despite a walkout by all opposition parties.

The Union Cabinet has approved the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) with an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore to provide skills training to youth

The Central government has announced 33 per cent reservation for women in police forces of union territories, including Delhi

Railways Ministry has constituted the Kaya Kalp council headed by Ratan Tata for the improvement, betterment and transformation of the Railways.

Pharma Jan Samadhaan scheme launched for redressal of consumers’ grievances related to drug pricing and availability of medicines.

Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry has launched a new web portal, www.inampro.nic.in to monitor the supply of cement at all India level.

Amitabh Bachchan appointed as brand ambassador government’s campaign against Hepatitis B.

Bharat-Nepal Maitri Bus Seva started between Varanasi and Kathmandu from March 5 as per Motor Vehicle Agreement signed with Nepal.

http://www.inampro.nic.in


The first Kisan Call Centre in N-E India was opened in Agartala, Tripura to give information to farmers for agriculture, fisheries and plantations etc.

The Lok Sabha has passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to bring e-rickshaws into the ambit of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

FEBRUARY 2015 In the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI

Aayog in New Delhi, three sub groups were formed for improved functioning of ‘Team India’.

First to study the 66 centrally-sponsored schemes and recommend which schemes should continue, and which to discontinue.

Second to focus on skill development and creation of skilled manpower within states.

Third to promote implementation of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan

Further, two task forces to be formed to focus on poverty alleviation and development of agriculture.

The nationwide “Soil Health Card” scheme was launched by the Prime Minister from Suratgarh, Rajasthan on Feb 19

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the first National Deworming Day on Feb 10 to reduce the threat of parasitic worm infections in children.

Govt launched Consular Grievances Monitoring System named MADAD-Because You Are Us- to register grievances pertaining to the Consular Services

Govt plans to construct over two crore toilets in select villages across the country under a programme of making India free from open defecation by 2019.

The government plans to launch a new scheme 'Krishi Daak Service' to distribute improved seed varieties to farmers at their doorstep, through post-offices.

Govt has constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Pramod Asthana for re-investigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

APRIL 2015 Morgan Stanley says that India's economy will grow

at 7.9 per cent this fiscal due to government's determined efforts to implement policy actions.

The IMF says that India will overtake China as the fastest growing emerging economy in 2015-16 by clocking a growth rate of 7.5 per cent.

MARCH 2015 Asian Development Bank says that India’s growth

rate is expected to surpass China and improve to 7.8 per cent in next fiscal.

As per a reply submitted in Parliament, India's per capita annual income rose by 37.6 per cent in the last four years to Rs 88,533 in 2014-15.

FEBRUARY 2015 India's monthly per capita income is likely to be at

Rs 7,378.17 this financial year. India grew 7.5 per cent in the October-December

quarter, to become the fastest growing major economy in the world.

The Central Statistics Office has revised its base year to 2011-12.

ECONOMY

APRIL 2015 The government has announced its Foreign Trade

Policy (FTP) for the period 2015-20. It aims to increase exports to $900 billion by 2019-

20, from $466 billion in 2013-14 and raise India's share in world exports from 2% to 3.5%.

The companies without a woman director will face a penalty of a minimum Rs 50,000 for non-compliance beyond September, 2015.

India and USA have agreed to cooperate in the field of transportation for projects like development of waterways and multi-modal hubs.

The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation an expansion and modernization project worth Rs 12,000 crore at Rourkela Steel Plant, Odisha.

The conference of Power, Renewable Energy and Mines ministers of all states and union territories of India was held in Guwahati.

The Paris based IT giant Capgemini has acquired the New Jersey-based IT company I-GATE, for $4 billion in cash.

The govt has decided to keep the rate of interest on General Provident Fund and Public Provident Fund unchanged at 8.7 per cent for 2015-16.

Starting May, mobile calls made during roaming will be cheaper by up to 23% and a local SMS will cost only 25 paise, against Re 1 at present.

India has been ranked 83rd on a new index compiled by the UN trade body UNCTAD for assessing the readiness of countries for electronic commerce.

Snapdeal.com has picked up a majority stake in digital financial products platform, RupeePower to enter Rs 4,500 crore online financial services market.


As per a World Bank report, India tops in receiving remittances from its global migrant workforce, receiving around $ 70 billion in 2014.

MARCH 2015 Programme Pragati (Pro-active Governance and

Timely Implementation) launched to ensure timely execution of mega projects across the country.

At least 12 smart cities at ports and several coastal economic zones will come up under the ambitious Sagarmala project approved by the Union Cabinet.

The Central Statistics Office released the new Consumer Price Index with revised base year as 2012.

The number of items in the CPI basket has been increased to 448 from 437 in rural areas and to 460 from 450 in urban areas.

The government has fetched about 1.10 lakh crore rupees after rigorous bidding in the auctioning of telecom spectrum.

The National Green Tribunal has announced a fine of Rs 5,000 on individuals spotted littering or throwing waste on the railway platforms and tracks.

As per the second advance estimates for 2014-15, the foodgrain output in the country is estimated at 257.07 million tonnes

The World Bank has sanctioned 100 crore rupees for all round development of Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas District of West Bengal.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) committed Rs 1.5 lakh crore for development of various railway projects over the next five years.

The RBI has prohibited Macau and Hong Kong citizens from acquiring or transferring immovable property in India.

As per Corporate Affairs Ministry data, Reliance Industries Ltd is the largest corporate in India with assets of Rs3.68 trillion

Income Tax Department has slapped a Rs. 20,495-crore tax demand notice on Cairn India for failing to deduct withholding tax on alleged capital gains

Govt to merge the National Mission for a Green India (GIM) with MGNREGA to facilitate afforestation on 10 million hectares of land over the next decade.

India and Kyrgyzstan signed a MoU to strengthen bilateral cooperation in textiles and clothing.

FEBRUARY 2015 Government has notified the rules for Indian

Accounting Standards (Ind AS) which are converged with global standards IFRS.

The ADB has inked two loan agreements worth $ 350 million with India to upgrade district roads in Madhya Pradesh

India reclaimed its position as the leading consumer of gold in 2014 with an estimated consumption of 880 tonnes against China’s 866 tonnes.

World Bank agrees to grant $ 8 million loan to India for sustainable livelihoods and adaption to climate change project of National Rural Livelihoods Mission.

BANKING

APRIL 2015 The RBI has revised the Priority Sector Lending

norms and has asked the banks to give 8% of their total credit to small and marginal farmers.

Further, new segments like medium enterprises, social infrastructure and renewable energy firms have been brought under the priority sector lending.

Housing loans to individuals, up to Rs. 28 lakh in metros and up to Rs. 20 lakh in other centres will be covered under priority sector lending

The RBI has allowed the banks to offer differential interest rates for term deposits of above Rs.15 lakh

These deposits can be made without the option of premature withdrawal as well.

The RBI has allowed sole proprietor firms to open accounts in co-operative banks by submitting a single proof of their business.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana launched with a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore to give easy credit to small businesses and regulate micro-finance institutions The bank will have three main loan schemes – Shishu for loans up to Rs 50,000; Kishor for loans above Rs 50,000,up to Rs 5 lakh Tarun for loans above Rs 5 lakh, up to Rs 10 lakh.

MUDRA: Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency

The ICICI Bank has launched ‘Tap& Pay’, a contactless payment service based on the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology.

To facilitate bank account opening by the transgenders, RBI has directed banks to include a column 'third gender' in their forms/ applications.

MARCH 2015 Citing better fiscal consolidation, the RBI cut its

main lending rate known as repo rate by 0.25 percentage points to 7.5% w.e.f. 04.03.2015.

The RBI has decided that priority sector loans to persons with disabilities will now be eligible for classification under weaker sections category


After a gap of over 20 years, Re 1 note has been released in the country and it bears the signature of Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.

RBI has allowed banks to include stamp duty and registration charges in the cost of a house for home loans for up to Rs 10 lakh

Govt and RBI have signed an agreement whereby the govt has set a target for RBI to bring down inflation below six per cent by Jan. 2016.

The Reserve Bank has removed the lending restriction on United Bank of India as the bank demonstrated an ability to arrest bad loans

The National Payments Corporation of India reached a major milestone of successfully linking 15 crore bank accounts with the Aadhaar number.

The Reserve Bank has directed all NBFCs to get themselves rated by March 2016 and only investment grade rate NBFCs will be allowed to accept deposits.

The Reserve Bank will issue Rs 5 coins to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru that fell on Nov 14, 2014.

RBI and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka signed a Currency Swap Agreement of 1.5 billion dollar to help keep the Sri Lankan rupee stable.

FEBRUARY 2015 On Feb 3, the RBI cut the statutory liquidity ratio

(SLR) by 50 basis points to 21.5 per cent of their total deposits from February 7

RBI has estimated that the real GDP in 2015-16 is expected to rise by 6.5 percent.

RBI has doubled the annual overseas investment ceiling for individuals to $250,000 per person per year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).

The RBI has allowed banks to offer deposit schemes up to Rs 1 crore which cannot be broken prematurely — so-called non-callable deposits —

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana has entered the Guinness Book of World Record for opening over 12.5 crore bank accounts

RBI has advised that the overdrafts extended by banks up to Rs.5,000 in PMJDY accounts will be eligible for classification under priority sector advances

Govt will infuse Rs. 6,990 crore in nine public sector banks for enhancing their capital to meet the global risk norms under Basel III guidelines

As per an agreement reached between IBA and bank unions, public sector banks will remain closed on second and fourth Saturdays.

RBI has allowed banks to install Cash Deposit Machines at locations selected by them (banks) without getting its prior permission.

ICICI Bank has launched ‘Pockets’, a digital banking service, enabling users to instantly send money to any e-mail id, mobile number, friends on Facebook etc.

HDFC Bank raised about Rs 8,000 crore by selling American Depository Receipts in USA

Reserve Bank has asked all credit institutions to become members of all Credit Information Companies.

RBI has lifted the ban on import of gold coins and medallions by banks but the sales will be permitted against upfront payment only.

R Gandhi, Dy. Governor RBI to head the committee formed to review the structure and functioning of the Urban Cooperative Banking Sector.

HDFC Bank is set to introduce a new app, Chillr, which will allow users to send money to any contact in their phone books, 24X7.

DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

APRIL 2015 The 14th Indo-French Naval Exercise named

VARUNA-15 commenced off the coast of Goa. INS Visakhapatnam, the Indian Navy's most

powerful indigenously built stealth destroyer was launched into water at Mazagaon Dock in Mumbai.

INS Tarangini, the sail training ship of the Indian Navy to participate in the annual Tall Ships’ Races

Two Russian-made Mi-17 V5 military helicopters, were inducted into the Border Security Force.

The first of the six India-France joint venture Scorpene stealth submarines was launched for sea trials from the Mazagon Docks Limited in Mumbai.

India test-fired its nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-III ballistic missile, with a range of over 3,000 km, from the ITR near Chandipur in Odisha.

India successfully test-fired the nuclear-weapon capable Dhanush missile for its full range of 350 kms, off the Odisha coast.

An integrated Indian Army-Air Force operational war exercise code named ‘Bramhshira’ was conducted in the Suratgarh area in Rajasthan in last week of April.

Japan's state-of-the-art Maglev train clocked a new world speed record in a test run, smashing through the 600 kilometre per hour mark it had made earlier.


MARCH 2015

The indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, was successfully launched from a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft

Indian Navy’s Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise (TROPEX) exercise concluded on 27 February in the Arabian Sea.

Three Immediate Support Vessels (ISVs), armed with heavy machine guns, were commissioned by the Indian Navy at Vishakhapatnam.

INS Alleppey, the coastal minesweeper purchased from Russia in the 1970s, was decommissioned in March, after nearly 35 years of service

Pakistan tested its Shaheen-III Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile, having a strike range of 2750 kms.

On March 29, India placed in orbit IRNSS-1D (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System), the fourth one in the navigation satellite network.

India's first Polar Remotely Operated Vehicle (PROVe), was made operati-onal for research in Marchin "Priyadarshini lake" in North Antarctica.

India’s first indigenously developed and manufac-tured rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac, was launched in New Delhi.

In a breakthrough, Japanese researchers have successfully transmitted electric power wirelessly to a pinpointed target using microwaves

NASA's Opportunity Rover on Mars has become the first human-made vehicle that has completed 11 years marathon in a record time.

FEBRUARY 2015 The 8th India-Nepal Battalion level Combined

Military Training named Exercise Surya Kiran-VIII, held at Saljhandi, Nepal.

India test fired its ICBM Agni-V, for the first time from a canister mounted on a Tatra truck, from the Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast.

India test-fired the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from warship INS Kolkata, in Arabian Sea. It has a range of 290km and a top speed of Mach 2.8.

Indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile with a range of 350 kms, tested at a test range at Chandipur in Odisha.

The DRDO has established the world’s highest research station at an altitude of 17,586 feet at Chang La, about 80 km east of Leh, J&K.

Researchers in Australia have developed the world's first 3D-printed jet engine that could pave the way for cheaper, lighter and more fuel-efficient aircraft.

INTERNATIONAL

APRIL 2015 The World Bank launched Pollution Management

and Environmental Health program on Global Citizen Earth Day (April 18)

A World Trade Organization forecast says that the global goods trade will grow by 3.3 percent in the year 2015 and by 4.0 percent in 2016

World Haemophilia Day was observed globally on 17th April, 2015 with the theme ‘Building a Family of Support’.

Air Canada to resume direct flights between Toronto and Delhi from the coming winter season. The flights were discontinued in 2005.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was honoured with the Nishan-e-Pakistan, highest Pak civilian award, during his recent official visit to Pakistan.

Around 900 illegal migrants trying to reach Europe were feared killed after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean sea, off the Libyan coast.

Official data released by China shows that the country’s GDP grew at its slowest pace in six years in the first quarter of 2015, at just 7 per cent.

Palestine formally joined the International Criminal Court (ICC), raising hopes of a possible prosecution of Israelis for alleged war crimes.

MARCH 2015 Flight 4U 9525 of Germanwings went crashing into

a mountainside in French Alps on March 24, killing all 150 persons aboard

France, Germany and Italy have followed the UK in joining the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

A report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reveals that India is the world’s largest buyer of weapons and military equipment

In a historic development, a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled in March at Parliament Square in London.

World reputation ranking of the 100 most prestigious universities by Times Higher Education of UK has placed Harvard University, USA at the top

International Women’s Day was observed across the world on 8 March 2015. United Nations declared this year’s theme as ‘Make it Happen’

Food and Agriculture Organisation observed March 21 as the International Day of Forests, with the theme ‘Forests and Climate Change’.


FEBRUARY 2015 China has overtaken the United States as the top

destination for foreign direct investment for the first time since 2003.

Britain has become the first country in the world to allow a "three-parent" IVF (in vitro fertilization) technique.

Apple Inc has set a world record by becoming the first US Company to be worth more than $700 billion in terms of market capitalization

More than 3,000 flights were cancelled in North East USA as winter storms dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain across the region.

The Nepal has started a massive cleanliness campaign in 33 municipalities of the country in order to promote environment-friendly governance

Summit of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Istanbul, Turkey on 9-10 Feb. 2015

The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine met in Minsk, capital of Belarus to find solution to end fighting in eastern Ukraine

Musicians from around the world will gather this April in Paris to celebrate the International Jazz Day which is observed on April 30.

PERSONS IN NEWS

APRIL 2015 VISWANATHAN ANAND, the Chess Grand Master of India now has a planet named after him, called '4538 Vishyanand'.

MALALA YOUSAFZAI: Pakistan's teenage education activist was in news as an asteroid-316201, orbiting the sun between the Mars and the Jupiter has been named after her.

MOHAMMED MORSY: Ousted President of Egypt was in news as an Egyptian criminal court sentenced him 20 years in prison over the killing of protesters in 2012.

MUSTAFA KAMAL: He resigned from the post of President of the International Cricket Council. He is also the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

ANA JARA: Prime Minister of Peru was sacked after she lost the vote of confidence in Congress. She was censured for alleged spying of several key personalities.

MARCH 2015

VENKATRAMAN RAMAKRISHNAN: The Indian-American scientist, whose pioneering work in molecular biology won him the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, has been elected to head Britain's prestigious Royal Society, an association of the world's most distinguished scientists.

SMRITI IRANI: Union HRD Minister has been named the Young Global Leader from India by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Switzerland

M. C. MARY KOM: Veteran boxer from Manipur has been appointed a brand ambassador for north-east India to promote the region in the rest of the country and abroad.

SAIF ALI KHAN: ‘Visit Britain’, the national tourism agency for Britain, has announced the appointment of the Nawab of Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan, as the spokesperson for the ‘Bollywood Britain’ tourism campaign in India. AZIZ QUERESHI: Governor of Mizoram was sacked By the President without assigning any specific reasons. TIM COOK: CEO of the IT giant Apple Inc has announced to donate his entire wealth totalling to $ 785 million to charity. CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund was in news as she visited India in March. MOHAMED NASHEED: Former Maldivian President was sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by a criminal court of Maldive over the detention of a judge in 2012. MARK LIPPERT: The US ambassador to South Korea was in news as he suffered a knife attack by a pro-North Korean activist.

BILL GATES: stands atop Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's richest people, with a net worth of 79.2 billion dollars.

FEBRUARY 2015

AMARTYA SEN: 81 year old Nobel laureate economist was in news as he resigned as the Chancellor of Nalanda University, alleging political interference in the affairs of the University. DEEPIKA MISRA: Squadron Leader of Indian Air Force became the first and the only woman pilot to make it to the helicopter acrobatic display team – ‘Sarang’ of the Indian Air Force. SUMITRA MAHAJAN: Lok Sabha Speaker’s name was included in the LIMCA book of records for being the only woman of the country to represent the same Lok Sabha constituency on the same party ticket for eight times in a row. SALONI DALAL: A 12 year old school girl from Karnataka became the youngest medal winner in the 35th National Games in Kerala by winning a Bronze medal in the 200 meter breast stroke swimming event.


RICKY KEJ: Bengaluru-based musician was in news as his collaborative album 'Winds of Samsara' with African flautist Wouter Kellerman won the ‘Best New Age Album’ award at the 57th Grammy Awards announced in Los Angeles, USA

NEELA VASWANI: won the Grammy in the Best Children's Album category for rendering audio version of the book 'I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education and Changed the World’ by Malala Yousafzai. AJAY BANGA: President and Chief Executive Officer of MasterCard and the Chairman of the US India Business Council, has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by the US government.

ANGELINA JOLIE: Cine actress -director of America has been named the most admired woman in the world in a survey by the British website dailymail.co.uk., leaving behind ladies like Malala Yousafzai, Hillary Clinton.

APPOINTMENTS

APRIL 2015 H L DATTU: Chairman, National Judicial Appointments Commission. He is the Chief Justice of India. Dr. NASIM ZAIDI: New Chief Election Commissioner of India SITARAM YECHURY: Elected General Secretary of the Communist Party (Marxist) of India MOHAN KUMAR: Appointed the next Ambassador of India to France. SUMIT MAZUMDER: President of CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) for 2015-16. He is the CMD of Tractors India Ltd. BVR MOHAN REDDY: Elected Chairman of NASSCOM -The National Association of Software and Services Companies for 2015-16. He is the Chairman, Cyient Ltd. VIRAT KOHLI: Goodwill Ambassador of Uttarakhand. PEDRO CATERIANO BELLIDO: Prime Minister of Peru OMAR AL-BASHIR: Re-elected as President of Sudan NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV: Re-elected as President of Kazakhstan MUHAMMADU BUHARI: Elected President of Nigeria. A former military ruler, he is the first opposition candidate to win a presidential election in Nigeria.

MARCH 2015 KSHATRAPATI SHIVAJI: Chairman and Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India. ARUN KUMAR SINGH: India’s next Ambassador to the USA, An Indian Foreign Service officer, currently Ambassador to France. JAGMOHAN DALMIYA: President of the BCCI VIKAS SWARUP: The new spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry. K M MANI: Kerala Finance Minister has been appointed Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Re-elected Prime Minister of Israel.

FEBRUARY 2015 L C GOYAL: New Union Home Secretary

SHEKHAR SEN: Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi; he is a renowned music composer and actor

KRISHNA CHAUDHARY: Director General, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

KSHATRAPATI SHIVAJI: New CMD of SIDBI

AJIT KUMAR: Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Offices

NITISH KUMAR: Chief Minister of Bihar, 4th time

ARVIND KEJRIWAL: Chief Minister of Delhi

MOHAMMAD SAYEED MUFTI: Chief Minister of J & K

KOLINDA GRABAR-KITAROVIC: First female President of Croatia

Ms. ZOE KONSTANTOPOULOU: New President of Greece, from the left wing party Syriza.

SERGIO MATTARELLA: Italy’s new President

AWARDS & HONOURS

APRIL 2015 FBB FEMINA MISS INDIA WORLD 2015 RESULTS The finals were held in Mumbai in March, 2015 Miss World: Aditi Arya First Runner-up: Aafreen Rachel Vaz Second runner-up: Vartika Singh

GOLDEN PEACOCK NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD: Delhi International Airport for corporate excellence

Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award: Balbir Singh Senior, legendary hockey player.


The Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015: won by the Bharatiya Mahila Bank at Hong Kong HEINZ AWARD IN TECHNOLOGY: Sangeeta Bhatia, an Indian-origin scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Dr Subadhra Devi Rai, an Indian-origin nurse in Singapore. 'Margarita with a Straw' directed by Sonali Bose won the best feature film honour at the Washington DC International Film festival in USA

MARCH 2015

62nd NATIONAL FILM AWARDS, 2014 Best Feature Film: Court (multilingual) by Chaitanya Tamhane Best Popular Film providing Wholesome Entertainment: Mary Kom by Omung Kumar Best Hindi Film: Queen by Vikas Bahl Best Director: Srijit Mukherjee for Shotushkone Best Actor: Vijay for Nanu Avanalla Avalu (Kannada) Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Queen DADA SAHEB PHALKE AWARD: Actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor (77), who has starred in over 100 Hindi films and best known for his powerful portrayals in hits like Namak Halaal, Deewar and Kabhie Kabhie. The Award consists of a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs and a shawl.

INTERNATIONAL GANDHI PEACE PRIZE 2014: awarded to ISRO for their contribution in bringing space to the service of the common man and in the service of the nation. SARASWATI SAMMAN 2014: M. Veerappa Moily, Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader for his Kannada poem Ramayana Mahanveshanam. FOLIO PRIZE 2015: Novelist Akhil Sharma for his novel Family Life. The prize is given by the Folio Academy of UK. GOLDEN GATE AWARD: Kerala Tourism at the Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2015, Germany for its global multimedia campaign to promote its backwaters. KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF ARTS AND LETTERS: Artist Bharti Kher of India was conferred the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in French, the highest cultural award of France. STOCKHOLM WATER PRIZE: Rajendra Singh, eminent environment activist from Rajasthan for his innovative water restoration efforts and extraordinary courage to empower communities in Indian villages.

ABEL PRIZE for 2015: US mathematician John F Nash Jr and Canada-born American national Louis Nirenberg, for their contributions to mathematical sciences. GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE: Nancie Atwell, a teacher from the USA. It is the world’s first $1 million prize set up by the Varkey Foundation of USA to recognise one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.

MO IBRAHIM PRIZE: Hifikepunye Pohamba, ex President of Namibia for excellent leadership.

FEBRUARY 2015

60th FILMFARE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Best film: Queen by Vikas Bahl Best Director: Vikas Bahl for Queen Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Queen Best Actor: Shahid Kapoor for Haider

THE 87th ACADEMY AWARDS, popularly known as ‘Oscars” were presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on February 22, 2015, at Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA. Best Picture: Birdman by Alejandro G Inarritu Best Director: Alejandro G Inarritu for Birdman Best Actress: Julianne Moore for Still Alice Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything

GRAMMY AWARDS Announced on Feb 8 at Los Angeles, California, USA Some major winners are as under: Record of the Year - "Stay with Me," Sam Smith Song of the Year - "Stay with Me" (Darkchild Version) Album of the Year - Morning Phase, Beck Best R&B Performance - "Drunk in Love," Beyoncé Best Rock Album - Morning Phase, Beck Best Pop Vocal Album - In the Lonely Hour, Sam

Smith Best Pop Solo Performance - "Happy," Pharrell

Williams Best Rap Album - The Marshall Mathers LP2,

Eminem

BAFTA

(British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards announced on Feb 8 at London.

BEST FILM: Boyhood by Richard Linklater

BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST ACTOR: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS: Julianne Moore, Still Alice


50th JNANPITH AWARD - 2014: Bhalchandra Nemade, Marathi novelist, known for his famous novels – Kosala, Hindu.

STHREE SHAKTI AWARD: conferred upon Irom Sharmila, Human rights activist from Manipur who has been on an indefinite fast since November 4, 2000, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.

BEST MARCHING CONTINGENTS Trophy for Republic Day Parade 2015 won jointly by the Brigade of The Guards and the Sikh Regiment awarded jointly the

AMARTYA SEN: Eminent Indian economist and Nobel laureate has been named as the first winner of a newly established Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize in the UK, in recognition of his work on welfare economics.

OBITUARY

APRIL 2015 JANAKI BALLABH PATNAIK: Senior Congress leader, former 3-time Odisha Chief Minister and ex-Assam Governor passed away at the age of 89. MALLI MASTAN BABU: World famous ace mountaineer from Hyderabad, who had gone missing in the Andes Mountains ranges in Chile, South America during a climbing mission, was found dead. KAILASH VAJPEYI: Renowned Hindi poet passed away at the age of 79. He was editor of the popular Hindi magazine ‘Dharmyug’. JAYAKANTHAN: Tamil novelist and short story writer (81), Gyanpith awardee, died in Chennai. HRUSHIKESH MOOLGAONKAR: Retired Air Chief Marshal, recipient of Param Vishisht Seva medal and Mahaveer Chakra, passed away in Pune at the age of 95. GUENTER GRASS: German novelist, the Nobel Prize-winning author of “The Tin Drum”, an epic treatment of the Nazi era, died at the age of 87. RICHIE BENAUD: Former Australian captain and legendary cricket commentator CHRISTOPHER ALAN BAYLY: An eminent historian and teacher, known for his work on colonial and post-colonial India, died in Chicago.

MARCH 2015

VINOD MEHTA: Distinguished editor and commentator who successfully launched a number of newspapers and magazines, including the ‘Outlook’. He wrote his autobiography “Lucknow Boy: A Memoir”.

LEE KUAN YEW: Great statesman and founding father of modern Singapore passed away in March, after dominating the politics of Singapore for over 50 years.

TERRY PRATCHETT: Famous British author, creator of the science fantasy Discworld novels which narrate a flat, parallel universe balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the shell of a giant turtle.

FEBRUARY 2015 D. RAMANAIDU: Veteran film producer from Andhra Pradesh, Padma Bhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner, holder of the Guinness Book of World Records for the most films produced by an individual, having produced more than 150 films in 13 Indian languages.

R.R. PATIL: Former Maharashtra Home Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party leader (16th Feb 2015) RAJINDER PURI: Popular cartoonist, veteran columnist and political activist (16th Feb 2015).

GAUR HARI SINGHANIA: Chairman, J K Group of Industries that includes JK Tyres, JK Cements.

CHARLES H. TOWNES: American noble prize winner scientist, inventor of laser –‘Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation’.

PLACES IN NEWS

APRIL 2015

PURNIA: The city in Bihar was in news as around 70 persons were killed there and in surrounding areas due to a sudden cyclone that left over 2,000 people injured.

NIMRUD: Historical city of Syria was in news as the Islamic State militants have been destroying rare ancient relics there, dating back to the 13th century BC.

GARISSA: The town in Kenya was in news as at least 150 students were massacred there when Somalia's Al - Shabaab Islamist militant group raided the Garissa University campus.

CALBUCO VOLCANO of Chile erupted twice on 22 April and 23 April 2015 after 42 years, leading to declaration of state of emergency by the govt. TURRIALBA VOLCANO in Costa Rica, South America, erupted, forcing the closure of the airport in the capital city San Jose.

MARCH 2015 BACHHRAWAN: The town near Rae Bareli, UP was in news as two coaches of the Dehradun-Varanasi Janta Express derailed there, killing around 40 persons and injuring over 150 others.


HYDERABAD: According to the Mercer Quality of Living Rankings 2015, Austrian capital Vienna is the city with the best quality of living in the world, while Hyderabad, ranked 138th, was the best Indian city to live in.

DIMAPUR: The city in Nagaland was in news as thousands of protesters stormed the central jail there and dragged out Syed Sarifuddin Khan, accused of raping a 20-year-old Naga student, and lynched him to death, after brutally thrashing him. ZOKHAWTHAR: The small town in Champhai district of Mizoram was in news as a land customs station was inaugurated there at the Indo-Myanmar border.

SANAA: The capital of Yemen was in news as over 150 persons, mainly Shia muslims were killed there in the bomb attacks by the Sunny militants of the IS group.

TUNIS: The capital of Tunisia was in news as Islamic militants stormed its Bardo National Museum killing 17 foreign tourists and three Tunisians. CYCLONE PAM: A super cyclone slammed the south Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, east of Australia, leaving complete devastation in its wake.

FEBRUARY 2015 MELBOURNE & CHRISTCHURCH: Cities in Australia and New Zealand, respectively were in news as they were host to the cricket extravaganza ICC World Cup.

SPORTS WORLD

APRIL 2015

Sania Mirza created history by becoming the first Indian female tennis player to achieve the world number one rank in doubles, following her stupendous title win at the WTA Family Circle Cup with partner Martina Hingis, at Charleston in the USA. Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (Hockey): India won the bronze in tournament at Ipoh in Malaysia by beating Korea. The tournament was won by New Zealand Jitu Rai of India won the bronze medal in the men's 10-metre air pistol event at the ISSF Shooting World Cup at Changwon, S Korea. Apurvi Chandela won the bronze in women’s 10-metre air pistol event. Rakesh Kumar and Harpal Singh won gold in men’s category and S Sarjubala and Pinki Jangra clinched gold in women’s category at the 22nd President's Cup Open International Boxing Tournament in Indonesia. Dronavalli Harika, Indian Grandmaster won the bronze medal in the World Women's chess championships in Sochi, Russia.

India won Gold and a Bronze at the Asian Indoor Rowing Championship held in Pattaya, Thailand.

5th Senior Men’s National Hockey Championship won by Railways team beating Uttar Pradesh in Pune, Maharashtra.

SACHIN TENDULKAR: Indian batting legend was inducted into the prestigious Laureus Sports Academy in a glittering ceremony at Shanghai.

Three Indian race walkers, Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar have qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics.

The 8th edition of the grand cricket extravaganza – IPL 2015 began with a grand opening ceremony at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata in April.

The Chinnaswamy cricket stadium in Bengaluru has become the first cricket venue in the country to have a roof top solar power plant.

Sim Bhullar has become the first player of Indian descent to play in the high-profile National Basketball Association (NBA) league in the USA, making his debut for Sacramento Kings. The 22 years old 7-foot-5-inch Sim was born in Toronto, Canada.

Laureus Sportsman of the Year, 2015: Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic Laureus Sportswoman of the Year, 2015: Ethiopian sprinter Genzebe Dibaba.

Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine successfully defended his world heavyweight boxing title for the 18th time in a row by defeating his American challenger Bryant Jenn ings in New York. MIAMI MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP, Florida, USA

Men’s singles: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beats Andy Murray (Britain)

Women’s singles: Serena Williams (USA) beats Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain)

Women’s doubles: Sania Mirza and her Swiss team-mate Martina Hingis beat Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova, both of Russia.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the Monte-Carlo Masters title of Tennis by beating Tomas Berdych in Monaco.

Daniel Vettori: New Zealand left-arm spinner has announced his retirement from international cricket.

Badminton Asia Championship: Lin Dan of China won the cup by beating compatriot Tian Houwei at Wuhan, China.

Shamkir Chess Tournament: Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the tournament by defeating Rauf Mamedov in Shamkir city of Azerbaijan on 26 April 2015.


Lewis Hamilton: Formula One world champion won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the second year in a row.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes Formula 1 driver from Britain won the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, China.

MARCH 2015

AUSTRALIA LIFTS WORLD CUP FOR 5TH TIME Lead by Captain Michael Clark Australia beat New Zealand by seven wickets to lift their fifth World Cup trophy on Final played on March 29 at Melbourne, Australia.

TOP ACHIEVERS Man of the Tournament: Mitchell Starc, bowler from Australia. Man of the Match (final): James Faulkner,Australia Top scorer Martin Guptil (New Zealand) 547 Best strike rate: B Mc Cullum (NZ) 188.5 Top wicket taker Trent Boult (NZ) and Mitchell Starc (Aus), both 22 each Best economy rate: Mitchell Starc (Aus) – 3.5

HIGHLIGHTS OF WORLD CUP 2015

M S DHONI: By beating Bangladesh in Melbourne, he became the first Indian captain and third in the world history to win 100 ODI matches. He reached this milestone in 178th ODI. The other two achievers are Australian pair of Ricky Ponting (165 wins) and Allan Border (107 wins).

MARTIN GUPTILL of New Zealand made the highest score in the World Cup history with 237 not out against West Indies in the match played at Wellington, Australia.

KUMAR SANGAKKARA of Sri Lanka became the first cricketer to score four successive one-day international centuries as he scored 124 against Scotland at a World Cup match played at Hobart, Australia. Also, he is the only batsman having scored 4 centuries in one world cup tournament.

Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka have announced their retirement from the One Day International (ODI) format of Cricket.

Pakistan cricketers Misbah-ul-Haq and Shaid Afridi have also bid adieu to One Day International cricket.

The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup will be hosted by England and Wales in June 2019.

SAINA – INDIA’s FIRST WORLD NO 1 Saina Nehwal created history on March 28 as she became the first Indian woman shuttler to attain the world number one ranking after her closest challenger for the spot, Spain's Carolina Marin, lost in the India Open Super Series semifinal played in Delhi. Later on March 29, she won the prestigious India Open Badminton Championship at New Delhi beating former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.

KIDAMBI SRIKANTH became the first Indian to win the Swiss Grand Prix Gold badminton championship beating Viktor Axelsen in Basel, Switzerland. He again defeated Axelsen to win the India Open at New Delhi RANJI TROPHY: Defending champions Karnataka clinched their eighth title as they thrashed Tamil Nadu in the final played at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

Karnataka lifted the Irani Cup after beating the Rest of India team in the finals played in Bengaluru.

The 69th National Football Tournament for Santosh Trophy held at Ludhiana. The Services team won the trophy beating the Punjab team. The Indian team won the Women's Hockey World League Round Two competition title by beating Poland in New Delhi. WONDER KID CREATES ARCHERY RECORD Two-year-old girl Cherukuli Dalli Shivani from Vijaywada has achieved a stunning feat by scoring 200 points over five and seven-metre distances, setting a new record in Archery. VIV BEATS SACHIN TO RANK NO 1 ODI PLAYER West Indian star batsman Viv Richards has been voted as the greatest ODI player in the history of cricket, ahead of Sachin Tendulkar (second) in an online poll conducted by ESPN cricinfo’s magazine ‘Cricket Monthly’ and a jury of 50 eminent cricketers. Roger Federer defeated Novak Djokovic to win the Dubai Championship title for Tennis at Dubai. Rafael Nadal won the Argentina Open title for Tennis defeating Juan Monaco of Argentina at Buenos Aires, Argentina.

BNP PARIBAS OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP: Novak Djokovic won the Men's Singles at Indian Wells, Californea (USA) beating Roger Federer. Women’s singles title was won by Simona Halep

beating Jelena Jankovic. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the women’s

doubles title.

LEWIS HAMILTON of Britain won the Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 race held in Melbourne, Australia.

SEBESTIAN VETTEL of Germany won the Malaysian Grand Prix on March 29 at Sepang, Malaysia, beating World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Britain.

FEBRUARY 2015

35TH NATIONAL GAMES The 14 day sports extravaganza – The 35th National Games that started on 31st January, came to an end on 14th Feb. at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.


In all, sportspersons competed for the 1334 medals comprising of 405 Gold, 406 Silver and 523 Bronze medals.

Services created a record by topping the medal tally for the third consecutive time. The group won 159 medals that included 91 golds. They won the Raja Bhalendra Singh Trophy for best performance.

Amongst states, Kerala topped the tally with 162 medals, including 54 gold.

National Games mascot Ammu, the Great Hornbill, has been selected for entry in to the Limca Book of Records.

The 36th National Games will be hosted by Goa in 2016.

Anirban Lahiri won his second European Tour title at the Hero Indian Open Golf Championship on Feb 22 in New Delhi.

Anil Kumble, former India Captain and ace Leg Spinner has been chosen to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame with all times greatest cricketers

Hero Hockey India League 2015: Ranchi Rays won the championship by defeating Jaypee Punjab Warriors in the finals played at New Delhi. All India Football Federations (AIFF) has declared Sunil Chhetri and Bala Devi as Player of the Year 2014 in men and women category, respectively.

Paul van Ass of Netherland was appointed Head Coach of India’s men’s Hockey team.

67th National track cycling championship held at Thiruvananthapuram

A glittering opening ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 was held on Feb 12 at two places - at Christchurch New Zealand and at Melbourne, Australia.

France has become the first team in handball history to win World Handball Championships for the 5th time beating the Qatar at Doha, Qatar.

Omega Dubai Desert Classic: World No. 1 Rory McIlroy of UK won the prestigious golf cup.

Simona Halep of Romania won the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) championship in Dubai.

Nicol David: World Women’s Squash champion from Malaysia has set a new record for topping the world rankings for the 106th month. AUSTRALIAN OPEN held at Melbourne, Australia

Men’s: Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his 5th Australian Open title beating Andy Murray of Britain

Women’s: Serena Williams of USA beats Maria Sharapova of Russia. It was her 19th Grand Slam title. She is tied for third on a list of the most Grand Slam singles won by women.

Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes of India and Martina Hingis of Switzerland won the title.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

BOOK AUTHOR Water, Peace, and War— Confronting the Global Water Crisis

Brahma Chellaney

No Free Left — The Futures of Indian Communism

Vijay Prashad

KP: The Autobiography Kevin Pietersen. India Shastra— Reflections on the Nation in Our Time

Shashi Tharoor

Secularism, Identity, and Enchantment

Akeel Bilgrami

At The Helm— A Memoir V. Krishnamurthy The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins Mightier Than the Sword Jeffrey Archer On Religion Late Khushwant Singh

God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican

Gerald Posner

Prince of Gujarat Rajmohan Gandhi

Sahib: the British Soldier in India

Richard Holmes

Scion of Ikshvaku Amish Tripathi. He is the author of the immensely

popular Shiva Trilogy. His next series is on Lord

Rama and this one is the first in the new series.

Indian Parliamentary Diplomacy- Speaker's Persp-ective

Smt. Meira Kumar, former Speaker, Lok Sabha

'The Modi Effect: Inside Narendra Modi's Campaign to Transform India'

Lance Price

Editor Unplugged: Media, Magnates, Netas and Me

Vinod Mehta

The Ever After of Ashwin Rao

Padma Viswanathan

The Bookman’s Tale Charlie Lovett

Go Set a Watchman Harper Lee, author of world famous novel “To

Kill a Mockingbird”

Recasting India: How Entrepreneurship is Revolutionizing the World’s Largest Democracy

Hindol Sengupta


I B P S P O MODEL TEST PAPER

GENERAL AWARENESS

1) The new capital city of Telangana is coming

up in/ near 1) Hyderabad 2) Amravati 3) Seemandhra 4) Guntur 5) Bellary

2) Which of the following days does NOT fall in the month of May? 1) World Book Day 2) No Tobacco Day 3) Labour Day 4) Anti-Smoking Day 5) All these days are observed in the month of May

3) Which of the following acronyms can be expanded to mean a tax avoidance treaty? 1) DTAA 2) GAAR 3) GST 4) NCPCR 5) IPCC

4) The national-level counter-terrorism body in India, which coordinates all relevant activities, is the 1) NTRO 2) NSAC 3) RAW 4) ANTER 5) NATGRID

5) The World Welterweight boxing match termed Fight of the Century took place in Las Vegas, USA which saw ……………. defeat ……………. of …………….. . 1) Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, The Philippines 2) Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, The USA 3) Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, The Philippines 4) Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Indonesia 5) None of these

6) The title Oracle of Omaha is given to 1) Carlos Slim 2) Warren Buffett 3) Jack Maa 4) Bill Gates 5) Steve Jobs

7) Which of the following is/ are NOT true of the Land Border Agreement signed by India recently? 1. The Land Border Agreement (LBA) was passed by Parliament as 119th Constitutional Amendment Act.

2. The agreement proposes to transfer certain land enclaves to Bangladesh in return for similar land enclaves from it. 3. The agreement would need approval by at least half of the Indian states. 1) 1 and 2 2) 1 Only 3) 2 and 3 4) 3 Only 5) All these statements are correct

8) The provisions of the SARFAESI Act DO NOT apply if 1) When the case is pending in the court of law. 2) 80% or more of the loan amount has been recovered 3) The Act does not apply in any of these cases 4) The asset in question is agriculture land 5) Both B and D

9) Which country recently conducted a referendum on allowing gay marriages? 1) The USA 2) Iceland 3) The UK 4) Ireland 5) France

10) The proposed Whistleblowers Act deals with which of the following? 1) Financial system frauds 2) Black money lying abroad 3) Creation of a Jan Lokpal 4) Corruption in government offices, PSUs and other public bodies 5) None of these

11) The best solar-powered state in the country is 1) Rajasthan 2) Haryana 3) Goa 4) Punjab 5) Gujarat

12) Charles Correa, who passed away recently, was a legendary 1) Economist 2) Architect 3) Photographer 4) Painter 5) Musician

13) Britain recently observed 800 years of the enactment of 1) Monarchy 2) Parliamentary democracy 3) Bill of Rights 4) Magna Carta 5) None of these

14) Anandpur Sahib in Panjab recently celebrated its …….. foundation day. 1) 450th 2) 300th

(GENERAL AWARENESS / QUANTS / ENGLISH)


3) 400th 4) 200th 5) 350th 15) The year 2015 marks the ……. anniversary of

the ……….. 1) 50th, Liberation of Bangladesh 2) 40th, Janata Party government in India 3) 50th, Chinese attack on India 4) 40th, Emergency in India 5) 40th, Indo-Russia Friendship Treaty

16) Which of the following is NOT a scheme started by the central government? 1) AMRUT 2) USTAD 3) Pradhan Mantri Surkasha Beema Yojana 4) SMART 5) Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao

17) Pick the odd one out. 1) Wisden 2) BCCI 3) ICC 4) T-20 5) Put

18) Ganga Bhuvan is best described as a/an 1) new tourist facility 2) mobile app 3) adventure sports academy 4) Ganga clean up mission 5) Both B and D

19) The Atal Pension Yojana has replaced which existing scheme : 1) Swavlamban 2) Sahaayata 3) Swayam 4) Jagannath 5) Sampoorna

20) The acronym GST stands for 1) General Sales Tax 2) Goods and Services Tax 3) Generalized Sales Tax 4) Government Sales Tax 5) General Standard of Taxation

21) LIN (Labour Identification Number) is an initiative under Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakaram for the purpose of: 1) Addressing grievances of labour 2) To withdraw their provident fund 3) For transparency and accountability in labour inspections 4) For pension facilities to the workers of unorganized sectors 5) None of these

22) Tampleton Prize is given in the field of: 1) Adventure Sports 2) Novel writing 3) Spirituality

4) Science & Technology 5) None of these

23) Which of the following awards can only be awarded to the coaches of different sports?

1) Arjuna Awards 2) Dronacharya Awards

3) Dhyan chand Awards

4) Tagore Awards 5) None of these

24) Primary Deficit means: 1) Fiscal Deficit – Interest payments

2) Fiscal expenditure – Fiscal receipts 3) Revenue expenditure – Revenue receipts 4) Capital Deficit – Capital receipts 5) None of these

25) Which one of the following is not an instrument carried by MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission)?

1) Methane Sensor 2) Lyman Alpha Photometer

3) Mars Colour Camera 4) Nuclear Imagery Spectrometer 5) None of these

26) The Indian cricket squad, for its Zimbabwe tour, is led by 1) Suresh Raina 2) Ajinkya Rihane 3) Gautam Gambhir 4) Ajit Chandila 5) Virat Kohli

27) Find the wrongly matched pair. 1) Figo: Ford Motors 2) Ciaz: Suzuki Motors Ltd 3) i10 Grand: Mahindra 4) Cheverelot: General Motors 5) All these pairs are correct

28) The acronym SCO, which dominated the newspaper headlines recently, implies 1) Supreme Cooperation Organization 2) Super 7 Cooperation Organization 3) Shanghai Cooperation Organization 4) Singapore Cooperation Organization 5) SAARC Countries Cooperation Organization

29) The project HRIDAY deals with 1) Heritage conservation 2) Maintaining communal harmony 3) Skill enhancement 4) Slum children 5) Prevention of heart diseases

30) A cryogenic engine is a critical part of a/an 1) Spacecraft 2) Aircraft 3) Sub-marine 4) Four-wheeler 5) Missile

31) The Monetary & Credit Policy of India is announced by the: 1) Prime Minister of India 2) Governor of the RBI 3) Union Finance Minister 4) Union Commerce Minister 5) None of these

32) Which one of the following is NOT a function of Reserve Bank of India? 1) Credit Control 2) Supervisor of Scheduled Commercial Banks 3) Formation of Monetary Policy 4) Credit Creation 5) None of these


33) Which of the following statement regarding basic saving bank account is true? 1) Minimum balance of Rs. 500/- is required to be maintain 2) Maximum withdrawals are restricted to four per month 3) Maximum balance in the account can be Rs. 50,000/-at any point of time 4) Maximum withdrawals per month is restricted to Rs. 10,000 per month 5) None of these

34) A Current Account can be opened in the name of: 1) Company 2) Individual 3) Partnership firm 4) All of these 5) None of these

35) Format of the cheque has been given in which of the following Acts: 1) Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 2) Banking Regulation Act, 1949 3) Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 4) Banking Regulation Act, 1881 5) None of these

36) In the cheque truncation system, what is truncated?

1) Amount of the cheque 2) Size of the cheque 3) Duration of the cheque 4) Physical movement of the cheque 5) None of these

37) Many a time we hear about NPA in banking terminology. What is the full form of NPA? 1) Non-Performing Assets 2) Negotiable and Preferential Asset 3) New Performing Avenues 4) Net Performing Average 5) None of these

38) In the FRBM Act, 2003, FRBM stands for______. 1) Fiscal Revolution and Budget Management 2) Fixed Responsibility and Binary Management 3) Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management 4) Fiscal Revolution and Binary Management 5) None of these

39) Fiscal deficit is: 1) Total income less Government borrowing 2) Total payments less total receipts 3) Total payments less capital receipts 4) Total borrowings raised by Govt. 5) None of these

40) Recently, RBI has announced that interest on deposit account can now be paid at less than ____ intervals.

1) Monthly 2) Half yearly 3) Yearly 4) Quarterly 5) None of these

QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE Directions (Q. 41-45): What will come in place of the question mark (?) in the following questions? 41) 2.8 x 1.5 + 8% of 250 = ? 1) 24.2 2) 24.02 3) 242.2 4) 2.42 5) None of these

42) 13

12?

7

11

14

11

14

12

7

23

1) 7

11 2)

7

21

3) 7

1 4)

7

3

5) None of these

43) ?7303

2

5

4

8

3ofofof

1) 86 2) 146 3) 156 4) 93 5) None of these 44) 87 x 26 82.4 = 8? 1) 10.6 2) 9.6 3) 8.6 4) 6.6 5) None of these 45) 160% of 250 + ? = 120% of 400 1) 160 2) 40 3) 80 4) 120 5) None of these Direction (Q. 46-50): What will come in place of the question mark (?) in each of the following number series? 46) 2 8 26 ? 242 1) 78 2) 72 3) 82 4) 84 5) None of these 47) 3 4 12 ? 103 1) 45 2) 40 3) 41 4) 39 5) None of these 48) 9 17 ? 65 129 1) 32 2) 24 3) 35 4) 33 5) None of these


49) 7 13 ? 49 97 1) 27 2) 25 3) 23 4) 29 5) None of these 50) 5 3 4 ? 17 1) 15 2) 15.5 3) 7.5 4) 17 5) None of these 51) Out of 5 women and 4 men, a committee of three members is to be formed in such a way that at least one member is a woman. In how many different ways can this be done? 1) 80 2) 84 3) 76 4) 96 5) None of these 52) The present ages of Amit and his father are in

the ratio of 2 : 5 respectively. Four years hence the ratio of their ages will becomes 5 : 11 respectively. What was the father’s age five years ago?

1) 40 years 2) 45 years 3) 30 years 4) 35 years 5) None of these 53) Twice the square of a number is six times the other number. What is the ratio of the first number to the second? 1) 1 : 4 2) 2 : 5 3) 1 : 3 4) Cannot be determined 5) None of these 54) Manoj sold an article for Rs 15,000. Had he offered a discount of 10% on the selling price, he would have earned a profit of 8%. What is the cost price? 1) Rs 12500 2) Rs 13500 3) Rs 12250 4) Rs 13250 5) None of these 55) The cost of 8 pens and 4 pencils is Rs 176 and the cost of 2 pens and 2 pencils is Rs 48. What is the cost of one pen? 1) Rs 16 2) Rs 14 3) Rs 12 4) Rs 18 5) None of these 56) In how many different ways can the letters of the word TOTAL be arranged? 1) 120 2) 60 3) 48 4) 72 5) None of these 57) If the area of a circle is 616 cm2, what is its perimeter?

1) 76 cm 2) 84 cm 3) 96 cm 4) 80 cm 5) None of these 58) B and C together can complete a work in 8 days, A and B together can complete the same work in 12 days, and A and C together can complete the same work in 16 days. In, how many days can A, B and C together complete the same work?

1) 13

93 2)

135

7

3) 125

7 4) 125

3

5) None of these 59) What will be the compound interest accrued

on an amount of Rs 10,000 @ 20 p.c.p.a. in two years if the interest is compounded half- yearly?

1) Rs 4400 2) Rs 4600 3) Rs 4641 4) Rs 4680 5) None of these 60) The income of A is 150% of the income of B and the income of C is 120% of the income of A. If the total income of A, B and C together is Rs. 86,000, what is C’s income? 1) Rs 30000 2) Rs 32000 3) Rs 20000 4) Rs 36000 5) None of these Directions (Q. 61-65): What approximately value will come in place of the question mark (?) in the following questions? (You are not expected to calculate the exact value.) 61) 7999.99 + 72 x 49.99 = ? 1) 12000 2) 12600 3) 12500 4) 11600 5) 11000 62) (25.01)2 – (15.99)2 = ? 1) 361 2) 381 3) 369 4) 375 5) 356 63) 380 x 12.25 – 365 15 =? 1) 4500 2) 4550 3) 4800 4) 4850 5) 4650 64) 180% of 255.01 + 50% of 28999 =? 1) 62400 2) 64000 3) 60400 4) 64200 5) 61600


65) 171.995 x 14.995 25 =? 1) 103 2) 115 3) 110 4) 125 5) 120 Directions (Q. 66-70): Each of the questions below consists of a question and two statements numbered I and II are given below it. You have to decide whether the data provided in the statements are sufficient to answer the questions. Read both the statements and answer the questions. Give answer 1) if the data in Statement I alone are sufficient to answer the question, while the data in Statement II alone are not sufficient to answer the question. Give answer 2) if the data in Statement II alone are sufficient to answer the question, while the data in Statement I alone are not sufficient to answer the question. Give answer 3) if the data in Statement I alone or in Statement II alone are sufficient to answer the question. Give answer 4) if the data in both the Statement I and II are not sufficient to answer the question. Give answer 5) if the data in both the Statements I and II together are necessary to answer the question. Caution: Do not mark your answer unless you consider both the statements carefully. 66) What is Nikita’s share in the profit of Rs 50,000 earned in the business run by her in partnership with Sharmila? I. Nikita invested an amount 150% of the amount invested by Sharmila.

II. The amount invested by Sharmila is two-thirds of the amount invested by Nikita.

67) What is a two-digit number? I. The sum of the digits is 6. II. The digit in the ten’s place is double the digit in the unit’s place. 68) What is the rate of interest p.c.p.a.? I. The amount doubles itself in 10 years.

II. The simple interest accrued in 5 years is Rs 5000.

69) In how many days can B alone complete the work?

I. B and C together can complete the work in 8 days.

II. A and B together can complete the work in 12 days. 70) What is the mother’s present age?

I. The present ages of mother and child are in the ratio of 5:1 respectively.

II. Four years hence the ratio of the ages of mother and child will be 17 : 5 respectively.

Directions (Q. 71- 75): Study the following table carefully to answer these questions.

Table Showing Number (In Lakhs) Of Instruments Manufactured By Six Companies Over The Years

Company Year

A B C D E F

2002 45 35 48 42 50 49

2003 40 32 52 46 48 45

2004 48 36 50 43 56 48

2005 49 37 45 48 52 44

2006 46 30 55 50 54 50

2007 52 38 47 40 41 52

71) What is the average number of instruments manufactured by Company C for all the given years? 1) 49,00,000 2) 49,50,000 3) 48,50,000 4) 48,00,000 5) None of these 72) The no. of instruments manufactured by

Company E in 2004 is approximately what per cent of the total no. of instruments manufactured by all the companies together in 2004?

1) 23 2) 25 3) 20 4) 16 5) 18 73) The total number of instruments manufactured by Company A is approximately what per cent of the total no. of instruments manufactured by Company F for all the given years together? 1) 97 2) 87 3) 92 4) 90 5) 85 74) The no. of instruments manufactured by Company B in 2005 is approximately what per cent of the total no. of instruments manufactured by Company B in all the years together? 1) 20 2) 16


3) 14 4) 18 5) 22 75) What is the ratio of the total no. of instruments manufactured by all the companies together in 2007 to that in 2006? 1) 56:57 2) 57 : 56 3) 29 : 28 4) 28 : 29 5) None of these Directions (Q. 76-80): Study the following graph carefully to answer these questions.

Population of two states (in lakhs) over the years

40 4560

50

70 6580

5040

7080

90100

60

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Year

Po

pu

lati

on

(in

lakh

s)

State A State B

76) The population of State B in 2002 is what per cent of the total population of State B in all the years together? (Rounded off of two digits after decimal) 1) 8.26 2) 7.26 3) 8.32 4) 7.82 5) None of these 77) What is the ratio of the total population of State A for the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 together to the total population of State B for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 together? 1) 27:53 2) 54:29 3) 29:54 4) 53:27 5) None of these 78) For which State and in which year was the per cent rise in population from the previous year was the highest? 1) State B-2003 2) State B-2002 3) State A-2004 4) State A-2005 5) None of these 79) What is the per cent rise in the population of State B from 2003 to 2004?

1) 3

116 2)

3

216

3) 3

218 4)

3

118

5) None of these 80) Approximately what is the average population

of State A for all the given years? 1) 65 lakhs 2) 50 lakhs 3) 48 lakhs 4) 58 lakhs 5) 52 lakhs Directions (Q. 81-85): Study the following information carefully to answer these questions. Percentage of employees in various departments of

an organization and the male-female ratio Total No. of Employees = 2500

Logistics , 11%

Operations , 18%

IT, 14%

Marketing, 15%

HR, 16%

Accounts, 8%

Adiminstration, 12%

Printing, 6%

Male : Female Ratio

Department Male : Female

Administration 7 : 5

Accounts 2 : 3

HR 5 : 3

Marketing 7 : 8

IT 3 : 4

Operations 5 : 4

Logistics 6 : 5

Printing 2 : 1

81) What is the ratio of male employees in Administration to those in Printing Department? 1) 7:4 2) 4:7 3) 3:4 4) 7:3 5) None of these


82) What is the difference between the total number of employees in IT and that in Operations Department? 1) 75 2) 150 3) 100 4) 50 5) None of these 83) What is the ratio of the total number of males in HR and Marketing to the total number of females in these two departments? 1) 13:15 2) 15:13 3) 13:17 4) 17:14 5) None of these 84) How many female employees are there in the HR Department? 1) 250 2) 120 3) 125 4) 150 5) None of these 85) What is the difference between the numbers of male and female employees in Logistics Department? 1) 50 2) 25 3) 75 4) 100 5) None of these Directions (Q. 86-90): Study the following table carefully to answer these questions.

Percentage of marks obtained by six students in

different subjects

Subject History Geography Maths Science Economics English

Max Marks

50 50 100 75 100 120

A 86 82 77 72 69 66

B 80 74 73 66 76 84

C 68 92 89 78 75 72

D 76 84 83 81 59 60

E 72 66 82 87 62 78

F 84 64 93 63 81 54

86) What is the average marks obtained by all students in Geography? 1) 41.5 2) 42.5 3) 38.5 4) 39.5 5) None of these 87) Marks obtained by E in Economics is approximately what per cent of the total

marks obtained by him in all subjects together? 1) 12 2) 8 3) 10 4) 22 5) 17 88) What is the overall percentage of marks obtained by all the students in English? 1) 83 2) 69 3) 71 4) 81 5) None of these 89) What is the total marks obtained by D in History, Mathematics, Science and English together? 1) 256.25 2) 275.55 3) 235.75 4) 253.75 5) None of these 90) What is the total marks obtained by B in all subjects together? 1) 376.3 2) 373.6 3) 376.6 4) 373.3 5) None of these

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Directions (Q. 91-98): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions. Capitalism is a great slave, but a pathetic master. This truth unfortunately gets lost in our chase for that elusive dream….especially in the West, the land that has been marketed as the land of dreams – the great Western dream. It's the dream of being independent masters of our lives of making big bucks and of being happy—even if that happiness is being bought by money which all of them chase out there. No doubt, the West, on its part, has been fairly successful in creating material comforts aplenty. It has improved the living standard of its average citizen. However, it has been achieved as a result of more than 200 years of unbridled growth and exploitation. And that is what has made the rest of the world mindlessly chase Westernism, not necessarily happiness or an ideal form of society. All because the shop window looks very impressive and it has been marketed very well. But a deep look inside the shop tells a different tale. A different world lies behind; a world that is not quite visible to the starry eyed millions - for whom the Western way of life seems to be the ultimate dream. Thus, we have Indians dreaming to become or to get married to an NRI and Indian middle class fathers


dreaming of their sons reaching the Bay area and landing tech jobs, unmindful of the second-class life they end up leading in the West. What goes unseen and almost unheard is that the West also happens to be the land that is right amongst the top in terms of the number of divorces per thousand, the number of single parent families per thousand, the number of old people in old-age homes, the number of suicides, homicides, and of course, the number of college/school shootouts. And why not! After all, such societies are constantly driven towards higher profits and materialism. Expectedly, this materialism comes at a cost that the world is paying today. This is the reason why we have millions dying of curable diseases in Africa and other underdeveloped countries, while the rich grow richer. Their growth will be reduced, if they were to start thinking of the poor. So what do they do to justify their greed for more? They most shrewdly propagate and market a ridiculously primitive law of the jungle for our 21st-century civilization, ‘the Law of Survival of the Fittest'! The interesting thing about material things is that they only give an illusion of happiness; however, such happiness is always momentary in nature. Ergo, at this juncture, you feel you are the happiest person in the world, after buying your new car or flat-screen TV, and just a few days later, these are the very possessions that cease to make you happy. While you chase the bigger cat and spend that extra bit of the wealth, you intercept someone's share of the daily bread and also sacrifice those who have the maximum power to make you happy - family, emotions and love. Prolonged abstinence in feeling emotions finally destroys bliss; and you don't even realise when you've become a dry-eyed cripple... and then you land up in a sermon workshop to find out the real meaning of life - or whatever these workshops are capable of explaining. The truth is that such workshops are also driven by merchants who cash in on the dejected state of the people, a state created by their own fictional dreams. But by then it’s really too late. By then, you have made profits out of arms, and engineered wars to keep that industry alive. You've sold guns across counters at supermarkets and made more profits. You've lobbied that guns should be made accessible to the common man, and all for the sake of profits. This makes you realise one day that they are your own children who are in the line of fire against the school goer who opens fire at his schoolmates. This is the society that finally creates an emotionless monster, who gets satisfaction in killing innocent adults and children alike for no cause, no reason, and for none but himself. It is the utter destruction of spiritualism and the total focus on endless self-gratification. Where so many single-parent families and divorces exist, it is impossible to bring up children or influence the killers any better.

91) Who does the author hold responsible for the shooting spree in schools and colleges? (A) Lack of love and emotion in the society in general

(B) Increased focus on self-gratification even when it comes at the cost of innocent lives (C) Deteriorating social structure leading to break- up of families resulting in lack of moral development in children

1) Only A 2) Only C 3) Only Band C 4) All of these 5) None of these 92) Why does the author refer to the law of survival of the fittest as ridiculous? 1) This law is primitive and does not hold good for developed nations.

2) The law is often used to justify the accumulation of wealth by a selected few.

3) People from developing countries use it to rationalize then- immigration to the Western countries. 4) It does not lead to any material profits and material wealth. 5) None of these 93) According to the passage, which of the

following is a reason for poverty and hunger in underdeveloped countries?

(A) Mindlessly chasing the Western way of living (B) They have fallen prey to the idea of happiness through material comforts rather than love and emotional bond.

(C) They do not have marketing techniques as good as the western countries.

1) Only B 2) Only C 3) Only A 4) Only B and C 5) Not mentioned in the passage 94) Why do the 'starry-eyed millions' harbour a wish to become NRI? (A) They are driven towards higher profits and materialism. (B) They appreciate the western way of life as it appears to them. (C) They have become emotionless and lost any attachment to the motherland. 1) Only A 2) Only B 3) Only A and B 4) Only C 5) All A, B and C 95) Why does the author disregard the Western way of living even though an average citizen in the West enjoys better living standards?


1) Many Indians want to ape their lifestyle, leading to a cultural dilution of their own traditions. 2) The West has failed to market their lifestyle in an appropriate way.

3) According to him, the law of' survival of the fittest' is now obsolete. 4) It only looks forward to material comfort rather than happiness within. 5) None of these 96) What does the author mean by 'intercepting someone's share of daily bread'? 1) Hindering the process of marketing in underdeveloped countries by the developed countries

2) Denying material comfort to the Western world 3) Affecting the social life of those working towards material comforts only 4) Excess of wealth in western world while people in poorer nations struggle for survival

5) None of these 97) What does the author mean by 'shop window of the West' when he suggests to look inside the shop?

(A) The sprawling supermarkets have been making profits out of inhuman activities. (B) To look closely at the existing societal structure rather than superficially appreciating the delusive dazzle

(C) To study then: marketing techniques closely 1) Only A 2) Only B 3) Only A and B 4) Only B and C 5) Only C 98) The author's main objective in writing the passage is

1) to explain that consumerist societies have then- own drawbacks, which are overlooked by those who are blinded by their material glare 2) to explain how too many material comforts have improved the living standard of common man in the West 3) that young children should not be given access to guns and other ammunitions 4) All NRIs are leading unmindful, second-class lives abroad

5) None of these Directions (Q. 99-100): Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

99) Shrewdly 1) Roughly 2) Rightly 3) Rudely 4) Courteously 5) Astutely 100) Chase 1) Follow 2) Capture 3) Run 4) Catch 5) Conquer Directions (Q. 101-102): Choose the word/phrase which is most opposite in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage. 101) Dejected 1) Apologetic 2) Anxious 3) Accepted 4) Elated 5) Enlightened 102) Unbridled 1) Enthusiastic 2) Controlled 3) Rebellious 4) Considerate 5) Approved Directions (Q. 103-110): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part will be the answer. If there is no error, mark 5) as the answer. (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.) 103) The recent election campaign 1)/ has been one of

2)/ the most noisiest campaigns 3)/ in the last decade. 4)/ No error 5)

104) Wholesome strategic planning 1)/ was the focus

as 2)/ the firm manage through a difficult period 3)/ a couple of years ago 4). No error 5)

105) In spite of the best governmental efforts, 1) /

emission of greenhouse gases 2)/ and noxious chemicals 3)/ remain a cause of worry 4). No error 5)

106) The rate of metabolism of 1)/ a body is

comparatively lowest when 2)/ it is at rest and is 3)/ thus optimum for examination 4). No error 5)

107) The opposition leader tried 1)/ to bolster his

position 2)/ with the voters by pressing 3)/ corruption charges against rivals 4). No error 5)


108) The recently imposed dress code 1)/ in the university has enraged 2)/ the students who will be going 3)/ on strike since tomorrow 4). No error 5)

109) Ever since he took over 1)/ as the chief minister

of the state, 2)/ rate for unemployment 3)/ has drastically increased.4) No error 5)

110) Changed social setting 1)/ demands the schools

to teach 2)/ moral and social values 3)/ among with the academic skills 4). No error 5)

Directions (Q. 111-115): Rearrange the following sentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) to make a meaningful paragraph and then answer the questions which follow (A) Had it been not for them, Indian banks would

have had their hands tied down. (B) Today, almost all the countries are facing the heat

of recession. (C) One of these is the strict RBI and SEBI rules

which regulated banking sector very efficiently. (D) This could have led to massive losses to them,

which could have percolated to other sectors as well.

(E) However, there are a few things which help India in bouncing back from the state of recession.

(F) Like others, India too has not remained immune to the epidemic.

111) Which of the following sentences should be the THIRD after rearrangement? 1) A 2) E 3) D 4) F 5) C 112) Which of the following sentences should be the FIRST after rearrangement? 1) A 2) B 3) C 4) D 5) E 113) Which of the following sentences should be the SECOND after rearrangement? 1) A 2) B 3) D 4) E 5) F 114) Which of the following sentences should be the SIXTH (LAST) after rearrangement? 1) A 2) E 3) D 4) B 5) F

115) Which of the following sentences should be the FIFTH after rearrangement? 1) B 2) C 3) A 4) E 5) F Directions (Q. 116-120): Each question below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 116) The organization_______to popularize Indian classical music among the youth which has lost_______with its cultural roots. 1) endeavours, touch 2 ) wishes, interest 3) efforts, experience 4) exerts, intrigue 5) need, relation 117) One of the major critiques of the examination system is that it______ to a spirit of_______competition among the students. 1) results, defective 2) noticed, peculiar 3) develops, intense 4) takes, severe 5) leads, unhealthy 118) Auroras are natural light displays in the sky,

usually ________at night, _______in the Polar regions.

1) watch, upward 2) accompanies, adequate 3) observed, only 4) found, most 5) follows, mainly 119) After the board examinations, students are _____up for the various entrance examinations_______for next month. 1) ready, timed 2) gearing, scheduled 3) prepared, programmed 4) set, duration 5) geared, kept 120) The governmental_______spurred dramatic improvements in the way waste management is_______out in many hospitals. 1) rule, thrown 2) plans, conduct 3) crusade, one 4) efforts, carried 5) venture, disposed Directions (Q. 121-130): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words/phrases are suggested, one of which best fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word/phrase in case.


Today, it is (121) recognized that the 21st century will be driven by knowledge. To (122) the challenges of this century, India needs to usher in a knowledge revolution that (123) to bring about systemic changes in education. While our economy has made significant strides, the education system has not kept (124) with the aspirations of the youth. The vast disparity in the country today is a result of skewed (125) to knowledge. To address this, we need a substantial expansion in educational opportunities, with a special (126) on inclusion of the underprivileged. At the bottom of the pyramid, steps must be taken to (127) access to quality education. While the government has taken steps to ensure education to all, where it lacks in its efforts is the quality perspective. Being a spirally upward drive, education can not be (128) to improve at the higher level unless it improves at the very grassroots level. The top of the pyramid, i.e. higher education, is also uneven. Students struggle to compete in the exams which (129) a sound knowledge of English. While candidates are expected to travel several kilometres to reach school to obtain any education, the higher education organisations often (130) candidates from vernacular media through State-sponsored exams and proudly affirm them as 'unbiased'. 121) 1) thickly 2) widely 3) ample 4) partly 5) considered 122) 1) adhere to 2) gather 3) cover 4) contact 5) meet 123) 1) sought 2) wanted 3) seeks 4) attempt 5) determined 124) 1) adequate 2) sufficient 3) influence 4) pace 5) ahead 125) 1) access 2) approaching 3) rights 4) infiltration 5) excess 126) 1) aspiration 2) intensity 3) important 4) place 5) emphasis 127) 1) enjoy 2) help 3) provide 4) diminish 5) deepen 128) 1) awaited 2) judged 3) thought 4) expected 5) said 129) 1) demand 2) has 3) consume 4) expects 5) wants 130) 1) discourages 2) disobey 3) contest 4) assume 5) reject

ANSWER KEY

GENERAL AWARENESS Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 1 2 2 1 3 1 4 5 5 1 6 2 7 5 8 5 9 4 10 4

11 1 12 2 13 4 14 5 15 4 16 4 17 5 18 5 19 1 20 2 21 3 22 3 23 2 24 1 25 4 26 2 27 3 28 3 29 1 30 1 31 2 32 4 33 2 34 4 35 5 36 4 37 1 38 3 39 4 40 4

QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 41 1 42 5 43 2 44 4 45 3 46 5 47 4 48 4 49 2 50 3 51 1 52 4 53 4 54 1 55 5 56 2 57 5 58 2 59 1 60 4 61 4 62 3 63 5 64 3 65 1 66 3 67 5 68 1 69 4 70 5 71 2 72 3 73 1 74 3 75 1 76 5 77 3 78 1 79 2 80 4 81 1 82 3 83 4 84 4 85 2 86 3 87 5 88 2 89 4 90 1

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 91 4 92 1 93 5 94 2 95 4 96 5 97 2 98 1 99 5 100 1

101 4 102 2 103 3 104 3 105 4 106 2 107 3 108 4 109 3 110 4 111 2 112 2 113 5 114 3 115 3 116 1 117 5 118 3 119 2 120 4 121 2 122 5 123 3 124 4 125 1 126 5 127 3 128 4 129 5 130 5



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ORGANS OF SENSE A sense is an organism’s capacity to receive information for perception. Usually, the organism’s nervous system has a specific sensory system or organ, dedicated to each sense. Humans have multiple senses -- sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch are the five traditionally recognized senses. Other animals also have receptors to sense the world around them, with varying degrees of capability. Humans possess a weaker sense of smell compared to many other mammals while some animals may lack one or more sense. Some animals can sense the world in a way that humans cannot, as they can sense electrical and magnetic fields, and detect water pressure and currents. A sense is a group of sensory cells which responds to a specific physical phenomenon, and that corresponds to a particular brain region, where the signals are received and interpreted.

A. Sense of Touch, Temperature, Pressure and Pain The sense of touch is due to the touch corpuscles present in the upper layer i.e. epidermis of the human skin. The sense of balance or vestibular sense allows an organism to sense body movement, direction, and acceleration, and to attain equilibrium and balance. The organ responsible for this is present in both the inner ears. The vestibular nerve conducts information from sensory receptors which sense motion of fluid in three semicircular canals caused by rotation of the head. The sense of heat and cold is maintained by the skin and includes internal skin passages. There are specialized receptors for cold and for heat. These are quite different from the homeostatic thermoceptors in the brain (hypothalamus), which provide feedback on internal body temperature.

B. Sense of Taste The sense of taste is due to the taste buds in the papillae of the tongue. The tip of the tongue is the most sensitive to sweet taste, and the rear is sensitive to bitter taste. The middle part of the tongue is not sensitive at all i.e. can be used to place a bitter pill while ingesting it. Humans receive tastes through sensory organs called taste buds on the upper surface of the tongue. There are five basic tastes: sweet, bitter, sour, salty and umami. Other tastes such as calcium and free fatty acids may also be basic tastes but have yet to gain wide acceptance. C. Sense of Sight Humans can perceive light rays in the range of 3800-7600 Angstroms. The rays having a wavelength less than 3800 Angstrom are called ultra-violet rays while those with a wavelength of more than 7600 Angstrom are termed infra-red rays. Neither of these rays is detectable by the human eye. To see an object, its image must be formed on the retina. The convexity of the lens of the eye increases when the object is nearer and decreases when the object is far away to get the image on the retina in each case. The property of the lens by which it can adjust its convexity to form distinct image of the object at various distances is called accommodation. When the ciliary muscles do no work properly to bring about accommodation of the lens, the eye becomes defective. The human retina contains two types of cells i.e. 1. Cone Cells - Meant for daylight vision, also

responsible for colour vision 2. Rod Cells: Meant for nighttime or low intensity

vision. Since humans have many more cone cells as compared to rod cells, they are much better at seeing the objects in bright intensity as compared to others. Humans see with both the eyes together and both the eyes form separate images of an object. These two separate images are then fused in the brain to create an impression of depth. (Otherwise, the human retina is a 2-D structure and cannot give a perception of depth). This difference in the images formed in the two eyes is referred to as binocular disparity. You can easily observe this phenomenon by focusing on a pencil placed vertically in the line of your nose. First, see it with the left eye closes and later, see it with the right eye closed. In each of the cases, you will find a different view of the pencil. When you see it with both the eyes, these two images are fused by the brain to give you a perception of depth.


MAJOR DEFECTS OF THE EYE

1. Myopia (Short-sightedness) When a person can see the nearer objects clearly but not those lying far away, he is said to be suffering from myopia. In this case, the convexity of his lens cannot be sufficiently decreased to form the image of the distant object on the retina. It is remedied by the use of concave glasses.

2. Hypermetropia (Long-sightedness)

It refers to a person’s ability to see the distant objects clearly but not the near ones. It is remedied by the use of convex glasses.

3. Astigmatism

A person suffering from it can see the vertical lines clearly but not the horizontal ones, or vice versa. It is remedied by the use of cylindrical glasses.

4. Colour Blindness

If a person cannot distinguish between different colours (especially between red and green), he is said to be suffering from this defect. It is a sex-linked disorder i.e. occurs due to recessive genes on the 23rd pair of chromosomes.

D. Sense of Smell

Owes to the presence of smell-perceiving cells present in the lining of nasal chambers. Unlike taste, there are hundreds of olfactory receptors, each binding to a particular molecular feature. Odour molecules have many features and, thus, excite specific receptors strongly. This combination of excitatory signals from different receptors makes up the smell of a particular molecule. In the brain, olfaction is processed by the olfactory system.

E. Sense of Hearing

Is due to the vibration of the ear membrane in the inner ear. Made possible by the incidence of sound waves on it.

Since sound waves are basically vibrations propagating through a medium like air, their detection is the sense of hearing. It is a mechanical sense as these vibrations are mechanically conducted from the eardrum through tiny bones to hair-like fibres in the inner ear, which detect their mechanical motion within 20 -20,000 hertz.

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V O C A B U L A R Y

1. Archaic: adjective: very old or old-fashioned. Derivation: Archaeology Popular synonyms: outdated, ancient Examples: A. Many societies still practice customs, which would appear archaic to a modern mind. B. We need to get rid of such archaic, British-era laws with no relevance to modern-day society.

2. Callous: adjective: insensitive, having no concern for others Popular synonyms: heartless, uncaring, insensitive, unconcerned Examples: A. The husband’s callous attitude towards his wife created several marital problems. B. Not helping an accident victim on the road shows our callous regard for human life.

3. Magnificent: adjective: Very beautiful or impressive Popular synonyms: splendid, impressive, fine, great Examples: A. The Swami Narayan temple looks magnificent to a visitor from a distance. B. The magnificent show put up by the dancers greatly impressed the audience.

4. Quizzical: adjective: asking questions, looking odd Popular synonyms: perplexed, confused Examples: A. She gave a quizzical look when the professor asked her a tough question. B. Unable to make anything out of the complex equation, Mary looked at her friend quizically.

5. Responsive: adjective: receptive, able to respond Popular synonym: sensitive Examples: A. In today’s competitive atmosphere, every company must be responsive to its customers’ complaints. B. Before the patient lost his senses, he had been quite receptive to the doctor’s commands.

6. Sagacious: adjective: one having good judgment, wise, judicious Popular synonym: Balanced Examples: A. The sagacious advice given by the village elders failed to have any effect on the warring parties. B. We need to listen to the sagacious words of our professors to move ahead in life.

7. Laconic: adjective: Brief and meaningful, pithy, terse Popular synonyms: succinct, brief Examples: A. The sage spoke very little but his laconic reply contained words of great wisdom. B. Patience Pays is an old, laconic saying which nicely sums up the philosophy of life.

8. Apt: adjective: suitable, relevant, proper Popular synonyms: befitting, pertinent Examples: A. The movie Bhaago Bhoot Aaya was so aptly titled as it was all about ghosts. B. Such external attacks on our country deserve an apt response.

9. Megalomania: adjective: Delusions of greatness, money or importance Popular synonyms: obsession Examples: A. Spending thousands of crores on erecting a memorial to herself was nothing but megalomania on Mayawati’s part. B. Hitler was a known megalomaniac as he considered his own race Nazis to be superior to all others.

10. Arrogant: adjective: full of pride or self-glory, one who considers himself superior Popular synonyms: haughty, vain, supercilious Examples: A. Wearing an arrogant smile on her face, she behaved as if she were a queen. B. You need to be humble to win people’s support; such arrogant ways will not help you.

11. Valour: adjective: bravery, courage Popular synonyms: gallantry, intrepidness Examples: A. The Rani of Jhansi displayed extreme valour while fighting with the British. B. His extreme valour in the face of so many odds is really commendable.

12. Bovine: adjective: related to cows, dull, having no intelligence Popular synonyms: stupid, inane, imbecile Examples: A. People with such bovine intelligence are hardly suitable for these difficult jobs involving intellectual labour. B. Eating fodder and then chewing it for long is a typical bovine habit.

13. Ostracism: noun: boycott, throw out of community Popular synonyms: Excommunication, Rustication Examples: A. In villages, the fear of ostracism forces many people to fall in line with the majority. B. South Africa faced ostracism from the global community due to its policy of racial discrimination till the early 1990s.

14. Florid: adjective: showy, flowery Popular synonyms: decorated, ornate Examples: A. Reading Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s florid poetry, full of similes and metaphors, is a beautiful experience. B. In your exam papers, keep the answers simple as such a situation does not demand a florid style.

15. Arid: adjective: dry, desert-like, devoid of moisture Popular synonym: parched, barren Examples: A. An arid landscape, like Rajasthan’s, can support only limited types of vegetation. B. The arid piece of land could be cultivated only with great effort.


Profit And Pleasure ON ORGANIZATIONS Profit and Pleasure not only tickles your nerve cells but also makes you learn interesting facts

about the world. This time around, we are focusing on some organizations and what they do. Here we go! 1. This organization, based in Geneva, works to

create a level-playing field for all member countries in terms of international commerce. Its precursor GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) had been governing international business until this new organization was formed in 1995 after hectic negotiations and many roadblocks. Which organization are we talking about?

2. This Paris-based international organization

helps track criminals wanted the world over upon a request by the police forces of different countries. Can you recognize this important law-enforcement agency?

3. Human rights violations anywhere in the world

always invite its attention. In particular, it works for the cause of illegal detainees across the world. In recognition of its good work, it received the Nobel Peace Prize too. Which organization has been referred to in the preceding lines?

4. The Brettenwood Twins were formed in the

1940s in the backdrop of the Second World War to help war-damaged economies rebuild themselves. The two institutions have played an important role in shaping the present-day world economy. Which two sister organizations are we talking about?

5. India has been an observer member of this

powerful regional grouping for long. But in all probability, India will never become a full-fledged member of this regional bloc. Can you identify this one?

6. This grouping represents the most highly

advanced economies in the world. These economies are among the most prosperous and the richest in the world. Here’s a hint for you: India is not a part of this grouping. Which grouping are we talking of?

7. This grouping of 28 countries shares a common currency. The economically integrated union was created after the Masstricht Treaty. Most likely, the grouping in question is called …….

8. These countries (numbering five) are among

the fastest growing, emerging economies worldwide. The focus of the next wave of global economic growth, they also have large domestic populations, which drive their consumption significantly. Which grouping do the preceding lines talk of?

9. This body has been plagued by rumours of

corruption and other wrongdoings in the past 4-5 years. It is the richest and the most powerful sporting body in the world and oversees a highly popular game played in most of Europe and America. Which sporting body has been referred to here?

10. This closed group of oil-producing nations can

hold the entire world to ransom as it has almost total power to dictate crude oil prices globally. Based in Vienna, it has the sole power to decide crude oil prices at the global level, depending on demand and supply variables. Can you identify this one?

ANSWER KEY

1. World Trade Organization

2. Interpol

3. Amnesty International

4. International Monetary Fund, World Bank

5. ASEAN (Association of South East Asian

Nations)

6. G-7

7. European Union

8. BRICS (Brazil, Russia,

India, China, South

Africa)

9. FIFA

10. OPEC (Oil and

Petroleum Exporting Countries)


GYANM QUIZ - 04 How much do you know about the world around you? Take the quiz below to find out for yourself and WIN some exciting prizes as rewards. 1. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” Who wrote

this famous quote? A. Robert Frost B. John Keats C. Goethe D. William Shakespeare

2. Vinegar commonly used at home is chemically called A. Glacial Acetic Acid B. Glutamic Acid C. Dilute Hydrochloric Acid D. Benzoic Acid

3. The La Nino effect is related to A. Global warming B. Ozone depletion C. Artificial rains D. Weather fluctuations

4. How many times can one become the President of the USA? A. There is no bar on the number of times a person can become the President B. Once only C. Twice only D. Thrice Only

5. The maximum number of foreign tourists go to A. Singapore B. Switzerland C. Maldives D. Spain

6. The ink on a blotting paper spread due to A. Fluid properties B. Elasticity C. Gravity D. Capillary action

7. Aang San Su Kyi is leading a pro-democracy movement in A. Singapore B. Myanmar C. Egypt D. Thailand

8. The population census in India is conducted after A. 2 years B. 10 years C. 5 years D. 1 year

9. India’s central bank is called A. Finance Ministry B. Reserve Bank of India C. Central Bank of India D. State Bank of India

10. The largest religious minority in India consists of the A. Muslims B. Sikhs C. Christians D. Jains

Heartiest congratulations to the winners of Gyanm Quiz-03! 1. Lalit Singla, Bhopal 2. Ramanpreet Kaur, Amritsar

The winners are being informed by post. Name: ______________________________________ Address: ____________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ PIN: _____________________ Mobile: ___________________________________ _ My answers to Gyanm Quiz - 01 are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Signature _______________

TERMS AND CONDITIONS 1. Please send your responses to the quiz, along with

your COMPLETE ADDRESS and PIN CODE, by 25th August, 2015. The responses can be sent By e-mail to [email protected] OR On Whatsapp mobile number 09646888377 OR By post to Gyanm College of Competitions, SCO 13-15, 2nd Floor, Above Domino’s, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh-160034

2. ONLY the residents of India are eligible to participate.

3. In case of multiple correct entries, a draw will be held to decide the winner/s.

3. The Prize/s CANNOT be exchanged for cash. 4. The decision of the jury shall be FINAL and

BINDING on all the participants. 5. The winners’ names shall be announced in the

October, 2015 issue.

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Latest MCQs ON CURRENT AFFAIRS

JULY GK TEST – 01 1. Which of the following is/ are NOT true of the

“Housing For All” mission announced by the government? 1. The scheme provides for constructing 2 crore houses for the poor and low income groups in 4000 plus towns. 2. The income limit for the Low Income Group has been fixed at Rs. 6 lakh per annum. 3. The government will provide an interest rate subvention of 6.5% on home loans under this scheme. A. 1 Only B. 2 Only C. 1, 3 D. 2, 3 E. All the statements are correct

2. Which Indian Olympian has decided to quit amateur sports and turn professional by signing up with an England-based company? A. Saina Nehwal B. Yogeshwar Dutt C. Vijender Singh D. Abhinav Bindra E. Sushil Kumar

3. The first-ever district in India to become open defecation-free as per the UN is A. Cuddalore B. Kozhikode C. Puducherry D. Palampur E. Nadia

4. Which recent technological developments, as described below, are TRUE? 1. Facebook Lite is a simpler version of Facebook, which is optimized for slow Internet connections for Android phones in India. 2. Gmail has introduced an Undo e-mail option to let the sender recall a wrongly sent e-mail within 20 seconds of sending it. 3. YouTube has started its offline services in India to enable the users to access its content offline. A. Only 2 B. 1, 2 C. Only 3 D. 1, 3 E. All these statements are correct

5. The Moorti Devi Award for 2014 was presented to A. Vishwanath Tripathi B. Girija Kumar Mathur C. Ashok Chakradhar

D. Vishwanath Tiwari E. Ashok Vajpayee

6. Which of the following is/ are TRUE of Greece, which currently faces a grave economic crisis? 1. It is the first-ever country to be declared a defaulter in the 21st century and also stands to lose its membership of the European Union. 2. The economic crisis was triggered by its failure to service its loan obligations towards the International Monetary Fund. 3. Greece is required to reduce pension benefits and follow severe austerity measures if it seeks bail out of the crisis. A. 2 Only B. 1 Only C. 3 Only D. 1, 2 E. 1, 2, 3

7. Dallas Mavericks, a basketball team in the USA, was in news recently due to which of the following? A. Dallas Mavericks has picked Satnam Singh, an Indian, for the NBA, for the first-time in the history of the USA B. Dallas Mavericks has been declared the best team for a record 40th time. C. The team has been bought for a record price by a multi-billionaire. D. The legendary team has been disbanded due to disciplinary issues. E. None of these

8. “Prem Gilahri Dil Akhrot” is a new A. Play based on the life of Amrita Pritam

B. An art movie C. Book which has won the Jnanpeeth Navlekhan Puraskar D. Book which has won the Sahitya Academy Award E. None of these

9. The Indian cricket squad, for its Zimbabwe tour, is led by A. Suresh Raina B. Ajinkya Rihane C. Gautam Gambhir D. Ajit Chandila E. Virat Kohli

10. The Rainbow symbolizes which of the following movements? A. Cancer prevention B. Industrial development


C. Environmental protection D. Persons with disabilities E. LGBT Community

11. The Digital India campaign aims to do which of the following? A. Ensure universal access to the Internet by laying a countrywide network of Optical Fibre Cables. B. Expand access to the Internet, enhance the user experience, make available more and more online services involving a private sector investment of Rs. 4,50,000 crores in doing this. C. Make available a smartphone with Internet available to every Below the Poverty Line (BPL) family. D. Provide free tablets with e-content to all school children throughout India. E. Encourage the local manufacture of computers and related peripherals.

12. Find the wrongly matched pair. A. Figo: Ford Motors B. Ciaz: Suzuki Motors Ltd C. i10 Grand: Mahindra D. Cheverelot: General Motors E. All these pairs are correct

13. A new record for the fastest train speed of 605 km/ hour has been created by a A. Metro train in the UK B. Shinkansen train in Japan C. French Bullet train D. A train in Russia E. Chinese Bullet train

14. The acronym UAN is related to A. Children’s rights B. Banking C. Global peace D. Income Tax E. Provident Fund

15. PayZap is a new A. mobile application for payments launched by HDFC Bank B. mobile application for payments launched by ICICI Bank C. banking software used for handling payments

D. way to ensure faster money transfer E. none of these

16. A live direct view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated 3D models, animations, videos etc. is known as A. Augmented Reality B. Virtual Reality C. Additive Manufacturing D. Artificial Intelligence E. Embedded Computing

17. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is associated with which of the following? A. Yogakshema B. Art of Living C. Sadguru Foundation D. Isha Foundation E. Patanjli Yogapeeth

18. Jawala Gutta is related to which of the following sports? A. Weightlifting B. Swimming C. Athletics D. Chess E. Badminton

19. Pick out the wrong pair. A. Chanda Kochhar: ICICI Bank B. Arundhati Bhattcharya: State Bank of India C. Shikha Sharma: Axis Bank D. Kiran Majumdar: Kotak Mahindra Bank E. Indira Nooyi: PepsiCo

20. Rajat Gupta, who dominated the news headlines recently, is involved in a/an A. Stamp paper scam B. Land grab scam C. Chit fund scam D. Insider trading case E. None of these

21. As per the World Bank data, the Indian economy touched the ….. mark in the year 2014. A. $ 1 Trillion B. $ 4 Trillion C. $ 20 Trillion D. $ 3 Trillion E. $ 2 Trillion

22. Prime Minister Modi’s speech at the launch of Digital India campaign referred to a bloodless war, a term which most likely implies A. Data theft B. Social networking C. People spending more time online D. Drone attacks E. Cyber-security risks

23. Which of the following is NOT a term related to banking? A. Foreclosure B. Teaser rate C. Sinking Fund D. Charge card E. Amortization schedule

24. The term GPS means A. General Position Strategy B. Global Positioning System C. General Positioning System D. Global Positioning Software E. Germinal Positioning System

25. Which city in Pakistan was in news recently for hundreds of deaths due to the prevailing heat wave there? A. Karachi B. Peshawar C. Islamabad D. Multan E. Lahore

26. Which of the following is/are true of the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data released by the government recently? 1. The country has a total of 24.39 crore households, putting 73% of them in rural areas. 2. Of the total 17.9 crore rural households in India, 2.37 crore or 13% still live in houses with only one room, kuccha walls and kuccha roof. 3. Manual labour is the main source of income in rural areas for 51% households, followed by cultivation, which provides employment to 30%.


A. 1 Only B. 1, 2 C. 2, 3 D. 1, 3 E. 1, 2, 3

27. All of these are true of the latest World Bank data regarding the Indian economy EXCEPT A. India’s GDP reached the $2.06 trillion mark in 2014. B. After taking 60 years to reach the $1-trillion mark, India added the next trillion in just 3 years. C. India’s gross national income per person rose to $1,610 (around Rs. 1 lakh) a year during 2014. D. India’s growth rate, at 7.4 per cent in 2014, makes it the fastest growing major economy. E. All these data are correct

28. The acronym SCO, which dominated the newspaper headlines recently, implies A. Supreme Cooperation Organization B. Super 7 Cooperation Organization C. Shanghai Cooperation Organization D. Singapore Cooperation Organization E. SAARC Countries Cooperation Organization

29. The prestigious World Food Prize for 2015 has gone to A. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh B. Dr. Sanjay Rajaraman of India C. Dr. Norman Borlogue of USA D. Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush of India E. None of these

30. The Indian state which accounts for 50% of the entire automobile production, is A. Andhra Pradesh B. Haryana C. Tamil Nadu D. Maharashtra E. Gujarat

31. The abbreviation MUDRA refers to A. Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency B. Micro Units Development and Research Agency C. Measurement of Urban Development and Refinance Agency D. Major Urban Development and Rehabilitation Areas E. Mini Urban Development and Rehabilitation Areas

32. Which of the following states has been declared a disturbed area by the Home Ministry under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act? A. Punjab B. Kashmir C. Nagaland D. Manipur E. Assam

33. The city of Ufa, which was the venue of the BRICS conference recently, is situated in A. Russia B. Tazakhistan C. Brazil D. Armenia E. South Africa

34. The BRICS FX Pool started recently refers to A. A $100 billion foreign-exchange reserve pool of the BRICS grouping to help each other in case of any dollar liquidity problem. B. A Formula One Racing team of the BRICS nations C. A fixed capital BRICS bank started on the lines of the IMF D. A foreign-exchange reserve pool of the BRICS grouping to help least developed countries. E. None of these

35. The Supreme Court-appointed Justice R M Lodha Committee to probe the IPL spot fixing and betting scandal has ordered 1. The suspension of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals teams from IPL for two years each. 2. The suspension of CSK principal Gurunath Meiyappan and Royals co-owner Raj Kundra for life from any cricket activity undertaken by the BCCI as they were found guilty of betting. 3. That the players in these teams were free to pursue the game as part of any other team. Select the set of correct statements: A. 1 Only B. 1, 2, 3 C. 2, 3 D. 2 Only E. 1, 2

36. Pick out the wrong pair. A. MS Vishwanathan: Music B. Omar Sharif: Politics C. Bill Corsby: Comedy D. YK Sabharwal: Judiciary E. Dr. Sardar Anjum: Poetry

37. New Horizons refers to which of the following? A. A new social security scheme launched by the Obama administration B. A new welfare scheme for the elderly launched b the Government of India C. ISRO blueprint for sending spacecraft to many more planets in near future. D. NASA spacecraft, which sent some pictures of the Pluto, depicting its internal structure E. A Finance Ministry report on the expansion of the banking sector in India

38. Which organization has been caught in a protracted controversy over the appointment of its Chairman? A. Prasar Bharti B. Film and Television Institute of India C. National School of Drama D. National Council of Educational Research & Training E. Indian Council of Historical Research

39. Alexis Tsipras heads the government in which of the following European nations? A. France B. Finland C. Holland D. Germany


E. Greece 40. Which of the following in France has been

made a part of the UNESCO World Heritage List? A. Champagne Vineyards B. The Louvre C. The Eiffel Tower D. High Fashion Street E. The Elysium

41. Which of the following is the latest to join the list of nationalized/ statutory banks in India? A. Panjab National Bank B. State Bank of India C. Oriental Bank of Commerce D. Bhartiya Mahila Bank E. None of these

42. Which of these is NOT a refinance agency? A. RRBs B. MUDRA C. SIDBI D. NABARD E. NHB

43. ……………. became the first-ever Indian player to win a top rank in any Grand Slam in tennis. A. Sania Mirza B. Deepika Pallikal C. Jwala Gutta D. Ashwini Mehta

E. Saina Nehwal 44. Which Indian city has been chosen as the City

of Music by UNESCO? A. Bengaluru B. Jaipur C. Varanasi D. Chennai E. Ooty

45. …………is hosting the Simhast Kumbh Mela, which began in July. A. Allahabad B. Haridwar C. Varanasi D. Ujjain E. Nasik

46. The Skill India mission aims to A. Provide skill development training to 10 crore youth in the next five years under the National Skill Development Mission. B. A skill loan initiative will give loans from Rs 5000 to Rs 1.5 lakh more than 34 lakh youth. C. Focus on rural areas only, thereby providing the rural youth an edge in employment. D. Both A and B E. A, B and C

47. Which Indian artist has been conferred with the highest French civilian honour, the Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur (the Legion of Honour) for his achievements?

A. Sayed Haider Raza B. Muzaffar Ali C. Syed Naqvi D. Satish Gujaral

E. Nasiruddin Shah 48. A landmark nuclear agreement on monitoring

the Iranian nuclear sites was signed in ………… between Iran and the USA. A. Geneva B. Teheran C. Washington D. Vienna E. New York

49. The Delphi Games are being hosted by India for the first time in ……… in 2016. A. Punjab B. Kerala

C. Tamil Nadu D. Karnataka E. Goa

50. Sepp Blatter, who was in news recently, belongs to which of the following sports bodies? A. IAA B. BCCI C. FIFA D. ICC E. IOC

JULY GK TEST – 2 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi DID NOT visit

which of these countries as part of his Central Asian tour? A. Uzbekistan B. Kazakhstan C. Turkmenistan D. Kyrgyzstan

E. He visited all these countries 2. Which global gaint has been trying to produce

a driverless car for many years now? A. General Motors B. Rolls Royce C. Porsche D. Google E. Mercedez Benz

3. The project HRIDAY deals with A. Heritage conservation B. Maintaining communal harmony C. Skill enhancement D. Slum children E. Prevention of heart diseases

4. Which of the following names is NOT associated with the IPL betting and match-fixing case? A. Lalit Modi B. Justice RM Lodha C. Mudgal Committee D. Ajit Chandela E. S Srisanth

5. Pick the odd one out among the following. A. ASEAN B. EU C. NAFTA D. APEC E. OPEC

6. Milind Soman of India won the Triathlon competition and the Ironman title in Zurich recently. The Triathlon competition comprises which of these events? 1. Marathon (42 km) 2. Cycling 3. Swimming 4. Long Jump A. 1, 3, 4 B. 2, 3, 4

C. 1, 2, 3 D. 1, 2, 4 E. None of these is correct

7. A curative petition can be filed in the Supreme Court A. In corruption cases B. In cases involving issues of constitutional interpretation C. To seek a review of the Court orders after all legal and other options have been exhausted D. To seek the quashing of an unconstitutional decision of the government


E. To secure the release of an illegally detained person

8. There were widespread celebrations across America last month after a historic Supreme Court verdict, which A. Made free all government healthcare facilities across the USA B. Legalized euthanasia in all American states C. Permitted the immigrants to contest US Presidential elections D. Raised the minimum hourly wages for all categories of workers E. Legalized gay marriages in all American states

9. A cryogenic engine is a critical part of a/an A. Spacecraft B. Aircraft C. Sub-marine D. Four-wheeler E. Missile

10. The ………………….. sponsored by the BRICS nations recently opened in ………………… A. New Development Bank, Johanasberg B. New International Bank, New Delhi C. New Development Bank, Beijing D. International Development Fund, Shanghai E. New Development Bank, Shanghai

11. Omar Sharif, the legendary Hollywood actor, who died recently, was most well-known for his role in the movie A. Once Flew Over the Cuckoo B. Lawrence of Arabia C. Citizen Kane D. Pretty Woman E. Heat and Dust

12. Paul Van Ass, who was in news recently for being dismissed, was the A. Indian Athletics coach B. Indian hockey coach C. Advisor, BCCI D. Indian cricket coach

E. None of these 13. The Prem Bhatia Awards are given for

excellence in the field of A. Sports B. Literature C. Sanitation D. Journalism E. Science

14. All of the following statements given here are true of E-Kissan EXCEPT 1. E-Kissan is an online portal launched by ITC. 2. E-Kissan allows the farmers to display their farm produce online for wholesalers to bid remotely before it is harvested and sent. 3. The farmer need not bring produce to the mandi, will get a remunerative price and the buyer also will not have to pay any mandi tax. A. 1, 2 B. 3 only C. 2, 3 D. 2 Only E. 1 Only

15. As per the World Economic Forum data, the topmost two employers in the world are

A. US Department of Defence, China’s People’s Liberation Army B. Indian Railways, Indian Army C. Walmart, Indian Railways D. US Department of Defence, Indian Army E. China’s People’s Liberation Army, Indian Army

16. Recently, …………… became the first Indian female cricket player and the second one globally to score 5000 runs in ODIs. A. Vanya Mishra B. Sandhya Sharma C. Patralekha Banerjee D. Tanya Sachdev

E. Mithali Raj 17. EIA is an acronym, which has frequently

appeared in newspapers of late. It stands for A. Evaluation and Internal Assessment B. Environmental Impact Assessment C. Educational Impact of Advertizing D. Education Impact Assessment

E. Economic Impact Assessment 18. Match the following.

Minister Portfolio 1. Uma Bharati P. Railways 2. Sushma Swaraj Q. Environment and Forests 3. Manohar Parrikar R. External Affairs 4. Prakash Javdekar S. Defence 5. Sadanand Gowda T. Ganga Cleaning

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A. T R S Q P B. T R P Q S C. Q R S T P D. R T Q S P E. Q T Q P S

19. Arvind Panigrahi has been appointed the Deputy Chairman of A. Reserve Bank of India B. PM’s Economic Advisory Council C. National Innovation Council D. NITI Aayog E. National Advisory Council

20. Which team won the FIFA Women’s World Cup held at Vancouver, Canada? A. USA B. CANADA C. Japan D. Spain

E. UK 21. Which of the following Indian movies won

honours at the Cannes International Film Festival? A. Pagdi –The Honour B. Masaan C. Naabar D. Kaun Kitne Paani Mein E. Dheepan

22. The ……… had been demanding job reservations, a demand which was rejected by the Supreme Court. A. Jats B. Gujjars C. Ex-servicemen D. Meenas E. Nambiars


23. Mosquirix is a new A. International conference on malaria sponsored by the WHO B. Malaria vaccine approved by the European Medicine Agency, the first of its kind, developed by Glaxo Smithkline C. Mosquito-killer, a vaporous chemical developed by the Melinda Gates Foundation to fight malaria in rural areas. D. Malaria vaccine developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research E. None of these

24. Which Japanese company’s senior management resigned recently after making a public admission of its manipulating the accounts books to show inflated profits? A. Mistubishi B. Sony C. Aiwa D. Toshiba E. Olympus

25. RK Pachauri, who was in news recently on account of allegations of sexual harassment, was the chief of A. AIIMS B. TIFR C. TISS D. IISc E. TERI

26. WADA is an international organization engaged in A. Checking the instances of doping in sports tournaments B. Weather prediction and climate change C. Nuclear disarmament D. Drug de-addiction E. Organizing the world cup soccer tournament

27. The Securities Exchange Board of India has cancelled the license of which of the following mutual funds, saying that it is not fit and proper to carry out the business? A. Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund B. Canara Robeco Mutual Fund C. Sahara Mutual Fund D. Quantum Mutual Fund E. ING Vysya Mutual Fund

28. The Competition Commission of India has slapped a Rs. 420 Crore penalty on which Indian auto-maker for violating the norms of fair competition? A. Honda Motors B. Hyundai India C. Force Motors D. Maruti Suzuki E. Mahindra & Mahindra

29. What does the letter C in the acronym ECB stand for? A. Credit B. Company C. Credit D. Cumulative E. Commercial

30. India’s Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), in collaboration with Israel’s Aerospace Industries, is developing a

long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) called A. Barak-8 B. Karan-1 C.TOMA-1 D. Pushpak -8 E. None of these

31. Which corporate tops the Fortune 500 list of the world’s biggest companies? A. Apple B. Shell Oil C. General Motors D. Google

E. Walmart 32. 10-year-old Shubham Jaglan was in news as

he became a young star in the game of …… by winning the junior championships. A. Tennis B. Athletics C. Golf D. Chess

E. Badminton 33. Pick the right pairing.

A. Sebastian Vettel: Formula 1 Racing B. Michael Phelps: Athletics C. Nick Wallenda: Golf D. MC Mary Kom: Weightlifting E. All these pairs are wrong

34. All of the following are books/ documents authored by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, EXCEPT A. Ignited Minds B. Wings of Fire C. Turning Points of My Life D. Vision India 2020 E. The Indian Missile Odyssey

35. Match the following. 1. Roelant Oltmans P. President, International Cricket

Council 2. RS Sharma Q. Chairman, Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India 3. Sepp Blatter R. Chairman, Federal Bank 4. Ben Bernanake S. Coach, Indian Hockey Team 5. N Srinivasan T. President, FIFA

P Q R S T A. 1 2 4 1 5 B. 5 2 1 4 3 C. 5 2 4 1 3 D. 5 2 3 1 4 E. None of these is a correct combination

36. The President nominates …… member/s from ……. to the Lok Sabha under article 331 of the Constitution. A. 12, different spheres of activity B. 1, the Anglo-Indian community C. 12, literary and sports community D. 2, the Anglo-Indian community E. 1 any community


37. Helena Ndume of Namibia and Jorge Sampaio of Portugal received the …… for their extraordinary services to humanity. A. Order of the Rising Sun of Japan B. American President’s Medal of Freedom C. Nelson Mandela Prize D. Stockholm Peace Prize E. Gandhi Peace Prize

38. Identify the only name which does NOT represent a missile developed as part of India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Project. A. Agni B. Akash C. Lakshya D. Prithvi E. Nag

39. Recently, some Pakistani terrorists struck

which city/ town in India and attacked a police station, killing ten people? A. Gurdaspur B. Pahalgam C. Amritsar D. Sopore E. Jaisalmer

40. The World Trade Organization reached an agreement in July to A. Create a grievance redressal forum for its members B. Reduce the import tariffs on and the prices of IT products C. Implement tougher child labour norms D. Do away with all farm subsidies E. Increase the customs duties levied by all member countries

41. Tom Moore, who passed away in the USA recently, was the creator of A. Mickey Mouse B. Archie comics C. Disneyland D. Dilbert cartoons E. Superman

42. Which newly discovered planet by NASA has been called 'the closest twin to Earth'? A. Vishy-143 B. Galileo-462b C. Cygnus D. Kepler-452b E. Pulkin -432

43. ……….It has plagued the developing countries for centuries now. Initially, it was believed to be caused by bad air but later, scientific work showed that it was caused by an infection. The development of a suitable vaccine has evaded scientists for many decades but now, a promising line of research is yielding positive

results and a successful vaccine is on the cards…… The passage above most likely refers to A. Kala azar B. Plague C. Sleeping sickness D. Filaria E. Malaria

44. Tour de France is a popular championship in A. Car racing B. Cycling C. Bike racing D. Bungee Jumping E. Tennis

45. Creta is the brand name of a new car launched recently by A. Hyundai B. General Motors C. Ford India D. Toyota Motors E. Suzuki Motors

46. In which of the following cases can a bank offer loans at a rate less than its Base Rate? A. Staff loans B. Loans under the differential rate of interest scheme C. Loans against inter-bank deposits D. A and B E. A, B and C

47. Peter Higgs, who received the Copley Medal for scientific contributions, is the man who had A. Led the Human Genome Project B. Led the team that discovered God Particle C. Predicted the existence of God Particle D. Propounded the Big Bang theory E. Received the Nobel Prize in 2014

48. The government has decided to allow the Employees Provident Fund Organization to invest a part of its corpus in A. Government securities B. Shares C. Treasury Bills D. Corporate bonds E. Foreign countries

49. The proposed Good and Services Tax Bill will compensate the States for loss of tax revenue to the tune of …… in the first 5 years. A. 100% B. 50 % C. 80% D. 75%

E. Zero 50. Buffer stocks of important farm commodities

are maintained by the government for A. Release during times of shortage so as to check prices B. Exports C. Safe custody of agricultural output D. Mid Day Meal Scheme E. Public Distribution System


ANSWER KEY – 1

Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 1 E 2 C 3 E 4 E 5 A 6 E 7 A 8 C 9 B 10 E

11 B 12 C 13 B 14 E 15 A 16 A 17 B 18 E 19 D 20 D 21 E 22 E 23 C 24 B 25 A 26 E 27 B 28 C 29 A 30 B 31 A 32 C 33 A 34 A 35 B 36 B 37 D 38 B 39 E 40 A 41 D 42 A 43 A 44 C 45 E 46 D 47 A 48 D 49 E 50 C

ANSWER KEY – 2

Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 1 E 2 D 3 A 4 A 5 E 6 C 7 C 8 E 9 A 10 E

11 B 12 B 13 D 14 E 15 A 16 E 17 B 18 A 19 D 20 A 21 B 22 A 23 B 24 D 25 E 26 A 27 C 28 B 29 E 30 A 31 E 32 C 33 A 34 E 35 C 36 D 37 C 38 C 39 A 40 B 41 B 42 D 43 E 44 B 45 A 46 D 47 C 48 B 49 A 50 A

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Financial Glossary …… continued from previous issue DI&CGC – Deposit Insurance & Credit Guarantee Corp. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBI which provides an insurance cover of Rs. 1 lac per depositor per bank, in case of bank failure. It also provides a guarantee to banks in case of default in the repayment of small loans given by them. ECGC – Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India ECGC is a government body which provides export credit insurance facilities to the exporters and banks in India. It encourages Indian exporters by giving them credit insurance covers. Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology Established by the RBI, IDRBT provides operational service support in Information Technology to Banks and Financial Institutions. Head Office: Hyderabad STATE BANK OF INDIA Chairman: Arundhati Bhattacharya HQ: Mumbai In January, 1921 the Imperial Bank of India was

formed by amalgamation of 3 presidency banks – Bank of Bengal, Bank of Madras and Bank of Bombay.

The Imperial Bank of India was nationalised by the Govt of India under the State Bank of India Act, 1955 and renamed as the State Bank of India.

It is the largest public sector commercial bank in India.

The SBI has 5 subsidiary banks also under its control – State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore. The two subsidiaries viz. State Bank of Saurashtra and State Bank of Indore have been merged with it. There are plans to merge other subsidiaries also in near future.

NBFC (Non Banking Financial Company) These are companies registered under The Companies Act having functions similar to banking like accepting deposits and making loans. However, they do not have a licence for banking, although they are regulated by the RBI.

CAPITAL MARKET SECURITIES & EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA Chairman: U K Sinha HQ: Mumbai Formed in 1992 under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to protect the interests of investors in capital markets and to act as a promoter and regulator of the capital markets. It is the regulatory authority of stock exchanges,

mutual funds and for public issues for new shares, debentures and other securities.

Stock exchanges also known as Market Infrastructure Institutions are Private Corporate Bodies offering an organized market for buying and selling shares and other securities through authorised brokers.

THE BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE The Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in Asia established in 1875. BSE has two of world's best exchanges, Deutsche Börse (Germany) and Singapore Exchange, as its strategic partners. The BSE Index, BSE SENSEX 30, comprising 30 top traded scrips, is India's first stock market index that enjoys an iconic stature, and is tracked worldwide. THE NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE The largest stock exchange of India in terms of volume was incorporated in 1992. Its sensitive index is called NIFTY comprising 50 top traded scrips. OTCEI (OVER THE COUNTER EXCHANGE OF INDIA) A special stock exchange started in 1990 for listing of small companies, with paid up capital of less than Rs.3cr. FORWARD MARKET COMMISSION (merged with SEBI) It is a regulatory authority for commodity futures market in India, under Ministry of Finance, set up under Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952. In Budget 2015-16, Finance Minister announced to merge FMC with SEBI. Chairman: Ramesh Abhishek HQ: Mumbai

MCX-SX: Multi Commodity Exchange Stock Exchange.


INSURANCE

INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (IRDA)

Chairman: T. S. Vijayan HQ: Hyderabad Formed under Sec.4 of the IRDA Act, 1999, it is the apex body to protect the interests of the policyholders, to regulate, promote and ensure an orderly growth of the insurance industry in India. Insurance is of two types – life and non life (general) and one insurance company can undertake only one type of insurance, either life or general. LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION (LIC) Established: 1956 under the LIC Act 1956 Chairman: S. K. Roy HQ: Mumbai

It is the largest insurance company in India, which controls around 2/3rd of the total life insurance business.

GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY - GIC Re As the sole re-insurer in the domestic reinsurance market since Nov 2000, GIC Re provides reinsurance to the general insurance companies in the Indian market. It is fully owned by the government. Chairman: Ashok K Roy H Q: Mumbai GENERAL INSURANCE In India, four companies in the public sector and several others in the private sector are authorized to undertake general insurance activities which cover ---- vehicle insurance, house insurance, insurance against fire & theft and marine insurance. The four public sector companies are The Oriental Ins. Co., National Ins. Co., United India Ins. Co. and New India Assurance Co.

PENSION

PENSION FUND REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY – PFRDA Chairman: Shri Hemant G Contractor HQ: New Delhi Formed in 2003, it is the latest financial regulator in the country devoted to the development and regulation of pension schemes in India. It has been converted into a statutory body in October 2013 with the passage of the Pension Funds Regulatory and Development Authority Act. 2013. It administers the National Pension System (NPS) ATAL PENSION YOJANA This scheme will be launched from 1st June, 2015 and will be administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The scheme will focus on the unorganised sector workers and will replace the previous Swavalamban - NPS Lite scheme.

Eligibility: The scheme is open to all bank account holders between 18 years and 40 years, who are not members of any statutory social security scheme.

Benefit: Pension ranging between Rs.1000 - Rs. 5000 is payable after the age of 60.

Govt Funding: The government would co-contribute 50% of the subscriber’s contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever is lower, for a period of 5 years from 2015-16 to 2019-20, to those who join the scheme before 31st Dec, 2015 and are not tax payers. PRAN: Permanent Retirement Account Number (given to NPS subscribers)

SOME OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

FINANCIAL STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL A new super regulatory body formed in 2010 to co-ordinate, oversee and synergize the functions of the four major financial regulators in India i.e. RBI, SEBI, IRDA and PFRDA. It is headed by the Finance Minister. All four regulators are its members and the government is represented by the Finance Secretary. CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd.) Promoted by a group of banks in India, it is a kind of common database company which maintains the details of all credit obtained by commercial and consumer borrowers. By accessing this database, a bank can immediately know about the credit history of a prospective borrower and decide on giving a particular loan. The CIBIL also generates a ‘credit score’ for prospective borrowers.

WHAT IS A CREDIT INFORMATION REPORT? A Credit Information Report (CIR) is a factual record of a borrower's credit payment history compiled from the information received from different credit grantors. It is to help the credit grantors make informed lending decisions - quickly and objectively.

CRISIL (Credit Rating & Information Services of India Ltd.) In contrast to CIBIL, CRISIL is a credit rating agency. It has been promoted by a number of banks. Its job is to evaluate the strength of various corporate loan products like debentures, bonds, fix deposits etc. and assign them a rating like A, AA, AAA, B, B+, BB etc. on the basis of the company’s ability to repay the principal and interest in time. Some other credit rating agencies in India are ICRA and CARE. WHAT IS CREDIT RATING? Credit rating is an assessment of the probability of default on payment of interest and principal on a debt instrument. In simple words, it ranks the company or country’s ability to meet their debt obligations.

…………To Be Continued SOURCE: FINANCIAL GLOSSARY,

A GYANM PUBLICATION


Latest G.K. Bytes

JULY – 2015 1) One extra second was added this year on June 30th

due to slowing of earth’s rotation. This extra second is given what name: Leap second

2) The "Abar Souchagar" (toilet for all) project in Nadia district, has won the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award for making Nadia first ‘Open Defecation Free’ district in the country. It is in which State: West Bengal

3) Which European country is facing acute financial crisis, attracting the attention of the world: Greece

4) The financial crisis in Greece has been given the name, ‘Grexit’. What does it mean: Exit of Greece from the Euro Zone

5) Jwala Gutta and Ashwni Ponappa won the women's doubles title at an international championship of which sports: Badminton

6) The Wimbledon Tennis Championships, famous for its grass courts, began in which city on June 28: London

7) Canada open badminton tournament was held at which city of Canada: Calgary

8) With a view to end undue advantage to batsmen, the ICC has decided to scrap which feature in the ODIs: Batting power plays

9) Name the player who captained the Indian Cricket Team for its Zimbabwe tour: Ajinkya Rahane

10) The Moorti Devi Award is given for excellence in which field: for books on Indian philosophy and literature

11) Name the book that has been selected for the 2014 Moorti Devi Award: Vyomkesh Darvesh

12) ___________ became the 6th city in India to start the Metro train services on June 29: Chennai

13) India and Thailand signed the extradition treaty for what purpose: For seeking extradition of fugitive offenders

14) __________ won the Norway Chess 2015 title in Stavanger, Norway defeating Indian grand master Viswanathan Anand: Veselin Topalov

15) The first day -night Test match under lights will be played in which city of Australia in November this year: Adelaide

16) Rajat Chauhan created a new national record on June 29 in which sports: Archery

17) In 2014-15, the marine product exports from India broke all previous records. What is common name

for marine products: Sea food 18) Government has given ________ months time to people

to declare their undisclosed foreign income and assets to escape prosecution under the new Black Money Law: Three

19) Name the oldest aircraft carrier in the world, presently with Indian Navy that will soon be converted into a museum: INS Viraat

20) The controversial book ‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’ has been written by which author: A S Dulat

21) A panel, headed by BJP MP_____ , has sought doubling of the existing Rs 50,000 salary of MPs: Yogi Adityanath

22) Which is the only Indian city that has been included in the list of top 20 technology-rich cities in the world: Bengaluru

23) According to latest World Bank data, India’s GDP crossed USD _______ trillion mark in 2014: Two

24) Prime Minister Modi visited how many countries in his eight day trip from July 6 to 13: Six

25) During his visit to Central Asian countries, PM Modi attended which two important summits: BRICS and CSO

26) Which agency has been assigned the work of detecting duplication of death claims under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna: Credit Information Bureau India Ltd (CIBIL)

27) FIFA Women's World Cup was held at which place: Vancouver, Canada

28) Name the country that won the FIFA Women's World Cup for the third time, beating Japan: USA

29) Government has decided to give __________ rank to the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, Arvind Panagariya: Cabinet Minister

30) Champagne vineyards where the world’s famous sparkling wine Champagne is produced have been included in UNESCO ‘World Heritage’ sites. They are in which country: France

31) Copa America Football Tournament was held in __________ capital of Chile: Santiago

32) Which country won the popular Copa America Football Tournament after a wait of 99 years: Chile

33) British Grand Prix F1 was won by the reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton. He is from which country: Britain

34) ________ has become the first woman tennis player from India to be ranked as top-seeded in any grand slam, by reaching this spot in the ongoing


Wimbledon at London: Sania Mirza 35) World Food Foundation of USA gives which

prestigious prize to individuals whose breakthrough achievements alleviate hunger and promote global food security: World Food Prize

36) The World Food Prize 2015 has been awarded to Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. He is from which country: Bangladesh

37) The World Bank has approved an additional loan of $650 million for EDFC for faster delivery of goods between the northern and eastern parts of the country. What is the full form of EDFC: Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor

38) Eastern Dedicated Freight corridor runs between which two places: Ludhiana to Kolkata

39) The Union Urban Development Ministry organized a six day competition "Mera Shahar Mera Sapna" from June 15 to20 at New Delhi what purpose: To encourage citizens to contribute their ideas for improving Indian cities

40) Name the web portal that Ministry of Agriculture plans to launch to allow farmers to showcase their farm produce on the Internet for wholesalers for online bidding: E-Kissan

41) Reserve Bank provides relevant data for all big borrowers on CRILC for use by various banks for better credit appraisal. What is full form of CRILC: Central Repository of Information on Large Credits

42) Which bank has started Rewardz scheme to give reward points to all its customers for almost every banking transaction done with the bank: State Bank of India

43) World Bank has ranked which Indian social welfare scheme as the world's largest public works programme, providing social security net to almost 15 per cent of the country's population: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA)

44) Which Indian scheme has been classified as the biggest school feeding programme by the World Bank, covering 105 million beneficiaries: Mid- day meal

45) Nearly 2,000 climate scientists gathered in _____ on July 8 to deliberate on ways and means to curb the current greenhouse gas emission levels: Paris

46) As per a recent UN report, India has achieved the goals for reducing poverty and hunger by half, under MDGs. What is MDGs: Millennium Development Goals

47) ICRISAT- and Govt of Telangana have collaborated to launch the Green Phablet for farmers to provide online information and weather alerts to farmers. What is ICRISAT: International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics

48) The International Crops Research Institute for Semi-

Arid Tropics is situated in which Indian city: Hyderabad

49) Which union ministry has launched on July 2 a web portal for online submission of applications for Environment Clearance for Category ‘B’ projects: Ministry of Environment and Forests

50) Name the govt initiative launched on July 1 to digitally deliver all the essential services online to citizens and transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy by leveraging IT: Digital India

51) Govt plans to provide Aadhaar card based online facility wherein one can store all documents issued by the government, such as birth/death certificates, various permissions, registrations etc. Name this facility: Digital Locker

52) As per a study by the World Economic Forum _____ and ______ are among the world’s biggest employers, employing 1.4 and 1.3 million, respectively, securing 7th and 8th rank :Indian Army and Indian Railways

53) Which bank has created a dedicated payments gateway for the mobile banking transaction which will enable much faster transactions for its customers: ICICI Bank

54) Name the indigenously built Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) commissioned by the Indian Coast Guard on July 6 at Vishakhapatnam: ICGS Rani Durgavati

55) State Bank of India plans to open more digital branches like InTouch and InTouch Light branches for targeting which particular category of customers: Young tech savvy customers

56) The National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) has been increased to Rs. _______per day from the existing Rs. 137 effective from July 1 this year: 160

57) Which State has launched the ‘Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon’ scheme to ensure 24-hour power supply to the villages which fulfill all parameters, particularly avoiding theft of electricity: Haryana

58) State Bank of India has launched 'Project Tatkal' to attract which category of borrowers, offering them the loan within 10 days: Home Loan seekers

59) Which state in India accounts for 50% of total passenger cars and two-wheelers produced in India: Haryana

60) Abhijeet Gupta won the 19th Commonwealth __________ Championship held at Mumbai: Chess

61) __________ has been nominated by China to be the first President of the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: JIN LIQUN

62) Which bank has launched Go Digital scheme offering the 30-minute auto loan and 15-minute two-wheeler loan: HDFC Bank

63) Which public sector bank has the highest proportion of bad loans at 21.5% of its total loss: United Bank of India

64) President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated


'Nakshatra Vatika' on July 6 in which city: Hyderabad

65) Name the cricketer who became the first women from the country and second in world to reach the 5000-run milestone in one-day internationals: Mithali Raj

66) Name the former Chief Justice of India who passed away on July 3: Y K Sabharwal

67) BSNL along with _________ Bank and Pyro has launched a prepaid card SPEEDPAY to allow users to transfer cash, pay for services as well as withdraw cash up to Rs 1 lakh: Andhra

68) Name the solar aeroplane which created new world records for longest distance covered and time spent in air in its flight from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii- 7,200km in 118 hours: Solar Impulse

69) The Home Ministry has recently declared which state as a “disturbed area” under section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958: Nagaland

70) 5th Youth Delphic Games will be held in _____ in February 2016: Goa

71) RBI has allowed MTS operators such as Mumbai Metro, Delhi Metro, Indian Railways to issue their pre-paid cards to provide ease to the commuters. What is full form of MTS: Mass Transit System

72) Matti Makkonen, who died recently, was associated with development of which very important feature of present day mobile phones: SMS

73) Which city in Gujarat has signed a MoU with China's Xinjinag province to enhance infrastructure growth and development between the two regions: Vadodara

74) The government is planning to import 5,000 tonnes of ______ dal to improve domestic availability and check price rise: Urad

75) Sriram Kalyanaraman has been appointed as the new Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of which national bank: National Housing Bank

76) World University Games were held at which place in South Korea: Gwangju

77) Gennady Padalka, Russian cosmonaut entered Guinness World Records for which achievement: for spending most number of days in the space-804

78) India issued a joint statement titled Tej Kadam with which country highlighting the continuation of strategic partnership between the two nations since 2009: Kazakhastan

79) The National Dairy Development Board has launched a mobile application named _________ to help dairy farmers in boosting their income by raising milk yield and cutting feed cost: Pashu Poshan

80) Who is the author of the book - India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension: Amiya Chandra

81) Which Bank launched country’s first MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) card based on the RuPay platform: Corporation Bank

82) South Asian Basketball Championship was held at which place: Bengaluru, Karanataka

83) Name the country that won the South Asian Basketball Championship: India

84) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the PMKSY with an outlay of Rs. 50000 crore rupees over a period of next five years. Write full form of PMKSY: Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

85) In its World Economic Outlook Update, IMF retained India's growth forecast for current year at __ percent which is higher than China's 6.8 per cent: 7.5

86) Name the country that hosted 2015 World Police and Fire Games: USA

87) Name the Bengaluru firm that became first company in India to launch online electronic signature service called eSign: eMudhra Ltd

88) _____________ became the first state in India to successfully install an Earthquake Warning System to detect earthquakes and disseminate warnings: Uttarakhand

89) Bashar Navaaz, noted ______ poet and critic passed away on 9 July in Aurangabad, Maharashtra; Urdu

90) Government plans to start an all India exhibition train to sensitise people, especially children and the youth, about the Climate Change. What is its name: Science Express

91) The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C-28 successfully put into orbit five satellites of which country on 10th July: Britain

92) In the abbreviation PSLV C-28, the digits 28 denote what: 28th successful launch

93) What was the special feature of the July 10 launch of PSLV C-28: It was the ISRO’s biggest and heaviest commercial launch till date

94) What is the theme of the this year’s World Population Day observed on July 11: Vulnerable populations in emergencies

95) Ministerial conference of The Regional Integrated Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems (RIMES) nations was held in _________ on July 10: New Delhi

96) The ingeniously-developed supersonic surface-to-air missile _________ was formally inducted in the Indian Air Force at Gwalior on July 10: Akash

97) Ministry of HRD has launched Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan for what purpose: To inculcate a spirit of inquiry, creativity and love for science and mathematics in school children

98) Name the national organization that launched on July10 a public outreach initiative in New Delhi by the name ‘Nidhi Aapke Nikat’: Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, EPFO


99) Name the noted Hollywood film actor from Egypt, best known for his portrayal of Doctor Zhivago, who died on July 10: Omar Sharif

100) In which country Mount Raung volcano suddenly started eruption in first week of July, spewing clouds of ash into the air forcing temporary closure of six airports: Indonesia

101) Sardar Anjum, renowned revolutionary poet, Urdu lyricist and Padma Bhushan awardee passed away on July 9. He hailed from which State: Haryana

102) A tiny butterfly species has been discovered for the first time in the science in the forests of Changlang in which State: Arunachal Pradesh

103) Finals of the third grand slam of tennis – Wimbledon were played at which place: London

104) ___________ won the Men’s singles title in the Wimbledon 2015: Novak Djokovic

105) Women’s singles title in the Wimbledon 2015 was won by which player: Serena Williams

106) Sania Mirza won the Wimbledon 2015 women’s doubles title. Who was her partner: Martina Hingis

107) Name the Indian boy who became the sixth Indian to win a Grand Slam junior title in tennis: Sumit Nagal

108) In which State construction of the longest tunnel in South Asia, running 9 kms is in the final stage: J & K

109) Total users of which public utility crossed the record 1 billion mark in May, reaching 1,002.05 million: Telephone Connections

110) India test-fired it’s indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile named ________ in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan: ‘Helina’ (Nag)

111) Prime Minister of which country resigned on July 12 as he battled corruption charges that compelled him to quit: Romania

112) N am e t h e N AS A ’s spacecraft which has provided the closest-ever pictures of Pluto, showing details of its geology: New Horizons

1 1 3 ) Name the former Union Environment and Forest Minister who wrote the book Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India: Jairam Ramesh

114) The 12 day Godavari Maha Pushkaralu festival is celebrated in which State: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

115) Under which mission the government has set a target to provide skill development training to 102 million youth over the next five years: National Skill Development Mission

116) M S Viswanathan, a prominent film personality of South Indian cinema, passed away recently. He was master of which field: Film Music

117) Simhastha Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious congregations on the earth, began in July in which city: Nashik

118) The Junior Asian Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Female Wrestling championship was held at _____________, Myanmar: Nay Pyi Taw

119) With which country India recently signed an MoU in New Delhi for cooperation in election management and administration: Georgia

120) HRIDAY was launched from Amritsar in Punjab for development of 12 historical cities in the country. What is the full form of HRIDAY: National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana

121) A committee headed by ____________ suspended the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals teams from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for two years: Justice R M Lodha

122) Considering the declining interest of the fans and popularity, the BCCI has decided to scrap which T-20 tournament: Champions League Twenty 20

123) The government has decided to cap the subsidy on kerosene at Rs. _____ per litre: 12

124) The Reserve Bank has set up a committee headed by ______________ to work out a five-year action plan to spread the reach of financial services to unbanked population: Deepak Mohanty

125) Against which country India won the three-match One Day International (ODI) Series in July: Zimbabwe

126) The Prem Bhatia awards are given for excellence in which field: Journalism

127) The 9th World Youth Athletics Championship was held in which place: Cali, Colombia

128) Which bank plans to offer up to 3% of its annual profit to employees as part of a talent retention and motivation initiative: State Bank of India

129) Who has been appointed as the new Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune: Prashant Pathrabe

130) What is the four digit All India Railway Helpline number recently launched by the govt.: 1512

131) Which Indian city has been selected by the UNESCO as the "City of Music" under the Creative Cities Network: Varanasi

132) The Union Cabinet has formed an expert group chaired by ___________ to classify the Caste names returned in the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011: Arvind Panagariya

133) Name the noted modern Indian artist who has been conferred with the highest French civilian honour, the Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur (the Legion of Honour) for his peerless achievements: Sayed Haider Raza

134) Which city hosted the 46th Session of the Indian Labour Conference: New Delhi

135) Which country has agreed to jointly manufacture 200 military helicopters in India: Russia

136) Which country has agreed to provide technological support to India for building the next aircraft carrier


and the Light Combat Aircraft jet engine: USA 137) Genezebe Dibaba created a new world record in the

women’s 1500m, clocking a time of 3:50:07. She is from which country: Ethiopia

138) Which Indian organization has signed a currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to let it draw up to 1.1 billion dollars for a maximum period of 6 months: Reserve Bank of India

139) For which of its project, the Kerala Tourism has bagged 2015's Pacific Asia Travel Association award: Muziris Heritage Conservation Project

140) Name the type of the first indigenous high-thrust rocket engine recently successfully test fired by ISRO at its Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in southern Tamil Nadu: Cryogenic

141) The BCCI has decided to scrap which Trophy due to packed schedule: Duleep

142) Alex Rocco, the US actor who passed away in California, USA recently was known for his role in which film: The Godfather

143) Alcides E Ghiggia, the legendary football player died following a heart attack at the age of 88. He was from which country: Uruguay

144) What is the name of the new bank launched by BRICS group of nations to promote infrastructure financing: New Development Bank

145) Headquarters of New Development Bank are located in which city: Shanghai

146) The Union Cabinet has agreed to continue the interest subvention of __________ per cent on short-term crop loans of up to Rs. 3 lakh to farmers: Three

147) The government has launched the National Career Counseling Portal for what purpose: To coordinate all government-run employment exchanges

148) Which international financial body has agreed to provide $250-million financial assistance for the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project: The World Bank

149) Which Indian city will host the 2016 World Twenty 20 cricket tournament: Kolkata

150) Name the Bollywood actor-model aged 50 who won the Ironman title at a triathlon held in Zurich in Switzerland: Milind Soman

151) The government has launched the Surakshit Khadya Abhiyan, a countrywide campaign to create mass awareness about which issue: Safe and hygienic food

152) What is the name of the world's first malaria vaccine which has got a green signal from the European drugs regulators: Mosquirix

153) In a list of 500 largest companies of the world compiled by the Fortune magazine, USA, which is the largest Indian corporate: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)

154) Name the 10-year old Indian Golfer who scripted history as he became the first Indian to win the

International Junior Golf Academy's World Stars Junior Golf Tournament played at Las Vegas, USA: Shubham Jaglan

155) Name the two members of Anglo Indian Community recently nominated by the President to Lok Sabha: Prof. Richard Hay and George Baker

156) As per which article of the Indian Constitution, President can nominate two members of Anglo Indian Community to Lok Sabha: 331

157) Under the Development of Solar Cities Programme of the union ministry of new and renewable energy, in which part of India six solar cities have to be developed: North East

158) The World Trade Organization on July 24 finalised a list of 201 products of which category products to be freed from import tariffs resulting in reduction in their prices: Information technology

159) Which country is about to complete construction of the world's largest single-aperture radio telescope FAST in 2016: China

160) Trial run of the Egypt's second Suez Canal went off successfully on July 25. Name the two seas linked by this canal: Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea

161) Name the former Governor of Kerala, Sikkim and Bihar, MP and a veteran associate of Dr Ambedkar who passed away recently: R. S. Gavai

162) Name the cyclist from Britain who won the three week multiple stage bicycle race - Tour de France at Champs Elysees in Paris on July 26: Chris Froome

163) Name the German driver who won the Hungarian Grand Prix at Budapest, Hungary on July 26: Sebastian Vettel

164) ____________of Netherlands has been appointed chief coach of the Indian hockey team till the 2016 Rio Olympics: Roelant Oltmans

165) Name the world’s first malaria vaccine that has recently been approved by European drugs regulators: Mosquirix

166) The Indian women's wrestling team finished at which rank in the fifth Senior International Wrestling Tournament -- Cup of the President of Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana: Second

167) Name the bank that plans to roll out handheld machines across rural India that could work just like micro ATMs: HDFC Bank

168) Royal Society’s Copley Medal, world’s oldest scientific prize has been awarded to which scientist: Peter Higgs

169) What is the name of the newly found planet which is 'the closest twin to Earth' ever seen: Kepler-452b

170) __________ became the first nomination to be received by the Urban Development Ministry for the Smart City Mission: Puducherry

171) The first radio broadcasting was done from _____________ on 23 July, 1927: Mumbai

172) 23rd July is observed as which national day: National


Broadcasting Day 173) Tom Moore, noted cartoonist from USA passed away

recently. He was associated with which cartoon character: Archie

174) Name the capital of the Republic of Guinea which was named as the World Book Capital for 2017 by UNESCO: Conakry

175) UNO has started the Nelson Mandela Prize for honouring people in which field: extraordinary service to humanity

176) Name the Indian cartoonist who won the Grand Prix World Press Cartoon Award-2014: Pamarthy Shankar

177) Benoy Behl, noted documentary maker won the Best Documentary Producer award at Madrid International Film Festival for which film: Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism

178) Bijoy Krishna Handique, senior Congress leader, who died recently, was six times Lok Sabha member from which seat: Jorhat, Assam

179) Of 31 countries which produce power from nuclear sources, India is ranked __________ in the world producing 5308 MWe: 12th

180) The ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana’ for power sector reforms in rural areas to ensure round the clock electricity supply was formally launched on July 25 in which city: Patna

181) ____________has been appointed as the new Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for three years: R. S. Sharma

182) __________ July was celebrated as the Kargil Vijay Diwas: 26th

183) Which bank has signed a $200 million loan deal with the Asian Development Bank for extending customized and affordable agriculture credit to farmers: Axis Bank

184) Name the town in Gurdaspur district of Punjab that was in news as it suffered a terrorist attack that killed seven people: Dinanagar

185) Ramon Magsaysay Award are given for excellence in which filed: Social Work & Service to Humanity

186) Ramon Magsaysay Awards are given in which country: Philippines

187) Name the two Indians who won the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2015: Sanjeev Chaturvedi and Anshu Gupta

188) Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide $ 300 million loan to support which flagship program of Indian govt.: National Urban Health Mission

189) Which Indian state has introduced a pension scheme for transgenders allowing them a pension of Rs 500 per month: Tripura

190) The Asian Development Bank has agreed to give a loan of $ 300 million to India for development of which region: North East

191) Government has sanctioned around Rs.1,000 crore

for a 15-km India-Bangladesh railway project from which place to which place: Agartala in Tripura to Akhaura in Chitagong, Bangladesh

192) Which country has been admitted as the 162nd member of World Trade Organization: Kazakhstan

193) The ETC system was launched on the Chennai-Bengaluru corridor on July26, aiming to help road-users save time and money. What is ETC: Electronic Toll Collection

JUNE – 2015 194) According to the data released by the Central

Statistics Office (CSO) on May 29, the Indian economy grew at __________ per cent in 2014-15: 7.3

195) Union Finance Ministry has introduced two new ITR forms for what purpose: For Income Tax Returns

196) According to United Nations annual hunger report - 'The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015' by FAO, which country accounts for over 24 per cent of the total 795 million hungry people in the world: India

197) Which ministry has launched a new website - www.khoyapaya.gov.in: Women and Child Development Ministry

198) What is the objective of the recently launched khoyapaya.gov.in website: To report about a missing child and to track the efforts towards his or her recovery

199) OPCW is the global chemical weapons watchdog. What is its full form: Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

200) Name the two countries that were visited by the President of India in the first week of June: Sweden and Belarus

201) Which country has plans to form a huge gold investment fund of over $16 billion to play a bigger role in the global gold trade: China

202) In which recent international sports event, Indian participants captured eight gold medals: International Wrestling Tournament, Italy

203) Deepika Kumari won a bronze medal in the women's individual Recurve event of the World Cup at Antalya, Turkey. She participated in which game: Archery

204) Name the prestigious spelling contest of USA which was won by Indian origin American children - Vanya Shivashankar, 13, and Gokul Venkatachalam, 14: Scripps National Spelling Bee Contest

205) Name the three star cricketers who joined the BCCI in a newly-constituted advisory panel to guide the board in all matters related to the game: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman

206) Which country has successfully developed the first ATM with facial recognition technology to reduce the risk of frauds related to ATMs: China

http://www.khoyapaya.gov.in:


207) George Yeo, Former Foreign Minister of Singapore has been appointed as the new Chancellor of which prestigious university of India: Nalanda University, Rajgir, Bihar

208) Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has been elected as the first woman President of which country: Mauritius

209) _________ has taken over as Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, world’s no one two wheeler company: Pawan Munjal

210) Vijai Sharma has been appointed to which top constitutional post: Chief Information Commissioner

211) __________ has been appointed as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner: K V Chowdary

212) The book “Men Explain Things to Me” has been written by which author: Rebecca Solnit

213) Name the book written on Indian political scenario recently by the noted journalist Ashutosh: The Crown Prince, the Gladiator and the Hope: Battle for Change

214) On May 2 RBI reduced the repo rate by ______ basis points to 7.25%: 25

215) After the recent cut in repo rate, what is the new bank rate: 8.25%

216) RBI lowered the GDP growth rate for 2015-16 to 7.6% on what grounds: Lower than average monsoon and higher food inflation

217) The Reserve Bank has capped the remuneration of non-executive director of private banks to Rs. ______lakhs per annum: 10

218) RBI has issued the draft guidelines on the NSFR under Basel III framework on liquidity standards for banks. What is the full form of NSFR: Net Stable Funding Ratio

219) The 'Jal Marg Vikas' (National Waterway-1) project has been launched on which river: Ganga

220) The 1620 kms long National Waterway–1 is proposed to be launched between which two cities: Allahabad and Haldia

221) Global brokerage firm Nomura has projected that India will grow by 8% in 2015-16. This firm is based in which country: Japan

222) India was ranked at ______ rank in the annual global competitiveness report by a Switzerland-based business school: 44th

223) In terms of competitiveness, which country has been ranked at the top in a recent Swiss study: USA

224) On June 3 India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for what purpose: For Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information

225) Name the 17,500 feet high mountain pass in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand that was opened on June 1 for this year's India-China trade and Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: Lipulekh Pass

226) With which country India signed a 10-year defence

framework agreement for co-development of defence equipment manufacturing: USA

227) World Bank has approved $250 million loan for reconstruction of flood-affected public infrastructure of which State: Jammu and Kashmir

228) President of India was conferred the Professor Honoris Causa degree recently by which country: Belarus

229) Irwin Rose, noted biochemist from America who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was in news for what reasons: He passed away

230) In collaboration with which ministry Indian Academy of Pediatrics has started the world's largest digital mass education programme to address malnutrition in women and children: Ministry of Women and Child Development

231) Edward Snowden, former US security contractor and electronic surveillance whistleblower was honoured with which international prize recently: Norwegian prize for freedom of expression

232) Bangladesh has granted permission to which Indian insurance company to book business in Bangladesh: Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India

233) World Bank granted a $400-million loan to which state to improve services in urban local bodies: Tamil Nadu

234) The 21st Asian Athletics Championships were held at which place in China: Wuhan

235) Name the star athlete who bagged the gold medal in the men’s shot put event at the 21st Asian Athletics Championships: Inderjeet Singh

236) Tintu Luka won the gold medal in which event at the Asian Athletics Championship: 800 m race

237) Ace Indian athlete Vikas Gowda won the gold medal at the 21st Asian Athletics Championship in which event: Discuss throw

238) Name the country that won the highest medals in the recently held Asian Athletics Championship: China

239) In which Indian city local metro was started on June 3, 2015: Jaipur

240) Name the veteran cricketer who has been appointed as the Director of the Indian cricket team: Ravi Shastri

241) World Milk Day is observed on which date: June 1 242) Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of ______arrived in New

Delhi on a two-day (June 5-6) visit to India: Netherland

243) The government has decided to increase the Minimum Import Price of which item to protect local growers from the cheaper imports: Areca Nuts

244) The leaders of G-7 countries held their 41st summit on June 7-8 in which country: Germany


245) The G-7 group includes as member an international union of states also. Which is that: European Union

246) Which country was visited by our Prime Minister on June 6: Bangladesh

247) Name the honour that was conferred on Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee by the Bangladesh Govt.: Bangladesh Liberation War Honour

248) Name the three Indian cities which now have direct bus service with Dhaka, Bangladesh: Kolkata, Agartala and Guwahati

249) Which country recently suffered an outbreak of deadly virus disease MERS: South Korea

250) What is the full form of MERS: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

251) The virus of MERS is suspected to have come from which animal: Camel

252) French Open 2015 Men’s title was won by Stan Wawrinka. He is from which country: Switzerland

253) _____________ won the women’s title in the French Open 2015: Serena Williams, USA

254) French Open tournament is popularly known by which other name: Rolland Garros

255) A cruise ship carrying 456 people, capsized in which river in China, killing almost all the occupants: Yangtze River

256) In which state recently insurgents killed over 20 army personnel in an unprecedented ambush: Manipur

257) The Department of Post (India Post) has signed a deal with which IT company to personalise over 15 million debit cards for its savings account holders: CMS Info Systems

258) R. Seshasayee has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of which Indian IT major: Infosys Ltd.

259) International Indian Film Academy – IIFA award ceremony was recently held at which place: Kualalumpur, Malaysia

260) ______________ film was declared as the best feature film for 2014 at IIFA awards: Queen

261) IIFA award for best actor and best actress was won by: Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut

262) Name the cricketer who has been appointed coach of the India A and Under-19 cricket teams: Rahul Dravid

263) The Canadian Grand Prix held at Montreal, Canada was won by this person: Lewis Hamilton

264) Name the programme launched from Jaipur on June 6 aimed at turning at least one water stressed village in each district of the country into a water surplus village: Jal Kranti Abhiyan

265) Which bank has selected 100 highly qualified candidates for its 13-month fellowship programme `Youth for India' to work in rural areas: State Bank of India

266) The book titled ‘Flood of Fire’ has been written by which author: Amitav Ghosh

267) The 25th African Union summit was held at_________, South Africa on June 7-8: Pretoria

268) Railways have tied up with which airlines to enable its wait-listed passengers to book airline tickets at some extra cost: Spice Jet and Go Air

269) Ashobaa is the name of the cyclonic storm that developed over __________ sea recently: Arabian

270) In a relief to the bankers, RBI has allowed banks to take what action against the defaulting borrowers: Banks have been allowed to take over the control of defaulting company

271) R C Tayal has been appointed as the new Director General of which elite counter-terror force: National Security Guard

272) __________ has been appointed as the new non-executive Chairman of the Board of ICICI Bank: M K Sharma

273) Which Indian organization has been awarded Space Pioneer Award – 2015 by the US National Space Society: ISRO

274) ISRO has won Space Pioneer Award – 2015 for which achievement: For Mars Orbiter Mission

275) Anantjeet Singh Naruka won the gold in which event in the 7th International junior shotgun cup held in Orimattila, Finland: Skeet

276) India’s first of its kind Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre has been started near which city: Mumbai

277) Govt. has decided to include _______ district of Uttar Pradesh and the ___________and __________ districts of Haryana as part of the urban conurbation of National Capital Region (NCR): Muzaffarnagar, Jind and Karnal

278) IREDA has been awarded the Mini Ratna (Category-I) status by the Govt. of India. What is the full form of IREDA: Indian Renewable Energy and Development Agency

279) The latest Global Economic Prospects report from World Bank says that __________is expected to top the growth chart in world, growing by 7.5 per cent this year: India

280) Name the free trade agreement signed by 26 African countries down from South Africa upto Egypt: The Tripartite Free Trade Area

281) As per latest data, which are the top 3 crude oil producing countries of the world: USA, Saudi Arabia and Russia

282) Name the India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier that was brought out from the Cochin Shipyard Ltd. on June 10: INS Vikrant

283) HDFC Bank Ltd has launched a multipurpose banking mobile app named ___________: PayZapp

284) In a one of the first-of-its-kind cross-border operation, about 50 militants of groups namely NSCN (K) and KYKL were killed by Indian army on


June 9. What specific name is given to such operations: Surgical Operation

285) India, Australia and Japan held trilateral talks on June 10 in which city to discuss the security situation in the Asia Pacific: New Delhi

286) RBI has allowed bills of postpaid mobile service, piped gas and water supply as OVDs for proof of address for opening bank account. What is OVD: Officially Valid Document

287) As per Forbes magazine's 100 highest-paid sportsperson in the world, __________ is the richest sportsperson of the world: Floyd Mayweather

288) As per Forbes magazine's 100 highest-paid sportsperson in the world, __________ is the richest sportsperson of the India: MS Dhoni

289) Name the Padma Sri awardee, creator of world famous iconic ‘Rock Garden’ at Chandigarh, who passed away on June 12 at the age of 90 years: Nek Chand Saini

290) Prime Minister of which country resigned after the prosecutors questioned the authenticity of his school-leaving certificate: Moldova

291) Union Cabinet has approved the signing of BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement. The term BBIN stands for what: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal

292) Railway Ministry has decided to run ________ trains from next month with dynamic fares to address the rush during peak travel seasons: Suvidha

293) The second border haat (rural market) was opened for common people at Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district of _______ bordering Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh: Tripura

294) RBI has allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in __________ to encourage flow of capital into the country: Chit Funds

295) Name the legendary English actor, singer and writer famous for his charismatic negative roles in movies such as Dracula, The Wicker Man, James Bond, Lord of the Rings etc, who passed away recently: Sir Christopher Lee

296) Government has given exemption from which levy on import of drugs and test kits used to treat HIV and AIDS infections: Import Duty

297) National Blood Transfusion Council has launched a mobile app that covers all the 2760 licensed blood banks of the country, for what purpose: To know location of nearest blood bank

298) Name the movie that has become the first film to have collections of more than 500 million dollars at the box office on its opening weekend: Jurassic World

299) On June 15, Britain observed the 800th anniversary of which historic event: Signing of Magna Carta

300) The historic charter Magna Carta is hailed as the cornerstone of which type of democracy: Parliamentary

301) The European space probe Philae that woke up on June 13 after seven months-long sleep, is stationed on which celestial body: Comet 67P

302) Govt. has launched an insurance pool of Rs. 1,500 crore to offset the financial burden on foreign ________________ in case of an accident: Nuclear Suppliers

303) Name the India’s largest private miner company that acquired the oil firm Cairn India in a $2.3-billion all-share deal to create India’s largest diversified natural resources company: Vedanta Ltd.

304) China launched the world’s longest freight train route on June 13 linking city of Harbin in northeast China with which German city: Hamburg

305) ISRO has developed an android based augmented reality application named ___________ to highlight the achievements of the Department of Space during past one year: Sakaar

306) India is home to the ________ largest number (928) of ultra-high-net-worth households that have more than 100 million dollars in private wealth: Fourth

307) Name the former Union Minister, a sister-in-law of Jawaharlal Nehru and oldest surviving former parliamentarian who died recently: Sheila Kaul

308) Indian Railways has named which train as Yoga Express to commemorate International Yoga Day on June 21: Haridwar Mail

309) On June 16 BSNL started limited free wi-fi hotspots at which prominent historical tourist monument: Taj Mahal

310) Govt. has decided to increase the number of workdays under NREGA scheme from 100 days to 150 days in which areas: Only in drought affected areas

311) Govt. has launched Crop Insurance Portal www.farmer.gov.in to give information on what issue to the farmers through SMS: Adverse Weather Conditions

312) The CCEA on June 17 increased the minimum support price of paddy by Rs 50 to Rs 1,410 per quintal for this year. What is full form of CCEA: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

313) In terms of MSP which is the costliest daal (pulse): Moong (Green Lentils)

314) The Cabinet has approved stepping up of India’s solar power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission by five times, reaching __________ Mega Watt by 2022: One Lac

315) Name the govt. project launched to focus on rehabilitation of slum dwellers in the urban areas: Housing for all

316) According to a report for 2013 by WADA, India has third largest number of dope offenders in sports. What is Wada: World Anti-doping Agency

317) Which country has made the world's first electric

http://www.farmer.gov.in


passenger aircraft: China 318) State Bank of India has launched SBI eforex, an

internet- based platform to enable customers to do what type of transactions online: Foreign exchange transactions

319) _____________ became the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals in 87 matches: Sunil Chhetri

320) As per Global HR firm Mercer’s "Cost of Living Survey 2015”, __________was rated as the most expensive city in India: Mumbai

321) A new global study reveals that incidence of elder abuse is highest in ___________ among Asian countries: China

322) Which major industrial country has lowered the age of voters from 20 to 18: Japan

323) The Navlekhan award of Bharatiya Jnanpith is given to which category of persons: Upcoming Hindi Writers

324) Bangladesh defeated Team India by 6 wickets on June 21 to register their first ever series win against India. The match was played at which place: Mirpur, Dhaka

325) EPFO has decided to make UAN mandatory for all employers covered under the EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952. Write full form of UAN: Universal Account Number

326) At the G-20 sherpa meeting in Turkey on June 16, India was represented by which minister: Suresh Prabhu

327) Name the noted America trained Mumbai based Indian architect, known for his unique indigenous architectural style, who passed away recently: Charles Correa

328) __________ became the first bank in India to partner with Alibaba.com to provide easier trade finance to India-based sellers on the portal: ICICI Bank

329) Name the bank formed by a Kolkata-based micro lender that has been cleared by the RBI to start functioning as a bank from August 23: Bandhan bank

330) ____________ is the author of the book titled ‘World’s Best Boyfriend’: Durjoy Dutta

331) Name the IIT that will soon become the first engineering institute in India to venture into medical education: IIT Kharagpur

332) India broke which two Guinness world records in the Yoga event organized at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21: Largest Yoga assembly and participation by largest number of nationalities in a single event

333) Finance Ministry released coins of the denomination of Rs _____ and Rs ______ on the occasion of International Yoga Day: 10 and 100

334) India has moved down to _______ place in terms of foreigners' money in Swiss banks, having a share of

just 0.123 per cent: 61st 335) European scientists have discovered the brightest

galaxy and have nick named it CR-7 after which popular football player: Cristiano Ronaldo

336) The Election Commission suspended the recognition of which Party on June 16 because it failed to submit its poll expenditure statement in time: National People’s Party

337) Which Pakistani city was in news as hundreds of persons died their due to severe heat wave conditions: Karachi

338) China opened which mountain pass on Sikkim border to facilitate Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra: Nathu La

339) Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Grand Prix F1 championship for the second year in a row at Spielberg, Austria on June 21. He is from which country: Germany

340) From June 21, the Railways commenced the SMS alerts to inform the passengers about which issue: About the cancelled trains

341) Which city in South Carolina, USA was in news due to killing of nine Afro–American devotees in one of the worst racial hate crimes in USA: Charleston

342) Turkey’s former President and five times Prime Minister was in news as he expired recently. What was his name: Suleyman Demirel

343) Sangita Kalanidhi Award is given every year in Chennai for excellence in which field of music: Carnatic Music

344) Name the lady who became the first ever 100 per cent visually-challenged person to get selected for the prestigious Indian Foreign Service: Beno Zephine

345) India has agreed to be a partner country in the Russia’s major Industrial Fair named __________ to be held at Yekaterinburg, Russia in July 2016: INNOPROM-2016

346) For what reasons the holy city of Punjab – Shri Anandpur Sahib was in news recently: Celebrating its 350th foundation day

347) Name the joint exercise held between the armies of India and UK, from June 13 to 28 in UK: Ajeya Warrior

348) Which country has put a ban on wearing earphones while driving a vehicle and riding a cycle, w.e.f. July 1, 2015: France

349) Name the nun who succeeded Mother Teresa in 1997 as the head of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata and died recently at the age of 81: Sister Nirmala

350) Govt. has started a mobile application named___________, where the public can upload pictures of pollution sources of the Ganga River for further action by the authorities concerned: Bhuvan Ganga


351) Steffi Graf, tennis legend from Germany has been appointed the brand ambassador for Ayurveda by which state: Kerala

352) Former Pakistan captain _______ has been selected as the new President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a one year term: Zaheer Abbas

353) Name the three schemes that have been launched on June 25 for rejuvenation of urban infrastructure in India: i) Smart Cities Mission ii) Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation iii) Housing for All

354) Name the Rs. 48000 cr. scheme launched for developing 100 smart cities in India: Smart Cities Mission

355) Govt. has launched which scheme for improvement of basic infrastructure in 500 cities with population of over 1 lac.: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation-AMRUT

356) Name the govt. scheme that has been launched to promote slum free cities: Housing for all

357) “Housing for All” scheme aims at constructing _____________ crore houses for the urban poor in all the 4041 towns of India: Two

358) India’s first Nand-ghar has been opened in which state: Haryana

359) Govt. has launched a scheme for modernization of Anganwadi centres by which name: Nand-ghar Yojana

360) Name the Indian cricketer who has been rated as the best test player of the world in a recent survey: Sachin Tendulkar

361) Name the veteran Indian press journalist, author and anti-nuclear activist, who passed away accidently in Netherlands: Praful Bidwai

362) Malvani was in news as over 100 persons were killed there due to consumption of spurious liquor. Where is this place: In Mumbai

363) Inderjit Singh and Jinson Johnson of India bagged gold in shot put and 800 mts race, respectively, in the Asian Athletics Grand Prix. It was held at which place: Bangkok, Thailand

364) What is the new name for the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI): Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI)

365) Bhagavad Gita, the sacred ancient Indian scripture, has made its debut recently in which country: China

366) __________________, MD of HDFC Bank has been ranked as the highest paid banker of India in 2014: Aditya Puri

367) In a recent study, India ranked among 20 most violent places in the world. Which is the most peaceful country of the world: Iceland

368) The Reserve Bank has recently allowed banks to borrow from global multilateral financial institutions for what purpose: General Banking

Business 369) SEBI has announced relaxed listing norms and

liberalized several other terms to encourage which particular category of business: Startups

370) SEBI has made investment in all IPOs cheque free by making subscription through ASBA mandatory. What is the full form of IPO and ASBA: Initial Public Offering & Application Supported by Blocked Amount)

371) Name the Indian basketball player who became first Indian to be drafted by the National Basketball Association (NBA) of USA: Satnam Singh Bhamara

372) Google has now introduced an ___________ option that will help its users to cancel the delivery of the misdirected or inappropriate emails within 30 seconds of hitting the send button: Undo

373) The RBI has extended the date for exchange of pre-2005 currency notes by ____ months to December 31, 2015: Six

374) _____________ has emerged as the top donor country by pledging one billion dollars aid to earth quake hit Nepal for reconstruction work: India

375) World Bangla Conference organized by the Vishwa Bangla Sammelan was held in _________, Madhya Pradesh: Nagpur

376) The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed globally on which date: 26 June

377) ________ became the first Indian to play with 100 different partners on ATP Circuit: Leander Paes

378) The validity of which controversial law passed by the President Barack Obama has been upheld by the Supreme Court of USA: Obamacare

379) As per the Baseline Profitability Index (BPI) compiled in New York, USA ___________ has been ranked as the best country in terms of attracting foreign investment: India

380) Scientist in which country have developed the world's first full-colour, flexible ultra-thin nano-structured film that can change colours by applying voltage: USA

381) Data released by the US based World Resources Institute, ______________ is the country which produces highest amount of climate damaging greenhouse gases: China

382) Which Indian State has launched the Digital locker system ‘Akshay’ on June 27 under which public can store important records and certificates: Kerala

383) Which Indian bank plans to install 10 lakh payment card swipe machines (point of sales terminals) across the country: State Bank of India

384) RBI has issued Rs 100 denomination banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series - 2005 with which new security feature: Both the number panels of these banknotes will be in ascending size from left to right


385) With which country India has signed a series of agreements for cooperation in health sector: USA

386) Supreme Court of which country has allowed marriage of same gender couples across the country: USA

387) The government has hiked the Minimum Export Price (MEP) of ____________ by 175 dollar per tonne to 425 dollar per tonne to discourage its exports: Onion

388) In which of our neighbouring country, the President dissolved the Parliament on June 27, paving the way for fresh parliamentary elections in mid August: Sri Lanka

MAY – 2015 389) Union Cabinet on April 29 approved the Smart

Cities Mission for development of ________ smart cities with an outlay of Rs. 48,000 crore: 100

390) The Union cabinet has decided that the minimum monthly pension under the Employees Pension Schemes will not be less than Rs. ________: 1000

391) ___________ has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India: Mukesh Khanna

392) Mukesh Khanna, a renowned TV / Film artist is known for his role of which Super Hero: Shaktimaan

393) Name the book for which Siddhartha Gigoo won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2015 for Asia region: Umbrella Man

394) As per recent RBI guidelines, urban co-operative banks are not allowed to issue ________ credit cards: Co branded

395) Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Money) recently won the $180 million prize money by securing World Welterweight title. He is from which country: USA

396) Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge from UK Royalty gave birth to a baby girl who is _________in line to the throne. 4th

397) What is the name of the over all trophy for the national senior athletics championships held in Mangaluru, Karnataka: The Federation Cup

398) Recently, two Indians, Dr Ananda Kumar and Dr Pramod Patil won the Whitley Award for their contribution to wildlife conservation. What is its popular name: Green Oscar

399) Which country won the World Team Chess Championship (Men’s) leaving Ukraine at second place at Tsaghkadzor, Armenia: China

400) Indian chess players __________ and _________ won the silver and bronze medal respectively, in individual category at World Chess Championship: D Harika and K Humpy

401) Which country conferred its highest civil award “The Order of The Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star’ recently on an Indian scientist: Japan

402) Name the Indian scientist honoured recently by the Japan Govt. with its highest civilian award: CNR Rao

403) Surender Singh has been appointed new Director General of which paramilitary force: Central Industrial Security Force, CISF

404) 5th National women hockey championship was held at which place: Saifai, Uttar Pradesh

405) Who won the 5th National women hockey championship: Railways

406) Among Indian states, ______________ attracts largest number of foreign tourists followed by Tamil Nadu: Maharashtra

407) Which city has a unique distinction of having more bookstores per capita than any other major city in the world: Buenos Aires, Argentina

408) Which country became the 161st member of the World Trade Organization (WTO): Seychelles

409) May 3 is observed every year as the “World Press Freedom Day”. What is the theme for this year: Let Journalism Thrive

410) World’s largest solar power plant is proposed to be set up at Gurh tehsil in Rewa district of which state to produce 750 megawatt (MW) of electricity: Madhya Pradesh

411) The Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of Rs 1.5 crore each on Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce for violation of which rules: KYC norms

412) India and Iran have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of which strategically important port in Iran: Chabahar

413) The 119th amendment bill to the Indian constitution refers to which matter: Land boundary agreement with Bangladesh

414) Name the indigenously-developed missile whose first regiment was inducted in the Indian army on May 5: Akash

415) Akash is which category of missile and what is its range: Surface to air, 25 Kms

416) Name the ex Union Minister for environment who wrote the book Green Signals: Ecology, Growth and Democracy in India: Jairam Ramesh

417) What is the name of the cloud computing-based offering by Microsoft that will enhance digital learning and teaching in schools and higher education institutions, in India: Edu-Cloud

418) Name the Oscar – winning US author, famous for his novel “Dances with Wolves”, who died recently: Michael Blake

419) The Lok Sabha passed on May 7 the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014 which allows _____ to _______ year old child offenders in heinous crimes to be tried like adults: 16 to 18

420) Achal Kumar Jyoti, a retired IAS officer from Gujarat


has recently been appointed to which important national level post: Election Commissioner

421) Geeta Phogat and Lalita Sherawat, each won a bronze medal in women's category of which sports: Wrestling

422) Name the satirical French weekly that won the Freedom of Expression Courage Award by the PEN American Center: Charlie Hebdo

423) The Union Cabinet has approved the renewal of the existing double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with which country: South Korea

424) World Asthma Day is observed on which date: 5th May

425) What is the theme of this year’s World Asthma Day: You can control your Asthma

426) Name the Indian politician who has written the Book “At Home in India- The Muslim Saga”: Salman Khurshid

427) Name the politician who has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of UK: David Cameroon

428) Which particular party regained power in the recent general elections held in Britain: Conservative Party

429) Which major political party of Britain is popularly known as Tories: Conservative Party

430) What is the name of the lower house of the British parliament to which MPs are elected: House of Commons

431) As per the 'State of the World's Mothers' report for 2015, which country tops the list: Norway

432) India has been placed at which rank in the 'State of the World's Mothers' report for 2015: 140th

433) The Reserve Bank has recently issued a set of “early warning signals” to monitor the performance of which banking product: Loans

434) With an aim to expedite FDI clearance process, the FIPB's powers to recommend foreign investment proposals have been hiked to Rs. _____ crore, against Rs 1,200-crore limit at present: 3000

435) The abbreviation FIPB stands for: Foreign Investment Promotion Board

436) Asian Development Bank signed a 31 million US dollars loan agreement to boost water availability in selected river basins of which State: Karnataka

437) Which Indian state is home to the largest gathering of Asiatic lions: Gujarat

438) Name the tennis star who won the Madrid Masters Men's Singles Title: Andy Murray

439) 68th Cannes Film Festival was held at which place: Cannes, France

440) Name the MP who has been re-nominated as Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee: K V Thomas

441) INS Sardar Patel is the name of a new _____________ of the Indian navy: Operational Base

442) The new naval base – INS Sardar Patel is located at

which city: Porbandar 443) Name the noted historian, social scientist,

academician and author who passed away in Guwahati on May 7 at the age of 91: Amalendu Guha

444) __________________, ace marksman was declared the ‘Sportsperson of the Year' by the Times of India Sports Awards: Jitu Rai

445) Who is the author of the book, ‘Unbelievable – Delhi to Islamabad’ : Prof. Bhim Singh

446) President of India recently honoured 35 persons from which field with the National Florence Nightingale Awards: Nursing

447) Name the eminent banker who was appointed as head of the 50 billion dollars New Development Bank: K V Kamath

448) The New Development Bank has been setup by which international organization: BRICS

449) Headquarters of the New Development Bank are to be located in which city: Shanghai

450) In a recent global study, __________ overtook the United States as the world's top importer of crude oil for the first time in April 2015: China

451) Nico Rosberg won which international sports event held at Barcelona, Spain: Grand Prix F1 championship

452) Formula 1 car racing champion Nico Roseberg is from which country: Germany

453) Name the Ace Indian discus thrower who won gold and a bronze medal recently at two international meets: Vikas Gowda

454) As per the law, children up to ________ years of age are not to be allowed to work in the hazardous industries: 18

455) With reference to the office of the Ombudsman, what are the recent directions of the RBI: Banks asked to appoint their internal Ombudsman

456) Which Indian state recently got its 1st tribal women governor: Odisha, Draupadi Murmu

457) Tathagata Roy has been appointed as governor of which State: Tripura

458) Name the city of China which was the first stop over of Prime Minister’s recent visit to China: Xi’an city

459) Xi’an city of China is famous in the world for which monument: Terracotta Warriors Museum

460) Prime Minister Modi met the Chinese Premier _________ in Beijing: Le Keqiang

461) Tejaswini Sagar, Indian school girl won her maiden world title by bagging the gold in the under-15 category in which sports: Chess

462) The Union Cabinet approved a massive Rs. ________ crore budget for the ‘Namami Gange Programme’ for the next five years: 20,000

463) Union government recently launched USTAAD scheme in which city of Uttar Pradesh: Varanasi

464) The acronym USTAAD stands for what: Upgrading


the Skills and Training in Ancestral Arts / Crafts for Development

465) Recently launched USTAAD schemes focuses on the problems of which particular category of artisans: Banarasi Saari weavers

466) PM Modi visited ____________, the capital of Mongolia on May 16: Ulaan Baator

467) Pandit Haridutt Sharma Award for excellence in journalism has been won this year by which person: Anuradha Prasad

468) B.B. King, one of the most famous electric guitar players of all time, winner of 15 Grammy Awards died recently. He was from which country: USA

469) ________ has become the first state in India to issue Soil Health Cards (SHCs), to its all farmers: Punjab

470) In the recently compiled 124 nation Human Capital Index India has been placed at which rank: 100th

471) Central govt plans to start Highway Advisory Radio for what purpose: To keep highway commuters updated about road conditions

472) Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse by profession, who died at the age of 67, was in news for what reasons: She lived in a vegetative state for the past 42 years

473) During his visit to South Korea, Prime Minister Modi met the President of South Korea. What is her name: Park Geun-hye

474) Which artificial line forms the international border between South Korea and North Korea: 38th North Latitude

475) Arun Shrivastava has been appointed Managing Director & CEO of which bank: Syndicate Bank

476) 6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy was held in which city: New Delhi

477) Scientists have discovered the world’s first fully warm-blooded fish species. What is its name: Opah

478) Which private sector bank recently opened its first branch in Shanghai, China, that was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Modi on May 16: ICICI Bank

479) ____________ ____________ won the Rome Masters Tennis title with beating Roger Federer in Rome, Italy: Novak Djokovic

480) Women’s singles title of the Rome Masters was won by which player: Maria Sharapova

481) As per the 70 countries Environmental Democracy Index, India has been placed at which rank: 24th

482) Which city will host the 10th World Hindi Conference in Sept. 2015: Bhopal

483) The 68th World Health Assembly held in which city of Switzerland: Geneva

484) Name the Indian Navy's latest anti-submarine warfare class stealth corvette, that was launched on May 19 at Kolkata: INS Kavaratti

485) Which Bank plans to roll out e-huts to provide services to people in rural areas: IDBI Bank

486) World Bank will offer a credit of 250 million US Dollar to Bihar government for what purpose: To

promote primary school teachers 487) What type of vessel is INS Sindhukirti which was

launched for sea trials on May 21: Submarine 488) What is India’s rank in terms of publishing scientific

research papers in different journals in the world: 6th

489) Which is the first Indian company to join RE100, a global platform for corporates committed to use 100% renewable power: Infosys Ltd.

490) Name the supersonic fighter jet of Indian Air Force that landed successfully on Yamuna Expressway in U P on May 21as part of developing road runway for emergency landing: Mirage 2000

491) Name the world leader who entered Guinness Book of World Record for reaching a million followers in a span of mere 5 hours after going live on Twitter, @POTUS account: Barack Obama

492) Which famous big fish specie has been spotted for the first time of the Maharashtra Coast: Blue Whale

493) Which Asian country has announced a $110 billion investment plan for infrastructure projects in Asia: Japan

494) What is the minimum amount of gold that can be deposited under the recently announced Gold Monetisation Scheme: 30gm

495) Gold deposited under the Gold Monetisation Scheme has to be kept in the bank at least for a period of _____________: One year

496) Which country has become the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage: Republic of Ireland

497) Which award is given for the best feature film at the Cannes Film Festival: Palme d'Or

498) Which film won the Palme d’Or – award for the best feature film at the Cannes film festival: Dheepan

499) Indian boxers completed a brilliant run at which international event, winning four gold, one silver and two bronze medals: The Doha International Boxing Tournament

500) Name the film from India that won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival: Masaan

501) Name the naval exercise conducted jointly by Indian Navy along with Singapore Navy: SIMBEX 2015

502) What is the full form of SIMBEX: Singapore-Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise

503) The joint naval exercise conducted jointly by Indian navy along with Singapore Navy – SIMBEX 2015 was held at which place: In Sea East of Singapore

504) Which bank has launched a service where customers can make transactions using just their voice, without using other means of authentication like a password: ICICI Bank

505) G Mohan Kumar has been appointed to which


important national level govt. office: Union Defence Secretary

506) Andrzej Duda has been elected as the new _________________ of Poland: President

507) The book “More Bad Time Tales” has been written by which person: Humra Quraishi

508) Laxminarayan Tripathi, author of the book Me Hijra Me Laxmi is known for which activity: He is a crusader for rights of LGBT community

509) David Granger has been elected as the new President of which South American country: Guyana

510) Central Govt. has taken what steps recently to enhance the social security of MNREGA workers: They are to be enrolled for three recently launched social security schemes

511) ISRO launched its own GPS system by the name GAGAN. What is the full form of GAGAN: GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation

512) Which organization is the first user of the recently launched GAGAN project: Airports Authority of India

513) The first mega food park of the North East was inaugurated on May 28 in which state: Assam

514) Which Indian Business women has been ranked as no. 1 in India and 30th in world by the Forbes list of most powerful women in world: Arundhati Bhattacharya

515) What is the name of the new TV channel launched by the doordarshan to focus on promoting development of agriculture sector and rural India: DD Kissan

516) Manabi Bandopadhyay, a transgender educationist was in news recently for what reasons: She became the first transgender in India to head a college

517) With which country India signed a Joint Vision Statement on Defence Cooperation for 2015-2020 in New Delhi on May 25 to promote the mutual cooperation in maritime security: Vietnam

518) Australian Open Badminton tournament was held at which place: Sydney

519) Who is the author of the book “A Practitioner’s Diary”: Pradip Baijal

520) Name the former Sri Lanka captain who was named as the CEAT International Cricketer of the Year 2015: Kumar Sangakkara

521) Which Indian batsman was named as the CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year 2015: Ajinkya Rahane

522) Which state has decided to withdraw the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 from the remaining areas of the state with immediate effect: Tripura

523) Dr. S Christopher has been appointed to which important national office: Director General of DRDO

APRIL – 2015 524) __________ has been crowned as the FBB Femina Miss

World: Aditi Arya 525) Name the legendary hockey players honoured with

Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award: Balbir Singh Senior

526) India has been ranked a lowly ______ on a new index compiled by the UN trade body UNCTAD for assessing the readiness of countries for electronic commerce: 83rd

527) Prime Minister dedicated to the nation an expansion and modernisation project worth Rs 12,000 crore for which steel plant: Rourkela Steel Plant

528) Muhammadu Buhari has recently been elected as President of which African country: Nigeria

529) Who is the author of the book God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican: Gerald Posner

530) What is the name of the book written by Rajmohan Gandhi about a famous prince of Gujarat: Prince of Gujarat

531) What is India’s rank the 2015 FM Global Resilience Index: 119th

532) Recently the government announced its Foreign Trade Policy (FTP)for which period: 2015-20

533) FTP policy 2015-20 aims to Increase exports to USD _______billion by 2019-20, from USD 466 billion in 2013-14: 900

534) FTP policy 2015-20 aims to raise India's share in world exports from 2 percent to ____ percent: 3.5

535) What is the proposed name for new capital of Andhra Pradesh: Amaravati

536) Which Indian naval ship played a critical role in the Operation Rahat: INS Sumitra

537) The book Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi has been written about which famous Hindu god: Lord Rama

538) Which apex financial institution of India celebrated its 80th anniversary on April 1: RBI

539) Dr. Subadhra Devi Rai was honoured with international achievement award for excellence in which field: Nursing

540) What is the name of the index that has been launched to provide information on the quality of air / level of air pollution in 10 major cities in the country on daily basis: Air Quality Index

541) _____ is the most polluted city in India: New Delhi 542) _____ is the most polluted city in the world : Beijing 543) The Reserve Bank has relaxed the Know Your

Customer norms for which type of firms to allow them opening of account by submitting a single proof of their business: Sole proprietor firms

544) Miami Masters Tennis Championship were held in which state of USA: Florida


545) The World Women's chess championship was held at which place: Sochi, Russia

546) What is the name of the first Scorpene Submarine launched for sea trial in India on April, 6: INS Kalvari

547) Scorpene Class Submarines are being built in India in collaboration with which country: France

548) Pedro Cateriano Bellido has been elected as the new Prime Minister of which south American country: Peru

549) Golden Peacock National Quality Award is given for excellence in which field: Corporate governance

550) Union Government on 1 April 2015 launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme for what purpose: To boost eco-friendly vehicles sales in the country

551) What is the amount of corpus with which MUDRA Yojana has been started: Rs. 20,000 crore

552) What is the objective of starting the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana: To extend credit to small businesses and regulate micro-finance institutions

553) The proposed MUDRA bank will have three main loan schemes, named as _______: Shishu, Kishore and Tarun

554) The proposed MUDRA bank can give loans upto a maximum amount of Rs. _________ : 10 lac

555) Which index has ranked India at 101st place in terms of indicators of well-being such as health, water and sanitation, personal safety, personal freedom: Social Progress Index

556) _________ has been elected as the President of CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) for 2015-16: Sumit Mazumder

557) B V R Mohan Reddy has been elected as Chairman of which national level business body: NASSCOM

558) As per SEBI guidelines, it is mandatory for every listed company to have at least __________ woman director on their board: One

559) Who is the appointing authority for the Chief Election Commissioner of India: President of India

560) Chief Election Commissioner of India can hold the office up to the age of maximum ___________ years: 65

561) Status of the Chief Election Commissioner is equivalent to that of which official: Judge of the Supreme Court

562) The CEC has tenure of __________ years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier : Six

563) Hi-Tech Mi-17 V5 military combat helicopter have been sourced from which country: Russia

564) India successfully test-fired the nuclear-weapon capable Dhanush missile recently. What is its full range: 350 km

565) The 20th Law Commission in its report on Leprosy has recommended removal of which word from

various statutes as it was considered ‘derogatory’: Leper

566) Which Indian city won the Earth Hour City Challenge held in Seoul, South Korea for best champion of renewable energy: Thane

567) With which country India signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on development of waterways and multi-modal hubs in India: USA

568) The Supreme Court has asked all private hospitals in India to provide full treatment free to _____________ victims, including medicines and expensive reconstruction surgeries: Acid attack

569) Which French company has agreed to restart the work in the nuclear power project at Jaitapur, Maharashtra: Areva

570) France has agreed to supply 36 __________ fighter jets to India in a flyaway condition: Rafale

571) India’s first hi-tech financial city – GIFT has been launched in which state: Gujarat

572) What is the full form of acronym GIFT: Gujarat International Finance Tec-City

573) Govt. has allowed banks to open for the first time in India, IFSC as offshore banking units. What is IFSC: International Financial Services Central

574) _____________ created history by becoming the first Indian female tennis player to achieve the world number one rank in women’s doubles: Sania Mirza

575) Sultan Azlan shah cup of hockey was held at which place in Malaysia: Ipoh

576) In which sea around 900 illegal migrants trying to reach Europe were feared killed after their boat capsized: Mediterranean Sea

577) Guenter Grass, ______ novelist, the Nobel Prize-winning author of “The Tin Drum”, died recently: German

578) In terms of usage of Information Communications Technologies (ICT), India stands at _____ rank as per an index compiled by the World Economic Forum: 89th

579) A World Trade Organization (WTO) forecast says that the global goods trade will grow by ____percent in the year 2015 and by ____percent in 2016: 3.3, 4.0

580) ________ has been declared as the Laureus Sportsman of the Year, 2015: Novak Djokovic

581) Genzebe Dibaba has been declared as the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year, 2015. She is from which field and country: Sprinter, Ethiopia

582) 583) An interest subvention of ___% is available for

short-term crop loans up to Rs. ___ lakh per farmer, subject to conditions. 2, 3

584) Indian batting legend_______, was inducted recently into the prestigious Laureus Sports Academy: Sachin Tendulkar

585) In a article written by Mr. Barack Obama in Time


Magazine, he described Prime Minister Modi as _______ of India: Reformer in Chief

586) RBI has allowed banks to offer differential interest rates on term deposits of above what amount: Rs.15 lakh

587) Mohan Kumar has been appointed the next Ambassador of India to which country: France

588) What is the short name of a book written by India by the Indian Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor: India Shastra

589) Mightier Than the Sword is a popular novel written by _________: Jeffrey Archer

590) Total exports of India during 2014-15 fell short by $29.5 billion of its annual target of $ ________ billion: 340

591) The government has asked the states to introduce a new field for indicating _______ of the land owners in their property records: Gender

592) World Haemophilia Day is observed globally on which date: 17th April

593) As per a global study on financial inclusion, roughly _______ per cent of world population has a bank account: 62

594) The Kerala government, supported by UNICEF, has launched a major campaign Subodham to wean people away from which addiction: Alcohol

595) As per new rules, IAS and IPS officers have to take prior permission from govt. before accepting gifts worth more than Rs. _______: 5,000

596) IAS / IPS officers need to inform the government, if they accept gifts of over Rs. ______from their relatives or friends on customary occasions like weddings, anniversaries, birthdays etc: 25,000

597) In terms of production of e-waste, India ranks _____ in the world: 5th

598) ____ is the largest producer of the e-waste in the world, followed by China and Japan: USA

599) Name the Indian Navy's most powerful indigenously built stealth destroyer was launched into water at Mazgaon Dock in Mumbai: INS Visakhapatnam

600) Which bank has launched a contactless payment service based on the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology: ICICI Bank

601) What is the name of the new contactless payment service launched by the ICICI bank: Tap-N-Pay

602) “KP, the Autobiography” is the life story of which famous cricketer: Kevin Pietersen

603) Sukanya Samriddhi Account for the girl child will earn interest @ _____per cent, w.e.f. April, 2015: 9.2

604) ________ train clocked a new world speed record in a test run, smashing through the 600 kilometre per hour: Maglev, Japan

605) ______________ has been appointed as the Chairman of National Judicial Appointments Commission: H. L. Dattu

606) The New York Times won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for journalism for its courageous coverage of which international event: Ebola outbreak in West Africa

607) With effect from April 1, 2015, the transport allowance exemption for employees has been raised to Rs. _______ per month from Rs 800 for the purpose of Income tax: 1600

608) As per revised Priority Sector Lending norms banks have to give _____ per cent of their total credit to small and marginal farmers: 8

609) Housing loans to individuals, up to Rs. ___ lakh in metros and up to Rs. ____ lakh in other centres are now covered under priority sector lending: 28, 20

610) As per revised Priority Sector Lending norms, the foreign banks will have to make ______ per cent of their total loans under priority sector in the near future: 40

611) The Rajya Sabha, for the first time in 46 years passed a private members bill to protect the rights of which particular community: Transgender

612) As per the 2015 World Happiness Report, India has been placed at ___ spot out of 158 countries surveyed for level of happiness among the citizens: 117th

613) The railways has launched a new app called _____ for booking of sub-urban train tickets through mobile phones: UTS on mobile

614) The 14th Indo-French Naval Exercise named ______ commenced off the coast of Goa: VARUNA-15

615) The Chetak Corps of the Army held its major battle exercise named _________ in the deserts of Rajasthan: “Akraman-II”

616) Indian women's hockey team lifted the Hero Hockey World League Round Cup defeating which country at New Delhi: Poland

617) Name the Indian origin scientist who recently won the prestigious Heinz Award in Technology: Sangeeta Bhatia

618) ___________ of Ukraine successfully defended his world heavyweight boxing title for the 18th time in a row: Wladimir Klitschko

619) Who is the author of the book Water, Peace, and War— Confronting the Global Water Crisis: Brahma Chellaney

620) Omar Al-Bashir has been re-elected as President of which country: Sudan

621) Bhartiya Mahila Bank has won which prestigious award recently at Hong Kong: The Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015

622) India won Gold and a Bronze at the Asian Indoor Rowing Championship which was held at ____________: Pattaya, Thailand

623) Name the Chinese player who won the Badminton Asia Championship held at Wuhan, China: Lin Dan

624) Indian navy’s ship INS Tarangini which is going to


take part in the annual Tall Ships’ Races is what type of ship: Sail training ship

MARCH – 2015 625) Mo Ibrahim Prize is given for what achievement:

for excellence in public governance 626) Who has been elected as the new President of the

BCCI: Jagmohan Dalmiya 627) The government has, for the first time, fixed a

inflation target for the RBI, at what level: 6% by January 2016

628) RBI has been given inflation target as per the recommendation of which committee: Dr. Urjit Patel Committee

629) As per the Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's richest people, ___________ has topped the list for the 8th year: Bill Gates

630) Growth of core sector was lowest in January in past 13 months at 1.8 per cent. How many industries are there in the core sector: Eight

631) As per recent data the per capita annual income in India has been recorded at Rs. __________in 2013-14: Rs. 80,388

632) Write the full form of the abbreviation TROPEX: Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise

633) Indian navy recently conducted TROPEX 2015 exercise in which area: Arabian Sea

634) The Lok Sabha has passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to bring which category of vehicles into the ambit of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988: e-rickshaws and e-carts

635) What is the name of the autobiography of Vinod Mehta: Lucknow Boy

636) Name the new scheme that will be offered by all Public Sector General Insurance Companies for giving insurance cover against death by accident: Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

637) The PMSBY is available to all persons in age group_________ years, having a bank account: 18 to 70

638) What is the annual premium amount payable for joining PMSBY: Rs. 12

639) What is the amount of cover available under PMSBY in case of accidental death: Rs. 2 lac

640) What is the annual premium amount payable for joining PMJJBY: Rs. 330

641) What is the amount of cover available under PMJJBY in case of death by any reason: Rs. 2 lac

642) The APY is available to all persons in age group_________ years, having a bank account: 18 to 40

643) Name the badminton player who became the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the All-England Badminton Championship: Saina Nehwal

644) According to the Mercer Quality of Living Rankings

2015, which Indian city has been selected as the ‘Best Indian City’ to live in: Hyderabad

645) Name the three states that have recently been excluded from the Protected Area Permit (PAP) regime for foreign tourists till December 31: Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland

646) United Nations declared this year’s theme for women’s day as _________ to encourage effective action for advancing and recognizing women: Make it Happen

647) Name the special bus service that has been started between Varanasi and Kathmandu from March 5: Bharat-Nepal Maitri Bus Seva

648) Name the India’s first indigenously developed and manufactured rotavirus vaccine which was launched in New Delhi: Rotavac

649) Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe ________ among infants and young children: Diarrhea

650) Saraswati Samman is given for excellence in which field: Literature

651) Saraswati Samman for 2014 has been awarded to which eminent author: M. Veerappa Moily

652) Which state tourism won the silver prize of Golden Gate award at the Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2015, Germany. Kerala

653) Which country tested its Shaheen-III Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile, having a strike range of 2750 kms: Pakistan

654) Which is the largest public sector corporate entity in India in terms of its assets: Indian Oil Corporation

655) A recent Delhi High Court has clarified about which high public office that it is covered under the RTI Act: Attorney General of India

656) National tourism agency of which country has appointed film star Sai Ali Khan as its brand ambassador in India: Britain

657) Name the Sri Lankan Cricket Star who became the first cricketer to score four successive one-day international centuries: Kumar Sangakkara

658) Which Indian organization has committed Rs 1.5 lakh crore for development of various railway projects over the next five years: Life Insurance Company of India

659) Which cricketer has been voted as the greatest ODI player in the history of cricket by recent survey: Viv Richards

660) The new Consumer Price Index released by the Central Statistics Office, number of items in the CPI basket has been increased to _____ from 450 in urban areas: 460

661) The base year for the ‘Consumer Price Index’ has been revised from 2004-05 to ________: 2011-12

662) Name the university that has topped the list of the 100 most prestigious universities compiled by


Times Higher Education of UK: Harvard University, USA

663) The final match of Ranji Trophy (Cricket) was played on March 12 at which place: Mumbai

664) Which team won the prestigious Ranji Trophy on March 12: Karnataka by beating Tamil Nadu

665) 58th All India Ayurvedic Congress was held in which place on March 14: Chandigarh

666) Terry Pratchett who passed away recently was a famous science fantasy novelist from which country: Britain

667) Name the new scheme that has been launched for redressal of grievances of consumers related to drug pricing and availability of medicines: Pharma Jan Samadhaan Scheme

668) Which Indian ministry has launched the Pharma Jan Samadhaan Scheme: Chemicals and Fertilizers

669) In which country India has agreed to build a Rabindranath Tagore memorial: Sri Lanka

670) On which corporate the Income Tax Department recently slapped a tax demand notice of Rs. 20,495 crore: Cairn India

671) Santosh Trophy is awarded for winning which national tournament: Football

672) Name the winner of the 2014 Santosh Trophy: Services Team

673) A historic bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled on March 14 at Parliament Square in which international city: London

674) Priority sector lending target for all banks in India is fixed at ____ per cent of their total loans: 40

675) ___________ is known as the currency of IMF: SDR 676) Name the team that won the Women's Hockey

World League Round Two competition title: India 677) Final match of the Women's Hockey World League

Round Two competition was held in which city: New Delhi

678) The world’s first $1 million prize – Global Teacher Prize is given in which country: USA

679) Which State has passed The Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill, 2015 to ban cow slaughter and sale of beef: Haryana

680) Supreme Court has reversed central government decision to include Jats in the ____________ category: Other Backward Classes (OBC)

681) Union cabinet recently approved the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of New Tax) Bill, 2015 for which objective: To unearth black money and illicit assets stashed abroad

682) Which Indian State is famous for mass nesting by Olive Ridley: Odisha

683) Olive Ridley, known for their mass nesting practices are which type of animal: Sea Turtle

684) Name the indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile that was successfully tested recently: Astra

685) _________ has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu

686) A three-day conference for strengthening maritime trade and security among Indian Ocean Rim countries was held at which place: Bhubaneshwar

687) Name the Nobel Laureate who has been elected to head Britain's prestigious Royal Society: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

688) Ministry of Railways has constituted the________ council to recommend innovative methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of the Railways: Kaya Kalp

689) Name the prominent industrialist who has been asked by the government to head the Kaya Kalp council of railways: Ratan Tata

690) M S Dhoni became the first Indian captain to score victory in 100 ODI matches. He achieved this fete in the match played against which country: Bangladesh

691) The Central government has announced ___ per cent reservation for women in police forces of union territories, including Delhi: 33

692) Name the team that won the Irani Cup after beating Rest of India in the finals played in Bengaluru: Karnataka

693) Name the scheme that aims to provide skills training to youth, including Class 10 and 12 drop outs: Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

694) The government has roped in _______ _________as brand ambassador for its campaign against Hepatitis B: Amitabh Bachchan

695) Name the author of the book “Indian Parliamentary Diplomacy- Speaker's Perspective”: Smt. Meira Kumar, former Speaker, Lok Sabha

696) _________ of New Zealand made the highest score in the World Cup history with 237 not out against West Indies: Martin Guptill

697) Which UN organization is associated with observing March 21 as the International Day of Forests: Food and Agriculture Organization

698) What is the theme of this year’s International Day of Forests: Forests and Climate Change

699) Which country is associated with the awarding of Stockholm Water Prize: Sweden

700) Name the eminent Indian environment activist who has been selected for Stockholm Water Prize: Rajendra Singh

701) Prime Minister has launched Pragati programme to give impetus to stalled projects and ensure their timely execution across the country. What is the full form of Pragati: Pro-active Governance and Timely Implementation

702) The Supreme Court on March 24 struck down the controversial section 66A of which Act: Information Technology Act

703) Name the film that won the National Award for Best


Feature Film: Court 704) The Hindi film Mary Kom was honoured with Best

Film in which category of National Film Awards: Best Popular Film providing Wholesome Entertainment

705) Which film won the National Award for Best Hindi Film: Queen

706) Name the male actor who won the National Award for Best Actor: Vijay

707) Name the female actor who won the National Award for Best Actor: Kangana Ranaut

708) Veteran actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor (77), who has starred in over 100 Hindi films has been honoured recently with which National Award: Dada Saheb Phalke Award

709) What is the amount of cash prize given in Dada Saheb Phalke Award: Rs. 10 lacs

710) India's first National Skill Development University will be established in which State: Chhattisgarh

711) For the development of which popular pilgrimage centre, world bank has sanctioned a fund of Rs. 100 crore: Ganga Sagar Tirath, West Bengal

712) After a rigorous bidding in the auctioning of which item the government recently fetched about Rs. 1.10 lac crore: Telecom spectrum

713) Which international prize given in the field of Mathematics is popular as the Nobel of Maths: Abel Prize

714) Who has been appointed as the new spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry: Vikas Swarup

715) By which country Indian artist Bharti Kher has been honoured with ‘Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters’: France

716) Which high court became the first court in India to set up dedicated commercial divisions within it, in line with recommendation of the Law Commission: Delhi

717) India's first Polar Remotely Operated Vehicle (PROVe), was made operational at which place in North Antarctica: Priyadarshini Lake

718) Name the ambitious project that aims to develop 12 smart cities at ports and several coastal economic zones to promote tourism and economic growth: Sagarmala

719) International Gandhi Peace Prize 2014 is given for what purpose: For promoting peace and harmony in public life

720) What is the amount of cash award in the International Gandhi Peace Prize: Rs. 1 cr

721) Which organization has been selected for the international Gandhi peace prize 2014: ISRO

722) Name the airlines whose aircraft went crashing into a mountainside in French Alps on March 24, killing all 150 persons aboard: Germanwings

723) Name the space vehicle that became the first human-made vehicle that has completed 11 years

marathon on a planet: Opportunity Rover of NASA 724) Name the cricketer who scored highest runs in the

Cricket World Cup 2015: Martin Guptil (NZ) - 547 725) _______________ was declared as the ‘Man of the

Match’ in the final match of Cricket World Cup 2015: James Faulkner (Aus)

726) Saina Nehwal defeated world champion _______________ to win the women’s singles title in the India Open Badminton Championship: Ratchanok Intanon

727) Name the male Indian badminton player who won the recently held India Open Badminton Championship: Kidambi Srikanth

728) The prestigious India Open Badminton Championship was held in March 2015 at which place: New Delhi

FEBRUARY – 2015 729) The first Grand Slam of the tennis for 2015 –

Australian Open was held at which place: Melbourne, Australia

730) Name the winner of men’s singles title at the Australian Open tennis tournament: Novak Djokovic

731) Name the winner of women’s singles title at the Australian Open tennis tournament: Serena Williams

732) Name the Indian tennis player who won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open: Leander Paes

733) Nicol David, World Women’s Squash champion has set a new record for topping the world rankings for the 106th month. She is from which country: Malaysia

734) The base year for measuring National Accounts has recently been revised to _______ from 2004 – 05 earlier: 2011-12

735) Sergio Mattarella has been elected as the new President of which country: Italy

736) _______ has been appointed Head Coach of India’s men’s Hockey team: Paul Van Ass

737) The Filmfare award for the best actor for 2014 was won by _________: Shahid Kapoor for Haider

738) The Filmfare award for the best actress for 2014 was won by _________: Kangana Ranaut for Queen

739) The Filmfare award for the best director for 2014 was won by _________: Vikas Bahl for Queen

740) Name the renowned music composer and actor who has been appointed Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi: Shekhar Sen

741) Charles H. Townes, American noble prize winner scientist passed away recently. He was known for which popular invention: Laser lights

742) What is the full form of the word LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation


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743) India's first fenced elephant sanctuary is to be setup in which Biological Park in Karnataka: Bannerghatta

744) Which country secured the no. 1 position in world in consumption of gold in 2014: India

745) The Reserve Bank on Feb. 3 doubled the annual overseas investment ceiling for individuals to $_________ per person per year under the Liberalised Remittance: 250,000

746) Under which project Govt plans to construct over two crore toilets in select villages to make India free from open defecation by 2019: MNREGA

747) The Reserve Bank has allowed banks to install which type of machines at locations selected by them (banks) without getting its prior permission: Cash Deposit Machines

748) Which country has overtaken the United States as the top destination for foreign direct investment for the first time since 2003: China

749) Which country has become the first country in the world to allow a "three-parent" IVF (in vitro fertilization) technique: Britain

750) Who is the author of world famous novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”: Harper Lee

751) Saloni Dalal, a 12 year old girl became the youngest medal winner in the 35th National Games in Kerala by winning a Bronze medal in which field: 200 meter breast stroke swimming event

752) Which state won the 10th National Award for excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA): Madhya Pradesh

753) Which state launched e-registration of properties in all the 130 tehsil and sub-tehsils of the State on Feb 04: Haryana

754) Who has been appointed as the new Union Home Secretary: LC Goyal

755) Gaur Hari Singhania, a noted industrialist passed away recently. He was associated with which corporate group: J K Group of Industries

756) ________ has been appointed as member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by the US government: Ajay Banga

757) Which Indian Bank raised about Rs 10,000 crore by selling American Depository Receipts in the largest follow-on offer by a private sector firm: HDFC Bank

758) Ms. Zoe Konstantopoulou has been elected as the new President of which country: Greece

759) In which country Shiite Houthi rebels dissolved the Parliament and took over the reins of the impoverished nation: Yemen

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GYANM GENERAL AWARENESS ISSUE SEPTEMBER 2015

Education

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