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Page4 CURRENT AFFAIRS May 1-2, 2014

1)The Expert Committee to help develop a low-carbon growth strategy for India presented its report to the Union Govt. on 1 May 2014. Who is heading this 26-member committee? Dr. Kirit Parikh, former member of Planning Commission (This committee was constituted in January 2010 by Prime Manmohan Singh to suggest a national low-carbon growth strategy for India)

2)The Supreme Court on 1 May 2014 reconstituted a panel (Special Investigation Team SIT) to monitor the Union governments probe on black money. Who will head this SIT? MB Shah, former judge(Constitution of this SIT was ordered by the apex court a day after Centre relented and disclosed names of 18 people it was investigating for tax evasion to the Supreme Court. The Centre had on 30 April disclosed names of 18 persons who had stashed black money in LGT Bank in Liechtenstein. This was done as per information furnished by the German government to India in 2009)

3)A woman was killed and at least 18 others were injured in twin blasts in an express train stationed at Chennai Central railway station on 1 May 2014. Which train was this? Bangalore-Guwahati Superfast Express(Train No. 12509) The explosions were reported shortly after the train pulled into platform no. 9 at the railway station. The blasts damaged three coaches (S3, S4 and S5). A multi-agency probe was launched to investigate the source and nature of the bombs.

4)According to the latest data released by World Bank Groups International Comparison Program (ICP), India became the third largest economy in the world. This was a rapid climb for India as it was ranked at 10th spot in 2005. However, this ICP study was not based on evaluation of actual GDPs of countries. On which basis was this ranking done by ICP? On Purchasing Power Parity PPP(The GDP of various countries was evaluated on PPP and it was evaluated that the purchasing power parities -based world GDP amounted to $90,647 billion)

5)Which Afro-Arabian country on 1 May 2014 adopted a landmark new electoral law, which requires party lists for legislative elections to be half women and half men? Tunisia(The newly adopted law also allows members of the authoritarian regime ousted in 2011 to run for office. The law paves the way for general elections later this year. Tunisias path to democracy has been rocky but is seen as a model for other countries, after street protests overthrew a dictator and unleashed uprisings across the region known as the Arab Spring)

6)Which university is the only Indian university from India to have been listed among the top 100 young universities in the world for 2014 in the recently released study by London-based Times Higher Education Magazine? Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati(The magazine mentions IIT Guwahati at 87th place, marking Indias debut on the rankings. It is placed alongside the New University of Lisbon and the University of Western Sydney. IIT Guwahati campus came up in 1994. JNU, however, missed the bus by a small margin, with IIT Guwahati beating it on the strength of its citation record. For the third year in a row, the ranking was headed by South Koreas Pohang University of Science and Technology)7)Who was recently appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of Delhi-based Jamia Milia Islamia? Prof. Talat Ahmad(Prof. Talat Ahmad was appointed by President Pranab Mukherjee. This post had been vacant since former Jamia vice-chancellor Najeeb Jung was made Delhis Lieutenant Governor. Till now Ahmad was Vice-Chancellor of University of Kashmir and had previously served at the Department of Geology, University of Delhi)


1)A high-level committee recommended recasting of the Index of Industrial Production and (IIP) Wholesale Price Index (WPI) with an objective to present a more realistic picture of the economy. Who is heading this high-level committee which recently submitted its report? Saumitra Chaudhuri, Member, Planning Commission and Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council (The committee submitted its report on the IIP and WPI during last week of April 2014. The whole exercise of recasting these indexes was aimed at making the indices reflect each other)

2)Which Islamist militant group claimed responsibility for the bomb explosion attack that rocked the outskirts of the Nigerian capital, Abuja on 2 May 2014? Boko Haram(The explosion killed at least 19 people and injured over 60. This was the second explosion in less than a month to have rocked Abuja. The blast struck the same Nyanya district that was hit by a car bomb on April 14 which killed at least 75 people. Boko Haram, which means western education is a sin in the Hausa language, has been waging a violent campaign for the past five years to impose Shariah, or Islamic law, in Africas biggest economy)

3)Which passenger train derailed in Maharashtras Raigad district on 4 May 2014 killing more than 18 passengers and injuring over 150? Diva-Sawantwadi Road Passenger(This passenger train derailed between Nagothane and Roha stations in Raigad district. Services on the Konkan Railways line were suspended until evening causing a lot of inconvenience to passengers)

4)Who was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Libya on 3 May 2014? Ahmed Matiq(He was sworn in by the interim Libyan Parliament despite a disputed vote. Initially, only 113 lawmakers voted for Ahmed Matiq, falling short of the 120 votes necessary to secure his win)

5)A California jury on 2 May 2014 awarded Apple $119 million in a patent battle with Samsung over alleged copying of smart phone features. This award was far less than what Apple had demanded and the jury made the victory even smaller by finding that Apple illegally used one of Samsungs patents. How much award was sought by Apple? $2.2 billion(During the month-long trial, Apple argued that many of the key functions and vital features of Samsung phones were invented by Apple. Samsung countered that its phones operate on the Google Android software system and that any legal complaint Apple has is with the search giant. The jury found that Apple had infringed one of Samsungs patents in creating the iPhone 4 and

6)30 people were killed within 36 hours in attack by Bodo militants in lower districts of Assam on 2 and 3 May 2014. Which were the two most-affected districts? Kokrajhar and Baksa(Four districts Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalgiri and Chirang come under the proposed Bodoland region in Assam. The killings took place mainly in Kokrajhar and Baksa districts. After these killings curfew was imposed in Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang. The state government accused the Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) of carrying out these killings)


1)The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6 May 2014 issued the guidelines allowing minors to operate bank accounts independently with a view to promote financial inclusion and bring uniformity in opening of such accounts in banks. What is the prescribed age for minors to operate bank accounts, as announced by the RBI in this guideline? Above 10 years(According to the guidelines issued by the RBI, minors above 10 years of age can open and operate independently savings bank account and use other facilities like ATM and cheque books)

2)The Supreme Court on 6 May 2014 held that the government cannot impose mother tongue on linguistic minority for imparting primary education. A bench of the apex court gave this order while hearing the government orders of which state pertaining to this issue? Karnataka(The bench comprising of Chief Justice R.M. Lodha and justices A.K. Patnaik, S.J. Mukhopadhaya, Dipak Misra and F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, was hearing the issue which had come before the apex court as two Karnataka government orders of 1994 making mother tongue or regional language compulsory for imparting education from class I to IV, had come under challenge)

3)Indias first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, which was headed for the scrap yard, got another breather from the Supreme Court on 5 May 2014 as it blocked the vessels journey to ignominy. This order was passed by the apex court on a petition filed by a petitioner-activist. Who is he? Kiran Paigankar(Through the Save Vikrant Committee, Paigankar and other activists last month moved the apex court in a bid to save the vessel which saw action in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The ship was due at the scrapyard on 17 May after it was sold for Rs.60 crore through an e-auction to the Mumbai-based IB Commercials Pvt Ltd.)

4)Who was declared the winner of Panamas presidential election held on 4 May 2014? Juan Carlos Varela, who is countrys Vice President (Varela will assume office on 1 July 2014. His win thwarted an attempt by former ally President Ricardo Martinelli to extend his grip on power by electing a handpicked successor)

5)Who was declared the President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) on 6 May 2014, hours after which RCA was indefinitely suspended by the BCCI? Lalit Modi(After suspending RCA the BCCI also appointed an ad-hoc body to run its cricket affairs. The election for RCA was conducted in December last year but the results were sealed following a Supreme Court directive. After much deliberation, the result was finally announced by a court-appointed observer on 6 May. Modi won by a landslide margin, polling in 24 out of 33 votes, while his opponent Rampal Sharma earned just five)

6)Who defeated five-time world snooker champion Ronnie OSullivan to win the World Snooker Championship on 6 April 2014? Mark Selby(Selby defeated OSullivan 18-14 to win the World Championship for the first time. OSullivan, bidding for a third consecutive victory, crumbled under pressure and failed to hold on to his 10-7 overnight lead as Selby won five of the six frames in the third session)7)Pakistans National Assembly on 6 May 2014 approved a resolution to lift a ban on video-sharing website YouTube. YouTube has been banned in Pakistan for how many times? Three times(YouTube was first banned in Pakistan on 22 February 2008, by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) because of the number of non-Islamic objectionable videos. The ban was lifted on 26 February 2008, after the website removed the objectionable content from its servers. YouTube was banned for the second time in 2010 in a bid to contain blasphemous material, but the ban was lifted after removal of the contents May 27, 2010. PTA banned YouTube for the third time after the website did not remove the trailer the film Innocence of Muslims which ostensibly insulted Islam)

Page10 CURRENT AFFAIRS May 8, 2014

1)The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put on hold its decision to make Aadhaar-based biometric authentication for transactions mandatory. The Supreme Court had earlier asked the government not to link Aadhaar with any social benefit schemes and subsidies. What was the main reason for this decision of the RBI? Huge time taken for Aadhaars biometric authentication and high set up costs(In the testing phase, biometric authentication took up to 30 seconds even on 3G connections, as opposed to 5 seconds otherwise. Banks were also worried about huge set-up costs needed to enable the required infrastructure for biometric authentication)

2)Thailand went into a new phase of uncertainty on 7 May 2014 as countrys Constitutional Court ordered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and several cabinet ministers to step down. What was the reason given by the court for this harsh order? Yingluck Shinawatra acted illegally while transferring her national security head(Yingluck had been accused of abuse of power in improperly transferring Thawil Pliensri, her national security chief appointed by the opposition-led administration, in 2011. The court felt that this transfer benefitted a close relative of Shinawatra)

3)What major relief was announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 7 May 2014 for takers of housing, auto and personal loans? It directed all the commercial banks not to levy any penalty on pre-payment of loans under floating rate scheme that cover housing, auto as well as personal loans(The RBI advised that banks will not be permitted to charge foreclosure charges/ pre-payment penalties on all floating rate term loans sanctioned to individual borrowers, with immediate effect. Floating loan products include housing, corporate, vehicle and personal loans. Two years ago, RBI had barred banks from levying foreclosure charges or pre-payment penalties on home loans on floating interest rate basis)

4)Indian Naval Chief Admiral RK Dhowan on 7 May 2014 announced that Indias largest warship aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is now operationally deployed. The 44,500-tonne aircraft carrier procured from Russia at a cost of $2.33 billion had arrived in India in January this year. Where is the home-base of this aircraft carrier situated? Karwar, Karnataka(The aircraft carrier, which does not have air defence guns, is expected to get its weaponry for protection against aerial attacks at its scheduled first refit)

5)What is the name of the founder and former director of the scam-ridden National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), who was arrested by the Mumbai police on 7 May 2014? Jignesh Shah(Shah was arrested for his connection with the nearly Rs. 5,600 crore payment crisis. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police also arrested the Chief Financial Officer of Financial Technologies India Ltd. (FTIL), Srikant Javlekar. NSEL is owned by FTIL)

Page12 CURRENT AFFAIRS 6)Which airline became the newest to have won an operating permit for airline services in India? AirAsia India(The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued the air operator permit, the last approval required to launch an airline, to AirAsia India on 7 May 2014. AirAsia India is a three-way venture between the Malaysia-based low-cost airline, the Tata Group and investment firm Telestra Tradeplace. Earlier plans to start the airline in the last quarter of 2013 were delayed, pending DGCAs air operator permit. India presently has five operational national carriers and one regional airline. Competition had eased after the grounding of cash-and-debt-strapped Kingfisher Airlines in October 2012)

May 9-10, 2014

1)What is the name of the first-ever woman Additional Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who was restrained from discharging her duties by the Supreme Court on 9 May 2014? Archana Ramasundaram(Archana Ramasundaram is a senior IPS officer. On May 7 2014, she received a letter from the Union Governments Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT), asking her to take charge immediately, as high-level supervisory rank post in the CBI could not be kept vacant for long. Following which, Ramasundaram took charge as additional director in CBI without in receipt of state governments clearance but she was consequently suspended by the Tamil Nadu government on charges of deserting office. The apex courts order came on a petition filed by senior journalist Vineet Narain, challenging her selection to the CBI)

2)N. Janardhana Reddy, who passed away on 9 May 2014, was a former Chief Minister of which state? Andhra Pradesh(Janardhana Reddy was Chief Minister of AP between 1990 and 1992. He was also a member of the Lok Sabha for three terms. He was a senior member of Congress and ban on Naxalite-outfit Peoples War Group (PWG) was imposed during his tenure)

3)The Supreme Court on 9 May 2014 order a CBI probe into the Saradha Chit Fund scam case of West Bengal. This order was seen as a major set-back for Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, as many of her party colleagues are allegedly involved in the multi-crore scam. Which TMC MP is being bars and is awaiting trial in this multi-crore scam? Kunal Ghosh (Saradha Group raised money from lakhs of small investors through agents over last several years in West Bengal and adjoining states. Later, when the company failed to return the money, the scam came to fore and eventually the company owners and the top politicians were arrested. Trinamool MP Ghosh is alleged to share cordial relationship with Sudipta Sen, the owner of the tainted group)

4)The UN Security Council voted unanimously on 8 May 2014 to establish a U.N. medal for exceptional courage in the name of an unarmed U.N. peacekeeper from Senegal, who lost his life after saving hundreds of Rwandans from death in the 1994 genocide. What was the name of this peacekeeper from Senegal? Captain Mbaye Diagne(Mbaye Diagne went against orders to save lives during the 100-day slaughter. The resolution, sponsored by Jordan, created The Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage to be awarded to U.N. military, police, civilians and associated personnel, who demonstrate exceptional courage, in the face of extreme danger)

5)African National Congress (ANC) won the elections held on 7 May 2014 for the National Assembly. Results for the same were announced on 9 May 2014. ANC won 62.2% votes, which is nearly the same share it won in 1994, the year it assumed power under Nelson Mandela in the nationsfirst truly democratic election. This victory is ANCs .consecutive win in national elections? 5th

6)Indias Adani Group got approval for a $15.46 billion coal mine development project in which state of Australia recently? Queensland(This approval would enable Gautam Adani led Adani Group to move to the next stage of project, the final environmental approval of the Federal Government of Australia. The Queensland Government approved the Adani mining project, worth $15.46 billion, in the Galilee Basin)

7)IPL franchisee Delhi Daredevils recently launched a co-branded cricket credit card in partnership with which commercial bank? The Ratnakar Bank Ltd(This was the first time that a commercial bank and a leading cricket franchise came together to launch a co-branded cricket credit card. The card brings to its cardholders exclusive privileges like meeting and greeting the Delhi Daredevils team, personal and original memorabilia, coaching camps, free match tickets, talk shows, etc.)


1)A referendum for independence was held in which two pro-Russian eastern Ukrainian regions on 11 May 2014? Donetsk and Luhansk(These two pro-Russian regions held referendum for self-rule, a move deemed illegal by the Ukrainian government and the West. According to the results announced on 12 May, at least 89% of the voters in Donetsk region cast ballots in favour of independence in the referendum. Despite Russian President Vladimir Putins constant urging to postpone the referendum, the activists went ahead with it and also hinted that they intended to hold a second round later to join Russia)

2)An important ceasefire agreement was reached in war-ridden African country South Sudan on 9 May 2014. This agreement was reached between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar to end five months of hostilities. Which countrys Prime Minister hosted and facilitated these peace talks? Ethiopia(Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn also signed this ceasefire agreement which was signed at Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa)

3)West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy announced his retirement from Test cricket, in a stunning development after he was sacked as the West Indies captain on 9 May 2014. Who replaced Sammy as the new West Indian cricket captain? Denesh Ramdin(Sammy led West Indies in 30 of his 38 Tests, winning eight, losing 12 and drawing ten matches, and was credited for returning discipline and stability to the team. However, West Indies have remained eighth in the Test rankings and heavy defeats on the tours of India and New Zealand last year, placed Sammys 4-year long stint as captain under fresh scrutiny)

4)Caparo Group won the International Business of the Year award 2014 at the Asian Business Awards Midlands in Birmingham on 9 May 2014. This group is founded by which industrialist of Indian origin? Lord Swaraj Paul(Lord Paul arrived in London in 1966 in search of a cure for his fourth child Ambika, who was suffering from leukaemia. As he emerged from the trauma of her death, Lord Paul set up Caparo, which is today the largest family-owned business in Britain)

5)Who won the Spanish F1 Grand Prix 2014 on 11 May 2014? Lewis Hamiltonof Great Britain (This was Lewis Hamiltons fourth consecutive victory in 2014 F1 season for his team Mercedes. His team-mate Nico Rosberg (Germany) was second and third spot was claimed by French driver Romain Grosjean of Lotus team. It was also the fourth consecutive one-two finish for Mercedes)

6)According to the Sunday Times Rich List published on 11 May 2014, who edged out steel-baron Lakshmi Niwas Mittal to emerge the richest people in the United Kingdom? Hinduja Brothers(London-based Srichand and Gopichand Hindujas fortune stood at 11.9 billion pounds and they moved up from third position last year to top the UKs billionaire charts this year. The Hinduja brothers run the multinational Hinduja Group conglomerate with interests across automotive, real estate and oil sectors)


1)What is the aggregate polling percentage for General Elections of 2014 which concluded on 12 May 2014 with the completion of ninth and final phase of voting? 66.38%(The General Elections 2014 for the constitution of 16th Lok Sabha recorded a poll percentage of 66.38%, which is the highest ever polling percentage for Lok Sabha elections. The last highest record of poll percentage was 64.01% seen in 1984 general elections when Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi rode a sympathy wave to come to power after the assassination of his mother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi)

2)Whose name was proposed by the Union Governmentas the next chief of the Indian Army on 12 May 2014? Lt. General Dalbir Singh Suhag(The Union Government proposed name of Lt. Gen. Suhag after getting the approval of the Election Commission due to the Model Code of Conduct being imposed due to General Elections. Present Army chief General Bikram Singh is due to retire on 31 July 2014)

3)What is the name of Mahatma Gandhi University Vice-Chancellor, who was dismissed from service on 12 May 2014 and thus became the first Vice-Chancellor in Kerala to be so removed by the Chancellor? Dr. A.V. George(He was sacked from service by Governor Sheila Dixit, who is also the Chancellor of the university. He was sacked for allegedly misrepresentation of information regarding his qualifications to the selection and search committee)

4)Which country was ranked as the cheapest among the major world economies in a latest report by Germanys Deutsche Bank? India(According to this recently released report India is the cheapest major economy on the basis of prices of products comparable across countries. The report claimed that a weaker rupee has allowed India to remain the cheapest major economy despite the highest inflation. Australia was ranked as the most expensive major economy while the United States was ranked as the cheapest developed country. Brazil was again listed as the most expensive among developing countries)

5)According to a report by Prime Database, the quantum of funds raised by Indian companies from the retail issuance of debt securities or bonds hit a 10-year high of over Rs. 42,000 crore in 2013-14. This is the highest amount of funds raised by companies through retail issuance of debt securities since 2003-04. What was the main reason for this spurt in fund raising through debt securities? On account of huge amount of tax-free bond garnered by financial institutions and PSUs(Around 86% of total amount was collected through tax-free bonds)


1)Shares of state-run banks rose as much as 5% after an RBI panel report said that the Government should reduce the holdings in PSU lenders to below 50%. Who headed this panel? PJ Nayak, ex-Chairman of Axis Bank (The report was released on 13 May 2014 and had mainly stated that Government should cut its holding in public sector banks to below 50%, criticising the way in which the lenders are being governed)

2)What is the name of Worlds first ever electric aircraft that has successfully taken its maiden voyage recently? E-Fan(This electric aircraft is the latest creation of Toulouse (France) based Airbus. The fact that its engines are powered by electricity provides it a low-noise, eco-friendly profile. This successful voyage carves a new path for the technologys potential in aircrafts. The cost amounts to 16 dollars per hour to power providing decent height of 220km/h with a cruising speed of 160km/h on its 30kW engines)

3)Which car belonging to Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) became the second to reach the milestone of 2.5 million units sale recently? Alto(MSI announced on 13 May 2014 that sale of Alto has crossed 25 lakh units and it became the second car after Maruti 800 to achieve this mark)

4)Mukul Sinha, a Gujarat High Court lawyer who had made a name for himself fighting cases on behalf of the victims of riots that tore through the state in 2002, passed away in Ahmedabad on 12 May 2014. What is the name of the NGO founded by him which championed the cause of riot victims and other harassed people of the society? Jan Sangharsh Manch(Sinha was a very fierce critic of Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP Prime Minister candidate Narendra Modi and his governance model)

5)Only two institutes from India made it to the prestigious Top 50 in the QS Asian University rankings that were released during May 2014. Which institutes are these? IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay(These rankings are based on criteria such as academic reputation (30%); reputation of university among employers (10%), student/ faculty ratio (20%); research by faculty (15%), citations per paper (15%) and proportion of international faculty and students (5%) and exchange programme students (5%))

6)Which residence was ranked as the most expensive billionaire home in the world in Forbes list of the most expensive homes in the world? Antilia, Mukesh Ambanis 27-story, 400,000-square-foot skyscraper home in Mumbai (Antilia named after a mythical island in the Atlantic, tops the Forbes list of the most expensive homes in the world for 2014. The house has six stories of underground parking, three helicopter pads, and reportedly requires a staff of 600 to keep it running. In second place on the list is Villa Leopolda, the home of Brazilian philanthropist and social figure Lily Safra in France. The third-most expensive billionaire home-and the most expensive in the United States, is the home of American investor and businessman Ira Rennert in Sagaponack, New York)

Page21 CURRENT AFFAIRS


1)Who was elected as the first Chief Minister of the newly-formed state of Telangana? K Chandrasekhara Rao(He is the president and founder of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and TRS had won 63 of the 119 Assembly seats in the assembly elections, results for which were announced on 16 May 2014. The Legislature party of the TRS elected him as the first Chief Minister of Telangana on 17 May 2014)

2)Who would take over as the first Chief Minister of Seemandhra, the residual state after carving out of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh? N. Chandra Babu Naidu(Naidu led Telugu Desham Party (TDP) won 103 assembly seats from a total of 175 seats. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) won 67 seats while TDPs alliance partner BJP won 2 seats. Congress, which ruled for over four decades in the 57 years of existence of Andhra Pradesh, drew a blank in the elections and the party would not even have representation in the Legislative Assembly of residuary Andhra Pradesh)

3)Navin Patnaik led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led Odisha state government returned to power yet again by winning the assembly elections of 2014. The results for the elections were announced on 16 May 2014 in which BJD claimed more than two-third majority by winning 117 of the total 147 seats. Navin Patnaik would be Chief Minister of the state for .which term? Fourth(Patnaik had been the Chief Minister of Odisha since 5 March 2000. BJD has now won assembly elections under his helm in 2000, 2004, 2009 and now in 2014. He was unanimously elected the BJD legislature party leader on 18 May 2014)

4)Who was sworn in as the 8thChief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 18 May 2014? Nabam Tuki(Nabam Tuki is the veteran Congress leader from the state and this is his second consecutive term. Congress had won a clear majority in the Assembly elections by winning 42 of the total 60 seats. BJP won 11 seats and was followed by Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) with 5 seats. Remaining seats were shared by independent candidates. The results for states Assembly elections were announced on 16 May 2014)

5)C.P. Krishnan Nair, who passed away on 17 May 2014, was founder of which famous hotel and resort chain in India? Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts(C.P. Krishnan Nair started to build the Leela group of hotels at the age of 65 by setting up Hotel Leela Venture Ltd in 1983. He had in 1987 launched the iconic Leela Kempinski Hotel in Mumbai, his first hotel. In a short span of 25 years, the Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has eight luxury properties in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Udaipur, Goa, Chennai and Kovalam with new hotels opening in Noida, Agra, Jaipur and Lake Ashtamudi in Kerala. On 7 February 2014, Nair stepped down as chairman of his company and his elder son Vivek Nair was elevated to the position of chairman and managing director, while younger son Dinesh Nair was appointed co-chairman and managing director)

6)Russi Mody, who passed away on 16 May 2014 at the age of 96, headed which famous corporate company of the country? Tata Steel Ltd.(Tata Steel Ltd. was then known as Tata Iron and Steel Co. (TISCO). Russi Mody joined TISCO in 1939 and rose through the ranks to become its Chairman. He retired in 1993 leaving behind a legacy of 53 years, which won him and the company international acclaim in various fields especially in industrial relations)

7)Which place of Turkey came to limelight for countrys worst-ever mine disaster of 13 May 2014 in which more than 300 mine workers were killed? Soma(The accident took place at coal mines of Soma, a town situated 480 km Southwest of Istanbul. The mines were managed by Soma Holdings. The accident took place when an explosion sent carbon monoxide gas into the mines tunnels while 787 miners were underground. This accident resulted in fierce anti-government protests starting at numerous places of Turkey in which the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was criticized for appearing insensitive in his reaction to the disaster. At least 25 people were arrested by Turkish police till 18 May 2014 for their negligence)


May 20, 2014

1)Who was named as Indian captain for Hockey World Cup 2014 to be held in the Hague, Netherlands from 31 May to 15 June 2014? Sardar Singh(The 18-member India squad was announced by Hockey India (HI) on 14 May 2014. Rupinder Pal Singh was named Indian teams vice captain. The selection trials for national team were held on May 5-6 at Delhis Major Dhyanchand National Hockey Stadium. Terry Walsh is teams Head Coach while Roelant Oltmans is the high performance director)

2)Four West African countries on 17 May 2014 agreed to club together to wage war on Nigerias Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. The decision was made during a summit hosted by French President Francois Hollande in Paris, in which the US, France, and the UK vowed to help Nigeria with intelligence. Which four West African countries are these? Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and Benin(These four countries vowed to wage war on the Islamist militant group, which they say now has links to Al-Qaeda. Boko Haram abducted 223 schoolgirls, Muslims and Christians, from their hostel in northeast Nigeria in April 2014)

3)The Supreme Court on 17 May 2014 constituted a new bench comprising of two judges to hear the Sahara case. This was done after Justice J.S. Khehar rescued himself from hearing the matter while the other judge Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan retired. Who are the two judges who constitute this new bench? Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice A.K. Sikri(The previous bench had upheld its order jailing Subrata Roy)

4)Sir Jack Brabham, who passed away on 19 May 2014 at the age of 88, was a legend of which sports? Formula One (F1) car racing(Jack Brabham, an Australian F1 driver, won world championships in 1959, 1960 and 1966. During a F1 career that stretched from 1955 to 1970 Brabham competed in 126 grands prix, winning 14. He is the only man to have won the Formula One drivers title in a car bearing his name)

5)Which telecom and communications company is to acquire DirecTV, the top U.S. satellite TV operator, for $48.5 billion, as announced on 18 May 2014? AT&T(AT&T has planned this acquisition in a bid for growth beyond an increasingly competitive cellular market)

6)An Egyptian Islamic preacher whose fiery sermons before and after 9/11 attracted extremists to his London mosque was convicted on 19 May 2014 in a trial that is expected to provide justice for the victims of a kidnapping in Yemen more than a decade ago. What is the name of this convict? Mustafa Kamel Mustafa alias Abu Hamza(Abu Hamza was found guilty in federal court in Manhattan. Attorney General Eric Holder championed that verdict as a triumph for civil courts. Mustafa was accused of providing material support to terrorist organisations by enabling hostage takers in the Yemen kidnapping to speak on a satellite phone, by sending men to establish an al-Qaeda training camp in Bly, Oregon, and by sending at least one man to training camps in Afghanistan)


May 21-22, 2014

1)For the first time, administration will be standstill in Andhra Pradesh for about a week from 25 May to 1 June 2014, during which a Zero Week would be observed in the state. Why is this Zero Week being observed? To facilitate the formation of two states of Andhra Pradesh (Seemandhra) and Telangana on 2 June 2014(There would be no transactions of any kind at the State secretariat and there would be neither clearance of bills nor any administrative decisions across the State. The salaries of the state-government employees in both the regions would be paid on 24 May itself. In the secretariat, employees will be shifting to their respective blocks allotted for the two States. On 2 June 2, the two separate administrations will swing into action)

2)The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 May 2014 eased gold import norms which were imposed during July 2013. This was done following representations from jewellers, bullion dealers, banks, and trade bodies. Whats the main provision announced under this? Select trading houses, in addition to already permitted banks, have been allowed to import gold(The RBI in July last year had imposed severe restrictions on gold imports in order to check the burgeoning current account deficit and sliding rupee. Now Star trading houses/premier trading houses (STH/PTH) have been allowed to import gold under 20:80 gold import scheme)

3)Chief Minister of which North-Eastern state of India is on the way to become the longest serving Chief Minister in the country? Pawan Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister of Sikkim (Chamling-led Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) won a record mandate in the assembly elections, results for which were announced on 16 May 2014. SDF won 22 out of total 32 assembly seats in the state. Pawan Kumar Chamling has been states Chief Minister since 12 December 1994. He has won his fifth consecutive term and would surpass Jyoti Basus record of 23 years as Chief Minister of West Bengal if he completes his term. He was administered the oath of office on 21 May 2014 for his fifth term)

4)Who was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Bihar on 20 May 2014? Jitan Ram Manjhi(Manjhi was chosen as the successor of Nitish Kumar as he had resigned from his post on 17 May 2014 owning moral responsibility of his party Janata Dal (United)s debacle in the Lok Sabha Elections. JD(U) had won just 2 seats from a total of 40 seats in the state. The combine led by BJP had won 32 seats)

5)Who was selected as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat on 21 May 2014 as Prime Minister (designate) Narendra Modi resigned as states Chief Minister? Anandiben Patel(Anandiben Patel is presently Revenue Minister of Gujarat and will replace Narendra Modi, who takes over as Indias new Prime Minister on 26 May. She would thus become the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat. Anandiben was first elected as an MLA from Mandal constituency in Ahmedabad district in 1998)

6)In an important development Russia and China on 21 May 2014 signed a 30-year gas deal in which China would purchase natural gas of Russia. What is the total estimated value of this huge deal? $400 billion(Under the deal Russia Gazprom will supply 38 billion cubic metres of gas annually to China National Petroleum Corp. The deal was signed on the occasion of Russian President Vladimir Putins two-day state visit to China)

7)The RBI on 21 May 2014 permitted banks to give exporters long-term export advance up to a maximum period of 10 years. This would be subject to exporters with a minimum of three years satisfactory track record. Banks were currently allowed to provide loans to exporters for what duration of time? One year

May 23, 2014

1)Indian womens badminton teamscripted history on 22 May 2014 by reaching the semifinals of theUber Cup tournament for the first time. Indian team defeated which country by 3-0 in the quarterfinals to achieve this milestone? Indonesia(Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal led Indias charge with a 21-17, 21-10 win overLindaweni Fanetri. Before that P V won a hard-fought 21-16, 10-21, 25-23 victory over Bellaetrix Manuputty. Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Jwala Gutta andAshwini Ponnappa then sealed the tie in Indias favour with a21-18, 21-18 win over Polii Greysia and Nitya KrishindaMaheswari in the first doubles)

2)Who took over as the new Chief Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission (CIC) on 22 May 2014? Rajiv Mathur(Rajiv Mathur is a former chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He succeeded Sushma Singh, who retired on 21 May. Mathur, who was administered the oath of office by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, is the 6thchief of CIC)

3)Which south-eastern Asian country witnessed a military coup with an objective of seizing power on 22 May 2014? Thailand(Thai military launched the coup in the country and was formally announced by General Prayuth Chanocha, the head of the Thai Army. The coup came after the introduction of martial law a day before on 21 May and follows the long history of military coups in Thailand. All cabinet ministers were asked to report to a military base in capital Bangkok. The last coup in Thailand was in 2006 and had been followed by more than a year of military rule)

4)Anandiben Patel, who took over as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat on 21 May 2014, is Chief Minister of the state? 15th(She also became the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat. He was selected after Narendra Modi resigned from CMs post on 21 May)

5)Indias largest online retail company Flipkart.com on 22 May 2014 announced acquisition of which fashion e-retailer? Myntra.com(Flipkart.com announced acquisition of Myntra.com in the largest deal in countrys e-commerce space. Thought the two Bangalore-based companies did not disclose the merger amount, estimates of leading analysts suggest the cash-and-stock deal to be worth more than $330 million. This acquisition is also being seen as an early phase of consolidation in the Rs. 62,000-crore e-commerce market. Flipkart.com was set up in 2007 by two ex-Amazon employees as an online book retailing site)6)The 23rdWorld Economic Forum on East Asia summit started on 22 May 2014 at Manila, the Philippines(Hundreds of government, business and academic leaders gathered in the Philippines on 22 May to discuss East Asias economic prospects amid tensions in the South China Sea and political instability in some countries in the region. The summit was held for the first time in Manila)

7)Which restive region of China was targeted with serial explosions killing 31 people and injuring over 100 in a violent terrorist attack on 22 May 2014? Xinjiang(A busy marketplace in Urumqi, the capital of Chinas Muslim-majority Xinjiang region, was targeted with a series of explosions. Xinjiangs capital was the site of ethnic riots in 2009 that left at least 197 people killed and more than a thousand injured as ethnic Uighurs clashed with majority Han Chinese. The attacks were thought to be carried out by Uighur Islamist groups)

May 24, 2014

1)Indian Consulate situated in which province of Afghanistan was attacked on 23 May 2014 by heavily armed gunmen who were later killed in operation by security forces? Herat(Four gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades opened fire on the consulate early in the morning on 23 May. The retaliatory operation was conducted by Afghan security forces and the jawans of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Later all four gunmen were killed while no casualty was reported from the Indian Consulate. Herat is situated around 800 km west of Afghan capital Kabul)

2)Which Lok Sabha constituency recorded the highest voter turnout in the General Elections 2014? Dhubri, Assam(According to the data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI), Assams Dhubri recorded the highest voter turnout of 88.22% in the elections. Dhubri was followed by Nagaland (87.82%), Tamlik, West Bengal (87.59%), Bishnupur, West Bengal (86.72%) and Lakshadweep (86.61%). The average voter turnout of the country was 66.4%)

3)Which Lok Sabha constituency recorded the lowest voter turnout in the General Elections 2014? Srinagar, J&K(Srinagars voter turnout stood at just 25.86% while states Anantnag (28.84%) and Baramulla (39.13%) followed it. Maharashtras Kalyan was at the fourth place as far as lowest voting percentage is concerned with 42.88% voting and was followed by Bihars Patna Sahib constituency with 45.33% voting)

4)Who was appointed as the Chief Minister of Nagaland following the resignation of Neiphiu Rio from the post on 22 May 2014? T R Zeliang(Zeliang is a senior leader of the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) and had staked claim to form the new government consequent upon the resignation of incumbent Chief Minister Rio, who won the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland on an NPF ticket with a margin of over 4 lakh votes. Zeliang had been holding the charge of Minister for Planning and Coordination and other departments in the Rio government. Rio is expected to take a prominent role in central politics)

5)Which team ended Chinas decade-long Thomas Cup reign on 23 May 2014 by defeating it the semi-finals and made its maiden entry into final of this prestigious tournament? Japan(Japan pulled off a huge upset with a 3-0 victory in the semi-final of the mens team event being played at Delhis Siri Fort Sports Complex. It will now meet Malaysia in its maiden final. Malaysia comprehensively defeated Indonesia 3-0 to march into the finals. Thomas Cup is the most prestigious mens team badminton championship)

6)Which teams on 23 May 2014 entered the finals of Uber Cup 2014 being played at Delhis Siri Fort Indoor Stadium? China and Japan(Japan defeating India 3-2 in a close tie to make its entry into the finals. Thus India won the bronze medal in Uber Cup for the first time. China on the other hand defeated South Korea by 3-0 to enter finals. Uber Cup is the most prestigious womens team badminton championship)

7)Madhav Mantri, who passed away on 23 May 2014 at the age of 92, was a doyen of which sports? Cricket(Mantri represented India in four test matches and played 95 first-class matches. He was a wicket-keeper batsman. But more than cricket he was known for his incredible knowledge of Indian cricket and was often called a walking compendium on Indian cricket. He was also a maternal uncle of Indias batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar)

May 25-26, 2014

1)What is the name of the 13-year old Indian girl, who on 25 May 2014 created history by becoming the youngest ever woman to scale the Mount Everest? Malavath Poorna(She successfully scaled worlds highest peak at 6 am on 25 May. Poorna, a dalit girl coming from Telanganas Nizamabad district was accompanied by 16-year old Sadhanapalli Anand Kumar, a Class IX student from the Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh. What makes their feat extra significant is that both come from rural and economically backward families, and are students of state-run educational institutions in what will soon be the state of Telangana)

2)The iconic Ambassador car of India is almost on its way to become history as its owner company the C.K. Birla Group-promoted Hindustan Motors (HM) on 24 May 2014 suspended work at its oldest factory near Kolkota. Where is this famous factory situated? Uttarpara(The work was suspended due to almost negligible demand for Ambassador car, which was once the lifeline of whole India. Around 2,500 workers working in the Uttarpara plant are facing the risk of losing their jobs. Ambassador was the first car to be completely made in India some 6 decades back)

3)The name of a famous mango cultivator from the famed mango belt of Malihabad (Uttar Pradesh) came to limelight after he developed a new variety of mango and named it Namo aam after Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi. What is the name of this veteran mango cultivator, who is also popularly known as the Mango King? Kalimullah Khan(Kalimullah Khan named a new hybrid variety of name after Narendra Modi on 23 May 2014. He had earlier earned global acknowledgement by developing 300 different variants of the fruit on one tree. He has also been awarded the Padma Shree, Indias fourth highest civilian honour)

4)Which country won the 2014 edition of badmintons Thomas Cup on 25 May 2014? Japan(Japan defeated Malaysia 3-2 in the finals of the championship played at Delhi. Japan had earlier done a sensational 3-0 rout of five-timedefending champions China on 23 May to enter the finals. This was Japans maiden Thomas Cup title. Malaysia, who won the last of their five Thomas Cup titles in 1992, hadalso lost in the final in 1994, 1998 and 2002. Thomas Cup is the premier title for mens team badminton)

5)Badmintons Uber Cup 2014 was won by which country on 25 May 2014? China(China successfully defended its title by scoring an emphatic 3-1 win over Japan. It was Chinas 13thUber Cup title, the most by any team. Uber Cup is often known as the World team championship for womens badminton)

6)Who won the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix title for 2014 on 25 May 2014? Nico Rosberg(Germany) for his Mercedes team (His teammate Lewis Hamilton (UK) was second and third place in the winning podium was taken by Australias Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull team. Force Indias Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) claimed the fifth place to get 10 points. With this win Rosberg again took the lead over Hamilton in the 2014 F1 season, which has been completely dominated by Mercedes team)

7)Which team won the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League title on 24 May 2014? Real Madrid(Spains premier football club defeated Atletico Madrid by 4-1 to win its 10thUEFA Champions League title, which is a record by any team. This win also ended Real Madrids driest Champions League spell having last won the title in 2001-02)

May 27, 2014

1)Narendra Damodardas Modi took oath as 15thPrime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. The swearing-in ceremony was held in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan and President Pranab Mukherjee administered the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and his council of ministers. How many cabinet ministers took oath along with Narendra Modi? Twenty three(23 cabinet ministers, 10 Ministers of State (MoS) with independent charge and 12 MoS took oath. With this Narendra Modis council of ministers presently comprises of 45 ministers)2)Arun Jaitley has been given charge of the Finance Ministry. He has been also given additional charge of which important ministry? Defence Ministry

3)Ravi Shankar Prasad was given charge of the Law and Justice Ministry. Which other charge was also given to him? Telecom Ministry

4)Who is the youngest Cabinet Minister in Narendra Modis cabinet? Smriti Zubin Irani, who is 38 years old and was given the important charge of Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD)

5)Who is the oldest Cabinet Minister in Narendra Modis cabinet? Dr. Najma A. Heptullah, who is 74 years old and was given the charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs

6)How many women ministers were inducted in Narendra Modis council of Ministers? Seven(Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharati, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Smriti Zubin Irani, Dr. Najma A. Heptullah and Nirmala Sitaramam. Of these Nirmala Sitaramam was inducted as Minister of State with independent charge while other six were inducted as cabinet ministers)

7)What is the average age of Narendra Modis council of ministers (including him)? 60 years

8)Which is the only Muslim to be inducted into Narendra Modis council of ministers? Dr. Najma A. Heptullah(She is a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP)

9)Which is the only Buddhist to be inducted into Narendra Modis council of ministers? Kiren Rijuju(He has been elected as a Member of Parliament in 16thLok Sabha from Arunachal West constituency of Arunachal Pradesh on BJP ticket)

10)Following are the portfolios all 23 Cabinet Ministers - Rajnath Singh Home Minster-Sushma Swaraj External Affairs & Overseas Indian Affairs-Arun Jaitley Finance Corporate Affairs & Defence-M. Venkaiah Naidu Urban Development Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation & Parliamentary Affairs-Nitin Jairam Gadkari Road Transport and Highways Shipping-D.V. Sadananda Gowda Railways-Uma Bharati Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation-Dr. Najma A. Heptullah Minority Affairs-Gopinathrao Munde Rural Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Sanitation-Ramvilas Paswan Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution-Kalraj Mishra Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises-Maneka Gandhi Women and Child Development-Ananthkumar Chemicals and Fertilizers-Ravi Shankar Prasad Communications and Information Technology & Law and Justice-Ashok Gajapathi Raju Civil Aviation-Anant Geete Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises-Harsimrat Kaur Badal Food Processing Industries-Narendra Singh Tomar Mines & Steel Labour and Employment-Jual Oram Tribal Affairs-Radha Mohan Singh Agriculture-Thaawar Chand Gehlot Social Justice and Empowerment-Smriti Zubin Irani Human Resource Development-Dr. Harsh Vardhan Health and Family Welfare

May 28, 2014

1)In its first major decision the newly inducted Narendra Modi government on 27 May 2014 approved the constitution of Special Investigating Team (SIT) to investigate large amounts of money stashed abroad by evading taxes or generated through unlawful activities. This SIT was formed to implement the earlier decision of the Supreme Court of India. Who has been appointed as the chairman of this SIT? Justice M.B. Shah, former Judge of the Supreme Court (Justice Arijit Pasayat, former Judge of the Supreme Court was appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the SIT. There are 11 other members in the SIT. SIT will prepare a comprehensive action plan including creation of necessary institutional structure that could enable the country to fight the battle against unaccounted money)

2)Which PSU company accorded with the Navratna status suffered losses for the third year in a row and its Navratna status is in the danger of being taken back? Shipping Corporation of India SCI(SCI is the countrys largest shipping company. TheNavratnastatus, which provides the company more autonomy in capital expenditure, investments, formation of joint ventures and other corporate decisions, was conferred on SCI in 2008. Hit by the bearish freight market, SCI reported a loss of Rs. 274.66 crore for the year ended March 31, 2014. This is against the loss of Rs. 114 crore in 2012-13 and Rs. 428 crore reported the previous year. According to theNavratnanorms, the company has to report profits for continuous three years to be eligible for the covetous status)

3)U.S. President Barack Obama on 27 May 2014 announced plans for greatly reducing U.S. forces in Afghanistan by the end of the year. He also reiterated his commitment about U.S. militarys complete pull-out by the end of which year? 2016(Obamas blueprint calls for cutting the current U.S. force of 32,000 to 9,800 by the start of next year and complete pull-out by 2016)

4)RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi recently said that the bank is proposing to permit opening of small bank accounts by merely filling up a form without any document for address or identity proof. This is being proposed in a bid to increase access to banking services. However, these proposed small accounts would come with some limitations. What are these limitations?These accounts will have limitations on credit/debit balancesWill be available only at core banking solution-enabled branchesNo foreign remittances will be permittedWill be available only for 12 months further extension on application for officially valid documentThe aggregate of all credits in a financial year cannot exceed Rs. 1 lakh

5)What is the name of the the CEO of Amway India who was arrested on 27 May 2014 on the charge of cheating and other financial fraud? William Scott Pinckney(In his capacity, as the CEO of Amway India, Pinckney, figured as the second accused in a case that was registered at Two Town Police Station in Kurnool city (AP) in 2013 in response to a complaint by an advocate Jagannatha Reddy. Amway India however protested against his arrest)

May 29-30, 2014

1)Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) recently acquired a controlling stake in which leading media house to signal the emergence of the group as a media mogul of the country? -Network18(Network18 was started journalist-turned media baron Raghav Bahl and it owns a slew of news, entertainment and e-commerce channels such as CNN-IBN, CNBC TV18, Colors and HomeShop18, online news portal Firstpost.com and e-commerce websites such as Yatra.com and Bookmyshow.com, as well as print properties such asForbes Indiamagazine. The acquisition is the latest move in Ambanis strategy to establish a widespread presence across media segments since finalising an alliance with Network18 group in 2012)2)Who was elected as the new President of Egypt after a sweeping victory in the recently held presidential elections in the country? Abdel Fatah al-Sisi(Al-Sisi is the former Egyptian Army Chief and he swept the polls with over 90% votes polled in his favour. However, the scale of his victory came as no surprise after Egypts top generals, media personalities and business elite united to present the former Army Chief as the only patriotic choice and most challengers declined to take part in the election)3)Who was elected as the fifth President of Ukraine in Presidential Elections held on 25 May 2014? -Petro Poroshenko(Poroshenko won a convincing victory after winning around 54.7% of the votes from 21 candidates on the ballot. His closest competitor was Yulia Tymoshenko, who emerged with 12.81% of the votes. Poroshenko replaced former President Viktor Yanukovych, who prior to his dismissal and subsequent flight from the country, was considered likely to run for his second and final term)4)Al Hilal Bank, one of the fastest-growing banks in the UAE, has implemented Finacle e-Banking solution. Finacle e-Banking solution is a leading banking solution of which Indian IT company? Infosys(The Finacle e-Banking solution would enable Al Hilal to provide a range of Internet banking services to its corporate customers with highest security. It would also allow the bank to roll out new functionalities on a regular basis and build upon the existing products to provide an enhanced banking experience, all at reduced costs)5)Kotak Mahindra Bank shares slipped after the RBI asked it to reduce its promoters shareholding. The bank is to reduce its promoters shareholding to what level by September 2014 as directed by the RBI? 40%(Currently, the promoters shareholding in the bank is 43.58%. Hence, the banks promoters are required to shed 3.58% of their share. In June 2012, the RBI had asked Kotak Mahindra Bank to reduce the promoters holding to 20% by 2018 and 10% by 2020 from the then 45.21%. This move is to diversify the promoters shareholding and bring it in sync with the new banking licence regulations and thereby improve corporate governance. Kotak Mahindra Bank is a private-sector bank owned by Uday Kotak)6)Who was appointed as the Principal Secretary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for which an ordinance was promulgated by the Union Govt. on 28 May 2014? -Nripendra Mishra(Mishra is a UP-cadre IAS officer and has held several senior positions both in Uttar Pradesh as well as at the Centre. He is a former Chairman the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI)7)What is the name of the President of Infosys who resigned from his post on 28 May 2014 giving another serious jolt to the company? -BG Srinivas(His resignation is the fourth Board-level resignation and he is the 10thsenior management executive of the company to move out. Given that he was one of the contenders for the CEOs post, Srinivas exit has raised eyebrows and increased speculation over whether the nominations committee had chosen to overlook his candidature)

May 31, 2014

1)The NDA-led Union Govt. on 30 May 2014 cleared the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotions (DIPP) draft seeking to hike foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Defence sector up to 100%. This draft was released by the Commerce Ministry and is aimed at minimising defence imports in the country and encouraging local manufacturing. What is the maximum FDI limit in the defence sector presently? 26%(Last year alone, India imported nearly $1.9 billion of military equipment from the United States, making it the biggest foreign buyer of US weapons)

2)Who was appointed as the new National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister by the Union Govt. on 30 May 2014? Ajit Kumar Doval (Ajit Doval is a former chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) during the earlier NDA regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Doval replaces Shivshankar Menon)

3)Curtains may be down on the UP Stock Exchange (UPSE), Uttar Pradeshs only trading platform, as the deadline issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) expired on 30 May 2014. The SEBI had fixed conditions for UPSE according to which the annual turnover of the exchange would have to be around Rs. 1,000 crore and its net-worth should be at-least Rs. 100 crore. In which city is the UPSE situated? Kanpur(Kanpur-based UPSE failed to meet any of the two conditions prescribed by the SEBI)

4)Who resigned from the post of President of Gujarat Cricket Association on 29 May 2014? Narendra Modi(Modi was first elected unopposed as the head of GCA in September 2009, when a 16-year Congress dominance at the body ended. He had then replaced Narhari Amin, who had remained at the helm of GCA since 1993. Amin is a member of the BJP now)

5)The logo for the upcoming Government of Telangana was released recently. The new state of Telangana would come into existence on 2 June 2014. Who designed this logo which features Charminar and decorated Gateway from the Kakatiya dynasty? Laxman Aelay(Aelay is a native designer from Telangana region and he has tried to capture the essence of India, Telangana culture and Hyderabadi tehzeeb with local ethos in pleasing colours in the logo)

6)Names of two Indian-American school boysAnsun Sujoe and Sriram Hathwarcame to limelight on 30 May 2014 in the U.S. because They jointly won the National Spelling Bee for 2014 and thus became the first joint-winners of this coveted trophy since 1962(Ansun and Sriram scripted history by becoming co-champions of the famed Scripps National Spelling Bee after a tense final to end the duel in a tie for the first time in 52 years. Scripps National Spelling Bee is the most famous spelling competition for school students of the US)

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