july_2014 curret affairs

8/10/2019 july_2014 curret affairs

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C U R R E N T A F F A I R S

July 1, 2014

1) State Bank of India (SBI) on 1 July2014 launched six digital branchesacross the nation to serve tech-savvycustomers. One of such branches inDelhi was inaugurated on this day byFinance Minister Arun Jaitley. Other 5such branches are located in Mumbai,Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad.What is the name given to this newrange of branches which will have fulldigital banking capabilities? sbiINTOUCH (These sbiINTOUCHbranches will include instant accountopening with personalised debit cards,instant loan approvals for education, carand home and remote expert advisorsavailable via video links. The newbranches will be located in malls andwill be primarily aimed at youth, wholook for digital banking)

2) India s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV-C23) successfully put fivesatellites from abroad into their perfectorbits on 30 June 2014. These 5satellites belonged to which fourcountries? France, Germany,

Canada and Singapore (The PSLV putinto orbit SPOT satellite from France,

AISAT from Germany, NLS7.1 andNLS7.2, both from Canada, andVELOX-1 from Singapore. Antrix, thecommercial wing of the Department ofSpace, will be charging a fee for puttingeach of these satellites into orbit. Thelaunch was conducted from ISRO sspaceport at Sriharikota in AndhraPradesh)

3) Which public sector financial entityengaged in commercial anddevelopment banking operations iscelebrating its 50 th anniversary (GoldenJubilee) during July 2014? IndustrialDevelopment Bank of India IDBI (IDBI was established in 1964under an Act of Parliament as a whollyowned subsidiary of the Reserve Bankof India (RBI). In 1976, the ownership ofIDBI was transferred to the Governmentof India and it was made the principalfinancial institution for coordinating theactivities of institutions engaged infinancing, promoting and developingindustry in India. IDBI provided financialassistance, both in rupee and foreigncurrencies, for green-field projects asalso for expansion, modernisation and

diversification purposes. DuringSeptember 2004 the RBI incorporatedIDBI as a scheduled bank underthe RBI Act, 1934. Consequently, IDBI,formally entered the portals of bankingbusiness as IDBI Ltd. from 1 October2004. The commercial banking arm,


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IDBI BANK, was merged into IDBI in2005)

4) It was reported in some newspapersthat the Finance Ministry is consideringdoubling the exemption limit forinvestments by individuals in financialinstruments to Rs 2 lakh in theforthcoming Annual Budget. This isbeing sought so as to give a majorboost to household savings. What wasthe savings rate of India during 2012-13, a figure declining continuously since2007-08? 30% of GDP (The savingsrate of the country stood at 38% ofcountry s GDP during 2008. There havebeen demands from bankers andinsurers to hike the tax exemption limitfrom Rs 1 lakh per annum to encouragehousehold savings. The Direct TaxesCode (DTC) too had recommended thatthe combined ceiling for investmentsand expenditures be raised to Rs 1.5lakh per annum)

5) What is the name of the BPObusiness of Shashi and Ravi Ruia ofEssar Group, a part of which is beingsold to Paris-based Teleperformance for$600 million? Aegis BPO (Aegis, partof the $39-billion Essar Group, is thefourth largest Indian BPO company with$800 million in revenues. Aegis offers asuite of solutions to clients managingover 1 billion customer interactionsevery year for over 300 clients acrossverticals such as BFSI, telecom,healthcare, travel, retail and technology.

It employs more than 50,000 peopleacross 12 countries. Ruia brothers arein the process of selling US andPhilippines operations of the companyto Teleperformance. Teleperformance isa leading provider of outsourcedcustomer experience managementservices)

July 2, 2014

1) Which wildlife sanctuary ofMaharashtra was recently notified as

the 47 th Tiger Reserve of India and the6 th of Maharashtra? Bor WildlifeSanctuary (Bor Sanctuary is situated

in Wardha district of Maharashtra. Borbecomes the sixth tiger reserve inMaharashtra after Tadoba, Melghat,Pench, Nagzira and Sahyadri, and the47 th in the country. With Project Tigercoverage, the Bor Wildlife Sanctuarynotified by the state in 1970, wouldnow receive funding and technicalsupport to strengthen tiger


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mountain Mt. Sinha , for his work hedid as an explorer in 1971-72. Sinhabelongs to Buxar s Churamanpurvillage in Bihar. He graduated with a

B.Sc. degree from the AllahabadUniversity in 1954 and M.Sc. degree inZoology from the Patna University in1956)

July 3, 2014

1) Freshly-appointed Infosys CEOVishal Sikka, who will take charge on 1

August 2014, will get an annual salaryof $5.08 million (over Rs. 30 crore) tobecome the highest-paid CEO inIndian software industry. His totalsalary (including stock options) standsat $7.08 million, which is roughlycomparable to the 4.23 million euroes(Rs. 34 crore) he was making at hisprevious job as Chief TechnologyOfficer (CTO) at German softwaremajor SAP. Who was till now thehighest paid CEO in the Indiansoftware industry? N.Chandrasekaran (N.Chandrasekaran, the chief executiveofficer (CEO) of India s largestsoftware services exporter TataConsultancy Services Ltd (TCS),

received a nearly 60% hike in annualsalary in 2013-14 and his annualcompensation stood at 18.68 crore

($3.15 million) in the year endedMarch 2014. Now Vishal Sikkabecomes the highest paid CEO in theIndian software industry)

2) The minimum export price (MEP) ononion was raised to $500 per tonne on2 July 2014 as the price of onion in thedomestic market continues to rise.What was the present MEP on onionwhich was announced by the UnionGovt. on 17 June 2014? $300 pertonne (On June 17, an MEP of $300per tonne was imposed on onion, but ithad not helped to arrest the prices.Now raising the MEP to $500 pertonne means that onions, which arepriced below Rs. 30 per kg, will not beallowed to be exported from thecountry)

3) Which state declared camel as theState animal on 30 June 2014? Rajasthan (Rajasthan Govt. declaredcamel as the State animal mainly tocheck the dwindling number of camels.Camel, which is also known as the


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ship of the desert , is slaughtered forits meat, killed as part of sacrifice inseveral districts of Rajasthan andillegally transported to theneighbouring states for slaughterwhich had resulted in its numbersfalling sharply. Fast disappearinggrazing areas has also added to asevere food crisis for camels.

According to the Livestock Censusdata, there were 668,000 camels inRajasthan in 1997 which were reducedto 498,000 camels in 2003, amountingto a 25% decrease in five years. By2008, the number had decreased

further by 13.5% to 430426. Camelsprovide livelihood to a large number ofpeople in rural Rajasthan)

4) Defending champion Andy Murray(Britain) was ousted from Wimbledon2014 men s singles championshipafter being defeated in thequarterfinals on 2 July 2014. WhichBulgarian player defeated him tobecome the first Bulgarian man toreach the semi-finals of a grand slamtournament? GrigorDimitrov (11 thseeded Grigor Dimitrovdefeated Murray by 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 to

reach semi-finals. Andy Murray hadwon the Wimbledon men s singles titlelast year to become the first Britishplayer in 77 years to win the covetedtitle)

5) Who on 1 July 2014 became thefirst female four-star Admiral in thehistory of U.S. Navy? MichelleJanine Howard (Howard waspromoted as U.S. Navy s first femalefour-star admiral in a ceremonypresided by Secretary of the Navy RayMabus. She is now serving as the

38th

Vice Chief of Naval Operations)

6) What is the quarterfinal line-up ofFIFA World Cup 2014 after conclusionof all matches of last-16 stage on 1July 2014? France Vs Germany,Brazil Vs Colombia, Argentina VsBelgium and Netherlands Vs CostaRica (One special fact of thisquarterfinal line-up is that it represents4 teams from Latin America(Argentina, Brazil, Colombia andCosta Rica) and 4 teams from Europe(Belgium, France, Germany and theNetherlands)

July 4, 2014

1) Indian Railways on 3 July 2014achieved a major milestone by runningthe fastest train in India (christenedsemi -bullet train by some segmentsof media). This test train achievedfastest speed of 160 km/hr on Indiantracks and covered the distancebetween Delhi and Agra (178 km) in


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around 99 minutes. The highest trainspeed record for Indian Railways was150 Km/hr. till now. Which train hadthis record under its belt? New Delhi

Bhopal Shatabdi Express (TheBhopal Shatabadi Express currentlytakes 120 minutes to reach Agra. Thetrial run of the semi high -speed trainwas conducted on a 10-coach train,which left New Delhi station at 11:15am and reached Agra about 99minutes later. Achieving the highestspeed of 160 kmph during its run, thetrain took 103 minutes to reach NewDelhi on its return journey. However,

the train took only 89 minutes to reach Agra from Nizamuddin station fromwhere Railways plans to actuallylaunch its commercial operations)

2) Union Govt. on 2 July 2014 broughtonion and potato within the purview ofstockholding limits under the EssentialCommodities Act, 1955. What wouldbe the main benefit of this move whichhas been done with a view to controlthe prices of onion and potato andimprove availability? With this theState governments can take actionto impose stockholding limits totake up de-hoardingoperations (With imposition of theEssential Commodities Act, 1955, thevarious state governments can imposestockholding limits, which ensures that

traders cannot stock more than aprescribed quantum. If it is found thattraders are holding more than theprescribed limit, they can be fined and,in some cases, even prosecuted.Currently, stock limit provisions existfor various foodgrains and cerealsunder the Essential Commodities Act)

3) The Indian Air Force (IAF) on 3 July2014 launched nation s first 3D mobilegame in a bid to attract generation-

next youth to pursue a career in the airforce. What is the name of this mobilegame? Guardians of the Skies(GOTS) With this launch, the IAFhas embarked on its first sortie invirtual world. GOTS, which is freelyavailable on android, windows and iOSplatforms for mobile, has beenconceptualised to showcase the mightof the air force in a virtual format withusers being offered gripping aircombat scenarios and realisticgraphics. The game is targeted at theyouth, to give them the feel of theexcitement of being part of the IAF)

4) Pentagon, the defenceheadquarters of the United States,recently notified the sale of the anti-ship Harpoon missiles to India. The

deal estimated at around $200 millionwill provide enhanced capabilities indefence of critical sea lines ofcommunication. This Harpoon missilesystem would be employed on whichclass of submarines of the IndianNavy? Shishumar classsubmarine (India has alreadypurchased Harpoon missiles forintegration on Indian Air Force Jaguaraircraft and Indian Navy P-8I maritimepatrol aircraft. The entire packageunder the foreign military sale routeincludes more than a dozen UGM-84LHarpoon Block II EncapsulatedMissiles, 10 UTM-84L HarpoonEncapsulated Training missiles, andtwo Encapsulated Harpoon


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certification training vehicles. TheHarpoon missiles for India would bemanufactured by Boeing Corporation)

5) Who was re-appointed as theDeputy Governor of the Reserve Bankof India (RBI) on 3 July 2014 by theUnion Govt.? Harun RashidKhan (The appointment has beenmade for two years with effect from 4July 2014 or until further orders,whichever is earlier. Khan wasappointed deputy governor in July2011 for a three-year term, which was

set to expire on 3 July. As deputygovernor, Khan looks after the foreign

exchange department and internaldebt management, among others. Theother two RBI deputy governors areUrjit Patel and the recently appointedR. Gandhi. The government is yet toappoint a deputy governor to replaceKC Chakrabarty, who retired on 25

April 2014)

6) The Chief Operating Officer (COO)of social networking major Facebook,who is on a visit to India, on 3 Julycalled on Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. What is her name?

Sheryl Sandberg

July 5-6, 2014

1) Czech Republic s Petra Kvitova on5 July 2014 claimed her secondWimbledon women s singles title witha crushing command performance

over Canadian player Eugenie

Bouchard 6-3, 6-0. She took just 55minutes to win the title. In which yearKvitova had won her first Wimbledonwomen s singles title? In 2011 (Withthis win Kvitova dashed EugenieBouchard s dream of becoming thefirst-ever Canadian to win a tennisGrand Slam title)

2) All the 46 Indian nurses working in aTikrit hospital in Iraq, who werekidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraqand Syria (ISIS) militants, werereleased on 4 July 2014. These nursesreached India safely on 5 July 2014through a special Air India flight. Theyarrived through which Iraqi city which


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is the capital of country s KurdistanRegion? Erbil (Erbil is the fourthlargest city of Iraq. Indian nursesreached Erbil on 4 July after beingreleased by ISIS)

3) The rail-link for Katra wasinaugurated by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on 4 July 2014 byflagging off the inaugural train fromKatra to Jammu. The Katra-Udhampurrail section also features India slongest steel girder bridge. What is thename of this bridge? Jhajjar

Bridge (Jhajjar Bridge is count ry slongest steel girder bridge and hasbeen built at a height of 85 metres)

4) Who on 4 July 2014 created historyby becoming the first woman toparticipate in a Formula Oneweekend? Susie Wolff (She tookpart in the practice session of theBritish F1 Grand prix at the famedSilverstone circuit in her Mercedes-powered car as part of Williams team.However, her time on the track wascut short after an engine problemoccurred after completing just onetimed lap. 22 years earlier Giovanna

Amati had made three unsuccessfulGrand Prix qualification attempts.Susie will now get another opportunity

to take part in the German F1 GrandPrix)

5) Which four teams have qualified forthe semi-finals of the ongoing FIFAWorld Cup 2014? Germany, Brazil,Argentina and Netherlands (Thesemi-final line-up is Germany VsBrazil (8 July) and Argentina VsNetherlands (9 July). One importantfact about this line up is that one teameach from Europe and South Americais in both the semi-final matches.Germany defeated France by 1-0,

Brazil defeated Colombia by 2-1, Argentina defeated Belgium by 1-0and Netherlands defeated Costa Ricaby 4-3 (penalties) to enter semi-finals)

6) Star Brazilian striker Neymar Jr.was ousted from FIFA World Cup2014 after sustaining a serious backinjury in the quarterfinals againstColombia on 4 July 2014. His oustercame as a rude shock to Brazil asNeymar was team s best player andwas looking in good form despiteheavy pressure on him. How manygoals he had scored in this WorldCup? Four (Neymay Jr. sustainedinjury after being kneed in his spine byColombian defender Juan Zuniga)


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July 7, 2014

1) A panel headed by C. Rangarajan,former Chairman of PMEAC (PrimeMinister s Economic Advisory Council),has dismissed the Suresh Tendulkar

Committee report on estimatingpoverty. The report submitted byRangarajan to Planning Minister RaoInderjit Singh recently stated that thenumber of poor in India was muchhigher in 2011-12 at 29.5% of thepopulation. What was the povertyfigure stated for the same year in theSuresh Tendulkar Committee report,which was severely criticized for itsfindings? 21.9% (According to theRangarajan panel, poverty stood at38.2% in 2009-10 and slid to 29.5% in2011-12. This is at variance with theTendulkar methodology under whichpoverty was estimated at 29.8% in2009-10 and declined to 21.9% in2011-12. This finding of C. Rangarajancommittee means that 3 out of 10

persons in India are poor. ThePlanning Commission in May 2012had constituted the expert group underC. Rangarajan to review the TendulkarCommittee methodology for estimatingpoverty)

2) Gujarat Governor Dr. KamlaBeniwal was on 6 July 2014 shifted asthe new Governor of which state bythe Union Govt.? Mizoram (It isworth mentioning that Kamla Beniwalhad been involved in a long tussle withthe Gujarat Govt. then led by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi over theappointment of Lokayukta in the stateand the matter had gone to court.Mizoram Governor VakkomPurushothaman was shifted asGovernor of Nagaland. Governor of

Rajasthan Margaret Alva willdischarge the functions of Governor ofGujarat in addition to her own dutiesuntil regular arrangements for theoffice of the Governor of Gujarat aremade. Purushothaman will alsocontinue to hold the additional chargeof the office of the Governor ofTripura)

3) Ukraine scored the biggest tacticalvictory over pro-Russia rebels in last 3months on 5 July 2014 by takingcontrol of a key eastern Ukraine city inthe strategic Donetsk region. What isthe name of this city? Slovyansk (Itis worth mentioning that Ukraine


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Govt. s anti -terrorist operation toretake control of the eastern region ofthe country has achieved little beyondheavy shelling and growing numbersof civilian casualties. But the captureof Slovyansk marks the first time theyhave taken a significant rebelstronghold. The city was taken over bythe rebel forces during April 2014 aftera long series of fighting between therebel gunmen and Ukrainian troops)

4) Who won th e Wimbledon men ssingles title for 2014 on 6 July 2014?

Novak Djokovic (Serbia s Djokovicdefeated his opponent Roger Federer(Switzerland) in five close sets 6-7(7),6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 in an epic final.This was the second Wimbledonsingles title for Djokovic and seventhGrand Slam title overall. He had won

his first Wimbledon title in 2011. Onthe other hand, Federer was aiming towin his record 8 th Wimbledon title bywinning this final)

5) Who won the British F1 Grand Prixfor 2014 on 6 July 2014, which wasthe 50 th edition of British Grand Prix atSilverstone circuit? Lewis Hamiltonof Britain (This was Hamilton s27 th career victory, his fifth of theseason and his second at his homerace, which he won in 2008 whiledriving for McLaren. Valtteri Bottas

(Williams) was second while DanielRicciardo (Red Bull) finished at thirdplace. Hamilton s teammate NicoRosberg could not complete the race.Force India s Nico Hulkenburg(Germany) finished the race at8 th position)

July 8, 2014

1) In a landmark judgment, theSupreme Court on 7 July 2014declared that no legal status has been

granted to the Shariat Courts. It alsoruled that religious decrees or fatwasare illegal if they tread on the rights ofan individual. This important ruling wasgiven on the petition filed by whichlawyer who had challenged the legalityof the Shariat Courts? VishwaLochan Madan

Explanation : Advocate VishwaLochan Madan had filed his petition in2005. In the petition, he stated thatinstitutions like Darul Qaza and Darul-iftaa are operating like parallel courtswhich take decisions on the


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RSS, which is the ideological mentorof the BJP, often join the politicalparty, Madhav is the one of the mostprominent faces to cross over intoactive politics. He is expected to behanded an important role in partyaffairs. Another senior RSS leaderShiv Prakash too had been deputed tothe BJP and is also expected to begiven organisational responsibility.

6) The benchmark BSE Sensex on 7July 2014 crossed which milestonemark for the first time? 26,000

points Explanation : The Sensex closed at26,100 on 7 July, its highest close tilldate. This spurt in indices was on theback of strong inflow of foreign fundsahead of the General Budget. TheNSE Nifty also soared to hit yetanother high of 7,787.95 in openingtrade. The BSE 30-share barometerspurted by 137.29 points, or 0.52%, to

trade at a lifetime high of nearly26,100 with stocks of infrastructure, IT,power, capital goods, auto and realtysectors, leading the rally.

7) What is the name of the large andpowerful typhoon that was headingnorthwest toward Japan s southernislands on 7 July 2014 and it hitOkinawa on early 8 July with winds ofup to 150 mph? Typhoon Neoguri

Explanation : Typhoon Neoguri isexpected to be one of the largesttyphoons to hit Japan in the month ofJuly. It was also the first time for thatthe Japan Meteorological Agency(JMA) had issued a special warning fora typhoon since the current warningsystem was introduced last August.Many meteorologists believe thatTyphoon Neoguri would be the firstsuper typhoon of 2014. The termNeoguri means raccoon in Korean.

July 9-10, 2014

1) What GDP growth rate range for2014-15 was estimated in the

Economic Survey 2013-14, which wastabled on 9 July 2014 in the LokSabha? 5.4 to 5.9%

Explanation : GDP growth slowed tobelow 5% for two consecutive years,i.e. 2012-13 and 2013-14. TheEconomic Survey envisages a betterperformance during 2014-15 onaccount of growth in sectors likemanufacturing and mining)


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2) What was the fiscal deficit for 2013-14, as disclosed in the EconomicSurvey 2013-14? 4.5% of GDP

Explanation : Fiscal deficit is thedifference between the government sexpenditures and its revenues. Animportant factor in the increase in theCentre s fiscal deficit after 2008-09has been the sharp increase insubsidies from 1.42% of GDP in 2007-08 to 2.56% of GDP in 2012-13. For2013-14 the subsidy bill is 2.26% ofGDP.

3) Who was appointed the newPresident of the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) on 9 July 2014? AmitShah

Explanation : Amit Shah, a close andcontroversial aide of Prime MinisterModi, was appointed to the top post inBJP at a meeting of ParliamentaryBoard where incumbent Rajnath Singhresigned after a tenure of one-and-a-half years. The former Minister ofState for Home in Gujarat and whofaces charges in the Sohrabuddin fakeencounter case is largely credited forBJP s stunning performance in UttarPradesh where the BJP won 71 out of80 Lok Sabha seats. Amit Shah hasbecome the 10 th President of BJPsince it was founded in December1980.

4) Germany reached the finals of theFIFA World Cup 2014 by inflicting ahistoric 7-1 victory over hosts Brazil inthe first semi-final played in BeloHorizonte on 8 July 2014. With thisGermany have now reached FIFA

World Cup finals for how many times? Eight times

Explanation : Germany had reachedthe finals of FIFA World Cup in 1954,

1966, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990 and2002. It won the title in 1954, 1974 and1990. However, the German team thatplayed in finals in 1954, 1966, 1974,1982, 1986 and 1990 was the WestGerman team before unification ofGermany. It played as unifiedGermany from 1994.

5) Argentina defeated the Netherlandsin the second semi-final of FIFA WorldCup 2014 by 4-2 in a penalty shoot-outon 9 July 2014. It will meet Germany inthe final on 13 July 2014. This wouldbe Argentina s ..appearancein a FIFA World Cup final Fifth

Explanation : Argentina had reachedthe finals of FIFA World Cup in 1930,1978, 1986 and 1990. It won the title in1978 and 1990. Germany and

Argentina would meet in a FIFA WorldCup final for the third time. The twoteams met in finals in 1986 and 1990too.

6) Brazil s 1 -7 loss to Germany in thefirst semi-final of FIFA World Cup on 8July 2014 was country s worst -everdefeat in the game. It, however, lost by

the same margin of 6 goals only oncein the history. To which team it hadlost by same goal difference? Uruguay

Explanation : It lost to Uruguay by 6-0in 1920, i.e., by a margin of 6 goals.Brazil s semifinal loss of 8 July thus


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equaled its worst defeat by 6 goals.The defeat broke Brazil s 62 -matchhome unbeaten streak in competitivematches dating back to its 1 3 loss toPeru in the 1975 Copa America.

7) Who became the leading goalscorer in the history of FIFA WorldCups by scoring his record 16 th WorldCup goal on 8 July 2014? MirolsavKlose of Germany

Explanation : German forwardMirolsav Klose scored his 16 th goal ofFIFA World Cup when he scored thesecond goal for Germany in the semi-finals against Brazil. He broke therecord of Ronaldo, the Brazilian starstriker of yesteryears. Ronaldo hadscored 15 goals in FIFA World Cups. It

is worth mentioning here that Klosebecame the first-ever player to featurein four FIFA World Cup semi-finalswhen he featured against Brazil on 8July.

8) Germany s 7 -1 win over Brazil on 8July 2014 also made Germany theleading goal scoring country in all FIFAWorld Cups. It has now 223 goals inWorld Cups. Which country s record itbroke? Brazil

Explanation : Brazil was the leadinggoal scoring country in football WorldCups with 221 goals. But nowGermany has 223 goals and it has onemore game (the finals) to play in theongoing World Cup 2014.

July 11, 2014

1) In the Union Budget 2014-15, thegovt. announced setting up of acommission to bring in reforms relatedto spending for achieving maximumoutput. What is the name given to this

commission? ExpenditureManagement Commission EMC

Explanation : The proposed EMC willreview the allocated and operationalefficiencies of government expenditureto achieve maximum output and willgive its interim report within thisfinancial year.

2) Allocation of Rs 4,200 crore in theUnion Budget 2014-15 wasannounced for the development of theambitious Allahabad-Haldia NationalWaterway-1. This project was


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conceived numerous years ago butwas languishing for beingimplemented. In which year thisproject was first envisaged? 1986

Explanation : This project envisagedin 1986, which aimed to use the 1,620km-long channel not only fortransportation of goods but also forriver cruises, had been languishing forthe past several years. It was to becompleted in six years. The projectenvisages construction of permanentterminals at various places, includingVaranasi, the constituency of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, besidesfloating terminals at a number ofplaces, including Allahabad andGhazipur.

3) The revival of the Kisan Vikas Patra(KVP) was announced in the UnionBudget 2014-15 on 10 July 2014. TheKVP was discontinued from November2011 on the recommendation of which

committee s recommendations? TheShyamala Gopinath Committee

Explanation : The ShyamalaGopinath Committee, in its reportsubmitted on 7 June 2011, hadrecommended that the KVP bediscontinued as it was prone tomisuse, being a bearer-lineinstrument. It said the KVP was morepopular than the National Savings

Certificate (NSC) because of the easeof transfer and liquidity.

4) What is the name given to themission to provide total sanitation toevery Indian by 2019, which was

announced in the Union Budget 2014-15? Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Explanation : The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan will be a tribute to Mahatma

Gandhi on his 150 th birth anniversary,as the Government wants to celebrateit with a spick and span India. Thisgoal of a clean India was also set bythe previous UPA government and theerstwhile government s plan was toachieve 100% access to sanitation forall rural households in the country by2022. For completion of this goal theywere working under the programmeNirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA).

5) How much fund was allocated to theproposed Pradhan Mantri KrishiSinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), whichwas announced in the Union Budget2014-15? Rs. 1,000 crore

Explanation : The Government hasproposed to initiate the schemePradhan Mantri Krishi SinchayeeYojana from financial year 2014-15.The PMKSY has been envisaged toprovide assured irrigation to mitigaterisk to the farmer since bulk of thefarm lands are rainfed and depend onmonsoon.

6) What name was given to a newmission announced in the Union

Budget 2014-15 to deliver integratedproject based infrastructure in the ruralareas? Shyama Prasad MukherjiRurban Mission SPMRM

Explanation : Shyama PrasadMukherji Rurban Mission will belaunched basically to deliver urban


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amenities in the rural areas throughPPP model. This mission is based onGujarat model of a similar programmethrough which people living in the ruralareas are delivered efficient civicinfrastructure and associate services.

7) How much fund was allocated forthe One Rank, One Pension (OROP)scheme for armed personnel in theUnion Budget 2014-15? Rs. 1,000crore

Explanation : One rank, one pensionmeans that retired soldiers of thesame rank and length of service willnow receive the same pension,regardless of when they retire. Atpresent, pensioners who retired before2006 draw less pension than theircounterparts and even their juniors.The decision to implement OROPscheme was first announced by formerFinance Minister P. Chidambaram. Inthe UPA interim budget in February

this year, P. Chidambaram alsoallocated Rs. 500 crore. However,much to the disappointment ofservices personnel and thanks tobureaucratic delays, the actualimplementation of the scheme gotdelayed.

8) What major sop was announced fornew power projects in the UnionBudget 2014-15? The 10-year taxholiday for new power projects wasextended

Explanation : The Finance Ministerannounced extension of the 10-yeartax holiday to companies that startpower generation by 31 March 2017.The power sector had called for theextension of the sunset tax clause forpower companies to include plantsthat provide power till March 2017 asopposed to 2013 earlier.

9) The Jayaprakash Narayan NationalCentre for Excellence in Humanities,that was proposed in the Union Budget2014-15, would be established inwhich state? Madhya Pradesh

10) Which two film institutes weregiven the status of institutes of national

importance in the Union Budget 2014-15? Film and Television Instituteof India (FTII), Pune and Satyajit RayFTII, Kolkata


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July 12, 2014

1) The controversial bill on PolavaramProject of Andhra Pradesh waspassed in the Lok Sabha on 11 July2014 amid protests from members ofthe Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS),the BJD, the Trinamool Congress, the

AIMIM and sections of the Congress.Why the TRS is protesting vociferouslyagainst passing of this bill? Because

the Bill paves the way for theshifting of seven mandals fromTelangana to Andhra Pradesh

Explanation : The bill titled AndhraPradesh Re-organisation(Amendment) Bill was opposed on thegrounds that the transfer of land wasbeing done in an unconstitutionalmanner, violating Articles 3 and 4 ofthe Constitution which mandates thatthe two State Assemblies have to beconsulted. The Polavaram project is amulti-purpose irrigation project, whichconstitutes of a dam across theGodavari River and is underconstruction located in West GodavariDistrict and East Godavari District in

Andhra Pradesh state. Its reservoir

spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh andOrissa States also.

2) Delhi was declared as world ssecond most populated city in 2014 inthe revision of United Nations WorldUrbanisation Prospects 2014 Reportthat was released on 10 July 2014.Which city once again occupied thetop spot as world s most populatedcity? Tokyo

Explanation : Tokyo topped UN sranking of the most populous cities in2014 with 38 million inhabitants andwhile its population is projected todecline, it will remain the world slargest city in 2030 with 37 millionpeople. Delhi become the world ssecond most populous city in 2014after Tokyo, more than doubling itspopulation since 1990 to 25 million.The Indian capital is expected to retainthe spot of the world s second mostpopulous city through at least 2030,when its population is expected to riseswiftly to 36 million.

3) Name of which Portugal bank wasassociated with the Portuguese

banking crisis which affected stockmarkets all over the world on 11 July2014? Banco Espirito Santo SA

Explanation : Banco Espirito SantoSA (BES) is the second-largest bankin Portugal. The banking crisis inPortugal started after the ratings


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agencies Moody s and S&P sharplydowngraded the long-term debt ratingsof the bank after a missed payment onshort-term debt by a member of theBES s ultimate parent, the EspiritoSanto Group (ESG). However, BESsought to reassure investors byrevealing its exposure to relatedcompanies.

4) Vakkom B. Purushothaman, whoresigned on 11 July 2014, was theGovernor of which state? Mizoram

Explanation : His resignation came inthe wake of his transfer to Nagalandas its new Governor. Purushothamancriticised the way Governors werebeing shunted by the NDA governmentsince it came to power in May 2014.He belonged to the Congress and wasappointed by the UPA government.Purushothaman had served asMinister in different Cabinets and wasSpeaker of the Kerala Assembly.

5) The tender bids for the constructionand maintenance of the ambitiousStatue of Unity commemoratingSardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujaratwere opened on 9 July 2014. Whichcompany looks all set to bag thisiconic project? L&T

Explanation : Engineering giant L&T(Larsen & Toubro) s bid for Rs. 2,980crore was the lowest among thebidders and the company looks all setto bag the project. However, theestimated cost of the project stood atRs. 2,063. The project involvesconstruction of a huge 182-metre-tallStatue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel onRiver Narmada at Bharuch (Gujarat).

6) 102-year old Zohra Sehgal knownas th e Grand Old Lady of IndianTheatre passed away on 10 July

2014. She was cremated with full statehonours on 11 July 2014 at the LodhiRoad crematorium in Delhi. She wasassociated with the dance troupe ofwhich famous dancer that initiated hertowards the world of theatre? UdayShankar

Explanation : Zohra was attractedtowards Uday Shankar s troupe afterwatching a performance in Europe.

She joined the troupe in August, 1935at the age of 23. She migrated to filmsin 1946 with films like Dharati ke Laaland Neecha Nagar . Cheeni Kumand Saawariya were her last films in2007. She received the PadmaVibhushan, India s second -highestcivilian honor, in 2010.


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July 13-14, 2014

1) Germany created history by winningthe FIFA World Cup 2014 on 13 July2014 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio.Germany defeated Argentina by 1-0.This win was Germany s ..titlewin of FIFA World Cup? Fourth

Explanation : Germany won its earlierFIFA World Cups in 1954, 1974 and in1990. It finished as runners up in1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002 while

finished at third spot in 1934, 1970,2006 and 2010. Germany thusequalled Italy s record of winning thetournament four times. Brazil has wonthe tournament most number of times

5.

2) Who scored the lone goal forGermany in the finals of FIFA WorldCup 2014 to give his country 1-0 win

over Argentina? Mario Gtze Explanation : Gtze scored the goalin the 2 nd half of extra time in the113 thminute to help Germany lift theFIFA World Cup for the fourth time. Hescored the goal when the match wasmoving towards penalty shoot-outs.

This was his first World Cup and hescored two goals in the tournament.

3) The Netherlands secured thirdplace in FIFA World Cup 2014 bydefeating hosts Brazil by 3-0 in thethird place play-off match held on 12July 2014 at Brasilia s EstadioNacional. This was timethat the Dutch have ended a WorldCup at third place First

Explanation : The Netherlands havenever finished third in the history ofFIFA World Cup. They lost in the1974, 1978 and 2010 finals and intheir only other battle for third place,against Croatia in 1998. On the otherhand Brazil could not salvage thecountry s pride in this classificationmatch after their worst-ever World Cupdefeat a 7-1 drubbing againstGermany in the semi-finals.

4) Who won the prestigious GoldenBoot award for FIFA World Cup 2014?

James Rodriguez of Colombia

Explanation : Rodriguez scored 6goals in FIFA World Cup 2014.The Golden Boot or GoldenShoe Award goes to the topgoalscorer of the FIFA World Cup. Itwas introduced at the first FIFA WorldCup held in 1930. Thomas Muller(Germany) was awarded Silver Bootfor scoring 5 goals and Neymar(Brazil) was awarded Bronze Boot for


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his 4 goals in the tournament. Thiswas the first time that a Colombianfootballer won this prestigious award.

5) Who won the Golden Ball awardfor FIFA World Cup 2014? LionelMessi (Argentina)

Explanation : The GoldenBall award is presented to the bestplayer at each FIFA World Cup finals,with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFAtechnical committee and the winnervoted for by representatives of themedia. Messi is the star striker andcaptain of Argentina and scored 4goals in the tournament. The SilverBall was awarded to Thomas Muller(Ger many) while the Bronze Ball wasgiven to Arjen Robben (theNetherlands).

6) Who won the Golden Glove awardin FIFA World Cup 2014? Manuel

Neuer (Germany) Explanation : The Golden Gloveaward is presented to the bestgoalkeeper of the tournament decidedby a FIFA Technical Study Group thatrecognises the top goalkeeper of thetournament based on the player sperformance throughout the finalcompetition.

7) What is the name of first in series ofanti-submarine corvettes indigenouslybuilt by Kolkata based Garden ReachShipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. (GRSE),which was handed over to Indian Navyon 12 July 2014? INS Kamorta

Explanation : INS Kamorta is the firstIndian Naval warship ever built in thecountry with almost 90% of indigenouscontent. Work on the warship startedin 2006. The handing over of thewarship marked fruition of a significantproject in India s pursuit for self -reliance in indigenous warshipbuilding.

8) India film thespian Dilip Kumar sancestral home in Pakistan has beendeclared as a national heritage byPakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

recently. He has directed the Ministryof Information, Broadcasting andNational Heritage to acquire thehouse. This house is situated in whichcity of Pakistan? Peshawar

Explanation : Presently in a shabbycondition, Dilip Kumar s ancestoralhome is being illegally occupied bysomeone, who claims to be hisrelative, but is actually not. The

Pakistan Government is planning toinvite Dilip Kumar and other membersof his family after converting the houseinto a museum. Dilip Kumar was bornas Yusuf Khan. His father LalaGhulam Sarwar had shifted to Mumbaifrom Peshawar in the 1930s.

9) Which West Bengal hospital cameto news recently for death of 12newborn babies within 48 hours at thehospital? Malda Medical Collegeand Hospital

Explanation : The hospital, locatedabout 300 kilometers north of WestBengal capital Kolkata, acceptedseveral of the newborns as transfers


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from smaller hospitals in the region. All12 infants, aged 1 month or younger,were underweight and suffered frommalnutrition. The hospital saw 23

newborns die of suspectedencephalitis last month and more than60 die in 2011.

July 15, 2014

1) The first train from Delhi to newlyopened Mata Vaishno Devi railwaystation (Katra) departed from NewDelhi on 14 July 2014. What is thename of this newly instituted train? Shree Shakti Express

Explanation : Shree Shakti Expresswas announced by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on 4 July 2014 whenhe inaugurated the first strain fromMata Vaishno Devi Katra to Jammu.Consisting of one first AC, five AC twotier and nine AC three tier coaches,

the Shri Shakti Express will stop at Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana, JalandharCantt, Pathankot cantt , Jammu Tawiand Udhampur Stations en-route inboth directions.

2) The 20 th FIFA World Cup (2014)concluded on 13 July 2014 withGermany winning the title. Whichcountry is to host the 21 st FIFA WorldCup to be held in 2018? Russia

Explanation : Brazilian PresidentDilma Rousseff symbolically handedover the World Cup to her Russiancounterpart Vladimir Putin on 13 July2014. Russia was awarded the hostingrights for 21 st FIFA World Cup inDecember 2010 by FIFA s ExecutiveCommittee convened in Zurich. Russiawas voted ahead of the joint hostingby Spain and Portugal. Russia will behosting FIFA World Cup for the firsttime.

3) The Lok Sabha on 14 July 2014cleared the Telecom Regulatory

Authority (Amendment) Bill despiteopposition from the Congress, the LeftParties, the RJD and the Aam AadmiParty. Passing of this bill becamepossible after the Trinamool Congress


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(TMC) took a U-turn and decided notto oppose the bill. What is the purposeof passing this bill? To remove thelegal hurdles in ex-TRAI chiefNripendra Misra s appointment asthe Prime Ministers PrincipalSecretary

Explanation : If cleared, the TelecomRegulatory Authority (Amendment) Billwill replace the ordinance that the newgovernment passed just two days aftertaking over in May to enable Misra to

join Modi s team. Misra, a 1967 -batchIAS officer who retired in 2009, joinedthe PMO the same day the ordinancewas promulgated. The ordinance wasnecessitated as some service-clausefor a person appointed as TRAIChairman made his/her futureappointments for govt. posts almostimpossible.

4) Drug pricing regulator the NationalPharmaceutical Pricing Authority

(NPPA) has recently fixed the price of108 non-scheduled formulation packsof 50 anti-diabetes and cardiacmedicines. This has been done tobring down prices of some keymedicines. Which Paragraph of theDrug Price Control Order (DPCO) isassociated with this subject? Paragraph 19

Explanation : Paragraph 19 of DPCO,

2013, authorises the NPPA inextraordinary circumstances, if itconsiders it necessary to do so inpublic interest, to fix the ceiling price orretail price of any drug for such periodas it deems fit. Under the Drug PriceControl Order (DPCO) 2013, theGovernment currently controls the

prices of 652 essential drugs listed inthe National List of EssentialMedicines (NLEM). The drugs that willbecome cheaper would includeatorvastatin, gliclazide, glimepiride,heparin and metolazone, amongothers.

5) 5 new Governors for the states ofUttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, WestBengal, Gujarat and Nagaland wereappointed by the Union Govt. on 14July 2014. Who are these 5 persons?

Ram Naik (Uttar Pradesh),

Balramji Dass Tandon(Chhattisgarh), Keshari NathTripathi (West Bengal), Om PrakashKohli (Gujarat) and PadmanabhaBalakrishna Acharya (Nagaland)

Explanation : Ram Naik was sent toUttar Pradesh after B L Joshi,considered close to the Gandhi family,resigned after feelers from the newNDA government to quit. Balramji

Dass Tandon was appointed Governorof Chhattisgarh following ShekharDutt s resignation on 18 Ju ne after hetoo was sounded by the Union HomeMinistry. Former UP Vidhan SabhaSpeaker Keshari Nath Tripathi hasbeen asked to leave for Kolkata afterM K Narayanan stepped downfollowing his questioning by the CBIover AgustaWestland VVIP helicopterdeal. Om Prakash Kohli would takeover as Governor in Gujarat afterKamla Beniwal was shifted to Mizoramfor remainder of her term tillNovember. P.B. Acharya wasappointed Governor of Nagaland afterthe President accepted resignation ofTripura Governor Vakkom


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Purushothaman, who was alsoofficiating as Nagaland Governor.

Acharya will also hold additionalcharge of Tripura.

July 16, 2014

1) The 6 th BRICS summit, being hostedby Brazil, started on 15 July 2014.Which Brazilian city is hosting thissummit? Fortaleza

Explanation : The 6 th BRICS summitis being held from 15 July to 17 July2014 at Fortaleza. BRICS is thegrouping of 5 major emergingeconomies and includes Brazil,Russia, India, China and South Africa(BRICS). Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is representing India atthe Summit. It is worth mentioning thatit is the first time that Brazil is hostingthe summit under the current five-year

summit cycle. It hosted the summitearlier in 2010 in Brasilia but then thesummit did not include South Africa.

2) What is the definition of affordablehousing loans as announced by theReserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15

July 2014? Rs. 50 lakh in metrosand Rs. 40 lakh in non-metros , givenby banks from the proceeds of long-term bonds (of minimum seven yearsmaturity)

Explanation : This announcementwas made by the RBI in a bid to boostthe housing sector. The RBI alsoannounced that the cost of a housecannot exceed Rs. 65 lakh and Rs. 50lakh in the metros and non-metros,respectively, to qualify as affordablehouses. There are six metros in thecountry: Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata,Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.Under the current regulatory regime,

loans given by banks to individuals up to Rs. 25 lakh in metros and Rs. 15lakh in non-metros forpurchase/construction of a dwellingunit, per family, are considered asaffordable housing loans. These loansfall under the priority sector lendingcategory for banks. The RBI said thatit will periodically review the definitionof affordable housing, on account ofinflation. This RBI move is expected tomake housing loans up to Rs. 50 lakhcheaper.

3) The SEBI closed the five-and-a-halfyear long probe into the country sbiggest corporate fraud involving


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erstwhile Satyam Computer andbarred company s fo under B.Ramalinga Raju and four others frommarkets for 14 years. SEBI askedthese people to return how muchmoney for earning unlawful gains asinterest? Rs. 1,849 crore

Explanation : The money needs to bedeposited with the SEBI within 45days, while interest would be levied at12% per annum with effect from 7January 2009 the day this mega-scam came to the light through a letterwritten by Raju himself. On 7 January2009, Raju the then Chairman ofSatyam Computer had sent an emailto the SEBI, wherein he admitted andconfessed to inflating the cash andbank balances of the company,besides understating liabilities andother financial mis-statements. Afterthe fraud came to the light, thegovernment had ordered an auctionfor sale of the company in the interestof investors and employees of what

was known at that time as thecountry s fourth largest IT firm. Thecompany was acquired by TechMahindra, then renamed as MahindraSatyam and eventually it was mergedwith Tech Mahindra.

4) On 15 July 2014 it came to light thatthe Narendra Modi government hasreturned another proposal of theSupreme Court collegium on theelevation of a judge. The governmentreturned the collegium filerecommending elevation of KarnatakaHigh Court judge KL Manjunath, sincea senior Supreme Court judge hadwritten an adverse note against him.

Manjunath s appointment as the ChiefJustice of which High Court wasbarred from this decision of the govt?

Punjab and Haryana High Court

Explanation : The development came just days after the government, in asimilar move, sent back arecommendation of the SC collegium,rejecting former solicitor general GopalSubramanium s name for appointmentas a Supreme Court judge.

5) Who was awarded the GandhiPeace Prize for 2013 by the PresidentPranab Mukherjee on 15 July 2014? Chandi Prasad Bhatt , the notedenvironmentalist

Explanation : Chandi Prasad Bhatthas been a pioneer of the ChipkoMovement of Uttarakhand. TheGandhi Peace Prize was instituted in1995 on the occasion of the 125 th birthanniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Itcarries a plaque, citation and anamount of Rs one crore.

6) What is the name of the NorthwestPacific typhoon that struck into thePhilippines on 15 July 2014 and isexpected to bring in heavy rains inIndia too? Typhoon Rammasun

Explanation : Typhoon Rammasun isa category-2 storm that struck thePhilippines on the noon of 15 July. It isexpected to then enter South ChinaSea and churn up into a strongercategory-3 typhoon and bring in heavyrains in the South-East Asian regionincluding India. On 15 July a churn inthe air was visible over northwest Bay


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of Bengal ahead of the formation ofwhat looks like the next fresh low-pressure area. The impact of TyphoonRammasun is expected to bring in

heavy to very heavy rains in regions ofUttar Pradesh, east Rajasthan andnorth Madhya Pradesh.

July 17, 2014

1) The Union Government has decidedto do away with the necessity of filingaffidavits from a gazetted officer or anotary for a big chunk of government-related work and instead to promoteself-attestation of documents. Thismove is based on therecommendations of whichcommission? 2nd AdministrativeReforms Commission

Explanation : The move is based onthe recommendation of 12 th report ofthe second Administrative ReformsCommission (2 nd ARC), titled CitizenCentric Administration-The Heart ofGovernance , which suggestedsimplifying procedures for self-certification provision. Under the self-attestation method, the original

documents are required to beproduced at the final stage. Themethod of self-attestation is stated tobe citizen friendly as obtaining eitheran attested copy or affidavit not onlycosts money but also involveswastage of time of the citizens and thegovernment officials.

2) A team of researchers of whichuniversity recently a major milestone inthe field of health by creating humanblood and all its associated

components in a laboratory by usingstem cells? University ofWisconsin-Madison

Explanation : This team was led byUniversity of Wisconsin- Madison sstem cell scientist Igor Slukvin. Theteam successfully cracked the elusivecode to turn stem cells into humanblood. With this the ability to makehuman blood in the lab including all

the different types of cells in them tookone giant leap. They discovered twogenetic programs responsible fortaking stem cells and turning them intoboth red and white cells that make uphuman blood. The method developedcan produce blood cells in abundance.For every million stem cells the


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researchers were able to produce 30million blood cells.

3) The Supreme Court on 16 July2014 issued notices to all statesseeking their views on whether aterminally ill person can execute aliving will that life support system bewithdrawn if he or she reaches avegetative state with no hope ofrevival. The states have to respond tothe notices within eight weeks. Whohas been appointed as the amicuscuriae to assist in this highly complex

case? T. R. Andhyarujina , a formerSolicitor General

Explanation : Amicus curiae issomeone who is not a party to a case,who offers information that bears onthe case but who has not beensolicited by any of the parties to assista court. A constitution bench headedby Chief Justice RM Lodha, JusticeJagdish Singh Khehar, Justice J.

Chelameswar, Justice A.K. Sikri andJustice Rohinton Fali Nariman issuedthe notice on a plea filed with it, sayingthe question of passive euthanasia(mercy killing) needs a comprehensiveexamination as there was noauthoritative judicial pronouncementon the issue. Attorney General MukulRohatgi told the Court that the issueentirely concerns the legislature andthe judiciary should not take it up. Thegovernment also told the Court thatpassive euthanasia is a form of suicidewhich cannot be allowed.

4) Syrian President Bashar al-Assadwas sworn in for another 7-year term

on 16 July 2014. This will beconsecutive term for Assad 3 rd

Explanation : President Bashar al-

Assad was re-elected in a landslidevictory during June 2014 amid a civilwar and in a vote dismissed by theopposition and its Western allies as asham. He has served as SyrianPresident since 2000, when hesucceeded his father, Hafez al-Assad,who led Syria for 30 years until hisdeath.

5) Which former Indian sportsman hasbeen elected as the newest member ofLaureus World Sports Academy,becoming the 47 th member of the elitepanel? Rahul Dravid

Explanation : Dravid, the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, waselected as the 47 th member of LaureusWorld Sports Academy, whichincludes some of the greatestsportsmen and women ever. Itincludes great sports personalitiessuch as Michael Johnson, Sir BobbyCharlton, Jack Nicklaus, FranzBeckenbauer, Boris Becker, Kapil Dev,Martina Navratilova, Sir VivianRichards, Sergey Bubka, Mark Spitzand Daley Thompson. Laureus WorldSports Academy confers the LaureusWorld Sports Awards annually which

are one of the most prestigious sportsawards in the world and are oftencalled the Oscars of Sports . Till nowonly one Indian sportsman Kapil Devwas the member of this academy.


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July 18, 2014

1) A Malaysian Airlines passengerplane (Flight No. MH-17) carrying 295people crashed in Eastern Ukraine on17 July 2014. Reports suggested thatthe ill-fated plane was shot down in a

missile attack but the reports were notconfirmed. This plane was on its flightto Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpurfrom which European city? Amsterdam

Explanation : Malaysian Airlines on17 July announced that the plane, aBoeing 777, lost contact with the ATCover the Ukrainian airspace. On theother hand Ukraine s separatist leader

Andrei Purgin told that he was certainthat Ukrainian troops had shot theplane down but gave no explanation orproof for his statement. AntonGerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine sInterior Minister, said the plane wasflying at an altitude of 10,000 metres(33,000 feet) when it was hit by a

missile fired from a Buk launcher. Thisis the second major tragedy to hitMalaysian Airlines after the mysteriousdisappearance of the MH-370 flight on8 March 2014. The still-to-foundaircraft carried 227 passengers on itsflight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

2) What is the minimum paid-upcapital limit recommended by theReserve Bank of India (RBI) for thoseentities who wish to set up paymentsand small banks, as announced in thedraft rules released by it on 17 July2014? Rs. 100 crore

Explanation : According to the draftguidelines, existing authorised non-bank pre-paid instrument issuers(PPIs), non-banking financecompanies (NBFCs), corporate BCs(business correspondents), mobiletelephone companies, super marketchains, companies, real sector co-operatives and public sector entitiesare eligible for setting up a paymentsbank. The guidelines allow even banksto take equity position in a paymentsbank as permitted under the BankingRegulation Act, 1949. The promoterswill have to have an initial minimum

capital of at least 40%. It hasprescribed a lock-in period of fiveyears for promoters holding. Thecentral bank has sought suggestionsand comments on the draft guidelinesby 28 August 2014.


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3) What important order was passedby the National Green Tribunal (NGT)on 17 July 2014, which is expected tolead to another battle in the continuingturf war between the NGT and theMinistry of Environment and Forests(MoEF)? NGT declared itself to bea court with all powers that a courthas

Explanation : The order, authored byNGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar,said that the NGT is like a civil courtand satisfies all the stated features foracting as an independent judicialtribunal with complete andcomprehensive powers. The orderunderlined that the purpose of theNGT Act will stand defeated if thetribunal is not said to have all thepowers of a court. However, the ordermay lead to another battle in thecontinuing turf war between the NGTand the MoEF. Despite persistentrequests, the MoEF had last yeardeclined to give the NGT the authority

to take suo motu cognizance,reminding that it is a tribunal. In anaffidavit to the SC, the MoEF had evensaid the NGT was causingembarrassment by not acting as perthe Act. This NGT order was passedwhile it was hearing petitionschallenging the 2011 CoastalRegulation Zone notification and theenvironment clearance given to the Rs5,000-crore Vizhinjam sea project inKerala by the MoEF.

4) Which country on 17 July 2014became world s first developed nationto repeal carbon laws that put a price

on greenhouse-gas emissions? Australia

Explanation : Australian upper Senateon 17 July voted 39-32 to scrap the

carbon tax that was introduced bycentre-left Labour government PrimeMinister Julia Gillard in July 2012 andwas introduced in November 2013.This tax imposed A $25 (US$23.45)tax per metric tonne of carbon dioxideon country s worst greenhouse gaspolluters. The tax was devised topenalize hundreds the country sbiggest polluters. Australia is one ofthe largest per capita greenhouse gasemitters due to its reliance on coal-burning power stations to powerhomes and industry. The carbon taxand plans for an eventual emissionsmarket dominated Australian politicsfor years, gaining momentum in 2007,when former Labour Prime MinisterKevin Rudd called climate change thegreatest moral challenge of our timeand made signature of the Kyoto

climate protocol one of his first politicalacts after taking office.

5) Which city would host the nextsummit of IBSA (India, Brazil andSouth Africa) to be held in 2015? New Delhi

Explanation : IBSA Summit 2015would be the 7 th summit of this three-

nation grouping. This was agreed to ata meeting Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had with South AfricanPresident Jacob Zuma in Brasilia on16 July 2014 on the sidelines of thesummit BRICS leaders held with South

American leaders. IBSA representsthree important poles for galvanizing


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South-South Cooperation and greaterunderstanding between threeimportant continents of the developingworld namely, Africa, Asia and South

America.

6) Who was appointed as the JudicialCommissioner by the ICC to hear themisconduct case against England

paceman James Anderson during onthe ongoing test series against India?

Gordon Lewis AM of Australia

Explanation : Anderson is facing a

charge under Level 3 of the ICC Codeof Conduct for Players, followingallegations that he pushed and abusedIndia s Ravindra Jadeja during thelunch break on the second day of theNottingham Test.

July 19-20, 2014

1) Which country became the first inthe world to legalise child labourrecently? Bolivia

Explanation : While most of the worldis trying to diminish child labour,Bolivia has become the first nation tolegalise it from age 10. The Congressof this Latin American country had(during early July 2014) approved alegislation legalise child labour fromthe age of ten. Vice-President AlvaroGarcia signed it into law on 17 July2014 in the absence of President EvoMorales, who was travelling. Under the

legislation, 10-year-olds will be able towork as long as they are underparental supervision and also attendschool. It sets 12 as the minimum agefor a child to work under contract.They also would have to attendschool. The bill s sponsors saylowering the minimum work age from14 simply acknowledges a reality:Many poor families in Bolivia have noother choice than for their kids to work.The bill offers working childrensafeguards.

2) Diplomats from Iran and fivepermanent members of the UNSecurity Council plus Germany (P5+1)on 18 July 2014 reached an

agreement to extend the Iran nucleartalks till which date? 24 November2014

Explanation : Iran and six worldpowers failed to meet their target datefor cutting a nuclear deal in the talksheld at Vienna. They, however, agreed


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to extend the talks until 24 Novemberin a bid to overcome stubborndifferences over the size and capacityof activities by Tehran that could beused to make nuclear arms. Months ofexhausting negotiations were meant toculminate in an agreement by 20 July2014 that would limit the nuclearprogrammes Iran says it needs toproduce energy and for other peacefulpurposes but which can also be usedto make nuclear arms. In return, Iranwould have gotten progressive relieffrom all nuclear-related sanctions onits economy. It is worth mentioning

that P5+1 include 5 permanentmembers of the UN Security Council(United States, United Kingdom,Russia, China and France) andGermany.

3) What is the name of the India-bornChief Business Officer (CBO) ofInternet giant Google, who in asurprise move announced quitting thecompany after working for 10 years? Nikesh Arora

Explanation : Nikesh Arora is oftenregarded as among the top lieutenantsat Google. Google CEO Larry Pageposted a post explaining Nikesh

Arora s d ecision to quit the company.He also mentioned the important roleplayed by him in bringing Google up tothe level it is today. Arora is moving toJapan s SoftBank Corp as Vice -Chairman.

4) The Bank Employees Federation ofIndia (BEFI) on 19 July 2014 releaseda list of 1,129 wilful corporate loan

defaulters on the occasion of the BankNationalisation Day. All the companiesmentioned in the list had defaultedloans over Rs. 10 crore. What is theapproximate aggregate value of thesedefaulters? Rs. 54,000 crore

Explanation : The purpose ofreleasing the list by BEFI on the BankNationalisation Day was to putpressure on the defaulters and bankmanagements. BEFI claimed that asimilar list released by unions aboutfive years ago helped some recovery.This list claimed that during the yearended 2013-14, provisioning for NonPerforming Assets (NPAs) accountedfor Rs. 63,591 crore out of a totaloperating profit of Rs. 1,27,965 crore.Lanco Mandakini Hydro Energy,Sujana Group, Kingfisher, ProgressiveConstruction, Viceroy Hotels, RegencyCeramics, Nav Bharat International, SKumars Nationwide Ltd and DeccanChronicle have been named in the list,among others.

5) The Union Govt. on 19 July 2014set up an expert committee to look intoconcerns raised by cost accountantsover some provisions in the new CostRecords and Audit Rules. Who isheading this committee? R. S.Sharma , ONGC s former Chairmanand Managing Director

Explanation : Following notification ofthe Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules 2014, the Council of theInstitute of Cost Accountants of India(ICoAI) had expressed concerns overcertain provisions of the rules,particularly coverage of sectors ofeconomy under the rules. The other


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members of the committee will be R KJain, Additional Secretary in Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare, formerICWAI (Institute of Cost and Works

Accountants of India) PresidentChandra Wadhwa, and Aruna Sethi,

Adviser (Cost), Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

July 21, 2014

1) Which tobacco company of theUnited States was ordered by aFlorida state jury to pay a whopping

$23.6 billion in punitive damages tothe wife of a longtime smoker whodied of lung cancer? RJ ReynoldsTobacco Company

Explanation : This order was passedon 18 July 2014 and was seen as oneof the largest for a single plaintiff inFlorida history. During the four-weektrial, lawyers for Michael Johnson swidow Cynthia Robinson argued that

RJ Reynolds was negligent ininforming consumers of the dangers ofconsuming tobacco and thus led toJohnson contracting lung cancer fromsmoking cigarettes. Michael Johnsonpassed away in 1996 while fightinglung cancer. The order stated that RJReynolds took a calculated risk by

manufacturing cigarettes and sellingthem to consumers without properlyinforming them of the hazards.

However, RJ Reynolds plans to appealthe court decision and verdict and isconfident that the court will follow thelaw and not allow this runaway verdictto stand.

2) Which Southeast Asian country on20 July 2014 allowed 100% foreignownership in banks? ThePhilippines

Explanation : The order announcedon 20 July allows foreign banks to own100% stock of an existing domesticbank or to open a fully ownedsubsidiary incorporated underPhilippines laws. It replaces a cap of60% on foreign ownership andabolishes previous rules that allowed

just 10 foreign banks in the country.The new law is in preparation for theeconomic integration of members ofthe 10-country Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015.

3) Andhra Pradesh Government on 20July 2014 formed an advisory


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committee on the new capital city forthe State with representation from theindustry. Who has been appointedhead of this committee? P.Narayana, Minister for MunicipalAdministration and UrbanDevelopment

Explanation : Other members of thiscommittee includes G V Sanjay Reddyof GVK Group, B Srinivas from GMRGroup, M Prabhakar Rao, Chairman ofNuziveed Seeds, C Srinivasa Raju,Chairman of Peepul Capital. The panelwould propose an action plan withtimelines for submission of itsrecommendations onconceptualisation of an inclusive city,creation of a viable urban ecosystem,efficient use of natural resources,urban planning policies, effectiveinstitutional management system,among others. It would also advise onsupplementing resources committedby the Central government for the newcapital with mechanisms to raise

additional resources for development.

4) Who won the German Grand PrixF1 title for 2014 on 20 July 2014? Nico Rosberg of Germany

Explanation : It was fourth win of the

season and the first at a home race forRosberg belonging to the Mercedesteam. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)captured second place whileRosberg s Mercedes teammate LewisHamilton took third place. With this winRosberg has extended his lead in theFormula One drivers standings to 14points over Hamilton. The race beganwith a first lap collision betweenMcLaren s Kevin Magnusson andFelipe Massa in a Williams.

5) Who was appointed as the PrivateSecretary (PS) to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on 20 July 2014? Sanjeev Kumar Singla

Explanation : Sanjeev Kumar Singlais a 1997 batch IFS officer and hesucceeds Vikram Misri, who is going toSpain as Ambassador. Misri, a 1989batch IFS officer, served as PrivateSecretary to former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh.

July 22, 2014

1) Which private sector bank has

agreed to buy a 15% stake inbeleaguered Multi CommodityExchange of India Ltd (MCX),announcement of which pushed thestock value of MCX by more than 10%on 21 July 2014? Kotak MahindraBank


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Explanation : The commodity marketregulator, Forward MarketCommission (FMC), had ordered MCXto reduce its promoter- FinancialTechnologies (FT s) stake from 26 to2% in December last year after FTwas found not fit and proper to ownstake in any exchange, following theNSEL crisis. However, since thepromoter repeatedly missed thedeadline for reducing its stake, theregulator said it would not allow theexchange to issue any new contractsbeyond August, unless they did so.The news of Kotak Mahindra Bank s

buyout has thus come at the right time.Prominent investor RakeshJhunjhunwala had recently acquirednearly two per cent stake in MCX forabout Rs. 66 crore a few days ago.

2) Defence Ministry has recentlyapproved the takeover of which publicsector telecom cable manufacturingcompany by the Ordnance FactoryBoard (OFB)? Hindustan Cables

Explanation : Hindustan Cables is agovernment owned companyestablished in 1952 and is engaged inmanufacture of telecom cables. It wasprofitable till 1994 but then startedaccumulating losses. The company sunits in West Bengal and Hyderabadproducing Polythene Insulated JellyFilled (PIJF) cables had not been inproduction since January 2003, asthere is no requirement of thesecables in BSNL/MTNL. Now theDepartment of Defence Production,Ministry of Defence has conveyed itsin-principle approval on takeover ofHindustan Cables Limited by the OFB.

3) India achieved a historic Test winover England at Lord s on 21 July2014 by defeating them by 95 runs to

lead the five test series 1-0. This winwas India s first at Lord s since 1986.Who led India in the 1986 tour toachieve that historic test win? KapilDev

Explanation : The 1986 win at Lord sunder the leadership of Kapil Dev wasIndia s lone win at this historic venuebetter known as the Mecca of Cricket .Thus India once again created history

under the leadership of M.S. Dhoni atLord s. Ishant Sharma s career bestbowling figure of 7 wickets for 74played crucial role in India s win.Needing 319 runs in the secondinnings to win the Test, Englandseemed cruising at one time with thescore at 173 for 4. But a huge collapseafter lunch brought England to 223 allout and gave India this historic win.Ishant Sharma was declared man ofthe match.

4) NASA organised a renamingceremony at Cape Canaveral inFlorida on 21 July 2014, which was thesite of the path-breaking launch of firsthumans to set foot on the moon.Which anniversary of moon landing isNASA celebrating this year? 45

Explanation : The 45 th anniversary ofthe landing of NASA astronauts Neil

Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wascelebrated on 21 July. On 20 July1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil

Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becamethe first humans to set foot on the


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moon. NASA honoured Neil Armstrong, who died in 2012, on thisoccasion by naming the historicallaunch building at Cape Canaveralafter him. Both Aldrin and MichaelCollins, the Apollo 11 commandmodule pilot who orbited the moon,were present on this occasion.

5) Maharashtra minister NarayanRane resigned from the MaharashtraCabinet on 21 July 2014. He had beenpushing for the replacement of ChiefMinister Prithviraj Chavan after the

party s rout in the Lok Sabha elections.What portfolio was Rane holding inMaharashtra Cabinet? IndustriesMinister

Explanation : Rane had quit hisCabinet post in May 2014 after his sonNilesh Rane was defeated in the LokSabha polls from Konkan. However,the party had not accepted his

resignation. He has been open abouthis unhappiness with the party highcommand for bypassing him for thepost of Maharashtra Chief Minister.

6) Britain s largest retailer Tesco plcon 21 July 2014 announcedappointment of Unilever executive andturnaround specialist Dave Lewis asthe new CEO. He replaces whom,whose three year reign proved almostdisastrous for the company? PhilipClarke

Explanation : Philip Clarke willcontinue as CEO until 1 October 2014and will remain available to supportthe transition until the end of January2015. Lewis, currently working asUnilever s Global President, PersonalCare, has been responsible for anumber of business turnarounds aswell as leadership in areas ofsignificant strategic priority.

July 23, 2014

1) The United Nations Security Councilon 21 July 2014 unanimously backeda resolution over the downing of MH17with Russia backing the resolution atthe eleventh hour after some changeswere made to the text. This resolutionwas sponsored by which country? Australia

Explanation : The 15-nation UNSecurity Council adopted the

Australian-drafted resolution and


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condemned in the strongest terms thedowning of MH17 on 17 July 2014 inDonetsk Oblast, Ukraine, whichresulted in the tragic loss of 298 lives.

Australia brought this resolution to theSecurity Council as it sought aresponse from the alleged pro-Russianrebels who were hampering recoveryefforts at the site of crash. At least 37

Australian citizens were killed in thiscrash and the number was revisedfrom the earlier estimate of 28. The SCresolution puts in place aninternational, independentinvestigation into the plane crash and

puts more pressure on Moscow to useits influence over the separatists. Aceasefire has also been declaredwithin a 10-kilometre radius around thecrash site, to allow internationalinvestigators to safely access the area.

2) Which company has recentlyannounced dividend-payout worth Rs.12,750 crore to its shareholders, whichis believed to be the highest-everdividend payout by an Indiancompany? Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS)

Explanation : TCS will shell out aboutRs. 12,750 crore to its 600,000shareholders. Though the move willdeplete the cash ches t of India slargest IT company by more than half,the lion s share of the dividendlargesse will go to TCS parent, TataSons, which will become richer by Rs.9,382 crore. TCS is the largestsoftware exporting company of Indiaand Tata Sons has 73.69% stake in it.

As of 30 June 2014, the company hada cash chest of Rs. 25,900 crore.

3) India was ranked at sixth place in alist of countries with the highestprevalence of child marriages in the

world released by the UNICEFrecently. Which country was placed atfirst place in this list? Niger

Explanation : According to a UNICEFreport titled Ending Child Marriage Progress and prospects Childmarriage among girls is most commonin South Asia and sub-Saharan Africaand India is among the top 10countries with the highest rates of child

marriage. The 10 countries with thehighest rates of child marriage areNiger, Bangladesh, Chad, Mali,Central African Republic, India,Guinea, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso andNepal respectively. According to thisreport South Asia is home to almosthalf (42%) of all child bridesworldwide; India alone accounts forone third of the global total.

4) Who emerged as the winner in thepresidential election held in Indonesiaon 9 July 2014? Joko Widodo , whois the Governor of Jakarta

Explanation : Joko Widodo won thehearts of Indonesians with hiscommon man image and emergedwith 53% of the vote as announced bythe Election Commission on 22 July2014. The numbers were releasedshortly after his opponent, formergeneral Prabowo Subianto, declaredhe was withdrawing from the contest,saying there was massive fraud duringthe election and that it was unfair andundemocratic. These elections were


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held to replace the incumbentpresident Susilo BambangYudhoyono.

5) Which BJP member of parliament(MP) was declared an absconder inthe Babri Masjid demolition case by aspecial CBI court on 21 July 2014? Sakshi Maharaj , BJP MP from UttarPradesh s Unnao constituency

Explanation : The move came in thewake of Sakshi Maharaj s continued absence for the trial he is facing in theBabri Masjid demolition case. SakshiMaharaj s name, with other senior BJPleaders, figured in a First Information

Report (FIR) filed in Ayodhya on 2December, 1992. While 49 peoplewere named as accused for thedemolition of the mosque, 13 wereacquitted of the charges at the primarystages.

6) Tennis ace Sania Mirza wasappointed as the brand ambassador ofwhich state recently? Telangana

Explanation : Sania Mirza, a native ofTelangana capital Hyderabad, wasprovided a cheque for Rs. 1 croretowards expenditure for her coaching,while being appointed as the brandambassador of the newly formed state.

July 24, 2014

1) 20 th Commonwealth Games atGlasgow (Scotland) opened on 23 July2014 after a grand opening ceremonyheld at Celtic Park Stadium, the venue

for opening ceremony. What is themotto of these Games? People,Place, Passion

Explanation : XX CommonwealthGames were inaugurated by QueenElizabeth at Scotland s capitalGlasgow on 23 July 2014. More than4,500 athletes from 71 Commonwealthcountries are taking part in this multi-sport event being held from 23 July to

3 August 2014. Clyde, named after theriver which flows through the centre ofGlasgow is the mascot of thesegames. 261 events would be held in17 different sports during the gameswhich are the third largest multi-sportevent after the Olympics and the AsianGames. Indian contingent comprises


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of athletes and was led by Olympicsilver medal winner shooter VijayKumar in the march past held for theopening ceremony.

2) Which company on 23 July 2014became the first Indian company tocross market capitalization value ofRs. 5 lakh crore? Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS)

Explanation : Market capitalization isthe value of a company s outstandingshares and is used to determine acompany s size. TCS s marketcapitalization crossed 5 lakh croremark on account of appreciation in theprice of TCS scrip following goodfinancial results and record dividenddeclaration by the company. State-held ONGC s market cap of aroundRs. 3.5 lakh crore is way behind that ofTCS. It is worth mentioning that TCSmarket cap is more than the combinedmarket cap of its nearest three rivals

Infosys (Rs 1.90 lakh crore), Wipro (Rs1.39 lakh crore) and HCL Tech (Rs1.07 lakh crore).

3) Which organisation/board has beenchosen by the University GrantsCommission (UGC) to conduct theNational Eligibility Test (NET) asannounced by UGC on 22 July 2014?

Central Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE) Explanation : UGC decided tooutsource the conduct of the NET toCBSE as it perceived it was ill-equipped to conduct the nation-wideexamination held for university-levelteaching and junior research

fellowships (JRFs). The decision wastaken at UGC s full commissionmeeting held recently. For CBSE, thiswill be a first as the Board has till nowconducted examinations only forsecondary and school-leavingstudents. The minimum qualificationfor NET is post-graduation. The UGCwill share its resource persons withCBSE to set the question papers in 80subjects. UGC took this decision as itfelt that the CBSE had theinfrastructure and had developed theexpertise from conducting school-leaving examinations, All-India

Engineering Entrance Examinationand All India Pre-Medical Testannually.

4) The Andhra Pradesh governmenton 22 July 2014 conveyed itsrecommendation to K.Sivaramakrishnan, who is heading thecommittee constituted by the UnionGovernment to identify a suitableplace for the new capital of state. The

AP Govt. in this recommendationpitched for which place for locating thenew capital? Between Vijayawadaand Guntur

Explanation : The state govt.conveyed to the committee the distinctadvantages enjoyed by Vijayawada-Guntur region in terms of availability ofabundant water and road, rail and airconnectivity. The SivaramakrishnanCommittee has submitted a draftapproach paper to the Union HomeMinistry listing out various options forcreation of the new capital. Theexpenditure for creation of the new


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capital would be in the region ofRs.1.40 lakh crore.

5) Who was hired as the new coach ofBrazil s national football teamrecently? Dunga

Explanation : Former Brazil captainDunga thus replaces Luiz FelipeScolari, who resigned last week afterBrazil failed to win the World Cup.Brazil was eliminated in the semifinalsin a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany.Dunga was the captain of Brazil s1994 World Cup-winning team, andhad coached the national team at the2010 World Cup in South Africa. Hewas dismissed after Brazil lost 2-1 inthe quarterfinals to the Netherlands.

6) Name of which Chinese meatsupplier came to limelight in theChinese meat scandal for allegedlyselling expired beef and chicken to

reputed companies like Starbucks andBurger King? Husi Food Co.

Explanation : The name of Shanghai-based Husi Food Co. came to fore

after a Shanghai broadcaster, DragonTV, reported on 20 July 2014 that Husirepackaged old beef and chicken andput new expiration dates on them. Itsaid they were sold to McDonald s,KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants. Thisnews led to a string of safety scares inChina and other countries. StarbucksCorp. said it removed from its shelvessandwiches made with chicken thatoriginated at Husi. Burger King Corp.said it stopped using hamburger itreceived from a supplier that usedproduct from Husi. Pizza restaurantchain Papa John s International Inc.announced it stopped using meat fromHusi. In Japan, McDonal d s Corp. saidit stopped selling McNuggets at morethan 1,300 outlets that used chickensupplied by Husi. It said Husi hadbeen supplying chicken to it since

2002.

July 25, 2014

1) Which public-sector undertaking(PSU) on 23 July 2014 became the17 th Navratna status company? Container Corporation of IndiaLimited (CONCOR)

Explanation : The Ministry of HeavyIndustries and Public Enterprises,Department of Public Enterprises,


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Government of India granted Navratnastatus to CONCOR on 23 July 2014.CONCOR is a PSU engaged inproviding comprehensive logistics

solutions. It has the largest network of62 inland container depots(ICDs)/container freight stations in India.In addition to providing inland transportby rail for containers, it has alsoexpanded to cover management ofports, air cargo complexes andestablishing cold-chain. TheGovernment of India (GoI) holds61.80% stake in CONCOR (as per the

shareholding pattern as on 30 June2014).

2) What is India s Human DevelopmentIndex (HDI) rank in the recently releasedHuman Development Report (HDR) 2014?

135 out of 187 countries

Explanation : India s ranking in HDRclimbed up just one rank as compared

to 2013 despite significant accelerationon its road towards achieving themillennium development goals. SmallerSAARC countries like Sri Lanka (73) andMaldives (103) pipped India behind inthe rankings. India also has the lowestHDI among all BRICS nations, with itslife expectancy higher only than South

Africa. Russia, Brazil and China are inthe high HDI category with rankings of

57, 79 and 91 respectively. The HDR isan annual report brought out by theUnited Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) since 1990. HDI isassessed on the basis of threeparameters long and healthy life, accessto knowledge and a decent standard ofliving. Norway, Australia, Switzerland,

Netherlands and the United Statesrespectively topped the HDI ranking listwhile Niger, Democratic Republic of theCongo, Central African Republic and

Sierra Leone were at the bottom of thelist.

3) Who was during July 2014 chosen asthe head of the committee formed toreview the previous UPA government sdecision to raise the price of natural gasthat would have led to a cascading effecton power tariff, urea costs and retail priceof piped cooking g as? Suresh Prabhu

Explanation : Suresh Prabhu is aformer Union power minister. Anindicative terms of reference for thecommittee includes revisiting theNatural Gas Pricing Guidelines of 2014(NGPG 2014) and the C. Rangarajanformula and the possibility of applyingthe same in its present form or withmodifications.

4) Who won the first gold medal forIndia at the 20 th Commonwealth Gamesbeing held at Glasgow, Scotland? K.Sanjita Chanu , woman weightlifter

Explanation : Sanjita Chanu openedIndia s campaign on a flying note on 24July 2014 by winning a gold medal inwomens 48kg category. After that SukhenDey bagged the second gold for India inmens 56kg category to give the countryits second gold medal of the day.

5) An Air Algerie passenger aircraft en-route from Ouagadougou in Burkina


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Faso to Algiers crashed on 24 July2014 killing 116 people on-board. Thiscrash took place in deserts of whichcountry? Mali

Explanation : The wreckage of an Air Algerie plane was found 50 kilometersnorth of the Burkina Faso border in theMalian region of Gossi. The crash tookplace some 50 minutes after taking-offfrom Ouagadougou. Th

july_2014 curret affairs

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