1. 1
GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014

2. General Awareness
FEBRUAR 2014
RY
Yea 2014
ar:
Vol. 2, Issue 08
2
A PUBLICAITON O GYANM EDUC
OF
CATION &
TRAINING IN
NSTITUTE PVT. LTD.
L
SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLO
OOR, SEC 34-A, CH
HANDIGARH
CON
NTENTS
NA ONA N WS
ATIO AL NEW
DE
ECEMBE 2013
ER
SEC
CTION – A
CURRENT A
AFFAIRS
From Octo
ober to
December
SEC
CTION – B
1-21
BULLET N
NEWS
From July to S
September
22-31
SEC
CTION – C
SSC (CGL) P
Previous
Papers – 201 (Two)
13
Interview S
Special
PARLIAMEN PASSES LOKPAL B
P
NT
S
BILL
32-60
43-46
SEC
CTION – E
BA
ANKING MCQs + LATEST
s
GK BYT
TES
61-87
FIGURES TO REMEMB
BER
REP RATE
PO
7.75%
7
REV
VERSE REPO RAT
TE
6.75%
6
MA
ARGINAL STANDI
ING
FAC
CILITY RATE
STA
ATUTORY LIQUIDITY
RAT
TIO
CAS RESERVE RAT
SH
TIO
8.75%
8
BAN RATE
NK
8.75%
8
BAS RATE(s)
SE
(of various banks)
After two years of debate, a s
A
series of fasts u
unto death by s
social activist A
Anna Hazare,
th Lokpal Bil finally was cleared by the Parliamen opening the way for
he
ll
nt,
establishment o the anti-corr
e
of
ruption watchd that will ha in its purvi
dog
ave
iew even the
office of the Prime Minister. The developm
o
ment signals an end to 45-yea
n
ar-old run of
th controversia Bill initiated in 1968 by form Prime Mini
he
al
mer
ister Indira Gan
ndhi.
23%
4.00%
4
INDIA WINS THE DEAL AT WTO ME
I
S
EET
9.70% –
9
10.25 %
INDIA RANK IN
A’S
N
Glo
obal Peace Index
x
141st
Pre Freedom 2013
ess
140th
th
Eco
onomic Freedom 2012
119
Glo
obal Competitiven
ness Index
60th
Cor
rruption Perception Index
94th
Glo
obal Hunger Inde 2013
ex
63rd
Foo Security
od
66th
Human Development Index 2013
136th
Glo
obal Business Con
nfidence Index
2nd
ICT Performance In
T
ndex
69th
Ind
dia’s Rank in IMF
F
8th
Con
nsumer confidence
4th
Human Capital Inde
ex
78
In a major vict
tory for India, the 9th Ministerial Confere
,
ence of WTO held in Bali,
Indonesia agree to allow cou
ed
untries to prov
vide subsidy on staple food c
n
crops without
any
a threat of punitive action, a concession that salvaged the current rou of world
und
tr
rade talks from the brink of collapse. The pact is estim
m
e
mated to add $ 1 trillion to
global trade an add 21millio jobs across the world. Th agreement has ensured
g
nd
on
he
th millions of poor farmer will feel sec
hat
rs
cure that the MSP being g
given by the
government will not be called into question i
g
internationally
The
T World Trad Organizatio (WTO) deals with the glob rules of tra between
de
on
ls
obal
ade
nations. Its ma function is t ensure that trade flows as smoothly, pre
n
ain
to
t
s
edictably and
freely as possib Director Ge
fr
ble.
eneral: Roberto Azevado; Me
to
embers: 159
INDIAN RIG
I
GHTS UPHEL ON KISHE
LD
ENGANGA
The Internation Court of Ar
T
nal
rbitration (ICA) has upheld In
)
ndia’s right to divert water
fr
rom the Kishenganga river f power generation in Jam
for
mmu and Kashmir with the
condition that I
c
India must also release a min
o
nimum of 9 cum
mecs of water i
into the river
below the Kishenganga Hydr Electric Proj
b
ro
ject (KHEP) at all times to m
t
maintain the
environment do
e
ownstream.
JAPANESE R
J
ROYALTY VIS
SITS INDIA
th
st
Glo
obal Gender Gap Index
101
Wo Prosperity In
orld
ndex
106th
Japanese Emp
peror Akihito and Empress Michiko
visited India for a landmark w
v
r
week-long trip, some 53
years after they visited this co
y
y
ountry as Crow Prince
wn
and
a Princess.
2
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

3. MM SLIPS D
MR
DOWN TO 17
78
The maternal mo
ortality ratio (MMR) — num
mber of women
n
wh die of pregnancy-related ca
ho
auses per 1,00
0,000 live births
s
— has come dow to 178 in 20
wn
010-12, from 2 in 2007-09.
212
Kerala has the lo
owest MMR at 66 while Assam tops the list
t
wit MMR of 328.
th
LE
ESSER SLUM DWELLERS IN 2012
M
S
The latest National Sample Survey Organ
nization (NSSO)
)
rep
port shows tha the number of slum house
at
eholds in urban
n
are is coming d
eas
down. The surv
vey, conducted between July
d
y
and December 2
d
2012, projected total slum d
d
dwellings at 88
8
lak compared to 1.3 crore hou
kh,
o
useholds in 201
11.
FA IN NUMB
ALL
BER OF HOM
MELESS PEO
OPLE
UNE
EMPLOYMEN CROSSES 13%
NT
S
The Labour Mini
istry report on 'Youth e
employmentmployment sc
cenario, 2012-13’ has rev
vealed that
unem
unem
mployment rate in the country during 2
2012-13 was
estim
mated to be 13. per cent for the age group 15-29.
.3
Film 'Liar's Dice, directe by Geetu Mohandas,
F
ted
u
selected in the competition c
s
e
category at the prestigious
he
Sundance Film Festival in USA
S
m
SA.
The Sankirta
T
tana — ritual singing, dru
l
umming and
dancing of Man
d
nipur has been added to UNE
n
ESCO's list of
"intangible her
ritage".
India and Sa Marino, a tiny country within Italy,
I
an
signed a Tax I
s
Information Ex
xchange Agree
ement (TIEA)
for
f exchange o banking and ownership info
of
d
formation
Govt has clear a services and investme deal with
G
red
s
ent
10-member As
1
sean group as part of Com
s
mprehensive
Economic Coo
E
ooperation Ag
greement (CEC
ECA).
Double Taxatio Avoidance A
D
on
Agreement-DTA signed
AA
with
w Macedon a small co
nia,
ountry north of Greece.
Nu
umber of home
eless people across the country has come
a
e
dow by 8.8 per cent, from abo 19.4 lakh in 2001 to 17.7
wn
out
7
lak in 2011, s
kh
says latest Ce
ensus 2011 d
data. Though
h
homeless in rura areas declin
al
ned by 28.4 pe cent, it was
er
s
cou
untered by 20.5 per cent increas
se in urban areas.
NO
OVEMBE 2013
ER
‘BHA
ARAT RATNA FOR SACH
A’
HIN AND PR
ROF RAO
Ce
ensus defines h
homeless house
eholds as those which do not
se
ot
live in buildings or census hou
e
uses but live i the open or
in
roa
adside, on pav
vements, in hum
me-pipes, unde flyovers and
der
d
sta
aircases, or in places of worship, man
ndaps, railway
y
pla
atforms, etc.
IN
NDIA RANKS 69TH IN EN
S
NERGY USAG
GE
The Global Energ Architecture Performance Index Reportgy
e
2014 prepared b World Econo
by
omic Forum ha placed India
as
a
at 69th position i the ranking of economies o the basis of
in
on
f
the ability to d
eir
deliver secure, affordable and sustainable
,
e
ene
ergy. Norway t
topped the Inde rankings, fo
ex
ollowed by New
w
Zea
aland and Fran
nce.
IN
NDIA 98TH FO DOING BUSINESS
OR
B
Ind has been ra
dia
anked 98th in the Forbes list of world's best
t
t
cou
untries for do
oing business. Ireland topped the list,
.
,
followed by New Zealand and Hong Kong.
H
Th best countrie for business was determin by grading
he
ies
s
ned
g
14 nations on 11 different factors -- pr
45
n
t
property rights,
s,
inn
novation, tax
xes, technolo
ogy, corrupti
tion, freedom
m
(pe
ersonal, trade and mone
e
etary), red t
tape, investor
or
pro
otection
an
nd
stock
market
performance.
IN
NDIA RANKS 94TH IN CO
S
ORRUPTION
Ind has been ranked among the world's highly corrupt
dia
g
t
nat
tions at the 94 spot (same as in 2012) in a global list of
4th
f
177 countries compiled by Transparency Inte
7
ernational. The
e
list ranks Denmark and New Ze
t
ealand as the cleanest, while
e
Somalia emerged as the most corrupt.
d
c
nent scientist P
Prof C.N.R. Ra and cricket icon Sachin
ao
Emin
Rame Tendulkar have been aw
esh
warded the hig
ghest civilian
awar of India - Th Bharat Ratna
rd
he
a.
Prof C.N.R. Rao is an emin
f.
o
nent scientist and a well
recog
gnized interna
ational author
rity on solid state and
mate
erials chemistry He has publ
y.
lished over 1,4
400 research
pape and 45 book
ers
ks.
Sach R Tendulk - a living legend in cricket who has
hin
kar
inspir millions ac
red
cross the globe Playing for l
e.
last 24 years
from the young a
age of 16 yea
ars, Tendulkar has played
cricke across the w
et
world and won laurels for our country. He
r
has b
been a true am
mbassador of In
ndia in the worl of sports.
ld
Bh
harat Ratna i awarded in recognition of exceptional
is
f
ser
ervice/performa
ance of the hig
ghest order in any field of
hu
uman endeavou The recom
ur.
mmendations fo the award
for
are made by the Prime Ministe himself to th President.
e
e
er
he
No formal recom
o
mmendations fo this are nec
or
cessary. The
nu
umber of annua awards is re
al
estricted to a maximum of
thr in a particu year. The awardee rece
ree
ular
e
eives a Sanad
(ce
ertificate) signe by the Presi
ed
ident and a me
edallion. The
Aw
ward does not c
carry any mone
netary grant.
2
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

4. E C NOT IN FA
AVOUR OF OPINION PO
O
OLLS
Ele
ection Commiss
sion has asked the government to enact a
d
law banning the r
w
release of resu of election related opinion
ults
n
polls after the notification of elections has been made.
f
s
Barring BJP, all m
major political parties had wr
ritten to EC for
r
ban on opinion po
n
olls.
UK PM VISITS INDIA
K
S
David Cameron, Prime Minister
of UK met Prime Minister
anmohan Singh at New Delh
h
hi,
Ma
on his way to Co
olombo to atten
nd
Heads
Commonwealth
of
overnment Mee
eting. Focus of
Go
the
e
meeting
on
o
was
strengthening the trade ties.
e
IN
NDIA IS TOP INVESTMENT CHOICE
P
A s
survey of 1,60 senior exec
00
cutives across more than 70
0
cou
untries by glob professional services firm Ernst & Young
bal
g
(EY shows that India has jum
Y)
mped ahead of China and the
e
US as the most attractive inve
S
estment destina
ation, followed
d
by Brazil, while C
China is at third place.
FIRST ICP OP
PENS ON BAN
NGLADESH BORDER
Ind
dia’s second in
nternational st
tandard multi-u
use Integrated
d
Check Post (ICP) and the first along the Bang
)
gladesh border
r
has been opened to people at Akhaurah in Tripura. The
s
d
t
e
firs such ICP is at Attari in Punjab along the Pakistan
st
s
g
n
border.
RE
ETREAT CER
REMONY ON BANGLA BO
ORDER
The first joint ret
treat ceremony of the Border Security Force
y
e
(BS and the Bo
SF)
order Guard Bangladesh (BGB was held on
B)
n
No 6 at Petrop
ov
pole-Benapole in West Beng
gal’s North 24
4
Par
rganas district and Jessore district of Bangla
adesh.
NO MORE IND
O
DO-B.DESH PASSPORT
Pursuant to the s
signing of the Revised Travel Arrangements
R
s
(RT
TA) with Bang
gladesh, Govt. has decided to discontinue
e
issuance of India-Bangladesh Passport (IBP) with effect
t
fro November 1 2013.
om
15,
WHAT IS IBP : The India-Ba
WH
angladesh Passp
sport (IBP) was
s
int
troduced as a s
special travel document in A
d
August, 1972 to
o
fac
cilitate travel b
between India and Banglade only. Over
a
esh
er
the years, the C
e
Central Govern
rnment delegat
ted powers to
o
Sta Governmen of Assam, Arunachal Prad
ate
nts
adesh, Manipur,
r,
Me
eghalaya, Mizo
oram, Nagaland Tripura & W
d,
West Bengal to
o
iss IBPs.
sue
FINANCIAL AI FROM JA
ID
APAN
Jap
pan will provid an assistanc of Rs 1,958 crore to India
de
ce
a
for campus deve
r
elopment at IIT Hyderabad (1129cr) and
d
inv
vestment promo
otion in Tamil Nadu (829cr).
JA
AILED PERSO
ONS CAN CO
ONTEST ELECTIONS
Taking note of th amendment made to the Representation
he
t
n
of the People Ac treating per
ct
rsons in lawfu custody in a
ul
crim
minal case as a voter, the Supreme C
s
Court has also
o
allo
owed persons in jail to cont
test elections, going back on
n
the July 10 judg
eir
gment.
DEF
FENCE AGRE
EEMENT WIT VIETNAM
TH
M
India has extended a 100 millio dollar line of credit to
a
d
on
Vietn
nam for defenc purchases a
ce
and also signe eight key
ed
agree
ements to assist Vietnam in modernisation and training
of its defence and s
s
security forces.
AGR
REEMENT WITH VIETNA FOR PRIS
AM
SONERS
India and Vietnam have signed an agreement to facilitate
a
t
trans
sfer of sentenc
ced prisoners languishing in jails in the
n
two countries. T
The agreement will enable prisoners to
t
spend their remaining sentence in their own cou
d
n
untry.
UNI
ICEF CAMPAI
IGN AGAINST OPEN DEFEC
T
CATION
In an effort to raise awareness ag
n
e
gainst open de
efecation and
relate health issu
ed
ues, UNICEF has launched a nationwide
socia media campaign named ‘Take the P
al
Poo to Loo’.
According to UNICE around 626 million people in India are
EF,
6
e
ed
in
force to defecate i the open.
S C RULES AGAI
INST FREQU
UENT TRANS
SFERS
In a path-breaking verdict, the S
Supreme Court has sought
t
an en to frequent transfers of ci servants an suggested
nd
ivil
nd
a fixe tenure to in
ed
nsulate them f
from political interference.
It ask govt. to is
ked
ssue necessary directions for this purpose
within three months
s.
IND FARES P
DIA
POORLY IN ‘PROSPERIT
TY’
In th 'Prosperity I
he
Index' ranking of 142 countr
ries compiled
by L
London-based Legatum Instit
tute, India slip
pped by five
place to 106th spo way below neighbouring Bangladesh,
es
ot,
Nepa and Sri Lanka, largely due to poor 'safety and
al
secur
rity' environme
ent. Norway tops the list, followed by
Switz
zerland. The Index eval
luates nations in eight
ns
categ
gories, including education, h
ng
health, economy safety and
my,
secur
rity.
IND RANKS 1 TH IN ‘DO
DIA
134
OING BUSIN
NESS’
As p the World Bank’s report 'Ease of Doi
per
t
ing Business
2014 India ranked 134th in the lis of 189 econo
4’
st
omies, below
neigh
hbouring countries China (9
96), Nepal (10
05), Pakistan
(110) and Bangla
)
adesh (130). The list is topped by
Singa
apore. The ra
ranking is done on the basi of various
ne
is
param
meters such a ease of sta
as
tarting a busin
ness, getting
vario permits an permissions getting loan tax rules
ous
nd
s,
ns,
and t
trade regulatio etc.
ons
44th Interna
4
ational Film Festival of I
India (IFFI)
2013 was held in Goa from November 2 th to 30th.
2
ld
m
20
Japan was the country in focu for this festi
J
e
cus
tival.
India has contr
I
tributed over US 11 million to various UN
SD
bodies for deve
b
elopment activi
vities for the yea 2014.
ear
India declared free from H5N Avian Influen (bird flu)
I
d
N1
enza
as
a no cases ha been report in the last 3 months.
ave
rted
India and B
I
Belgium have agreed to strengthen,
ve
promote and d
p
develop renewa
able energy coo
operation
India to provid Rs 100 crore as a grant t Bhutan for
I
de
es
to
their Economic Stimulus Plan (ESP).
t
c
n
World Agricu
W
ulture Forum Congress 201 and Agri13
Tech Trade Fai held at Hyde
T
air
erabad, Nov. 4-7.
3
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

5. OCTOB
BER 2013
3
PM VISITS R
M
RUSSIA;
ME
EETS PUTIN
N
Prime Minister visited
Russia to hold bilateral
talks. The two countries
a's
stressed on India role as
ember of
a permanent me
nited Nations Security
Un
Council, Shangha Coopeai
tion and a per
rmanent memb of the Nuclear Suppliers
ber
s
rat
Gro
oup. Russian President Vlad
dimer Putin assured India of
f
building unit 3 a
and 4 at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power
r
ant and ear
rly delivery of aircraft carrier ‘INS
S
Pla
Vik
karamaditya’.
IN
NDIA CHINA SIGN BORD
A
DER AGREEM
MENT
Ind and China have signed a key border defence pact
dia
r
t
called the Border Defence Coo
operation Agre
eement (BDCA)
)
to avoid face o
offs between the two arm
mies along the
e
dis
sputed Line o Actual Co
of
ontrol. Besides nine other
s,
r
agr
reements were signed by th Chinese Prime Minister L
e
he
Li
Keq
qiang during In
ndian Prime Minister’s visit to China.
o
PR
RESIDENT V
VISITS TURK
KEY
Pre
esident Pranab Mukherjee visited Turkey where he was
b
s
con
nferred the 'Do
octorate, Honor Causa, in Po
ris
olitical Science'
by the Istanbul University for his achieveme
ents in political
life and contribu
e
utions to gov
vernance and democracy in
n
Ind
dia.
RIME MINIS
STER ATTENDS ASEAN S
SUMMIT
PR
Prime
Ministe Manmohan
er
Singh visits Brunei
s
to
o
att
tend ASEAN Summit, as India gears up t ink a Free
to
e
Tra
ade Agreemen with the grouping within next three
nt
g
e
mo
onths. He also attended East Asia Summit on October 10
o
t
0
in Brunei at Daru
ussalam. India is not a mem
a
mber of ASEAN
N
but has ‘observer status in it an is member o EAS.
ut
r’
nd
of
AN
NSARI LECTURES AT OX
XFORD
Vic President Ha
ce
amid Ansari vis
sited Latin Ame
erican countries
s
Per and Cuba t strengthen India's relatio
ru
to
ons with them.
He also delivered a lecture on Citizenship and identity at the
e
d
C
e
Ox
xford centre for Islamic studie in London.
r
es
IN
NDIA MOVES UP ON HUN
S
NGER SCOR
RE
Recently released Global Hunge Index shows that India has
d
er
s
s
imp
proved its ranking from 65 in 2012 to 63 in 2013. The
i
e
sco for the cou
ore
untry improved to 21.3 from 22.9 in 2012.
d
m
Ind continued t trail behind Pakistan and Bangladesh on
dia
to
n
the index.
e
IN
NDIA IMPRO
OVES ITS HU
UNGER RECO
ORD
Lat
test report fro
om UN agenc
cies shows th
hat number of
f
peo
ople who suff
ffered from ch
hronic hunger in India has
s
dro
opped by 6.5 p cent to 21
per
1.38 crore during 2011-13 as
s
com
mpared to 22.8 crore in 200
86
08-10.
PA
ANJAB UNIV
VERSITY ‘BE
EST’ IN INDI
IA
Pan
njab University Chandigarh, has beaten all 15 Indian
y,
n
Ins
stitutes of Technology (IITs on researc impact and
s)
ch
d
intern
national outloo to emerge a the country's top-ranked
ok
as
highe
er educationa institution in the Tim
al
mes Higher
Education's Top 40 World Univ
00
versity Ranking published
gs
recen
ntly.
IND RANKS 7 TH IN HCI
DIA
78
India has been plac at a low 78 slot on a global Human
a
ced
8th
Capit
tal Index, wh
hich ranks co
ountries on th basis of
he
econo
omic potential of their labou force, while Switzerland
ur
e
has t
topped the rank
king.
KHU
URSHID VIS
SITS SRI LAN
NKA
Exter
rnal Affairs Min
nister Salman Khurshid visite Sri Lanka
ed
for tw days to ho talks on ke issues, inclu
wo
old
ey
uding Indian
fishermen languishing in jails the and implem
ere
mentation of
amendment to constitution f devolution o powers to
o
for
of
13th a
the p
provinces.
RAILWAY STAT
TION AFTER KOMAGATA MARU
A
Govt has decided to rename t
the Budge Bu
udge railway
statio on Kolkata’s outskirts from where the Br
on
s
m
ritish forcibly
tried to send back Indian passe
k
engers of Kom
magata Maru
ship to Punjab to prevent them from consolid
dating at the
heigh of the Ghadar movement as “Komagata Maru Budge
ht
Budg station” to sa
ge
alute the marty of Septemb 29, 1914.
yrs
ber
CBS TO FOLLO ‘OPEN BO
SE
OW
OOK’ SYSTE
EM
The Central Board of Seconda
d
ary Education (CBSE) will
duce Open Text Based As
ssessment (OT
TBA) system
introd
from next acad
demic session for 9th and 11th
n
will
ed
s
classes. Students w be informe four months in advance
aterial on whic the examina
ch
ations will be
about the study ma
trengthening
conducted. The new system aims at st
ents' analytical and theoretica skills.
al
stude
7 CO
OUNTRIES S
SUPPORT NA
ALANDA UNIVERSITY
India has signed agreements w
a
with seven cou
untries, who
pledg
ged their com
mmitment to the ambitio
ous Nalanda
Unive
ersity project. These agree
ements are ke to India's
ey
plans to establish Nalanda Un
s
h
niversity in B
Bihar as an
instit
tution of interna
ational repute.
S C ORDERS 3 P
PER CENT
RES
SERVATION FOR
DISA
ABLED
The Supreme Cour has directed
rt
d
the C
Centre, the St
tates and the
e
Union Territories, and public
n
c
secto undertaking to reserve
or
gs
e
three per cent of their jobs for
e
r
the disabled under a law to
o
ensure
they
get
equal
l
oppo
ortunity and pro
otect their right
ts.
IND
DIA-MYANMA
AR-THAILAN HIGHWA
ND
AY
The p
proposed highw - from Mo
way
oreh in Manipur to Mae Sot
in Th
hailand, via Mya
anmar is expec
cted to be oper
rational soon
to en
nsure smoother and faster mo
r
ovement of goo between
ods
these regions. India is also deve
e
eloping the Ka
aladan MultiModa Transit Tran
al
nsport Project linking Kolka port with
t
ata
Sittw port in Myan
we
nmar by sea an later on link
nd
king Sittwe to
Mizor
ram via Kaladan river and roa transport.
ad
4
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

6. IN
NDIA FARES POORLY IN GENDER G
N
GAP
Ind has been ra
dia
anked 101 out of 136 countries on a Global
Ge
ender Gap In
ndex compiled by Geneva
d
a-based World
d
Eco
onomic Forum. The index ran the countrie on the basis
.
nks
es
s
of division of reso
ources and opp
portunities betw
ween men and
d
wo
omen in areas o economy, ed
of
ducation, politic and health.
cs
65 MN LIVE IN SLUMS
5
N
Lat
test Census da shows that over 65 millio people lived
ata
t
on
d
in slums in 2011
1. The censu designated slums in three
us
e
typ - notified, r
pes
recognised and identified. Maharashtra has
d
s
the highest slum population at 11 million followed by
e
m
n,
y
Andhra Pradesh (
(10mn).
What
Wh is a slum The census defines a slum as “residentia
m:
d
m
al
are
eas where dw
wellings are unfit for huma habitation”
u
man
bec
ecause they ar dilapidated, cramped, poo
re
orly ventilated,
d,
unc
nclean, or “any combination of these fact
y
tors which are
e
det
etrimental to the safety and health”.
he
he
IN
NDIA HIGH O CYBER CRIME LIST
ON
C
The 2013 Norton Report by Symantec says that India is
n
S
s
s
am
mong the wor
rld’s top five countries with the highest
t
number of incide
ences of cyber crime such a ransomware
r
as
e
(11 per cent), id
1
dentity theft (1 per cent) and phishing (9
11
9
per cent).
r
President P
Pranab Mukhe
herjee visits Be
elgium and had
d
a meeting w
with their Prim Minister El Di Rupo at
me
Elio
Brussels.
World Ban to provide $360 mill
nk
de
llion loan for
or
modernisatio of irrigation and drainag systems in
on
on
ge
n
Uttar Prades
sh.
India and I
Israel have agreed to set u a joint fund
a
up
d
to promote research an developme
e
nd
ent in various
s
sectors.
Union Fina
ance Ministe and RBI g
er
governor visit
it
USA to atte
end the annua meeting of the IMF and
al
f
d
the World Ba at Washing
ank
gton.
15th Mumb film festiv held from October 17 to
bai
val
o
24 at Mumba
bai.
NO
OVEMBE 2013
ER
DEN
NMARK TO R
RESTORE HE
ERITAGE BUILDINGS
The National Museum of Denmar has offered to renovate
rk
and preserve a total of 116 herit
tage buildings, constructed
in the 18th and 19t centuries, lo
e
th
ocated on the banks of the
river Hooghly in W
West Bengal. There was a large Danish
settle
ement at Seram
mpore on the b
banks of the H
Hooghly from
1755 to 1845 befor the arrival of the British in India.
5
re
f
MOR NREGA D
RE
DAYS IN ODI
ISHA
In
the
recently
one and flood
dcyclo
affec
cted districts o
of
Ganja
am,
Puri,
Mayu
urbhanj
and
d
Balas
sore in Odisha
a,
Gove
ernment
ha
as
agree to increase
ed
man-days
unde
er
Maha
atma
Gandh
hi
Natio
onal Rural Emp
ployment Guara
antee Scheme (MGNREGS)
to 15 from existing norm of 100 days.
50
g
WB AND ADB TO SUPPORT ODISHA
O
T
World Bank and the Asian Develo
d
opment Bank h
have assured
a fina
ancial assistanc of $ 313 mn to Odisha gov
ce
n
vernment for
resto
oration and reh
habilitation activities in cyclon Phailin hit
ne
areas
s.
AFSPA EXTENDED IN NE ST
TATES
Govt has extended the Armed Fo
d
orces (Special Powers) Act
in As
ssam and in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh and
e
s
Megh
halaya for six m
more months w Nov 4, con
wef
nsidering the
curre situation in these states.
ent
Sikkim decla
S
ared as the be region to visit in 2014
est
in
i the Best in T
Travel list 2014 by the global travel guide
4
l
Lonely Planet.
L
The Hornbill Festival held in Kohima, Nagaland to
T
l
ld
celebrate and p
c
promote rich tr
ribal culture of Nagaland.
f
NEWS FROM STA
N
S
M
ATES
DECEMB
D
BER 2013
3
Krishna Kanta Handiqui: State Ope
a
:
en University
y
(KK
KHSOU), the o
only State Open University in the Northeast,
n
,
has been conf
s
ferred the international ‘
‘Excellence in
n
Ins
stitutional Achievement’ awar for 2011-2013 by Canadard
bas Commonw
sed
wealth of Learni (COL).
ing
Arunachal Prad
desh: is fast turning into a producer of
f
larg cardamom, a sought-after spice.
ge
r
Va
asundhara Ra
aje: Chief Minis
ster, Rajasthan
Arv
vind Kejriwal 7th Chief Min
l:
nister of New D
Delhi
Sh
hivraj Singh C
Chouhan: Chie Minister, Ma
ef
adhya Pradesh
Dr Raman Sing
r.
gh: Chief Minis
ster, Chattisgar
rh
Pu Lalthanhawla: Chief Minis
u
ster, Mizoram
5
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

7. GOV NMEN
VERN
NT
IN
NITIAT ES
TIVE
DECEMB
D
BER 2013
3
CO
ONSTITUTIO
ONAL STATU FOR JAC
US
Govt has agreed to
o
constitutional
grant
d
status to the proposed
Judicia Appointments
al
s
Commissio
on (JAC) for
r
appointme
ent
and
d
transfer of judges to
o
that
its
s
ensure
on
e
compositio cannot be
altered
through
an
n
legislation.
ordinary
Acc
cording to the proposal, Artic 124 A of th Constitution
cle
he
n
will define the co
omposition of JAC while Art
ticle 124 B will
fine its function
ns.
def
NA
ATIONAL CA
ANCER INST
TITUTE IN HARYANA
The Centre has c
cleared a propo
osal for setting up of National
at
of
Cancer Institute a Badhsa village in Jhajjar o Haryana at a
cos of Rs 2035 c
st
crore.
Ca
ancer is emerg
ging as a maj public hea
jor
alth concern in
n
Ind where 11 lakh new case are diagnos every year
dia,
ses
sed
ar
and the mort
nd
rtality rate is 5.5 lakh per year.
h
CE
ENTRE LAUN
NCHES ANTI NAXAL OPE
I
ERATION
A f
four day anti-Naxal operatio involving cl
on
lose to 40,000
0
sec
curity personn
nel was launc
ched on 26th December in
n
Chhattisgarh, Jha
arkhand, Maharashtra and other states with
h
at
M
ons
an aim to strike a the root of Maoist formatio and cadres.
This is for the first time that both central an state forces
b
nd
s
ve
o
ush
s
hav launched a coordinated operation to flu out Naxals
fro their interior hotbeds.
om
DI
ISABILITIES BILL PASS
S
SED BY THE CABINET
The Union Cabine has approve the Rights o Persons with
et
ed
of
h
Dis
sabilities Bill, raising the re
eservation for Persons with
h
Dis
sabilities (PWD from three at present to five per cent.
D)
The disabled w
will get the benefit at all government
t
edu
ucational institutions and jobs
s.
NR
REGA SUPPO
ORT FOR TO
OILETS / HO
OUSES
Eve NREGA job cardholder who plans to b
ery
b
w
build a toilet in
n
his house will ge a contributio of Rs 10,000 from NREGA
s
et
on
A
fun
nds. Further, they will also get wages fo constructing
o
or
g
the own house if it is being bu under Indir Awaas Yojna
eir
uilt
ra
a
or any other such govt housing project.
h
CA
ABINET PAS
SSES TELANG
GANA BILL
The Union Cabinet has clear
red a parliame
entary Bill for
r
cre
eation of Telangana state. Th country’s 29 state would
he
9th
d
be carved out of 10 distrcit of Andhra Pradesh. The
ts
e
rea
amaining 13 districts will continue in t
the bifurcated
d
Andhra Pradesh. The Bill has now been s
s
sent to Andhra
a
Pra
adesh Assembly to obtain the view.
y
eir
Govt has launc
G
nched e-inclusio project to m
on
make people
e-literate, aim
e
ming to make at least one individual in
every househo e-literate.
e
old
NO
OVEMBE 2013
ER
DEV COMMITTE TO REVIE NREGA W
V
EE
EW
WAGES
Minis
stry of rural development has appoint
ted a new
comm
mittee chaired by S Mahendra Dev, Vice-C
Chancellor of
the I
Indira Gandhi Institute of D
Development R
Research, to
prepa a fresh in
are
ndex that would lead to mo generous
ore
wage revisions und the Mahat
e
der
tma Gandhi Na
ational Rural
Employment Guara
antee Act (Nre
ega).
Wages under the
s
flagship scheme are based on the CPI-agricultu labourers
e
ure
(CPI-AL) measure, which has a ba year of 198
ase
86-87 and is,
there
efore, considere as outdated
ed
d
NCIP MADE COMPULSORY FOR STATES
Centr has directe the state g
re
ed
governments to implement
o
the n
new National Crop Insuranc Programme (NCIP) for
ce
e
comp
pulsory coverag of all the lo
ge
oanee farmers. The NCIP,
also known as Ras
shtriya Fasal B
Bima Karyakram has been
m,
formulated by me
erging the Pilot Weather Based Crop
Insur
rance Scheme Pilot Modif
e,
fied National Agricultural
Insur
rance Scheme, Pilot Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme.
TIONAL INST
TITUTE OF D
DISASTER R
RESPONSE
NAT
Govt. has decided t establish Na
to
ational Institute of Disaster
e
htra on the outskirts of
Response (NIDR) in Maharash
ptee, district N
Nagpur to train the personne of National
n
el
Kamp
Disas
ster Response Force, central and state forc and units
ces
from foreign countr
ries.
RAS
SHTRIYA UC
CHCHATAR S
SHIKSHA AB
BHIYAN
The Cabinet Comm
mittee on Economic Affairs h approved
has
chchatar Shiks
sha Abhiyan (RUSA), a
the Rashtriya Uc
rally Sponsored Scheme (CS for reforming the state
d
SS)
Centr
run higher educat
tion system b improving the quality,
by
ntity and distrib
bution of Unive
ersities and col
lleges across
quan
the c
country.
Prasar Bharat to launch a separate TV channel
P
ti
“Prabha” specia for Arunachal Pradesh an Sikkim.
“
ally
nd
OCTOBE 2013
O
ER
NAT
TIONAL FINA
ANCIAL REP
PORTING AU
UTHORITY
Movin ahead with implementat
ng
h
tion of the ne company
ew
law, the governm
ment has issu
ued draft rules for the
propo
osed National Financial Rep
porting Author
rity (NFRA).
The NFRA will hav powers to lay down acc
ve
counting and
audit
ting policies an standards f adoption by companies
nd
for
y
and e
ensuring their c
compliance too
o.
SER
RICULTURE C
COVERED UNDER MNRE
EGA
Con
nsidering the shortage of
skilled labour in sericulture
n
(rea
aring of silk w
worms), Govt
has agreed to in
s
ntegrate the
workers in this sector with
the employment guarantee
e
t
sch
heme - MNREGA
A.
6
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

8. MS FOR WHE
SP
EAT RAISED TO Rs.1400/QTL
D
The minimum s
support price (MSP) for wh
heat has been
n
inc
creased by Rs 5 per quintal to Rs 1,400 for 2013-14 crop
50
p
yea
ar/ marketing year beginn
ning April 2014. The msp
p
app
proved for othe Rabi crops are as under:
er
a
Rs. per quintal
Wheat
Masur
Mustard
Rs. 1400
Rs. 2950
Rs. 3050
Barley
Safflower
Gram
Rs. 1100
Rs. 3000
Rs. 3100
PO
OST OFFICES ON CBS PL
S
LATFORM
Go
overnment is b
bringing all pos offices across the country
st
y
under the core banking solut
tion system t cover more
to
e
ople of rural areas with AA
ADHAAR seede accounts to
ed
o
peo
help them avail the benefits of various sche
o
emes including
g
d
n
EGA through d
direct benefits
s
old age pension and MGNRE
tra
ansfer.
GR
REEN ENERG CORRIDO
GY
ORS
The governmen plans to set up w
nt
wind and solar
r
far
rms in Rajastha and Tamil Nadu in the firs phase of the
an
N
st
e
Rs 43,000-crore G
Green Energy Corridors Proje that aims to
C
ect
o
add 30,000 MW t the national grid by 2020.
d
to
GO
OVT PASSES BILL FOR UIDAI
S
U
The Union Cabine has approve the Nationa Identification
et
ed
al
n
Authority of Indi Bill. Once approved by P
ia
a
Parliament, the
e
law will provide s
w
statutory status to the Unique Identification
s
e
n
Authority of India (UIDAI), which function under the
w
ns
e
Pla
anning Commis
ssion.
LP CONNECT
PG
TION PORTA
ABILITY STA
ARTS
Go has launche the 5 kg LP cylinder at c
ovt
ed
PG
cash and carry
y
bas which will be available without much documentation
sis
w
n
has
ssle at petrol pump outle
ets. Govt has also allowed
d
portability of LPG connections from one dealer/company to
G
o
other.
ano
CE
ELLPHONES FOR MGNREGA WORKE
ERS
Ne
et-enabled cellp
phones could soon be provide to 2.5 crore
s
ed
e
peo
ople under the MGNREGA sc
e
cheme, selecting one person
n
per family. The cellphone will cost Rs. 300. A recharge of
r
f
Rs 30 per month will be provide for free for t
ed
two years.
EC
CONOM IN
MIC NDICAT
TORS
DE
ECEMBE 2013
ER
GDP GROWS BY 4.8% IN 2ND QR
P
Y
The economy grew at a faster p
w
pace of 4.8 per cent in the
r
secon quarter (en
nd
nding Septemb 30th), prim
ber
marily due to
impro
oved performa
ance of agriculture driven b a bumper
by
mons
soon and exp
ports.
The country’s gross domestic
produ (GDP) had expanded by 4 per cent in the previous
uct
4.4
April-June quarter o this fiscal an 5.2 per cent in the Julyof
nd
t
Septe
ember quarter last fiscal.
RBI PUTS GDP G
GROWTH AT 5 PER CEN
T
NT
The Reserve Bank has estimat
k
ted that India economy
a's
would grow about 5 per cent in FY 2013-14 while the
d
t
4,
curre account de
ent
eficit would be below 3 per c
cent of GDP.
The e
economy expa
anded 4.8 per c
cent in the sec
cond quarter
of 20
013-14, pulling up GDP growth in the first ha to 4.6 per
alf
cent. The economy has to grow 5 per cent in the second
5.4
n
half to clock 5 per cent growth in the full fin
r
nancial year.
UN L
LOWERS GR
ROWTH RAT TO 4.8 PE CENT
TE
ER
The United Nations has lowered India’s econo
d
omic growth
forec
cast for 2013 to 4.8 per cent from 6.1 per cent
proje
ected earlier. The World Economic Sit
tuation and
Prosp
pects 2014 rep
port by UNO h warned th emerging
has
hat
mark
kets should be prepared to d
deal with the impact of US
Federal Reserve’s q
quantitative eas
sing programm
me.
Asian Developme
ent Bank ha projected that India is
as
likely to record 4.7% growth in F 14 which will improve to
y
%
FY
5.7% next year.
%
PLG COMM LIKE TO LOWE GROWTH RATE
G
EY
ER
H
Cons
sidering the l
lower-than-exp
pected growth of Indian
h
econo
omy, Planning Commission is of the view t
s
that the 12th
Plan's growth target could be lo
s
owered to aro
ound 7.5 per
cent from 8 per cen fixed current
nt
tly. During the first year of
e
the 1
12th Plan, India economy gr
a's
rew by only 5 p cent, the
per
slowe in a decade. In the first half (April-Se
est
t
eptember) of
2013
3-14, the econo
omy grew by ju 4.6 per cent
ust
t.
IND
DUSTRIAL PR
RODUCTION SHRINKS BY 1.8%
N
Indus
strial
produc
ction
contr
racted by 1.8 per
cent in October this
year mainly due to
e
poor performance of
e
the
manufactu
uring
secto
or.
Growth
in
Octob
ber last year was
8.4 per cent.
The
manu
ufacturing se
ector,
which constitutes over
h
75 p
per cent of the
index declined b 2
x,
by
per c
cent as again a
nst
grow of 9.9 per c
wth
cent in last Octo
ober.
7
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

9. CO
ORE SECTOR SLIPS BY 0.6%
R
0
Dashing hopes o recovery, the output of eig core sector
of
e
ght
r
dustries contra
acted by 0.6% in October due to poor
%
r
ind
sho
owing by coal, oil and gas se
ectors. The de
ecline in output
t
of eight core sect industries — coal, crude o natural gas,
tor
oil,
,
finery products fertilisers, steel, cement, electricity —
s,
s
,
ref
follows a robust 8 growth in September.
8%
S
TR
RADE DEFIC SHRINKS BELOW $1
CIT
S
10BN
Ind
dia’s exports s
slipped to $24.61 billion in N
November from
m
$27
7.27 billion in October. The government’s stringent gold
d
imp
port curbs rest
tricted overall imports during the month to
g
o
$33
3.83 billion, lo
owest in last two-and-a-half year. As a
res
sult, the trade d
deficit narrowe to $9.22 billi
ed
ion.
Fo
oreign exchange reserves declined fo the second
or
d
con
nsecutive week to $295.50 billion, down by $12.6 million,
k
b
y
,
in t week ende December 20
the
ed
0.
in m
manufacturing and investme
ent as well as negative
busin
ness confidenc High headline inflation, an elevated
ce.
curre
ent account d
deficit, and r
rising pressur on fiscal
re
balan
nces from the depreciation of the rupee are the factors
f
e
that c
could impede t country's growth.
the
IMF PULLS IND
F
DIA’s GROWT RATE TO 3.8%
TH
O
In th World Econo
he
omic Outlook r
report, the IMF has further
F
cut I
India’s growth projection fo 2013-14 to 3.8% from
h
or
earlie 5.6% projec
er
cted in July. “G
Growth in India has slowed
a
down more than an
n
nticipated and the country m
must maintain
fiscal and monetar credibility in order to pre
l
ry
n
event capital
outflo
ows”, the report said.
IND
DIA’S HOUSE
EHOLD WEA
ALTH RISES BY 7.4%
According
A
to
the Credit
Suisse Global W
Wealth Report
2013, after North America
(1
11.9 per cent) and Europe
(7
7.7 per cent), India has
witnessed the highest rise
w
in
n
household
wealth
re
egistering 7.4 per cent
4
growth to $
$3.6 trillion
NOVEMB
N
BER 2013
3
NC
CAER LOWERS GROWTH RATE
H
Think tank Natio
onal Council of Applied Economic Research
f
h
CAER) has low
wered country's growth rate to 4.8-5.3 per
s
r
(NC
cen range in th current fisc due to slowdown in key
nt
he
cal
y
ma
anufacturing an services sectors.
nd
durin 2012-13.
ng
OE
ECD PUTS IN
NDIA’S GRO
OWTH AT 3.4
4%
Par
ris-based Orga
anisation for Economic Co-operation and
d
De
evelopment (OECD) has said Indian econo
d
omy will grow
w
jus 3.4% in the current finan
st
e
ncial year. Th
These estimates
s
are based on ma
e
arket prices, an are not stric comparable
nd
ctly
e
wit India's offici statistics th measure ec
ith
cial
hat
conomic output
ut
at factor costs.
S& WARNS I
&P
INDIA OF LO
OWER RATING
Considering a ma
arked slowdow in India’s re growth and
wn
eal
d
its effect on the government's debt dynamics and ability to
s
o
imp
plement reform global ratin agency Stan
ms,
ng
ndard & Poor's
s
has warned of a likely down
s
ngrade in 201 if the new
14
w
gov
vernment fails to reverse Ind
dia's low growth. However, it
t
con
nfirmed India’ current cred rating at B
’s
dit
BBB-/A-3, with
h
neg
gative outlook.
.
OCTOB
BER 2013
3
F M EXPECTS GROWTH AT 5.5%
T
The Finance Ministry expects that the econo
t
omic growth in
n
the current fiscal is likely to improve to 5.5 p cent from 5
e
per
per cent last yea on back of likely pick up in agricultural
r
ar
out
tput on accoun of good mon
nt
nsoon rains.
AS
SSOCHAM PU
UTS GROWT RATE AT 5.8%
TH
A report from Assocham says that due to a
agr
ricultural outpu leading to robust rural de
ut
emand
mu
ultiplier effect on services and manufac
cturing,
eco
onomy is expec
cted to grow at 5.8 per cent in the
a
t
fisc
cal.
DE
ECEMBE 2013
ER
IND TO BECO
DIA
OME 3RD LAR
RGEST ECON
NOMY
healthy
y
and its
s
India's
s
current
t
WORLD BANK PULLS DOW GROWT TO 4.7%
K
WN
TH
The World Bank sharply lowe
k
ered its foreca for India's
ast
s
eco
onomic growth to 4.7 percen from 6.1 per
h
nt
rcent projected
d
in April for the current fiscal ye
ear, citing a sh
harp slowdown
n
India is likely to ove
a
ertake Japan in 2028 to beco
n
ome the third
large economy in the world afte China and United States,
est
er
accor
rding to Lond
don-based eco
onomic consul
ltancy CEBR
(Cent for Econom
tre
mics and Busine Research). In the 2013
ess
leagu table, India is at the 11th place with a GDP of USD
ue
h
1.7 b
billion. and it w claim 3rd sp with GDP o USD 6,560
will
pot
of
billion by 2028.
n
DIANS ARE C
CONFIDENT OF THEIR E
ECONOMY
IND
According to a stu
udy by global research firm Ipsos, has
m
ranke India as th seventh mo economically confident
ed
he
ost
country in the wo
orld. Indians feel confident about their
econo
omy due to prospects of healthy farm output and
narro
owing current account deficit.
The su
urvey of 24
countries is topped by Saudi Arabia, followed b Germany,
d
by
Swed and Canada.
den
The
T Asian Deve
velopment Bank (ADB) has ag
k
greed to lend
$176 million t extend the first metro t
$
to
e
train line in
Jaipur.
J
NO
OVEMBE 2013
ER
WEF JOINS HAN
F
NDS WITH C
CII
The W
World Econom Forum has joined hand with the
mic
ds
Confe
ederation of Indian Industry (CII) to join
y
ntly organise
the India Economic Summit as we as other indu
ell
ustry specific
proje
ects in India in coming years.
8
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

10. FO
OUR TAX HAV
VENS TO SHAR TAX INFOR
RE
RMATION
In a big boost in the fight against black money, four
k
r
ove
erseas territor
ries - Liechten
nstein, Isle of Man, British
f
h
Vir
rgin Islands a
and Cayman Islands -where Indians are
I
e
e
sus
spected to hav stashed illic funds, have agreed to do
ve
cit
e
o
aw with bankin secrecy way by allowing automatic tax
way
ng
ys
x
info
ormation excha
ange with India
a.
India has a
allowed Bangla
adesh to impo motorcycles
ort
s
through the land route as against sea ro
oute at present,
t,
he
on
to reduce the transportatio costs.
OCTOB
BER 2013
3
BA
ANGALORE B
BEST BUSIN
NESS DESTIN
NATION
Acc
cording to a recent surve by Global Initiative for
ey
r
Restructuring En
nvironment and Management (GIREM) and
d
t
d
DT
TZ, Bangalore is the best business desti
b
ination in the
e
cou
untry, leaving behind bigger cities like Mum
mbai, Delhi and
d
Chennai, on the basis of ava
e
ailability of se
everal business
s
fac
cilitating factors
s.
Ms KOCHHAR TOPS IN IN
s.
R
NDIAN BUSINESS
Fou Indian busin
ur
nesswomen led by ICICI Ban CEO Chanda
d
nk
a
Kochhar have ma to Fortune magazine's glo
ade
obal list of toph
50 women busine leaders. Kochhar secure a proud 4th
ess
K
ed
ran
nk, followed by National Stock Exchan chief Chitra
nge
a
Ramkrishna at 1
17th, Axis Bank's CEO Shik
kha Sharma at
t
32nd and HSBC's chief Naina Lal Kidwai at 42
s
L
2nd place. This
s
list is topped by B
t
Brazilian energy giant Petrobr CEO, Maria
gy
bras'
a
Da Gracas Foste
as
er.
TA
ATAs ENTER AVIATION SECTOR
R
Ind
dia’s leading in
ndustrial house has entered in to aviation
e
n
sec
ctor by joining hands with Singapore Airlines. The new
g
w
com
mpany will be n
named 'Tata SI Airlines Limi
IA
ited'.
UN PANEL STO
N
OPS POSCO PROJECT
A UN Human Rights panel ha asked South Korean steel
as
h
gia Posco to im
ant
mmediately halt the $12-billion mega portto-steel plant p
project in Od
disha as
it may lead to
o
dis
splacement of t
thousands of people and disr
p
ruption in their
r
live
elihoods.
GO
OVT APPROV
VES JET ETI
IHAD DEAL
The Union Cabin has approv
net
ved the bigges ever foreign
st
n
inv
vestment in Ind
dia's aviation sector - Jet Airw
ways' proposed
d
sale of 24 per cent equity to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad
d
Air
rways, the national airline of United Arab E
Emirates, for Rs
s
2,0 crore.
058
mega
awatts each in Sri Lanka's north-eastern district of
s
n
Trinc
comalee.
COA MINING T GO FOR PPP MODE
AL
TO
The g
government plans to invite b
bids from privat players to
te
kickstart coal minin in a public
ng
c-private partne
ership (PPP)
mode in the country, effectively ending the m
e
y
monopoly of
public sector behem
moth Coal Ind
dia. The idea is to ensure
that t
there is fair co
ompetition in th coal market as there will
he
be m
multiple produce of coal to m
ers
meet the growing domestic
dema
and.
IND TO RECE
DIA
EIVE $ 71 BN IN REMITT
N
TANCES
A rec
cent forecast fr
rom World Ban says that re
nk
emittances to
developing countrie are likely to swell by 6.3 p cent this
es
o
per
year to $414 billion with one third of it going to India and
n,
China For India, $71 billion in remittances is nearly triple
a.
what it received fro foreign direc investment l
t
om
ct
last year.
DIA
AVOUR WIT MNCs
TH
IND FINDS FA
According to an ana
alysis by McKin
nsey Global Institute,
India hosts about 158 large global compa
a
t
anies having
reven
nue of USD 1 billion or more making the country the
e,
11th most favour
red destinatio for setting up of a
on
g
inational corporation headqua
arters.
multi
Asian Developme Bank (ADB has tied up a number
ent
B)
p
of cr
redit facilities for India as under:
s
•
$100 million lo
$
oan to Meghalaya to improv education
ve
skills.
s
•
$ 700 million loans to accelerate inv
n
vestment in
infrastructure
i
•
$500 million lo
$
oan to build a transmission system for
n
solar and wind energy in wes
s
stern India
•
$400 million package for a water an sanitation
$
nd
programme in eastern India.
p
Reliance Ind
R
dustries Ltd has becom the first
d.
me
company in th country to a
c
he
achieve sales o more than
of
Rs
R 1,00,000 cro in a quarte
rore
er.
Australian Tr
A
rade Commiss
ssion and YES Bank have
S
signed a MoU to raise the p
s
productivity an exports of
nd
India’s food an agricultural s
I
nd
sector.
The
T new Comp
panies Law req
equires compan
nies to spend
at
a least 2 per c
cent of its net profits on Corp
t
rporate Social
Responsibility (
R
(CSR) activities
s.
PO
OWER PACT WITH BANG
GLADESH
Ind has agreed to start a tra
dia
d
ansmission line for exporting
e
g
500 MW of electr
0
ricity from Wes Bengal to Bangladesh. The
st
e
two countries also agreed to promote 1,3
o
o
320-MW Maitri
the
ermal power p
project in Bang
gladesh to be developed by
y
Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Comp
a
pany, a joint
t
ven
nture between NTPC and Ban
ngladesh Powe Development
er
t
Board.
PO
OWER PROJECTS DEAL WITH SRI L
LANKA
Ind finalised $5
dia
512-million joint venture deal with Sri Lanka
a
for the construction of two coa fired power p
r
al
projects of 250
0
9
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014

11. BANK
B
KING & FINA
ANCE
E
DECEMB
D
BER 2013
3
BA
ANK BUSINE
ESS SHOWS GOOD GRO
OWTH
Bank deposits gr
rew 17 per ce year-on-yea to Rs.75.24
ent
ar
4
trillion on Decem
mber 13, 2013, from Rs.64.31 trillion in the
1
e
sam period last year, due to higher mobilisa
me
h
ation, driven by
y
the RBI’s special swap window for Foreign Currency None
l
w
Resident (Banks) or FCNR (B) deposits. Ad
)
dvances during
g
the same time increased by 14.9 per cent to Rs. 57.01
e
t
1
trillion from Rs. 4
49.61 last year.
CU
URRENCY ARR
RANGEMENT WITH NEPAL
L
Ne
epal and India h
have agreed in principle to allow circulation
n
n
of Rs.500 and R
Rs.1,000 deno
omination India bank notes
an
s
wit
thin Nepalese territory, endin a ban in place for over a
ng
dec
cade.
Doha Bank became the first Qatari ba to get the
k
ank
e
license from RBI to start operations in I
m
o
India, with first
st
umbai.
branch in Mu
M3 money s
supply rose by annualised 1
b
15.1 percent as
s
on Decembe 13 to Rs 92.0 trillion.
er
06
Govt approv
oved the enh
hancement of the bilatera
f
al
currency sw
swap arrange
ement betwee the RBI and
en
d
Bank of Japa to $ 50 bil
pan
illion, up from $ 15 billion at
present.
NOVEMB
N
BER 2013
3
BH
HARTIYA MA
AHILA BANK STARTS
K
On the 96t birthday of
th
f
late Indira Gandhi, Prime
e
Minister Manmohan Singh
h
inaugurated
the
first
t
branch of t
the first allwoman ban - ‘Bhartiya
nk
a
Mahila Bank in Mumbai.
k’
He
eaded by Usha Ananthasubra
amaniam, the bank will have
e
init corpus of R 1,000 crore with seven bra
tial
Rs
w
anches in major
r
citi
ies to start w
with. The bank will have un
k
nique products
s
des
signed for wo
omen and dev
vote special at
ttention to the
e
fun
nding needs of over 60 lakh self-help groups. The bank
f
h
k
will also cater to limited number of male custo
r
omers.
LO
OAN TO WOM
MEN SHGs @ 7%
The Reserve Ba
ank has direct
ted public sector banks to
o
pro
ovide credit to women self help groups a a rate of 7
o
at
per
rcent per ann
num so as to get the bene of interest
efit
t
sub
bvention scheme under the Swarnaj
jayanti Gram
m
Sw
warozgar Yojana (Aajeevika) scheme.
a
s
‘M
MEDIUM’ UNITS UNDER PRIORITY S
SECTOR
The Reserve Bank has allowed banks to treat loans given to
o
me
edium manufac
cturing enterpr
rises after Nov. 13 as priority
y
sec
ctor advance, in its efforts to provide enh
t
hanced liquidity
y
sup
pport to the m
medium and small enterprises. A medium
s
m
ma
anufacturing e
enterprise is on where the investment in
ne
n
pla and machin
ant
inery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not
th
e
ot
exc
xceed Rs.10 cro
ore.
BAN
NKS MAY PA MONTHLY INTEREST
AY
Y
As all commercial b
banks are now on core bankin platforms,
ng
RBI h decided to give banks the option to pay interest on
has
y
savin deposits an term deposi at intervals shorter than
ngs
nd
its
quart
terly intervals i.e. monthly or fortnight
y
tly intervals.
Prese
ently, banks ar not allowed to pay interes on savings
re
d
st
and t
term deposits a less than qua
at
uarterly interval
ls.
RBI SIGNS MOU WITH AUS
U
STRALIA-NZ LAND
Z
The Reserve Bank has signed co
ooperation agreement with
centr banks of Au
ral
ustralia and Ne Zealand for exchange of
ew
inform
mation. The M
MoUs provide a formal, yet legally nonbinding, channel f
for information exchange b
n
between the
Centr Banks of tw countries.
ral
wo
TAK
KEOVER ALLO
OWED TO FO
OREIGN BANKS
The Reserve Bank has permitted wholly-owne subsidiary
d
ed
S)
banks to acqui domestic private sector
ire
(WOS of foreign b
bank as well as se up branches anywhere in the country.
ks
et
s
It als allowed fore
so
eign bank subs
sidiary to list on local stock
excha
anges. Howev
ver, foreign bank subsidiary will not be
y
allow to hold mo than 74 per cent equity in the private
wed
ore
n
bank they may acq
ks
quire.
NRI REMITTANCES UP BY 2
I
27%
Betw
ween January a
and September this year, rem
r
mittances by
non-r
resident Indian (NRIs) saw a 27 per cent ju
ns
ump at $ 6.5
billion (Rs 39,991.9 crore in prese valuations) as against 7
n
9
ent
per c
cent growth during the same period last yea
ar.
‘M-P
PESA’ FROM VODAFONE AND ICICI
M
E
I
Telec
com major V
Vodafone India and ICICI Bank have
a
launc
ched mobile m
money transfer and payment service 'Mr
t
Pesa' in Assam and other North Eastern states. Using their
'
d
'M-Pe
esa' account, customers, a their conve
at
enience, can
depo and withdra cash from d
osit
aw
designated out
tlets, transfer
mone to any mobile phone / ban account in th country.
ey
nk
he
BAN
NKS TO CHARGE FOR SM ON USAG BASIS
MS
GE
The RBI has asked banks to charge customers for
trans
saction SMS alerts on the b
basis of usage instead of
e,
prese practice of imposing a f
ent
f
fixed fee, to ensure equity
and f deal to customers.
fair
BAN
NKS ASKED T USE ‘AAD
TO
DHAAR’ FOR CARDS
R
In o
order to ensu
ure security in card- base payment
ed
trans
sactions taking place at point of sale (PoS) terminals or
t
at AT
TMs, the Reserv Bank has ad
ve
dvised banks th they may
hat
adop Aadhaar as a
pt
additional authentication or m
move to EMV
(Euro pay MasterCa Visa) chip and pin technology. Banks
o
ard
will h
have to issue ch
hip-based cards by November 30.
MON
NEY SUPPLY CROSSES 9 TRILLION
Y
90
Mone supply (M3) level in India rose 13.8 per cent in the
ey
)
a
r
two weeks to Nov 15, slower t
v.
than 13.4 per cent a year
earlie Money supply was 90.74 trillion rupees ($1.45
er.
trillio as of Nov. 1 2013.
on)
15,
The
T Reserve B
Bank has direct all regiona rural banks
ted
al
to
t follow the m
minimum 9% c
capital adequa rule from
acy
this
t year, mark
king the end of their transitory phase.
f
ry
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
10

12. OCTOB
BER 2013
3
MS CUT TO 8
SF
8.75%; REPO HIKED TO 7.75%
O
On October 29, 2013, in its second quarterly review of
n
f
mo
onetary policy, RBI reduced the interest rate on the
,
d
t
e
ma
arginal standing facility (MSF) by 25 basis points to 8.75
5
per cent. Earlier RBI had red
r
r,
duced this rat by 50 basis
te
s
points to 9%, and extended the lending pe
t
eriod to seven
n
day and 14 day instead of the current pra
ys
ys,
t
actice of just a
day RBI also in
y.
ncreased the policy repo rat by 25 basis
p
te
s
points from 7.5 per cent to 7.
.75 per cent w
with immediate
e
effect. Consequ
uently Reverse Repo Rate now stands
e
e
s
cha
anged at 6.5 pe cent and Ba Rate chang to 8.75%.
er
ank
ged
BAN
NKS NPA LEV SHOOTS UP
VEL
S
Refle
ecting deterior
ration in econ
nomic activities, net nonperfo
orming assets (
(NPA) of all banks have incre
eased to 1.68
per c
cent of the tota loan at the end of 2012-13, from 1.28
al
per c
cent at the en of 2011-12, according to the Reserve
nd
,
Bank of India.
k
DEFE
ENCE, SCIEN
NCE
&T
TECHN
NOLOG
GY
DE
ECEMBE 2013
ER
GO
OVT TO PRO
OVIDE 14K CR. FOR BAN EQUITY
C
NK
‘TEJ
JAS’ JOINS I
INDIAN AIR FORCE
R
NA
ABARD TO P
PROMOTE WAREHOUSIN
W
NG
After more than thr decades of work, India’s indigenously
r
ree
f
built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas has finally be
s
een inducted
into the Indian Air Forc
n
ce on Dece
ember 20.
The single-seat, single-engine, lightweight, high-agility
supersonic fighter aircraft has s
speed of Mach 1.6 (1350
h
km/h
hr). It will repla the recentl retired MiG-2 aircraft.
ace
ly
21
The Finance Ministry has decide to pump in Rs 2,000 crore
ed
e
India and Rs 1,800 crore eac in IDBI Bank
ch
k
in State Bank of I
d
k
s
e
and Central Bank of India as part of the Rs 14,000 crore
cap
pital infusion p
plan for the current fiscal. T
This money has
s
bee given to e
en
enhance equity capital to en
y
nable banks to
o
me Basel III ca
eet
apital requireme
ents.
National Bank fo Agriculture and Rural Dev
or
velopment has
s
lau
unched a NABA
ARD Warehou
using Scheme (NWS) with a
cor
rpus of Rs 5,0
000 crore to advance loans to Public and
a
d
Priv
vate sector fo creation of storage infra
or
f
astructure like
e
con
nnstruction of Warehouses, Silos, cold st
tores and cold
d
cha infrastructu
ain
ure.
NP LAUNCH
PCI
HES AADHAA BASED P
AR
PAYMENTS
National Payments Corporation of India has launched
d
Aadhaar-based re
emittances for bank account holders. Now
w
you can send m
u
money to any individual th
y
hrough mobile
e
ban
nking
by
merely
entering
e
the
e
recipient's
s
Aadhaar number. The transfers can be done using the most
.
s
t
bas phones thr
sic
rough SMS for small amoun or through
nts
h
mo
obile banking apps for amoun over Rs 5,00
nts
00.
RT
TGS- 2013 G
GUIDELINES INTRODUC
S
CED
RB has introduc
BI
ced new real time gross sett
tlement (RTGS)
)
guidelines 2013 t further impr
to
rove the count
try’s most used
d
rem
mittance system The new RT
m.
TGS system will have features
s
suc as a facility to accept fut
ch
y
ture value date transactions
ed
s
and options to pr
d
rocess multi-currency transact
tions.
BA
ANKS ALLOW
WED TO RAI
ISE FOREIGN FUNDS
N
The Reserve Ban has allowed banks to raise funds from
nk
d
m
glo
obal multilatera institutions until Nov. 30 provided the
al
0
e
mo
oney raised is for general ba
anking purpose and not for
es
r
cap
pital enhancem
ment.
NO TAX ON RE
O
EVERSE MORTGAGE AN
NNUITY
To make the rev
verse mortgage facility more attractive for
e
r
sen
nior citizens, the governme
ent has decided to exempt
t
annuity installment earned by mortgager.
m
In reverse mortg
gage, the borro
rower mortgage his property
es
y
wit the bank a
ith
and receives the agreed lo
t
oan amount in
n
mo
onthly installme
ments. The loa is repaid us
an
sually after the
e
dea of borrowe from the sale proceeds of the mortgaged
eath
er
le
d
pro
operty.
AGN
NI-III TEST FIRED
India test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile
with a strike range of more than 3,000 km as p
part of a user
trial b the Army fro Wheeler Island off Odisha coast
by
om
a
IND READY T LAUNCH GSAT -14
DIA
TO
India is ready to launch its Geo-synchrono
a
o
ous Satellite
Launch Vehicle (GS
SLV-D5) at 4.18 p.m. on Janu
8
uary 5, 2014.
D5 s
stands for the 5th developme
ental flight. It will put into
orbit a communicat
tion satellite called GSAT-14.
Indian Air Forc has bid farew to MiG-21 FL – its first
I
ce
ewell
1
supersonic com
s
mbat jet aircra that served it for over
aft
d
five
f decades.
India has signe a mega con
I
ned
ontract of $1.01 billion with
1
USA for six ad
U
dditional C-130 "Super Herc
0J
cules" jumbo
military cargo aircrafts. IAF already ha six such
m
o
AF
as
aircraft.
a
India offers to train Sri Lanka Navy officers
I
an
rs.
CEN
NTRE FOR EA
ARTH SCIEN
NCE STUDIES
S
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal fo the Union
d
or
Minis
stry of Earth Sc
ciences to take over the Cen
e
ntre for Earth
Scien
nce Studies (C
CESS), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The
centr will carry out multidisciplinary research in the frontier
re
n
areas of solid ear
s
rth science an provide se
nd
ervices on a
natio
onwide scale.
CHINA LANDS V
VEHICLE ON MOON
N
China for the first time, success
a,
sfully landed a lunar probe
Chan
ng'e-3 on the M
Moon — the fi
irst country to do so since
1976 A lunar prob carrying the “Jade Rabbi or Yu Tu
6.
be
it”
rover landed in the Bay of Rainb
r
e
bows, or Sinus Iridum, on
s
the M
Moon’s surface 12 days af
e,
fter the Chang
g’e-3 probe.
China is the third co
a
ountry to do so after America and Russia.
o
a
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
11

13. TR
RACES OF W
WATER ON MARS
M
A US space agency rover ram
mbling on the dry surface of
f
Ma has for the first time disco
ars
overed evidence of what used
d
to be a freshwat lake. Thou
ter
ugh no water is present now,
s
,
yet the condition were right for the lake for microbial life,
t
ns
r
,
per
rhaps 3.6 billio years ago.
on
NE USERS UP BY 20%
ET
P
Dri
iven by growth in Internet us
h
sage through m
mobile phones,
,
tot Net subscrib base in the country incre
tal
ber
e
eased by 20.38
8
per cent to re
r
each 198.39 million in quarter ending
g
September 30th. T
Total telecom subscriber base at the end of
s
e
f
e
,
n
the quarter was 903.09 million, out of which 873.36 million
we mobile subs
ere
scribers.
NOVEMB
N
BER 2013
3
IN VIKRAMA
NS
ADITYA JOIN INDIAN NAVY
NS
succe
essfully at the Pokhran test range in Raja
asthan. The
290-k range Brah
km
hMos flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach and
carrie a convention warhead of up to 300 kg. The missile
es
nal
f
can b launched fro multiple pla
be
om
atforms includin land, sea,
ng
sub-s and air.
sea
GATI MISSIL
LE: Name of t new tactica surface-tothe
al
PRAG
surfa missile bas
ace
sed on the Pra
ahaar missile, w
with a range
of 60
0-170 kms. India plans to of
ffer it to friendly countries.
President pres
Pr
esented the prestigious Presidential
Standards to tw squadrons of Indian Air Force - 220
St
wo
Squadron and 3 Squadron at Halwara, Punj
Sq
32
t
jab.
In
ndia successful test-fired its nuclear weap
lly
s
pons-capable,
su
urface-to-surfa Agni-1 miss for its full r
ace
sile
range of 700
km from Wheele Island, off th Odisha coas
er
the
st.
Pakistan succes
Pa
essfully test-fire its surface to surface
red
e
missile - Hatf IX (Nasr) with a range of 60 km
m
X
m.
ISRO LAUNCHES ‘MANGALYAA SUCCESS
O
AN’
SFULLY
India first interpla
a’s
anetary spacec
craft under ISRO’s Rs 430
crore Mars Orbite Mission (Ma
e
er
angalyaan) wa launched
as
succe
essfully on boa PSLV- C25 from the Sat
ard
5
tish Dhawan
Space Centre in Sriharikota, AP, o Nov. 5. Th spacecraft
on
he
will travel around 7 million km t reach near M
780
to
Mars by Sep.
2014 to carry out scientific exp
4
t
periments and search for
d
evide
ence of life on t red planet.
the
ISTR
RAC TAKES OVER THE ‘MOM’
The long-awaite USD 2.3 billion aircraf carrier INS
ed
ft
S
kramaditya wa inducted into the Ind
as
dian Navy in
n
Vik
Sev
verodvinsk, Ru
ussia on 16th Nov. The mam
N
mmoth 44,500ton
nne warship w commission
was
ned by Defenc Minister A K
ce
Antony at the Sev
vmash Shipyar Russia. A re
rd,
e-fitted version
n
of a Russian ship formerly cal
p,
lled Admiral Go
orshkov, it will
be based at nava base INS Kad
al
damba at Karwar, Karnataka.
Monit
toring and na
avigation of th spacecraft under Mars
he
Orbit
ter Mission w
will be done by the Bang
galore-based
track
king centre, IS
STRAC (ISRO Telemetry, T
Tracking and
Comm
mand Network ISTRAC wil now be the nerve centre
k).
ll
of the mission and communicate w the spacec
e
with
craft, correct
its c
course and co
ommand it th
hroughout the life of the
space
ecraft.
Ind
dia’s first aircra carrier was INS Vikrant, procured from
raft
s
m
Eng
ngland. It was d
decommissione on 31st Janu
ed
uary, 1997 and
d
con
onverted into a naval museum at Mumbai.
m
Ind
dia’s second ai
ircraft named INS Virat was procured from
I
m
Eng
ngland and is cu
urrently in serv
vice.
Ind is now mak
dia
king another ai
ircraft carrier in
indigenously by
y
the name INS Vik
e
krant. It tested waters recent
d
tly.
HINI ROCKE LAUNCHE BY VSSC
ET
ED
ROH
Vikra Sarabhai S
am
Space Centre (
(earlier known as Thumba
Equa
atorial Rocket Launching-TE
ERL Station) at Thumba,
Keral
la, celebrated its golden jubilee on N
Nov. 21 by
launc
ching the Rohin Sounding Ro
ni
ocket.
‘DHANUSH’ TE
ESTED SUCC
CESSFULLY
Ind successfully test-fired its nuclear-capa
dia
y
s
able surface to
o
sur
rface ballistic missile Dhanush from a n
naval ship off
f
Od
disha coast. It has a range of 250 kilometer
f
rs.
IN
NDO US JOIN NAVAL EX
NT
XCERCISE
The Indian and US navies con
nducted their a
annual Malabar
r
join exercises in the Bay of Be
nt
n
engal, off the coast of Tamil
Nadu, from Nov. 5 to 11 Nov. The exercis will include
.
ses
e
er
rations from aircraft carriers,
,
gun-firing, fighte combat oper
mbating terror
rism and maritime interdiction operations
s
com
exe
ercises.
BR
RAHMOS TES
STED BY INDIAN ARMY
Y
The Indian Army tested an ad
y
dvanced versio of BrahMos
on
s
sup
personic cruis
se missile sy
ystem (block III variant)
)
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
12

14. BI
IRD RINGIN STATION AT KULLU
NG
Him
machal Pradesh has set up western Himalaya’s first Bird
w
d
Rin
nging Station at Salropa in the pres
stigious Great
t
Him
malayan Natio
onal Park in Kullu. Birds are put on a
K
me
etallic ring hav
ving a unique number and B
n
Bombay Natura
al
His
story Society (B
(BNHS) stamp to identify and establish their
t
d
ir
spe
pecies.
CL
LICK PHOTO WITH THE SPEED OF LIGHT
OS
F
An inexpensive multi-purpose 'nano-came
era' that can
n
ope
erate at the sp
peed of light ha been develo
as
oped by a team
m
of researchers Massachusetts Institute of Tec
I
chnology, USA.
The $ 500 came could be used in medica imaging and
era
al
d
col
llision-avoidanc detectors for cars and several other
ce
f
r
purposes.
WORLD’S FAS
STEST SUPER COMPUTE
R
ER
Tia
anhe-2, a supe
ercomputer de
eveloped by Ch
hina’s National
Un
niversity of Def
fense Technolo
ogy, Guangzho retained its
ou,
s
pos
sition as the w
world’s fastest system with a p
s
performance of
f
33.86 petaflop/s (quadrillions of calculations p second) on
o
per
n
the Linpack benchmark.
e
AOGAN XIX’ – A remote-s
sensing satellite launched by
y
‘YA
China on board i carrier rock
its
ket Long Marc 4C from the
ch
e
unch center in n
north China's Shanxi Province
S
e.
lau
‘M
MAVEN’ – NA
ASA’s MISSIO TO MAR
ON
RS
NA has launched its latest orbiter to Mars –
ASA
–‘MAVEN’ (Mars
s
Atm
mosphere and Volatile Evolut
tion) to hunt f clues about
for
t
wh the Red Plan lost much of its atmosph
hy
net
here. MAVEN is
s
the first spacecra devoted to exploring and understanding
e
aft
g
the Martian uppe atmosphere.
e
er
CA
ARBON DIOX
XIDE LEVEL HIT RECO
LS
ORD HIGH
In an annual r
report on gre
eenhouse gase
es, the World
d
eteorological Or
rganization (W
WMO) said that concentrations
s
Me
of carbon dioxid (CO2) grew more rapid reaching a
de
w
dly
cord high in 20
012, compared to average rise over the past
e
t
rec
dec
cade. As a result, the warming effect on the climate has
s
inc
creased by almo a third sinc 1990.
ost
ce
AT LAUNCHED FOR ‘BIT
TM
TCOINS’
The world's first publicly access
sible ATM mach
hine which can
n
change digital currency - bitcoins - fo any official
l
or
exc
cur
rrency has bee launched in Canada jointly by two firms
en
y
s
Bitcoiniacs and R
Robocoin.
OCTOB
BER 2013
3
NA
AVY GETS TR
RAINER JET ‘HAWK’
T
The first home-m
made Hawk MK 132 aircraft by Hindustan
t
n
Aeronautics Limit has been in
ted
nducted in Indian Navy. The
e
Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer is a dual seat multi-purpose
s
e
airc
craft powered by a single Rolls Royce Adour Mk.871
d
1
eng
gine.
IN SUNAYNA JOINS IND
NS
A
DIAN NAVY
Sec
cond indigeno
ously built Na
aval Offshore Patrol Vessel
(NO
OPV) class of s
ship – INS Sun
nayna recently commissioned
d
in Indian Navy. It is equipp
ped with lates surveillance
st
e
equ
uipments and weapons and capable of carrying
d
g
helico
opters also. T
The first NOP is named INS Saryu,
PV
comm
missioned in Ja
anuary 2013.
IND RUSSIA CONDUCT ‘I
DIA
INDRA-2013
3’
The first ever Ind
dia-Russia joint military exer
t
rcise ‘INDRA
2013 began on Oct
3’
tober 19 at the Mahajan field firing range
e
d
near the Indo-Pak border in the Thar Desert Under the
k
e
t.
drills, a joint command will plan and carry o an anti,
out
terrorist operation involving the d
destruction of i
illegal armed
forma
ations.
IND TO JOIN HANDS WITH CHINESE ARMY
DIA
E
India and China w hold joint m
a
will
military exercis ‘Hand in
ses
Hand 2013’ from N
d
November 4 in Chengdu region in South
n
west China. During the war g
games, the tw sides will
wo
pract
tice counter insurgency and counter terrorism
mano
oeuvres as per the UN manda
ate.
PRIT
THVI – II TE
ESTED SUCC
CESSFULLY
Nucle weapons c
ear
capable surface
e-to-surface missile PrithviII wa successfully test-fired for a range of 300 km by the
as
Strategic Forces Co
ommand (SFC) from Chandipu in Odisha.
ur
360 VIEW OF M
MONUMENTS FROM GOO
S
OGLE
Archa
aeological Surv of India has joined hands with Google
vey
s
India for an end
a
deavour to create 360- de
egree online
pano
oramic
imagery
00
"nationally-important
of
10
monu
uments" in th country lik Taj Mahal, Humayun's
he
ke
Tomb Khajuraho and the Ajanta-Ellora caves, etc. The
b,
Goog will use its 'Street View T
gle
Trekker' techno
ology for the
first t
time in India fo this project.
or
FAR
RTHEST GALA
AXY DISCOV
VERED
Scien
ntists, including one of India
g
an-origin, have discovered
e
the m
most distant galaxy ever — Z8-GND-5296. Because of
.
its d
distance we g
get a glimpse of conditions when the
s
Unive
erse was only about 700 m
y
million years o – only 5
old
perce
ent of its cur
rrent age of 13.8 billion y
years. The
resea
archers estimat the galaxy’s distance to be roughly 30
te
s
e
billion light years aw
n
way.
NAS
SA’s ‘JUNO’ TO PASS BY EARTH
Y
NASA
A's spacecraf
ft Juno is
makin a quick pass by Earth to
ng
get g
gravity boost to slingshot
itself towards Jupite The Juno
er.
space
ecraft
was
launched
toward Jupiter on August 5,
n
2011. Juno will arrive at Jupiter
on Ju 4, 2016.
uly
SUN POISED FO MAGNETIC FLIP
N
OR
A spe
ecial event called ‘magnetic pole flip’ is ab
bout to occur
in ne two to three months in ou sun. The ma
ext
e
ur
agnetic poles
of the sun — which are like the e
h
ends of a giant bar magnet
t
— ar about to flip that is, the p
re
p,
polar north will become the
polar south and vic versa. The change is per
r
ce
riodic, taking
place once every 11 years or so.
e
1
The event will hav impact on e
ve
earth’s magne field and
etic
can
pose
a
threat
to s
satellite operati
tions,
telecomm
munications, ai traffic on po routes and power grids
ir
olar
d
in co
ountries at high latitudes.
h
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
13

15. INTE
I
ERNA
ATION L
NAL
DECEMB
D
BER 2013
3
JO
ORDAN ENTE
ERS UN SECURITY COUNCIL
Jor
rdan has been elected as a non-permane member of
n
ent
f
the UN Security Council for fi
e
illing a seat th fell vacant
hat
t
aft Saudi Arabia declined to jo the Council to protest the
ter
a
oin
e
wo body’s failu to end the Syrian and Isr
orld
ure
raeli-Palestinian
n
con
nflicts.
YU
UAN REPLAC
CES EURO IN POPULARI
N
ITY
China’s Yuan currency, also called Renminb – RMB, has
c
bi
s
ove
ertaken the E
Euro to beco
ome the seco
ond-most used
d
cur
rrency in trade and finance in world. M
e
Market share of
f
Yuan usage grew to 8.66 per cent in Octob
w
r
ber, still much
h
beh
hind the leadin currency US dollar which has a share of
ng
S
f
81.08 per cent.
CO
OLDEST PLA
ACE ON EART –93.2C
TH:
Ar
remote region in East Antarct
tica has set a new record for
r
the coldest place on earth, wit temperature dipping to a
e
e
th
es
bone-chilling minus 93.2 deg
grees Celsius. The coldest
.
t
per
rmanently inh
habited place on Earth is northeastern
s
n
Sib
beria, where te
emperatures in the towns o Verkhoyansk
n
of
k
and Oimekon dro
d
opped to a bone
e-chilling -67.8 C in 1933.
8
NOVEMB
N
BER 2013
3
IR
RAN AGREES WITH WES ON NUCL
S
ST
LEAR ISSUE
Aft prolonged n
ter
negotiations, Ir has agreed to curb some
ran
d
e
of its nuclear act
tivities as per a deal signed a Geneva with
at
h
the P5+1 group (the U.S, the U.K., France, Russia, China
e
a
and Germany). T
d
The deal will last for six mo
l
onths, opening
g
wa for a perman
ay
nent agreemen
nt.
TH DEAL: Iran agreed to ha enrichment of Uranium to
HE
n
alt
t
o
me
edium-grade (2
20%) purity, (w
which can be fu
further enriched
d
to weapons-grad level relativ
de
vely easily), an give better
and
er
acc
ccess to UN insp
spectors. In return, the mai sanctions on
r
in
n
oil and banking t
l
that have cripp
pled the Iranian economy wil
n
ll
be lifted, leading to the eventu normalisati of relations
e
g
tual
tion
s
bet
etween Iran and the U.S. for the first time since the 1979
nd
9
Isla
lamic revolution
n.
(Unit Nations Fra
ted
amework Conve
ention on Clima Change).
ate
The conference ha two parts – COP-19 (Co
as
onference of
Partie and CMP-9 (COP Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto
es)
Proto
ocol). No majo decisions co
or
ould be taken at this meet
due t lack of concu
to
urrence of the participating co
ountries.
RUS
SSIAN PRESIDENT IS NO 1 IN WOR
O.
RLD
Russ
sian Presiden Vladimir P
nt
Putin takes t
the top spot
on Fo
Forbes’ ranking of “The World’’s Most Powerfu People” as
ul
he c
continues to solidify contr
rol over Russ
sia and the
intern
national stage. President B
Barack Obam slipped to
ma
secon place, from the numbe one spot, followed by
nd
m
er
Gene Secretary, Communist Party of China Xi Jinping.
eral
i
‘APP
PLE’ IS THE TOPMOST B
BRAND
IT giant Apple has topped the 'W
World's Most Valuable Brand
List' compiled by 'F
Forbes' magaz
zine with a bra
and value of
$104 billion follo
4.3
owed by Micro
osoft, Coca-Cola, IBM and
Goog among the top five.
gle,
FIRS EUROPE - ASIA RAIL LINK
ST
L
The w
world's deepes underwater railway tunnel was opened
st
unde the Bosph
er
horus strait, Turkey, conn
necting two
continents – Asia and Europe, by rail for the first time.
Almo a mile of the 8.5-mile (1
ost
13.6km) tunnel linking two
parts of Turkey's la
s
argest city, Ist
tanbul, is imm
mersed under
56 m
metres (184ft) of water. T
The project is named The
Marm
maray link, by c
combining the Sea of Marmar with "ray,"
ra
mean
ning rail in Turk
kish.
BRICS Intern
B
national Comp
mpetition Conf
ference held
in
i New Delhi to discuss vario issues and c
ous
challenges in
competition en
c
nforcement in B
BRICS countries
es.
The 13th mee
T
eting of the C
Council of Mini
isters of the
Indian Ocean R Associatio for Regional Cooperation
I
Rim
on
l
(IOR-ARC) was held on Nove
(
s
ember 1 in Pert Australia.
th,
US
U Congress in Washington celebrated it first ever
n
its
Diwali festival amidst chanti
D
ing of Vedic m
mantras by a
Hindu priest an lighting of th traditional "
H
nd
the
"diyas".
The
T Regional Pravasi Bha
l
artiya Divas w organized
was
in
i Sydney, Aus
ustralia by the High Commiss
sion of India
and
a the Ministr of Overseas Indian Affairs.
try
Global Islami Economic S
G
mic
Summit held a Dubai
at
CO
OMMONWEA
ALTH MEET HELD AT CO
H
OLOMBO
nd
22n Commonw
wealth Heads of Governm
ment Meeting
g
(CH
HOGM) 2013 w held at Colombo, Sri Lank (15-17 Nov)
was
ka
)
wit the participa
th
ation of 67 lead
ders from the C
Commonwealth
h
nat
tions. The Sum
mmit was inaugurated by Pri
ince Charles of
f
England as the r
representative of Queen Eliza
abeth, Head of
f
or
13
h
Commonwealth. The theme for CHOGM 2013 was “Growth
wit Equity; Inclu
ith
lusive Developm
ment”. Shri Ma
anmohan Singh
h
Pri
ime Minister of India did not participate in th Summit.
f
p
the
WA
ARSAW CLI
IMATE MEET 2013
T
The Warsaw Clim
mate Change Co
onference 2013 concluded on
3
n
No 23 at War
ov.
rsaw, Poland under the aeg of UNFCCC
u
gis
C
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
14

16. OCTOB
BER 2013
3
US GOVT FACES ‘SHUT DO
S
OWN’
The US governm
ment ordered a shut down for the first time
e
nce
s
an
emocrats failed
d
sin 1995-96 as the Republica and the De
to reach an agreement on spen
nding and budg mainly due
get
e
ces
h
orms, which is
s
to their differenc over the healthcare refo
macare. Several government a
agencies asked
d
popular as Obam
eir
of
g
thout pay from
m
the thousands o workers to go on leave wit
Oc
ctober 1, leadin to closure of hundreds o public parks
ng
of
s
and monuments a
d
across the country.
Th catastrophic debt default was however averted in the
he
c
e
nic of time as on 16th Octob the Congr
ck
ober
ress agreed to
o
inc
crease the curre debt ceiling of $ 16.7 trill
rent
g
lion.
UN TEAM DES
N
STROYS SYR CHEM. W
RIA
WEAPONS
Fol
llowing a UN resolution, expe
erts have started the process
s
of destroying Syr
ria's chemical weapons arsen
w
nal. The team
m
fac
ces the massiv task of des
ve
stroying an es
stimated 1,000
0
ton
nnes of the nerve agent sa
arin, mustard gas and other
r
ban
nned arms at d
dozens of sites in Syria by mid
d-2014.
NO MORE SEC
O
CRET BANKI
ING IN SWIT
TZERLAND
Sw
witzerland has b
become 58th co
ountry to sign t Multilateral
the
Convention on Mutual Admin
nistrative Assis
stance in Tax
x
Ma
atters, promot
ted by the Organisation for Economic
c
Cooperation and Development (OECD). Th means that
t
his
t
Sw
witzerland will n more follow its banking sec
no
crecy laws.
CH
HINA LAUNC
CHES ‘GREEN FENCE’
N
The China has la
aunched “Green Fence” camp
paign aimed at
t
enf
forcing standards for waste imports to avo unusable or
oid
r
unsafe/dangerous consignmen
nts.
The cou
untry rejected
d
hundreds of cont
tainers of wast that were co
te
ontaminated or
r
tha improperly m
at
mixed different types of scrap
p.
WORLD TOILE SUMMIT HELD IN IN
ET
NDONESIA
Lac of public t
ck
toilets and op
pen defecation were among
n
g
issues highlighted at the World Toilet Summ that opened
d
d
mit
d
in Surakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday. W
W
Worldwide, 2.5
5
bill
lion people hav no access to toilets and se
ve
o
ewage systems.
On million child
ne
dren die each year from diar
y
rrhea alone, as
s
ma as from AID measles an malaria com
any
DS,
nd
mbined.
HU
UNGER SITU
UATION GET BETTER: UNO
TS
A n
new report fro the UNO – ‘State of Food Insecurity in
om
n
the World, 2013 says that about 842 million people, or
e
3’
r
rou
ughly one in ei
ight, suffered from chronic hunger in 2011f
13, down from 8 million peo
,
868
ople in 2010-12 Most of the
2.
e
wo
orld's undernourished people are still to be found in
e
o
n
Southern Asia, c
closely followed by sub-Saha
d
aran Africa and
d
Eas
stern Asia, the report said.
5th South A
Asian Confere
rence on Sani
itation held at
Kathmandu, Nepal to prom
omote hygienic practices and
c
d
e
i
n
enhance the quality of life in South Asian countries.
The report defines ‘chron hunger’ as “not getting
nic
g
enough food to lead active and healthy l
d
e
life.” Continued
d
economic gro
rowth in develo
oping countries has improved
s
d
incomes and access to food
d
d.
Two day in
nternational Rhino confere
R
rence held at
Bandar Lamp
pung, Indonesi
ia.
PE ONS I NE
ERSO
IN EWS
DE
ECEMBE 2013
ER
DEVYANI KHOBRAGAD
DE: Deputy
Consul Gene
eral in Indian consulate in
New York w
was in news as she was
arrested on visa fraud c
charges and
humiliated unreasonably by hand
cuffing and conducting b
body search,
violating
provisions
of
o
Vienna
convention
providing
diplomatic
immunity to diplomats.
GEN BIKRAM SIN
NGH: Indian A
Army Chief was in news as
s
he h
has been hono
oured with the Legion of M
e
Merit, a US
milita award, given for exceptionally meritori
ary
ious conduct
in t
the performa
ance of ou
utstanding se
ervices and
achie
evements.
JAYA
ANT DASGUP
PTA: India’s Am
mbassador and Permanent
d
Repre
esentative to th WTO in Gen
he
neva.
zine has nam
med him its
POPE FRANCIS: Time magaz
"Pers
son of the Ye
ear," less tha nine mont
an
ths after he
became pontiff – S
Supreme Head of Roman Cat
tholics of the
world He won th award for the speed wit which he
d.
he
th
succe
eeded in esta
ablishing the church as s
servant and
comf
forter of hurting people in an often harsh w
world - above
the doctrinal polic
ce, work so important to his recent
ecessors.
prede
SHNIKOV: De
esigner of fa
abled AK-47
MIKHAIL KALAS
matic rifle, died on Dec. 23 in Russia. The name AK-47
d
n
autom
stand for "Kalashnikov's Automatic" and the year it was
ds
desig
gned, 1947. Also called the "
"Kalashnikov", the rifle and
its va
ariants are the weapons of c
choice for doze of armies
ens
and g
guerrilla groups around the w
s
world.
NO
OVEMBE 2013
ER
SACH
HIN TENDUL
LKAR: Cricket icon has been named the
n
regio
onal brand ambassador by the UNICEF to promote its
Total Sanitation Campaign in In
l
ndia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Bang
gladesh and Ne
epal
SONIA GANDHI: Congress Pres
sident has bee ranked as
en
the third most influ
uential woman in the world as per the list
comp
piled by the Forbes magazine She is 21st o the overall
e.
on
list. The two wom
men ahead of h are German Chancellor
her
Ange Merkel-5th, Brazilian Pres
ela
sident Dilma R
Rousseff-20th
RATA TATA: No
AN
oted Indian Ind
dustrialist has b
been elected
as a Board memb
ber of East W
West Centre, a prominent
Amer
rican think tan and researc organisation established
nk
ch
n
by th US Congress
he
s.
CHANDA KOCHHAR: ICICI Bank MD & CE has been
EO
name as the mos powerful bu
ed
st
usinesswoman in India for
the t
third consecuti
ive year in the list of 50 most powerful
e
busin
nesswomen ra
anking for 201 by Fortune magazine.
13
e
Shikh Sharma o Axis Bank and Aruna Jayanthi of
ha
of
Capg
gemini India we placed at th second and third place.
ere
he
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
15

17. MU
UKESH AMBA
ANI: Reliance Industries chie continued to
ef
o
be India's wealthiest for sixth year in a row, w a networth
with
h
of $21 billion, f
followed by steel magnet L
Lakshmi Mittal
($1
16bn) as per th Forbes maga
he
azine's India Rich List 2013.
AZ
ZIM PREMJI: IT tycoon ha been ranke as the most
as
ed
t
gen
nerous Indian with a donati
ion of Rs 8,00 crore in the
00
e
yea ending M
ar
March 31, 20
013 by the Hurun India
a
Philanthropy List 2013 publish
t
hed by the C
China’s leading
g
ma
agazine mougal ‘Huran Repor Inc.
rt
APP
POINTM
MENT
TS
DE
ECEMBE 2013
ER
J N CHOUDHUR
RY: Director G
General, Natio
onal Security
Guard (NSG)
ARVIND RANJAN Director G
N:
General, Centra Industrial
al
Security Force (CISF).
SUSH
HMA SINGH: Chief Info
ormation Comm
missioner at
Centr Information Commission
ral
n
ALALA YOUSA
AFZAI: The Pa
akistani teenag shot by the
ger
e
MA
Taliban for cham
mpioning girls' rights to edu
ucation was in
n
ws
has been sele
ected by Mex
xico for 2013
3
new as she h
Int
ternational Priz for Equality and Non-Dis
ze
y
scrimination to
o
rec
cognize Malala efforts for "the protection of human
a's
n
rights".
SUM BOSE: Union Finance Sec
MIT
cretary
MA
ALIA AND MA
ALALA: US Pre
esident Barack Obama's elder
r
dau
ughter Malia a
and Pakistani girls' education activist Malala
g
a
Yousafzai have b
been named am
mong the 16 m
most influential
tee of 2013 by the Time magazine.
ens
SHIV
VRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN:
Prade
esh
OCTOB
BER 2013
3
SH
HYAM BENEGA
AL: Veteran director has be
d
een nominated
d
to head the acco
omplished jury for the Seven Asia Pacific
nth
c
Scr
reen Awards (A
APSA) to be he in Brisbane, Australia.
eld
RA
ASHID MASO
OOD: Rajya Sabha MP of the Congress
s
bec
came the first MP to be dis
t
squalified after the Supreme
r
e
Court ruled that MPs/MLAs will lose their sea immediately
ats
y
if t
they are convic
cted of offence that carry a prison term of
es
f
mo than two ye
ore
ears.
AL ZEIDAN: P
LI
Prime Minister of Libya was in news as he
e
wa kidnapped b some unkno
as
by
own armed me from a hotel
en
in T
Tripoli, where he was staying However, he was released
g.
d
als a few hours later.
so
RO
OBERTO AZEV
VEDO: Direct
tor General of World Trade
f
e
Org
ganisation – W
WTO visited India.
C. V. WIGNESW
WARAN: Sri Lanka’s first elected Tamil
i
f
n
r
Chief Minister of the Northern Province in the first ever
ovincial election held after clearance of LT
ns
c
TTE from North
h
pro
Sri Lanka. His party Tamil Natio
onal Alliance se
ecured 30 seats
s
out of 38.
t
ITHY PANH: Acclaimed Cam
mbodian directo received the
or
e
RI
Asi
ian Filmmake of the Ye
er
ear award a the Busan
at
n
Int
ternational Film Festival in So
m
outh Korea.
S. JA
AISHANKAR: India’s new Am
mbassador to U
USA
ARVIND KEJRIWA 7th Chief M
AL:
Minister of New Delhi
w
VASU
UNDHARA RA
AJE: Chief Mini
ister, Rajasthan
n
Chief Minister, Madhya
DR. RAMAN SING
GH: Chief Minister, Chattisgarh
PU L
LALTHANHAW
WLA: Chief Min
nister,Mizoram
VK D
DUGGAL: Gove
ernor of Manipu
ur
C. V. R. RAJENDR
RAN: Chairma and Managing Director,
an
Andh Bank
hra
MOH
HAN V TANK
KSALE: Chief Executive, In
ndian Banks'
Assoc
ciation (IBA)
ABDUL BASIT: Pa
akistan’s High C
Commissioner t India.
to
NO
OVEMBE 2013
ER
AIR MARSHAL A
ARUP RAHA: Air Chief Marshal of the
an
India Air Force
SIDH
HARTH BIRL
LA: President Federation
t,
Cham
mbers of Comm
merce & Industr (Ficci)
ry
AJIT PRAKASH SHAH:
T
Comm
mission of India.
of
Indian
Cha
airman of the 20th Law
e
ABDULLA YAMEE
EN: Presiden of the Maldives, from
nt
Progr
ressive Party of Maldives (PPM
M).
IMOMALI RAKHM
MON: Presiden of Tajikistan
nt
LT. G
GEN. RAHEEL SHARIF: Chief of Pakistan army
L
OCTOBE 2013
O
ER
USHA ANANTHAS
SUBRAMANIA
AN: First CEO of the first
O
all wo
omen bank – B
Bhartiya Mahila Bank.
B AS
SHOK: CMD of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
f
MUL
LATU TESHOM
ME: President o Ethiopia
of
ILHA ALIYEV: P
AM
President of Az
zerbaijan
IBNE ABBAS: Pak
E
kistan’s High Co
ommissioner to India
o
RANJAN MATHA
AI: India's High Commissio
oner to the
ed
Unite Kingdom
JANE YELLEN:
ET
Chairperson of the Fede
n
eral Reserve
Syste of USA. It is equivalent o RBI in India She is the
em
t
of
a.
first w
women to head Federal Rese
d
erve.
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
16

18. AWAR
A
RDS & HONO
OURS
DECEMB
D
BER 2013
3
BA
ANKER OF TH YEAR-201
HE
13: Aditya P
Puri, Managing
g
Dir
rector, HDFC B
Bank. The awa is given by the financial
ard
dai Business Sta
ily
andard
Da
ayawati Modi Stree Shakt Samman: Rashmi Singh,
i
ti
,
Exe
ecutive Directo of the Nation Mission for Empowerment
or
nal
t
of Women
Str
ree Shakti Sc
cience Samm
man: Jata S Ty
yagi, professor
r
at AIIMS
MI
ISS INTERNA
ATIONAL 2013: Bea Rose Santiago, of
e
f
Philippines, in Tokyo
MI
ISS EARTH 2013:
Mu
untinlupa, Philip
ppines
Alyz Henrich of Venezuela in
z
n
NOVEMB
N
BER 2013
3
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarm
P
mament and
d
De
evelopment for 2013: Angela Merkel, German
n
Chancellor for the work done by her for prom
e
motion of global
eco
onomic stability her commitment to universal peace and
y,
d
dis
sarmament an her leader
nd
rship role in strengthening
g
pro
oductive and m
mutually benef
ficial relations w
with India and
d
oth developing countries.
her
GO
OLDEN ELEPH
HANT AWARD
D
18t Internationa Children's Fi
th
al
ilm Festival co
oncluded on 20
0
No
ovember 2013 in Hyderabad. A Dutch Film named
3
d
Kauwboy, directe by Boudew
ed
wijn Koole wo the Golden
on
n
ephant Award for best film in the 'Inte
m
ernational Live
e
Ele
Act
tion' category.
Th Order of th Rising Sun, Gold and Sil
he
he
,
lver Star:
Dr. Sreedharan, former Manag
.
ging Director o Delhi Metro
of
o
Rail Corporation for his succes
ssful implementation of Delhi
Me
etro Project. Th award is conferred by the govt of Japan.
he
.
olden Gatewa of India’: Best film awa at the 15th
ay
ard
h
‘Go
Mu
umbai Film Fes
stival, won by the Mexican film 'La Jaula De
t
e
Oro (The Golden Cage) directed by Diego Que
o'
n
d
emada-Diaz
OCTOBE 2013
O
ER
Indir Gandhi Aw
ra
ward for Nat
tional Integra
ation: M.S.
Swam
minathan, Em
minent agricult
ture scientist. The prize
carrie a cash award of Rs. 5 lac.
es
.
MAN BOOKER P
N
PRIZE 2013: Eleanor Catt
ton for her
novel, The Luminar
ries. The 28-y
year old autho from New
or
Zeala is the youn
and
ngest ever winn of this prize
ner
e.
SAKH
HAROV Huma Rights Pr
an
rize: Malala Yo
ousafzai, the
teena
age activist for girl’s education. The prize is given by
e
the E
European Parlia
ament.
BOOKS & A
B
AUTHO
ORS
DE
ECEMBE 2013
ER
Prop
phet of Love b Farrukh Dho
by
ondy
From a Minister’s Journal by F S Aijazuddin
m
s
India Military C
a’s
Conflicts and D
Diplomacy by VP Malik
y
Doct Sleep by S
tor
Stephen King
India at Risk
a
k: Mistakes, Misconcep
,
ption and
Misa
adventures o Security P
of
Policy by Jas
swant Singh
Baro
ons of Bank
king: Glimpses of Indian Banking
Histo by Bakhtiy K Dadabhoy
ory
yar
y
NO
OVEMBE 2013
ER
Goat Days by Beny
t
yamin
Book of Destructi
k
ion by Anand ( Sachidanan
(P.
ndan)
Chro
onicle of a Corpse Bearer b Cyrus Mistry
by
y
The Good Lord B
Bird by James Mc Bride, winner of The
s
Natio
onal Book Awar
rd-2013, USA.
The Wildings by N
Nilanjana Roy
The Shadow of th Crescent M
he
Moon by Fatim Bhutto
ma
dhi-A Spiritua Biography by Arvind Shar
al
rma
Gand
OCTOBE 2013
O
ER
The Luminaries b Eleanor Catto
by
on
My B
Brief History: A Memoir by S
Stephen Hawking
The Map and the Territory by A
Alan Greenspan
My Journey: Tra
ansforming D
Dreams into Action by
A.P.J. Kalam
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
n
Gu
uru Debapras
sad Award: Geeta Chandran, renowned
d
Bharatnatyam ex
xponent for he outstanding contribution in
er
n
the field of dance
e
e
SO
OUL OF INDI AWARD: Ashok Amritra producer of
IA
aj,
f
109 Hollywood f
9
films, for his outstanding ac
o
chievements in
n
the film industry.
e
HR
RIDAYNATH MANGESHK
KAR AWARD
D:
Bac
chchan for his contribution to the film indus
o
stry.
Amitabh
h
MI
ISS UNIVERS 2013: Gab
SE
briela Isler from Venezuela in
m
n
Mo
oscow, Russia
MI
ISS ASIA PAC
CIFIC 2013: Srishti Rana, In
ndia, at Busan,
,
South Korea.
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
17

19. OBITU Y
O
UARY
DECEMB
D
BER 2013
3
NELSON MAN
NDELA: South
h
Africa’s first e
elected African
n
president (1994-99) and a
global anti-apartheid icon
n
who got Sout Africa freed
th
d
from the clu
utches of its
s
European (wh
hite) rulers in
n
1994 throug
gh a public
c
election. He s
served over 27
7
years (1962-1990) in prison.
Was honoured with ‘Bharat
d
t
Ratna’ in 1990 for espousing
0
g
Gandhian values and with
h
Noble Peace P
Prize in 1994.
Mr Mandela is p
r
popularly called ‘Madiba’ as a sign of both
d
h
spect and affe
ection. Madiba was the nam of the first
ba
me
st
res
Ch of the Them clan to wh Mr Mandela belongs.
hief
mbu
hich
la
FA
AROOQ SHEIK
KH: Veteran ac
ctor of Hindi Ci
inema
SIS RAM OLA: U
Union Labour and Employmen Minister
a
nt
NOVEMB
N
BER 2013
3
RA
AJENDRA YAD
DAV: Eminent Hindi short st
t
tory writer and
d
nov
velist; editor of literary magazine ‘Hans’
f
K P SAXENA: N
Noted Hindi satirist and Padma Shri awardee
a
e
TA
ARLA DALAL: Noted food writer and celeb
w
brity chef from
m
Mu
umbai, Padma Shri awardee wrote over 100 cookery
e,
r
y
boo
oks
RE
ESHMA: Legen
ndary Pakistani folk singer wh mesmerised
ho
d
mu
usic lovers wi
ith soulful ren
ndition of son
ngs like Lamb
bi
Jud and Dama D
dai
Dam Mast Kala
andar.
FR
REDERICK SA
ANGER: Britis biochemist, the “father of
sh
f
gen
nomics” and the only person to win the N
n
Nobel Prize for
r
Chemistry twice – 1958 for his work related to insulin and
s
d
198 for his work on DNA seque
80
k
encing.
OCTOB
BER 2013
3
MA
ANNA DEY: The "king of melody", Go
olden Voice of
f
Bengal, legendary playback sing of Indian ci
y
ger
inema.
RA
AVURI BHARA
ADHWAJA: Eminent Telugu novelist, short
t
sto writer, poet critic and 2012 Jnanpith awa winner
ory
t
ard
R.
HARIA: Freed
dom fighter, e Minister and
ex
d
DR MOHAN DH
De
eputy Chairman of the Plannin Commission.
n
ng
TO
OM CLANCY:
One of the most wid
t
dely read and
d
influential military novelist of hi time in USA, known for his
y
is
,
s
bes seller thrille - The Hunt for Red Octo
st
ers
t
ober and Patriot
ot
Ga
ames.
AL
LVARO MUTIS A noted Co
S:
olombian poet essayist and
t,
d
nov
velist from Me
exico, influent
tial throughout the Spanisht
spe
eaking world.
PLAC
P CES IN NEW
N
WS
DE
ECEMBE 2013
ER
ENGLAND: Gales a rain caused heavy damag in UK and
and
ge
disruption to transp
port and the p
power network More than
k.
6,000 UK homes re
0
emain without electricity - w
t
with some of
those who have bee cut off since Christmas Ev expressing
e
en
e
ve
ange at the situatio
er
on.
NO
OVEMBE 2013
ER
MOU
UNT SINABUN
NG: name of the volcano t
that erupted
violen
ntly in Karo in western Ind
donesia, spew
wing volcanic
ash u to 8 km into the air, forcing thousands to flee.
up
o
o
HAIY
YAN: A cate
egory-5 super typhoon, th strongest
he
typho
oon in the w
world this yea and possibl the most
ar
ly
powe
erful ever to hit land smashed into the Philip
t
d
ppines on 8th
Nov. killing over 5,000 and forcing more th
han 125,000
peop to flee, caus
ple
sing unprecede
ented destructi in a wide
ion
area.
.
OCTOBE 2013
O
ER
PHAILIN: Name of the cyclone that hit the c
e
coastal areas
of Andhra and Od
disha. The coastal district of Ganjam,
which was hit ha
h
ardest by Cyclone is believ
ved to have
suffe
ered a loss of at least Rs 3,000 crore as the cyclone
depri
ived lakhs of pe
eople, including fishermen their livelihood
g
besid damaging o
des
over 2.4 lakh houses.
Howe
wever, due to excellent pr
o
reparations do
one by the
Natio
onal Disaster Response Force (NDR
r
RF), Indian
Metro
rological Depar
rtment (IMD) and local ad
dministration,
dama
ages were redu
uced to bare m
minimum.
ANGARH, DA
ATIA: The place in Madhya Pradesh was
RATA
in ne
ews as a grues
some stampede took place th
e
here claiming
over 120 lives an injuring another 100 persons. The
nd
mours that the river bridge
stampede was triggered by rum
which the devotees were crossing to reach a n
h
s
g
nearby Durga
temp was about to collapse.
ple,
BHAK
KRA DAM- one of the
highe gravity dam in world,
est
ms
locate on river Satluj at Bhakra
ed
village in Bilaspur district of
e
r
Himac
chal Pradesh, completes
50 years of its dedication to
nation
n.
AL-M
MAKTOUM IN
NTERNATIONA World’s lar
AL:
rgest airport,
locate in Dubai, c
ed
commenced operations. It has annual
t
capac
city of handlin 160 million passengers an 12 million
ng
nd
tonne of cargo.
es
LAMPEDUSA: An island near I
n
Italy was in news as over
300 persons drown
ned there afte a boat with up to 500
er
h
Africa asylum see
an
ekers caught fire and sank off Italian
k
shore It is one of the main entr points into t European
es.
f
ry
the
Union for asylum-seekers crossing from North A
n
Africa or the
easte Mediterrane
ern
ean.
GEN
NERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 20
014
18