2. 2
National
Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2014 introduced in Lok Sabha
It is also called Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill
It seeks to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime
Inserts article Articles 246A, 269A and 279A in the Constitution
Provides for Union Finance Minister headed GST Council
Sets in a uniform and integrated indirect tax regime in India
14th Finance Commission submitted its report to President
It covers the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2020
The Commission headed by former RBI Governor Y V Reddy
Provides for devolution of tax receipts from the Centre to the States
Article 280 of Constitution provides for appointment of Finance Commission
First and 13th Finance Commission was headed by K C Neogy & Dr Vijay
Kelkar resp.
Union government decriminalized Attempt to Suicide
For this purpose Section 309 of Indian Penal Code removed
20th
Law Commission headed by Justice A P Shah recommended in its 210
Report
210th Report on Humanization and Decriminalization of Attempt to Suicide
France was the first country to decriminalize this offence
Lok Sabha passed the Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2014
Introduced as a periodic measure for updating the list of laws in force
Seeks to repeal 90 laws and pass amendment to two laws
Proposes to amend the two laws to rectify typographical errors
The laws are Railways (Amendment) Act, 2008 and the Indian Maritime
University Act, 2008
3. 3
Karnataka Mobile One App launched for m-governance
Launched by President Pranab Mukherjee in Bengaluru
First such app in India to usher in an era of mobile governance
Developed under the ICARE program of Karnataka government
Expected to provide more than 4000 services to citizens
Social Justice Bench constituted on social issue
Constituted by Supreme Court on 3 December 2014
Started operation on 12 December 2014
The brainchild of Chief Justice of India H L Dattu
Two-judge bench to be headed by Justice Madan B Lokur
The other member is Justice U U Lalit
627 names of Indians holding black money abroad submitted to SC
Includes details of treaties India signed with France and other nations
Half of the 627 names are Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)
Most of them have accounts with HSBC Bank, Geneva
SIT headed by Justice M B Shah is probing black money case
Union government unveiled new counter-Naxal doctrine
Proposes four-pronged approach to deal with Naxals
These are Security, Development, Rights and Entitlement and Public
Perception Management
Focus on security interventions in worst LWE-affected areas
In moderately-affected areas, security and development initiatives will be
focus
In less affected areas, development interventions will take precedence
4. 4
Swachh Bharat Mission launched
Launched on occasion of 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
Aims at making India clean by 2019
The year 2019 will be 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
Nine people nominated to inspire people to join the Mission
SC quashed allocation of 214 coal blocks
Quashed by SC bench headed by Justice R M Lodha
Allocations were arbitrary and illegal
4 out of 218 coal blocks not cancelled
Includes one of NTPC and SAIL each and two of Sasan UMPP owned by Anil
Ambani
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) launched
It was launched on 28 August 2014
Aims to open 15 crore bank accounts by 15 August 2015
It is a mega financial inclusion plan
Each person covered to be provided bank accounts and RuPay debit cards
Also provision for inbuilt insurance cover of 1 lakh rupees
India: first Country to Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty
India ratified the treaty on 30 June 2014
Will facilitate access to published works for blind and visually impaired persons
The treaty was signed in Marrakesh, Morocco on 28 June 2013
It has been signed by 64 countries
SC ruled Shariat Courts are illegal
No legal status has been granted to the Sharia Courts
Its fatwas/decrees are illegal if it violates fundamental rights
The decision was delivered by SC bench headed by Justice C K Prasad
The judgement given on a petition filed by Vishwa Lochan Madan in 2005
5. 5
India became permanent signatory to Washington Accord
India signed the Accord on 13 June 2014
Joined a select group of 17 countries who joined the Accord
Global employment opportunities for India’s technical and engineering
graduates to increase
Accord promotes mobility and quality assurance of engineers across
international boundaries
Sumitra Mahajan elected as Speaker of 16th Lok Sabha
She replaced Meira Kumar
Became the second women presiding officer of the Lok Sabha
She was elected to 9th Lok Sabha in 1989 for the first time
2014 elections was her eighth continuous term as Member of Parliament
Telangana became the 29th state of India
It achieved statehood on 2 June 2014
Ten districts of the then Andhra Pradesh became part of Telangana
Chandrasekhar Rao sworn-in as the first Chief Minister
ESL Narasimhan is the Governor of Telangana
Hyderabad is the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
Narendra Modi sworn-in as 15th Prime Minister of India
He was sworn-in on 26 May 2014
He took oath with 45 Council of Minister including 23 Cabinet Ministers
First Prime Minister of India born in independent India
For the first time 25% of the Cabinet post allocated to women
Swearing-in ceremony attended by heads of seven SAARC countries
6. 6
16th Lok Sabha Elections 2014
The election results for 543 constituencies declared on 16 May 2014
Bharatiya Janata Party emerged victorious with 282 seats
Congress led incumbent government just secured 44 seats
BJP won the majority for the first time since independence
The elections were conducted in nine phases from 7 April – 12 May 2014
Karnataka: first state in India to launch Health Adalat
The Health Adalat was launched in Gulbarga, Karnataka.
Aims to ensure that all health facilities extended by the government reached
all sections of society.
During Health Adalat the department will interact with public representatives.
Debroy Panel on restructuring Railway Board
The Panel would submit its report till the end of 2015
The seven-member panel will be headed by economist Bibek Debroy
Mandated to estimate the financial needs of railways and ensure policies to
raise resources
Restructuring of railway board announced in Union Budget 2014-15
Film Liar's Dice: India's official entry for Oscar Awards 2015
The movie has been directed by Geethu Mohandas
It is nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category
12-member jury headed by eminent filmmaker T Hariharan nominated it
Leading casts are Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui
The 87th Oscar Awards will be held in the US on 22 February 2015
7. 7
C Rangarajan Committee on Poverty
Total number of poor in India at 363 million or 29.6 percent of the population
The daily per capita expenditure pegged at 32 rupees for the rural poor
The daily per capita expenditure pegged at 47 rupees for the urban poor
Poverty line is pegged 972 rupees per month for rural India
Poverty line pegged at 1407 rupees per month for urban India
Largest Solar Power Plant of India launched
130-MW Welspun Solar Plant launched at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, MP
It is also the Asia's Largest Solar Power Plant.
It was constructed at a cost of 1100 crore rupees.
The Project will raise Indian solar capacity by 7 percent.
International
US President signed Ukraine Freedom Support Bill, 2014
The Act authorizes administration to impose sanctions on Russia
The sanctions to be imposed if needs arises
Sanctions were imposed on Russia over Ukraine crisis
Authorizes 350 million US dollars in lethal and non-lethal military aid Ukraine
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe re-elected
He was re-elected for another four year term
Japan's ruling coalition won a two thirds majority in the Snap elections
Elections were held for the Lower House of the National Diet.
The elections saw the voter turnout at 52.7 percent, the lowest since World
War-II
8. 8
Nobel Prize presented
Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi & Malala Yousufzai
Physiology Prize winners John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser
Literature Nobel Prize winner French author Patrick Modiano
Physics Nobel Prize winner Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura
Chemistry Nobel Prize Eric Betzig from Janelia Research Campus, Stefan Hell,
Gottingen
Economic Nobel Prize given to Jean Tirole
First World Soil Day observed on 5 December 2014
The Day was observed by the UNFAO
UNFAO and GSP declared the year 2015 as UN International Year of Soils
Events held to raise idea that soil is a critical component of natural system
The day coincides with birthday of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 released
This was the 20th edition
Measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 175 countries
India with a score of 38 was ranked 85th
The index was topped by Denmark with a score of 92.
Index is prepared by Transparency International
Time Magazine released list of 25 Best Inventions 2014
Mangalyaan named among the best inventions of 2014
Magazine describes it as a technological feat
It is described as Supersmart Spacecraft- Mangalyaan
The list also includes two inventions of Indians namely Blue Room and tablet
toy, Osmo
9. 9
The G20 Summit 2014 concluded
The Summit saw release of Brisbane Action Plan
Action Plan comprises of 800+ reforms to boost global growth
Sets an ambitious goal to lift G20 growth by 2.1 percent by 2018
Seeks to reduce the gender gap in labour force participation rates by 25
percent by 2025
25th anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall celebrated
The fall of the Berlin Wall happened on 9 November 1989
It was the most significant event in recent German history
The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by East Germany
It was built to stop people fleeing from East Germany to the West
The Wall stretched for 155 kilometers of which only 3 kilometer remains now
Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2014 released
The list gives the annual ranking of the World’s 72 Most Powerful People
The list was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked 15th
Mukesh Ambani is ranked 36th on the list
India re-elected to UNHRC
It was re-elected for the period 2015-2017
India received the highest 162 votes in the Asia Pacific group
India’s first term as member due to end on 31 December 2014
14 other member states also elected to UNHRC for a three-year term
The UNHRC promotes and protects human rights
10. 10
India-Vietnam signed 7 pacts
Pacts signed to strengthen Strategic Partnership
Signed during President Pranab Mukherjee visit to Vietnam
President gifted sapling of the holy Bodhi Tree to Vietnam
Diplomatic relations between the two countries established in 1972
The strategic relationship between the two countries established in 2007
Inaugural Tang Prizes 2014 presented in Taipei
The Tang Prize is treated as Asia's version of the Nobels
Winners of the inaugural Tang Prizes are
o Sustainable Development - Gro Harlem Brundtland former Premier of
Norway
o Sinology – Chinese American, Historian Yu Ying-shih
o Biopharmaceutical Science - James P Allison of US and Tasuku Honjo of
Japan
o The Rule of Law - Albie Sachs, former justice of the Constitutional Court of
South Africa
Unity Deal signed in Afghanistan
Unity deal signed between Abdullah Abdullah and Ghani Adhmadzai
The deal ended three-month stalemate over government formation in
Afghanistan
The stalemate was due to allegations that elections were rigged
The deal calls of creation of post of CEO who will be the acting Prime Minister
Ebola Virus Disease outbreak
More than 7000 patients died due to the Ebola Virus in West Africa.
Ebola Virus disease first surface in Guinea in March 2014
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia are the countries affected
Ebola disease was first detected in Congo basin of Zaire
11. 11
Fields Medal 2014
The Fields Medal Awards held in Seoul, South Korea.
The award recognized contributions of four medalists.
Artur Avila, Manjul Bhargava, Martin Haire, Maryam Mirzakhani are the
recipients
The Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936.
First winner were Finnish mathematician Lars Ahlfors and American
mathematician Jesse Douglas.
Prayuth Chan-ocha elected Prime Minister of Thailand
He is the 29th
Prime Minister of Thailand
He was elected with a vote of 191-6 votes in National Legislative Assembly
(NLA)
He is a former Army Chief of Thailand
He seized the power in June 2014
6th BRICS Summit: Fortaleza Declaration
Held in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July and 16 July 2014.
Theme of the Summit was Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions.
The participating countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
The BRICS Network University will be established
BRICS Development Bank to be established
UNSC adopted resolution to probe into MH-17 plane crash
Resolution adopted by 15-member UNSC unanimously.
It demands free access to the crash site of Malaysian plane MH17.
It insisted on dignified and respectful treatment of bodies of the victims.
12. 12
Science & Technology
Scientific breakthrough of the year 2014: Rosetta space mission
Rosetta is the European space mission
First spacecraft to land on a comet
The comet is named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
It landed on 12 November 2014, 10 years after the launch
ISRO successfully launched GSLV Mark-III-X from Sriharikota
This was the experimental launch of the rocket
Weighing 630 tonnes, it is India’s heaviest rocket
It carried Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE)
The full fledged launch of the rocket will take place in two years.
India joined Thirty Meter Telescope Project
India jointed the project as Full Member
India to deliver 100 smaller, hexagonal mirrors
The project in India coordinated by Dept of Science & Technology and DAE
The telescope will be the largest in the world.
It is being built atop Mauna Kea Mountain in Hawaii.
World’s first womb-transplant baby born
The baby boy was born to a Swedish woman
It was born at the University of Gothenburg's hospital
The woman was born without a womb, although the ovaries were intact
The replacement womb came from a 61-year-old woman
She was suffering from a genetic condition called Rokitansky syndrome
13. 13
New compound BQU57 developed
It will block protein Ral aiding cancer growth
Developed at University of Colorado Cancer Center
The study of the compound published in journal Nature
The lead author of the study is Dan Theodorescu
ISRO launched Mangalyaan to Mars orbit
India inserted the spacecraft in Mars orbit in first attempt
ISRO became the fourth space agency in the world to send a mission to Mars
successfully
Mangalyaan costs 74 million US dollars, the most cost-effective in world
It will be finding the presence of methane on the Mars
INS Kolkata dedicated to nation
INS Kolkata commissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai
It is the country’s largest indigenously built warship
Equipped against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and
fighter aircraft
It is commissioned without its main air defence weapon
The warship has been constructed by Mazagon Dockyards Limited
New biochip to detect blood sugar via saliva
The advancement will help diabetics to not to undergo blood test
It is made from a one-inch-square piece of quartz coated with a thin layer of
silver
It uses a series of specific chemical reactions combined with plasmonic
interferometry
The device is sensitive enough to detect minutest differences in glucose
concentrations
14. 14
Lima Call for Climate Action
Issued at the conclusion of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties
(CoP)
The President of 20th CoP was Manuel Pulgar-Vidal
Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to form foundation for climate
action post 2020
Seeks to put world on track to New Universal Climate Agreement
21st COP will be held in Paris, France
The US and China agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions
US will reduce carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, compared with
2005 levels
China did not set a specific target, but said emissions would peak by 2030
The two countries agreed to reduce the possibility of military accidents in the
air and sea
The two countries together produce about 45% of the world's carbon dioxide
India State of Forest Report 2013
It was released by Union Ministry of Environment & Forest
The India State of Forest Report 2013 was the 13th report in the series
States with maximum increase in forest cover are West Bengal, Odisha and
Kerala
States with largest forest cover are MP & Arunachal Pradesh
Mizoram has the highest forests cover in terms of percentage of forest
15. 15
Bor Wildlife Sanctuary of Maharashtra
It is India’s 47th Tiger Reserve
Union Environment Ministry notified Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve
Bor sanctuary is in Wardha district of Maharashtra
It will be an important corridor between Tadoba – Andhari and Pench Tiger
Reserves
Tiger Reserves in Maharashtra: Melghat, Pench, Tadoba, Nagzira and Sahyadri
Personalities
Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss crowned Miss World 2014
Outgoing Miss World, Megan Young of the Philippines presented the sash
Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was the first runner-up
Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, was the second runner-up
India's Koyal Rana bagged the sub-title of Best Designer of the world
This was the 64th Miss World Competition
Justice Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer died at 100
He died on 4 December 2014 due to renal and cardiac failure.
He was former Supreme Court Judge and an MLA from Kerala.
He became the judge of the Supreme Court in 1973
He retired at the age of 65 in 1980.
There are 105 published books by V. R. Krishna Iyer.
Australian opener Philip Hughes died
Died after a bouncer ball of Sean Abbott hit back of his head
The accident happened at Sheffield Game at Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia
He was a left-handed opening batsman
He had played 26 Tests and 25 ODIs for Australia
Indian cricketers Raman Lamba and Nari Contractor also died in same
situations
16. 16
Chief Guest of Republic Day 2015: US President Barack Obama
He will be the first US President to attend the Republic Day Parade of India.
Obama will participate in the Republic Day celebrations of India on 26 January
2015.
Obama will be the first US President to travel to India twice.
Legendary Kathak danseuse Sitara Devi died
Dance based on themes, poetry and choreography of her father
She was born as Dhannolakshmi in the Brahmin family
Rabindranath Tagore described her as Nritya Samragini
She is known as a pioneering force in bringing the genre to Bollywood
Neha Gupta won International Children’s Peace Prize 2014
Awarded for her work to help orphans in India
Her organisation Empower Orphans has helped 25000 vulnerable children
She became the first ever American to be awarded with the prize
In 2013, the award was conferred on Malala Yousufzai
Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh received 49th Jnanpith Award
Conferred for his outstanding contribution towards Indian literature
10th Hindi writer to receive the country’s highest literary award
Known for his work Abhi Bilkul Abhi and Yahan Se Dekho
First recipient G Sankara Kurup for Odakkuzhal (Flute) in Malyalam language
Sanjaya Rajaram received World Food Prize 2014
Awarded for his research that led to increase in wheat production
He is credited with developing the Veery lines of wheat in the 1980s
He helped secure 1.3 percent rise in global wheat production per annum.
He is senior scientific advisor at the International Center for Agricultural
Research in the Dry Areas
17. 17
Arvind Subramanian appointed Chief Economic Advisor
Appointed Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) for a period of three years
Third economist of international rapport to be appointed as CEA
Expert of the Indian and Chinese economy
Raghuram Rajan, the RBI Governor, was previous CEA
Justice H L Dattu sworn-in as 42nd Chief Justice of India
Oath of office administered by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Succeeded Chief Justice RM Lodha
Lodha demitted office on 27 September 2014
Dattu will retire from his office on 2 December 2015.
He joined Supreme Court of India as a Judge on 17 December 2008.
Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed Chairperson of National
Commission for Women
Eighth chairperson of National Commission for Women
She was the National Spokesperson National Executive of BJP
National Commission for Women was set up as a statutory body in January
1992
It was set up under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990
Narula Brothers won 7 crore rupees in Season 8 of KBC
The two brothers, Achin and Sarthak Narula emerged victorious in Season 8 of
KBC
The tagline for the season 8 is Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi, Dil Bhi Jeete Jate Hain
The show was first telecast on Star Plus in 2000
It is based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
18. 18
Govind Mishra received Saraswati Samman 2013
He received it for novel Dhool Paudhon Par
His novel was published in 2008
The novel illustrates the struggle of modern Indian women
He is the second Hindi author to be conferred with award
Harivansh Rai Bachchan was the first Hindi author to receive the award
Pran, the Creator of Chacha Chowdhury died at 75
He created or sketched Chacha Chaudhary for the Hindi magazine Lotpot in
1969
His Chacha Chaudhary strips found a permanent place in International
Museum of Cartoon Art, USA.
His name was included in People of the Year 1995 by Limca Book of Records.
Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag took over as Chief of Army Staff
He succeeded General Bikram Singh to become the 28th Army Chief
He will serve as Army chief for 29 months till 31 December 2016
He is the 2nd
Gorkha Rifles officer to become Army chief
First was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw
Veteran actress Zohra Sehgal died at 102
She was called as the grand old lady of Bollywood
She was the recipient of Padma Vibhshan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri
Sehgal’s daughter Kiran in 2012 wrote her biography named Zohra Segal:
Fatty
Zohra last appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhasali's film Saawariya in 2007
19. 19
Chandi Prasad Bhatt won the Gandhi Peace prize 2013
He is a Gandhian, an environmentalist and a social activist.
In 1964, he founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeswar.
He was awarded with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership
in 1982.
In 2005, he was awarded with Padma Bhushan.
Sports
Germany won men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2014
Germany defeated Pakistan by 2-0 margin to win the trophy
This was 10th Champions Trophy crown for Germany.
It had last won the tournament in 2007
For bronze medal, World champion Australia defeated India 2-1
UAE captain Khurram Khan: the oldest player to score an ODI century
He scored the winning century against Afghanistan in Dubai
He achieved the feat at an age of 43 years and 162 days
He broke the record of Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya had scored 109 against India in 2009 at the age of 39
Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma scored the highest ODI score ever of 264
The score of 264 runs is also the second-highest List A score
With this he became the only cricketer to score two Double ODI centuries
He achieved this distinction during the 4th ODI between India and Sri Lanka
He broke the record of highest ODI score of 219 runs made by Virender
Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer to score double century in ODIs
20. 20
Virat Kohli became fastest cricketer to reach 6000 ODI runs
He achieved the distinction after his 53-run knock in the third ODI between
India and Sri Lanka
He took 144 match and 136 innings to make 6000 runs
He is the eighth Indian to have scored 6000 or more runs and 47th overall
He overtook legendary West Indian Vivian Richards' record
Richards reached the milestone in 1989 by playing 141 innings in 156
matches
MC Mary Kom bagged her first Asian Games Gold Medal
She defeated Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan
She won in women’s flyweight category (48-51kg)
First Indian woman boxer to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Games
She is nicknamed as Magnificent Mary
Chennai Super Kings won 2014 Champions League Twenty20 title
It defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets
The match was played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Chennai Super Kings won the trophy for the second time.
Earlier they won the CLT20 in South Africa in 2011.
Hockey Player Manpreet Singh named Junior Men Player of the Year by
AHF
The announcement was made at Asian Hockey Federation Congress
The congress was held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh has played 103 international matches.
He is the captain of the India Junior Hockey team.
He made his international debut in 2011.
21. 21
Marin Cilic of Croatia won Men's Singles title of US Tennis Open
Cilic defeated 10th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan
The Women’s singles was won by Serena Williams of US
The Men’s Doubles title was won by Mike and Bob Bryan of US
Sania Mirza of India and Bruno Soares of Brazil won the Mixed Doubles title
Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia won the US Open women's
doubles title
2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games concluded
The Medal tally was topped by England
India stood at the fifth position in the rankings.
India won 64 medals (15 Gold, 30 silver and 19 Bronze)
This was third highest medal haul after 2010 Delhi CWG and 2002 Manchester
CWG
The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia
Kush Kumar first Indian player to reach semis of World Junior Squash
Championship
The World Junior Squash championship held at Windhoek in Namibia.
He defeated England's George Parker in straight games in quarterfinal.
Kush Kumar is a professional squash player from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Presently, his ranking is 220 in the world.
Himachal Pradesh to host First Para-gliding World Cup 2015 in India
This will be the first para-gliding World Cup to be hosted in India.
To be organised under Para-gliding World Cup Association, France.
It will be hosted in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh from 24 October 2015
Himachal Pradesh had hosted the Para-gliding pre-World Cup in 2013
22. 22
Germany won the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup
Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the final
Final was played at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Mario Gotze scored the lone goal of final during the extra-time
It lifted the trophy for 4th
time in FIFA world Cup history and first since 1990
Germany became 1st
European team to win World Cup played in North or
South America
Sim Bhullar became first Indian-origin basketball player to join NBA
He signed a summer contract with the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento Kings is a professional basketball team in the US.
Sim Bhullar is originally from Canada and his parents are from Punjab.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the Men’s Wimbledon Tennis Open 2014
He defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland
This is the second Wimbledon title for Djokovic
Djokovic won the seventh career Grand Slam
Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title in 2011
Economy & Corporate
Advisory Group on Integrated Development of Power
The Group was headed by Suresh Prabhu
It has suggested opening up of the coal sector
Called for improvement in Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries
Expedite reforms in the distribution sector with targeted actions
23. 23
SBI Mutual Fund launched Shariah Equity Fund
The fund is aimed at attracting investments from Muslim populations of India.
The fund approved by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board
SBI MF fourth fund house in India to have an Islamic equity fund.
India second country outside the Islamic world where a state-owned bank is
offering such fund
The UK is the first country who issued sovereign Islamic bonds in June 2014
Kotak Mahindra Bank first bank in India to fully own insurance business
RBI gave permission to the bank for setting up Kotak General Insurance
Kotak General Insurance will be the 29th non-life insurance company in the
country
The CEO of the company will be Mahesh Balasubramanian
The bank already promotes life insurance with Old Mutual of South Africa
SEBI de-recognised Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE)
De-recognised on account of serious irregularities in demutualisation process
SEBI demutualisation rules requires every stock exchange to sell brokers' 51%
equity
DSE was incorporated in 1947
It is an amalgamation of Delhi Stock and Share Brokers' Association Ltd and
the Delhi Stocks and Shares Exchange Ltd
Shell India won 18000-crore rupees tax dispute case
It won the tax case against Income Tax department
The decision given by Bombay High Court
Decision based on legal principle laid down in the Vodafone case
It ruled that transfer pricing does not arise in case of transfer of shares
The case pertains to alleged under pricing of shares issued by Shell India
24. 24
Alibaba made the record of earning 9.3 billion US dollars on a single day
Alibaba shipped 278 million orders out of which 43 percent were mobile
devices
It achieved the staggering figure on Singles Day shopping event
The event celebrates the bachelorhood of Young single Chinese
Alibaba is a Chinese e-commerce giant founded by Jack Ma
SoftBank of Japan to invest 10 billion dollars in India
Will invest in India's IT and communications sector in coming years
Announced to invest 627 million US dollars in Snapdeal
Signed definitive agreement to invest 210 million US dollars in ANI
Technologies
Chairman and CEO of the SoftBank is Masayoshi Son
Union government de-regulated diesel and hiked natural gas rates
The price of diesel to be market-linked
The retail rates will reflect price changes in the global market.
The government will no longer provide subsidy on diesel.
This is the first reduction in diesel rates since 2009.
Google closed Orkut
Orkut is a social network site
Google announced to shut down Orkut in June 2014.
Old users of Orkut can take back up of pictures till September 2006.
Orkut was started in 2004 and named after its creator, Orkut Buyukkokten.
Google has moved to a new platform the Google Plus.
25. 25
Union government decided to wind up HMT Watches
The unit has been incurring losses since 2000
HMT Watches is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hindustan Machines Tools (HMT)
limited
HMT Limited was set up at Bangalore in 1961 in collaboration with Japan’s
Citizen Watch
In 2000, HMT Watch Business group was restructured as HMT Watches Ltd.
RBI fixed the upper age limit at 70 years for M.D. and CEO in private
sector banks
The decision was taken to comply with the Section 196(3) of the Companies
Act, 2013
Individual bank’s boards free to prescribe a lower retirement age for whole
time Directors
Earlier, no maximum age was specified and decisions were taken case by case
Union Government granted Navratna Status to CONCOR
CONCOR is the 17th Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to achieve
Navratna Status.
The status was accorded by the Department of Public Enterprises.
CONCOR current Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) is Anil Kumar Gupta.
It deals in Export-Import and domestic trade and commerce policy of India.
Expenditure Management Commission constituted
The Commission will be headed by Bimal Jalan
He is a former RBI Governor
Commission will suggest the way for managing public finances by reducing
subsidies.
26. 26
ICICI Bank became the first bank in India to launch EMI facility on Debit
Card
This was so far available only for credit cardholders.
Will enable customers to convert their high value transactions into easy
installments
Facility available to debit cardholders with minimum fixed deposit of 10000
rupees
C S Verma elected as First President of Indian Steel Association
C S Verma is currently working as the head of Steel Authority of India Limited
The Indian Steel Association was formally launched on 26 August 2014
Aims to work towards transforming the Indian steel industry as a global leader
Membership of ISA open to any steel producer with a yearly capacity of at
least 2 million tones
DIPP notified Press Note 8 allowing 100% FDI in Rail infrastructure
FDI in rail infrastructure will be through automatic route
FDI will not be allowed in train operations and safety
Proposals involving FDI beyond 49 percent in sensitive areas to be placed
before the Cabinet Committee on Security
Definitions of infrastructure and common facilities have also been widened
Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2014-15
This was the first budget of newly appointed government led by Narendra
Modi
It focussed on providing good infrastructure like public transport, solid waste
disposal
Emphasized on skill development and entrepreneurship in the budget
Announced that the FDI cap in Defence sector would be raised to 49 percent