Nov 2014

CURRENTAFFAIRS
November 1, 2014
1) New restricted free monthly ATM
usage regime came into effect in 6
metro cities of the country from 1
November 2014. Under this regime the
number of mandated free transactions
for savings bank account holders at
other bank ATMs located in six metros
has been reduced from five to ……..per
month – Three
Explanation: This restricted free
monthly ATM usage regime came into
effect in country‘s 6 metro cities
Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata,
Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The choice
of 6 metros for introducing this regime
was made primarily due to well-served
payment infrastructure available here.
This reduction in the number of
mandated free transactions will,
however, not apply to customers having
no-frills/small/Basic Savings Bank
Deposit Account (BSBDA) type of
accounts as well as for transactions
done by savings bank account holders
at ATMs situated outside these six
metro centres. Banks are also free to
offer free transactions above this
mandated limit.
2) Devendra Fadnavis took the oath as
the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra
on 31 October 2014 at a glittering
ceremony held at Mumbai‘s iconic
Wankhede Stadium. He became
…………Chief Minister of state – 27th
Explanation: Fadnavis became
27th
Chief Minister of Maharashtra and
the 18th
person to hold this post. He also
became the fourth politician from
Vidarbha region and the second
youngest to become Chief Minister of
Maharashtra. The oath was
administered by Maharashtra Governor
Vidysagar Rao. Eknath Khadse, Sudhir
Mungantiwar, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja
Gopinath Munde and Vishnu Rama
Savra took over as Cabinet Ministers.
3) Warren Anderson, the former chief of
Union Carbide, died on 29 September
2014 at a nursing home in Vero Beach,
Florida according to public records.
Anderson was wanted in India in
connection with the 1984 Bhopal gas
tragedy in which over 3,000 people
were killed. This tragedy took place on
which date? – Midnight of 2 December
1984

CURRENTAFFAIRS
Explanation: The Bhopal horror began
around midnight on 2-3 December 1984
when a chemical reaction in a plant,
owned by US company Union Carbide
that made insecticides, caused a leak of
toxic gases (primarily Methyl iso-
cyanide) that swept through the
surrounding community. The Madhya
Pradesh government confirmed 3,787
deaths as a result. More than a half
million people were injured, with many
dying from illnesses, including lung
cancer, kidney failure and liver disease.
Warren Anderson was heading Union
Carbide at that time and he reached
Bhopal 4 days after the mishap to be
arrested immediately. But after quickly
paying bail, he never returned to face
trial. In 1989, Union Carbide paid $470
million to the Indian government to
settle litigation stemming from the
disaster. His death was not made public
by his family and was revealed from
public records.
4) What is the name of the Electronic
Toll Collection (ETC) programme that
was launched by the Union Government
on 31 October 2014 on the National
Highway 8 (NH-8) to enable motorists to
pay tolls electronically without stopping
at the toll plazas? – „FasTag‟
Explanation: This programme has
been launched by Ministry of Road
Transport & Highways, National
Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and
Indian Highways Management
Company Limited (IHMCL) in
partnership with private sector banks
ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. It was
launched on the 1,428-km highway
(NH-8) which connects the country‘s
national capital Delhi with financial
capital Mumbai. FasTag users will be
able to cruise through the toll plazas
without the hassle of stopping for paying
cash with Axis Bank and ICICI Bank
facilitating electronic Toll Collection
service at all Toll Plazas on the National
Highways.
5) Who took over as the Secretary
Economic Affairs on 31 October 2014 to
complete the official-level makeover of
Finance Ministry? – Rajiv Mehrishi
Explanation: Rajiv Mehrishi succeeded
Arvind Mayaram who was shifted to
Ministry of Minority Affairs on 30
October 2014. Earlier on 16 October
2014 Arvind Subramaniam joined as the
new Chief Economic Advisor.
6) Which bank became the second after
United Bank of India to tag Vijay Mallya-
owned Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) as a
wilful defaulter? – UCO Bank
Explanation: UCO Bank is amongst the
consortium of 17 banks that have a total
exposure of Rs. 6,500 crore in KFA.
While the consortium is led by SBI,
UCO on its part is said to have lent Rs.
300 crore. The grounded airline was
earlier declared a wilful defaulter by
United Bank of India. According to
Reserve Bank of India‘s (RBI)
guidelines a wilful defaulter is one who
has the capacity to repay but chooses
not to do so. The money borrowed is
being used for purposes other than for
which it was taken.
7) The 139th
birth anniversary of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 October 2014
was celebrated as the first edition of –

CURRENTAFFAIRS
“Rashtriya Ekta Diwas” (National
Unity Day)
Explanation: The Union Government
during October 2014 had decided to
observe the birth anniversary of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 October as
―Rashtriya Ekta Diwas‘ (National Unity
Day) every year. Sardar Patel,
nicknamed the Iron Man of India, was
the first home minister of the country
and is credited with persuading more
than 500 princely states to accede to
the Indian union post-Independence. On
the occasion of first National Unity Day
‗Run For Unity‘ were organised all over
the country and a pledge to maintain
unity was taken by all government
employees as well as school and
college students.
November 2, 2014
1) From 1 November 2014 Bangalore
officially became Bengaluru and
Mysore became Mysuru. Altogether
the name of how many cities and
towns of Karnataka state was reverted
to their old Kannada names from this
day? – Twelve
Explanation: The name of 12
Karnataka cities and towns was
changed on the occasion of the
59th
Formation Day of the state. The
state had sought the Centre‘s
clearance for the change in names in
2006. The Union Home Ministry had
during October 2014 cleared this
proposal. Apart from Bangalore and
Mysore, the other cities that formally
get new old names are : Belgaum –
Belagavi, Mangalore – Mangaluru,
Gulbarga – Kalaburagi, Hubli –
Hubballi, Shimoga – Shivamogga,
Chikmagalur – Chikkamagaluru,
Bellary – Ballari, Bijapur – Vijapura or
Vijayapura, Hospet – Hosapete and
Tumkur – Tumakuru.
2) Which country‘s central bank
surprised global financial markets on
31 October 2014 by expanding its
massive stimulus spending, which
resulted in rally in global stock markets
and India‘s Sensex hitting an all-time
high on the day? – Japan
Explanation: Bank of Japan (BOJ),
the central bank of Japan announced
its decision to buy more assets as a
preemptive strike to keep policy on
track. The bank would accelerate
purchase of Japanese government
bonds to increase its holding annually
by ¥30 trillion ($725 billion) and triple

CURRENTAFFAIRS
its purchases of exchange-traded
funds and real-estate investment
trusts. But this move of BOJ was
criticized by numerous economists
who wondered if pushing even more
money into the financial system would
be effective as long as consumer
confidence continues to worsen and
demand remains weak. The BOJ‘s
move stands in marked contrast with
the Federal Reserve, the central bank
of United States, announced closing
its monthly bond purchase programme
on 29 October 2014.
3) What is the name of the Army
officer who appeared to seize power in
African country Burkina Faso on 1
November 2014 a day after country‘s
longtime President Blaise Compaore
announced his resignation promising
early elections? –Lieutenant Colonel
Issaac Zida
Explanation: Lieutenant Colonel
Issaac Zida apparently took control of
the country after reports of heavy
gunfire near the presidential palace
early on 1 November. He was the
operational commander of the elite
presidential guards. The unfolding
crisis was being closely watched by
the United States and former colonial
power France, which were close
military allies of Compaore. Under his
rule, Burkina Faso became a key ally
in Western operations against al
Qaeda-linked groups in West Africa.
4) Who was appointed as the new
Chairperson of the National Institute of
Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP)
recently? – Vijay Kelkar
Explanation: Vijay Kelkar was the
former Chairman of the 13th
Finance
Commission and he succeeded former
PMEAC chairman C. Rangarajan.
National Institute of Public Finance
and Policy (NIPFP) is a think tank for
doing applied research in the field of
public finance and is based in New
Delhi.
5) What was the name of the
ambitious rocket plane of entrepreneur
Richard Branson‘s space company
Virgin Galactic that was meant to carry
rich tourists on short space rides and
which crashed on 31 October 2014? –
SpaceShipTwo
Explanation: SpaceShipTwo was the
rocket plane for Virgin Galactic, the
space tourism company created by the
entrepreneur Richard Branson, and
Scaled Composites, the company that
designed and built the plane. The
plane crashed in the Mojave Desert on
31 October during a test flight, killing
one of the two pilots. Crash of
SpaceShipTwo came as a major
setback for commercial space
industry. Virgin Galactic, which hoped
to begin tourist flights next spring,
already has more than 700
reservations, initially sold for $200,000
a seat before rising to $250,000 last
year.
6) China on 1 November 2014
completed its first return mission to the
Moon with the successful re-entry and
landing of an unmanned probe. The

CURRENTAFFAIRS
mission was launched to test
technology to be used for China‘s
fourth lunar probe. What is the name
of this ambitious mission which aims to
gather samples from the moon‘s
surface and will be launched around
2017? – Chang‟e-5
Explanation: This unmanned probe
landed safely in northern China‘s Inner
Mongolia region on 1 November after
taking some very good photographs of
the Earth and the moon. China sees
its multi-billion-dollar space
programme as a marker of its rising
global stature and mounting technical
expertise. It also has a rover on the
surface of the moon.
November 3, 2014
1) A powerful blast set off by a suicide
bomber at Wagah in Pakistan on 2
November 2014 resulted in death of at
least 55 people and injuries to over
200. This blast occurred minutes after
the immensely popular flag-lowering
ceremony at the Indo-Pak border.
Which Al-Qaeda affiliated group
claimed responsibility for this attack
according to the media reports? –
Jandullah
Explanation: The blast took place
near one of the exit gates after
hundreds of people were returning
after watching the flag ceremony at
Wagah border that involves Indian
Army personnel and Pakistani
Rangers. India announced suspension
of the flag-lowering ceremony for three
days after this attack. The ceremony at
the Wagah-Attari border is one of the
longest in operation between India and
Pakistan. It had continued largely
untouched by the many ups and
downs in the relationship between the
two countries, including the recent
ceasefire violations at the border.
2) A very important and landmark
climate change report was adopted by
the United Nations on 1 November
2014 and was released a day later at
40th
Session of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) held
at Copenhagen (Denmark). What is
the main conclusion of this report that
was finished by IPCC scientists in over
one year? – “Humans are altering
Earth‟s climate system”

CURRENTAFFAIRS
Explanation: This IPCC Report is the
fifth assessment of climate science
and mitigation that the IPCC has
completed since 1990. It primarily
offers ―conclusive evidence‖ that
humans are altering the Earth‘s
climate system. It concludes that it is
now 95% certain that the build-up of
such gases from the burning of fossil
fuels and deforestation is the main
cause of warming seen since the
middle of the 20th
century. The main
objective of IPCC‘s initiatives is to
bring all nations together to take steps
to reduce the process of climate
change. In December 2014, all
countries will meet in Peru to talk over
some options, with the goal of arriving
at a final agreement at a meeting in
Paris in December 2015. It‘s unclear,
however, whether the new IPCC report
can help overcome the political and
economic obstacles that have blocked
major movement of reducing
emissions.
3) What will the base year for
computation of India‘s GDP data from
January 2015 as announced by the
National Statistical Commission
recently? – 2011-12
Explanation: The base year for
computation of country‘s GDP was
2004-05 till now. This change in base
year is being implemented so as to
take into account the structural
changes which have taken place in the
economy and also to include more
sectors in GDP computation which
were not included till now. This would
be sixth time that the base year will be
changed since 1948-49 was chosen
as the first base year for computing
country‘s GDP estimates.
Read More about Base Year
4) Which South Asian country
witnessed a 24-hour electricity
blackout on 1 November 2014 which
resulted in huge chaos all across the
country? –Bangladesh
Explanation: Electricity was disrupted
all-across Bangladesh on 1 November
after a major fault due to heavy
demand which resulted in failure of the
relay system. This forced hospitals
and garment factories in the country to
rely on back-up generators and even
plunged the prime minister‘s official
residence in capital Dhaka into
darkness. Electricity was restored on
the next day.
5) A Chinese submarine and a warship
were allowed dock at its port in
Colombo by the Sri Lankan
Government recently despite concerns
raised by the Indian Government.
What are the names of this submarine
and warship which will remain in Sri
Lanka for 5 days for refuelling and
crew refreshment? – Changzheng-2
(submarine) and Chang Xing Dao
(warship)
Explanation: Submarine
Changzheng-2 and warship Chang
Xing Dao arrived at the Colombo port
on 31 October 2014 and are to remain
here for 5 days for refuelling and crew
refreshment. Docking of these two
naval devices was done seven weeks
after another Chinese submarine, a

CURRENTAFFAIRS
long-range deployment patrol, had
called at the same port ahead of a visit
to South Asia by Chinese President Xi
Jinping. China has invested heavily in
Sri Lanka in recent years, funding
airports, roads, railways and ports, a
development that has unsettled India,
traditionally the closest economic
partner of Sri Lanka. A 1987 accord
between India and Sri Lanka provides
that respective territories – including
Trincomalee – will not be used for
activities prejudicial to each other‘s
unity, integrity and security.
6) Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq
equalled the record for the fastest Test
century on 2 November 2014 by
reaching the milestone in 56 balls
against Australia in Abu Dhabi. Whose
record he equalled? – Vivian
Richards of the West Indies
Explanation: West Indies great Vivian
Richards had established the world
record for fastest Test century off 56
balls against England at St John‘s,
Antigua in 1986. Misbah-ul-Haq
equalled this record by reaching his
century in similar number of deliveries.
In the process he also broke Jacques
Kallis‘ record of scoring fastest Test
century off 24 balls by achieving this in
just 21 balls. South Africa‘s Kallis had
scored his 24-ball half century against
Zimbabwe in Cape Town in 2005.
November 4, 2014
1) What is the name of the new
ambitious alliance formed by Internet
search engine Google on 3 November
2014 to promote the growth of Indic
language content online? –Indian
Language Internet Alliance (ILIA)
Explanation: The main task of ILIA
would be to work together in building
Indic language content for the
hundreds of millions of Indians who
will be coming online for the very first
time. The alliance hopes to enable 300
million Indian language speakers to
become highly engaged Internet users
by 2017. The initiatives of ILIA would
include options such as Hindi Voice
Search and building relevant content
for new Indian language mobile users.
The alliance comprises of ABP News,
Amar Ujala Publications Ltd, C-DAC,
DB Digital, Firstouch, HinKhoj, Jagran
Prakashan Ltd, LinguaNext
Technologies Pvt. Ltd, NDTV, Network
18, Oneindia.com, Patrika Group,
Process Nine Technologies Pvt Ltd,
Prost Innovation Pvt Ltd, Reverie

CURRENTAFFAIRS
Language Technologies Pvt Ltd,
Times Internet Ltd, Ver Se
Innovation/NewsHunt, and
Webdunia.com in addition to Google.
2) Who was named by Pro-Russian
separatists of Ukraine as the leader of
their breakaway republic named
―Donetsk People‘s Republic‖ on 3
November 2014? –Alexander
Zakharchenko
Explanation: 38-year old Alexander
Zakharchenko is a former mining
electrician. He easily won election as
head of the ―Donetsk People‘s
Republic‖, an entity proclaimed by
armed rebels in the days after they
seized key buildings in cities of
Ukraine‘s Russian-speaking east
during April 2014. Zakharchenko‘s
election could create a new ―frozen
conflict‖ in post-Soviet Europe and
further threaten the territorial unity of
Ukraine, which lost control of its
Crimean peninsula during March 2014.
3) Who has been appointed as the
new Financial Services Secretary by
the Union Govt. on 3 November 2014?
– Hasmukh Adhia
Explanation: Hasmukh Adhia
replaces G S Sandhu, who was
transferred as the new Chairman of
National Authority for Chemical
Weapon Convention (NACWC).
Sandhu is the second Secretary
among five Secretaries in the Finance
Ministry who has been shifted after
Arvind Mayaram in last few days.
Adhia is a 1981-batch Indian
Administrative Service (IAS) officer of
Gujarat cadre and is presently posted
in Gujarat. After this reshuffle, the
General Budget for 2015-16 will be
presented by new team of Secretaries
with Rajiv Mehrishi as Economic
Affairs Secretary (who is also likely to
be nominated as new Finance
Secretary because of his seniority),
Expenditure Secretary Ratan Watal,
Revenue Secretary Shaktikantha Das,
Financial Services Secretary Adhia
and Disinvestment Secretary
Aradhana Jauhri with Chief Economic
Advisor Arvind Subramanian.
4) What was the real name of noted
actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar who
passed away on 3 November 2014? –
Ganesh Kumar Narwode
Explanation: Sadashiv Amrapurkar
was born as Ganesh Kumar Narwode
in Nasik in 1950 and later in 1974 he
adopted the name Sadashiv. He was
associated with Marathi stage before
migrating to the world of Hindi and
Marathi films. He shot into prominence
with his central negative character in
Govind Nihalani‘s ‗Ardh Satya‘. Some
of his most popular Hindi films were
‗Sadak‘, ‗Hukumat‘, ‗Mohra‘, ‗Ishq‘,
‗Aankhen‘ and ‗Coolie No.1‘. For
Mahesh Bhatt‘s ‗Sadak‘ he won the
first-ever ‗Fimfare award for Best
negative role‘.
5) Former Union Shipping Minister
G.K. Vasan on 3 November 2014 quit
Congress party and announced
floating a new party. What was the
name of the erstwhile political party
formed by his late father G.K.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
Moopanar which is expected to be
revived by Vasan now? – Tamil
Manila Congress (TMC)
Explanation: TMC was floated by
G.K. Moopanar, the father of G.K.
Vasan, in 1996 by breaking away from
the Congress, protesting the decision
of the party high command to form an
alliance with J. Jayalalitha‘s AIADMK.
However, TMC was merged with the
Congress in 2002. Vasan quit
Congress as he felt the party was not
taking efforts necessary to fulfil the
aspirations of the people of Tamil
Nadu.
6) Who won the US Formula One
Grand Prix that was held on 2
November 2014? –Lewis Hamilton of
UK
Explanation: Mercedes‘ Lewis
Hamilton pipped fellow teammate Nico
Rosberg (Germany) to take 24 point
lead over him with just two races left in
the season. Third spot was taken by
Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) of Red
Bull team. The two F1 GP‘s left this
year are Brazilian GP and Abu Dhabi
GP.
November 5, 2014
1) One World Trade Center, the 104-
storey building at the same spot where
the twin towers of World Trade Centre
(WTC) fell down more than 13 years
ago, was opened in New York on 3
November 2014. This building is
constructed at a cost of $3.9 billion
and is the tallest building in the United
States. Which company became the
first to move into this building? –
Conde Nast
Explanation: One World Trade Center
is owned by the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey. The building
rose from the ashes of the 11
September 2001 terror attacks to
become a symbol of American
resilience. Publishing giant Conde
Nast, which publishes ‗Vogue‘, ‗The
New Yorker‘ and ‗Vanity Fair‘, opened
its office at One World Trade Center
by moving in 175 of its employees.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
2) In an important development Indian
Navy withdrew two of its warships from
the Kolkata Port on 4 November 2014
after intelligence agencies warned of
an attack on the port and the city. This
development was a rare one and
came two days after a suicide bomber
killed 60 people on the Wagah border
in Pakistani side of the main border
with India. What are the names of the
two warships withdrawn in this move?
– INS Khukri and INS Sumitra
Explanation: Indian Naval spokesman
on 4 November shared information
pertaining to this move. INS Khukri
and INS Sumitra were ordered back
into sea for operational reasons and
an alert was sounded at Kolkata Port.
The two ships were meant to be at the
port until 7 November for public
viewing as part of ceremonies in the
run-up to Navy Day next month.
3) In a report tabled in the U.S.
Congress on 4 November 2014, U.S.
Security Department (The Pentagon)
openly criticised Pakistan for using
militant groups as proxies in a war
against Indian Army. What is the name
of this report, the conclusions of which
could mark growing strategic
closeness between India and the
U.S.? – “Progress Towards Security
and Stability in Afghanistan”
Explanation: The report stated –
―Afghan – and India – focused
militants continue to operate from
Pakistan territory to the detriment of
Afghan and regional stability. Pakistan
uses these proxy forces to hedge
against the loss of influence in
Afghanistan and to counter India‘s
superior military.‖ The report also
strongly hinted that the terrorist attack
on the Indian consulate in Herat
Province in Afghanistan in May 2014
was deliberately timed to coincide with
Narendra Modi‘s swearing-in as Prime
Minister.
4) What is the name of the tropical
Super cyclone heading towards Japan
that is expected to be the most
powerful tropical cyclones of 2014? –
Typhoon Nuri
Explanation: Typhoon Nuri attained
the Super Typhoon status on 2
November 2014 and was classified as
a Category 5 typhoon sustaining winds
of 287 km/h, with gusts up to 352
km/h, rivalling typhoon Vongfong
earlier this year. Nuri is the sixth
Pacific storm to reach super typhoon
status this season, with the average
being four. However, latest forecasts
predicted that Nuri is currently not
looking to directly impact Japan and is
expected to curl up towards the Bering
Sea.
5) The Union Cabinet on 4 November
2014 gave its approval to the proposal
for dissolution of the Delhi Assembly.
With this it became clear that
Assembly Elections in Delhi is on its
way. Delhi has been under President‘s
Rule since which date? – 17 February
2014
Explanation: President‘s rule in Delhi
was imposed after the fall of the Arvind
Kejriwal government on 14 February.
The BJP was unable to form
government on its own after this

CURRENTAFFAIRS
development. The proposal to dissolve
Delhi Assembly was moved by the
Union Home Ministry on the basis of
Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung‘s
report which recommended dissolution
of the Assembly after his discussions
with the Aam Aadmi Party, BJP and
the Congress. All parties were
ostensibly in favour of fresh elections.
November 6, 2014
2014 MIDTERM POLLS
IN US
1) US President Barack Obama‘s final
years in office looked starker as the
Republicans seized the control of the
Senate in the midterm elections held
on 4 November 2014. With this win the
Republican Party has gained a
majority in the US Senate since which
year? –2006
Explanation: The elections saw
sweeping gains by the Republican
Party in the Senate, House, and in
many gubernatorial elections, as well
as state and local races. The
Republicans gained control of the
Senate for the first time since 2006,
and solidified their majority in the
House. Republicans won in places
where Democrats were favored, like a
Senate race in North Carolina, pulled
out victories where the going was
tough, like a Senate battle in Kansas,
and swept a number of governors‘
races in states where Democrats were
favored, like Obama‘s home state of
Illinois. Republican Senator Mitch
McConnell of Kentucky, who won a
tough re-election battle against
Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes,
will replace Democrat Harry Reid as
Senate majority leader.
2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
during November 2014 asked banks to
put in place preventive measures in
view of the rise in the number of
cheque related fraud cases. What are
the important measures recommended
by the RBI in this issue?
- Provision of an SMS alert to
payer/drawer when cheques are
received in clearing
- Provision of alerting customers by
a phone call and get the
confirmation from the payer/drawer
in case of large value cheques
- Ensuring 100% implementation of
CTS (cheque truncation system) in
clearance

CURRENTAFFAIRS
- Ensuring complete KYC-
compliance in clearance of cheques
In its notification, the RBI said that the
rise in the number of cheque related
fraud cases is a matter of serious
concern. It is evident that many of
such frauds could have been avoided
had due diligence been observed at
the time of handling and/or processing
the cheques and monitoring newly
opened accounts.
3) Which private-sector bank is the
only banking entity from entity to be
recognised by the World Economic
Forum (WEF) as a ―Global Growth
Company‖ (GGC) for 2014? – RBL
Bank (Formerly known as Ratnakar
Bank Limited)
Explanation: 17 companies from India
were recognised as Global Growth
Company by WEF as notified by it on
5 November 2014. RBL Bank,
headquartered at Kolhapur
(Maharashtra), is the only banking
entity out of these 17 companies from
India, which have been described as
region‘s most dynamic and high-
growth companies by the WEF.
Bandhan Financial Services, the
micro-finance entity which has won the
banking license to operate banking
services in the country, was also
among these 17 entities. Other
prominent entities in this list are Sobha
Developers, MakeMyTrip, JustDial,
Finolex, FlipKart, InterGlobe
Enterprises, Radikal Foods, 4G
Identity Solutions and Transasia Bio-
Medicals.
4) The BSE Sensex crossed which
milestone mark for the first time on 5
November 2014? – 28,000 points
Explanation: Both BSE Sensex and
NSE‘s Nifty achieved a new high on 5
November primarily on hopes of early
interest rate cuts and continued fund
flow from overseas investor. The
market also remained buoyant due to
the announcement of reform measures
such as diesel decontrol and
commencement of some energy
reforms (mainly in coal sector).
However, both Sensex and Nifty
closed lower than the record high
achieved during the day.
5) The maiden Budget of the newly
constituted Telangana state was
presented on 5 November 2014. Who
presented the first budget of the state?
– Eatala Rajender, Finance Minister
of Telangana
Explanation: The first budget of
Telangana included outlay of Rs.
1,00,637 crore including Rs. 48,648
crore plan and non-plan outlay of Rs.
51,989 crore. The budget was
presented for the 10 months of the
current fiscal. State‘s first budget
included revenue surplus of Rs. 3.02
crore. An allocation of Rs. 6,500 crore
was made for irrigation with the priority
to complete four lift irrigation projects
in Mahabubnagar district on war-
footing and create irrigation potential
of 2.97 lakh acres.
6) What is the name of the
autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar

CURRENTAFFAIRS
that was released on 5 November
2014? – ‗Playing It My Way‘
Explanation: ‗Playing It My Way‘ – the
much-awaited autobiography of former
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was
released on 5 November in Mumbai in
presence of some of his former
teammates, celebrities and family
members. The book, the first copy of
which he gave to his mother Rajni
earlier in the day,was unveiled by
Tendulkar himself. Journalist Boria
Majumdar has assisted Tendulkar in
writing this book which has been
published by Hodder & Stoughton.
7) What is the theme of the 2014
edition of India Economic Summit
(IES) that started from 5 November
2014 at New Delhi? – “Redefining
Public-Private Cooperation for a
New Beginning”
Explanation: IES is organised by
Geneva-based World Economic
Forum (WEF). The 2014 edition of IES
is organised in partnership with the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The summit concludes on 6 November
2014 and almost all important
business leaders took part in it. Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
addressed the inaugural session of
IES on 5 November and told that the
govt. might consider privatization of
some PSUs in coming months.
November 7, 2014
1) Global NCAP, the worldwide safety
watchdog for passenger vehicles, on 6
November 2014 urged which car to be
withdrawn from the Indian market after
this car fared very poorly in crash tests
conducted by it recently? – Datsun Go
Explanation: Datsun Go is a small
hatchback from the stable of Japanese
car maker Nissan and was launched in
India during 2013. Global NCAP
recently put the Datsun Go and the
Maruti Suzuki Swift through crash
tests in Germany. Both cars crumpled
during the test for a frontal collision,
with the Datsun Go performing far
worse. Datsun received zero of a
possible five stars in the tests for
Indian cars. The test concluded that
the body shell of the Datsun Go was
so weak that even adding airbags
would not protect passengers in case
of a major accident. The Chairman of
Global NCAP addressed his letter of

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warning to Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn
to withdraw this car from the Indian
market.
2) Former Indian Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh was conferred with
the ―Grand Cordon of the Order of the
Paulownia Flowers‖ Award on 5
November 2014. This award is one of
the highest civilian awards of which
country? – Japan
Explanation: The ―Grand Cordon of
the Order of the Paulownia Flowers‖ is
perceived as the second highest
civilian award of Japan after ―Order of
the Chrysanthemum‖. The award was
presented to Dr. Manmohan Singh by
Japanese Emperor Akihito at the
Imperial Palace in Tokyo. He was
given this award for his ―significant
contribution to the enhancement of
relations and promotion of friendship‖
between Japan and India. He became
the first Indian to receive this
prestigious award.
3) According to the warning issued by
the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency
Response (UNMEER) on 6 November
2014, which country is seeing a surge
in number of Ebola cases while the
position has improved in other
neighbouring countries? – Sierra
Leone
Explanation: UNMEER claimed that
the number of Ebola cases is surging
in Sierra Leone due to a lack of
treatment centres while scarcity of
food may also be forcing some people
to leave quarantined areas, risking
further spread of the virus. According
to the WHO some 4,818 people have
died of Ebola, mostly in Sierra Leone,
Liberia and neighbouring Guinea. But
while the situation is improving in
Liberia and stable in Guinea, two-
thirds of the new cases recorded in the
past three weeks have been in Sierra
Leone.
4) What is the name of the retired US
Navy SEAL who publicly identified
himself on 6 November 2014 as the
person who killed al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden? –Robert O‟Neill
Explanation: In an interview given to
‗The Washington Post‘ O‘Neill claimed
that he fired the two shots that killed
bin Laden. One current and one
former SEAL confirmed to the AP that
O‘Neill was long known to have fired
the shots that killed the leader of the
international terror group responsible
for the 11 September attacks. Osama
bin Laden was killed in a US Navy
Seal operation on 2 May 2011 in
Pakistan‘s Abbottabad where he was
hiding.
5) The World Chess Championship
begins on 7 November 2014 featuring
the title clash between Chess World
Champion Magnus Carlsen and
Viswanathan Anand, the former
champion from India. The first game of
this much-anticipated rematch would
be held a day later on 8 November.
Which city is hosting this World
Championship clash? – Sochi, Russia
Explanation: Viswanathan Anand lost
his World Chess Champion tag to
Norway‘s Magnus Carlsen last year

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when Carlsen almost humiliated
Anand in Chennai to win his maiden
World title. Anand is the world No. 6
and qualified for the title clash by
winning the Candidates Tournament in
March 2014. He has been a
grandmaster since 1988 – two years
before Carlsen was born. But Carlsen,
a former child chess prodigy, has
since achieved the game‘s highest
rating ever. His official FIDE Elo rating
eclipsed Anand‘s for the first time in
2008, when Carlsen was just 17.
6) Lionel Messi scored his 71st
UEFA
Championship League goal on 5
November 2014 to overtake former
Brazilian star Ronaldo and come on
par for scoring highest number of
goals. Whose record he equalled? –
Raul Gonzalez
Explanation: Spain‘s Raul Gonzalez
had the record of scoring highest
number of goals in UEFA
Championship League with 71 goals in
his name. Argentina‘s star striker
Lionel Messi, who plays for Barcelona
FC scored both the goals in his team‘s
2-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam on 5
November to equal Gonzalez‘s record.
However, Gonzalez took 142 matches
to score his 71 goals while Messi took
only 90 matches to reach this tally.
November 8, 2014
1) Which lake on 7 November 2014
got the recognition of India‘s first
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-
certified fishery for sustainable clam
fishing? –Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala
Explanation: Clam is an edible
marine product that is found in lakes
and freshwaters in form of two
calcareous shells or valves. The
fisherfolk of Ashtamudi Lake decided
to go in for sustainable activities after
they extracted over 10,000 tonne
clams from the lake, reducing its
capacity over the years. The certificate
for sustainable clam fishing was
provided to the Clam Governing
Council of Ashtamudi Lake. With this
certificate the lake would showcase to
the world that development and
environment protection go hand in
hand and participatory approach at the
local level in managing biodiversity is
an important aspect of it. This
achievement also opens up the scope
for other fisheries in India to work
towards MSC certification, which
would enhance conservation and

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sustainability of the resource.
Ashtamudi Lake, a Ramsar wetland of
international importance, is the second
largest estuarine system in Kerala and
the clam fishery began in 1981. It
supports the livelihoods of around
3000 fisherfolk involved in collection,
cleaning processing and trading
clams.
2) What is the name of India‘s first
automatic freight train especially
designed for transportation of finished
cars that was flagged-off on 7
November 2014? –AutoLinxSM
Explanation: AutoLinxSM was
flagged-off by Union Rail Minister D.V.
Sadanada Gowda at Melpakkam near
Chennai. This train carried around 280
finished cars and left for Delhi where it
would reach in a week‘s time. It will
arrive at the multi-modal logistics park
of Container Corporation of India (CCI)
at Khatuwas near Delhi. The trial runs
for AutoLinxSM were completed in
October 2014 and four automotive
(original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs)- Ford, Honda, Hyundai, and
Renault-Nissan collaborated in it. This
train is developed by Delhi-based APL
Logistics Vascor Automotive, a joint
venture between APL Logistics and
Vascor. APL Logistics Vascor is the
first third-party logistics provider to
offer rail-based services under the
Automobile Freight Train Operator
license administered by Indian
Railways.
3) Which village near Varanasi was
adopted by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on 7 November 2014 under the
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (MP
Model Village Plan)? –Jayapur
Explanation: Modi chose Jayapur
village in Varanasi district under the
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
Under SAGY, each Member of
Parliament (MP) needs to choose one
village each from the constituency that
they represent, fix parameters and
make it a model village by 2016. It was
launched on 11 October 2014 on the
birth anniversary of Jayaprakash
Narayan, the legendary socialist
leader. Modi announced adopting
Jayapur during his 2-day visit to
Varanasi, which he represents in the
Lok Sabha.
4) Regional approval for restarting
which nuclear power plant of Japan
was won on 7 November 2014, a
move which could make this plant the
first in Japan to be restarted under a
new and independent nuclear power
regulator? – Sendai
Explanation: Sendai nuclear power
plant has 2 reactors to produce
nuclear electricity and is located some
1,000 km southwest of Tokyo in
Kagoshima prefecture. 38 of the 47
members of Kagoshima‘s Prefectural
Assembly backed the restart which is
an important endorsement to restart
the plant. This could pave the way for
a revival of the stalled industry more
than three years after the Fukushima
disaster of 2011, which set off closure
of numerous nuclear power plants
after a massive earthquake and
tsunami. Japan has been forced to
import expensive fossil fuels to replace

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atomic power, which supplied around
30% of the country‘s electricity before
the 2011 disaster.
5) The Indian Army on 7 November
2014 admitted its mistake over the
firing incident in Budgam district of
Kashmir which left two youths dead.
This firing incident took place at which
village of Budgam (near capital
Srinagar) on 3 November 2014? –
Chattergam
Explanation: The soldiers of Indian
Army opened fire on a few Kashmiri
youths who were moving in a car at
Chattergam village of Budgam district.
Two were killed in the incident while
two were hospitalised for serious
injuries. This incident provoked local
populace who protested against it
vehemently. On 7 November the
Indian Army claimed responsibility for
the incident and announced
compensation of Rs. 10 lakh each for
the next of kin of the two deceased
along with Rs. 5 lakh each for the
injured boys. It also offered quality
medical care at the 92 Base Hospital
for the injured youths.
November 9-10, 2014
1) 21 ministers were inducted into the
Narendra Modi Cabinet on 9
November 2014 with which the total
strength of the Union Council of
Ministers reached 66. How many new
Cabinet ministers were inducted? –
Four
Explanation: The four cabinet
ministers inducted included include
former Goa Chief Minister Manohar
Parrikar, former Union Minister Suresh
Prabhu, Haryana leader Birendra
Singh and BJP General Secretary J.P.
Nadda. Three ministers of state
(independent charge) and 14 ministers
of state (MoS) were also inducted. The
three ministers of state (independent
charge) included Bandaru Dattatreya,
Dr. Mahesh Sharma and Rajiv Pratap
Rudy. 14 ministers of state included
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rajyavardhan
Rathore, Ramshankar Katheria, Vijay

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Sampla, Babul Supriyo, Ram Kripal
Yadav, Sanwar Lal Jat, Giriraj Singh,
Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya,
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Jayant Sinha,
Y.S. Chowdary, Hansraj Gangaram
Ahir and Haribhai Parthibhai
Chaudhary.
Following are the portfolios of 4
new Cabinet Ministers
Manohar Parrikar – Defence Minister
(Arun Jaitley relieved of his Defence
Ministry portfolio)
Suresh Prabhu – Rail Minister
(DV Sadananda Gowda shifted to the
Law and Justice Ministry , relieving
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad from this additional charge.)
J P Nadda – Health and Family
Welfare Minister
(Harsh Vardhan has been shifted to
the Science and Technology and Earth
Sciences Ministry)
Birender Singh – Panchayati Raj and
Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister
(This charge was held by Transport
Minister Nitin Gadkari till now after the
demise of Gopinath Munde)
2) Who became the new Chief Minister
of Goa on 8 November 2014? –
Laxmikant Parsekar
Explanation: Laxmikant Parsekar was
elected the leader of the Goa BJP
Legislative Party on 8 November and
was administered the oath of office on
the same day. He replaced Manohar
Parrikar, who took oath as Union
Cabinet Minister on 9 November.
Three-time legislator Laxmikant
Parsekar was Health Minister till now
and became the 11th
Chief Minister of
the state. Francisco D‘Souza, who had
earlier voiced discontent for choosing
Parsekar as the new chief minister,
was inducted into Cabinet along-with
Dayanand Mandrekar, Ramesh
Tawadkar, Mahadev Naik, Dilip
Parulekar, Milind Naik, Alina Saldanha
(all BJP), Ramkrishna Dhavlikar and
Deepak Dhavlikar (both MGP).
3) Which Shiv Sena leader came to
highlight for formally joining the BJP
before being sworn in as Cabinet
Minister in the first expansion of the
Narendra Modi government on 9
November 2014? – Suresh Prabhu
Explanation: Prabhu was a cabinet
minister in the erstwhile Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Govt. of 1999-2004. He
received the party‘s primary
membership on 9 November and was
welcomed by senior party leaders. He
is expected to assist Prime Minister
Narendra Modi at the upcoming G20
Summit in Brisbane. However, Suresh
Prabhu‘s walkover to the BJP was
ridiculed by the Shiv Sena for being
opportunist.
4) Which anniversary of the fall of the
Berlin Wall was observed on 9
November 2014? – 25th
Explanation: The infamous Berlin
Wall, that was used to separate West
Berlin from the portion of Berlin under
the possession of the erstwhile East
Germany, was erected in 1961 by East
Germany to protect the population of

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East Germany from fleeing to the
affluent West Germany. It was often
called the ―Wall of Shame‖ or the ―Iron
Curtain‖ which restricted the freedom
of movement. On 9 November 1989
the East German government
announced that all East German
citizens could visit West Germany and
West Berlin. This not just led to the
dismantling of this wall but also to
unification of Germany in 1990.
5) In a major breakthrough The West
Bengal Police arrested Sajid, the
mastermind of the Burdwan blast
case, on 8 November 2014. He is said
to be associated with which
Bangladesh-based terror group which
was allegedly planning to assassinate
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina? – Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen
Bangladesh (JMB)
Explanation: Sajid alias Sheikh
Rahmatullah, is a member of JMB and
is also a member of Majlis-e-Sura
which is the central committee of JMB.
He was the chief of the Burdwan
module of JMB. This case is
associated with the blasts took place
on 2 October 2014 in a house in the
Khagragarh locality of Burdwan. Later
during investigations over 50 explosive
devices were recovered from the
house. The case was handed over to
the National Investigation Agency
(NIA) which unearthed the various
complexities of the case and
associated it with suspected plots to
assassinate Sheikh Hasina and
opposition leader Khaleda Zia.
6) Who was named as the most-
powerful woman in business in India
by ‗Fortune Magazine in a list released
on 8 November 2014? – Arundhati
Bhattacharya, Chairperson of SBI
Explanation: Arundhati Bhattacharya
is heading India‘s largest banking
group – the State Bank of India (SBI).
Bhattacharya made to number one
spot due to her relentless fight against
bad loans. Since she took over a year
or so ago, she has improved assets
quality, cut costs and recapitalised
SBI. ICICI Bank‘s Chanda Kochhar
and Shikha Sharma of Axis Bank
follow Bhattacharya at the second and
the third place respectively. The other
women who figure in the top 10 are
Zia Mody Co-founder AZB Partners;
Mallika Srinivasan CEO of TAFE and
Aruna Jayanthi CEO of Capgemini
India; Preetha Reddy, MD, Apollo
Hospital Enterprise; Kiran Mazumdar
Shaw chairperson and MD at Biocon
and Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson,
HT Media.
7) The Bangladesh High Court on 9
November 2014 questioned the
legality of the 16th
amendment of the
country‘s Constitution. The notice
came on a writ petition filed by nine
Supreme Court lawyers seeking to
overturn the amendment two months
after the parliament amended the
Constitution. This amendment is
associated with which issue? –
Empowering Parliament to impeach
Supreme Court judges for
incapacity or misconduct
Explanation: The parliament, led by
ruling Awami League, had passed the

CURRENTAFFAIRS
amendment bill on 17 September 2014
17 restoring an old provision allowing it
to impeach Supreme Court judges for
―misconduct and incapacity‖. Following
the amendment, a Supreme Court
judge could be removed by adopting a
resolution with a two-third majority in
parliament on the basis of a
government probe. The judiciary of the
country fears that the amendment
might have been done with a mala fide
intention and that the judges might feel
at risk to pass an order against a
lawmaker.
8) What is the name of the
Badminton‘s top-ranked male player
who was temporarily suspended on 8
November 2014 after he failed a
doping test? – Lee Chong Wei
Explanation: Lee Chong Wei is a
Malaysian player of Chinese origin and
is presently ranked No.1 in men‘s
badminton. A badminton official of
Malaysia confirmed that it was the
sample of Lee Chong Wei which had
failed during this year‘s World
Championships. This sample test was
carried out on 5 November at Oslo
(Norway) and concluded that the
banned steroid dexamethasone was
taken. However, Chong Wei denied
cheating or relying on banned
substances despite this result.
November 11, 2014
1) The Union Govt. on 10 November
2014 unveiled the draft Civil Aviation
Policy. Which two PSU stakeholders in
aviation sector are proposed to be
corporatised and listed on stock
exchanges as listed in this draft? –
Airports Authority of India (AAI) and
Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited
(PHHL)
Explanation: The draft Civil Aviation
Policy was unveiled by Union Civil
Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi
Raju. The draft would now be open for
wider consultation with all
stakeholders and is expected to be
implemented by January 2015. It
proposes to corporatise AAI and PHHL
so as to improve transparency and
efficiency of these two PSU entities.
An in-house expert committee for
suggesting road map of Air India‘s
revival has also been proposed. The
draft also proposes to enhance
regional air connectivity, develop six
major metro airports as international
hubs, create more airports through
PPP mode, rationalise jet fuel cost,
promote air cargo, MRO and
helicopter operations and improve
passenger facilitation.

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2) Which state became the first in
India to make voting compulsory in
local bodies after the Governor of the
state sanctioned the bill associated
with the issue? –Gujarat
Explanation: Gujarat Governor O.P.
Kohli recently gave his sanction by
signing the controversial Gujarat Local
Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill,
2009. This bill empowers an official
chosen by the State Election
Commission to declare an absent
voter a ―defaulter‖ except in case of
illness or being out of station. The
defaulter is liable for punishment but
the nature of penalty is not specified.
The Bill also makes a provision for
50% reservation for women in local
bodies, raising the quota from 33%.
This bill was opposed by the Congress
party. Legal experts also advocated
that forcing voters could be
unconstitutional and unworkable.
3) An aerial defence system
developed jointly by Israel and India
passed its first trial simulating combat
conditions in Israel on 10 November
2014. What is the name of this missile
system that is designed to shoot down
incoming aircraft or missiles from land
or sea platforms? – Barak 8
Explanation: Israel‘s state-owned
company Israel Aerospace Industries
(IAI) and India‘s Defence Research
and Development Organisation
(DRDO) are jointly developing this
Long Range Surface to Air Missile
(LRSAM) system. The Israeli and
Indian militaries both plan to use Barak
8 once it becomes operational within
months. The total cost of this project is
$1.4 billion and highlights burgeoning
Israeli-Indian defence ties.
4) What is the name of the prize given
on 9 November 2014 to 12 winners
from fields of Science and Math with
each prize worth $3 million, almost
three times the cash a Nobel Prize
winner receives? – Breakthrough
Prize
Explanation: The Breakthrough Prize
was instituted in 2012 by Russian
billionaire venture capitalist Yuri
Milner. Later Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg, Google co-founder
Sergey Brin, and other tech industry
luminaries became associates in it and
now jointly award it. The first edition of
the prize was given in 2013 to 11
personalities from the field of Life
Sciences. This year the prize was
given to 6 personalities from the field
of Life Sciences and 6 from the field of
Mathematics. This prize is presently
the most rewarding one as far the
prize money is concerned.
5) Mercedes‘ Nico Rosberg (Germany)
won the Brazilian F1 Grand Prix, the
penultimate GP race of the year, on 9
November 2014. With this it became
clear that the F1 World Champion for
2014 would be selected in the last GP
of the year. Which is the last Grand
Prix event of the 2014 season? – Abu
Dhabi GP
Explanation: Rosberg‘s win at
Brazilian GP was his fifth of the year
and now he trails by only 17 points to
his teammate Lewis Hamilton who is
leader. This means that even with an

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unprecedented double points on offer
at Abu Dhabi‘s Yas Marina circuit,
Rosberg can only become champion if
Hamilton finishes out of the top two.
Hamilton finished second in Brazilian
GP while Brazilian Felipe Massa
finished third for Mercedes-powered
Williams in his home race.
November 12, 2014
1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on
11 November 2014 raised the
minimum capital requirement for so-
called shadow banks to Rs. 1 crore by
March 2016 and Rs. 2 crore by end of
March 2017. This was done to avoid
any potential risk to the economy from
these rapidly growing finance firms by
regulating them like traditional banks.
What was the minimum capital
requirement for these entities till now?
– Rs. 25 lakh
Explanation: The RBI also
announced that certain investment-
grade non-banking firms would be
allowed to take deposits and the
companies will have until March 2016
to acquire a credit rating. It also
capped deposit-taking at 1.5 times the
size of a firm‘s minimum capital, down
from four times previously. Shadow
banks, or non-banking financial
companies (NBFCs), have in recent
years played a bigger role in financing
small businesses and individuals in
India, taking over from the banks that
reined in credit as economic growth
slowed. These companies were now
so entrenched in the financial system
that they needed better regulation.
2) What important decision regarding
subsidy for cooking gas (domestic
LPG) was taken by the Union Govt.
recently? – It has capped or frozen
the budget subsidy for cooking gas
at Rs. 20 a kg
Explanation: The Union Govt.
decided to shift to a fixed budget
subsidy for cooking gas and has
hence frozen this subsidy at Rs. 20
per kg. This will not mean any
increase in price for the consumer
right away. However, if international
prices were to rise, as they normally
do in winter, then the government will
be faced with the choice of either
passing on the increase to consumers
(i.e., increasing prices of domestic
LPG) or asking the oil companies to
bear the burden. The decision to shift

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to a per-kg subsidy norm has the
added advantage of introducing
transparency and predictability to the
calculation of the fuel subsidy element
of the fiscal deficit. Against the market
price in Delhi for a 14.2-kg cylinder of
Rs. 810, the subsidised price is Rs.
417. At Rs. 20 per kg, the budget
subsidy works out to Rs. 284 while the
under-recovery for the oil companies
will be Rs. 109.
3) The Summit of 21-nation Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
was held during November 2014 at –
Beijing, China
Explanation: The Summit meet of
APEC (called APEC CEO Summit
2014) was held from 8 November to
10 November 2014 at Beijing. APEC is
a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member
countries that seeks to promote free
trade and economic cooperation
throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It
was established in 1989 in response to
the growing interdependence of Asia-
Pacific economies and the advent of
regional trade blocs in other parts of
the world and to fears that Japan (a
member of G8) would come to
dominate economic activity in the
Asia-Pacific region.
4) 49th
Jnanpith Award, the country‘s
highest literary award, was conferred
on which literary personality by
President Pranab Mukherjee on 10
November 2014? –Kedarnath Singh,
Hindi poet
Explanation: Kedarnath Singh is one
of the most prominent Hindi writers of
modern era. Some of his prominent
works are ‗Akaal Mein Saras‘, ‗Abhi
Bilkul Abhi‘, ‗Zameen pak Rahi Hai‘,
‗Yahan se Dekho‘ and ‗Tolstoy aur
Cycle‘. The Jnanpith Award conferred
on him was for year 2013. He became
the 10th
Jnanpith award winner of Hindi
language after Sumitranandan Pant
(1968), Ramdhari Singh Dinkar (1972),
Sachchidananda Vatsyayan (1978),
Mahadevi Varma (1982), Naresh
Mehta (1992), Nirmal Verma (1999),
Kunwar Narayan (2005), Amar Kant
and Shrilal Shukla (both 2009).
5) 11 women died and over fifty others
were hospitalised due to botched
surgeries at a government-organised
sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarh‘s
Bilaspur district. This incident shocked
the whole nation and protests against
the Chhattisgarh Govt. were held. This
sterilisation camp was set up in which
village of Chhattisgarh? –Pendari
Explanation: A sterilisation surgeries
(laparoscopic tubectomy) were carried
out at the camp held at a private
hospital (Nemichand Jain Cancer and
Research Centre) in Pendari village on
outskirts of Bilaspur town on 8
November 2014. About 83 women had
undergone surgeries at this camp.
Over 60 women were admitted to
different hospitals after they
complained of complications following
sterilization and were admitted to
Bilaspur district hospital. Four health
officials including Chief Medical Health
Officer of Bilaspur were suspended
following the incident.

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6) Which Lumia smartphone will
become the first such device without
the iconic Nokia brand name and
would only have Microsoft name on it,
as announced by the company on 11
November 2014? – Lumia 535
Explanation: Microsoft Corporation on
11 November 2014 unveiled the Lumia
535. This 5-inch Windows 8.1 phone
would be launched later this month in
some key markets. This would be first
Lumia range of mobile phone without
Nokia name on it. The Nokia name
has been dropped just months after
Microsoft fully acquired the Finnish
company‘s handset business.
Microsoft completed its $7.2 billion
deal to buy Nokia‘s handset business
in April 2014. Nokia continues as a
networks, mapping and technology
licensing company. It owns and
manages the Nokia brand and only
licenses it to Microsoft. It is worth
mentioning that Nokia had partnered
with Microsoft in 2011 to launch its
Lumia range of smartphones based on
latter‘s Windows Phone operating
system.
November 13, 2014
1) The 2-day 9th
East Asia Summit
started on 12 November 2014 with
heads of 18 countries participating in
it. This summit is being held in which
city? – Nay Pyi Taw (capital of
Myanmar)
Explanation: Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi addressed 9th
East
Asia Summit‘s inaugural session on 12
November. He gave the call for ‗Act
Asia Policy‘ by amending the
traditional ‗Look East Policy‘. The
12th
edition of ASEAN-India Summit
was also held simultaneously.
The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a
forum held annually by leaders of 18
countries – Australia, Brunei, Burma
(Myanmar), Cambodia, China, India,
Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia,
New Zealand, Philippines, Russia,
Singapore, South Korea, Thailand,
The United States and Vietnam.
2) The United States and China on 12
November 2014 unveiled ambitious
targets to reduce greenhouse gases.
What is this new target for United
States, which is a move to cut pollution
levels at a much fast rate? –
Reduction in emission of
greenhouse gases by 26% to 28%
by year 2025 as compared with 2005
levels

CURRENTAFFAIRS
Explanation: Both countries agreed to
reduce emissions on the occasion of
bilateral talks held on the sidelines of
the 9th
East Asia Summit held at
Myanmar. US President Barack
Obama announced that his country
would move much faster in cutting
pollution, with a goal to reduce by 26%
to 28% by 2025, compared with 2005
levels. Earlier in his presidency, he
had set a goal to cut emissions by
17% by 2020. China on the other hand
didn‘t commit to cut emissions by a
specific amount. Instead, it set a target
for country‘s emission to peak by
2030, or earlier if possible. United
States and China are two of the
largest polluters in the world and the
breakthrough achieved by them
displays their desire to display a united
front on climate change.
3) Indian Railways had identified how
many areas in its operations to allow
100% foreign/private investment as
stated in the new guidelines under the
Railway FDI policy that was approved
by the Union Govt.? – 17 sectors
Explanation: Broadly, the Railway
Ministry is putting up for private
participation projects that are expected
to be financially remunerative and on
which construction work has not
started. The Railways has sanctioned
projects running into lakhs of crores on
which work has not started because of
dearth of funds.
4) What was the consumer inflation for
October 2014, which is the slowest
pace of price rise since retail inflation
numbers were first published in
January 2012? –5.52%
Explanation: Consumer inflation for
September 2014 stood at 6.46%.
Sharp drops in food and oil prices
were the major reasons for significant
drop in inflation. On the other hand
food price inflation, under a new series
published by the government, eased to
5.59% in October from 7.67% in
September. With consumer inflation
coming below the Reserve Bank of
India‘s target level of 6%, and global
oil prices hovering near 4-year lows,
expectations are high that the central
bank could cut rates.
5) The Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP
govt. in Maharashtra won the much-
awaited trust vote in Assembly on 12
November 2014 with the motion being
carried by a voice vote on the floor of
the Maharashtra Assembly. Who was
unanimously elected Maharashtra
Assembly Speaker on the same day?
– BJP‟s Haribhau Bagde
Explanation: The exercise of
choosing Assembly Speaker became
a mere formality after the Sena and
Congress withdrew their nominee for
the post of Speaker paving way for
unanimous election of the BJP‘s
candidate as the new Speaker. This
controversial trust vote was won as the
Shiv Sena and the Congress, which
had said that they would vote against
the motion, chose not to exercise the
option. Sharad Pawar‘s NCP also did
not participate in the voting. Later
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was
Maharashtra‘s new Opposition leader.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
November 14, 2014
1) 125th
birth anniversary of Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru is being celebrated
on 14 November 2014. As first Prime
Minister of India, Nehru is considered
to be the architect of modern India and
the father figure of Indian politics of the
20th
century. He was born on 14
November 1889 at which place? –
Allahabad
Explanation: Born to Motilal Nehru,
the leading barrister of his time, Nehru
served twice as the President of the
Indian National Congress. He steered
free India to become a modern country
while being the Prime Minister of the
country from 15 August 1947 till his
death on 27 May 1964. He was a
prolific writer and gave the world some
of the iconic books on history such as
‗Discovery of India‘, ‗Glimpses of
World History‘ and ‗Toward Freedom‘.
2) In a major development India and
the US reached an agreement on
public stockpiling of food and thus
paving the way for the implementation
of WTO‘s global trade facilitation deal
that has been stalled for months. India
had called for a permanent ‗peace
clause‘ to protect its food stockpiling
scheme until a permanent solution on
the issue was found at the WTO. This
peace clause would have expired after
how many years as agreed to at WTO
talks held at Bali (Indonesia) during
2013? – 4 years
Explanation: Under the pact with
Washington, India will lift a veto on a
global agreement on streamlining
customs rules pertaining to food-grain.
The pact is likely to add $1 trillion to
the world economy as well as 21
million jobs, 18 million of them in
developing countries. India has
wanted to keep a ―peace clause‖ that
protects its huge state food purchases
until the WTO can strike a definitive
deal on stockpiling. As originally
envisaged in Bali, the clause would
expire in four years. A peace clause is
an undertaking that action won‘t be
taken against India for breaching food
procurement subsidy levels (fixed at
10% of agricultural production) till the
formula for calculating trade distorting
subsidies is satisfactorily changed.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
3) Scientists of the European Space
Agency (ESA) made space history on
12 November 2014 by placing a small
spacecraft on the surface of a
speeding comet. What was the name
of this mission under which the probe
named ‗Philae‘ was placed on a
comet? – Rosetta Mission
Explanation: The Rosetta Mission
was launched more than 10 years ago
on 2 March 2004 through Ariane 5G
rocket. Mission‘s probe ‗Philae‘ was
placed successfully on the surface of
the comet named 67P/Churyumov-
Gerasimenko. However, the reports
after this landing also suggested that
the probe bounced twice on comet‘s
surface before attaining stability. With
this achievement, a comet no longer
remains a mysterious and sometimes
frightening spray of light across the
night sky, but another member of the
solar system to be explored, like the
moon and Mars. For scientists, one of
the key mysteries that Rosetta mission
will explore is whether Earth‘s oceans
are filled with melted comets. Comet
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a
2.5-mile-wide ball of rock, ice and dust
moving faster than 40,000 mph.
4) The Indian Army convicted seven
soldiers, including two officers, in the
in-famous Machil fake encounter case
and sentenced them to life
imprisonment on 13 November 2014.
This incident involving staged killing of
three Kashmiri civilians took place on
which date? – 30 April 2010
Explanation: On 30 April 2010, three
civilians were lured to work as porters
for the Army in Kupwara district.
Instead, the Army killed them in a fake
encounter, applied black paint on the
clean-shaven faces of the slain, placed
weapons on them and said they had
killed foreign militants. It was later
found that they three were the three
civilians missing from Rafiabad. The
staged killings known as the Machil
fake encounter case became one of
the important reasons for the 2010
mass protests in Kashmir in which the
police and CRPF killed more than 120
young unarmed protestors.
5) According to the data released by
the World Gold Council (WGC) on 13
November 2014, India once again
emerged as world‘s biggest gold
consumer after it imported largest
amount of gold during the third quarter
of 2014. India overtook which country
to take number position once again? –
China
Explanation: India once again took
over as the world‘s biggest gold
consumer, buying 225.1 tonnes of gold
jewellery, coins and bars during third
quarter of 2014 quarter, compared to
182.7 tonnes in China. India, which
lost its crown as the leading gold buyer
to China in 2011, saw a 60% surge in
jewellery demand in the third quarter.
Last year‘s number one consumer
China saw a 39% drop in jewellery
consumption as well as a 30% fall in
bar and coin investment. According to
WGC‘s data total gold demand fell 2%
to 929 tonnes in the third quarter.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
6) Indian batsman Rohit Sharma
created ODI world record by scoring
264 runs against Sri Lanka at
Kolkata‘s Eden Garden on 13
November 2014. He also became the
first-ever batsman to score two double
centuries in ODI. Whose record he
broke to become highest individual
scorer in ODIs? – Virendra Sehwag
Explanation: Rohit Sharma
surpassed Virendra Sehwag‘s 219
runs to become highest individual
scorer in ODIs. He achieved this feat
against Sri Lanka in the 4th
ODI of the
series at Eden Gardens (Kolkata).
Powered by Sharma‘s record breaking
innings India batting first, finished at
mammoth 404 for 5 wickets and easily
defeated Sri Lanka in the match.
7) V R Krishna Iyer, who turned 100
on 13 November 2014 and whose
100th
birthday was celebrated with joy
all across Kerala, was a leading
luminary of which field? – Judiciary
Explanation: V R Krishna Iyer (also
known as Justice V R Krishna Iyer) is
a former Judge of the Supreme Court
of India. He is the last Supreme Court
judge to have previously served as a
politician as he had also served as a
minister in the first Communist
government in Kerala till 1959. In the
field of judiciary he is known as a
champion for civil rights and
democracy. Iyer is also an author of
over a 100 books on plethora of
subjects from law and judiciary to
travel and philosophy.
November 15-16, 2014
1) The G-20 Summit 2014 started on
15 November 2014 in Brisbane, the
capital of Queensland (Australia). This
summit is which edition of the meeting
of the G-20 heads of state? – Ninth
Explanation: G-20 (also known as
Group of 20) is a global forum of the
20 biggest economies of the world. It
includes the largest developed
countries of the world as well as the
largest developing countries. The
group comprises of 19 countries –
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa,
South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom
and United States. The 20th
member is
the European Union (EU). The
European Commission (EC) and the
European Commission (EC) represent
EU in G-20. Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi represented India in
the summit. 6 countries – Mauritania,

CURRENTAFFAIRS
Myanmar, New Zealand, Senegal,
Singapore, and Spain have been
invited as guest countries to the
summit.
2) According to an announcement
made by the Union Finance Ministry
on 14 November 2014, which two
States and three Union Territories
have achieved 100% banking inclusion
under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana (PMJDY) as on 5 November
2014? – Goa and Kerala (states) and
Chandigarh, Puducherry and
Lakshadweep (Union Territories)
Explanation: 100% banking inclusion
means having at least one bank
account for every household.
According to official data available till 5
November 2014, 11.26 lakh bank
accounts were opened in Kerala,
followed by 77,485 accounts in Goa,
1.36 lakh accounts in Chandigarh,
69,819 accounts in Puducherry and
3,588 accounts in Lakshadweep under
the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana
(PMJDY). States of Kerala and Goa,
union territories of Chandigarh,
Puducherry and Lakshadweep and
three districts of Gujarat — Porbandar,
Mehasana, Gandhinagar have been
declared as 100% saturated in terms
of coverage of all households with at
least one bank account.
3) The Union Govt. launched a
modified Direct Benefit Transfer of
LPG (DBTL) scheme in how many
districts on 15 November 2014? – 54
Explanation: Under this modified
DBTL scheme, LPG consumers who
have not yet availed the benefit will be
able to get cash subsidy amount
transferred into their accounts to buy
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)
cylinders at market price. Every time a
domestic LPG consumer books a
cylinder the government will transfer
Rs. 568 to the customers‘ bank
account so that the money would be
there in the account before gas
reaches their homes. Each household
is entitled to get 12 subsidized
cylinders a year. So those who have
already exhausted the quota will not
get any subsidy this year. This scheme
will be implemented in the rest of India
on 1 January 2015. Post
implementation of this scheme India‘s
LPG subsidy burden of Rs 48,000
crore is expected to come down by
15%. The Aadhaar linked DBTL
scheme was launched on 1 June 2013
and finally covered 291 districts. The
government has comprehensively
reviewed the scheme and after
examining the difficulties faced by the
consumer substantively modified the
scheme prior to the launch.
4) The Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircrafts
of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were
allowed to fly again from 15 November
2014 after being grounded since 22
October 2014. These aircrafts were
grounded after a Sukhoi fighter
crashed on 14 October. This crash
took place near which place? – Pune
Explanation: An IAF Sukhoi 30 MKI
fighter had crashed on 14 October
2014 in a village near Pune when it
was returning after a regular exercise.
After this the IAF had ordered an

CURRENTAFFAIRS
inquiry into the snag that led to this
crash and announced grounding all of
the around 200 fighters of this make till
completion of this probe. A team of the
IAF, HAL personnel and Russian
technicians are examining the reasons
for crash but grounding of the aircraft
was withdrawn from 15 November.
5) The Assembly of which
Northeastern state of India on 14
November 2014 adopted a motion
against attacks on people from
Northeast? – Mizoram
Explanation: The Mizoram Assembly
unanimously adopted a resolution
condemning racial attacks on people
from the Northeast and expressed
hope that such incidents do not take
place again. The resolution was
moved in the Assembly by Mizo
National Front (MNF) MLA Lalruatkima
who said that even 67 years after
independence, people from the
Northeast have been discriminated
against because of the colour of skin,
the built of body and even due to slant
eyes.
6) The Islamic State (IS) group on 14
November 2014 ordered that the
organisation start minting gold, silver
and copper coins for its own currency.
What is the name given to this
currency? – Islamic Dinar
Explanation: The plan to create its
own currency is part of IS‘ grandiose
plan to restore the caliphate era that
dominated the Middle East more than
1,300 years ago. It has already
prepared its own flag, formed courts
and ministries, issued passports and
even license plates. IS is the violent
Sunni jihadist group that has seized
parts of Syria and Iraq and plans to
take more areas in the Arabic region
under its fold.
November 17, 2014
1) Which Indian male badminton
player created history by defeating
two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of
China to win the China Open Super
Series tournament on 16 November
2014 – Kidambi Srikanth
Explanation: Kidambi Srikanth
shocked five time world champion and
two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of
China, who was also the home
favourite, by 21-19, 21-17 to win the

CURRENTAFFAIRS
title. Lin Dan is considered the
greatest badminton player of all time
and deemed invincible by all
contemporaries. This was the first time
that any Indian male shuttler had won
a Super Series Premier event ever
since the Super Series and Premier
tournaments were introduced. Srikanth
belongs to Guntur (Andhra Pradesh).
2) The 2014 summit of G-20 nations
concluded at Brisbane (Australia) on
16 November 2014. Which city would
host the 2015 Summit of G-20 next
year? –Antalya (Turkey)
Explanation: The G-20 Summit
concluded with world‘s most powerful
industrial economies pledging to grow
their combined economic output by an
extra 2.1%, i.e., around $2 trillion –
over the next five years. The ―Brisbane
Action Plan‖ was formulated to
achieve this goal through domestic
policy reforms.
3) Saina Nehwal‘s title win at the
China Open Super Series tournament
on 16 November 2014 completed a
rare doubles in singles for India.
Nehwal defeated which player in the
final to give Indian this rare double title
win? – Japan‟s Akane Yamaguchi
Explanation: Saina Nehwal defeated
Akane Yamaguchi by 21-12, 22-20 in
the finals. This was Saina‘s third title of
the year as she had won the
Australian Super Series in June,
besides clinching the Syed Modi
International Grand Prix Gold early in
the year.
4) Andhra Pradesh‘s Puttamaraju
Kandriga village came to news
recently due to which reason? –
Sachin Tendulkar adopted this
village under the Sansad Adarsh
Gram Yojna (SAGY)
Explanation: Sachin Tendulkar visited
this village on 16 November 2014 for
the first time after his announcement
to adopt it during October 2014. This
village is in Nellore district of Andhra
Pradesh and with a population of
around 400, depends primarily on
farming as a source of livelihood.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his
Independence Day speech had urged
all MPs to adopt a village each by
2016, and another two by 2019,
focusing on providing modern and
better services and infrastructure.
5) During November 2014 Microsoft
issued an emergency patch for a
dangerous bug that had existed in the
Windows operating system
undiscovered for 19 years. The bug,
which is present in every version of
Microsoft Windows from Windows 95
onward, allows an attacker to remotely
take over and control a computer. This
bug was discovered by cybersecurity
research team of which company? –
IBM Corp.
Explanation: The bug was discovered
by IBM‘s cybersecurity research team
in May 2014. It was revealed that a
hacker could take control of computers
after luring Internet Explorer browser
users to bobby-trapped Internet pages.
However, it was also revealed that

CURRENTAFFAIRS
there was no evidence that hackers
had managed to pull-off any such
move.
6) India whitewashed Sri Lanka by 5-0
in the ODI series by winning the final
ODI held at Ranchi on 16 November
2014. When was the last time when
India had whitewashed Sri Lanka in an
ODI series? – 1982
Explanation: This series win is India‘s
second ODI series whitewash over Sri
Lanka at home – the first since 1982,
when India had whitewashed it 3-0 in
the ODI series under the captaincy of
Kapil Dev. India won the final ODI at
Ranchi by 3 wickets under pressure
and were guided by a magnificent 139
not out by skipper Virat Kohli. Set to
chase a convincing target of 287 India
achieved the target with 8 balls to
spare. Virat Kohli was adjudged the
Man of the Series. Earlier Sri Lankan
skipper Angelo Mathews hit a brilliant
139 not out, the maiden century of his
career to steer his team to a
respectable score of 286.
November 18, 2014
1) Doordarshan National (DD
National), the national channel of
government-run Doordarshan, was re-
launched on 17 November 2014 with a
slew of new programming. This was
done in a bid to attract more viewers
and give a new feel to audience. What
was the slogan adopted for the
channel in this relaunch? –“Desh ka
Apna Channel”
Explanation: Doordarshan beamed
completely fresh content from 17
November to its viewers across the
country. It came out not just with new
programmes but also repackaged itself
in new theme colours – purple and
pink. Doordarshan had earlier put in
place new guidelines to acquire best
quality content to keep up with the
expectations of the audience. DD
National (also called DD1) is the
flagship TV channel of government-run
Doordarshan and has the widest reach
across the country.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
2) The report of Justice Mukul Mudgal
panel on match fixing in IPL was made
public on 17 November 2014. The
report gave a major relief to the
stepped down BCCI president N.
Srinivasan observing that it could not
be proved that he was involved with
betting activities. The report however
gave harsh comments on Raj Kundra,
co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, stating
that he was in touch with bookies who
indulged in betting. The report would
now be considered by the bench of
which two Justices of the Supreme
Court? – Justices T.S. Thakur and
Ibrahim Kalifulla
Explanation: The Mukul Mudgal panel
was constituted by the Supreme Court
to probe the allegations of spot-fixing
in IPL matches. The committee is
headed by Justice (Retd.) Mukul
Mudgal, former Chief Justice of the
Punjab and Haryana High Court. The
panel submitted its final report to the
Supreme Court during November 2014
after going through its probe
thoroughly. The copies of the report
were made public on 17 November
2014. The report also stated that
N.Srinivasan along with four other
BCCI officials was aware of the
violation of the Players Code of
Conduct of a prominent unnamed
individual. On Gurunath Meiyappan,
son-in-law of Srinivasan, the panel
said investigations have confirmed that
he was a team official of the franchise
Chennai Super Kings.
3) What is the name of the proposed
tallest temple in the world, the
foundation stone of which was laid by
the President Pranab Mukherjee on 16
November 2014? – Vrindavan
Chandrodaya Mandir (Vrindavan,
UP)
Explanation: The Vrindavan
Chandrodaya Mandir is being
constructed at Vrindavan by ISKCON
and it will be the tallest and the most
expensive temple in the World. It will
have height of around 700 feet (213
meters) and would cost around Rs.
300 crore ($49 million). A look-alike of
the verdant forests of Vrindavan will be
recreated around this magnificent
temple. It will be spread over a
sprawling 26 acres, it will consist of the
twelve forests of Braj, with varieties of
lush vegetation, green pastures,
elegant vistas of fruit bearing trees,
flower laden creepers serenaded by
bird songs, clear water lakes with
lotuses and lilies and water falls that
tumble from small artificial hillocks.
4) What is the name of the American
hostage who was killed by the militants
of Islamic State (IS) as claimed in a
video released by it on 16 November
2014? –Peter Kassig
Explanation: Peter Kassig was an
American aid worker from Indiana and
his family had claimed that he was
taken captive on his way to the Syrian
city of Deir al-Zor on 1 October 2013.
The announcement of Kassig‘s death,
the fifth such killing of a Western
captive by the Islamic State group,
formed part of a video posted online in
which IS showed the beheadings of at
least 14 men it said were pilots and
officers loyal to Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
5) Which important development
associated with the Japanese
economy came to news on 17
November 2014? – Its economy
unexpectedly slipped into recession
in the third quarter (July-September
2014)
Explanation: Japan is world‘s third
largest economy after the US and
China. Country‘s economy had been
forecast to rebound by 2.1% in the
third quarter of July-September 2014.
However, country‘s Gross domestic
product (GDP) fell by an annualised
rate of 1.6% during the quarter.
Country had already observed a huge
fall of 7.3% during the second quarter
(April-June 2014) following a rise in
the national sales tax. This latest slide
is expected to delay an unpopular
sales tax hike and call a snap election
halfway through Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe‘s term in office.
November 19, 2014
1) Nanavati Commission, lead by
Retd. Supreme Court Justice G.T.
Nanavati, submitted its final report to
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben
Patel on 17 November 2014. This
Commission is associated with which
subject? – Gujarat riots of 2002
Explanation: Nanavati Commission
was constituted in 2002 by the Gujarat
govt. to inquire the incidents of
violence (riots) that took place after the
Godhra incident. Godhra incident is
associated with the burning of S-6
coach of Sabarmati Express near
Godhra railway station in February
2002. More than 1,000 people, mostly
of minority community, were killed in
the Gujarat riots that followed this
incident. Initially, the Terms of
Reference (TOR) of the commission
were to inquire into the facts,
circumstances and course of events
that led to the burning of the S-6 coach
of Sabarmati Express. Later the TOR
were further amended in June 2002,
as per which the panel was also asked
to inquire the incidents of violence that
took place after the Godhra incident.
The commission was given 24
extensions of around six months each

CURRENTAFFAIRS
to complete its investigations. The
report of the commission is over 2,000
pages long.
2) Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), one of the
most popular small savings scheme in
India, was re-launched on 18
November 2014. It was discontinued
from November 2011 on the
recommendation of the Shyamala
Gopinath Committee. When KVP was
initially launched? – 1 April 1988
Explanation: The Kisan Vikas Patra
was launched initially in 1988 and
became one of the most popular small
savings instruments ever. However,
the Shyamala Gopinath Committee
(2011) recommended that it should be
discontinued as it was prone to
misuse, being a bearer-line
instrument. KVP was later
discontinued from November 2011.
But now Union govt. has relaunched
the scheme with an objective of giving
a boost to country‘s small savings
sector.
Click Here for Knowing all about Kisan
Vikas Patra
3) What is the name of the Chinese
supercomputer which was rated the
world‘s fastest supercomputer for the
fourth consecutive year in the biannual
Top500 list released in Washington on
17 November 2014? – Tianhe-2
Explanation: Tianhe-2 was developed
by China‘s National University of
Defence Technology and is installed at
the National Supercomputer Centre in
Guangzhou in south China. It can
operate at 33.86 petaflops per second
(Pflop/s), the equivalent of 33,860
quadrillion calculations per second.
Super computer Titan, installed at the
DOE‘s Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(US), remains the No. 2 system with a
performance of 17.59 Pflop/s. The No.
3 spot was acquired by Sequoia,
installed at the DOE‘s Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory.
4) Over 200 persons were injured
when hundreds of policemen and
followers of self-styled godman Sant
Rampal‘s followers fought a pitched
battle as the police tried to enter the
ashram to arrest the godman on 18
November 2014. The police who
wanted to execute a warrant against
Rampal, used tear gas, water cannon
and lathicharged Rampal‘s followers,
who responded by firing gunshots and
throwing acid pouches. Rampal‘s
ashram named ‗Satlok Ashram‘ is in
which town of Haryana? – Barwala
(Hisar district)
Explanation: The Punjab and
Haryana High Court had set a
deadline of 21 November 2014 for
producing him in a contempt case and
therefore the Haryana Government
was racing against time to get hold of
the ‗godman‘ to meet the deadline.
The standoff of several days between
the authorities and Rampal‘s
supporters took a violent turn on 18
November 2014 as they faced stiff
resistance from Rampal‘s supporters.
Rampal, who faces arrest in a murder
case, has been hiding in his ‗Satlok
Ashram‘ for nearly two weeks.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
5) According to the announcement
made by the Union Health Ministry on
18 November 2014, the Ebola virus
was found in the semen of a 26-year-
old man who had travelled from an
Ebola-infested West African country to
India and reached Delhi on 10
November 2014. He is under
treatment and cannot transmit the
virus as he has been kept in an
isolation facility. This man arrived from
which country? –Liberia
Explanation: The Union Health
Ministry said the semen tested positive
for the virus on two occasions.
Currently, this person does not have
any symptoms of the disease. This
person from Liberia is a recovered
case of Ebola and is in the shedding
stage. He can pass on the virus
through sexual contact and has
therefore been kept in isolation.
6) Which former cricketer was selected
for the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime
Achievement Award for 2014, given by
the Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI)? – Dilip Vengsarkar
Explanation: Dilip Vengsarkar is
regarded as one of India‘s best
batsmen. He is the only non-English
batsman to score three Test hundreds
at the Lord‘s cricket ground and is the
second Indian to have played 100
Tests. He was a member of the 1983
World Cup and the 1985 World
Championship winning Indian teams
and was rated the world‘s number one
batsman in the 1986-87 season. He
retired in 1992 and has since donned
the role of an administrator. He will be
handed a citation, trophy and cheque
for Rs. 25 lakh at the 8th
annual BCCI
Awards Ceremony.
November 20, 2014
1) What is the name of the internet
banking facility of Bharatiya Mahila
Bank Ltd (BMB) that was launched on
19 November 2014? –
„BMBSmartBanking‟
Explanation: BMB, India‘s first
women‘s bank completed one year of
operations on 19 November 2014. On
this occasion a newly designed
website of the bank was also
launched. The ‗BMBSmartBanking‘
was launched by
Ananthasubramanian, Chairman and

CURRENTAFFAIRS
Managing Director, BMB. BMB
currently has network of 33 branches
and all of them have core banking
solutions (CBS) with onsite ATMs.
2) The committee constituted to review
environmental laws in India submitted
its report to the Union Govt. on 18
November 2014. The committee was
constituted to provide the appropriate
actionables to the govt. in its move to
amend five key green laws to ensure
transparency in environmental
clearances. Who headed this
committee? – TSR Subramanian,
former Cabinet Secretary
Explanation: The Govt. feels that
suggestions of this committee would
help the Environment Ministry in
avoiding undue delays and ensure
transparency in clearances and
implementation of projects. But the
forming of this committee and its
report were protested by a section of
environmental activists due to the
absence of any environmental expert
in the committee. This section feels
that committee‘s suggestions could
result in complete dismantling‖ of laws
and institutions related to
environmental governance.
3) The controversial ‗godman‘ Sant
Rampal was arrested on 19 November
2014 from his besieged ‗Satlok
Ashram‘ in Barwala, Hisar (Haryana).
He has to be produced before the
Punjab and Haryana High Court in
Chandigarh by 21 November 2014 in
connection with a murder case. This
case pertains to which year? – 2006
Explanation: It is alleged that Rampal
had made derogatory remarks against
Arya Samaj‘s founder Swami
Dayanand Saraswati. In 2006 the
differences between his supporters
and the people of Arya Samaj
culminated in a clash that resulted in
the death of one person. A case was
registered against Rampal in this case
way back but he was able to skip legal
hearing 42 times. It was then that an
arrest warrant was issued against him
by the Punjab and Haryana High
Court. Before arresting Sant Rampal,
the police had managed to evacuate
15,000 of his followers.
4) What is the name of Indonesian
capital Jakarta‘s first Christian
governor in nearly 50 years who was
sworn in on 19 November 2014
despite protests from religious
hardliners opposing a non-Muslim
taking over this post? – Basuki
Tjahaja Purnama
Explanation: Basuki Tjahaja
Purnama, who is better known by his
nickname ―Ahok‖, is a Christian
belonging to the ethnic Chinese
minority. He has been serving as
acting governor since Joko Widodo
stepped aside last month to become
country‘s president. The post of
Governor of Jakarta is considered one
of Indonesia‘s most powerful political
jobs. Hundreds of religious hardliners
staged protests against Ahok‘s
appointment, underlining the
difficulties facing the president‘s battle
against intolerance in a nation with the
world‘s biggest Muslim population.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
5) 5 Israeli citizens, including one
security personnel, were killed in an
attack by 2 Palestinians on a Jewish
synagogue situated near Jerusalem on
18 November 2014. It was the
deadliest attack on Israeli civilians in
more than three years. This incident
took place in which ultra-Orthodox
neighborhood of Jerusalem? – Har
Nof
Explanation: Har Nof is an ultra-
Orthodox neighborhood in West
Jerusalem. The attack was carried out
at the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue
by two Palestinian assailants armed
with a gun, knives and axes. The
assailants, cousins from East
Jerusalem, were killed at the scene in
a gun battle with the police that injured
two officers.
6) What is the name of the newly
launched e-mail application of tech
giant IBM made available for
enterprises that integrates social
media, file sharing and analytics to
help increase productivity? – „Verse‟
Explanation: ‗Verse‘ is a single
platform e-mail application for
enterprises through which employees
can access emails, calendars, file
sharing, instant messaging, social
updates and video chats seamlessly.
IBM Verse is intended to help
enterprise customers unlock the full
potential of professionals and the
clients. The company‘s enterprise mail
service, known as Notes, is used by
companies worldwide, while more than
50,000 use IBM‘s social platform for
businesses, IBM Connections.
7) The first edition of the Champions
Tennis League (CTL) got underway
from 17 November 2014. CTL is styled
on the pattern of Indian Premier
League (IPL) and would feature some
of the top male and female players
from around the world. Who is the
promoter of CTL? – Vijay Amritraj
Explanation: CTL is the first mega
professional tennis event in India and
is promoted by Vijay Amritraj‘s sports
management company Second Serve.
It will feature six teams, one each from
Delhi (Delhi Dreams), Mumbai
(Mumbai Tennis Masters), Chandigarh
(Punjab Marshalls), Pune (Pune
Marathas), Bengaluru (Bangalore
Raptors) and Hyderabad (Hyderabad
Aces). Some of the great names from
tennis world to feature in CTL are
Venus Williams, Martina Hingis,
Jelena Jankovic, Juan Carlos Ferrero,
Thomas Enqvist, Mark Philippoussis,
Agnieszka Radwanska, Pat Cash,
Leander Paes, Greg Rusedski and
Marcos Baghdatis. The league would
conclude on 26 November 2014.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
November 21, 2014
1) Which bank would be merged with
Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) as
approved by the Board of Directors of
KMB on 20 November 2014? – ING
Vysya Bank
Explanation: As per as a notice to the
BSE by KMB, the KMB Board
approved a share swap ratio of 725
equity shares of Rs. 5 each of KMB for
every 1000 equity shares of Rs. 10
each held in IVB. This merger would
be first merger since 2010 in private
sector banking space when Bank of
Rajasthan was acquired by ICICI
Bank. ING Vysya Bank was the first
bank to come into existence through a
merger between an Indian bank and a
foreign bank when Dutch banking
group ING and Vysya Bank merged in
2002 to form this bank.
2) In an important development the
Supreme Court on 20 November 2014
removed the Director of India‘s
premier investigating agency – the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
from inquiry into one of the country‘s
largest financial swindles. Which case
is this? – 2G spectrum scam
investigation
Explanation: CBI Director Ranjit
Sinha was removed from 2G scam
investigation case as the Supreme
Court bench ruled that there is credible
information that he has been trying to
subvert his own agency‘s inquiry on
the telecom scam. Sinha has been
accused by lawyer-activist Prashant
Bhushan of trying to protect some of
the telecom executives that his agency
has charged with criminal conspiracy.
As evidence, Bhushan, during
September 2014, submitted a diary of
visitors to the CBI chief‘s home.
Regular house calls were made by
men who are named as the accused
by the CBI. The Supreme Court has
been monitoring the CBI‘s
investigation since 2010 based on a
petition by Prashant Bhushan. The
CAG in a report released in 2010, had
estimated the 2G spectrum scam
worth Rs. 1.76 lakh crore.
3) The International Film Festival of
India (IFFI) was inaugurated on 20
November 2014 at Goa, which is the
permanent venue for hosting the IFFI.
This is which edition of IFFI? – 45th
Explanation: The opening ceremony
of 45th
IFFI was held at Prasad
Mukherjee Stadium, Bambolim (Goa)
while screening of films was started at
Kala Academy, Panaji. The 11-day
cinematic extravaganza, which was

CURRENTAFFAIRS
inaugurated by Amitabh Bachchan,
would feature 178 films from 79
countries. First film to be featured in
the festival was Iranian filmmaker
Mohsen Makhmalbaf‘s film ‗The
President‗.
4) The Securities and Exchange Board
of India (SEBI) on 19 November 2014
approved new rules on insider trading
that will replace a two-decade old law.
Under the newly approved rule, which
new segment of people will be
considered insiders, i.e., persons
capable of influencing prices of shares
through the sensitive information they
possess about particular scrip/scrips?
– Immediate relatives of senior
management, other stakeholders
such as founders, and third-party
clients handling market sensitive
information
Explanation: The rules, which are
based on recommendations first
revealed late during 2013, broaden the
scope of who can be held liable for
insider trading violations and require
company officials to be more
transparent about their trading
activities. SEBI has widened the
definition of who exactly is an insider
by including persons in possession of
or with access to unpublished price
sensitive information. The definition
now states that all persons and their
immediate relatives with a contractual,
fiduciary or employment relationship
with the company will be considered
―connected persons‖. New insider
rules are part of efforts being done by
SEBI to boost investor confidence in
stock markets.
5) Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa on 19 November 2014
pardoned five Indian fishermen who
had been sentenced to death for drug
trafficking. This is expected to result in
significant reduction in tension
between India and Sri Lanka as the
death penalty triggered a diplomatic
row between the two. In which year
these 5 fishermen were arrested by Sri
Lankan Navy? – in 2011
Explanation: Sri Lankan Navy had
arrested these 5 fishermen, belonging
to Tamil Nadu, in 2011 on charges of
illegal poaching in Sri Lankan waters,
a charge denied by them. On 30
October 2014 a Sri Lankan court
sentenced them death penalty
triggering considerable anger in Tamil
Nadu. India has now welcomed the
death pardon by Mahinda Rajapaksa.
6) Four time Formula 1 (F1) champion
Sebastian Vettel of Germany would
join which F1 team in 2015 as
confirmed by the team on 20
November 2014? – Ferrari
Explanation: Vettel, who has been
associated with Austrian F1 team Red
Bull for 5 years, would leave it to join
Italian marquee team Ferrari by
replacing Spanish driver Fernando
Alonso. The deal would be for 3 years.
Vettel will partner Finland‘s 2007 world
champion Kimi Raikkonen, who has a
year remaining on his contract. Alonso
is expected to return to McLaren, the
team he spent a torrid season with in
2007.

CURRENTAFFAIRS
7) Which Spanish city has agreed to
enter into technical collaboration with
the Delhi Development Authority
(DDA) and New Delhi Municipal
Corporation (NDMC) to develop New
Delhi as a Smart City? – Barcelona
Explanation: Barcelona is hosting the
Smart City Expo World Congress in
which the Minister for Urban
Development, Housing and Urban
Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary
Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu
participated. He held talks with Xavier
Trias, the Mayor of Barcelona, in
which Trias announced that Barcelona
would be happy to cooperate with
India to develop its smart cities on the
lines of Barcelona. The Mayor agreed
to develop a technical collaboration
proposal in cooperating directly with
Delhi‘s municipal agencies DDA and
NDMC. Barcelona is regarded as the
foremost smart city of the world.
November 22, 2014
1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on
20 November 2014 asked banks to
inform their customers about fall in
minimum balance well in advance and
said that penal charges should be
levied only to the extent of shortfall in
such balances. The guidelines
pertaining to levying of penal charges
for non-maintenance of minimum
balance are coming into effect from
which date? – 1 April 2015
Explanation: The notification issued
by the RBI stated that the penal
charges should be directly
proportionate to the extent of shortfall
observed. Charges should be a fixed
percentage levied on the amount of
difference between the actual balance
maintained and the minimum balance
as agreed upon at the time of opening
of account. A suitable slab structure
for recovery of charges may be
finalized for the same.
2) Who will be the Chief Guest at the
2015 Republic Day celebrations of
India, as announced on 21 November
2014? – US President Barack
Obama
Explanation: Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had invited Barack
Obama to be the chief guest at the
Republic Day ceremony of 2015. This
invitation was delivered by Prime

CURRENTAFFAIRS
Minister during his visit to Myanmar
and Australia, when he met President
Obama at the East Asia summit and
the G-20 meeting of world leaders. On
21 November 2014 the official letter
from the White House was received
confirming this invitation. Obama
would thus become the first US
President to grace Republic Day
celebrations as the Chief Guest.
Obama‘s acceptance of Modi‘s invite
is also being seen as a major sign of
the deepening ties between India and
the US.
3) The Union Cabinet on 20 November
2014 approved the launch of
Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti
Yojana (DDUGJY), a rural
electrification scheme. This scheme
would replace which existing scheme
which was launched by the erstwhile
UPA Govt.? – Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY)
Explanation: Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) was
launched in March 2005 by the Union
Power Ministry with the objective of
electrifying over one lakh un-electrified
villages and to provide free electricity
connections to 2.34 Crore rural BPL
households. This scheme was later
brought under the ambit of Bharat
Nirman. The newly launched DDUGJY
will have components to separate
agriculture and non-agriculture feeders
facilitating judicious rostering of supply
to agricultural and non-agricultural
consumers in rural areas. The scheme
also includes strengthening and
augmentation of sub transmission and
distribution infrastructure in rural
areas, including metering of
distribution transformers and feeders.
The estimated cost of the scheme for
above two components is Rs. 43,033
crore which includes the requirement
of budgetary support of Rs 33,453
crore from the government over the
entire implementation period.
4) The Centre‘s decision to name the
domestic terminal of Hyderabad‘s
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
(RJAI) after which leader was opposed
vociferously in the Telangana
Assembly on 21 November 2014? –
NT Rama Rao, former Chief Minister
of Andhra Pradesh
Explanation: The Centre had on 20
November 2014 decided to name the
domestic terminal of Hyderabad airport
on late NT Rama Rao. While shifting
the international airport to
Shamshabad, the then Congress
Government named it after former
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi but chose
not to name the domestic terminal. On
21 November the leaders of
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and
Congress strongly opposed the
decision in Telangana Assembly. TRS
demanded that the govt. should have
chosen someone from Telangana to
name the airport.
5) Which IIT became the first IIT to be
made a full member of the CMS
collaboration of CERN, the European
Organization for Nuclear Research,
where physicists and engineers are
probing the fundamental structure of
the universe? – IIT Madras

Nov 2014

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