gk capsule for sbi po 2014 exam

8/12/2019 Gk Capsule for Sbi Po 2014 Exam

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www.edugaps.in EduGaps /Page No.[1]

GK CAPSULE FOR SBI PO 2014 Exam

About Poliy Rates

1. Basis points:It is the increase in interest rates in percentage terms. For instance, if the interest rate increases by 50

basis points (bsp), then it means that interest rate has been increase by 50%. One percentage point is broken

down into 100 basis points. Therefore, an increase from 2% to 3% is an increase of one percentage point or 100 basis

points.

2. CRR: Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI decides to

increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of

CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks. The current rate is 4%, which means for a cash deposit

of Rs. 100, the bank has to park 4 rupee with the central bank.

3. Repo rate:Repo rate is the policy rate and is part of RBIs Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF). It is the rate at

which commercial banks borrow from the RBI by selling their securities or financial assets to the RBI for a

shortperiod of time. It comes with an agreement that the sold securities will be repurchased by the commercial

banks from the RBI at a future date at predetermined price. The repo rate is used by the central bank to increase

liquidity in the system.

4. Reverse repo rate:Reverse Repo Rate is also a part of LAF. It is the rate of interest at which the central bank

borrows

funds from other banks for a short duration. The banks deposit their short term excess funds with the central bank

and earn interest on it. This rate is used by the central bank to absorb liquidity from the economy. Generally it is one

percentage less than the Repo rate.

5. Bank rate:The only way the bank rate is different from the repo rate is that the bank rate is the rate at which

banks borrow money from the central bank without any sale of securities. It is generally for a longer period of time

6. Marginal Standing Facility: The Reserve Bank of India in its monetary policy for 201112 introduced the marginal

standing facility under which banks could borrow funds from RBI when there is a considerable shortfall of liquidity.

This measure has been introduced by RBI to regulate shortterm asset liability mismatches more effectively. Under

this facility, banks can borrow up to 1% of their net demand.

7. Liquidity Adjustment Facility: Under this facility, banks borrow from the central bank by pledging government


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securities.

8. Statutory Liquidity Ratio: This is the percentage of deposits that banks must mandatorily hold in the form of

government bonds. SLR bonds are liquid assets that can be sold at a short notice to meet any unexpected demand

from depositors.

News related to RBI:

1. RBI, has decided that Indian companies will not be permitted to raise External Commercial Borrowings from overseas

branches or subsidiaries of Indian banks for refinance or repayment of the Rupee loans raised from domestic banking

system.

2. Raghuram Rajan, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that plastic currency notes will be

launched in 2015 after field trials.

3. RBI panel headed by ex.Chairman of Axis Bank, P. J. Nayak recommend for diluting govt stake in public sector

banks to below 50 %. The government should cut its holding in public sector banks to under 50 per cent,a Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) panel report on Tuesday said, criticising the way in which the lenders are now being governed.

4. Reserve Bank of India granted banking licences to infrastructure financing firm IDFC and microfinance institution

Bandhanfrom among 25 applicants that included corporate heavyweights ADAG Group, Aditya Birla Group and BajajGroup.

Note:The inprinciple approval granted (to the two entities) will be valid for a period of 18 months duringwhich the

applicants have to comply with the requirements under the guidelines and fulfil the other conditions as may be

stipulated by the RBI. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh: CMD of Bandhan financial services Dr. Rajiv B. Lall: Chairman of

IDFCInfrastructure Finance Company.

5. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the guidelines to allow the minors of age above 10 years to independently open and

operate savings bank accounts and use other facilities like ATM and cheque books.

6. RBI extended the timeline for full implementation of Basel III norms 31 March 2019instead of 31 March 2018.

7. RBI in consultation with Union Government on 1 April 2014 capped the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limits for

the first half of the new financial year 201415 (April 2014Sep 2014) at 35000 crore rupees.

Note: The interest rate on WMA/overdraft will be based on: a) WMA:Repo Rate. b) Overdraft: Two percent

above the Repo Rate

8. RBI extends date of exchanging pre2005 notes to Jan 1, 2015

Note: The Reserve Bank has further clarified that the public can continue to freely use these notes for any


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transaction. RBI has said that people can unhesitatingly receive these notes in payment, as all such notes continue to

remain legal tender.

9. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the trade related remittance limit from 2 lakh rupees to 5 lakhrupees per

transaction with immediate effect. It also increased the number of transaction handled by exchange houses.

10.KC Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, has quit three months ahead of completion of his term.

11.RBI pegged 201415 GDP growth at a central estimate of 5.5 percent.

12.Economic growth for 201415 expected at 5.5 pc.

13. CAD expected to come down to 2 pc of GDP in 2014 15.

14. Retail inflation expected to be under 6 pc in 2014.

15. RBI panel headed by RBI Deputy Governor Anand Sinhahas recommended bringing a benchmark floating interest

rate,

especially for home loans. Panel also suggested Indian Banks Base Rate (IBBR).

16.The deadline for switching to new format bank cheques under the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) ended on 30 April

2014.

17.RBI scraps 26% cap on interestrate for MFIs: (RBI) removed 26 per cent cap on the interest rate that can be

charged by a microfinance company to its borrowers. MFI is allowed to charge interest rate equal to 2.75 times the

average of the base rates of the top five commercial banks.

18.RBI permits 4 non-bank entities to setup white label ATMs: The Reserve Bank has issued certificate of

authorisation to four nonbank entities:

(1) Tata Communications Payment Solutions

(2) Muthoot Finance,

(3) Prizm Payment Services and

(4) Vakrangee Ltd. , to set up White Label ATMs (WLAs) in the country.

Note:Most of the ATMs belong to banks, but the cash dispensing machines which are owned and operated by nonbanking

companies are called White Label ATMs.

19.RBI permits Srei to roll out white label ATMs: Srei Infrastructure Financeis planning to start rollout of its whilelabel ATMs (WLAs) between July and September starting with a pilot of 200 TierIII towns in Uttar Pradesh and

Bihar.

20.The expert committee headed by Urjit R. Patel, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India examine the current

monetary policy framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has suggested that the apex bank should adopt the

new CPI (consumer price index) as the measure of the nominal anchor for policy communication. The nominal anchor or

the target for inflation should be set at 4 per cent witha band of +/2 per cent around it.

21.Ex-ChairmanofAxisBank,P.J.Nayak is the head of theexpert panel to review bank boards governance.The

panel will review the RBI's regulatory guidelines on ownership of banks and representation in their boards, among


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Foreign exchange reserves up by $15 billion

Foodgrain production estimated at 263 million tons in 201314

3 more industrial corridors ChennaiBangalore, BangaloreMumbai, AmritsarKolkata under various stages of

implementation

GDP growth rate in Q3 and Q4 of 201314 will be at least 5.2%

FDI Limits

Sr no. List of Limits in Various Sectors (In %)1. Defence 262. Pension 493. Insurance 494. Print Media 265. Civil Aviation 496. Public Sec.Banks 20

7. Private Sec.Banks 748. Multi Brand 519. Single Brand 10010. Tourism 100

India GDP Forecast:

RBI pegged 201415 GDP growth at a central estimate of 5.5 %

WorldBank lowers Indias GDP growth forecast for 201415 at 5.7 %

ADB pegs India GDP growth rate for201415 at 5.5%

IMF projectedGDP growth for India in 201415 at5.4%

India ranking in different Indexes for 2013 14:

1. Global Environment PerformanceIndex 2014 155

2. Intellectual property (IP) environment 2014 25 (US ranked on the top followed by UK and France)

3. World Press Freedom Index 2014 140 in the list of 180 countries.

4. Nuclear material security index 2014 23rdout of 25 countries

5. World's best countries for doing business 2014 98th (Irelandtopped the list).

6. Social Progress Index 2014: 102 out of 132

7. Global Hunger Index 2013 63

8. World Prosperity Index 2013 106. Norway tops the list.

9. Global Gender Gap Report 2013 101. Iceland tops the list.

10. Global Peace Index 2013 141

11. Human Development Report 2013136

12. Global Corruption Index 2013 94

13. Global Competitiveness Index 201360 for 2013 (Switzerland top in this report)

14. Gender Inequality Index 2013 132nd (UN Human Development (Index) Report)


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Some Important Economic Terms:

1. Bond: A certificate of debt (usually interestbearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in

Order to raise money; the bond issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed

sum to repay the principal.

2. Balance sheet: Record of the financial situation of an institution on a particular date by listing its assets and the claims

against those assets.

3. Balance of tradeThe part of a nation's balance of payments that deals with merchandise (or visible) imports orexports.

4. Closed economy: A closed economy is one in which there are no foreign trade transactions or any other form of economic

contacts with the rest of the world.

5. Deflation:Deflation is the continuous decrease in prices of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate

becomes negative (below zero) and stays there for a longer period.

6. Debenture: Debenture is a loan issued by a firm, involving g a fixed repayment schedule, in terms of both time and

interest.

7. Debit: Money paid out from an account either from a withdrawal or a transaction that result in decreasing the cash

balance.

8. Equity: Equity is a one financial instrument by which company invite the public to invest their money in the company and

investor can become a partner of the company. Generally, when the company have insufficient money to expand its

business it comes with equity shares.

9. Economic growth An increase in the total output of a nation over time. Economic growth is usually measured as the

annual rate of increase in a nation's real GDP

10.Excise Tax Taxes imposed on specific goods and services, such as cigarettes and gasoline.

11.Exports Goods or services produced in one nation but sold to buyers in another nation.

12.Fiscal policy: Fiscal policy defines the use of government spending and revenue collection to influence the economy.

13.Foreign Direct Investment (FDI):Investment of foreign assets directly into a domestic company's structures,

equipment, and organizations. It does not include foreign investment into the stock markets

14.Foreign Exchange (FOREX): Foreign Exchange (FOREX) is the arena where a nation's currency is exchanged for

that of another.

15. GDP:GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. It is a method of measuring the size of economy of a country. We can

define as the total market value of all the goods and services produced in a given period of time in a country.

16.GNP: The total value in money of all finished good and services produced in an economy in one full year, and all net

property income from abroad. The GNP growth rate is an important economic indicator for countrys economic

development.

17. Imports:commodities (goods or services) bought from a foreign country.


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18. Inflation:Inflation is as an increase in the price of bunch of Goods and services that projects the Indian economy.

An increase in inflation figures occurs when there is more demand and less supply of the goods.

19. Mutual Fund:There are accumulation and collection of many different types of shares. It is when investors

together want to buy securities as a group, this fund can be called a mutual fund. Each and every investor of this

group has a proportional stake in the shares based on the amount he has contributed.

20. Monetary policy:It is the process by which the central bank, or monetary authority of a country controls (i) the

supply of money, (ii) availability of money, and (iii) cost of money or rate of interest.

21. National incomeThe amount of aggregate income earned by suppliers of resources employed to produce GNP; net

national product plus government subsidies minus indirect business taxes.

22. Per Capita Income:The total national income divided by the number of people in the nation, It means the share of

each individual when the income from the productive activities is divided equally among the citizens.

23. Sales tax Taxes paid on the goods and services people buy.

24. Stock A certificate reflecting ownership of a corporation.

25. Tax: A fee charged by a government on a product, income, or activity. If tax is levied directly on personal or

corporate income, then it is a direct tax. If tax is levied on the price of a good or service, then it is called an

indirect tax.

26. VAT: VAT is the indirect tax on the consumption of the goods, paid by its original producers upon the change in

goods or upon the transfer of the goods to its ultimate consumers. It is based on the value of the goods, added by

the transferor. It is the tax in relation to the difference of the value added by the transferor and not just a profit.

All over the world, VAT is payable on the goods and services as they form a part of national GDP.

27. Wholesale Price Index (WPI):The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) takes into account the wholesale prices of

identified commodities for calculating rate of inflation.

Important Committees in News:

1. PJ Nayak: to reviewGovernance of Boards of Banks in India. The committee was constituted under the

chairmanship of P. J. Nayak. He is a former Chairman and CEO of Axis Bank.

2. M P Bezbaruah: to suggest suitable remedial measures to address concerns regarding security of people from North

East.

3. B. Sambamurthy: panel favours single mobile banking app on all SIMs. Panel recommended that customers should not

be required to visit the bank branch for mobile number registration.

4. BCCI suggests threeman committee to SC to probe IPL scandal. Ravi Shastri,former Calcutta High Court Chief

Justice J N Pateland exCBI Director R K Raghavanas members of the probe committee.

5. Vijay KelkarCommittee was appointed by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to prepare a road map to make


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India selfsufficient in oil and natural gas by 2030.

6. Vishnu Sahay committee: look probe into the Muzaffarnagar communal violence.

7. Urjit Patel Committeeto examine the current monetary policy framework

8. Mukul Mudgal member panel to probe IPL spotfixing

9. Nachiket Morcommittee on comprehensive financial services for small businesses and lowincome households.

10. Justice A.P. Shah committee: to head panel on road safety

11. Anil Kaushal committee: to examine the recommendations made by the TRAI on pricing of Spectrum.

12. Bimal Jalan panel: to scrutinize applications for new bank licenses.

13. Parthasarathi Shome. for Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC), Suggest a system to enforce better tax

compliance

14. Kirit Parikh panel : on fuel pricing has suggested that the diesel prices should be increased by Rs 1 1.50 a litre every

month as against the 4550 paise monthly hike followed currently.

15. K U.B. Rao : the idea of setting up Bullion Bank or Bullion Corporation of India16. C Rangarajan Panel recommended the pricing of natural gas by a complex methodology of arriving at an average of

International gas hub prices.

17. Arvind Mayaram Panel: report on the alleged irregularities at the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL)

18. Arvind Mayaram Committee for giving clear definitions to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign

Institutional Investment (FII)

19. Suma VermaCommittee to update, and revise the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006

20. Damodran Committee: on improvement of customer services in banks

21. Shri M. Narasimham Committee: on Banking Sector Reforms22. Shri Raghuram Rajan Committee: on Financial Sector Reforms,

23. Shri B. Mahapatra Committee: to review the existing prudential guidelines on restructuring of advances by

banks/financial institutions

24. Shri Aditya Puri Committee: Dissemination of Credit Information

25. Shri K.U.B. Rao Committee: recommended aligning gold import regulations

26. K M Chandrasekhar committee : for rationalization of foreign investment norms

27. Shri Pulak Kumar Sinha Committee: to study the feasibility of Aadhaar as an additional factor for authentication of

card present transactions

28. Mukul Mudgal Committee: looking into US giant Walmart's lobbying activities to enter India

29. MBN Rao Committee: to prepare the blueprint of Indias first womens bank

30. JS Mathur committee : to revise Newspaper Advertisement Rates.

31. K. Ratna Prabha : Committee on indecent depiction of women in media

News Related to Banking & Finance

1. India recently launched its ownpayment gateway 'RuPay', equivalent of Visa and Mastercard, which will work on


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ATMs and merchant outlets and help in reducing cash transactions.

Note: i. RuPay, which works on three channels ATMs, Point of Sales (POS) and online sales, is the seventh such

payment gateway in the world.

ii.The RuPay platform developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)is being used by certain

banks like ICICI, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, among others, for clearing and settlement.2. India became third largest economyin 2011 from 10th in 2005: World Bank.

3. Note:India emerged as the worldsthirdlargest economy in 2011 from being the 10th largest in 2005, moving ahead

of Japan, while the US remained the largest economy closely followed by China, latest figures have revealed.

4. Govt accepts Sahoo panel reporton review of depository receipts scheme. The key recommendations of the

committee include allowing issuance of depository receipts against any underlying securities equity or debt, by any

issuer listed or unlisted. Note: Depository receipts are receipts denominated in foreign currency created by a

depository in the country of listing. There are two popular types of depository receipts global depository receipts

and American depository receipts.5. ING Vysya Life InsuranceCompany Ltd has become Exide Life Insurance Company. The insurance company will

continue to honour its commitments and obligations under the insurance policies issued to customers in the name of

ING Vysya Insurance Company Ltd.

6. Switzerland and Norway are the world's most expensive economies, followed by Bermuda, Australia and Denmark,

according to a new ranking by the World Bank

7. SBI launches 3 Digital banking facilities for its customers

i.Tab Banking for Saving A/C Opening Savings a/c at Customers door step using tablet PC provided to the Banks Sales Staff (who visit

the Customers home).

ii.TAB Banking for Home Loan Inprinciple approval for the home loan at customersdoor step using tablet PC provided to the Banks

Home Loan Sales Team which will capture on the tablet KYC details and details.

iii.eKYC Generates eKYC (Know Your Customer) identity document.

8. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) launched an Institutional Trading Platform(ITP) to help Small and Medium

Enterprises (SMEs) and startup companies to list on the bourses without an Initial Public Offer (IPO).

9. Basel Committee issued Final standards to curb exposures of banks to customers. The Basel Committee on Banking

Supervision on 15 April 2014 issued Final standards for measuring and controlling large exposures of banks to

customers. These standards will take effect from 1 January 2019

10. Bank of India (BOI)has become the first Indian bank to extend a bridge loan of $200 millionto Air India to

finance the

purchase of two Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

11. India leads global remittances with USD 70 bn in 2013. India's neighbour China follows second with USD 60 billion,

said the World Bank report

12. World Trade Organisation (WTO) projected that the world trade will grow by 4.7 percent in 2014.

13. The World Bank give loan Pakistan 12 billion dollars over the next five years to help lift its economy,

14. Qatar based Doha Bank announced itsFirst branch in Mumbai. The branch in Mumbai will be opened as a fullfledged

bank in May 2014. Note:Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, Abu Dhabi Bank are the two other banks from Arab countries to


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have operations in India before Doha bank.

15. Bank of India (BOI) launched Instant Money Transfer (IMT) schemein Mumbai.

Note:IMT scheme allows customers to withdraw cash without using either debt card or credit card at BoI's

IMTenabled ATMs. This is the firstofitskind initiative launched by a public sector bank.

16. Kotak Mahindra launches accounts integrated with Facebook, Twitter.

17. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fundhas bagged Morningstar Indias best fund house award in the debt, equity and

multiasset category.

18. ADB pegs India GDP growth rate for 201415 at 5.5 pc

19. Inflationbased on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) reached a 3month high of 5.7% in March 2014.

20. Wholesale Inflation falls to 9month low of 4.68 per cent in Feb

21. Kotak Mahindra Bank announced the launch of Jifi, a firstofitskind fully integrated social bank account that

transcends normal digital banking by seamlessly incorporating social networking platforms like Twitter and

Facebook with mainstream banking.22. ExportImport Bank of India extended a Line of Credit of $89.90 million to the Government of Republic of Congo,

for development of transportation system in the Republic of Congo.

23. Central Bank of India has sold its entire stake in credit information provider CIBIL to Transunion International Inc.

Central Bank had a 5 per cent stake in CIBIL while Transunion is the majority shareholder in CIBIL at 27.5 per cent.

24. Canara Bank names cricketer Shikhar Dhawan as its brand ambassador.

25. Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank set World record for Blood collection in a single day. The

blood donation camp organised by HDFC Bank on 6 December 2013 was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

26. The World Bank has said it would provide up to $3 billion in aid for Ukraine in 2014 to help the country delivermuchneeded economic reforms.

27. Max Life Insurance has tied up with Toyota Financial Services India Ltd to provide insurance cover to car loan

customers.

28. Bihar emerges as fastest growing state (15.05 per cent) in 201213: CSO Report.

Note: According to the CSO data, Gujarat ranked 6thwith growth rate at 7.96 per cent, behind Bihar and Madhya

Pradesh with 9.89 per cent, Goa 8.47 per cent, Kerala 8.24 per cent and Odisha 8.09 per cent. The allIndia growth

rate in 201213 was 4.47 per cent.

29. Indian Bank has bagged national award for excellence in lending to micro enterprises for 20122013, for the

consecutive second year.

30. Corporation Bank has bagged the awards for lending to MSE (micro and small enterprises) and to micro enterprises

from the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for 201213.

31. The Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, BBK, plans to expand its operations in India by opening its fourth branch in the

country in New Delhi.

32. Interest rate on Post Office FDsincreasedby up to 0.2 percent from 8.2 percent to 8.4 percent.

33. Indias 1st post office savings bank ATM inaugurated in Thyagaraya Nagar, Chennai.

34. SEBI approved the new Corporate Governance norms. The new corporate governance norms would become

applicable for all listed companies with effect from 1 October 2014.


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35. Wholesale inflation eased to a sevenmonth low of 5.05 per cent in January, on decline in the rate of price rise in

food articles, mainly vegetables.

36. Retirement fund body EPFO decided to increase the rate of interest on Provident Fund deposits to 8.75 percent

from8.5 percent.

37. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has sanctioned Rs 348.63 crore to Karnataka under Rural

Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).

38. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided $400 million first tranche line of credit to India Infrastructure

Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) to help accelerate infrastructure growth through increased private sector investment.

39. Asian Development Bank will provide USD 275 million loan for improving rural road connectivity in five states

including Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal in the country.

40. Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) and SBI Cards have joined hands for rollout of credit cards to customers of Indias

first womenfocused commercial bank

41. Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), the first allwomen bank, tied with New India Assurance to launch health insuranceproducts for women account holders of the bank.

42. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) and RBI concluded an agreement that expands the maximum amount of the bilateral swap

arrangement (BSA) between the two countries to USD 50 billion.

Note: BOJ Governor is Haruhiko Kuroda and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan

43. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has reduced refinance rate for banks and other

lending agencies by 0.20 per cent to promoterural credit and rural infrastructure.

Note: The revised rate of interest on refinance for a period of five years for commercial, state cooperative,

regional rural and primary urban cooperative banks will be 9.70 per cent, down from 9.90 per cent.44. SEBI grants new status to three clearing corporationsto National Securities Clearing Corporation, Indian

Clearing Corporation and MCXSX Clearing Corporation.

45. IMF projected 5.4 percent economicgrowth for India in 201415

46. WB (World Bank) projected economic growth rate of 5.7% for India in 201415fiscal

47. World Bank will provide $250 millionloan to construct disaster resilient houses and roads in disasterhit

Uttarakhand.

48. World Bank will provide $500 millionloan for water supply and sanitation projects in the rural areas of Assam,

Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

49. World Bank will provide 50 million dollarassistance to Afghanistanto support the government's efforts to

improve access to credit for micro, small and medium enterprises.

50. LIC has relaunched its Jeevan Anand plan, a participating nonlinked plan which offers an attractive combination

of protection and savings.

51. Govt launches inflation indexed saving bonds which offer protection to retail investors from price rise. The

minimum limit for investment is Rs 5,000 and the maximum is Rs 5 lakh per applicant per annum. Interest rate would

be linked to Consumer Price Index (CPI).

52. The worlds first Bitcoin storage service that insures deposits of the digital currency against hackers and

accidental loss has opened in London.


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53. Economic growth in India projected at 5.35% in 2014, says UN report

54. UN projected the global economy to grow at a pace of 3 per cent in 2014 and 3.3 per cent in 2015.

55. Indian Overseas Bank launched Connect Card,a new ATM cum Debit card in association with VISA that can be

used for ecommerce across five lakh merchant outlets.

56. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved American retail giant Walmart Stores Inc's proposal to acquire

Bharti Group's nearly 50 per cent stake in their Indian wholesale stores joint venture.

57. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) projected a credit potential of Rs 12726.83

crore in the state focus paper (SFP) for the year 2014 15 in Uttarakhand under the priority sector.

Important News (India & World):

1. Bharatiya Janata Party wins 282 seats as the NDA bags 334 in General Elections 2014. The BJP led NDA is set to

form the new Government at the Centre with a massive win in the Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party hassecured an absolute majority on its own by winning 282 seats.

2. BJP wins 71 seats in UP. In Uttar Pradesh results of all 80 constituencies have been declared. Bharatiya Janata

Party has 71 seats.Ruling Samajwadi Party has won 5 seats and twoseats each has been won by the Congress and

the BJP ally Apana Dal.

3. India will become the worlds third largestoil consumer by 2025 according to the US Energy Information

Administration (EIA). The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its annual Energy Outlook on 7

May 2014. At present, India is the fourth largestoil consumer in the world behind the US, China and Japan.

4. Actorfilmmaker Kamal Haasan led the Indian delegation at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival inauguratedin Cannes, France on 14 May 2014.

5. The United Nationsand the International OlympicCommittee has signed a historic agreement to use the power of

sports to promote peace and economic development.

Note:IOC President: Thomas Bach

6. European Union bans Indian Alphonso mangoes, veggies from May 1. The 28member European Union has

temporarily banned the import of Alphonso mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India from May 1,

sparking protests from the Indian community, lawmakers and traders.

Note: The recent decision by the grouping's Standing Committee on Plant Health came after 207 consignments of

fruits and vegetables from India imported into the EU in 2013 were found to be contaminated by pests such as

fruit flies and other quarantine pests.

7. Microsoft acquires Nokia's mobile phone business for $7.5bn.The Finnish company will now focus on networks,

mapping services and technology development and licences.

Note: Former Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop has become executive vice president of the Microsoft devices

group

8. The Supreme Court of India appointed former judge of the High Court of Australia, Michael Hudson McHugh as the

third arbitrator to resolve the dispute between the Central government and Mukesh Ambaniled Reliance Industries

Ltd (RIL) on KG basin.


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9. SC recognizes transgender as third category of sex. In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Monday

recognised transgenders or eunuchs as third category of gender and directed Centre and states to grant them all

facilities including voters ID, passport and driving licence.

10. WHO certifies India as a poliofree nation.

11. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) panel announced that Cherrapunji in India regained the world record for

highest rainfall in 48 hours with 2493 millimeters.

12. Russia suspended from G8 group:The G7 group of top economic powers have kicked out Russia from the powerful

G8 over its annexation of Crimea and threatenedtoimposefar-reachingsanctionsifMoscowcontinuedits

incursionintoUkraine.

ii. The US and six other economic powers also scrapped the G8 summit to be hosted by Russia in Sochi in June to

build pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin againsthismilitaryactioninUkraine.

About Crimea

i.The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an autonomous parliamentary republic within Ukraine and is governed by theConstitution of Crimea in accordance with the laws of Ukraine.

ii.The capital is the city of Simferopol, located in the center of the peninsula. Crimea's area is 26,200 square

kilometers.

iii.The Crimean peninsula, the main flashpoint in Ukraine's crisis, is a pro-Russia part of Ukraine, separated from the

rest of the country geographically, historically and politically. It also hosts Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine has

accused Russia of invading it.

13. IFFCO gets approval to set up $ 1.6 bn urea plant in Canada.

14. Global pharma major Novartis acquire GlaxoSmithKlineplc's (GSK).15. Andhra Pradesh has recorded highest growth in terms of milk production at over 41 per cent and per capita milk

availability about 36 per cent, during the period 200610.

16. A US jury ordered Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to pay $119.6 millionto Apple Inc, a big loss for the iPhone maker

in the latest round of their globespanning mobile patent litigation.

17. Cadbury India Limited announced to change its name to Mondelez India Foods Limited. Cadbury India Limited is a

subsidiary of Mondelez International Inc.

18. Vietnam (Hanoi) decided not to host the 2019 Asian Gamesfor financial reasons, and was exploring procedures to

withdraw from staging the region's largest sporting event.

19. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (SPL) announced that it will acquire 100 per cent of Ranbaxy Laboratories in a $ 4

billion allshare transaction.

20. Deadly Heartbleedvirus arrives in Indian cyberspace.

21. Jammu and Kashmir became the first state in the country to declare all election booths in the coming Lok Sabha

polls as no smoking zones.

22. IRV 2020programme has been launched by WHOIndia, with an aim to protect and increase the population of the

onehorned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis).

23. Workdays for tribals under MNREGAraised from 100 to 150. Those tribals who have received land rights under

the Forest Rights Act, 2006 will be eligible for additional 50 days of wage employment under the rural job scheme.


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24. India nominated RanikiVavlocated in Patan, Gujarat and the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Himachal

Pradesh for UNESCOs World Heritage Site Status for 2014.

25. Vandana Foundation launchedAQUATM in Mumbai: The AQUATM is a water vending machine from which water can

be purchased. This water wending machine will release 1 liter water at a price of 1 rupee.

26. Air India is all set to join the world's largest airline grouping, Star Alliance, this July, making it the first airline

from India to be part of a global chain of carriers.

27. Gujarat state has been ranked number one in a list of India's 20 largest states in terms of economic freedom.

28. Google partners with Raybanfor Google Glass.

29. India is Dubais largest non oil trading partner in 201314

30. In the biggestever deal signed at the India Aviation Show, SpiceJet has inked an agreement with Boeing for

purchase of 42 737 MAX 8 aircraft costing Rs. 26,000 crore ($ 4.4 billion).

31. Kelloggs ropes in Deepika Padukone as brand ambassador for Special K

32. Mauritius President Rajkeswar Puryaag is the chief guest at Global Ayurveda Fest in Kerala33. National Waqf Development Corp. Limited is a new Central Public Sector Enterprise in New Delhi.

Note: It will be remain under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. National Waqf Development Corporation (NAWADCO)

has been established with an authorized share capital of Rs.500 Crore.

ii. The corporation has been establishment as a followup of the recommendation of Sachar Committee.

34. Social media giant Facebook will acquire mobile messaging company WhatsApp for 19 billion dollars in a cash and

stock deal, the largest acquisition by the Mark Zuckerbergled firm. Under the agreement, WhatsApp cofounder

and CEO Jan Koumwill join Facebook Board of Directors.

Note: WhatsApp, headquarters is in California's Mountain View.35. Odia declared as classical language. So far, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam have been declared as

classical languages.

36. Google and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) jointly launched 360degree panoramic imageryof 30 out of 100

"nationallyimportant monuments" including Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Jantar Mantar and Qutub Minar

among others, viewable to onethird of the world's population.

37. Cheteshwar Pujara, the middle order batsman of Indian cricket team appointed as the brand ambassador of the

Gujarat State Election Commission.

38. Countrys first Minority Cyber Village opened in Chandoli in Alwar district of Rajasthan.

39. Sikkim achieves over 100 percent sanitation. Sikkim has become the only state in the country to achieve more than

100 percent sanitation in rural and urban households, schools, sanitary complexes and Aanganwadi centres.

40. Indias first monorail service launched in Mumbai. The first phase covers 8.9 km long WadalaChembur section.

41. Belgium became second country to allow Mercy Killing for Children. Parliament of Belgium on 14 February 2014

legalised death to terminally ill children of any age.

Note: Other European countries that allows active euthanasia are: 1. Luxembourg,which permits active euthanasia

for over 18 years in age. 2. Switzerlandlets doctors to help adult patients to commit suicide

42. India is the worldslargest arms importer: SIPRI. The new data has ranked China and Pakistan second and third

respectively as the largest arms importer. The report published by as Swedish Think Tank, Stockholm International


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Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has claimed that India continues to be the largest buyer of arms in the world.

43. India became third largest crude oil importer in the World.

Worlds Top Five OilImporting Countries are: 1.China, 2.U.S.A:, 3.India 4.Japan 5.Germany

44. Facebook with more than 1.2 billion users worldwide is celebrating its 10th birthday on 3rdFeb 2014.

45. Six Public Sector Units (PSUs) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up the Worldslargest4000 MW ultra solar power project in Rajasthan. The project will be the largest single location solar plant spread

across 19000 acres at Sambhar in Rajasthan.

46. The Ministry of Railways and the Government of Karnataka signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the

setting up of a rail coach factory at Kolar in Karnataka.

47. Cabinet approves quota hike of subsidised LPG cylinders from 9 to 12.

48. Kerala wins UN award: Kerala Tourism has been conferred the United Nations Awardfor creating innovative

initiatives for sustainable tourism, the first time India has ever won the recognition.

49. Odisha's Chilika lagoon, hotspot for biodiversity, has been named 'destination flyways' by United Nations WorldTourism Organization (UNWTO) following its inclusion in a list of eight such sites worldwide.

Note:Chilika is the only site to be selected from Asia by the UNWTO.

50. Japanese PM (Shinzo Abe) is the Chief Guest at Indias65thRepublic Day celebrations on 26thJanuary 2014.

51. The Jain community was accorded minority status by the central government, which will enable them to avail of

benefits in government schemes and programmes. The Jains became the sixth community to have minority status

after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.

52. Amul launches Indiasfirst milk ATMin Gujarat.

53. Sourav Ganguly conferred Doctor of Letters degree by the prestigious Bengal Engineering and Science University

(BESU), Shibpur, for his great contribution to Indian cricket.

54. Delhi became first state to withdraw FDI in Multibrand Retail.

55. India has been ranked 98th in the Forbes list of world's best countries for doing business that has cited poverty,

corruption and discrimination against girls among the challenges facing the country. Ireland topped the list.

56. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has ranked India as No 3 among the list of top 10 countries for LEED

outside of the United States.

57. Prince Harry has become the first British royal to reach the South Pole after a three week charity trek with

injured military veterans from Britain, the U.S., Canada and Australia.

58. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkarhas been named the regional brand ambassador by the UNICEF to promote its Total

Sanitation Campaign in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

59. The Petroleum Conservation Research Association under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has selected

Andhra Pradeshfor the award of best performing State amongst the big states for the oil and gas conservation

programmes.

60. Gorakhpur railwaystation entered Limca Book of Records as worlds longest platform

Note:Before the platform number one of Gorakhpur, the platform of Kharagpur railway station of West Bengalhad

the distinction of being worldslargest platform with length of 1072.5 meters.


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61. India ranks 140 inthe list of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2014, whereas China and Pakistan

were placed at 175th and 158th position respectively.

62. India was ranked 94th out of 177 countries on Global Corruption Perception Index 2013, which was released by

Transparency International. Denmark and New Zealand tied for first place.

63. India has been ranked 23rd out of 25countries in nuclear material security index. China has been ranked at 20th

spot, while Pakistan stands at 22nd place.

64. India ranked 155thin GlobalEnvironment Performance Index

65. India ranks at the bottom of the list of 25countries in terms of its intellectual property (IP) environment. US

ranked on the top followed by UK and France.

66. Cumbria University of UK became the first public university to accept fees in digital currency, Bitcoin. A system

for processing the payments is already operational.

67. Dhoom 3has become Bollywoods highest revenue grosser of all times in just a fortnight after its pan India

release.68. Chile took its seat at the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) as a non permanent member of the international

body till Dec 31, 2015.

69. Nepal and India have agreed in principle to allow circulation of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denomination Indian bank notes

within Nepalese territory, ending a ban in place for over a decade.

Note:The decision to scrap the 2010 deal was taken nearly a year after reports surfaced that two top officials of the

company had allegedly paid bribes to bag the contract. Former IAF chief S P Tyagi is one of the accused in the case,

which is being probed by CBI.

70. India cancels 3,600 crore rupee VVIP choppers deal with AngloItalian firm Agusta WestLand.71. Europe launched Gaia satellite,one of the most ambitious space missions in history.

72. Alstom bagged 125 million euro contract from BHEL for Neyveli New Thermal Power Project. The contract is to

supply components and services for the 1000 MW Neyveli New Thermal Power Project (NNTPP) of Neyveli Lignite

Corporation located in Tamil Nadu.

Note:Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure. It has set a

benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies.

ii. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world.

73. China built a new research station in Antarctica called Taishan. It was Chinas fourth research station in the

southern pole.

Note: Antarctica is the fifthlargest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America.

74. China's first lunar rover named Jade Rabbit landedon Moon. The lunar rover has been named Jade Rabbit (called

Yutu in Chinese).

Note:In past three decades, China is the first country to do so. Earlier, Luna 24 Probe of Soviet Union was the last

space mission to land on moon in August 1976

75. Chile is the worldstop copper exporter, and its fastgrowing economy, low unemployment and stable democracy are

the envy of Latin America.


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New Appointment in India

1. R.M.Lodha:New Chief Justice of India. He is the 41st Chief Justice of India. He succeeds Justice P.

Sathasivam.

2. Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag: appointed new Army Chief. He succeed GenBikram Singh.

3. R Gandhiappointed Deputy Governor of RBI. He replace Anand Sinha

4. Robin K Dhowan: appointedNew Navy Chief.

5. Arup Rahanew Air Chief Marshal. He succeeded NAK Browne.

6. Arvind Mayaram: appointed new Finance Secretary. He replace Sumit Bose

7. Saurabh Chandra: new Oil Secretary.

8. Rajiv Takru: appointedRevenue Secretary

9. Sudhir Gupta: appointed new TRAI Secretary

10. Rajeev Kher: appointed new Commerce Secretary. He replace S R Rao11. Ashok Lavasa: appointedCivil Aviation Secretary. He replace K N Srivastava.

12. Justice G. Rohini:become the first woman Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

13. Ila Patnaik: appointedas Principal Economic Advisor

14. Retired Air Chief N A K. Browneappointed new Indian envoy to Norway.

15. Rahul Kulshreshthappointed new Indian envoy to Turkey

16. Sunil Gavaskar: interim President of BCCI

17. G. Gopalakrishna:joined as director of Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL).

18. Suresh Kumar Reddyappointed as the First ambassador to ASEAN

19. Ms. Lakshmi Swaminathanbecame the first Indian to become president of Administrative Tribunal of the Asian

Development Bank (ADB)

20. Lalit Modielected president of Rajasthan Cricket Association.

21. Arundhati Bhattacharya: SBI's first woman Chairman

22. Akhilesh Gupta: elected as President of the Indian Meteorological Society

23. Tom Albanese: New CEO ofMining conglomerate VedantaResources:

24. Soma Mondalappointed first Women director of National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO).

25. Amitabh Kant, CEO and Managing Director of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, take

charge as Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

26. Thomas Mathew:New Chairman of MCX Stock Exchange

27. D K Pathak: new Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF).

28. Sheila Dikshit: New Governor of Kerala.

29. Dinesh Sarraf: appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). He

replaced Sudhir Vasudeva.

30. Gautam Bambawale: new Indian ambassador to Bhutan

31. Jude Felix: appointed coach of the National mens hockey team.


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1. Maj. Gen. Kristin Lundappointed first woman to lead UN force. She replace Chinese Maj.Gen.Chao Liu.

2. New interim PM of Thailand: Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan.

Note: Ms. Yingluck shinawatra and nine Cabinet members were forced to step down by the Constitutional Court,

which found her guilty of abuse of power.

3. New PM of Libya:Ahmed Maiteeg

4. New President of Panama: Juan Carlos

5. New Nokia CEO & President: Rajeev Suri

6. New President of Algeria:Abdelaziz Bouteflika

7. New reelected PM of Hungary: Viktor Orban

8. New Prime Minister Of France:Manuel Valls

9. New President of Malta: MarieLousie Coleiro Preca

10. PM of Malta: Joseph Muscat

11. New Prime Minister of Egypt: Ibrahim Mahlab:. Ibrahim Mahlab replace Hazem elBeblawi .12. New President of Chile: Michelle Bachelet

13. New CEO of Ford: Mark Fields. He succeed Alan Mulally

14. New Italy's youngest PM: Matteo Renzi. He is the 39yearold leader of the CentreLeft Democratic Party,

15. New Prime minister of Ukraine: Arseniy Yatsenyuk

16. Interim President of Ukraine: Oleksandr Turchynov

17. New PM of Nepal: Sushil Koirala. He replaced KhilRajRegmi.

18. New Chairman of Microsoft: John Thompson. He succeeded Bill Gates

19. New CEO of Microsoft: Satya Nadella. He replaced Steve Ballmer and he takes over as the third CEO of theMicrosoft firm.

20. Marco Lambertiniappointed as directorgeneral of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) International

21. New Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO): Jens Stoltenberg. He replace the

incumbent Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

22. New PM of Bangladesh: Sheikh HasinaShe belongs to Awami League party.

23. New chairman of the Federal Reserve:Janet Yellen. She succeeds Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Janet Yellen, the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve in its 100year history. Federal Reserve is the name of

the Central Bank of US.

24. New Pakistani envoy to India: Abdul Basit. He replaceSalman Bashir.

25. New Foreign Secretary of Pakistan: Aizaz Chaudhry

26. New Pakistani Ambassador to US: Jalil Abbas Jilani

27. First Secretary General of BIMSTEC: Sumith Nakandala

28. Shahnaz Shaikh: appointed Pakistan Coach of National Hockey team.

29. Teresa Kho is ADB's new Country Director for India. She replaces Hun Kim

30. Angela Merkel: beginsthird innings as German chancellor.

31. Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed: New Prime Minister of Somalia. (Mogadishuis the Capital Somalia).

32. Ashraf Jehan: First female judge in PaksNational Sharia Court


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17thSummit2015 Caracas (Venezuela)

Note:Two nations, namely Azerbaijan Republic and Fiji, were accepted as the new members of the organization.

New Member

1.United Nation South Sudan new member country . Total193 members

2.WTO Tajikistan new member country. Total 159 members.

3.World Bank & IMF South Sudan new member country. Total188 members

4.European Union Croatia new member country. Total28

1. World Economic Forum 2014: held in Abuja (Nigeria). Bharti Enterprises founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal co chai

this yearsedition oftheWorld Economic Forum on Africa.

2. India, Sri Lanka and Maldives held National Security Advisorlevel meeting on maritime security cooperation in New Delhi.

3. World Telecommunications Development Conference held in Dubai.

4. The Green Economy Summit held in Dubai.

5. Arab Summit 2014:Kuwait host the Arab summit for the first time

6. International Petroleum Conference 2014 (PETROTECH2014) held in New Delhi from 12th 15th January 2014.

7. The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference was concluded on 6 December 2013 at Bali, Indonesia.

8. 12thPravasi Bharatiya Divas2014 held in New Delhi. This year's theme is "Engaging Diaspora: Connecting Across

Generations" Datuk Seri G Palanivalis the Chief Guest of 12thPravasi Bharatiya Divas


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9. The 8th Asia Gas Partnership Summit (AGPS) was held at New Delhi, India. The 8th AGPS was organized by GAIL (India)

Limited and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

MOUs Deal between India & Other Countries

Points To Remember:


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1. India has committed 8.5 billion rupeesto Bhutan for Small Development Project for the countrys the 11th Five Year Plan.

2. Iran and Japan signeda Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for bilateral cooperation on environmental issues in Tokyo.

3. India, Azerbaijan: to explore opportunities in energy sector

4. India and Canadahave signed three MoUs for cooperation in health sector, audiovisual coproduction and skill development.

5. India, Polandagree to form Joint Working Group for cooperation in films sector.

6. India and Fijihave signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, DTAA for the avoidance of double taxation and for the

prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

7. India and Saudi Arabiahave decided to enhance their bilateral trade and economic cooperation over next 5 years.

8. India and Bhutanhave signed an agreement on development of hydropower projects.

9. India and Germanycould sign an agreement for 1 billion for Greenfield projects

10.India and Pakistan signedMoU on electricity trade: India has expressed its intent to export electricity to the tune of 500

MW to Pakistan immediately if infrastructure for transmission of power is made available.

11.India and Maldives ink several pacts and have agreed to jointly patrol and conduct surveillance to strengthen maritimesecurity in the Indian Ocean Region.

12.Indiahas signed a Rs 4,000crore deal with the USfor procuring six more C130J Super Hercules Special Operations aircraft

for the Indian Air Force.

13.Election Commission signs MoU with Yemen. India has offered its expertise to Yemen in election management and electoral

roll preparations.

14. India and Macedoniahave signed a new double taxation avoidance agreement(DTAA) that provides for among other things

exchange of banking information for tax administration purposes.

As per the new agreement, dividend, interest and royalty will be taxed in the source country and the rate of taxation will notexceed 10 percent.

Scheme & Plan Launched by Union & State Government:

1. Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) was launched in the UAE. A leading Indian financial and health care service

player has tied up with the UAE Exchange to offer Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana Scheme in the Gulf country.

About Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY)

i. Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) Scheme is a pension and life insurance scheme and is recognised by the

Indian government.

ii. Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) is a special social security scheme for overseas Indian workers on

temporary work permit in 17 Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries.

2. Govt. launch Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme'scheme for minority students. Under this scheme, students in the age group of

514 years will be provided with a health card which will entitle them to free checkups twice a year at the place where they

are studying.

3. North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) launched a new health scheme Stri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna for women on

6 March 2014.


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4. Uttar Pradesh government launched Samajwadi pension schemeon 28 January 2014. The scheme will benefit over 40 lakh

families. Under the scheme pension from 500 rupees to 700 rupees will be given to beneficiaries.

5. Tamil Nadu launches free CFL bulb scheme: Under the scheme state Govt willprovide free compact fluorescent light bulbs

to over 14 lakh hutdwellers in the State, an energy saving measure aimed at saving 40 MW of power.

6. Centre launches einclusion project to spread eliteracy. The project is an initiative to make at least one individual in every

household eliterate, under the project, economically weaker sections of the society including rural SC, ST and women will

receive IT training.

7. Project Uddan: The project, an initiative of the Prime Minister, the National Skills Development Corporation and the Ministry

of Home Affairs and industry, was started with the aim of providing skills to 40,000 youth over a period of five years.

8. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved implementation of various schemes related to agriculture,

including continuation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), in the 12th Plan with a combined outlay of over Rs 80,000 crore.

Note: The RKVY is a State plan scheme that provides 'considerable flexibility' and autonomy to states in planning andexecuting programmes for incentivising investment in agriculture and allied sectors.

9. Rani Laxmi Bai Pension Scheme: 'special pension'to Muzaffarnagar riotvictims by U.P. Govt. The pension, which would be

anywhere between Rs 400 and Rs 500, would be given under this scheme.

10.Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat BeemaYojna (BPSSBY) Health care scheme for BPL families launched in Punjab

11.'Roshini' Scheme: Centre launched skill development and job placement scheme 'Roshini' for rural youth and women in maois

affected 24 districts in 9 states.

12. Rajiv Gandhi JeevandayeeArogya Yojana (health insurance scheme) was launched in Maharashtra.

13. The Vikram Udyogpuri(DelhiMumbai Industrial Corridor) project launched in Madhya Pradesh.14. Golden Girl (Bangaru Talli) Scheme: A unique scheme, launched in Andhra Pradesh, to protect girl child and ensure her

education.

15. Anna Bhagyaprogramme launched in Karnataka. The programme entitles distribution of 30 kg rice at one rupee per Kg to

over 98 lakh BPL and Antyodaya card holders in the state.

Awards & Honours

1. Goldman Prize for environmental activistRamesh Agrawal. Hereceived the prize for helping villagers fight coal mining

in Chhattisgarh.

2. CaparoGroupfoundedbyleadingNRIindustrialistLordSwrajPaulhaswontheInternationalBusinessoftheYearaward

2014

3. Golden Peacock Awards2014: Technopark Technology Business Incubator (TTBI) was chosen for the Special Commendation

at the GoldenPeacockNationalTrainingAwards2014.

4. Bharat Ratna Award:Sachin Tendulkar and CN Rao conferred Bharat Ratna Award 2013.

Note:Tendulkar is the first sportsman and the youngest recipient of the the Bharat Ratna

ii.Prof Rao is a well recognized international authority on solid state and materials chemistry is the third scientist to received

award after CV Raman and former President A.P.J Abdul Kalam.


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31. Indian Writer Pankaj Mishrawon Windham Campbell Literature Prize 2014

32. President Paul Kagameof Rwanda, President Park Geunhyeof South Korea and Mexican billionnaire Carlos Slim won the

World Telecommunication and Information Society (WTIS) Award 2014.

33. President Pranab Mukherjee got the Rotary's highest awardfor his leadership in the country's victory over polio.

34. Arogya Swami Joseph Paulrajhas been awarded the prestigious 2014

Marconi Society Prize. Paulraj is the only Indiaborn scientist to receive both the Marconi Prize and the Bell Medal, two top

global IT technology awards.

35. Madan Babu, an Indianborn scientist, won the Protein Science Young Investigator Award for 2014

36. Australian pacer Mitchell Johnsonwon the coveted Allan Border medal.

37. Abhishikta S Shetty of Karnataka won Miss South India Pageant Title

38. Cyrus Mistry wins DSC Prize 2014 for South Asian literature for his book Chronicles of a Corpse Bearer.

39. Taiwanese poetYushi was awarded the Thiruvalluvar award by the Tamil Nadu government in Chennai. Yushi is the first

foreign scholar to receive Thiruvalluvar award.40. Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angererhas been named the best women's football player in the world for 2013.

41. FIFA named Portuguese attacker Cristiano Ronaldoworld's best soccer player for the 2012/2013 season.

42. Sunil Gangopadhyay Memorial Awardof 2012 and 2013: two eminent Bengali poets, namely Nirendranath Chakraborty

and Sankha Ghosh, respectively.

43. 12 Years a Slave' wins Golden Globefor best dramatic film. 12 Years a Slave,' directed by British filmmaker Steve

McQuee

44. 'American Hustle' won the Golden Globe award for the best comedy or musical film. 'American Hustle,' directed by David O

Russell and starring Christian Bale45. Leonardo DiCapriohas won the Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy or musical for 'The Wolf of Wall Street.

46. Irrfan Khanwon the best actor award for his brilliant performance in his film The Lunchbox at the 10th edition of Dubai

International Film Festival (DIFF).

47. C.K. Nayudu award: FormerIndia captain Kapil Devreceived the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2013.

48. The Union Ministry of Power has selected the Poovar Island Resort for the National Energy Conservation Award 2013

49. Sahitya Akademi Awards 2013 :Javed Akhtar has been chosen for "Lava", his compilation of 55 Urdu poems.

50. Eminent historian Bipan Chandra: was awarded Itihas Ratnafrom Asiatic Society Bihar. Bipan Chandra is the fourth

historian to be honoured with the Itihas Ratna by the society.

Note: i.The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism, is one of his known and one of the earliest book.

ii.He has been a Chairperson of the centre for historical studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

51. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport of Hyderabad received Sword of Honour award.

Note: i.Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Ltd is operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) and it is

first airport in India to receive this award.

ii.The Sword of Honour is considered to be Oscar of the Safety World

52. Lingaiah Nagarapu, Principal Scientist at the CSIRIndian Institute of Chemical Technology has been honoured

with the best scientist award of ScienceTech Foundation (STF)


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Padma Awards 2014:

Padma Vibhushan

1. Dr Raghunath A Mashelkar: Science and Engineering, Maharashtra

2. B K S Iyengar: Yoga, Maharashtra

Padma Bhushan

Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, ArtPainting, Gujarat Begum Parveen Sultana, ArtClassical Singing, Maharashtra T.H. Vinayakram,

ArtGhatam Artist, Tamil Nadu

Kamal Haasan, ArtCinema, Tamil Nadu Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Public Affairs, Delhi

Ruskin Bond, Literatureand Education, Uttarakhand Pullela Gopichand, SportsBadminton, Andhra Pradesh

Leander Paes, SportsTennis, Maharashtra Prof Lloyd I Rudolph, Literature and Education, USA

Padma Shri

Mohammad Ali Baig, ArtTheatre, Andhra Pradesh Nayana Apte Joshi, Art, Maharashtra

Vidya Balan, ArtCinema, Maharashtra Anjum Chopra, SportsCricket, Delhi Sunil Dabas, SportsKabbadi, Haryana Love Raj Singh

Dharmshaktu, SportsMountaineering, Delhi Dipika Rebecca Pallikal, SportsSquash, Tamil Nadu

H Boniface Prabhu, SportsWheelchair Tennis, Karnataka

Yuvraj Singh, SportsCricket, Haryana

Mamta Sodha SportsMountaineering, HaryanaOscar Award 2014:

Best Film 12 Years a Slave Directed by Steve McQueenBest Actor Matthew McConaughey for: Dallas Buyers Club Best

Actress Cate

Blanchett for: Blue Jasmine

Best Director Alfonso Cuarn for Gravity

Best Actor in a Supporting Role Jared Leto for: Dallas Buyers Club Best Actress in a Supporting Role Lupita Nyong'o for 12

Years a Slave Best Foreign Language Film The Great Beauty (Italy)

Note: "Gravity" pulled in 7 Oscars, including best director, at the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014.

61st National Film Awards:

Best Film:'Ship of Theseus' Director Anand Gandhi

Best Actor:Rajkumar Rao for 'Shahid' and Suraj Venjaramudu and Venajaramoodu for Malayalam movie 'Perariyathavar'

Best Actress: Geetanjali Thapa for Liars Dice

Best Director Award: Pranjal Dua for 'Chidiya Ud'(Hindi)

Best Popular Film providing Wholesome Entertainment:'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'

Best Film on Social Issues:'Tojia Dharm Kauncha'

Best Non Feature Film: 'Rangbhoomi'

Best Supporting Actor: Saurabh Shukla, 'Jolly LLB'


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10. Vivek Gundotra,chief of Googles social networking venture Google+ resigned.

11.Nancy Powellresigned as the US Ambassador to India

12.Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Akhmetovhas resigned

13.South Korea's Prime Minister Chung HongWongive resign over the sinking of a passenger ferry that left more than 300

people dead or missing.

14. Justice KT Thomasquits as head of Lokpal search committee

15. Hazem ElBeblawi :Egyptian PM resigns.

16. Archana Bhargava:Chairman and Managing Director of the United Bank of India, has resigned.

17. Zaka Ashraf: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sacked Zaka Ashrafas the Chairman of the PCB

18. SubInspector K Prasad Babuwas honoured posthumous Ashok Chakra for an antiNaxal operation .

19. Jamila Bayaz, first women to be appointed police chief of Kabul province. She is the first woman in Afghanistan to

be appointed as police chief of an entire district.

20. Enrico Letta: Italy Prime Minister resigned.21. Arvind Kejriwal:resign from the post of Chief Minister of Delhi.

22. Pope Franciswas named as the Person of the Year 2013 by Time Magazine.

23. Wipro Chairman Azim Premjiwon the Economic Times Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 for his role in creating

India's third largest software exporter.

24. Ali Larayedh:Prime Minister of Tunisia resigned

25. Indianorigin academician Rakesh Khuranahas been appointed dean of the prestigious Harvard College. He

succeeds Evelynn Hammonds.

26. Parveen Amanullah:Bihar First Woman Muslim Minister Resigns27. Teesta Setalvad, accused for misusing foreign funds meant for helping the victims of the 2002 Gulbarg society

massacre.

28. Michael Ferreira: Billiards champion was accused in 425crore rupees scam in multilevel marketing firm QNet.

29. Justice A.K. Ganguly: West Bengal Human Rights Commission chairman Justice A.K. Ganguly resigned from the

post of honorary professor of the National University of Juridical Sciences

30. V Balakrishnan:Former Infosys CFO joins AAP

31. Hardeep Singh Puri: who retired as Indias Permanent Representative to the United Nations, today joined BJP.

32. Chandra Kant BirlaChairman of Hindustan Motors Limited resigned from the board.

33. Michael Schumacher,is in a coma and remains in a "critical" condition after striking his head in a ski accident

34. Devyani Khobragade: Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York, was accused by Manhattan's

Indian American US Attorney Preet Bharara of visa fraud and exploiting her babysitter and housekeeper.

35. Shashi Tharoor PETA's 'person of the year'by animal rights campaigner PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment

of Animals) for initiating steps for animal protection.

36. Shoma Chaudhury,managing editor of Tehelka, announced her resignation from the Tehelka, an investigative

magazine.

37. Tarun Tejpal:Tehelka editorinchief was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a young colleague.

38. Mathew Martoma: Indianorigin hedge fund portfolio manager Mathew Martoma convicted for his role in the $275


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million insider trading scheme, the most lucrative in U.S. history.

Books & Their Authors

1. Book My Years with Rajiv andSonia written by R.D.Pradhan

2. Book ModiNomics: InclusiveEconomics, Inclusive Governance: authored by Sameer Kochhar.

Some other books of Sameer Kochhar:

1.Growth & Finance

2.Speeding Financial Inclusion.

3.Policymaking for Indian Planning

4.Building from the Bottom: Infrastructure and Poverty Alleviation

3. Book: Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and other Truths authored by PC Parakh

4. Book: The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh authored by Dr. Sanjaya Baru5. Book: Lal Bahadur Shastri: Lessons in Leadership written by Pavan Choudary.

6. Book: Rationalised Roman for Kashmiri written by Dr. R L Bhat

7. Book: Narendra Modi: A Political Biography written by Andy Marino.

8. Book: Public Issues Before Parliament written by Vijay Darda

9. Book: The Political Economy of Energy and Growth authored by Sh.

Najeeb Jung

10. Book: India at Risk: authored by Jaswant Singh.

11. Book ModiNomics: Inclusive Economics, Inclusive Governance: authored by Sameer Kochhar.12. Book: Water, Peace and War Confronting the Global Water Crisis written by Brahma Chellaney.

13. Hard Choices authored by Hillary Rodham Clinton

14. Book: Greater than Bradman: celebrating Sachin, the greatest batsman in Test history authored by : Rudolph Lambert

Fernandez, a Chennaibased author.

15. Book: Unbreakable An Autobiography by Mary Kom

16. The Luminaries by: Eleanor Catton. She won the Man Booker Prize 2013.

17. Walking With Giants: authored by former Finance Secretary G. Ramachandran.

18. "I am Malal : authored by Christina Lamb.

19. Momentous Times on the 175 years of Times of India. The book is an effort of the Times of India Group.

20. "Victory India A Key to Quality Military Leadership" authored by Colonel Vinay B Dalvi (Retd)

21. The Da Vinci Code: Dan Brown

Some books authored by RBI Governor: Raghuram Rajan

Aid and Growth

Fault Lines

India's Pattern of Development


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The Real Effect of Banking Crises

Controlled Capital Account Liberalization

Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists

LEADERS VISITED INIDIA

1. Omans Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah visited India.

2. King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa visited India on February 1820, 2014.

3. President of Zanzibar, Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein visited India from 1 to 9 February 2014. Zanzibar is a semiautonomous

part of Tanzania, in East Africa.

4. German President Joachim Guack visited India on 4thFeb 2014

5. French First Lady Valerie Trierweiler visited Inida on 25thJan 2014.

6. King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck visited India

7. South Korean President Park Geunhyevisited India.

OBITUARY

1. Russy Mody: Management guru Russy Mody who was known for his man management while he headed Tata Steel and

was awarded Padma Bushan died

2. Capt. C. P. Krishnan Nair, Founder Chairman of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, passed away

3. N Janardhan Reddy: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister died.

4. Elena Baltacha: Extennis player dies of cancer

5. Khaled Chowdhury: Noted theatre personality died

6. Bob Hoskins: British actor dies

7. Tito Vilanova, Former Barcelona coach Vilanova dies.

8. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anja Niedringhaus shot dead in Afghanistan.

9. Khushwant Singh:Famous writer and journalist passed away

10.Former President of Guinea Kumba Yaladied

11.Nanda:Veteran Bollywood actress passes away.

12. DK Jain: Luxor Group Chairman passes away

13. Gabriel Garcia Marquez,the Nobel laureate whose intoxicating novels and short stories exposed millions outside

Latin America passes away.

14. Former Sierra Leone President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbahdied

15. British socialist stalwart Tony Benndies

16. Notedeconomist and academician G.K. Chadha passed away

17. P Ramdas :Malayalam director passes away

18. K. Suryanarayana Raja, former international basketball player passed away.


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19. Joe McGinniss, author of Fatal Vision died

20. William Clay Ford passes away

21. Jagat Singh Mehta: Former Foreign Secretary died

22. J.S. Sarma: Former TRAI Chairman passes away

23. Hanumath Shastry, the eminent Telugu litterateur died

24. Bangaru Laxman :Former BJP president dies.

25. Legendary Guitarist: Paco de Luciapassed away

26. Prokash Karmakar: Eminent painter died

27. Balu Mahendra: Veteran filmmaker passed away.

28. Karl Slym: MD of Tata Motors died after falling from hotel building in Bangkok

29. Sudhir Mahato:the former Deputy Chief Minister of Jharkhand died

30. Akkineni Nageswara Rao: Padma Vibhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee passed away. ANR is fondly called the Tragedy

King of Telugu cinema.31. Suchitra Sen: Legendary Bengali actor passed away

32. Namdeo Dhasal Renowned Marathi poet and activist passed away

33. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddi: The spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community passed away

34. Silverine Swer,Meghalaya's first Padma Shri Awardee died

35. Adhip Chaudhuri, an international economist who taught at Georgetown University, died in Vienna,

36. Ariel Sharon: Former Israeli Prime Minister Dies

37. IIa Pathaksocial activist died

38. Vishwanath Bondre: Former Mumbai Ranji Trophy cricketer died39. Farooq Sheikh: veteran Hindi actor died

40. Mikhail Kalashnikov: the designer of fabled AK47 automatic rifle, died in Russia. AK47's name stands for "Kalashnikov's

Automatic" and the year it was designed, 1947.

41. Ishrat Ali Siddiqui:Freedom fighter, veteran Journalist and Padm Shree awardee died

42. Anjali Devi:Veteran South Indian film actress died

43. Michiaki Takahashi:developed Chickenpox vaccine died in Japan.

44. Pran Chopra : Veteran journalist died

45. G.S. Shivarudrappa: Distinguished Kannada poet, writer and researcher G.S. Shivarudrappa (87) passed away. The writer,

was awarded with the title of Rashtrakaviby the Government of Karnataka in 2006.

46. Sis Ram Oladead Union Labour and Employment Minister Sis Ram Ola died at a Gurgaon hospital after a prolonged illness.

47. Joan Fontaine: Oscarwinning actor has died at the age of 96

48. Babul Phukan:Former footballer died in Guwahati

49. Nelson Mandela, the antiapartheid revolutionary of South Africa died

50. Sandeep Acharya: Indian Idol winner passes away.

51. Ronnie Biggs:known for his role in the 1963 Great Train Robbery, died.

52. Narayan Sahu: Former Odisha MLA and freedom fighter passes away

53. Philip Seymour: Oscarwinning actor Hoffman died.


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Sports News

Australian Open 2014:

1. Mens Single: Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinkaclaimed his first Grand Slam title by defeating Rafael Nadal

2. Womens Single: Li Na (China) defeat Dominika Cibulkova. Li Na becomes first Chinese woman to clinch title.

3. Womens Doubles: Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Russia's Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina

Madrid Title 2014: Rafael Nadal defeatKeiNishikori in thefinaltowin thetitle.

Monte Carlo Masters Tennis 2014: Stanislas Wawrinka beat Roger Federer.

Miami (Sony)Open 2014:

1. Mens Single: Novak Djokovic dominates Rafael Nadal to win fourth Miami title.

2. WomensSingle: Serena Williams beat Li Na to win seventh Miami Title

Note: Manila will host the first leg of the newly launchedInternational Premier Tennis League

List of Top 5 Countries Medal Standings of Sochi (Russia) 2014 Winter Olympics:

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total1 Russian Fed. 13 11 9 332 Norway 11 5 10 263 Canada 10 10 5 25

4 United States 9 7 12 285 Netherlands 8 7 9 24

Note: Fifteenyearold Russian skaterYulia Lipnitskayahas become the youngest athlete in the world to win a Gold

medal at the Winter Olympics

ICC World Cup Cricket Venue:

ODI: (One day International):

1.Australia & New Zealand:2015Cricket World Cup.

2.England will host 2019 Cricket World Cup.

3.India will host 2023World Cup for the fourth time.

T20:

1. Bangladesh host the: World T20 Cup 2014. (For Men & women)

2. India will host the: World T20 Cup 2016. (For Men & women)

3. Australia to host World T20 in 2020. (For Men & women)

4.West Indies to host Women's World T20 in 2018 and Under 19 Cricket World Cup in 2022.

Note:ICC Womens World Cup 2013 Australia defeated West Indies at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.


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The 2013 World Twenty20 Qualifier are scheduled to be played in November 2013 in the United Arab Emirates.

Test:

1.England to host Cricket World Test Champions in 2017(for first time).

2.India will host World Test Championship in 2021.

Note: ICC U19 World Cup 2014 held in UAE. South Africa won the title.

FIFA (Football) World CUP hosts:

1. 2014: Brazil (Mascot: Smiling Armadillo to be the official Mascot of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil).

2.2018 : Russia

3.2022: Qatar

FIFA ranking: 2014

1. Spain

2. Germany

3. Portugal

4.Brazil

India drop two places to 147 in Fifa ranking.

Olympics Games host cities:

1. 2014 winter: Sochi (Russia)

2.2016 Summer: Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

3.2018 winter: Pyeongchang (South Korea)

4.2020 summer: Tokyo (Japan)

Asian Games host cities:

1. 2014: Incheon (South Korea) (Note: 2010 Asain Games held in Guangzhou, China).

Note: Vietnam (Hanoi) decided not to host the 2019 Asian Gamesfor financial reasons, and was exploring procedures to

withdraw from staging the region's largest sporting event.

ICC Rankings For Tests, ODIs and Twenty20

Test ODI Twenty20

Australia Australia India

South Africa India Sri Lanka

England Sri Lanka Pakistan


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28. Australian allrounder Shane Watson will captain Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

29. Sunil Gavaskar appoints (HDFC chairman) Deepak Parekh as his special advisor for 7th edition of IPL

30. US sprint star Tyson Gayhas received a oneyear doping ban from the US AntiDoping Association.

31. Triple jumper Renjith Maheswary,who has been stopped from receiving Arjuna Award under controversial

circumstances on charges of dope violation last year, has again been recommended by the Athletics Federation of

India (AFI) for the coveted honour this year.

32. DarrenSammy retires fromtestcricketbutremains T20 captain.

33. Ronnie OSullivannamed as Snookers Player of the Year.

34. Lasith Malinga, new captain of Sri Lanka T20 team

35. New Zealand's Kiwi Kathy Crossbecame the first woman to be inducted in an ICC umpires' panel

36. Dipika Pallikalranked No 10 in Womens Squash Association (WSA) rankings

37. Saina Nehwalwon Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold badminton crown by defeating PV Sindhu in

Lucknow.

38. BCCI recommends Ravichandran Ashwin (Offspinner)for Arjuna Award.

39. Anirban Lahiri won Indonesian Masters golf title.

40. Grand Master Adhiban won silver medal at the Asian Continental Chess Championship

41. Delhi Waveriders beat Jaypee Punjab Warriors to lifts 2nd edition of Hockey India League cup.

42. Rafael Nadal remains top of the mens ATP tennis rankings.

43. Serena Williams (USA) remains top of the WTA tennis rankings

44. Chennai to host World Bridge Championships next year .

45. Shaik Abdul Hameed of India won the 2014 Thailand Tour title of Asian Bowling Federation (ABF).

46. Chain Singh and Heena Sidhu claimed gold medals in the seventh Asian Air Gun Championship in Kuwait

47. Swimmer Supriya Mondalhas qualified for the 2014 Youth Olympics by winning a gold medal in the 200m butterfly

event at the Dubai International Aquatic Championships in Hamdan.

48. Manavjit Singh Sandhu, the Indian veteran trap shooter jumped to the third spot in the world rankings.

49. Pooja Ghatkar clinchesgold inwomens air rifle in the seventh Asian air gun championship

50. Former Australia test batsman Marcus Northretires.

51. Spain's Real Madridretained the title of the world's richest soccer club

52. Netherlandsbeat New Zealand to win maiden Hero Hockey World League title

53. Jimmy Walker of the US won the Sony Open golf tournament held in Hawaii

54. Veteran Indian shuttler Arvind Bhatlifts German Open title

55. Aditya Joshiis world No.1 junior shuttler.

56. Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka to win Brisbane International Title.

57. ATP Open Tennis tournament held in Chennai.

58. Jacques Kallis overtakes Rahul Dravid to become 3rd highest Test rungetter

59. Dubai tennis championship: Roger Federer defeat defeating Tomas Berdych .

60. Graeme Smith, the South African cricket team Captain announced retirement from international cricket.

61. South Africa's legendary allrounder Jacques Kallis announced retirement from Test cricket.


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News Related To Defence & Technology

1. Bolivialaunched countrys first telecommunications Satellite Tupak Katari

Note: Capitalof Bolivia : Sucre, President: Evo Morales

2. IRNSS1A , IRNSS1B India's navigation satellite.

3. Pakistan successfully test fires HaftIII (Ghaznavi)Short Range Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile . Range 290km4. IndoNepal joint military exercise ExSurya Kiran Drills VI held at Saljhandi in Rupandehi district.5. The largest 130MW Solar Power Plant of India Welspun Solar MP Projectwas launched at Bhagwanpurin Neemuch,

Madhya Pradesh

6. NTPC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL) and

Lakhisarai Bijlee Company Private Limited (LBCPL) to develop a 1320 MW (2 X 660 MW) Thermal Power Project at Kajra in

Lakhisarai district of Bihar.

7. Nathpa Jhakri Hydro PowerStation awarded a gold shield on 4 February 2014 for its meritorious performance in 2013

14.Nathpa Hydro power Station consecutively third time received the award.

Note: The Nathpa Jhakri Damis a concrete gravity damon the Satluj Riverin Himachal Pradesh.

8. INS Vikramadityaenters Indian Navy's area of operation. INS Vikramaditya(R33) is a Project which entered into service

with the Indian Navy in 2013. The ship has been renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a legendary 1st century BC emperor of

Ujjain, India.

9. Fast Patrol Vessel Abhinav, the Indian Coast Guard Ship commissioned in Kochi

10. GSLV

D5 launch places India in elite league of the U.S., Russia, France, Japan and China The GSLV is designed to inject itspassenger spacecraft into the intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a combination of solid, earthstorable liquid and

cryogenic propellants in its first, second and third stages, respectively.

11. Indian mission to Mars blasts off successfully. The Mars Orbiter Mission, known as "Mangalyaan".

Note: i.Only the United States, Russia and the European Space Agency have been successful in this mission.

ii.The United States is the only nation that has successfully sent robotic explorers to land on Mars, the most recent being

Curiosity which touched down in August 2012.

iii. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K.

Radhakrishnan.iv. The satellite is scheduled to reach the Mars orbit in September

2014and is designed to circle the Red Planet in an elliptical orbit of

366 km X 80000 km.

v. Primary objectives of the Mars mission are to demonstrate Indias technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around

Mars and conduct meaningful experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of the red planet and study Martian

environment.

12. IRNSS1A, India's first ever dedicated Navigation satellite launched

blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.13. INS Vikramaditya set to join Indian Navy . INS Vikramadityais a Kiev class aircraft carrier which was commissioned by

Russian Navy in1987 under the name Baku.


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14. Missiles:1.Nuclearcapable 'AgniV'tested for second time. 'AgniV' longrange

ballistic missile. strike range of more than 5000 km

Note: In the Agni (Surface to Surface missile) series, India at present has Agni1 with 700 km range, Agni2 with 2000 km range,

Agni3 and Agni4 with 2500 km to more than 3500 range. Agni V more than

5000 km

Prithvi:

1. Prithvi I 150km 2. Prithvi II 350km 3. Prithvi III 350km 600km

March

Important Days of March/April & May

March 4 World Day of the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation

March 8 International WomensDay

March 13 World Kidney Day

March 15 World Disabled Day

March 15 World Consumer Rights Day

March 21 World Forestry Day

March 21 International Day

gk capsule for sbi po 2014 exam

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