united academy - tnpsc coaching center page no : 1 ... · national goods and services tax bill,...

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National

Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2014 introduced in Lok Sabha

1. It is also called Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill

2. It seeks to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime

3. Inserts article Articles 246A, 269A and 279A in the Constitution

4. Provides for Union Finance Minister headed GST Council

5. Sets in a uniform and integrated indirect tax regime in India

14th Finance Commission submitted its report to President

1. It covers the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2020

2. The Commission headed by former RBI Governor Y V Reddy

3. Provides for devolution of tax receipts from the Centre to the States

4. Article 280 of Constitution provides for appointment of Finance Commission

5. First and 13th Finance Commission was headed by K C Neogy & Dr Vijay Kelkar respectively.

Union government decriminalized Attempt to Suicide

1. For this purpose Section 309 of Indian Penal Code removed

2. 20th Law Commission headed by Justice A P Shah recommended in its 210 Report

3. 210th Report on Humanization and Decriminalization of Attempt to Suicide

4. France was the first country to decriminalize this offense.

Lok Sabha passed the Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2014

1. Introduced as a periodic measure for updating the list of laws in force

2. Seeks to repeal 90 laws and pass amendment to two laws

3. Proposes to amend the two laws to rectify typographical errors

4. The laws are Railways (Amendment) Act, 2008 and the Indian Maritime University Act, 2008

Karnataka Mobile One App launched for m-governance

1. Launched by President Pranab Mukherjee in Bengaluru

2. First such app in India to user in an era of mobile governance

3. Developed under the ICARE program of Karnataka government

4. Expected to provide more than 4000 services to citizens

UNITED ACADEMY - TNPSC Coaching center Page No : 1

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Social Justice Bench constituted on social issue

1. Constituted by Supreme Court on 3 December 2014

2. Started operation on 12 December 2014

3. The brainchild of Chief Justice of India H L Dattu

4. Two-judge bench to be headed by Justice Madan B Lokur

5. The other member is Justice U U Lalit

Union government unveiled new counter-Naxal doctrine

1. Proposes four-pronged approach to deal with Naxals

2. These are Security, Development, Rights and Entitlement and Public Perception Management

3. Focus on security interventions in worst LWE-affected areas

4. In moderately-affected areas, security and development initiatives will be focus

5. In less affected areas, development interventions will take precedence

Swachh Bharat Mission launched

1. Launched on occasion of 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

2. Aims at making India clean by 2019

3. The year 2019 will be 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

4. Nine people nominated to inspire people to join the Mission

SC quashed allocation of 214 coal blocks

1. Quashed by SC bench headed by Justice R M Lodha

2. Allocations were arbitrary and illegal.

3. 4 out of 218 coal blocks not cancelled.

4. Includes one of NTPC and SAIL each and two of Sasan UMPP owned by Anil Ambani

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) launched

1. It was launched on 28 August 2014

2. Aims to open 15 crore bank accounts by 15 August 2015

3. It is a mega financial inclusion plan

4. Each person covered to be provided bank accounts and RuPay debit cards

5. Also provision for inbuilt insurance cover of 1 lakh rupees


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India: first Country to Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty

1. India ratified the treaty on 30 June 2014

2. Will facilitate access to published works for blind and visually impaired persons

3. The treaty was signed in Marrakesh, Morocco on 28 June 2013

4. It has been signed by 64 countries

SC ruled Shariat Courts are illegal

1. No legal status has been granted to the Sharia Courts

2. Its fatwas/decrees are illegal if it violates fundamental rights

3. The decision was delivered by SC bench headed by Justice C K Prasad

4. The judgement given on a petition filed by Vishwa Lochan Madan in 2005

India became permanent signatory to Washington Accord

1. India signed the Accord on 13 June 2014

2. Joined a select group of 17 countries who joined the Accord

3. Global employment opportunities for India’s technical and engineering graduates to increase

4. Accord promotes mobility and quality assurance of engineers across international boundaries

Sumitra Mahajan elected as Speaker of 16th Lok Sabha

1. She replaced Meira Kumar

2. Became the second women presiding officer of the Lok Sabha

3. She was elected to 9th Lok Sabha in 1989 for the first time

4. 2014 elections was her eighth continuous term as Member of Parliament

Telangana became the 29th state of India

1. It achieved statehood on 2 June 2014

2. Ten districts of the then Andhra Pradesh became part of Telangana

3. Chandrasekhar Rao sworn-in as the first Chief Minister

4. ESL Narasimhan is the Governor of Telangana

5. Hyderabad is the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh


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Narendra Modi sworn-in as 15th Prime Minister of India

1. He was sworn-in on 26 May 2014

2. He took oath with 45 Council of Minister including 23 Cabinet Ministers

3. First Prime Minister of India born in independent India

4. For the first time 25% of the Cabinet post allocated to women

5. Swearing-in ceremony attended by heads of seven SAARC countries

16th Lok Sabha Elections 2014

1. The election results for 543 constituencies declared on 16 May 2014

2. Bharatiya Janata Party emerged victorious with 282 seats

3. Congress led incumbent government just secured 44 seats

4. BJP won the majority for the first time since independence

5. The elections were conducted in nine phases from 7 April – 12 May 2014

Karnataka: first state in India to launch Health Adalat

1. The Health Adalat was launched in Gulbarga, Karnataka.

2. Aims to ensure that all health facilities extended by the government reached all sections of society.

3. During Health Adalat the department will interact with public representatives.

Debroy Panel on restructuring Railway Board

1. The Panel would submit its report till the end of 2015

2. The seven-member panel will be headed by economist Bibek Debroy

3. Mandated to estimate the financial needs of railways and ensure policies to raise resources

4. Restructuring of railway board announced in Union Budget 2014-15

Film Liar's Dice: India's official entry for Oscar Awards 2015

1. The movie has been directed by Geethu Mohandas

2. It is nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category

3. 12-member jury headed by eminent filmmaker T Hariharan nominated it

4. Leading casts are Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui

5. The 87th Oscar Awards will be held in the US on 22 February 2015


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C Rangarajan Committee on Poverty

1. Total number of poor in India at 363 million or 29.6 percent of the population

2. The daily per capita expenditure pegged at 32 rupees for the rural poor

3. The daily per capita expenditure pegged at 47 rupees for the urban poor

4. Poverty line is pegged 972 rupees per month for rural India

5. Poverty line pegged at 1407 rupees per month for urban India

Largest Solar Power Plant of India launched

1. 130-MW Welspun Solar Plant launched at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, MP

2. It is also the Asia's Largest Solar Power Plant.

3. It was constructed at a cost of 1100 crore rupees.

4. The Project will raise Indian solar capacity by 7 percent.

International

US President signed Ukraine Freedom Support Bill, 2014

1. The Act authorizes administration to impose sanctions on Russia

2. The sanctions to be imposed if needs arises

3. Sanctions were imposed on Russia over Ukraine crisis

4. Authorizes 350 million US dollars in lethal and non-lethal military aid Ukraine

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe re-elected

1. He was re-elected for another four year term

2. Japan's ruling coalition won a two thirds majority in the Snap elections

3. Elections were held for the Lower House of the National Diet.

4. The elections saw the voter turnout at 52.7 percent, the lowest since World War-II

Nobel Prize presented

1. Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi & Malala Yousufzai

2. Physiology Prize winners John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser

3. Literature Nobel Prize winner French author Patrick Modiano

4. Physics Nobel Prize winner Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura


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5. Chemistry Nobel Prize Eric Betzig from Janelia Research Campus, Stefan Hell, Gottingen

6. Economic Nobel Prize given to Jean Tirole

First World Soil Day observed on 5 December 2014

1. The Day was observed by the UNFAO

2. UNFAO and GSP declared the year 2015 as UN International Year of Soils

3. Events held to raise idea that soil is a critical component of natural system

4. The day coincides with birthday of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 released

1. This was the 20th edition

2. Measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 175 countries

3. India with a score of 38 was ranked 85th

4. The index was topped by Denmark with a score of 92.

5. Index is prepared by Transparency International

Time Magazine released list of 25 Best Inventions 2014

1. Mangalyaan named among the best inventions of 2014

2. Magazine describes it as a technological feat

3. It is described as Supersmart Spacecraft- Mangalyaan

4. The list also includes two inventions of Indians namely Blue Room and tablet toy, Osmo

The G20 Summit 2014 concluded

1. The Summit saw release of Brisbane Action Plan

2. Action Plan comprises of 800+ reforms to boost global growth

3. Sets an ambitious goal to lift G20 growth by 2.1 percent by 2018

4. Seeks to reduce the gender gap in labour force participation rates by 25 percent by 2025

25th anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall celebrated

1. The fall of the Berlin Wall happened on 9 November 1989

2. It was the most significant event in recent German history

3. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by East Germany

4. It was built to stop people fleeing from East Germany to the West


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5. The Wall stretched for 155 kilometers of which only 3 kilometer remains now

Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2014 released

1. The list gives the annual ranking of the World’s 72 Most Powerful People

2. The list was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

3. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked 15th

4. Mukesh Ambani is ranked 36th on the list

India re-elected to UNHRC

1. It was re-elected for the period 2015-2017

2. India received the highest 162 votes in the Asia Pacific group

3. India’s first term as member due to end on 31 December 2014

4. 14 other member states also elected to UNHRC for a three-year term

5. The UNHRC promotes and protects human rights

India-Vietnam signed 7 pacts

1. Pacts signed to strengthen Strategic Partnership

2. Signed during President Pranab Mukherjee visit to Vietnam

3. President gifted sapling of the holy Bodhi Tree to Vietnam

4. Diplomatic relations between the two countries established in 1972

5. The strategic relationship between the two countries established in 2007

Inaugural Tang Prizes 2014 presented in Taipei

The Tang Prize is treated as Asia's version of the Nobels

Winners of the inaugural Tang Prizes are

•Sustainable Development - Gro Harlem Brundtland former Premier of Norway

•Sinology – Chinese American, Historian Yu Ying-shih

•Biopharmaceutical Science - James P Allison of US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan

•The Rule of Law - Albie Sachs, former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa

Unity Deal signed in Afghanistan

1. Unity deal signed between Abdullah Abdullah and Ghani Adhmadzai

2. The deal ended three-month stalemate over government formation in Afghanistan


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3. The stalemate was due to allegations that elections were rigged

4. The deal calls of creation of post of CEO who will be the acting Prime Minister

Ebola Virus Disease outbreak

1. More than 7000 patients died due to the Ebola Virus in West Africa.

2. Ebola Virus disease first surface in Guinea in March 2014

3. Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia are the countries affected

4. Ebola disease was first detected in Congo basin of Zaire

Fields Medal 2014

1. The Fields Medal Awards held in Seoul, South Korea.

2. The award recognized contributions of four medalists.

3. Artur Avila, Manjul Bhargava, Martin Haire, Maryam Mirzakhani are the recipients

4. The Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936.

5. First winner were Finnish mathematician Lars Ahlfors and American mathematician Jesse Douglas.

Prayuth Chan-ocha elected Prime Minister of Thailand

1. He is the 29th Prime Minister of Thailand

2. He was elected with a vote of 191-6 votes in National Legislative Assembly (NLA)

3. He is a former Army Chief of Thailand

4. He seized the power in June 2014

6th BRICS Summit: Fortaleza Declaration

1. Held in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July and 16 July 2014.

2. Theme of the Summit was Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions.

3. The participating countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

4. The BRICS Network University will be established

5. BRICS Development Bank to be established

UNSC adopted resolution to probe into MH-17 plane crash

1. Resolution adopted by 15-member UNSC unanimously.

2. It demands free access to the crash site of Malaysian plane MH17.


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3. It insisted on dignified and respectful treatment of bodies of the victims.

Science & Technology

Scientific breakthrough of the year 2014: Rosetta space mission

1. Rosetta is the European space mission

2. First spacecraft to land on a comet

3. The comet is named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

4. It landed on 12 November 2014, 10 years after the launch

ISRO successfully launched GSLV Mark-III-X from Sriharikota

1. This was the experimental launch of the rocket

2. Weighing 630 tonnes, it is India’s heaviest rocket

3. It carried Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE)

4. The full fledged launch of the rocket will take place in two years.

India joined Thirty Meter Telescope Project

1. India jointed the project as Full Member

2. India to deliver 100 smaller, hexagonal mirrors

3. The project in India coordinated by Dept of Science & Technology and DAE

4. The telescope will be the largest in the world.

5. It is being built atop Mauna Kea Mountain in Hawaii.

World’s first womb-transplant baby born

The baby boy was born to a Swedish woman

It was born at the University of Gothenburg's hospital

The woman was born without a womb, although the ovaries were intact

The replacement womb came from a 61-year-old woman

She was suffering from a genetic condition called Rokitansky syndrome

New compound BQU57 developed

1. It will block protein Ral aiding cancer growth


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2. Developed at University of Colorado Cancer Center

3. The study of the compound published in journal Nature

4. The lead author of the study is Dan Theodorescu

ISRO launched Mangalyaan to Mars orbit (MAVEN American satellite).

1. India inserted the spacecraft in Mars orbit in first attempt

2. ISRO became the fourth space agency in the world to send a mission to Mars successfully

3. Mangalyaan costs 74 million US dollars, the most cost-effective in world

4. It will be finding the presence of methane on the Mars

5. November 5, 2013 lunched – September 24,2014 mars orbit.

INS Kolkata dedicated to nation

1. INS Kolkata commissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai

2. It is the country’s largest indigenously built warship

3. Equipped against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and fighter aircraft

4. It is commissioned without its main air defence weapon

5. The warship has been constructed by Mazagon Dockyards Limited

New biochip to detect blood sugar via saliva

1. The advancement will help diabetics to not to undergo blood test

2. It is made from a one-inch-square piece of quartz coated with a thin layer of silver

3. It uses a series of specific chemical reactions combined with plasmonic interferometry

4. The device is sensitive enough to detect minutest differences in glucose concentrations

Lima Call for Climate Action

1. Issued at the conclusion of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP)

2. The President of 20th CoP was Manuel Pulgar-Vidal

3. Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to form foundation for climate action post 2020

4. Seeks to put world on track to New Universal Climate Agreement

5. 21st COP will be held in Paris, France

The US and China agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions

1. US will reduce carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels


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2. China did not set a specific target, but said emissions would peak by 2030

3. The two countries agreed to reduce the possibility of military accidents in the air and sea

4. The two countries together produce about 45% of the world's carbon dioxide

India State of Forest Report 2013

1. It was released by Union Ministry of Environment & Forest

2. The India State of Forest Report 2013 was the 13th report in the series

3. States with maximum increase in forest cover are West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala

4. States with largest forest cover are MP & Arunachal Pradesh

5. Mizoram has the highest forests cover in terms of percentage of forest

Bor Wildlife Sanctuary of Maharashtra

1. It is India’s 47th Tiger Reserve

2. Union Environment Ministry notified Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve

3. Bor sanctuary is in Wardha district of Maharashtra

4. It will be an important corridor between Tadoba – Andhari and Pench Tiger Reserves

5. Tiger Reserves in Maharashtra: Melghat, Pench, Tadoba, Nagzira and Sahyadri

Personalities

Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss crowned Miss World 2014

1. Outgoing Miss World, Megan Young of the Philippines presented the sash

2. Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was the first runner-up

3. Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, was the second runner-up

4. India's Koyal Rana bagged the sub-title of Best Designer of the world

5. This was the 64th Miss World Competition

Justice Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer died at 100

1. He died on 4 December 2014 due to renal and cardiac failure.

2. He was former Supreme Court Judge and an MLA from Kerala.

3. He became the judge of the Supreme Court in 1973


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4. He retired at the age of 65 in 1980.

5. There are 105 published books by V. R. Krishna Iyer.

Australian opener Philip Hughes died

1. Died after a bouncer ball of Sean Abbott hit back of his head

2. The accident happened at Sheffield Game at Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia

3. He was a left-handed opening batsman

4. He had played 26 Tests and 25 ODIs for Australia

5. Indian cricketers Raman Lamba and Nari Contractor also died in same situations

Chief Guest of Republic Day 2015: US President Barack Obama

1. He will be the first US President to attend the Republic Day Parade of India.

2. Obama will participate in the Republic Day celebrations of India on 26 January 2015.

3. Obama will be the first US President to travel to India twice.

Legendary Kathak danseuse Sitara Devi died

1. Dance based on themes, poetry and choreography of her father

2. She was born as Dhannolakshmi in the Brahmin family

3. Rabindranath Tagore described her as Nritya Samragini

4. She is known as a pioneering force in bringing the genre to Bollywood

Neha Gupta won International Children’s Peace Prize 2014

1. Awarded for her work to help orphans in India

2. Her organization Empower Orphans has helped 25000 vulnerable children

3. She became the first ever American to be awarded with the prize

4. In 2013, the award was conferred on Malala Yousufzai

Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh received 49th Jnanpith Award

1. Conferred for his outstanding contribution towards Indian literature

2. 10th Hindi writer to receive the country’s highest literary award

3. Known for his work Abhi Bilkul Abhi and Yahan Se Dekho

4. First recipient G Sankara Kurup for Odakkuzhal (Flute) in Malyalam language


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Sanjaya Rajaram received World Food Prize 2014

1. Awarded for his research that led to increase in wheat production

2. He is credited with developing the Veery lines of wheat in the 1980s

3. He helped secure 1.3 percent rise in global wheat production per annum.

4. He is senior scientific advisor at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

Arvind Subramanian appointed Chief Economic Advisor

1. Appointed Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) for a period of three years

2. Third economist of international rapport to be appointed as CEA

3. Expert of the Indian and Chinese economy

4. Raghuram Rajan, the RBI Governor, was previous CEA

Justice H L Dattu sworn-in as 42nd Chief Justice of India

1. Oath of office administered by President Pranab Mukherjee.

2. Succeeded Chief Justice RM Lodha

3. Lodha demitted office on 27 September 2014

4. Dattu will retire from his office on 2 December 2015.

5. He joined Supreme Court of India as a Judge on 17 December 2008.

Smt. Usha Ananthasubramanian Chairman and Managing Director of Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd. Prior to

that she was chairperson and director of Punjab national bank.

Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed Chairperson of National Commission for Women

1. Eighth chairperson of National Commission for Women

2. She was the National Spokesperson National Executive of BJP

3. National Commission for Women was set up as a statutory body in January 1992

4. It was set up under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990

Narula Brothers won 7 crore rupees in Season 8 of KBC

1. The two brothers, Achin and Sarthak Narula emerged victorious in Season 8 of KBC

2. The tagline for the season 8 is Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi, Dil Bhi Jeete Jate Hain

3. The show was first telecast on Star Plus in 2000


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4. It is based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Govind Mishra received Saraswati Samman 2013

1. He received it for novel Dhool Paudhon Par

2. His novel was published in 2008

3. The novel illustrates the struggle of modern Indian women

4. He is the second Hindi author to be conferred with award

5. Harivansh Rai Bachchan was the first Hindi author to receive the award

Pran, the Creator of Chacha Chowdhury died at 75

1. He created or sketched Chacha Chaudhary for the Hindi magazine Lotpot in 1969

2. His Chacha Chaudhary strips found a permanent place in International Museum of Cartoon Art, USA.

3. His name was included in People of the Year 1995 by Limca Book of Records.

Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag took over as Chief of Army Staff

1. He succeeded General Bikram Singh to become the 28th Army Chief

2. He will serve as Army chief for 29 months till 31 December 2016

3. He is the 2nd Gorkha Rifles officer to become Army chief

4. First was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

Veteran actress Zohra Sehgal died at 102

1. She was called as the grand old lady of Bollywood

2. She was the recipient of Padma Vibhshan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri

3. Sehgal’s daughter Kiran in 2012 wrote her biography named Zohra Segal: Fatty

4. Zohra last appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhasali's film Saawariya in 2007

Chandi Prasad Bhatt won the Gandhi Peace prize 2013

1. He is a Gandhian, an environmentalist and a social activist.

2. In 1964, he founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeswar.

3. He was awarded with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1982.

4. In 2005, he was awarded with Padma Bhushan.


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Sports

Germany won men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2014

1. Germany defeated Pakistan by 2-0 margin to win the trophy

2. This was 10th Champions Trophy crown for Germany.

3. It had last won the tournament in 2007

4. For bronze medal, World champion Australia defeated India 2-1

UAE captain Khurram Khan: the oldest player to score an ODI century

1. He scored the winning century against Afghanistan in Dubai

2. He achieved the feat at an age of 43 years and 162 days

3. He broke the record of Sanath Jayasuriya

4. Sanath Jayasuriya had scored 109 against India in 2009 at the age of 39

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma scored the highest ODI score ever of 264

1. The score of 264 runs is also the second-highest List A score

2. With this he became the only cricketer to score two Double ODI centuries

3. He achieved this distinction during the 4th ODI between India and Sri Lanka

4. He broke the record of highest ODI score of 219 runs made by Virender Sehwag

5. Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer to score double century in ODIs

Virat Kohli became fastest cricketer to reach 6000 ODI runs-

1. He achieved the distinction after his 53-run knock in the third ODI between India and Sri Lanka

2. He took 144 match and 136 innings to make 6000 runs

3. He is the eighth Indian to have scored 6000 or more runs and 47th overall

4. He overtook legendary West Indian Vivian Richards' record

5. Richards reached the milestone in 1989 by playing 141 innings in 156 matches

MC Mary Kom bagged her first Asian Games Gold Medal

1. She defeated Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan

2. She won in women’s flyweight category (48-51kg)

3. First Indian woman boxer to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Games

4. She is nicknamed as Magnificent Mary


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Chennai Super Kings won 2014 Champions League Twenty20 title

1. It defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets

2. The match was played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

3. Chennai Super Kings won the trophy for the second time.

4. Earlier they won the CLT20 in South Africa in 2011.

Hockey Player Manpreet Singh named Junior Men Player of the Year by AHF

1. The announcement was made at Asian Hockey Federation Congress

2. The congress was held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

3. Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh has played 103 international matches.

4. He is the captain of the India Junior Hockey team.

5. He made his international debut in 2011.

Marin Cilic of Croatia won Men's Singles title of US Tennis Open

1. Cilic defeated 10th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan

2. The Women’s singles was won by Serena Williams of US

3. The Men’s Doubles title was won by Mike and Bob Bryan of US

4. Sania Mirza of India and Bruno Soares of Brazil won the Mixed Doubles title

5. Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia won the US Open women's doubles title

2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games concluded

1. The Medal tally was topped by England

2. India stood at the fifth position in the rankings.

3. India won 64 medals (15 Gold, 30 silver and 19 Bronze)

4. This was third highest medal haul after 2010 Delhi CWG and 2002 Manchester CWG

5. The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia

Kush Kumar first Indian player to reach semis of World Junior Squash Championship

1. The World Junior Squash championship held at Windhoek in Namibia.

2. He defeated England's George Parker in straight games in quarterfinal.

3. Kush Kumar is a professional squash player from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

4. Presently, his ranking is 220 in the world.


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Himachal Pradesh to host First Para-gliding World Cup 2015 in India

1. This will be the first para-gliding World Cup to be hosted in India.

2. To be organised under Para-gliding World Cup Association, France.

3. It will be hosted in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh from 24 October 2015

4. Himachal Pradesh had hosted the Para-gliding pre-World Cup in 2013

Germany won the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup

1. Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the final

2. Final was played at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

3. Mario Gotze scored the lone goal of final during the extra-time

4. It lifted the trophy for 4th time in FIFA world Cup history and first since 1990

5. Germany became 1st European team to win World Cup played in North or South America

Sim Bhullar became first Indian-origin basketball player to join NBA

1. He signed a summer contract with the Sacramento Kings.

2. Sacramento Kings is a professional basketball team in the US.

3. Sim Bhullar is originally from Canada and his parents are from Punjab.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the Men’s Wimbledon Tennis Open 2014

1. He defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland

2. This is the second Wimbledon title for Djokovic

3. Djokovic won the seventh career Grand Slam

4. Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title in 2011

5. PETRA KVITOVA of czech republican Eugenie Bouchard canada Women’s Wimbledon Tennis Open 2014

6. The Men’s Doubles title was won by v. pospisl and j sock bet Mike and Bob Bryan of US

7. Sara Errani &Roberta Vinci (ITA)(ITA) bet Timea Babos(HUN) &Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) women's

doubles title

Australian Open

Current Men's Singles champion: Novak Djokovic

Current Women's Singles champion: Serena Williams


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French Open

Current Men's Singles champion: Rafael Nadal

Current Women's Singles champion: Maria Sharapova

Wimbledon Championships

Current Men's Singles champion: Novak Djokovic

Current Women's Singles champion: Petra Kvitova

US Open

Current Men's Singles champion: Marin Čilić

Current Women's Singles champion: Serena Williams

Economy & Corporate

Advisory Group on Integrated Development of Power

1. The Group was headed by Suresh Prabhu

2. It has suggested opening up of the coal sector

3. Called for improvement in Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries

4. Expedite reforms in the distribution sector with targeted actions

SBI Mutual Fund launched Shariah Equity Fund

1. The fund is aimed at attracting investments from Muslim populations of India.

2. The fund approved by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board

3. SBI MF fourth fund house in India to have an Islamic equity fund.

4. India second country outside the Islamic world where a state-owned bank is offering such fund

5. The UK is the first country who issued sovereign Islamic bonds in June 2014

Kotak Mahindra Bank first bank in India to fully own insurance business

1. RBI gave permission to the bank for setting up Kotak General Insurance

2. Kotak General Insurance will be the 29th non-life insurance company in the country

3. The CEO of the company will be Mahesh Balasubramanian

4. The bank already promotes life insurance with Old Mutual of South Africa


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SEBI de-recognised Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE)

1. De-recognised on account of serious irregularities in demutualisation process

2. SEBI demutualisation rules requires every stock exchange to sell brokers' 51% equity

3. DSE was incorporated in 1947

4. It is an amalgamation of Delhi Stock and Share Brokers' Association Ltd and the Delhi Stocks and

Shares Exchange Ltd

Shell India won 18000-crore rupees tax dispute case

1. It won the tax case against Income Tax department

2. The decision given by Bombay High Court

3. Decision based on legal principle laid down in the Vodafone case

4. It ruled that transfer pricing does not arise in case of transfer of shares

5. The case pertains to alleged under pricing of shares issued by Shell India

Alibaba made the record of earning 9.3 billion US dollars on a single day

1. Alibaba shipped 278 million orders out of which 43 percent were mobile devices

2. It achieved the staggering figure on Singles Day shopping event

3. The event celebrates the bachelorhood of Young single Chinese

4. Alibaba is a Chinese e-commerce giant founded by Jack Ma

SoftBank of Japan to invest 10 billion dollars in India

1. Will invest in India's IT and communications sector in coming years

2. Announced to invest 627 million US dollars in Snapdeal

3. Signed definitive agreement to invest 210 million US dollars in ANI Technologies

4. Chairman and CEO of the SoftBank is Masayoshi Son

Union government de-regulated diesel and hiked natural gas rates

1. The price of diesel to be market-linked

2. The retail rates will reflect price changes in the global market.

3. The government will no longer provide subsidy on diesel.

4. This is the first reduction in diesel rates since 2009.


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Google closed Orkut

1. Orkut is a social network site

2. Google announced to shut down Orkut in June 2014.

3. Old users of Orkut can take back up of pictures till September 2016.

4. Orkut was started in 2004 and named after its creator, Orkut Buyukkokten.

5. Google has moved to a new platform the Google Plus.

Union government decided to wind up HMT Watches

1. The unit has been incurring losses since 2000

2. HMT Watches is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hindustan Machines Tools (HMT) limited

3. HMT Limited was set up at Bangalore in 1961 in collaboration with Japan’s Citizen Watch

4. In 2000, HMT Watch Business group was restructured as HMT Watches Ltd.

RBI fixed the upper age limit at 70 years for M.D. and CEO in private sector banks

1. The decision was taken to comply with the Section 196(3) of the Companies Act, 2013

2. Individual bank’s boards free to prescribe a lower retirement age for whole time Directors

3. Earlier, no maximum age was specified and decisions were taken case by case

Union Government granted Navratna Status to CONCOR

1. CONCOR is the 17th Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to achieve Navratna Status.

2. The status was accorded by the Department of Public Enterprises.

3. CONCOR current Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) is Anil Kumar Gupta.

4. It deals in Export-Import and domestic trade and commerce policy of India.

Expenditure Management Commission constituted

1. The Commission will be headed by Bimal Jalan

2. He is a former RBI Governor

3. Commission will suggest the way for managing public finances by reducing subsidies.

ICICI Bank became the first bank in India to launch EMI facility on Debit Card

1. This was so far available only for credit cardholders.

2. Will enable customers to convert their high value transactions into easy installments


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3. Facility available to debit cardholders with minimum fixed deposit of 10000 rupees

C S Verma elected as First President of Indian Steel Association

1. C S Verma is currently working as the head of Steel Authority of India Limited

2. The Indian Steel Association was formally launched on 26 August 2014

3. Aims to work towards transforming the Indian steel industry as a global leader

4. Membership of ISA open to any steel producer with a yearly capacity of at least 2 million tones

DIPP notified Press Note 8 allowing 100% FDI in Rail infrastructure

1. FDI in rail infrastructure will be through automatic route

2. FDI will not be allowed in train operations and safety

3. Proposals involving FDI beyond 49 percent in sensitive areas to be placed before the Cabinet

Committee on Security

4. Definitions of infrastructure and common facilities have also been widened

Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2014-15

1. This was the first budget of newly appointed government led by Narendra Modi

2. It focused on providing good infrastructure like public transport, solid waste disposal

3. Emphasized on skill development and entrepreneurship in the budget

4. Announced that the FDI cap in Defence sector would be raised to 49 percent

Current attorney general of India- Mukul Rohatgi Past- Goolam Essaji Vahanvati First- M. C. Setalvad

Current comptroller and auditor general of India- Shashi Kant Sharma Past- Vinod Rai First- V. Narahari Rao

Current Election Commissioner India HS BhramaPast- V. S. Sampath First- Sukumar Sen

Current Union Public Service Commission- Shri Deepak Gupta Past- Rajni RazdanFirst- Ross barker


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Current chairman of isro A. S. Kiran Kumar Past- Shailesh Nayak past- K Radhakrishnan First- Vikram Sarabhai

Current chairperson NHRC K.G. BalakrishnanPast- Justice S. Rajendra Babu First– Justice Ranganath Misra

Niti Aayog:Vice Chairperson: Arvind Panagariya

Planning commission: Last- Montek Singh Ahluwalia First- Gulzari Lal Nanda

Current Indian Foreign Secretary of Subrahmanyam JaishankarPast- Sujatha Singh First- K.P.S. Menon

Current Chief justice of H. L. Dattu Past- RM LodhaPast- P. Sathasivam First- H. J. Kania

Current RBI Chairman: Raguram RajanPast- D. SubbaraoPast- Dr. Y. V ReddyFirst- Osborne Smith

Current Finance Commissioner of India: Dr. Y. V ReddyPast- Dr. Vijay L. KelkarFirst- K. C. Neogy

Lok Sabha:

Speaker: Sumitra MahajanPast: Meira Kumar.Vice speaker: M ThambiduraiPast:Opposite leader: Past: sushma swaraj

Rajya Sabha:Vice speaker: P. J. KurienPast: K Rehman KhanOpposite leader: Ghulam Nabi AzadPast: Arun Jaitley


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nChief Military GeneralDalbir Singh SuhagPast: Bikram Singh

Chief of the Naval Staff Robin K. DhowanAdmiral D.K. Joshi

Indian Air ForceMarshal RahaNAK Browne

Principal Secretary- Nripendra Misra

Tamil Nadu:

1. Advocate general- Pattabhi Sundar Raman 2. Election commissioner of Tamilnadu- Sandeep Saxena succeeds Praveen Kumar.3. Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission chairman- THIRU C.BALASUBRAMANIAN4. Chief Secretary Thiru Kumar Jayant, IAS succeed Thiru Debendranath Sarangi IAS5. Speaker P. Dhanapal succeed D. Jayakumar6. Deputy speaker Pollachi V. Jayaraman succeed P. Dhanapal7. Chief justice of High Court Sanjay Kishan Kaul succeed Satish K Agnihotri


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nIndian Civilian Awards:

Bharat Ratna:

It is India’s highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service1. 2014 Sachin Tendulkar and CNR Rao Received Bharat Ratna 2. 2015 Atal Bihari Vajpee and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya 3. First Indians to win Bharat Ratna Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari, Dr. C. V. Raman in

1954 4. First woman to receive Bharat Ratna Indira Gandhi in 1971

Padma Awards:

Padma Vibhushan: LK Advani- Public Affairs- Gujarat, Amitabh Bachchan- Art- Maharashtra, Prakash Singh Badal- Public Affairs- Punjab (Provided to Many person some notable person)

Padma Bhushan N Gopalaswami - Civil Service- Tamil Nadu Sudha Ragunathan- Art- Tamil Nadu(Provided to Many person some notable person)

Padma ShriPadma: awards are for exceptional and distinguished service in any field including service rendered by Government servants. (Provided to Many person some notable person).

Gallantry Awards:

Param Vir Chakra (PVC) ,Ashok Chakra, Shaurya Chakra , krithi chakra:

These awards are given for appreciating the brave and gallant.Ashok Chakra: Major Mukund Varadarajan (Tamil Nadu Chennai) and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh.

Sports Awards:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is India’s highest honor given for achievement in sports.

• First : Viswanathan Anand 1991• Vijay Kumar (Shooter), Yogeshwar Dutt (wresteler)2011–12 • Current: Ronjan Sodhi 2012–13 (Shooter)

Dronacharya Awads: Dronacharya highest civilian award for coach.• Raj Singh • Raj Singh headed coach for CWG 2014

Arjun Awards: Arjuna Award is given for Excellence in sports. (Provided to Many personality some notable person)

• PV Sindhu (Batmiton) 2013• Ravi chandran Ashwin (Cricket) 2014


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nDhyan Chand Award

Dhyan Chand Award is India's highest award for lifetime achievement in sports and games, given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. The award is named after the legendaryIndian hockey player Dhyan Chand.

• Gurmail Singh - hockey• Zeeshan Ali - Tennis• K P Thakkar- swimming diving

Asian Noble Award (2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awards )

2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awards AnnouncedThe prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for year 2014 were announced on 31 July and it included six winners. Education is a big theme in this year’s awards, with two individuals who have dedicated their lives to educating indigenous communities – a Filipino and an Indonesian – and a Pakistani organization that builds schools for girls, among the 6 awardees.

The 2014 Awardees are:-i) Saur Marlina Manurung (Indonesia)ii) Randy Halasan (The Philippines)iii) Hu Shuli (China) iv) Omara Khan Masoudi (Afghanistan)v) Wang Canfa (China)vi) The Citizen Foundation (Pakistan)

International Awards:

Noble Prize:

Peace: Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai have been jointly awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

Economics: French economist Jean Tirole won the 2014 Economics Nobel Prize for his analysis of market power and regulation.It was the second Nobel Prize for a French national this year after author Patrick Modiano won the literature award.

Chemistry: American scientists Eric Betzig and William Moerner and Germany’s Stefan Hell won the2014 Nobel prize for chemistry. The trio of Betzig, Moerner and Hell wereconferred for their contribution in the area of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy which helped in bringing optical


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microscopy into the nano-dimension

Physics: Three Japanese-born researchers Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics. They were honoured for inventing efficient blue Light-Emitting Diodes(LED) lamps that worked as a bright and energy-saving white lightsources.

Literature: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2014 was awarded to French author Patrick Modiano for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation. He is the 14th French writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature (one, Jean Paul-Sartre, declined to accept it).

Physiology (or) Medicine: U.S.-British scientist John O’Keefe and Norwegian couple MayBritt Moser, Edvard Moser won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering the “inner Global Positioning System (GPS)” that helps the brain navigate through the world.

Indians Who received Nobel prize:Literature: First Indian to win Nobel Prize in Literature Rabindranath Tagore in 1913.Physics:

• C. V. Raman (1929)• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar- importance to the structure and evolution of the stars (1983)

Medicine: Har Gobind Khorana- 1968 for his "interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis.Peace:

• First women from India to win a Nobel prize Mother Teresa, peace prize in 1979.• Kailash Satyarthi 2014.

Economics: Amartya Sen 1998.Chemistry: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan – Ribosomes structure.

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States.Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee is the fourth person of Indian origin to win the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. He is the author of the 2010 book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction.

The earlier three were:

1. Indian-origin journalist Geeta Anand was among the staff of the Wall Street Journal to be awarded a Pulitzer in 2003 for explanatory reporting;

2. Indian-origin author Jhumpa Lahiri won the Pulitzer for fiction for her book Interpreters of Maladies


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in 2000. And she was the first women to receive the award.

3. Indian-origin journalist Gobind Behari Lal had won the prestigious prize for reporting in 1937

Bookers Prize: Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things – 1997 and First women & Indian who receives this award.Kiran Desai - The Inheritance of Loss - 2006Aravind Adiga- The White Tiger- 2008

Booker Prize :Australian author Richard Flanagan was on 15 October awarded the 2014 Man Booker Prize for his wartime novel “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”. The novel narrates story of a love and war during the construction of the Thailand Burma Death Railway in World War II. Flanagan is the third Australian to win the prize after Thomas Keneally and Peter Carey.

Other Important Awards:

The Golden Peacock Awards: It is recognised worldwide as the hallmark of corporate excellence. It builds the Brand Equity and inspires and aligns the entire workforce. wipro -2014

Manthan Award: It is an initiative in India to recognize the best practices in e-Content and Creativity.

FiFi Awards The FiFi Awards honor the fragrance industry’s creative achievements

International Gandhi Peace Prize: This award is given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political revolution through non-violence and Gandhian philosophy. The award carries Rs. 10 million in cash.

2014- ISRO - Space agency of the Indian Govt. Objective is to advance space technology and deliver the applications of it2013- Chandi Prasad Bhatt - Environmentalist, social activist and pioneer of the Chipko movement

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award: Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award is for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management

GREEN STAR AWARDS: The Green Star Awards recognize those who have made extraordinary efforts to respond to environmental disasters around the world.

Jnanpith 1965 F irst recipient of Jnanpith award G Sankara Kurup, for Odakkuzhal (Flute) in Malayalam

Name: P. V. Akilan Novel: Chitttrappavai Year: 1975

Name: D. Jayakanthan Awards : Padma Bhushan, Jnanpith, Sahitya Akademi Award, Order of Friendship (Russian award)Novel:


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Year: 2002Sahitya Akademi Award for Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal (1972)

Name: Bhalchandra Nemade (Marathi)Novel: Jagnyachi Samrudhha AdgalYear: 2014 First woman to win the Jnanpith award Asha Purna Devi 1976 for her work Pratham Pratisruti in Bengali

Sahitya Akademi Award: *24 Indian languages.1955 Tamil Inbam(Essays) R. P. Sethu Pillai2014 Agngnaadi (Novel) Poomani2013 korkai (Novel) Joe D Cruz

President Pranab Mukherjee Conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Award) is an award constituted by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India in conjunction with the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-resident Indian Day), to honor exceptional and meritorious contribution in their chosen field/profession. The award is given by the President of India.

Entertainment:

Oscar Awards:1. 86th Annual Academy Oscar Awards 2013

Best Picture: “12 Years a Slave.”2. 87th Annual Academy Oscar Awards 2014

Best Picture: "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (both 9 nominations) "

3. First Indian to win two Oscar Awards is A. R. Rahman4. First Indian to win an Oscar in the technical category is Resul Pookutty5. First Indian Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya, for best costume design for the film 'Gandhi' in 1982.6. First Indian Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film Mother India, 1957

Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2013 : Veteran Film Lyricist and Director Gulzar.First women Devika Rani in 1970Tamil Industries: Sivaji 1970, Balchandar (director) 2012.

61st National Film Awards: Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration – ‘ Thalaimuraigal ’ (Tamil)

Shah Rukh Khan Received ‘Knight Of The Legion Of Honor’ :Bollywood Actor Shah Rukh Khan was conferred with top French civilian award “Knight of the Legion of Honor” (National Order of the Legion of Honour) on 1 July for his


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outstanding contribution to cultural diversity across the world.

Indian Mathematician Named Joint Winner Of ‘ 2014 George Polya Prize ‘Nikhil Srivastava, a young Indian mathematician, on 10 July became the first joint winner of the prestigious ‘ 2014 George Polya Prize ‘ for finding a solution to a problem that had eluded mathematicians for more than half a century.

Jaitley, Karan Singh, Sharad Yadav Conferred with ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ( for 2010), Congress leader Karan Singh (2011) JD(U) President Sharad Yadav (2012) are conferred with ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards’ by the President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 August in New Delhi. The awards were given for their invaluable contribution in discharge of their parliamentary duties.

Indian Scientist Kamal Bawa Won Midori Prize In Biodiversity 2014Indian scientist Kamal Bawa, an eminent professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, has won the prestigious Midori Prize in Biodiversity 2014 for his research that included climate change in the Himalayas.

Malala Won 2014 World’s Children PrizeMalala Yousafzai of Pakistan won the 2014 World’s Children Prize on 29 October 2014 after a global vote involving millions of children. She received the prize at a ceremony in Mariestad near Stockholm. World Children’s prize was created in 2000 and is run by the World’s Children’s Prize Foundation (WCPF), based in Mariefred, Sweden.

Manmohan Singh Received Japan’s Top National Award 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”. 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.

West Bengal’s Darjeeling Zoo Selected For Earth Heroes Award 2014

The Darjeeling Zoo or the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park was on 1 November selected for the prestigious International Award The Earth Heroes Award 2014. It has become the first zoo in India.It has competed with 300 zoos across the world. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is largest high altitude zoo of India. It is located in West Bengal.The Earth Heroes award is annually awarded by the Royal Bank of Scotland in collaboration with the Government of United Kingdom.

Neha Gupta Received International Children’s Peace Prize 2014

Indian-American student Neha Gupta has won the 2014 International Children’s Peace Prize Award for her exceptional work to raise money for underprivileged children around the world. Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu the patron of the Dutch children’s rights organization presented her with the award on 18 November in The Hague, Netherlands. She is the first American to be awarded with this prize.


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ISRO selected For Indira Gandhi Prize For Peace – 2014Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2014 in recognition of its path-breaking achievements including the Mars Orbiter Mission and contribution in strengthening international cooperation in peaceful use of outer space. ISRO was selected for the award by a jury chaired by Vice President Hamid Ansari on 19 November 2014.

Narendra Modi Named The Straits Times ‘Asian Of The Year 2014′Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on 5 December named ‘Asian of the Year 2014’ for being a development-focused leader by editors of Singapore’s leading daily, The Straits Times. Last year’s award was shared by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China’sPresident Xi Jinping.

Fidel Castro Awarded China’s Confucius Peace Prize – 2014Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro has been awarded the Confucius Peace Prize -2014, China’s alternative to the Nobel. He did not attend the Confucius Peace Prize awar ceremony on 9 December. ACuban exchange student accepted the award on his behalf. The Confucius Peace prize was established in 2009 as an eastern alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize following the proposal of Chinesebusinessman Lui Zhiqin.

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission Team Won Space Pioneer Award – 2015The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) Team of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 12 January won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the Science and Engineering category. The Mars Orbiter Missionteam is located in Bangalore and is headed by Mylswamy Annadurai.This prestigious award is be given by the National Space Society (NSS), an American educational and scientific organization.

Jammu and Kashmir Won National E-Governance Award 2014-15Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been selected for National e-Governance award 2014-15 for its best district level initiative in the country.J&K state has been selected on 16 January for this award by Department of Administrative Reforms for its e-Panchayat project

Tamil Nadu Won National E-Panchayath Award 2014-15

Karnataka Won National E-Health Award 2014-15

Sikkim Won National Tourism Award 2012-13

Amartya Sen Won John Maynard Keynes PrizeEconomist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has won the newly instituted Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015 on 10 February.With this, Professor Sen will receive 7500 British pounds to commission a work of art and will give the annual Charleston-EFG Keynes Lecture at the Charleston Festival in the United Kingdom. This year’s lecture is scheduled for23 May 2015 and it will be on The Economic Consequences of Austerity.

Sports:


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1. Common wealth games 2014

• 2014 Venue: Glasgow, Scotland• 2010 Venue: Delhi, India• 2018 Venue: Gold Coast, Australia.

• Motto: People, Place, Passion.

• Boxing: Mary Kom will not participate in this game because Pinki Jangra defeated her in selection match.

• Ravinder Singh Khaira- will participate in javelin throw.• Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New

Zealand, Scotland and Wales.

2: Asian Games 2014 (Incheon)

• Venue: Incheon, South Korea• Theme “Diversity shines here”• 2010: Asian Games Guangzhou, china.• 2018: Jakarta, Indonesia.• 1st 1982 Asian Games: India, New Delhi.

3: London Olympic 2012:

• First Indian Olympic team medal gold for Hockey, at Amsterdam beating the Netherlands in 1928.

• Winner of first Indian Olympic Individual medal K. D. Jadhav, Bronze in wrestling at Helsinki in 1952

Hosting countries:

• 2008: Beijing,China• 2012: London ,UK• 2016: Brazil, South america.• 2020: Tokyo, Japan.

1. Gagan NarangBronze. 10 air-rifle2. Mary Kom Bronze. Women flywt. Boxing3. Saina Nehwal Bronze. Single badminton4. Sushil Kumar Silver Wrestle 66kg. He was flag-bearer. He got bronze in 2008 Beijing.5. Vijay Kumar Silver. 25 rapid fire pistol. Rajiv G.Khel ratna6. Yogeshwar Dutt Bronze. 60kg wrestle. Rajiv G.Khel ratna.

2 siver, 4 bronze, no gold.

Indian Olympic Association:Chairman N RamachandranSecretary General Rajeev Mehta.


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4. Sochi Winter Olympics 2014

22nd winter Olympics + 11th Winter Paralympics.Slogan- Hot cool yours.Venue: Sochi resort, Russia, near black sea coast.Next Winter Olympic 2018: PyeongChang, South Korea. Motto New horizons.

5. National games

National games are held once in every two years.• 2011: 34th Ranchi• 2015: 35th National games were to be held @Kerala• 2016: 36th Goa.

but postponed because Kerala yet to finish building stadiums.In this context, SAI(Sports authority of India) suggested two things to India Olympic Associationscrap the national games altogether ORHold this 35th tournament @SAI centers.

7. Football FIFA 2014

• 2010 S.Africa Spain had defeated Netherlands in South Africa. other details not important.• 2014 Brazil (June-July) Fuleco, the Armadillo• Ball Name: Brazuca• Song: We Are One (Ole Ola)• Winner: Germany.• Runner: Argentina

2018 Russia2022 Qatar allegations that Qatar paid bribes to win this nomination

Fifa 2014: Total 32 nations participating, 12 stadiums

8. Cricket:

ICC T20 world cup 2014:1. Man's:

Winner: Sri Lanka Captain Dinesh Chandimal (later injured so Lasit Malinga became captain).Runner: India Captain Dhoni (coach Duncan Fletcher)

2. Women's:Winner: Aus. captain Meg LanningRunner: England captain Charlotte EdwardsFor this ICC-T20 series, Indian Women’s team captain was Mithali Raj (and not Joolan Goswami)

BCCI chairman: 1. Shivlal Yadav & Sunil Gavaskar -Past 2. Jagmohan Dalmiya - current


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Col.CK Naidu lifetime achievement - Kapil Dev. Award by BCCI

ICC Chairman: N Srinivasan. HQ: Dubai

World Cup 2015: • Jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand in February 2015. • Australia and New Zealand• Winner: Australia • Runner: New Zealand

Chess: Norway’s Magnus Carlsen defeated Vishwanath Anand in Chennai. Nov 2013

SquashJoshna chinappa (Tamil)

• won Winnipeg open squash 2014• Richmond Open 2014• also got Arjun Ratna 2013

Saurav Ghosal: won Dato Alex Lee award for best Asian player 2013.

Billiards• Saurav Kothari: national championship• Pankaj Advani has failed to win any major game in 2013-14 so far..• Chitra Magimairaj won World women’s snooker• Geet Sethi: 6 time world champion billiards player from Gujarat. Retired and runs NGO

“Olympic Gold quest” to help Indian athletes along with Prakash Padukone.


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SOME IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT SCHEMESBrief description of some Government Schemes in India:

BHARAT NIRMAN: · It was implemented and extended in three phases i.e., from (2005 - 2009), (2009 - 2012), (2012- 2014)· It is centrally sponsored scheme for the rural development of India started in September 2005.· There are 6 objectives in this schemeObjectives:a) To provide all weather road connectivity to the village which have more than 1000 population in plain areas and 500 population in hilly areas.b) To bring 10 million hectares of land under irrigation facility and to make 1.4 million hectares of additional land for arable land (for the use of agriculture).c) To provide clean drinking water to all villages by the end of 2012 under Rajiv Gandhi payjal yojana.d) To electrify 1, 76,000 villages by the end of 2012 under Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran yojna.e) To construct Pakka houses for BPL households under Indira Awas Yojana (Now from April 1st 2013 cash assistance Rs. 70000 for plain areas and Rs. 75000 for hilly areas) previously it was Rs. 40000 for plain areas and Rs. 45000 for hilly areas.f) To provide telephone connectivity to all villages and all BPL holders by 2012.Note: All these objectives are extended till 2014.

JNNURM: Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission· It was implemented and extended in two phases i.e., (2005 - 2012), (2012 - 2014)· Started in the year 2005 to make million plus cities squatter (Slam area) free.· There are 2 componentsa) To construct pakka houses for urban poor dwelling in squatter under Rajiv Awas yojana.b) To make transportation system faster and greener.

NRHM: National Rural Health Mission· It was started on 12th April 2005 to enhance the health facilities in rural areas.· The appointment of ASHA workers (Accredited social health activist) in Angonwadi Kendra to provide basic information on health and hygiene conditions as well as to guide people regarding conservation of water.

MGNREGA: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act· It was on started on 2nd Feb 2006 to provide minimum 150 days from 1st April 2013 (previously its is100 days) of employment to BPL house hold.· This scheme is both for Urban and Rural areas.· The old name of this scheme is NREGA and it was changed to MGNREGA on 2nd Oct 2009.· The wages under the scheme is fixed on the basis of CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers) which is calculated by the state government on the basis of their Per capita Income.

UIDAI: Unique Identification Authority of India.· It was started in the year 2010 to provide multipurpose national identity card (MNIC) to every citizen aged above 5 years.· Its name has been changed to Aadhar.· Its model state was Karnataka (started)· The retinal identification is taken from the age group of 14 and above.· Scheme has 7 components like address, PAN no., Passport no., retinal identity etc, It consists of 12 digit number.


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· Chairman: Nandan Nilkani

NFSM: National Food Security Mission· This scheme is to reduce the poverty in India under national social assistance programme.· Under Public Distribution System (PDS), government will provide rice @ Rs. 3/kg, wheat @ Rs. 2/kgto the BPL households.

IGNOAPS: Indira Gandhi National Old age Pension Scheme· This Scheme is for the people who aged above 65 years.· The amount of Rs. 400 per month (Central govt + State govt = Rs. 200 + Rs. 200) will be provided by both Central government and State government who aged between 65 – 80 years.· Rs. 500 per month (Central govt + State govt = Rs. 250 + Rs. 250) for the people who aged more than 80 years.

IGNWPS: Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme· The beneficiary is in between age group of 40-64 years in this scheme.· Assistance of Rs. 400 per month (Central govt + State govt = Rs. 200 + Rs. 200) will be given to particular person.

NFBS: National Family Benefit Scheme· Under this scheme a grant of Rs. 10000 is given in case of natural and accidental death of the primarily breadwinner of the family (he/she) of BPL households.

ANNAPURNA:· Under this scheme 10 kg of food grains are provided to BPL households free of cost every month.· But for this scheme the particular beneficiary shouldn’t be registered with IGNOAPS.

Pradhanmantri Jan-Dhan Yojana :To provide bank accounts, insurance cover and a debit card to all the citizens of the country.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana To boost agricultual yield, Govt launched "Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana

Krishi Amdani Beema YojanaTo help the farmers don’t bear any financial burden if their produce gets destroyed due to unexpected weather or for any other reason.

Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY)This schem eis a pension and life insurance scheme and is recoghnised by th eIndian governement. Thisscheme was launched in the UAE. A leading Indian financial and health care service player has tied up with the UAE Exchange to offer MGPSY in the Gulf country.

Free CFL bulb Scheme (Tamil Nadu)Tamil Nadu governement launched free CFL bulb scheme under this scheme state government will provide free compact fluorescent light bulbs to over 14 lakh hut dwellers in the state, an energy saving measure aimed at saving 40 mw of power.

e-inclusion project: Centre recently launched e-inclusion project to spread e literacy. This project is aninitiative to make at least one individual in every household e-literate, under the project, economically


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weaker sections of the society including rural SC, ST and women will receive IT training.

Rani Laxmi Bai Pension Scheme'Special pension' would be given to Muzaffarnagar riot victims by U.P. Govt. The pension, which would be anywhere between Rs. 400 and Rs. 500, would be givne under this scheme.

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

'Roshini' SchemeCentre launched this scheme for skill development and job placement for rural youth and women in maoist affected 24 districts in 9 states.

Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya YojanaThis is a Health Insurance scheme. This was launched in Maharashtra.

Golden Girl (Bangaru Talli) Scheme :A unique scheme, launched in Andhra Pradesh, to protect girl child and ensure her education.

Anna Bhagya :A programme launched in Karnataka. The programme entitles distribution of 30 kg riceat one rupee per Kg to over 98 lakh BPL and Antyodaya card holders in the state.

Annapurna :Under this scheme. 10 kg of food grains are provided to BPL households free of cost every month.

Swavlamban Abhiyan : Narendra Modi launched 11 welfare schems of Gujarat government under the title of ( Milk Related)

Important Committee

1. Urjit Patel Committee– To Examine the current monetary policy framework

2. Mukul Mudgal- member panel to probe IPL spot-fixing

3. Nachiket Mor– committee on comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low income households.

4. Justice A.P. Shah committee– to head panel on road safety

5. Anil Kaushal committee- to examine the recommendations made by the TRAI on pricing ofSpectrum

6. Bimal Jalan Committee– To scrutinies applications for new bank licences, the committee to submitits report by January, 2014.

7. Khandelwal Committee– on HR issues of public sector banks.

8. Janakiraman Committee– To investigate the security transactions of the bank


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9. Parthasarathi Shome– for Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC), Suggest a system toenforce better tax compliance

10. Damodran Committee- on improvement of customer services in banks

11. Shri M. Narasimham Committee- on Banking Sector Reforms

12. Shri B. Mahapatra Committee- to review the existing prudential guidelines on restructuring ofadvances by banks/financial institutions

13. Shri Aditya Puri Committee- Dissemination of Credit Information

14. MBN Rao Committee– to prepare the blueprint of India’s first women’s bank

15. K M Chandrasekhar committee– for rationalization of foreign investment norms

16. Shri Pulak Kumar Sinha Committee– to study the feasibility of Aadhaar as an additional factor for authentication of card present transactions

17. B. Shivraman Committee– Nabard

18. Mukul Mudgal Committee– looking into US giant Walmart’s lobbying activities to enter India

19. MBN Rao Committee – to prepare the blueprint of India’s first women’s bank

20. Shri Raghuram Rajan Committee– on Financial Sector Reforms,

21. Arvind Mayaram Committee– for giving clear definitions to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) andForeign Institutional Investment (FII)

22. Committee Set Up On Uttarakhand Floods– The committee will be headed by AK Ganju (Chairman,Ganga Flood Control Commission, Patna)

23. JS Mathur committee– to revise Newspaper Advertisement Rates.

24. Parthasarathi Shome committee– implementation of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rule)

25. Mukul Mudgal Committee- looking into US giant Walmart’s lobbying activities to enter India

26. Mukul Mudgal Committee- to look at process of film clearance

27. Shri K.U.B. Rao Committee- recommended aligning gold import regulations

28. K. Ratna Prabha – Committee on indecent depiction of women in media

29. SK Srivastava Committee- to formulate a policy on public-private partnership model to raise coaloutput

30. K M Chandrasekhar Committee– for rationalization of foreign investment norms


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n31. RS Gujral Committee– suggest measures to boost MSME exports.

32. Arvind Mayaram Committee –for giving clear definitions to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) andForeign Institutional Investment (FII)

33. Suma Verma Committee– to update, and revise the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006

34. MS Ahluwalia committee– to evaluate aspects related to set up of Nalanda University 35. Sitakant Mahapatra committee– for inclusion of Bhojpuri language in eighth schedule ofconstitution

36. C Rangarajan committee– for poverty scale estimates in the country

37. MB Shah committee– for inspection of illegal mining activities

38. N Rangachary committee– to examine taxation policies for I.T. Sector

39. N R Narayana Murthy committee– for evaluation of corporate sector participation in HigherEducation.

40. Deepak Parekh committee– for Financing Infrastructure sector

41. Naresh Chandra committee– 14 member task force on security issues

42. Bhandari Committee– Reconstruction of RRBs

43. Narasimham Committee I (1991) and Narasimham Committee I (1998) on Banking SectorReforms.

44. Hilton-Young Commission recommendated setting up of RBI.

45. The All-India Rural Credit Survey Committee, 1951– recommending creation of a strong,integrated, state-sponsored, state-partnered commercial banking institution with an effectivemachinery of branches spread all over the country

46. Krishna Committee:1. sri krishna committee report mumbai riots 1992 (Ayodiya)2. 1996 – 6th pay commission3. 2003 – Chennai HC Lawyers clash4. 2010- Telangana state.

47. Govindarajan Committee: School fee structure in Tamil nadu

48.Khusro Committee: Setting up of an apex institution for the co-operative banks.


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nIndira Awaas Yojana- Provides financial assistance to rural poor for constructing their houses themselves

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana- A cash incentive of Rs. 4000 to women (19 years and above) for the first two live births.

Integrated Child Development Services- 1975 ICDS-tackle malnutrition and health problems in children below 6 years of age and their mothers

Integrated Rural Development Program- 1978self-employment program to raise the income-generation capacity of target groups among the poor

Janani Suraksha Yojana - 2005 One-time cash incentive to pregnant women for institutional/home births through skilled assistance

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2006 Legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage of Rs. 120 per day in 2009

Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana - Integrated development of Schedule Caste majority villages in four states

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana - Good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana - Achieve 4% annual growth in agriculture through development of Agriculture and its allied sectors during the XI Plan period

Sukanya Samridhi Yojana (Girl Child Prosperity Scheme)The scheme primarily ensures equitable share to a girl child in resources and savings of a family in which she is generally discriminated as against a male child.

National Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)The scheme seeks to preserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of the country.


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