TOP 100 CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 2014

National

Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2014 introduced in Lok Sabha

• It is also called Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill
• It seeks to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime
• Inserts article Articles 246A, 269A and 279A in the Constitution
• Provides for Union Finance Minister headed GST Council
• Sets in a uniform and integrated indirect tax regime in India

14th Finance Commission submitted its report to President

• It covers the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2020
• The Commission headed by former RBI Governor Y V Reddy
• Provides for devolution of tax receipts from the Centre to the States
• Article 280 of Constitution provides for appointment of Finance Commission
• First and 13th Finance Commission was headed by K C Neogy & Dr Vijay Kelkar resp.

Union government decriminalized Attempt to Suicide

• For this purpose Section 309 of Indian Penal Code removed
• 20^th Law Commission headed by Justice A P Shah recommended in its 210 Report
• 210th Report on Humanization and Decriminalization of Attempt to Suicide
• France was the first country to decriminalize this offence

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

• Introduced as a periodic measure for updating the list of laws in force
• Seeks to repeal 90 laws and pass amendment to two laws
• Proposes to amend the two laws to rectify typographical errors
• The laws are Railways (Amendment) Act, 2008 and the Indian Maritime University Act, 2008

Karnataka Mobile One App launched for m-governance

• Launched by President Pranab Mukherjee in Bengaluru
• First such app in India to usher in an era of mobile governance
• Developed under the ICARE program of Karnataka government
• Expected to provide more than 4000 services to citizens

Social Justice Bench constituted on social issue

• Constituted by Supreme Court on 3 December 2014
• Started operation on 12 December 2014
• The brainchild of Chief Justice of India H L Dattu
• Two-judge bench to be headed by Justice Madan B Lokur
• The other member is Justice U U Lalit

627 names of Indians holding black money abroad submitted to SC

• Includes details of treaties India signed with France and other nations
• Half of the 627 names are Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)
• Most of them have accounts with HSBC Bank, Geneva
• SIT headed by Justice M B Shah is probing black money case

Union government unveiled new counter-Naxal doctrine

• Proposes four-pronged approach to deal with Naxals
• These are Security, Development, Rights and Entitlement and Public Perception Management
• Focus on security interventions in worst LWE-affected areas
• In moderately-affected areas, security and development initiatives will be focus
• In less affected areas, development interventions will take precedence

Swachh Bharat Mission launched

• Launched on occasion of 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
• Aims at making India clean by 2019
• The year 2019 will be 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
• Nine people nominated to inspire people to join the Mission

SC quashed allocation of 214 coal blocks

• Quashed by SC bench headed by Justice R M Lodha
• Allocations were arbitrary and illegal
• 4 out of 218 coal blocks not cancelled
• Includes one of NTPC and SAIL each and two of Sasan UMPP owned by Anil Ambani

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) launched

• It was launched on 28 August 2014
• Aims to open 15 crore bank accounts by 15 August 2015
• It is a mega financial inclusion plan
• Each person covered to be provided bank accounts and RuPay debit cards
• Also provision for inbuilt insurance cover of 1 lakh rupees

India: first Country to Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty

• India ratified the treaty on 30 June 2014
• Will facilitate access to published works for blind and visually impaired persons
• The treaty was signed in Marrakesh, Morocco on 28 June 2013
• It has been signed by 64 countries

SC ruled Shariat Courts are illegal

• No legal status has been granted to the Sharia Courts
• Its fatwas/decrees are illegal if it violates fundamental rights
• The decision was delivered by SC bench headed by Justice C K Prasad
• The judgement given on a petition filed by Vishwa Lochan Madan in 2005

India became permanent signatory to Washington Accord

• India signed the Accord on 13 June 2014
• Joined a select group of 17 countries who joined the Accord
• Global employment opportunities for India’s technical and engineering graduates to increase
• Accord promotes mobility and quality assurance of engineers across international boundaries

Sumitra Mahajan elected as Speaker of 16th Lok Sabha

• She replaced Meira Kumar
• Became the second women presiding officer of the Lok Sabha
• She was elected to 9th Lok Sabha in 1989 for the first time
• 2014 elections was her eighth continuous term as Member of Parliament

 Telangana became the 29th state of India

• It achieved statehood on 2 June 2014
• Ten districts of the then Andhra Pradesh became part of Telangana
• Chandrasekhar Rao sworn-in as the first Chief Minister
• ESL Narasimhan is the Governor of Telangana
• Hyderabad is the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

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

• He was sworn-in on 26 May 2014
• He took oath with 45 Council of Minister including 23 Cabinet Ministers
• First Prime Minister of India born in independent India
• For the first time 25% of the Cabinet post allocated to women
• Swearing-in ceremony attended by heads of seven SAARC countries

16th Lok Sabha Elections 2014

• The election results for 543 constituencies declared on 16 May 2014
• Bharatiya Janata Party emerged victorious with 282 seats
• Congress led incumbent government just secured 44 seats
• BJP won the majority for the first time since independence
• The elections were conducted in nine phases from 7 April – 12 May 2014

Karnataka: first state in India to launch Health Adalat 

• The Health Adalat was launched in Gulbarga, Karnataka.
• Aims to ensure that all health facilities extended by the government reached all sections of society.
• During Health Adalat the department will interact with public representatives. 

Debroy Panel on restructuring Railway Board

• The Panel would submit its report till the end of 2015
• The seven-member panel will be headed by economist Bibek Debroy
• Mandated to estimate the financial needs of railways and ensure policies to raise resources
• Restructuring of railway board announced in Union Budget 2014-15

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

• The movie has been directed by Geethu Mohandas
• It is nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category
• 12-member jury headed by eminent filmmaker T Hariharan nominated it
• Leading casts are Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui
• The 87th Oscar Awards will be held in the US on 22 February 2015

C Rangarajan Committee on Poverty

• Total number of poor in India at 363 million or 29.6 percent of the population
• The daily per capita expenditure pegged at 32 rupees for the rural poor
• The daily per capita expenditure pegged at 47 rupees for the urban poor
• Poverty line is pegged 972 rupees per month for rural India
• Poverty line pegged at 1407 rupees per month for urban India 

Largest Solar Power Plant of India launched

• 130-MW Welspun Solar Plant launched at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, MP
• It is also the Asia's Largest Solar Power Plant.
• It was constructed at a cost of 1100 crore rupees.
• The Project will raise Indian solar capacity by 7 percent.

International

US President signed Ukraine Freedom Support Bill, 2014

• The Act authorizes administration to impose sanctions on Russia
• The sanctions to be imposed if needs arises
• Sanctions were imposed on Russia over Ukraine crisis
• Authorizes 350 million US dollars in lethal and non-lethal military aid Ukraine

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe re-elected

• He was re-elected for another four year term
• Japan's ruling coalition won a two thirds majority in the Snap elections
• Elections were held for the Lower House of the National Diet.
• The elections saw the voter turnout at 52.7 percent, the lowest since World War-II 

Nobel Prize presented

• Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi & Malala Yousufzai
• Physiology Prize winners John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser
• Literature Nobel Prize winner French author Patrick Modiano
• Physics Nobel Prize winner Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura
• Chemistry Nobel Prize Eric Betzig from Janelia Research Campus, Stefan Hell, Gottingen
• Economic Nobel Prize given to Jean Tirole 

First World Soil Day observed on 5 December 2014

• The Day was observed by the UNFAO
• UNFAO and GSP declared the year 2015 as UN International Year of Soils
• Events held to raise idea that soil is a critical component of natural system
• The day coincides with birthday of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 released

• This was the 20th edition
• Measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 175 countries
• India with a score of 38 was ranked 85^th
• The index was topped by Denmark with a score of 92.
• Index is prepared by Transparency International 

Time Magazine released list of 25 Best Inventions 2014

• Mangalyaan named among the best inventions of 2014
• Magazine describes it as a technological feat
• It is described as Supersmart Spacecraft- Mangalyaan
• The list also includes two inventions of Indians namely Blue Room and tablet toy, Osmo 

The G20 Summit 2014 concluded

• The Summit saw release of Brisbane Action Plan
• Action Plan comprises of 800+ reforms to boost global growth
• Sets an ambitious goal to lift G20 growth by 2.1 percent by 2018
• Seeks to reduce the gender gap in labour force participation rates by 25 percent by 2025 

25th anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall celebrated

• The fall of the Berlin Wall happened on 9 November 1989
• It was the most significant event in recent German history
• The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by East Germany
• It was built to stop people fleeing from East Germany to the West
• The Wall stretched for 155 kilometers of which only 3 kilometer remains now

Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2014 released 

• The list gives the annual ranking of the World’s 72 Most Powerful People
• The list was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked 15th
• Mukesh Ambani is ranked 36th on the list 

India re-elected to UNHRC

• It was re-elected for the period 2015-2017
• India received the highest 162 votes in the Asia Pacific group
• India’s first term as member due to end on 31 December 2014
• 14 other member states also elected to UNHRC for a three-year term
• The UNHRC promotes and protects human rights

India-Vietnam signed 7 pacts

• Pacts signed to strengthen Strategic Partnership
• Signed during President Pranab Mukherjee visit to Vietnam
• President gifted sapling of the holy Bodhi Tree to Vietnam
• Diplomatic relations between the two countries established in 1972
• The strategic relationship between the two countries established in 2007

Inaugural Tang Prizes 2014 presented in Taipei

• The Tang Prize is treated as Asia's version of the Nobels
• Winners of the inaugural Tang Prizes are 
  
  •  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

• Unity deal signed between Abdullah Abdullah and Ghani Adhmadzai
• The deal ended three-month stalemate over government formation in Afghanistan
• The stalemate was due to allegations that elections were rigged
• The deal calls of creation of post of CEO who will be the acting Prime Minister

Ebola Virus Disease outbreak

• More than 7000 patients died due to the Ebola Virus in West Africa.
• Ebola Virus disease first surface in Guinea in March 2014
• Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia are the countries affected
• Ebola disease was first detected in Congo basin of Zaire

Fields Medal 2014 

• The Fields Medal Awards held in Seoul, South Korea.
• The award recognized contributions of four medalists.
• Artur Avila, Manjul Bhargava, Martin Haire, Maryam Mirzakhani are the recipients
• The Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936.
• First winner were Finnish mathematician Lars Ahlfors and American mathematician Jesse Douglas. 

Prayuth Chan-ocha elected Prime Minister of Thailand

• He is the 29^th Prime Minister of Thailand
• He was elected with a vote of 191-6 votes in National Legislative Assembly (NLA)
• He is a former Army Chief of Thailand
• He seized the power in June 2014

6th BRICS Summit: Fortaleza Declaration 

• Held in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July and 16 July 2014.
• Theme of the Summit was Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions.
• The participating countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
• The BRICS Network University will be established
• BRICS Development Bank to be established 

UNSC adopted resolution to probe into MH-17 plane crash 

• Resolution adopted by 15-member UNSC unanimously.
• It demands free access to the crash site of Malaysian plane MH17.
• It insisted on dignified and respectful treatment of bodies of the victims.

Science & Technology

Scientific breakthrough of the year 2014: Rosetta space mission

• Rosetta is the European space mission
• First spacecraft to land on a comet
• The comet is named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
• It landed on 12 November 2014, 10 years after the launch

ISRO successfully launched GSLV Mark-III-X from Sriharikota

• This was the experimental launch of the rocket
• Weighing 630 tonnes, it is India’s heaviest rocket
• It carried Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE)
• The full fledged launch of the rocket will take place in two years.

India joined Thirty Meter Telescope Project

• India jointed the project as Full Member
• India to deliver 100 smaller, hexagonal mirrors
• The project in India coordinated by Dept of Science & Technology and DAE
• The telescope will be the largest in the world.
• It is being built atop Mauna Kea Mountain in Hawaii. 

World’s first womb-transplant baby born 

• The baby boy was born to a Swedish woman
• It was born at the University of Gothenburg's hospital
• The woman was born without a womb, although the ovaries were intact
• The replacement womb came from a 61-year-old woman
• She was suffering from a genetic condition called Rokitansky syndrome

New compound BQU57 developed

• It will block protein Ral aiding cancer growth
• Developed at University of Colorado Cancer Center
• The study of the compound published in journal Nature
• The lead author of the study is Dan Theodorescu

ISRO launched Mangalyaan to Mars orbit

• India inserted the spacecraft in Mars orbit in first attempt
• ISRO became the fourth space agency in the world to send a mission to Mars successfully
• Mangalyaan costs 74 million US dollars, the most cost-effective in world
• It will be finding the presence of methane on the Mars

INS Kolkata dedicated to nation

• INS Kolkata commissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai
• It is the country’s largest indigenously built warship
• Equipped against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and fighter aircraft
• It is commissioned without its main air defence weapon
• The warship has been constructed by Mazagon Dockyards Limited

New biochip to detect blood sugar via saliva

• The advancement will help diabetics to not to undergo blood test
• It is made from a one-inch-square piece of quartz coated with a thin layer of silver
• It uses a series of specific chemical reactions combined with plasmonic interferometry
• The device is sensitive enough to detect minutest differences in glucose concentrations

Lima Call for Climate Action

• Issued at the conclusion of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP)
• The President of 20th CoP was Manuel Pulgar-Vidal
• Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to form foundation for climate action post 2020
• Seeks to put world on track to New Universal Climate Agreement
• 21st COP will be held in Paris, France 

The US and China agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions

• US will reduce carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels
• China did not set a specific target, but said emissions would peak by 2030
• The two countries agreed to reduce the possibility of military accidents in the air and sea
• The two countries together produce about 45% of the world's carbon dioxide

India State of Forest Report 2013

• It was released by Union Ministry of Environment & Forest
• The India State of Forest Report 2013 was the 13th report in the series
• States with maximum increase in forest cover are West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala
• States with largest forest cover are MP & Arunachal Pradesh
• Mizoram has the highest forests cover in terms of percentage of forest
  

Bor Wildlife Sanctuary of Maharashtra

• It is India’s 47th Tiger Reserve
• Union Environment Ministry notified Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve
• Bor sanctuary is in Wardha district of Maharashtra
• It will be an important corridor between Tadoba – Andhari and Pench Tiger Reserves
• Tiger Reserves in Maharashtra: Melghat, Pench, Tadoba, Nagzira and Sahyadri

Personalities

Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss crowned Miss World 2014

• Outgoing Miss World, Megan Young of the Philippines presented the sash
• Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was the first runner-up
• Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, was the second runner-up
• India's Koyal Rana bagged the sub-title of Best Designer of the world
• This was the 64th Miss World Competition

Justice Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer died at 100

• He died on 4 December 2014 due to renal and cardiac failure.
• He was former Supreme Court Judge and an MLA from Kerala.
• He became the judge of the Supreme Court in 1973
• He retired at the age of 65 in 1980.
• There are 105 published books by V. R. Krishna Iyer. 

Australian opener Philip Hughes died 

• Died after a bouncer ball of Sean Abbott hit back of his head
• The accident happened at Sheffield Game at Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia
• He was a left-handed opening batsman
• He had played 26 Tests and 25 ODIs for Australia
• Indian cricketers Raman Lamba and Nari Contractor also died in same situations 

Chief Guest of Republic Day 2015: US President Barack Obama 

• He will be the first US President to attend the Republic Day Parade of India.
• Obama will participate in the Republic Day celebrations of India on 26 January 2015.
• Obama will be the first US President to travel to India twice.

Legendary Kathak danseuse Sitara Devi died

• Dance based on themes, poetry and choreography of her father
• She was born as Dhannolakshmi in the Brahmin family
• Rabindranath Tagore described her as Nritya Samragini
• She is known as a pioneering force in bringing the genre to Bollywood
  

Neha Gupta won International Children’s Peace Prize 2014

• Awarded for her work to help orphans in India
• Her organisation Empower Orphans has helped 25000 vulnerable children
• She became the first ever American to be awarded with the prize
• In 2013, the award was conferred on Malala Yousufzai

Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh received 49th Jnanpith Award

• Conferred for his outstanding contribution towards Indian literature
• 10th Hindi writer to receive the country’s highest literary award
• Known for his work Abhi Bilkul Abhi and Yahan Se Dekho
• First recipient G Sankara Kurup for Odakkuzhal (Flute) in Malyalam language

Sanjaya Rajaram received World Food Prize 2014

• Awarded for his research that led to increase in wheat production
• He is credited with developing the Veery lines of wheat in the 1980s
• He helped secure 1.3 percent rise in global wheat production per annum.
• He is senior scientific advisor at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

Arvind Subramanian appointed Chief Economic Advisor

• Appointed Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) for a period of three years
• Third economist of international rapport to be appointed as CEA
• Expert of the Indian and Chinese economy
• Raghuram Rajan, the RBI Governor, was previous CEA 

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

• Oath of office administered by President Pranab Mukherjee.
• Succeeded Chief Justice RM Lodha
• Lodha demitted office on 27 September 2014
• Dattu will retire from his office on 2 December 2015.
• He joined Supreme Court of India as a Judge on 17 December 2008.

Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed Chairperson of National Commission for Women

• Eighth chairperson of National Commission for Women
• She was the National Spokesperson National Executive of BJP
• National Commission for Women was set up as a statutory body in January 1992
• It was set up under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 

Narula Brothers won 7 crore rupees in Season 8 of KBC

• The two brothers, Achin and Sarthak Narula emerged victorious in Season 8 of KBC
• The tagline for the season 8 is Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi, Dil Bhi Jeete Jate Hain
• The show was first telecast on Star Plus in 2000
• It is based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Govind Mishra received Saraswati Samman 2013

• He received it for novel Dhool Paudhon Par
• His novel was published in 2008
• The novel illustrates the struggle of modern Indian women
• He is the second Hindi author to be conferred with award
• Harivansh Rai Bachchan was the first Hindi author to receive the award

Pran, the Creator of Chacha Chowdhury died at 75

• He created or sketched Chacha Chaudhary for the Hindi magazine Lotpot in 1969
• His Chacha Chaudhary strips found a permanent place in International Museum of Cartoon Art, USA.
• His name was included in People of the Year 1995 by Limca Book of Records.

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

• He succeeded General Bikram Singh to become the 28th Army Chief
• He will serve as Army chief for 29 months till 31 December 2016
• He is the 2^nd Gorkha Rifles officer to become Army chief
• First was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

Veteran actress Zohra Sehgal died at 102

• She was called as the grand old lady of Bollywood
• She was the recipient of Padma Vibhshan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri
• Sehgal’s daughter Kiran in 2012 wrote her biography named Zohra Segal: Fatty
• Zohra last appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhasali's film Saawariya in 2007

Chandi Prasad Bhatt won the Gandhi Peace prize 2013

• He is a Gandhian, an environmentalist and a social activist.
• In 1964, he founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeswar.
• He was awarded with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1982.
• In 2005, he was awarded with Padma Bhushan.

Sports

Germany won men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2014

• Germany defeated Pakistan by 2-0 margin to win the trophy
• This was 10th Champions Trophy crown for Germany.
• It had last won the tournament in 2007
• For bronze medal, World champion Australia defeated India 2-1

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

• He scored the winning century against Afghanistan in Dubai
• He achieved the feat at an age of 43 years and 162 days
• He broke the record of Sanath Jayasuriya
• Sanath Jayasuriya had scored 109 against India in 2009 at the age of 39

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

• The score of 264 runs is also the second-highest List A score
• With this he became the only cricketer to score two Double ODI centuries
• He achieved this distinction during the 4th ODI between India and Sri Lanka
• He broke the record of highest ODI score of 219 runs made by Virender Sehwag
• Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer to score double century in ODIs 

Virat Kohli became fastest cricketer to reach 6000 ODI runs

• He achieved the distinction after his 53-run knock in the third ODI between India and Sri Lanka
• He took 144 match and 136 innings to make 6000 runs
• He is the eighth Indian to have scored 6000 or more runs and 47th overall
• He overtook legendary West Indian Vivian Richards' record
• Richards reached the milestone in 1989 by playing 141 innings in 156 matches 

MC Mary Kom bagged her first Asian Games Gold Medal

• She defeated Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan
• She won in women’s flyweight category (48-51kg)
• First Indian woman boxer to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Games
• She is nicknamed as Magnificent Mary

Chennai Super Kings won 2014 Champions League Twenty20 title

• It defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets
• The match was played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
• Chennai Super Kings won the trophy for the second time.
• Earlier they won the CLT20 in South Africa in 2011. 

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

• The announcement was made at Asian Hockey Federation Congress
• The congress was held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh has played 103 international matches.
• He is the captain of the India Junior Hockey team.
• He made his international debut in 2011.

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

• Cilic defeated 10th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan
• The Women’s singles was won by Serena Williams of US
• The Men’s Doubles title was won by Mike and Bob Bryan of US
• Sania Mirza of India and Bruno Soares of Brazil won the Mixed Doubles title
• Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia won the US Open women's doubles title

2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games concluded

• The Medal tally was topped by England
• India stood at the fifth position in the rankings.
• India won 64 medals (15 Gold, 30 silver and 19 Bronze)
• This was third highest medal haul after 2010 Delhi CWG and 2002 Manchester CWG
• The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia

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

• The World Junior Squash championship held at Windhoek in Namibia.
• He defeated England's George Parker in straight games in quarterfinal.
• Kush Kumar is a professional squash player from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Presently, his ranking is 220 in the world.

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

• This will be the first para-gliding World Cup to be hosted in India.
• To be organised under Para-gliding World Cup Association, France.
• It will be hosted in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh from 24 October 2015
• Himachal Pradesh had hosted the Para-gliding pre-World Cup in 2013

Germany won the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup

• Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the final
• Final was played at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Mario Gotze scored the lone goal of final during the extra-time
• It lifted the trophy for 4^th time in FIFA world Cup history and first since 1990
• Germany became 1^st European team to win World Cup played in North or South America 

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

• He signed a summer contract with the Sacramento Kings.
• Sacramento Kings is a professional basketball team in the US.
• Sim Bhullar is originally from Canada and his parents are from Punjab.

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

• He defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland
• This is the second Wimbledon title for Djokovic
• Djokovic won the seventh career Grand Slam
• Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title in 2011

Economy & Corporate

Advisory Group on Integrated Development of Power

• The Group was headed by Suresh Prabhu
• It has suggested opening up of the coal sector
• Called for improvement in Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries
• Expedite reforms in the distribution sector with targeted actions 

SBI Mutual Fund launched Shariah Equity Fund 

• The fund is aimed at attracting investments from Muslim populations of India. 
• The fund approved by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board
• SBI MF fourth fund house in India to have an Islamic equity fund.
• India second country outside the Islamic world where a state-owned bank is offering such fund
• The UK is the first country who issued sovereign Islamic bonds in June 2014

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

• RBI gave permission to the bank for setting up Kotak General Insurance
• Kotak General Insurance will be the 29th non-life insurance company in the country
• The CEO of the company will be Mahesh Balasubramanian
• The bank already promotes life insurance with Old Mutual of South Africa

SEBI de-recognised Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE)

• De-recognised on account of serious irregularities in demutualisation process
• SEBI demutualisation rules requires every stock exchange to sell brokers' 51% equity
• DSE was incorporated in 1947
• It is an amalgamation of Delhi Stock and Share Brokers' Association Ltd and the Delhi Stocks and Shares Exchange Ltd 

Shell India won 18000-crore rupees tax dispute case

• It won the tax case against Income Tax department
• The decision given by Bombay High Court
• Decision based on legal principle laid down in the Vodafone case
• It ruled that transfer pricing does not arise in case of transfer of shares
• The case pertains to alleged under pricing of shares issued by Shell India

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

• Alibaba shipped 278 million orders out of which 43 percent were mobile devices
• It achieved the staggering figure on Singles Day shopping event
• The event celebrates the bachelorhood of Young single Chinese
• Alibaba is a Chinese e-commerce giant founded by Jack Ma

SoftBank of Japan to invest 10 billion dollars in India

• Will invest in India's IT and communications sector in coming years
• Announced to invest 627 million US dollars in Snapdeal
• Signed definitive agreement to invest 210 million US dollars in ANI Technologies
• Chairman and CEO of the SoftBank is Masayoshi Son

Union government de-regulated diesel and hiked natural gas rates

• The price of diesel to be market-linked
• The retail rates will reflect price changes in the global market.
• The government will no longer provide subsidy on diesel.
• This is the first reduction in diesel rates since 2009.

Google closed Orkut

• Orkut is a social network site
• Google announced to shut down Orkut in June 2014.
• Old users of Orkut can take back up of pictures till September 2016.
• Orkut was started in 2004 and named after its creator, Orkut Buyukkokten.
• Google has moved to a new platform the Google Plus.

Union government decided to wind up HMT Watches

• The unit has been incurring losses since 2000
• HMT Watches is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hindustan Machines Tools (HMT) limited
• HMT Limited was set up at Bangalore in 1961 in collaboration with Japan’s Citizen Watch
• In 2000, HMT Watch Business group was restructured as HMT Watches Ltd.

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

• The decision was taken to comply with the Section 196(3) of the Companies Act, 2013
• Individual bank’s boards free to prescribe a lower retirement age for whole time Directors
• Earlier, no maximum age was specified and decisions were taken case by case

Union Government granted Navratna Status to CONCOR

• CONCOR is the 17th Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to achieve Navratna Status.
• The status was accorded by the Department of Public Enterprises.
• CONCOR current Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) is Anil Kumar Gupta.
• It deals in Export-Import and domestic trade and commerce policy of India.

Expenditure Management Commission constituted 

• The Commission will be headed by Bimal Jalan
• He is a former RBI Governor
• Commission will suggest the way for managing public finances by reducing subsidies. 

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

• This was so far available only for credit cardholders.
• Will enable customers to convert their high value transactions into easy installments
• Facility available to debit cardholders with minimum fixed deposit of 10000 rupees

C S Verma elected as First President of Indian Steel Association

• C S Verma is currently working as the head of Steel Authority of India Limited
• The Indian Steel Association was formally launched on 26 August 2014
• Aims to work towards transforming the Indian steel industry as a global leader
• Membership of ISA open to any steel producer with a yearly capacity of at least 2 million tones

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

• FDI in rail infrastructure will be through automatic route
• FDI will not be allowed in train operations and safety
• Proposals involving FDI beyond 49 percent in sensitive areas to be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Security
• Definitions of infrastructure and common facilities have also been widened

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

• This was the first budget of newly appointed government led by Narendra Modi
• It focussed on providing good infrastructure like public transport, solid waste disposal
• Emphasized on skill development and entrepreneurship in the budget
• Announced that the FDI cap in Defence sector would be raised to 49 percent

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. The Mid-Year Economic Analysis for the current year was tabled in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on December 19, 2014. The Review projects what percent growth for 2014-15?
1) 5.3 percent
2) 5.7 percent
3) 5.5 percent
4) 5.9 percent
5) 6 percent

2. Who has been appointed as the new Chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB)?
1) Vivek Srivastava
2) Dineshwar Sharma
3) Nehchal Sandhu
4) Anil Goswamy
5) D.K. Pathak

3. Which team won the 35th edition of the Men's Hockey Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar in December 2014?
1) Germany
2) Pakistan
3) Australia
4) India
5) Netherlands

4. The 64th edition of the Miss World Pageant was held on December 14, 2014 in London, UK. Who was crowned Miss World 2014?
1) Edina Kulcsar (Hungary)
2) Elizabeth Safrit (USA)
3) Carina Tyrrell (England)
4) Rolene Strauss (South Africa)
5) Koyal Rana (India)

5. The 2016 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy will be held in?
1) Germany
2) Australia
3) South Korea
4) India
5) Argentina

6. Mosul is in the news recently. It is a city in?
1) Iran
2) Iraq
3) Syria
4) Afghanistan
5) Pakistan

7. The Jalpaiguri district was bifurcated to create Alipurduar district in which of the following States?
1) Bihar
2) Uttar Pradesh
3) West Bengal
4) Odisha
5) Jharkhand

8. Which country's national football team is called Selecao?
1) Argentina
2) Spain
3) Germany
4) Portugal
5) Brazil

9. The Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) released its Global Peace Index (GPI) on June 18,
2014. Which is the most peaceful country in the world?
1) Iceland
2) Denmark
3) New Zealand
4) Norway
5) Finland

10. What is India's rank in the 2014 Global Peace Index?
1) 162
2) 143
3) 152
4) 153
5) 157

11. The United Nations General Assembly has established the United Nations Prize in honor of?
1) Mahatma Gandhi
2) Dalai Lama
3) Nelson Mandela
4) Aung San Suu Kyi
5) Mother Teresa

12. The 600 Megawatt Kholongchu Hydropower project is a joint venture between India and?
1) Sri Lanka
2) Nepal
3) Maldives
4) Bhutan
5) Myanmar

13. Wang Yi visited India in June 20-14. He is the Foreign Minister of?
1) Vietnam
2) Myanmar
3) China
4) North Korea
5) South Korea

14. Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has been appointed as brand ambassador of which of the following private sector banks?
1) ICICI Bank
2) Axis Bank
3) HDFC Bank
4) Yes Bank
5) Kotak Mahindra Bank

15. Which State has recently decided to add a chapter on Sachin Tendulkar in its school syllabus?
1) Kerala
2) West Bengal
3) Gujarat
4) Maharashtra
5) Bihar

16. Dmitry Rogozin visited India recently. He is the Deputy Prime Minister of?
1) Ukraine
2) Russia
3) Georgia
4) Bulgaria
5) Serbia

17. Felipe VI became the King of which of the following countries in June 2014?
1) Spain
2) Norway
3) Denmark
4) Austria
5) Belgium

18. Lata Tapovan Hydro power project will come up in?
1) Sikkim
2) Uttarakhand
3) Tripura
4) Bihar
5) Himachal Pradesh

19. Which is the world's least peaceful country as per the 2014 Global Peace Index?
1) Afghanistan
2) Syria
3) South Sudan
4) Pakistan
5) Iraq

20. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) drilled its firstever well in the Palar basin in?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Goa
3) Uttar Pradesh
4) Bihar
5) Kerala

21. ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) signed a deal with Rosneft to jointly explore hydrocarbons. Rosneft is the largest oil and gas producer of which of the following countries?
1) France
2) Russia
3) Ukraine
4) Kazakhstan
5) China

22. Which of the following is not a recommendation of the Parthasarathi Shome Panel?
1) The post of Revenue Secretary should be abolished
2) The CBDT and CBEC should be merged
3) The use of Permanent Account Number (PAN) should be broadened
4) Income Tax Return should also include wealth tax details
5) The post of Finance Secretary should be abolished

23. The logo of which of the following organizations is a Giant Panda?
1) WWF
2) IUCN
3) UNESCO
4) UNEP
5) None of these

24. Khumbum monastery is situated in which of the following countries?
1) Thailand
2) Japan
3) China
4) Sri Lanka
5) Nepal

25. Mojave Desert is located in which of the following continents?
1) North America
2) South America
3) Asia
4) Africa
5) Australia

26. The Wallace Line is a boundary that separates the eco zones of?
1) Canada and USA
2) Mexico and Central America
3) USA and Mexico
4) Asia and Australasia
5) None of these

27. Who is the author of 'Ashtadhyayi', the Sanskrit grammar?
1) Patanjali
2) Panini
3) Kalidasa
4) Banabhatta
5) Harsha

28. Plants capable of performing photosynthesis belong to which of the following types of organisms?
1) Autotrophs
2) Heterotrophs
3) Saprotrophs
4) Chemoheterotrophs
5) None of these

29. Bonn is a city in Germany located on the banks of the river?
1) Seine
2) Rhine
3) Elbe
4) Hudson
5) Darling

30. Which team won the 2014 Women's Asian Cup Football tournament held in Vietnam?
1) Japan
2) China
3) South Korea
4) Vietnam
5) Thailand

31. The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict was held in which of the following cities in June 2014?
1) Washington D.C.
2) London
3) Damascus
4) Tokyo
5) Brasilia

32. Who is the Special Envoy of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)?
1) Emma Watson
2) Aishwarya Rai
3) Priyanka Chopra
4) Angelina Jolie
5) Lady Gaga

33. In the 2014 Asian Junior Athletics Championships which country finished on top in the medals tally with 12 gold medals?
1) China
2) Japan
3) Qatar
4) Iran
5) India

34. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Supreme Court building in June 2014 in?
1) Nepal
2) Bhutan
3) Japan
4) Sri Lanka
5) Maldives

35. Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is the overall winner of the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She is from?
1) Uganda
2) Kenya
3) South Africa
4) Zimbabwe
5) United Kingdom

36. ELN is an armed group in which of the following South American countries?
1) Brazil
2) Venezuela
3) Argentina
4) Bolivia
5) Colombia

37. Daniel Ricciardo is a Formula One driver from?
1) Australia
2) Finland
3) United Kingdom
4) Canada
5) Argentina

38. Which company has recently presented a new prototype driverless car?
1) Microsoft
2) Facebook
3) Google
4) Infosys
5) Wipro

39. The 2014 Asian Junior Athletics Championships were held in?
1) Seoul
2) Taipei
3) Incheon
4) Beijing
5) Shanghai

40. Who won the World Blitz Chess Championship in Dubai on June 20, 2014?
1) Hikaru Nakamura
2) Viswanathan Anand
3) Fabiano Caruana
4) Magnus Carlsen
5) Vladimir Kramnik

ANSWERS:
1) 3; 2) 2; 3) 1; 4) 4; 5) 5; 6) 2; 7) 3; 8) 5; 9) 1; 10) 2;
11) 3; 12) 4; 13) 3; 14) 2; 15) 4; 16) 2; 17) 1; 18) 2; 19) 2; 20) 1;
21) 2; 22) 5; 23) 1; 24) 3; 25) 1; 26) 4; 27) 2; 28) 1; 29) 2; 30) 1;
31) 2; 32) 4; 33) 1; 34) 2; 35) 1; 36) 5; 37) 1; 38) 3; 39) 2; 40) 4.

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR BANK EXAMS

1. What is India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the second quarter (July-September)
of 2014-15?
1) 5.7%
2) 5.5%
3) 5.4%
4) 5.3%
5) 5.9%

2. Which is the first African country to go to polls using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) made
in India?
1) Kenya
2) Namibia
3) Sudan
4) South Sudan
5) Somalia

3. National Milk Day is celebrated on?
1) November 24
2) November 25
3) November 26
4) November 28
5) November 29

4. Jurgen Stock was elected the Secretary General of Interpol in November 2014. He belongs to?
1) USA
2) Poland
3) Netherlands
4) Germany
5) Portugal

5. The Unit 1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) reached full capacity generation
of 1,000 MW on June 7, 2014. It is in?
1) Kerala
2) Karnataka
3) Tamil Nadu
4) Maharashtra
5) Uttar Pradesh

6. Which country holds the record for most world cup football titles with five?
1) Italy
2) Germany
3) Argentina
4) Brazil
5) Uruguay

7. The inaugural edition of the European Games will be held in June 2015 in?
1) Zagreb, Croatia
2) Baku, Azerbaijan
3) Riga, Latvia
4) Sofia, Bulgaria
5) Prague, Czech Republic

8. Which country is currently building four nuclear power stations in Barakah?
1) Israel
2) Iran
3) UAE
4) Iraq
5) Saudi Arabia

9. Which of the following international organizations has asked governments to raise taxes on tobacco products to curb their consumption?
1) UNESCO
2) UNICEF
3) UNO
4) WHO
5) WTO

10. The 2014 World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa was held in May 2014 in?
1) Abuja
2) Cape Town
3) Pretoria
4) Cairo
5) Nairobi

11. Who was declared the Most Valuable Player at the Indian Premier League 7?
1) Manish Pandey
2) Robin Uthappa
3) Virender Sehwag
4) Glenn Maxwell
5) James Faulkner

12. Who is the author of the book 'India at Risk'?
1) Natwar Singh
2) Jaswant Singh
3) P. Chidambaram
4) Shashi Tharoor
5) None of these

13. The Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines on its proposed BBPS. BBPS stands for?
1) Broad Based Payment Services
2) Bank Based Payment Services
3) Bharat Bill Payment System
4) Bharat Bill Processing Services
5) None of these

14. Likud is the major right-wing political party in?
1) Israel
2) South Africa
3) Libya
4) Iran
5) Syria

15. Interpol is headquartered in?
1) Frankfurt, Germany
2) Tokyo, Japan
3) Lyon, France
4) Geneva, Switzerland
5) Zurich, Switzerland

16. Juan Manuel Santos has been the President of which of the following countries since August 20-10?
1) Colombia
2) Costa Rica
3) Panama
4) Chile
5) Peru

17. Lithuania will have Euro as its currency from January 1, 2015. Currently what is its currency?
1) Lats
2) Litas
3) Loti
4) Franc
5) Krona

18. Sultan Azlan Shah passed away on May 28, 2014. He is regarded as the Father of Hockey in which of the following countries?
1) Pakistan
2) Indonesia
3) Malaysia
4) Iran
5) Thailand

19. Sumitra Mahajan is the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha. She is an eight-term Lok Sabha member from?
1) Vidisha
2) Chindwara
3) Bhopal
4) Indore
5) Guna

20. Sam Kahamba Kutesa is the President of the sixty-ninth session of the United Nations General
Assembly. He belongs to?
1) Somalia
2) Kenya
3) Uganda
4) Egypt
5) Ethiopia

21. Which of the following Grand Slam singles tennis titles was won by Rafael Nadal in 2014?
1) Australian Open
2) French Open
3) Wimbledon
4) US Open
5) Both 1and 2

22. The 38th session of the World Heritage Committee was held in which of the following cities
from 15 to 25 June 2014?
1) Tehran
2) Bangkok
3) Doha
4) Damascus
5) Manila

23. Rani-Ki-Vav has been included in UNESCO heritage site list. It is an 11th century step-well in?
1) Rajasthan
2) Maharashtra
3) Haryana
4) Gujarat
5) Punjab

24. The 29th State of India, Telangana, has how many Assembly seats?
1) 117
2) 121
3) 115
4) 119
5) 114

Answers:
1) 4 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 5) 3 6) 4 7) 2 8) 3 9) 4 10) 1  11) 4 12) 2
13) 3 14) 1 15) 3 16) 1 17) 2 18) 3 19) 4 20) 3 21) 2 22) 3 23) 4 24) 4

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs

1. On 27 November 2014, RBI announced the guidelines for setting up of ......
1) Private banks and Small industrial development banks
2) Local Area banks having MFI back ground
3) Regional and Local Area banks for Common Man
4) Foreign banks with the FDI of 100 %
5) Payment banks and small Finance banks

2. RBI has asked interested parties to apply for Small banks and Payment banks by ........
1) Jan 1, 2015
2) Apr 1, 2015
3) Jan 16, 2015
4) Mar 16, 2015
5) None

3. The aim of RBI to permit the Payment banks is .......
1) To boost Financial inclusion
2) To allow the payments/remittance services to migrant labour workforce
3) To help the low households
4) To help the small entities to do banking business
5) All of above

4. The license of Payment banks can be given to .......
1) Existing non-bank Pre-paid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuers
2) Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs)
3) Corporate Business Correspondents (BCs)
4) Super-market chains
5) All of above

5. The equity capital of Payment banks is .......
1) Rs.10 crores
2) Rs.700 crores
3) Rs.1000 crores
4) Rs.500 crores
5) Rs.100 crores

6. Payment banks not allowed to .......
1) Issue credit card
2) Issue debit card
3) Issue cheque book
4) provide remittance services
5) provide accounts to women

7. In the payment banks, the promoter should retain a ....... stake for the first 5 years.
1) 25%
2) 15%
3) 75%
4) 40%
5) 100%

8. Payments banks can give savings accounts to customers. But in the single customer account, the maximum balance allowed not more than .......
1) Rs. 1 Lakh
2) Rs.75,000
3) Rs.2 Lakh
4) Rs. 5 Lakh
5) Customer of bank can maintain any balance

9. The foreign shareholding in the payments bank allowed up to .......
1) 10%
2) 35%
3) 49%
4) 74%
5) As per the FDI policy for private sector banks as amended from time to time

10. The aim to provide licenses to small banks is .......
1) supply of credit to small business units
2) to help the small and marginal farmers
3) to help micro and small industries
4) to help the unorganized sector
5) All of above

11. There will not be any restriction in the area of operations of small finance banks. Minimum paid-up equity capital for small finance banks shall be .......
1) Rs.1000 crore
2) Rs.5000 crore
3) Rs.500 crore
4) Rs.10 crore
5) Rs.100 crore

12. Listing is compulsory, once the net worth of the small banks crossed Rs .......
1) 100 crores
2) 500 crores
3) 10 crores
4) 1000 crores
5) None

13. Promoter's minimum initial contribution to the paid-up equity capital of such small finance bank shall at least be 40% and gradually brought down to 26% within .......
1) 12 years
2) 6 years
3) 10 years
4) 20 years
5) None

14. The foreign shareholding in the small banks allowed up to .......
1) 30%
2) 20%
3) 51%
4) 64%
5) As per the FDI policy for private sector banks as amended from time to time

15. As per the RBI guidelines, the small banks should see at least 50 per cent of its loan portfolio should constitute loans and advances of up to .......
1) Rs. 25 lakh
2) Rs.50 lakh
3) Rs. 75 lakh
4) Rs. 5 lakh
5) None

16. 'Nishchint' is the home loan product of .......
1) ICICI
2) SBI
3) HDFC bank
4) Axis bank
5) SBH

17. On 4 December 2014, RBI asked banks to make registration process for m-banking services easy. m-banking stands for .......
1) Money banking
2) More banking
3) Morning banking
4) Mortar banking
5) Mobile banking

18. What does the letter 'V' denote in the abbreviated name 'IVRS'?
1) Valet
2) Variable
3) Voice
4) Vendee
5) Vendor

19. On 5 December 2014, RBI said it has plan to allow banks to use the 5/25 norms for infra loans for existing projects. Presently 5/25 norms applicable to .......
1) Old projects
2) Projects having land more than 100 acres only
3) Foreign projects alone
4) PPP models only
5) Fresh projects

20. Which of the following statements is wrong?
1) RBI recently passed the new directions in foreign currency accounts
2) It directed to convert credit balances in any inoperative foreign currency (FC) denominated deposit into Indian rupees
3) This rule not applicable to Private Bank savings Accounts
4) Such conversion from FC accounts to rupee accounts made, if the foreign currency (FC) accounts deposit not in use for three years from the date of maturity of deposit
5) None of above

21. Tony Abbot who was in news recently is the .......
1) President of Russia
2) Prime minister of Haiti
3) Prime minister of Nepal
4) Chancellor of Germany
5) Prime minister of Australia

22. Who amongst the following has taken over as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after recent assembly elections there?
1) Laxmikant Parsekar
2) O.Panner Selvam
3) Devendra Fadnavis
4) Manohar Lal Khattar
5) Prithviraj Chavan

23. Dineshwar Sharma has been appointed as the .......
1) New Chief of BSF
2) New Chief of CRPF
3) New Chief of CBI
4) Next Chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB)
5) New Deputy Governor of RBI

24. 'Miss World 2014' Rolene Strauss is from which of the following countries?
1) Australia
2) India
3) South Africa
4) Hungary
5) USA

25. Confucius Peace Prize 2014 conferred on Fidel Castro Ruz for his important contributions in
eliminating nuclear war after his retirement. He ruled .......
1) Venezulla
2) Russia
3) Cuba
4) Vietnam
5) Fiji

26. Who was named as the Asian of the Year 2014 by Singapore's leading newspaper The Straits Times?
1) Kailash Satyardhi
2) Malala
3) Narendra Modi
4) Dalia lama
5) Lee Hsien Loong

27. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojna (DDU-GKY) aims at providing quality skill training and placement opportunities to rural poor youth in the age group of .......
1) 25-35 years
2) 18-25 years
3) 20-35 years
4) 15-35 years
5) None

28. By 2020, developed countries are predicted to face a shortfall of over 57 million semiskilled manpower while India is expected to have a surplus of .......
1) 17 million
2) 47 million
3) 27 million
4) 7 million
5) 67 million

29. For DDU-GKY scheme, the government will spend Rs. 2000 crores to train nearly ....... annually and help of corporate sector will be sought to achieve the goal.
1) Two lakh rural youth
2) Three lakh rural youth
3) Four lakh rural youth
4) Five lakh rural youth
5) Twenty lakh rural youth

30. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) introduced on the birth anniversary .......
1) Nehru
2) Gandhi
3) Ambedkar
4) Jayaprakash Narayan
5) Lal Bahadur Shastri

31. Under SAGY, the member of Parliament will identify and develop ....... from their constituencies as a model village by 2016.
1) one village
2) two villages
3) three villages
4) four villages
5) five villages

32. Under SAGY, the member of Parliament will identify and develop from their constituencies a model village by 2016 and two more by .......
1) 2019
2) 2025
3) 2050
4) 2045
5) 2030

33. On 15 December 2014, Union Government told the proposed TAPI pipeline will have a length of 1814 kms. TAPI stands for .......
1) Turkey - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India
2) Turkmenistan - Azerbaijan - Pakistan - India
3) Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Persian Gulf -India
4) Turkmenistan - Armenia - Pakistan - India
5) Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India

34. Vijay Diwas celebrates on 16th December because .......
1) India's military victory over Pakistan in 1965
2) India's military victory over Pakistan in 1971
3) India's military victory over Pakistan in 1996
4) India's military victory over Pakistan in 2000
5) None of above

35. National Energy Conservation Day observed on .......
1) 31 October
2) 1 December
3) 4 December
4) 14 December
5) None

36. International Day of Yoga is on .......
1) 6 April
2) 14 November
3) 11 November
4) 21 June
5) None

37. 'The Dramatic Decade: The Years of Indira Gandhi' written by .......
1) Rahul Gandhi
2) Pratibha Patil
3) Manmohan Singh
4) M.S. Swami Nathan
5) Pranab Mukherjee

38. London Classic title won by .......
1) Magnus Carlsen
2) Viswanathan Anand
3) Fabiano Caruana
4) Alexander Grischuk
5) None

39. 2014 Champions Trophy of Hockey won by .......
1) Pakistan
2) Germany
3) India
4) Australia
5) None

40. Pick the wrong combination?
1) David Warner - Cricket - New Zealand
2) Amos Meindi - Marathon - Kenya
3) Sarita Devi - Boxer - India
4) Lewis Hamilton - Formula One Race Driver - Britain
5) Stanislas Wawrinka - Tennis - Switzerland

41. Pakistan has been ranked third in Global Terrorism Index released by London based Institute for Economics and Peace. Which nation tops in this list?
1) Iraq
2) Syria
3) Afghanistan
4) Nigeria
5) Iran

42. Which of the following auto majors is in process to phase out its popular hatchback Santro?
1) Maruti Suzuki
2) Tata Motors
3) Hyundai Motors
4) General Motors
5) None

43. Oxford English Dictionary has named which of the following words as 2014 word of year?
1) wanna
2) SMH
3) Humblebrag
4) Neckbeard
5) Vape

ANSWERS:
1-5, 2-3, 3-5, 4-5, 5-5, 6-1, 7-4, 8-1, 9-5, 10-5
11-5, 12-2, 13-1, 14-5, 15-1, 16-4, 17-5, 18-3, 19-5, 20-3
21-5, 22-3, 23-4, 24-3, 25-3, 26-3, 27-4, 28-2, 29-1, 30-4
31-1, 32-1, 33-5, 34-2, 35-4, 36-4, 37-5, 38-2, 39-2, 40-1, 41-1, 42-3, 43-5

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

1. Who was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9, 2014 as the next ambassador
to India?
1) Nisha Biswal
2) Raj Shah
3) Atul Keshap
4) Richard Rahul Verma
5) Ronak D. Desai

2. Which of the following countries became the 181st member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in December 2014?
1) Sudan
2) Bhutan
3) South Sudan
4) Tuvalu
5) East Timor

3. The Champions Trophy hockey tournament was held in December 2014 in?
1) New Delhi
2) Kolkata
3) Bhubaneswar
4) Bangalore
5) Chandigarh

4. The World Diamond Conference was held in which of the following cities on December 11 and 12, 2014?
1) Moscow
2) Antwerp
3) New Delhi
4) Johannesburg
5) Cape Town

5. The United Nations declared which of the following days as International Day of Yoga?
1) July 21
2) July 23
3) June 23
4) June 25
5) June 21

6. Which of the following companies has acquired online fashion retailer Myntra.com?
1) Jabong
2) Snapdeal
3) Flipkart
4) Amazon
5) Ebay

7. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the?
1) World Bank Group
2) International Monetary Fund
3) World Trade Organization
4) Asia Development Bank
5) None of these

8. Which is India's first real estate developer to get ISO 9001:2008 Quality Certification?
1) Parsvnath Developers
2) DLF
3) Unitech Limited
4) DB Realty
5) Indiabulls

9. The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to make sector-wise disclosure of their advances from 2014-15 onwards. This is done based on the recommendations of?
1) Nachiket Mor Committee
2) Bimal Jalan committee
3) Damodaran Committee
4) Pratyush Sinha Committee
5) None of these

10. The Finance Ministry said that foreign investment of what per cent or more in a listed company
will now be treated as Foreign Direct Investment?
1) 5%
2) 10%
3) 20%
4) 15%
5) 25%

11. On June 20, 2014 the railway passenger fares were hiked by?
1) 10.2%
2) 11.2%
3) 14.2%
4) 12.2%
5) 15.2%

12. The railway freight tariffs have been increased by?
1) 5.5%
2) 6.5%
3) 7.5%
4) 4.5%
5) 8.5%

13. The Government of India and the World Bank signed a credit agreement for promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development in?
1) Madhya Pradesh
2) Chhattisgarh
3) Jharkhand
4) Himachal Pradesh
5) Bihar

14. GMR Infra has won an 18-month long legal battle with which of the following governments?
1) Israel
2) South Africa
3) Maldives
4) Iran
5) Singapore

15. The government has accepted the report of a committee on rationalizing definitions of FDI and FII headed by?
1) R.S. Gujral
2) Arvind Mayaram
3) Rajiv Takru
4) Vijay Kelkar
5) None of these

16. Youwecan is a foundation established by which of the following sportspersons meant to fight cancer by spreading awareness about the fatal disease?
1) Mary Kom
2) Sania Mirza
3) Mahesh Bhupathi
4) Yuvraj Singh
5) Milkha Singh

17. Who is the present Chairman of Microsoft?
1) Bill Gates
2) Satya Nadella
3) John Thompson
4) Steve Ballmer
5) Paul Allen

18. Who is the founder of Gulabi Gang, a social organization that works for women welfare and empowerment?
1) Gaura Devi
2) Bachhi Devi
3) Sampat Pal Devi
4) Nanda Devi
5) None of these

19. The Gulabi Gang movement was started in Banda district of?
1) Odisha
2) Bihar
3) Jharkhand
4) Rajasthan
5) Uttar Pradesh

20. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is headquartered in?
1) Geneva
2) Berne
3) Washington D.C.
4) Zurich
5) Basel

ANSWERS:
1) 4 2) 2 3) 3 4) 3 5) 5 6) 3 7) 1 8) 2 9) 1 10) 2
11) 3 12) 2 13) 4 14) 3 15) 2 16) 4 17) 3 18) 3 19) 5 20) 3

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

1. Which of the following State governments launched Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Concrete Road
Nirman Scheme on December 5, 2014?
1) Assam
2) Gujarat
3) Madhya Pradesh
4) Bihar
5) Jharkhand

2. Ashton Carter was nominated by President Barack Obama on December 5, 2014 to replace Chuck Hagel as the United States Secretary of?
1) State
2) Defense
3) Treasury
4) Agriculture
5) Commerce

3. Who was named 'Asian of the Year' by The Straits Times, Singapore's leading daily on December 5, 2014?
1) Xi Jinping
2) Shinzo Abe
3) Narendra Modi
4) Thein Sein
5) Li Keqiang

4. Who took charge as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director on December 3, 2014?
1) Amar Pratap Singh
2) Ratan Kumar Sinha
3) Ashok Tiwari
4) Anil Kumar Sinha
5) R.S. Bhatti

5. Jamil Mahuad was sentenced to 12 years in prison for misappropriating public funds. He is the
former President of?
1) Libya
2) Ecuador
3) Uganda
4) Kenya
5) Mexico

6. What does CTS stand for?
1) Cheque Termination System
2) Cheque Truncation System
3) Cheque Transaction System
4) Cheque Transaction Scheme
5) None of these

7. Who took charge as the new United States interim Ambassador to India on June 6, 2014?
1) Nancy Powell
2) Penny Pritzker
3) Kathleen Stephens
4) Nisha Desai Biswal
5) Susan Rice

8. Who was honored with 'Champions of Change' by the White House for her exemplary leadership in her community?
1) Pratishtha Khanna
2) Anita Goel
3) Sangeeta Bhatia
4) Usha Haley
5) None of these

9. Identify the mismatched pair?
1) Solicitor General - Ranjit Kumar
2) National Security Adviser - Ajit Doval
3) Comptroller and Auditor General - Shashikant Sharma
4) Principal Secretary to the PM - Nripender Mishra
5) Finance Secretary - Arvind Mayaram

10. The ninth G20 Summit was held recently in which of the following countries?
1) South Korea
2) Russia
3) UK
4) China
5) None of these

11. Who among the following was recently appointed the President of Chile?
1) Dilma Rousseff
2) Christina Fernandez
3) Michelle Bachelet
4) Evo Morales
5) None of these

12. What is the maximum number of withdrawals allowed per month in Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts (BSBDA)?
1) 2
2) 3
3) 4
4) 5
5) No restrictions

13. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana was launched on the birth anniversary of which of the following
leaders?
1) Sardar Vallabhai Patel
2) Lal Bahadur Shastri
3) Mahatma Gandhi
4) Jayaprakash Narayan
5) Deendayal Upadhyaya

14. Who won the Samsung Most Valuable Player at the 17th Asian Games?
1) Yogeshwar Dutt
2) Jitu Rai
3) Sania Mirza
4) Sardar Singh
5) Mary Kom

15. Who won the 2014 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction?
1) Jhumpa Lahiri
2) Eimear McBride
3) Anita Desai
4) Eleanor Catton
5) Kiran Desai

16. Juan Carlos reigned as the king of which of the following countries from 1975 to 2014?
1) Austria
2) UK
3) Portugal
4) Spain
5) Netherlands

17. Who won the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee contest?
1) Kavya Shivshankar
2) Balu Natarajan
3) Anamika Veermani
4) Arvind Mahankali
5) Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe

18. Gary Gilmour died on June 10, 2014. He was a fast bowler who played 15 Tests for?
1) Australia
2) New Zealand
3) South Africa
4) West Indies
5) None of these

19. Which of the following refers to the amount that the commercial banks require to maintain in the form of gold or Government approved securities before lending?
1) Repo rate
2) Bank rate
3) CRR
4) SLR
5) MSF

20. Which of the following States has a woman Chief Minister?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Goa
3) Uttar Pradesh
4) Bihar
5) Rajasthan

21. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was set up in?
1) 1944
2) 1954
3) 1960
4) 1964
5) 1950

22. Which of the following crops requires water logging for its cultivation?
1) Tea
2) Coffee
3) Sorghum
4) Mustard
5) Paddy

23. Who is the author of the novel 'A Girl is a Half-formed Thing'?
1) Chimamanda Ngozi
2) Hannah Kent
3) Jhumpa Lahiri
4) Donna Tartt
5) Eimear McBride

24. Who is the Ambassador/ Permanent Representative of India to the World Trade Organization?
1) Shefali Razdan Duggal
2) Sujatha Singh
3) Anjali Prasad
4) Meera Shankar
5) None of these

25. David Allen died on May 25, 2014. He played 39 Tests for?
1) Australia
2) England
3) South Africa
4) West Indies
5) New Zealand

26. The Election Commission conducts elections to the?
1) Parliament
2) State Legislatures
3) Office of the President
4) Office of the Vice President
5) All the above

27. The International Rice Research Institute is in?
1) USA
2) Mexico
3) Japan
4) China
5) Philippines

28. Agronomy deals with?
1) Breeding of crop plants
2) Protection of crops from pests
3) Protection of crops from diseases
4) Principles and Practice of crop production
5) None of these

29. The policy of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization was announced as New Economic Policy by?
1) Rajiv Gandhi
2) V.P. Singh
3) P.V. Narasimha Rao
4) Atal Behari Vajpayee
5) I.K. Gujral

30. The National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research
(NCAP) is located at?
1) New Delhi
2) Hyderabad
3) Bangalore
4) Mumbai
5) Chennai

31. Hindustan Zinc Limited will build 30,000 toilets for poor families in rural areas in?
1) Gujarat
2) Rajasthan
3) Andhra Pradesh
4) Telangana
5) Chhattisgarh

32. The Pilibhit wildlife sanctuary got tiger reserve status with effect from June 9, 2014. It is in?
1) Odisha
2) Madhya Pradesh
3) Chhattisgarh
4) Jharkhand
5) Uttar Pradesh

33. Kashagan oil field is in which of the following countries?
1) Russia
2) Ukraine
3) Kazakhstan
4) Kyrgyzstan
5) Armenia

34. Which of the following days was declared as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace by the United Nations General Assembly?
1) May 13
2) July 31
3) May 31
4) April 6
5) June 6

35. Neermahal is a former royal palace situated in?
1) Assam
2) Rajasthan
3) Gujarat
4) Manipur
5) Tripura

36. IFAD stands for?
1) International Fund for Agricultural Development
2) International Fund for Aquatic Development
3) International Fund for Asia's Development
4) International Fund for Africa's Development
5) None of these

37. FAO is a part of?
1) World Bank
2) International Monetary Fund
3) Asian Development Bank
4) United Nations Organization
5) World Trade Organization

38. The term 'double fault' is associated with which of the following sports?
1) Cricket
2) Hockey
3) Chess
4) Football
5) Tennis

39. What is the Statutory Liquidity Ratio at present?
1) 22.5 percent
2) 22 percent
3) 23 percent
4) 24 percent
5) None of these

40. Who among the following is one of the four deputy governors of the Reserve Bank of India?
1) Raghuram Rajan
2) P.Vijaya Bhaskar
3) Y.H. Malegam
4) Nachiket Mor
5) None of these

ANSWERS:
1) 1 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 5) 2 6) 2 7) 3 8) 1 9) 5 10) 5
11) 3 12) 3 13) 4 14) 5 15) 2 16) 4 17) 5 18) 1 19) 4 20) 5
21) 4 22) 5 23) 5 24) 3 25) 2 26) 5 27) 5 28) 4 29) 3 30) 1
31) 2 32) 5 33) 3 34) 4 35) 5 36) 1 37) 4 38) 5 39) 2 40) 5

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

1. Recently, where and when an agreement on exemption of visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and official passports has been signed between India and Norway?
1) Oslo - 14 October
2) Paris - 15 October
3) Tokyo - 13 October
4) Norway - 20 October
5) Delhi - 15 October

2. Name the country which has agreed to provide 4 million Euros and services of international experts to help in effective implementation of sanitation programmes in urban areas of India?
1) India
2) Germany
3) USA
4) USSR
5) Norway

3. Name the author who has won the Man Booker Prize for his war time novel 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North'?
1) V.V. Richards
2) M.M. Oslovan
3) Richard Flanagan
4) Johnson Richards
5) None

4. Recently, which court has dismissed the pleas of State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, challenging an Allahabad High Court order, directing sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh to sell the sugar stock to reclaim their dues from farmers on 14th Oct' 14?
1) Supreme Court
2) High Court of Allahabad
3) High Court of UP
4) High Court of Pune
5) None

5. Recently, from which city of Uttarakhand, direct Air India flight to Delhi has been started on 14th Oct' 14?
1) Patnanagar
2) Pantnagar
3) Adhinagar
4) Shivnagar
5) Parvathipuram

6. Which state government has decided to set up an animal trauma care centre, recently?
1) Goa
2) Karnataka
3) West Bengal
4) Kerala
5) Telangana

7. The Wholesale Price Index based inflation comes down to five year low of how much % in Sep' 2014?
1) 2.38%
2) 3.56%
3) 4.67%
4) 1.23%
5) 4.98%

8. By how much percent India's exports rise in September 2014?
1) 2.73%
2) 3.45%
3) 4.56%
4) 1.23%
5) 2.23%

9. According to the 2014 Global Hunger Index released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), what rank has been achieved by India among 76 countries?
1) 55
2) 67
3) 78
4) 89
5) 12

10. The 3rd International Tourism Mart, organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern States and West Bengal was officially inaugurated in which state of India?
1) Meghalaya
2) Manipur
3) Sikkim
4) Goa
5) Mizoram

11. In how many cities TATA Value Homes, a subsidiary of Tata Housing Development Company, plans to launch new 'Value Home' projects?
1) 2
2) 3
3) 4
4) 5
5) 6

12. Khaled Bahah was appointed as the Prime Minister of which country on 13th Oct' 14?
1) Yemen
2) Doha
3) Saudi
4) Dubai
5) None

13. Which third navigational satellite of India was launched successfully at 1.32 AM on 16th Oct' 14?
1) IRN S S 1 C
2) IRN S C 1 X
3) IRM C C 2 X
4) IRP V B 1 Y
5) None

14. According to the announcement made by ISRO Chairman K.Radhakrishnan in Oct 2014, ISRO will launch which of the following within next 45 days?
1) GSLV Mark II
2) GSLV Mark III
3) GSLV Mark I
4) GSLV Mark IV
5) GSLV Mark V

15. The person who has been awarded with the Best Central Bank Governor Award 2014 by Euromoney Magazine is....
1) Raghuram Rajan
2) Ranjan Rathod
3) Madhav Shukla
4) John David
5) None

16. Name the country where the Harbin Ice festival has been celebrated from 1st Nov to 10th Nov' 14?
1) HongKong
2) Japan
3) China
4) Australia
5) India

17. Name the author of the book 'Final Test : Exit Sachin Tendulkar' released on 15th Oct' 14?
1) Dilip D'Souza
2) Kumara Mangalam
3) Dinesh Johnson
4) Divakar Mehtha
5) None

18. Which bank has launched Facebook - based funds transfer platform 'Kaypay' on 14 Oct 2014?
1) Kotak Mahindra
2) Axis Bank
3) ING Vysya
4) HDFC
5) HSBC

19. Global Hand Washing Day was observed on ......
1) 15 October
2) 16 October
3) 17 October
4) 20 October
5) 1 October

20. Name the person who has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) on 14th Oct' 14?
1) Giridhar Pande
2) Goutham Roy
3) Girish Kanitkar
4) Madhusha Malhotra
5) None

21. Who is the 10-year old terminally ill boy became Hyderabad Police Commissioner for a day on 15th Oct' 2014?
1) Sadiq
2) Syed Ahmed
3) Suresh
4) Srikara
5) Srinivas

22. The two days talks on border mechanism between India and China began on..
1) 16 October
2) 17 October
3) 18 October
4) 19 October
5) 20 October

23. What is the name of the India's indigenously developed nuclear capable cruise missile which was test-fired from Chandipur in Odisha on 17th Oct' 2014?
1) Nirbhaya
2) Nirdeshak
3) Nirikshana
4) Nirnaya
5) None

24. On which day is the Ministry of External Affairs launched country-wide Passport Seva Camp programme?
1) 18th October
2) 19th October
3) 20th October
4) 21st October
5) 23rd October

25. What is the name of the eminent Indian Scientist who received the World Food Prize 2014 for his scientific research?
1) Dr. Sanjay Rajaram
2) Dr. Sudhakar Rajan
3) Dr. Vinay Rajan
4) Dr. Pavan Rajan
5) None

26. How many countries were elected as nonpermanent members of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 16th Oct' 14?
1) 3
2) 5
3) 6
4) 7
5) 8

27. According to the WHO, which country accounts for 80% for polio cases globally?
1) Indonesia
2) Pakistan
3) Afghanistan
4) Sri Lanka
5) Uzbekistan

28. World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on which of the following dates?
1) May 22
2) May 23
3) May 25
4) May 29
5) May 31

29. Vostro Account is an account maintained by a foreign bank with a bank in India in which of the following currencies?
1) Dollar
2) Euro
3) Indian Rupee
4) The currency of the country the bank is based in
5) None of these

30. Who among the following has authored the book titled The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan, 2001-14?
1) Roshen Dalal
2) Carlotta Gall
3) Jo Nesbo
4) Donna Tartt
5) None of these

31. As announced by the US President Barack Obama recently, the US military will be completely pulled out of Afghanistan by the end of
1) 2015
2) 2016
3) 2017
4) 2018
5) 2020

32. What is 'net interest income'?
1) The interest earned on investments
2) The interest earned on advances
3) The difference between the interest earned and interest paid
4) Total interest earned from all sources
5) None of these

33. The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley chaired his first FSDC meet recently. What is the full form of FSDC?
1) Financial Stability and Development Council
2) Financial Suitability and Development Council
3) Financial Steering and Development Council
4) Financial Stability and Diversification Council
5) None of these

34. Who among the following has won the 2014 Monaco Formula One Grand Prix?
1) Nico Rosberg
2) Jenson Button
3) Fernando Alonso
4) Sebastian Vettel
5) Lewis Hamilton

35. Which of the following currencies has been the best performing currency in Asia- Pacific region against the US dollar so far in 2014?
1) Indian Rupee
2) Malaysian Ringgit
3) South Korean Won
4) Japanese Yen
5) New Zealand Dollar

36. What should be the minimum amount of certificate of deposit (CD)?
1) 0.5 lakh
2) 1 lakh
3) 2 lakh
4) 5 lakh
5) None of these

37. The 2014 Commonwealth Games, officially the XX Commonwealth Games, held from 23 Jul to 3 Aug 2014 in which of the following cities?
1) Los Angeles
2) Rio de Janeiro
3) Pyeongchang
4) Glasgow
5) None

38. The term 'double fault' is associated with which of the following games?
1) Cricket
2) Football
3) Tennis
4) Badminton
5) Chess

39. 'With You - All The Way' is the tagline of which of the following banks?
1) Bank of India
2) Indian Bank
3) Bank of Baroda
4) Sate Bank of India
5) None of these

40. What is the number of Rajya Sabha members allotted to the newly created state of Telangana?
1) 7
2) 11
3) 12
4) 18
5) None of these

ANSWERS:
1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-1, 5-2, 6-3, 7-1, 8-1, 9-1, 10-1
11-2, 12-1, 13-1, 14-2, 15-1, 16-1, 17-1, 18-1, 19-1, 20-2
21-1, 22-1, 23-1, 24-1, 25-1, 26-2, 27-2, 28-5, 29-3, 30-2
31-2, 32-3, 33-1, 34-1, 35-1, 36-2, 37-4, 38-3, 39-4, 40-1.