National
Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2014 introduced in Lok Sabha
- It is also called Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill
- It seeks to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime
- Inserts article Articles 246A, 269A and 279A in the Constitution
- Provides for Union Finance Minister headed GST Council
- Sets in a uniform and integrated indirect tax regime in India
14th Finance Commission submitted its report to President
- It covers the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2020
- The Commission headed by former RBI Governor Y V Reddy
- Provides for devolution of tax receipts from the Centre to the States
- Article 280 of Constitution provides for appointment of Finance Commission
- First and 13th Finance Commission was headed by K C Neogy & Dr Vijay Kelkar resp.
Union government decriminalized Attempt to Suicide
- For this purpose Section 309 of Indian Penal Code removed
- 20th Law Commission headed by Justice A P Shah recommended in its 210 Report
- 210th Report on Humanization and Decriminalization of Attempt to Suicide
- France was the first country to decriminalize this offence
Lok Sabha passed the Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2014
- Introduced as a periodic measure for updating the list of laws in force
- Seeks to repeal 90 laws and pass amendment to two laws
- Proposes to amend the two laws to rectify typographical errors
- The laws are Railways (Amendment) Act, 2008 and the Indian Maritime University Act, 2008
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 85th
- The index was topped by Denmark with a score of 92.
- Index is prepared by Transparency International
Time Magazine released list of 25 Best Inventions 2014
- Mangalyaan named among the best inventions of 2014
- Magazine describes it as a technological feat
- It is described as Supersmart Spacecraft- Mangalyaan
- The list also includes two inventions of Indians namely Blue Room and tablet toy, Osmo
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 29th Prime Minister of Thailand
- He was elected with a vote of 191-6 votes in National Legislative Assembly (NLA)
- He is a former Army Chief of Thailand
- He seized the power in June 2014
6th BRICS Summit: Fortaleza Declaration
- Held in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July and 16 July 2014.
- Theme of the Summit was Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions.
- The participating countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
- The BRICS Network University will be established
- BRICS Development Bank to be established
UNSC adopted resolution to probe into MH-17 plane crash
- Resolution adopted by 15-member UNSC unanimously.
- It demands free access to the crash site of Malaysian plane MH17.
- It insisted on dignified and respectful treatment of bodies of the victims.
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 2nd Gorkha Rifles officer to become Army chief
- First was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw
Veteran actress Zohra Sehgal died at 102
- She was called as the grand old lady of Bollywood
- She was the recipient of Padma Vibhshan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri
- Sehgal’s daughter Kiran in 2012 wrote her biography named Zohra Segal: Fatty
- Zohra last appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhasali's film Saawariya in 2007
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 4th time in FIFA world Cup history and first since 1990
- Germany became 1st European team to win World Cup played in North or South America
Sim Bhullar became first Indian-origin basketball player to join NBA
- He signed a summer contract with the Sacramento Kings.
- Sacramento Kings is a professional basketball team in the US.
- Sim Bhullar is originally from Canada and his parents are from Punjab.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the Men’s Wimbledon Tennis Open 2014
- He defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland
- This is the second Wimbledon title for Djokovic
- Djokovic won the seventh career Grand Slam
- Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title in 2011
Economy & Corporate
Advisory Group on Integrated Development of Power
- The Group was headed by Suresh Prabhu
- It has suggested opening up of the coal sector
- Called for improvement in Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries
- Expedite reforms in the distribution sector with targeted actions
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
