CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018 ROUND UP

CURRENT AFFAIRS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS

1. In which city Radha Mohan Singh, Union Agriculture Minister, laid foundation stone of Pusa Kisan Haat in ICAR- Agricultural Technology Information Centre?
1) New Delhi
2) Mumbai
3) Kolkata
4) Chennai

2. Where was the annual India Water Impact Summit 2018 held?
1) New Delhi
2) Hyderabad
3) Amaravathi
4) Mangalore

3. Where was the Global Venture Capital Summit-2018 held?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Maharashtra
3) Goa
4) Madhya Pradesh

4. Which pair has become India's Second Inland Water Transport origin destination pair for containerized cargo movement on National Waterway-1?
1) Paradip-Cuttack
2) Kolkata-Patna
3) Panaji-Kochi
4) Mumbai-Chennai

5. Where was the 1st International Conference on Bears held?
1) Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
2) Agra, Uttar Pradesh
3) Darjeeling, West Bengal
4) Nagpur, Maharashtra

6. At which place did Indian Coast Guard conducted the Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution
Response Exercise named 'Clean Sea - 2018' at the sea?
1) Chandipur, Odisha
2) Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
3) Mumbai, Maharashtra
4) Calicut, Kerala

7. In which State/UT the India's first underwater museum will be opened in a decommissioned Indian Naval vessel named INS Cuddalore?
1) Odisha
2) Maharashtra
3) Puducherry
4) Andhra Pradesh

8. When did UNICEF (United Nations International Children Emergency Fund) celebrate its 71st foundation day?
1) December 9
2) December 10
3) December 11
4) December 12


9. Where was the Regional Conference on 'Good Governance - Focus on Aspirational Districts' held?
1) Bengaluru, Karnataka
2) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
3) Pune, Maharashtra
4) Hyderabad, Telangana

10. Where was the first International Conference, on the theme- 'Sustainable Water Management', held?
1) Rohtak, Haryana
2) Dehradun, Uttarakhand
3) Mohali, Punjab
4) Kochi, Kerala

11. Which entity has developed the portal ENSURE- National Livestock Mission-EDEG launched
by Union Minister of Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh?
1) National Informatics Centre
2) NITI Aayog
3) NABARD
4) IIT, Delhi

12. Where was Nishidhi stone inscription from the 12th century, issued to commemorate Jain ascetics
who perform Sallekhana vratha, found?
1) Pelling, Sikkim
2) Udaipur, Rajasthan
3) Shivamogga, Karnataka
4) Namakkal, Tamil Nadu

13. Where was the third exhibition of the 2nd series of collection titled "Uncrowned Glory - An exhibition of Ethnic Ornaments of Himachal Pradesh" inaugurated?
1) Shimla
2) Manali
3) New Delhi
4) Mumbai

14. Which state government has announced the creation of an umbrella university named after
former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee?
1) Gujarat
2) Uttar Pradesh
3) Himachal Pradesh
4) Karnataka

15. Where was the National conference 'AYUSHCHARYA' on Dinacharya (Daily Regimen) and
Ritucharya (Seasonal Regimen) for public health promotion?
1) Mumbai
2) Kolkata
3) Puducherry
4) New Delhi

16. In which field Union Cabinet approved a MoU between India and the USA to focus on Scientific
and Technical Cooperation?
1) Earth Sciences
2) Maritime Defence
3) Genetic Engineering
4) Food Processing and Technology

17. Which Indian city has topped in the list of top 10 fastest growing cities in the world from 2019 to
2035 in India, as per Oxford Economics report?
1) Mumbai, Maharashtra
2) Surat, Gujarat
3) Agra, Uttar Pradesh
4) Bengaluru, Karnataka

18. At which position India stood in the highest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, accounting
for 7 % of global emissions in 2017, according to a study by Global Carbon Project?
1) Second
2) Third
3) Fourth
4) Fifth

19. Which country has become the first Latin American Country to join China's Belt and Road
Initiative?
1) Mexico
2) Costa Rica
3) Panama
4) Argentina

20. Where was the 12th session of India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) for Economic and Technical Cooperation, held?
1) New Delhi, India
2) Mumbai, India
3) Dubai, UAE
4) Abu Dhabi, UAE

21. Where did External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj co-inaugurate Gandhi-Zayed Digital Museum?
1) Bahrain, UAE
2) Abu Dhabi, UAE
3) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4) Doha, Qatar

22. Which country topped in road deaths with 1.51 lakh road deaths in 2016, according to the Global Status Report on Road Safety?
1) USA
2) India
3) China
4) South Korea

23. Which country has become the first country to abolish all fares on public transport by 2019?
1) Luxembourg
2) Monaco
3) Ireland
4) Japan

24. Where was the world's largest Arabic audio library launched?
1) Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2) Dubai, United Arab Emirates
3) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4) Muscat, Oman

25. With which country India participated in the 10th edition of 'INDRA NAVY', the bilateral started at Vishakhapatnam?
1) Australia
2) Russia
3) France
4) USA

26. Where was the Military Literature Festival (MLF) 2018 held?
1) New Delhi
2) Dehradun
3) Kolkata
4) Chandigarh

27. Which country has approved a new law allowing foreign bluecollar workers into the country to ease labour shortages from April 2019?
1) Australia
2) Ethiopia
3) Spain
4) Japan

28. Which country became the 38th member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body to combat money laundering, terrorist financing etc?
1) Egypt
2) Pakistan
3) Israel
4) Afghanistan

29. Where was Vivah Panchami, the wedding of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita, celebrated on 12th
December 2018?
1) Dhaka, Bangladesh
2) Janakpur, Nepal
3) Uttar Pradesh, India
4) Colombo, Sri Lanka

30. With which Indian bank the Central Bank of the UAE made a Currency Swap Agreement and was signed?
1) State Bank of India
2) Reserve Bank of India
3) NABARD
4) SIDBI

31. With which country India signed an agreement to pay for the crude oil it imports from the country in rupees?
1) Iran
2) Iraq
3) Qatar
4) Saudi Arabia

32. Which airlines has become the first Indian Domestic carrier to have 200 aircraft in its fleet?
1) IndiGo
2) SpiceJet
3) Jet Airways
4) GoAir

33. Which country became the world's leading exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for the first time?
1) Qatar
2) USA
3) Iran
4) Australia

34. Which bank has approved a $400 million loan for a Water Sanitation Project in Andhra Pradesh?
1) Asian Development Bank (ADB)
2) Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB)
3) World Bank 4) SoftBank

35. Where was the 54th SKOCH Summit on the State of Power, Oil and Gas held?
1) Mumbai
2) Dehradun
3) Raipur
4) New Delhi

36. By which year India aimed to become a USD 5 trillion economies as per India's 1st Agriculture Export Policy 2018 released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry?
1) 2023
2) 2025
3) 2031
4) 2028

37. Which institute won the DSCI Excellence Award 2018, given by Data Security Council of India
(DSCI), for its contributions in Cyber Security education?
1) IIT, Madras
2) IIT, Kharagpur
3) NIT, Trichy
4) IISc, Bangalore

38. Which country scientists have made nanowire devices from zinc oxide crystals that can inherently process and even store information?
1) American
2) Indian
3) German
4) Australian

39. Which country launched its Chang'e-4 moon mission to reach the far side of the moon for the first time?
1) Japan
2) Singapore
3) South Korea
4) China

40. What is the name of the threestage nuclear capable surface-tosurface ballistic missile successfully
test fired by India, from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast?
1) Agni-V
2) Agni-II
3) Vishal-III
4) Dhanush-IV

41. Which Indian power station created a world record for the longest uninterrupted operation for 941
days, on 10th December 2018?
1) Bokaro Power Station-1, Jharkhand
2) Kaiga Power Station-1, Karnataka
3) Durgapur Power Station-2, West Bengal
4) Barauni Power Station-2, Bihar

42. What is the rank of India in the Climate Change Performance Index released on the sidelines of
COP24 UN Summit in Katowice, Poland, on 10th December 2018?
1) 4
2) 6
3) 9
4) 11

43. Who was appointed as Chief Economic Advisor for a period of 3 years?
1) Ravi Shankar A S
2) Krishnamurthy Subramanian
3) Vijay Thomas
4) Harish Chauhan

44. Who was appointed as the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on 11th December
2018?
1) Ravi Handa
2) Shaktikanta Das
3) S Krishnamoorthy
4) Arjun Rishab

45. Which Australian cricketer broke an unwanted 130-year-old record in Australian cricket when he lost his wicket for just 2 runs?
1) Shaun Marsh
2) Tim Paine
3) David Warner
4) Glen Maxwell

46. Who became the youngest and the fifth Indian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit in golf?
1) Shubhankar Sharma
2) Anirban Lahiri
3) Shiv Kapoor
4) Jeev Milkha Singh

47. Who was appointed as the Managing Director of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)?
1) Wasim Khan
2) Rashid Khan
3) Abbas Mohammed
4) Hashim Ahmed

48. Which sportsperson was honoured with the Meethoileima (Outstanding Queen) title by Manipur government?
1) Manu Bhaker
2) Hima Das
3) MC Mary Kom
4) Saina Nehwal

49. Who is the Present Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
1) Raman Singh
2) Shivraj Singh Chouhan
3) Ajit Jogi
4) Bhupesh Baghel

50. Who is the Present Chief Minister of Rajasthan
1) Vasundhara Raje
2) Hira Lal Devpura
3) Ashok Gehlot
4) Shiv Charan Mathur

ANSWERS:
1) 1 2) 1 3) 3 4) 2 5) 2 6) 2 7) 3 8) 3 9) 2 10) 3
11) 3 12) 3 13) 3 14) 2 15) 4 16) 1 17) 2 18) 3 19) 3 20) 4
21) 2 22) 2 23) 1 24) 2 25) 2 26) 4 27) 4 28) 3 29) 2 30) 2
31) 1 32) 1 33) 4 34) 2 35) 4 36) 2 37) 2 38) 3 39) 4 40) 1
41) 2 42) 4 43) 2 44) 2 45) 1 46) 1 47) 1 48) 3 49) 4 50) 3

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

GST is a unified taxation system which would end multiple taxation across the states and create a level playing field for businesses throughout the country, much like the developed nations. It is a multi-stage destination-based tax which will be collected at every stage, starting from procuring the raw material to selling the final product. The credit of taxes paid at the previous stage(s) will be available for set-off at the next stage of supply. Being destination or a consumption based, the GST will also end multiple taxes levied by Centre and the State Governments like Central Excise, Service Tax, VAT, Central Sales Tax, Octroi, Entry Tax, Luxury Tax and Entertainment Tax etc.  This will lower the overall tax burden on the consumer and will benefit the industry through better cash flows and working capital management. Currently, 17 State and Central levies are being applied on goods as they move from one State to the other.

BENEFITS

Different estimates peg the net advantage to the Gross Domestic Product, up to two percentage points.  The GST regime is also expected to result in better tax compliance, thereby increasing its revenue and narrowing the Budget deficit. All the imported goods will be charged Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) which is equivalent to the Central GST + State GST. This will bring equality with taxation on local products.

Mainly, there will be three types of taxes under the GST regime: Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), State (or Union Territory) Goods and Services Tax (SGST) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST). Tax levied by the Centre on intra-State supply of goods or services would be called the CGST and that to be levied by the States and Union Territories(UTs) would be called the SGST respectively. The IGST would be levied and collected by the Centre on inter-State supply of goods and services. Four supplementary legislations approving these taxes, namely the Central GST Bill, the Integrated GST Bill, The GST (Compensation to States) Bill, and the Union Territory GST Bill were passed by the Lok Sabha in May this year, making the realisation of 1^st July, 2017 deadline a reality.

All the matters related to the GST are dealt upon by the GST Council headed by the Union Finance Minister while all the State Finance Ministers are its Members. The GST Council also has a provision to adjudicate disputes arising out of its recommendation or implementation thereof.

TAX RATES

The GST Council has fixed four broad tax slabs under the new GST system - 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. On top of the highest slab, there is a cess on luxury and demerit goods to compensate the States for revenue loss in the first five years of GST implementation. Most of the goods and services have been listed under the four slabs, but a few like gold and rough diamonds have exclusive tax rates. Also, some items have been exempted from taxation. The essential items have been kept in the lowest tax bracket, whereas luxury goods and tobacco products will invite higher tax.

17-YEAR-LONG WAIT

Many countries in the world switched to a unified taxation system very early. France was the first country to do so in 1954 and many others followed, some by implementing GST and others by using a different form of Value Added Tax (VAT). In India, the discussion on GST started in the year 2000, in the NDA Government led by the former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Finally, after 17 years of consensus building, 101^st Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament in 2016. The States had apprehension of reduction in their revenue and their desire to keep some lucrative goods out of the GST baskets like alcohol, petroleum and real estate among others.

IMPACT ON CONSUMERS

From agarbattis (incense sticks) to luxury cars - all these goods will be taxed under different slabs. Movie tickets costing less than Rs 100 have been kept in the 18% GST slab while those over Rs 100 will attract 28% tax under GST. Tobacco products have been kept under a higher tax bracket. Industries such as textiles and, gems and jewellery are subject to a GST rate of 5%

The Government has shown its strong determination and stuck to implementing the GST with effect from 1^st July, 2017. The road ahead would require a lot of resolve by the implementing agencies like the Goods and Services Network, states and the industry.    To sail through initial hiccups and successfully steer the ship of the economy, the Government needs to show the same determination and courage. A bold initiative like GST taken for the welfare of the country must lead to a grand success.

List of BAFTAs Awards 2016

Britain's 69th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) were held at the Royal Opera House in London on February 14, The "Revenant" won big at this year’s BAFTA Awards, winning best film, best director for Alejandro González Iñárritu, and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, the full list of 2016’s BAFTA winners.

Complete List of Winners:

Film: The Revenant
Director: Alejandro G Inarritu, The Revenant
Leading Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Leading Actress: Brie Larson, Room
Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short, Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
Animated Film: Inside Out
British Short Animation: Edmond
British Short Film: Operator
Cinematography: The Revenant, Emmanuel Lubezki
Costume Design: Mad Max: Fury Road, Jenny Beavan
Documentary: Amy
EE Rising Star: John Boyega
Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Margaret Sixel
Film not in the English Language: Wild Tales
Make-Up and Hair: Mad Max: Fury Road
Original Music: The Hateful Eight, Ennio Morricone
Original Screenplay: Spotlight, Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
Outstanding British Film: Brooklyn
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: The Theeb, Rupert Lloyd
Production Design: Mad Max: Fury Road
Sound: The Revenant
Special Visual Effects: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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