Current Affairs & GK Quiz for preparing Exams : 30 October 2014

1) Who is/are the winner of World’s Children prize 2014?

(A) Malala Yousafzai

(B) Indira Ranamagar

(C) John Wood

(D) All the above

2) Michael Sata, who passed away on 28 October 2014 in London was the President of which African country?

(A) Nigeria

(B) Uganda

(C) Zambia

(D) Mangolia

3) Sachin Tendulkar along with which other player was on 29 October 2014 inducted into Don Bradman Hall of Fame?

(A) Brian Lara

(B) Steve Waugh

(C) Ricky Ponting

(D) Rahul Dravid

4) Which territory in September 2014 held a referendum for independence from the United Kingdom?

(A) England

(B) Northern Ireland

(C) Scotland

(D) Wales

5) What was India’s rank in the World Bank’s latest “Ease of Doing Business” report which was released on 29 October 2014?

(A) 142

(B) 189

(C) 140

(D) 134

6) Union Health Minister on 29 Oct 2014 announced "TB-Mission 2020" toeliminate Tuberculosis from the country. Name the Union Health Minister?

(A) Nitin Gadkari

(B) Arun Jaitley

(C) Harsh Vardhan

(D) Sis Ram Ola

7) Srinagar city is situated on the banks of which river?

(A) Sutlej

(B) Tapi

(C) Jhelum

(D) Tawi

8) India along with 20 other countries on 23 October 2014 signed an agreement to set up Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Where will be its headquarters?

(A) Tokyo

(B) New Delhi

(C) Dhaka

(D) Shanghai

9) Where will the 2018 Commonwealth games be held?

(A) India

(B) Wales

(C) Australia

(D) Canada

10) Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami from which country was on 29 October 2014 handed death penalty for killings of nation’s leading intellectuals during the country’s War of Liberation in 1971?

(A) Bangaldesh

(B) Pakistan

(C) Iran

(D) Saudi Arabia

Answers

1) Ans. (D) All the above

2) Ans. (C) Zambia

3) Ans. (B) Steve Waugh

4) Ans. (C) Scotland

5) Ans. (A) 142

6) Ans. (C) Harsh Vardhan

7) Ans. (C) Jhelum

8) Ans. (D) Shanghai

9) Ans. (C) Australia

10) Ans. (A) Bangaldesh

Source : http://www.currentaffairs4examz.com/

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Current Affairs Updates : 29 October 2014

1) Malala won 2014 World’s Children prize: Champion for girls’ rights Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate in history, won the World’s Children’s Prize 2014 on 29 October 2014, after a global vote involving millions of children. “Millions of children have voted to award Malala this year’s World’s Children’s Prize for the rights of the child,” the organisation said in astatement. “Nobody has ever received the Nobel Peace Prize and the World’s Children’s Prize, often dubbed the ‘Children’s Nobel Prize’ by the media, in the same year,” it added. This year’s honorary awards went to former Microsoft executive John Wood, founder of the Room to Read literacy group, and Indira Ranamagar from Nepal, for her work for the children of prisoners. Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel, Anne Frank and Kofi Annan have previously been honoured.

2) India ranks 142 in latest "Ease of Doing Business" report: World Bank- India ranked 142 among the 189 countries surveyed for the latest World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business” report released on Wednesday, a drop by two places from the last year’s ranking, as Singapore topped the list. The fall in ranking from last year’s 140 is mainly because other nations performed much better, Bank officials said. India’s ranking originally stood at 134 last year, but was adjusted to 140 to account for fresh data. In the 2014 report, India had 52.78 points and this year it scored 53.97 points. The latest ranking, however, does not take into account a slew of measures taken by the Modi government to make India a business friendly destination.

3) World Stroke Day observed: World Stroke Day is observed on October 29 to underscore the serious nature and high rates of stroke, raise awareness of the prevention and treatment of the condition, and ensure better care and support for survivors. On this day, organizations around the world have facilitated events emphasizing education, testing, and initiatives to improve the damaging effects of stroke worldwide.

4) Harsh Vardhan announces TB-Mission 2020: Underlining the plans of the Indian government to eliminate Tuberculosis from the country, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan today announced 'TB-Mission 2020'. Vardhan was speaking at WHO's Global TB Symposium titled 'Moving out of the box to end global TB epidemic: with post-2015 strategy. Tuberculosis control was also declared as the dominant agenda for the upcoming meeting of BRICS Health Ministers in December.

5) Government relaxed FDI norms for construction, real estate sector: The government eased overseas investment rules in construction to attract money into the funds-starved sector and serve its twin objectives of faster job creation and housing for all. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a comprehensive proposal by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), dropping the minimum 10-hectare rule for serviced housing plots and slashing the minimum floor area for construction development projects to 20,000 sq m from 50,000 sq m to be eligible for overseas investment. 

6) Sachin Tendulkar inducted into Don Bradman Hall of Fame: Sachin Tendulkar added another feather to his cap on Wednesday when the Indian batting legend was inducted as one of the latest honourees in the Bradman Foundation. At a gala dinner held at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground, former Australian captain Steve Waugh was the other cricketer to enter the Bradman Hall of Fame alongside Tendulkar.

7) Bangladesh Jamaat chief gets death for war crimes: A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal on Wednesday handed death penalty to Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami for crimes, which include the killings of nation’s leading intellectuals during the country’s War of Liberation in 1971.

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Current Affairs: 28 October 2014

1) Devendra Fadnavis to be sworn in as BJP’s first MaharashtraCM:Devendra Fadnavis was on Tuesday elected the leader of the BJP legislature party in Maharashtra, paving the way for his appointment as the first party chief minister of the state. The name of Fadnavis, state BJP president, was proposed by Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly Eknath Khadse and seconded by his counterpart in the legislative council Vinod Tawde, and members of the party's core group Sudhir Mungantiwar and Pankaja Munde. The resolution proposing 44-year-old Fadnavis as the leader of the legislature party was unanimously approved by the newly elected MLAs inthe presence of Union home minister Rajnath Singh and BJP general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra J P Nadda. 

2) 2018 FIFA World Cup logo unveiled: FIFA President Sepp Blatter has revealed the 2018 World Cup logo. While unveiling the logo on a Russian state TV talk show Tuesday, Blatter said the logo would show Russia’s “heart and spirit”, reports Xinhua. The logo depicts the World Cup trophy in red and blue, colors from the Russian flag, with a gold trim.

3) Maruti launches new Swift: Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday launched the refreshed version of its popular hatchback Swift with 10 per cent enhanced fuel efficiency, priced between Rs 4.42 lakh and Rs 6.95 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The model, which was first launched in the country in May 2005, has been re-introduced in both petrol and diesel variants. “The Swift now comes with improved fuel efficiency of 10 per cent and a rich equipment list like push start button, a 60:40 split rear seat, electric retractable outside mirrors, reverse parking sensor and others,” the company’s Executive Director (Marketing & Sales), R S Kalsi said. The company has sold over 12 lakh Swift cars till date.

4) Jual Oram Launched Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana: Centre has launched Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY) for welfare of Tribals. Launching the scheme on the occasion of the meeting of the Tribal Welfare Ministers of States/UTs here today the Union Tribal Welfare Minister Shri Jual Oram said that the scheme been launched on pilot basis in one block each of the States of AP, MP, HP, Telangana, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Under the scheme centre will provide Rs. 10 crore for each block for the development of various facilities for the Tribals.

5) India to modernise Vietnam’s defence forces: Calling India’s defence cooperation with Vietnam “among our most important,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a commitment to “modernise Vietnam’s defence and security forces” on Tuesday after talks with his counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung. The two countries signed several agreements, including a memorandum of understanding for exploration by ONGC Videsh Limited in two blocks in the South China Sea.

6) India slips to 114th spot in WEF Gender Gap Index: India registered a marked deterioration in its performance as measured by a World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap index that ranked countries on the basis of providing equal opportunity to women in business, education, health and political empowerment. The index for this year places India 114th out of 142 countries, down from the 101st position last year. Last year's top four -- Iceland (1), Finland (2), Norway (3) and Sweden (4) -- retained their rankings. Rwanda entered the index for the first time at the seventh position.

7) UIDAI has issued 70 crore Aadhaar numbers till date: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has as on date said that 70 crore Aadhaar Cards have been issued. Nine states including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, have crossed 90% Aadhaar coverage, while sixteen states have Aadhaar coverage of over 70%.

8) Surya Prakash appointed as Chairman of Prasar Bharti Board: Surya Prakash on 28 October 2014 was appointed as the Chairman of Prasar Bharti Board for a term of three years.  He succeeded Mrinal Pande whose term ended on April 2014. He was appointed on the recommendation of a three-member committee headed by Vice President M Hamid Ansari and comprising of Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju and Information and Broadcasting Secretary Bimal Julka.

9) Modi government sacked CMDs of 6 PSU banks: The Narendra Modi government has sacked the heads of six Public Sector Unit banks. The move comes after the Chairman of Syndicate Bank was arrested on bribery charges in August. A high-level panel report submitted to the government stated that there were irregularities in the selection process of the Chairman and Managing Directors of these banks. A panel headed by the RBI Governor during the UPA rule had shortlisted the names for Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank and Vijaya Bank. The government has now scrapped the process and decided to fill vacancies of 8 posts of CMDs and 14 posts of Executive Directors through a fresh process involving RBI Governor or his nominee.

Source : http://www.currentaffairs4examz.com/

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Government Committed to Increase Savings Rate in the Country

National Savings Institute (NSI), Ministry of Finance, Government of India jointly celebrated here today the World Thrift Day, in collaboration with World Savings & Retail Banking Institute (WSBI), Brussels. In his message on this occasion, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that “Thriftiness teaches us to be more modest and restrain ourselves in using scarce resources as well as provide support to the developmental efforts by mobilization of resources through National Savings Schemes”. The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in his message stated that “ It should be the endeavour of all the agencies engaged in mobilization of savings to ensure that the savings movement is taken to the farthest corners of our country”. 

Speaking on the occasion, Shri G.S. Sandhu, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Government of India said that the Government of India is committed to boost the savings rate in the country and he also informed that “Pradhan Mantri Jan- Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)” a massive Financial Inclusion Mission has been launched by the Government. It will bring unbanked section of the society into formal financial sector. It was highlighted that various steps have been taken by the banks in this direction. These include opening of basic savings account with zero balance and providing of micro insurance products to the account holders. Beneficiaries would get Rupay Debit Card having inbuilt accidental insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh. It was highlighted that Department of Posts may also leverage technology and its tremendous reach in this Mission. 

Earlier speaking on the occasion, Dr. Rajat Bhargava, Joint Secretary (Budget), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India told that two new products will be launched soon by the Government. These will be of tremendous significance in increasing the savings rate and giving more choices to small savers. It was further stated that time has come to look for a change and means to provide a safety network in the shape of new products to the young customers. 

Department of Posts informed about the modernization measures being taken by them. Ms. Fiona Joyce, Head of International Relations, World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI) assured all cooperation with India in enhancing the savings rate in Indian economy. 

Source : PIB

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North East Circle Postal/Sorting Assistant Exam 2014 final result out

North East Postal Circle has today (28 October 2014) published the final result of direct recruitment of PA/SA 2014. You can check the result from the following link. Congratulations to all the selected candidates!!

Check result: Click Here

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Current Affairs Updates : 17 October 2014

1) Supreme Court granted bail to Jayalalithaa in DA case: The Supreme Courthas granted interim bail to AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, who wassentenced to four years in jail in a high-profile corruption case that has lasted nearly two decades. Alongwith Jayalalithaa, her aide Sasikala and two others have also been granted bail. Jayalalithaa was granted bail of grounds of ill health.

2) India test-fired nuclear-capable Nirbhay cruise missile: India's indigenously developed nuclear capable sub-sonic cruise missile 'Nirbhay', which can strike targets more than 700 kms away, was test-fired from a test range at Chandipur. "The missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher positioned at launch pad 3 of the Integrated Test Range at about 10.03 hours," said an official soon after the flight took off from the launch ground. It is the second test of the sub-sonic long rangecruise missile 'Nirbhay' from the ITR.

3) International Day for the Eradication of Poverty observed: The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated every year on October 17 throughout the world. It was officially recognised by the United Nations. Theme for 2014 is: Leave no one behind: think, decide and act together against extreme poverty. The annual day, in observance since 1993, is celebrated to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries.

4) West Indies cricket team pulled out of India tour: The West Indies tour to India has come to an abrupt end, with the BCCI saying it had been called off by the WICB and announcing a replacement tour. The WICB initially released a statement saying it had not called off the tour, but following a meeting after the fourth ODI in Dharamsala, it clarified that it was "left no option" by the West Indies players. The developments followed a protracted payment structure dispute between the players, the WICB and West Indies Players' Association. At the end of the game, the official broadcaster Star Sports displayed India as the winners of the ODI series by a 2-1 margin, though no trophy was given to MS Dhoni at the presentation ceremony.

5) Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela elected as non-permanent members of UNSC: Venezuela, Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand and Spain on 16 October 2014 were elected as non-permanent members of United Nations Security Council (UNSC). They were elected after member states voted in support of these five nations after three rounds of voting. All these five new members received over two-thirds of the votes cast in a secret ballot. The new members of the Security Council will begin their two-year appointment on 1 January 2015 and will serve on the Council until 31 December 2016.

6) India-born scientist Sanjaya Rajaram awarded World Food Prize:  India-born Mexican scientist Sanjaya Rajaram has been presented with the prestigious World Food Prize 2014 for his agricultural research that led to a remarkable increase in world wheat production building on the successes of the Green Revolution.

Source : http://www.currentaffairs4examz.com/

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Current Affairs Updates : 16th October 2014

1) Arvind Subramanian appointed Chief Economic Adviser: Former IMF economist Arvind Subramanian was appointed Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry. An alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad, Subramanian joins the Finance Ministry at a time when the government has started work for the 2015-16 budget which will be the first proper budget of the Modi government. The post of CEA has been lying vacant since Raghuram Rajan left the Finance Ministry to join the Reserve Bank as Governor in September last year. The Finance Ministry has prepared an interim budget and full fledged budget for 2014-15 without a formal CEA in office. A graduate from St Stephens College, Subramanian has been advising the Indian government in different capacities and has been a member of the Finance Minister's Expert Group on the G-20.

2) ISRO successfully launched navigation satellite IRNSS 1C: Scripting yet another milestone in outer space, Isro successfully launched IRNSS 1C, the third member of the seven satellite constellation of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), in the wee hours of Thursday. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) - C26, carrying IRNSS 1C, lifted off from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 1.32am. The satellite detached from the launch vehicle about 20 minutes after the launch at an altitude of 499.63km soaring with a velocity of 9604.87 metre per second. This was the 27th consecutive successful flight of PSLV.

3) Rajiv Mehrishi replaced Arvind Mayaram as Finance Secretary: The Narendra Modi government has transferred the top civil servant at the finance ministry, Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram, replacing him with Rajiv Mehrishi, the chief secretary of Rajasthan, a state that has pushed dramatic free market reforms in recent months.

4) Kotak Mahindra Bank launched Facebook-based funds transfer platform KayPay: Mumbai headquartered Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched KayPay, a bank agnostic payment product for Facebook users to send money to each other. Users won't have to depend on net banking or have to know the detailsof the payee, the company said. According to the bank, users can transfer funds by choosing recipients from their Facebook friends list. KayPay is built on top of the mobile based Immediate Payment System launched by the National Payment Corporation of India. Users have to register their bank accounts onceto start using the service. KayPay uses Facebook user id & password and a One Time Password (OTP) to authenticate a transaction. Both sender and the receiver receive notification on SMS and Facebook.

5) Modi launched Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate scheme: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate scheme, under which he dedicated a Shram Suvidha portal, Labour Inspection scheme and Portability through Universal Account Number for Employees Provident Fund to the nation.

6) World Food Day celebrated: World Food Day is celebrated every year around the worldon 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. The day is celebrated widely by many other organisations concerned with food security, including the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. The World Food Day theme for 2014 is Family Farming: “Feeding the world, caring for the earth”.

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