The Competition Time JULY 1470844

Banking and Current AffairsIBT 1IBT INSTITUTE PVT. LTD

Price : Rs. 30.00/-

1. National News 32. International News 63. Who is Who 94. Budget 2014-15 125. General Elections-2014 166. Persons in News 197. Obituaries of Famous People 228. Persons Appointed 249. Places in News 28

10. Awards and Honours 2911. Sports 3312. Books and Authors 3813. Space, Science & Technology 4014. Defence and Security 4115. State’s Level News 4216. Plans and Programme 4317. Summit & Conference 4418. Banking Awareness 4519. Important Abbreviations in News 5520. Important Days 5821. Important Questions For Exam 59

IBTIBT INSTITUTE PVT. LTD


Our PresenceHEAD OFFICE- JALANDHARPUNJAB AIR TOWER, OPP BUS STAND GATE NO.3,JALANDHARMOBILE:-94636-12090,PHONE:-0181-4606260,4606000AMRITSAR-REGIONAL OFFICE2nd FLOOR,30-A,NEAR NIRANKARI BHAWAN,RANI KA BAAG, AMRITSARMOBILE:-90415-00546, PHONE:-0183-5005250LUDHIANASCO 1, FEROZE GANDHI MARKET, LUDHIANAMOBILE:-92163-80013, PHONE:-0161-4673666NAGPUR13, AVTAR MEHERBABA SOCIETY, NEAR BOLE PETROL PUMPRTO SQUARE, CIVIL LINES, NAGPUR 10.MOBILE:-99670-29818MOGACAREER PARK,SCO 231,LALA LAJPAT RAI MARKET, AMRITSAR ROAD,MOGA, MOBILE:-82838-41077,82838-41277SANGRURIBT, RAJWAHA ROAD (SC-7) NEAR DR.D.P SINGLA, BLOCK-E, GURUNANAK COLONY, SANGRUR, MOBILE :-98558-26805MANSA1ST FLOOR,NATIONAL COMMERCIAL COLLEGE, NEAR RAILWAYS PHATAKMAIN BAZAAR, MANSA MOBILE:- 84278-76111, 84278-74111KAPURTHALAINNOVATIVE COMPUTER INSTITUTE SULTANPUR LODHI ROAD,KAPURTHALA , MOBILE:-98157-87319, PHONE:-01822-508652REWARISRCS BUILDING - 45 - NEW ANAJ MANDI, REWARI-123401 (HARYANA)MOBILE:-9541641631,9416445170BARNALATHIRD EYE FOUNDATION, RAM BAGH ROAD, OPP. CHINTU PARK, SHOPNO.3, 2ND FLOOR, BARNALA 148101, Mob :- 82830-89447BATHINDACANADIAN INSTITUTE,OPP. NIRANKARI BHAWAN,G.T ROAD,BATHINDA ,MOBILE:- 98882-70829PATHANKOTIBT COMPLEX,DHANGU ROAD,OPP HOTEL VENICE,PATHANKOTMOBILE:- 98884-79777 PHONE:- 0186-5082226NAKODARDOLPHIN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY, OPP D.A.V COLLEGE GIRLS WING,SHANKAR ROAD, NAKODAR MOBILE:-98150-89157, PHONE :-01821-500050,HAMIRPURTOP FLOOR OPP. AMARTAX, NEW ROAD HAMIRPUR (HP) , PIN 177001MOBILE:-98051-51212, PHONE:-01972-224011KASHIPURIBT,NEAR GIRITAL MANDIR,GIRITAL ROAD KASHIPUR-244713MOBILE:07500818111, 07500828111


NATIONAL NEWS

JUNE 2014

••••• India ratified Additional Protocol with the IAEA : India on 22 June 2014ratified the Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA). The Additional Protocol will cover the facilities which are monitored bythe IAEA and will have no bearing on the non-safeguarded facilities which areused for building weapons. The Additional Protocol’s ratification fulfils India’scommitment anchored in the Indo-U.S. joint statement of July 2005, whichstated unambiguously that New Delhi would conclude an additional protocolwith the IAEA.

• Union Government extended the deadline for implementing NFSA bythree months : Union Government gave a deadline of three months to Statesto implement the National Food Security Act.

States where the Act has been fully implemented are

• Haryana • Rajasthan • Maharashtra • Punjab • Chattisgarh

States where the Act has been partially implementation include

• Delhi • Himachal Pradesh • Karnataka • Madhya Pradesh

• Bihar • Chandigarh

More than 19 states and union territories are yet to implement the provisions ofthe Act.

• Union Cabinet approved pact with China for setting up industrial park :

The Union Cabinet on 25 June 2014 approved an in principle memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) between India and China for setting up industrial parks inthe country. The approval came during a Cabinet meet that was headed byNarendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India. But, the details of the agreement willbe available after the agreement is signed.

• Union Home Ministry decided not to allow visa free entry toBangladeshi nationals : Union Home Ministry on 23 June 2014 decided notto allow visa-free entry to Bangladeshi nationals. The proposal to grant visa-free entry was mooted by Ministry of External Affairs. As per the proposal,MEA mooted to grant visa-on-arrival facility and visa-free entry to Bangladeshinationals who are below 18 years of age and above 65.

• Union Ministry of Culture launched project Mausam to explore multi-faceted Indian Ocean : Project Mausam: Maritime Routes and CulturalLandscapes presented by Secretary of Culture, Ravindra Singh at 38th sessionof World Heritage Committee.

Project Mausam

Project Mausam was initially proposed by Ravindra Singh, Secretary, UnionMinistry of Culture. It is a Union Ministry of Culture initiative with Indira GandhiNational Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi as the nodal coordinatingagency. The main objective of the project is transnational nomination of MaritimeCultural Routes, creation of a comprehensive database and UNESCO webplatform on Maritime Cultural Landscapes and Routes and; linking other UNESCOcultural conventions with the World Heritage convention through this theme.


• Endeavour of Project Mausam is to position itself at two levels

• At the macro level – the project is aimed to re-connect and re-establishcommunications between countries of the Indian Ocean world and it wouldlead to an enhanced understanding of cultural values and concerns

• At the micro level – the project’s focus is on understanding national culturesin their regional maritime milieu

• Union Government reconstituted 6 Cabinet Committees : UnionGovernment on 19 June 2014 reconstituted six important Cabinet Committeesof these four will be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and remainingtwo by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The six Cabinet Committees includeSecurity, Polit ical Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, Economic Affairs,Accommodation and Appointments.

• Cabinet approved Committee to look into issues of safety &restoration of Mullaperiyar Dam : Union Cabinet on 18 June 2014 approvedconstitution of a three-member Supervisory Committee on the MullaperiyarDam. It will look into the issues about the safety and restoration of the dam. TheCommittee was set up in the light of Supreme Court judgment on the issue. SCearlier had directed Tamil Nadu and Kerala to raise the level of water in the damto 142 feet.

• Union Cabinet appointed Ex-CJI R C Lahoti as arbitrator in Vodafonetax dispute case : Union Cabinet on 17 June 2014 appointed Ex-Chief Justiceof India (CJI) R C Lahoti as arbitrator in Vodafone tax disputes case. On theother part, Vodafone has appointed renowned arbitrator and diplomat YvesFortier for the case. The appointment of an arbitrator come after the noticewas served to the Government of India in April 2014 by the Vodafone under theBilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement between India andthe Netherlands for resolving the dispute.

• India’s first One Stop Crisis Centre named Gauravi launched in Bhopal :India’s first One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) named Gauravi was launched inBhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 16 June 2014. It was launched by the Bollywoodactor Amir Khan.The centre is first of its kind in India for women who arevictims of violence. It will provide help and assistance to rape survivors andvictims of dowry harassment, domestic violence and other atrocities on women,all under one roof.

• India became permanent signatory to Washington Accord : India on 13June 2014 became a permanent signatory to Washington Accord. The Accordwas signed by National Board of Accreditation at a meet of InternationalEngineering Alliance of WA member countries held in Wellington, New Zealand.With India becoming the permanent signatory, India joined a select group of 17countries who are permanent signatories of the Washington Accord (WA).The signatory status will substantially increased global employmentopportunities for technical and engineering graduates of India.

About Washington Accord

Washington Accord is an international agreement between prominent nationsof the world and is a charter that promotes mobility and quality assurance ofengineers across international boundaries. Charter of the accord needs setting-up of suitable accreditation standards that ensures minimum quality of attainmentfor their engineering graduates.


• Kerala passed a resolution seeking Union Government’s mediationon Mullaperiyar dam issue : Kerala Legislative Assembly passed resolutionseeking centre’s mediation and presidential reference to Supreme Court onMullaperiyar dam issue.

• Project Seabird phase II in Karwar, Karnataka got environmentclearance : Project Seabird Phase II in Karwar, Karnataka on 9 June 2014 gotenvironment clearance by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

About Project Seabird

Project Seabird was approved in 1999 to pursue the construction of the newnaval base at Karwar. Phase I was completed in 2005 and the base wascommissioned on 31 May 2005. Development of Phase II commenced in 2011.

• Indian Army launched the Army Veterans Grievance Handling portal :The Indian Army launched the Army Veterans Grievance Handling (AVGH)Portal on 5 June 2014. It is internet based web portal. It will facilitate the largefraternity of veterans and their dependents to take up their grievances withthe concerned agencies. The portal was developed and designed by NationalInformatics Centre (NIC) Ltd. It is one of the initiatives of the Indian Army toreach out its Veterans & Veer Naris.

• Sumitra Mahajan elected as Speaker of 16th Lok Sabha : Sumitra Mahajanwas unanimously elected as Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha.

About Sumitra Mahajan

• Mahajan was born in Maharashtra in 1943. She is a lawyer by profession

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

• She was President of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Madhya Pradesh in 1990 andthe national general secretary of BJP in 1998.

• She served as Minister of State in the Atal Behari Vajpayee cabinet from1999 to 2004, holding portfolios of Human Resources, Communications & ITand Petroleum and Natural Gas.

About Lok Sabha Speaker

Lok Sabha Speaker is the presiding officer of the House. The speaker iselected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the general elections.

Article 93 of the Indian constitution: The house of the people will choose theSpeaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People among them. If theoffice of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the house shall chooseanother member as Speaker or Deputy Speaker.

• Telangana became the 29th state of India on 2 June 2014 : Telanganabecame the 29th State of India with Hyderabad as its capital on 2 June 2014.With this formation, ten districts of the then Andhra Pradesh will now becomea part of the Telangana. Also, the President rule imposed on united AndhraPradesh was revoked partially. It was revoked in the newly-created StateTelangana to facilitate the swearing-in of the TRS government. ChandrasekharRao, the chief of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) was sworn-in as the firstChief Minister of Telangana. Rao took the oath along with eleven Cabinet Ministers.

• Narendra Modi took oath as 15th Prime Minister of India : NarendraModi on 26 May 2014 was sworn-in as the 15th Prime Minister of India on along

with 45-member Council of Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhawan.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

JUNE 2014

••••• Sri Lanka and Seychelles signed six agreements : Sri Lanka andSeychelles on 28 June 2014 signed 6 agreements of bilateral importance. Theagreements were signed during the visit of Sri Lankan President to Seychelles.The six agreements were signed between Sri Lankan President MahindaRajapaksa and President of Seychelles, James Michael in the capital, Victoria.

• Jean-Claude Juncker named as the next president of the EuropeanCommission : Jean-Claude Juncker on 26 June 2014 was named as the nextpresident of the European Commission.

About Jean JunkerJean-Claude Juncker is a politician. He was the longest-serving head ofgovernment of any European Union country, and one of the longest-servingdemocratically elected leaders in the world. He was the Prime Minister ofLuxembourg from 1995 to 2013.

• Kim Jong-Un replaced Defence Minister of North Korea : Kim Jong-Un,the North Korean leader on 25 June 2014 replaced his defence minister JangJong-Nam. General Hyon Yong-Chol replaced Jang Jong-Nam as Minister ofthe People’s Armed Forces.

• Sri Lanka’s Parliament voted against the UNHRC probe into humanrights violations : Sri Lanka’s Parliament on 18 June 2014 voted a motionagainst the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHRC) probe.The resolution was passed to not to allow the UNHRC team into the country toinvestigate alleged human rights abuses during the last phase of the civil waragainst the LTTE.The Sri Lankan government moved resolution was passed with 144 votes infavour, 10 against and 37 abstentions in the 225 member house.

• Hong Kong voters cast votes in an unofficial referendum fordemocracy : Hong Kong voters casted their votes for democracy in anunofficial referendum held on 22 June 2014.

Why unofficial referendum heldThe unofficial referendum comes a week after Beijing released a white paperin which it reasserted its authority over Hong Kong, a move that unnerved andenraged many in the city, raising fears of direct intervention.As per the white paper, Beijing agreed to a vote in 2017 for the city’s chiefexecutive, but the candidates must have first been approved by a nominatingcommittee headed by Chinese authorities.

• Dmitry O Rogozin, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister visited India :Dmitry O Rogozin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia was on a two-day visitto India. He was on a visit to India from 18 June to 19 June 2014. During thevisit, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj. During the meet discussions on a range of bilateral andinternational issues of mutual interest were made.

• 337 person died in West Africa due to Ebola virus disease: WHO : WHOsaid that since outbreak of Ebola virus 337 people have died in West Africa.Guinea is the worst affected country.

• Militants captured Iraq’s largest oil refinery Baiji refinery : Militants on17 June 2014 captured Iraq’s largest oil refinery Baiji refinery. The Baiji refinery


is located in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad in Iraq. Militants attackedrefinery with machine gun fire and mortars. Baiji is one of three oil refineries inIraq and only processes oil from the north. The other two are located in Baghdadand the Southern Iraq which are firmly under government control and areoperational.

• Russia cut off gas supply to Ukraine over the due payment : Russia on16 June 2014 cut off all gas supplies to Ukraine over the due payment. EnergyMinister of Ukraine Yuri Prodan confirmed that the Gas supplies to Ukrainehave been reduced to zero. After a while, both Gazprom and Naftogaz filedlawsuits against each other at the International Council Commercial Arbitration(ICCA) in Stockholm.

• Juan Manuel Santos re-elected as President of Colombia : Juan ManuelSantos was re-elected as the President of Colombia

• Uganda’s Sam Kahamba Kutesa elected President for the 69th Sessionof UNGA : Sam Kahamba Kutesa was elected as the president of UnitedNations General Assembly.

• Russia in-principle agreed on India’s nuclear liability law : Russia agreedon the Indian Nuclear Liability Law and paved a way for signing a contract forunit 3 & 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.

About Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act 2010Civil Liability Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act 2010 passed by the Parliament inAugust 2010 limits the liability of the operator in case of nuclear incident. Itsecures the operator the right to recourse under certain circumstances.

• Reuven Ruby Rivlin elected as 10th president of Israel : Reuven RubyRivlin on 10 June 2014 was elected as 10th president of Israel.

• Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez won the Miss USA title for the year 2014 :Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez on 8 June 2014 was crowned as Miss USA 2014.

• Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sworn-in as President of Egypt : Former army chiefAbdel Fattah el-Sisi was sworn-in as the President of Egypt in Cairo.

• Petro Poroshenko sworn-in as President of Ukraine : Petro Poroshenkowas sworn-in as the President of Ukraine in Kiev.

• UN General Assembly announced an award in honour of NelsonMandela : UN General Assembly on 7 June 2014 announced an award inhonour of Nelson Mandela.

• Lithuania to become 19th country to adopt Euro as currency from 1January 2015 : Lithuania to become 19th country to adopt Euro as currencyfrom 1 January 2015.

Which countries have adopted the euro and when?1999 Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg,

the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland2001 Greece2002 Introduction of euro banknotes and coins2007 Slovenia2008 Cyprus, Malta2009 Slovakia2011 Estonia2014 Latvia

• Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won Presidential election for thirdtime : President Bashar al-Assad of Syria won the Presidential election forthe third time. The Presidential Election result was announced by the ParliamentSpeaker Jihad Laham on 4 June 2014. Basher winning the elections means that


he will stay as the President of Syria for seven more years.• Peter Mutharika sworn-in as President of Malawi : Peter Mutharika was

sworn-in as President of Malawi• Dalia Grybauskaite won the Presidential election of Lithuania : Dalia

Grybauskaite, the Iron Lady of Lithuania, on 25 May 2014 won the Presidentialelections of Lithuania.

• First Gurudwara to be built in Johannesburg : City of Johannesburgagreed to allow construction of a place of worship in form of a full-fledgedGurudwara in the city.

• World’s highest tunnel for high-speed train opened in China : World’shighest tunnel for high-speed train in northwest China at an altitude of 3607.4metres became operational.

• India-made EVMs to be used in Namibia’s Presidential polls :Government of Namibia purchased 3400 India-made EVMs for use in thecountries Presidential Election, scheduled in November 2014.

• Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana scheme launched in UAE :MGPSY was launched in UAE in tie up of a leading Indian financial and healthcare service player and the UAE Exchange.

About Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY)Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) Scheme is a pension andlife insurance scheme and is recognised by the Indian government.

• Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) is a special social securityscheme for overseas Indian workers on temporary work permit in 17 EmigrationCheck Required (ECR) countries.

• The MGPSY is aimed at helping the workers to save money for their retirement,their return to India and resettlement and provides life insurance cover againstnatural death during the period of coverage.

• It provides home and a life insurance cover for 1 lakh rupees during their workabroad.

• The Government of India will contribute up to 2000 rupees every year for maleworkers and 3000 rupees every year to women workers for up to either fiveyears or until the worker returns home, whichever is earlier.

• It will be added to the Pension and Life Insurance (PLIF) account of eacheligible subscriber.

• The workers have to contribute between 1000 rupees and 12000 rupees perannum towards the pension fund and 4000 rupees towards the return andresettlement fund. They will derive corresponding benefits when they go backhome and during their old age.

• Indian Workers Resource Centre or IWRC is the support center for Indianworkers in the UAE while Bank of Baroda is the official banking partner of thescheme to enroll the workers.

• India emerged as World’s third largest economy in 2011: WB Report :India emerged as third largest economy of the World in 2011 in terms of thePurchasing Power Parity

• Slovakia and Ukraine signed Framework Interconnection Agreementon gas supply : Slovakia and Ukraine signed a Framework InterconnectionAgreement.


WHO IS WHO

LAST UPDATED ON JUNE 2014

Chief of Army staff : Mr. Bikram Singh (Retires on 31 July 2014)Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag(new appointment after Bikram singh)

Chief of NAVAL staff : Admiral Robin K Dhowan

Chief of Air staff : Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha

HEADS OF IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

1. United Nations Secretary – General: Ban-ki-Moon

2. President of the International Court of Justice : Peter Tomka

3. Director – General of International Labor Organization (ILO): Guy Ryder

4. Director – General of Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO): Jose Graziano dasilva

5. Director – General of World Health Organization (WHO): Dr. Margaret Chan

6. Head of United Nations Children's Fund (United Nations International Children’sEmergency Fund): Anthony Lake

7. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Antonio Guterres

8. Director – General of United Nations Educational Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO):Irina Bokova

9. President of the World Bank (WB): Jim Yong Kim

10. Managing Director the International Monetary Fund (IMF): Christine Lagarde

11. Director-General of World Trade Organization (WTO): Roberto Azevedo

12. Secretary – General of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation(SAARC): Arjun Bahadur Thapa.

13. Head of the Commonwealth of Nations: Queen Elizabeth-II

14. Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations: Kamalesh Sharma

15. Secretary – General of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD):Jose Angel Gurria

16. Secretary General of Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC):Abdallah–Salem–El-Badri

17. President of European Commission: Jose Manuel Barroso

18. President International Olympic Committee (IOC): Thomas Bach

19. Chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC): N Srinivasan

20. Chief Executive Officer of International Cricket Council: Dave Richardson


21. President of FIFA: Joseph Sepp Blatter

22. Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of America: Janet Yellen

23. President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) : Takehiko Nakao

24. International Telecom Union,Secretory General: Dr.Hamadoun Toure

25. International Civil Aviation Organization President of the Council - Dr. OlumuyiwaBenard Aliu (Nigeria)

26. International Criminal Court,President :- Song Sang-Hyun

27. President of the General Assembly - John William Ashe

28. Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO):FrancisGurry

29. Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):AchimSteiner

30. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights High Commissioner -Navanethem Pillay

31. World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director - Ertharin Cousin

32. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General - Taleb Rifai

HEADS OF IMPORTANT NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

1. Chairman of SBI : Arundhati Bhattacharya

2. RBI Governer : Raghuram Govinda Rajan

3. RBI Deputy Governors : K C Chakrabarty, Urjit Patel, R Gandhi andShri H.R. Khan

4. Chairman/ Speaker of Rajya Sabha : Mr Mohammad Hamid Ansari

5. Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha : Mr. P.J Kurian

6. Speaker of Lok Sabha: Sumitra Mahajan

7. Leader of House in lok sabha : Narendra modi

8. Leader of House in rajya sabha : Arun Jaitley

9. Leader of opposition in rajya Sabha : Ghulam Nabi Azad

10. Chief election commissioner : Mr. V.S. Sampath

11. CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) : Shashi Kant Sharma

12. Chairman National Commission of Backward classes : Justice V. Eshwaraiah

13. Chairman TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) : Mr. Rahul Khullar

14. CBI Director : Mr. Ranjit Sinha

15. Director General National Investigation Agency : Sharad Kumar

16. Chairman UGC (University Grants Commission): Prof. VED Prakash

17. Chairman Space Commission and ISRO : Dr. K Radhakrishanan


18. Chairman SSC (Staff Selection Commission) : Amitava Bhattacharya

19. Chairman Human Rights Commission : Justice K.G. Balakrishnan

20. Chairman CBDT(Central Board of Direct Taxes) : R K Tiwari

21. Chairman IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) : T.S Vijayan

22. Chairman SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) : Upendra Kumar Sinha

23. Foreign Secretry : Sujatha Singh

24. Chairman LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India) : S K Roy

25. Chairman 14th Finance Commission : Dr. Y.V Reddy

26. President of NASSCOM(The National Association of Software and ServicesCompanies) : R. Chandrasekhar

27. President ASSOCHAM(The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry ofIndia) : Mr. Rana Kapoor

28. President FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) :Sidharth Birla

29. Chairman of IBA (Indian Bank Association) : Mr. K.R Kamath

30. Chief justice of India : Rajendra Mal Lodha

31. Attorney General of India : Mukul Rohatgi

32. DRDO Chief (Defence Research and Development Organisation):Avinash Chander

33. Solicitor General of India : Ranjit kumar

Nmae : Parminder Singh

Bank : Canara Bank

Designation : Clerk

I am Glad to Join the IBT. According to this is best institute for

preparation of banking exams.The faculty is very experienced and

Encourages you to output your best. Institute helps me a lots in

improving my skill.

I wish all the student a very bright future.

STUDENT’S SPEAK


BUDGET 2014-15

HIGHLIGHTS OF RAILWAY BUDGET 2014-15

1. Waitlisted passengers will soon get status messages in their mobile phones iftheir tickets get confirmed before journey.

2. No change in passenger fares and freight charges

3. 72 new trains to be introduced: These include 17 premium trains, 38 expresstrains, 10 passenger trains, 4 MEMU and 3 DEMU

4. Three trains will be extended and frequency of three other trains will be increased

5. Proposed outlay of Rs.64,305 crore with a budgetary support of Rs.30,223crore

6. Gross traffic receipts targeted at Rs.1,60,775 crore with passenger earnings ofRs.45,255 crore, goods Rs.1,05,770 crore and other coaching and sundryearnings Rs.9,700 crore

7. 19 new lines to be taken up for survey in fiscal 2014-15

8. Surveys for doubling five existing lines will also be taken up during the year

9. Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh to be brought on railway map

10. Independent Rail Tariff Authority set up to advice on fares and freight

11. Gross traffic receipts pegged at Rs.1,60,775 crore

12. Working expenses pegged at Rs.1,10,649 crore, which is Rs.13,589 crore higherthan the revised estimates for the current fiscal

13. Freight earnings target set at Rs.94,000 crore. Loading target raised to 1,052million tonnes

14. Services on Udhampur-Katra section to start soon. It will take passengers to thefoothills of Vaishno Devi shrine

15. Allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in railways is under consideration

16. Emphasis on attracting higher investments from private sector

17. Three new factories - Rail Wheel Plant in district Chhapra, Bihar; Rail CoachFactory at Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh; and Diesel Component Factory at Dankuni,West Bengal, have become functional and commenced production during 2013-14

18. Operating ratio budgeted at 89.8 percent

19. Fund balances pegged at Rs.12,728 crore

20. Pension outgo budgeted at Rs.27,000 crore in 2014-15 against Rs.24,000 crorein the current fiscal

21. Ordinary working expenses placed at Rs.1,10,649 crore, higher by Rs.13,598crore from the current financial year

22. An independent Rail Tariff Authority to be set up to advise the government onfixing fares and freight charges


23. State governments of Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, andHaryana have agreed to share cost of several rail projects in their respectiveareas.

24. Online booking of meals in trains.

HIGHLIGHTS OF UNION BUDGET 2014-15

Interim Budget 2014-15 was presented in the Lok Sabha by Union FinanceMinister, P Chidambaram on 17 February 2014. This was the 83rd budget of theUnion Government and 9th personal budget by Chidambaram as Finance Minister.

In the union budget, Chidambaram left direct taxes. The 2014-15 interim budgethas implemented a surcharge of 10 percent on super-rich people (having incomeabove 1 crore rupees in a year). Excise duty on cars, two-wheelers, SUVs andcapital goods and consumer durables has been slashed to boost the manufacturingand growth. For storage and warehousing of rice, he exempted the service taxof in 2013-14 it was done in case of paddy. The blood banks have also beenexempted from its purview.

The Highlights of the Union Budget 2014-15 are as follows

••••• To sustain the pace of plan expenditure, it has been kept at the same level in2014-15 with 555322 crore rupees has been provided under the plan expenditureas it was budgeted in 2013-14.

••••• The non-plan expenditure in 2014-15 has been estimated at 1207892 crorerupees

••••• Spending raised to 2.24 trillion rupees in 2014-15, up 10 percent year on year

••••• Government to provide 112 billion rupees capital infusion in state run banks in2014-15

••••• 33725 crore rupees has been given to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

••••• 67398 crore rupees has been given to Ministry of HRD

••••• 15260 crore rupees has been given to Drinking water and sanitation ministry

••••• 6730 crore rupees has been given to Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry

••••• 6000 crore rupees has been given to the Union Ministry of Housing and PovertyAllegation

••••• 21000 crore has been given to the Ministry of Women and Child Development

••••• 29000 crore rupees has been given to the railways as budgetary support

••••• Government has announced one-rank-one-pension scheme for defencepersonnel from 2015

••••• 246397 crore rupees has been sanctioned for subsidies

••••• 116000 crore rupees has been allocated for food subsidy

••••• Defence allocation has been enhanced by 10 percent to 224000 crore rupeesfor 2014-15 from 203672 crore rupees of 2013-14

••••• To strengthen the capacity of Central Armed Police Forces by modernization andproviding state-of-the-art equipment and technology, the government hasallocated 11009 crore rupees


••••• To formulate and promote the scheme of community radio station, the governmenthas sanctioned a fund of 100 crore rupees

••••• The interim budget has sanctioned 6730 crore rupees to the Social JusticeMinistry

••••• 7000 crore rupees has been sanctioned for the Panchayati Raj Ministry

••••• The finance minister claimed that 140 million Indian people are out of poverty

••••• 246397 crore rupees has been allocated for food, fertilizer and fuel subsidy

••••• No changes has been introduced under the tax laws but changes has beenintroduced for the indirect taxes

••••• To stimulate growth, the government has slashed excise duty to 10 percent from12 percent

••••• The interim budget has stressed its focus on manufacturing and manufacturingexports

••••• A ten point agenda has been created by Chidambaram to make India the thirdlargest economy after US and China

••••• The government has moved for a populist move on the students loans and it hasdecided to waive 2600 crore rupees on outstanding loans taken by students upto 31 March 2009. It has declared a moratorium on these loans.

••••• Two projects sanctioned under Nirbhaya Fund of which the original was of 1000crore rupees that was non-lapsable and another 1000 crore rupees has beengranted

The global risks 2014 report has mapped 31 global risks of which few has beenhighlighted as serious areas of concern and they are

••••• Fiscal crisis

••••• Structurally unemployment and underemployment

••••• Income disparity

••••• Governance failure

••••• Food crisis

••••• Political and social instability

10 Tasks as part of the road map ahead include

••••• Fiscal consolidation: To achieve the target of fiscal deficit of 3 percent of GDP by2016-17 and remain below that level always.

••••• Current Account Deficit: CAD will be inevitable for some more years which canbe financed only by foreign investment. Hence, there is no room for any aversionto foreign investment.

••••• Price Stability and Growth: In a developing economy, a high growth target entailsa moderate level of inflation. RBI must strike a balance between price stabilityand growth while formulating the monetary policy.

••••• Financial Sector reforms to be completed as laid down by Financial SectorLegislative Reforms Commission.

••••• Massive investment in infrastructure: to be mobilized through the Public PrivatePartnership.

••••• Manufacturing sector to be the base of India's development: All taxes, Centraland State that go into an exported product should be waived or rebated. Thereshould be a minimum tariff protection to incentiwise domestic manufacturing.


••••• Subsidies, which are absolutely necessary should be chosen and targeted onlyto the absolutely deserving.

••••• Urbanisation to be managed to make cities governable and livable.

••••• Skill development must be given priority at par with secondary and universityeducation, sanitation and universal health care.

••••• States to partner in development so as to enable the Centre to focus on Defence,Railways, National Highways and Tele-communication.

INTERIM UNION BUDGET 2014-15 TAX PROPOSAL

Interim Budget 2014-15 was presented in the Lok Sabha by Union FinanceMinister, P Chidambaram on 17 February 2014. This was the 83rd budget of the UnionGovernment and 9th personal budget by Chidambaram as Finance Minister. In theunion budget 2014-15, the Finance Minister left untouched the direct taxes.

Following changes in some indirect tax rates are proposed

• States to partner in development so as to enable the Centre to focus on Defence,Railways, National Highways and Tele-communication.

• The Excise Duty on all goods falling under Chapter 84 & 85 of the Schedule to theCentral Excise Tariff Act is reduced from 12 percent to 10 percent for the periodup to 30 June 2014. The rates can be reviewed at the time of regular Budget.

• To give relief to the Automobile Industry, which is registering unprecended negativegrowth, the excise duty is reduced for the period up to 30 June 2014 as follows :

Category Percent

1. Small Cars, Motorcycle, Scooters and

Commercial Vehicles from 12 to 8 percent

2. SUVs from 30 to 24 percent

3. Large and Mid-segment Cars From 27/24 to 24/20 percent

• It is also proposed to make appropriate reductions in the excise duties on chassisand trailors. The rates can be reviewed at the time of regular Budget

• To encourage domestic production of mobile handsets, the excise duties for allcategories of mobile handsets is restructured. The rates will be 6 percent withCENVAT credit or 1 percent without CENVAT credit.

• To encourage domestic production of soaps and oleo chemicals, the custom dutystructure on non-edible grade industrial oils and its fractions, fatty acids and fattyalcohols is rationalized at 7.5 percent.

• To encourage domestic production of specified road construction machinery, theexemption from Counter Vailing Duty (CVD) on similar imported machinery iswithdrawn.

• A concessional custom duty 5 percent on capital goods imported by the BankNote Paper Mill India Private Limited is provided to encourage domestic productionof security paper for printing currency notes.

• The loading and un-loading, packing, storage and warehousing of rice areexempted from Service Tax.

• The services provided by cord blood banks are exempted from Service Tax.


GENERAL ELECTIONS-2014

HIGHLIGHTS OF GENERAL ELECTIONS 2014

World's biggest democratic exercise- India's 16th Lok Sabha (Lower House) electionswhich ran from April, 7 to May 12, 2014 are over and its verdict is out. Of the total 543seats for which elections were contested, BJP led NDA achieved a thumping victoryon 336 seats, whereas, Congress led UPA has faced thorough defeat in 6 key stateswinning just 59 seats, and the Congress, 44 seats.TheAam Aadmi Party (AAP) which contested on 424 seats has faced debacle as itcould win just 4 seats. AAP leader and former Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejrival,who contested against the Narendra Modi from Varanasi, defeated by a huge marginof more than 3 lakh votes.With this NDA victory, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is all set to bethe head of the newly elected Indian Government.BJP registered its biggest win in Uttar Pradesh winning 71 seats despite a big coalitionpartner, the best performance by a single party in the state since 1984 when theCongress won 83 of 85 seats.

Results Lok Sabha Polls 2014 :

ALLIANCE TALLY

NDA (BJP + Allies) 335

UPA (Congress + Allies) 59

AAP 4

SP 5

BSP 0

AITC 34

JD (U) 2

LEFT 11

ADMK 37

OTHERS 56

TOTAL 543/543

Vote Share :

Alliance Vote Share %

NDA 35

UPA 23

LEFT 4

AITC 4

Others 34


LIST OF CABINET MINISTERS WITH PORTFOLIOS

No Office Minister1 Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi2 Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh3 Minister of External Affairs,

Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Sushma Swaraj4 Minister of Finance,

Minister of Corporate Affairs,Minister of Defence Arun Jaitley

5 Minister of Urban Development,Minister of Housing and UrbanPoverty Alleviation,Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Venkaiah Naidu

6 Minister of Road Transportand Highways, Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari

7 Minister of Railways D. V. Sadananda Gowda8 Minister of Water Resources, River

Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti9 Minister of Minority Affairs Najma Heptullah10 Minister of Rural Development Gopinath Munde11 Minister of Consumer Affairs,

Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan12 Minister of Women and Child

Development Maneka Gandhi13 Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar14 Minister of Law and Justice,

Minister of Communications andInformation Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad

15 Minister of Civil Aviation Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju16 Minister of Heavy Industries and

Public Enterprises Anant Geete17 Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur18 Minister of Mines, Minister of Steel,

Minister of Labour and Employment Narendra Singh Tomar19 Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram20 Minister of Social Justice and

Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot21 Minister of Human Resource

Development Smriti Irani22 Minister of Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh23 Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan24 Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises Kalraj Mishra


LIST OF MINISTERS OF STATE AND THEIR PORTFOLIOS

1. General V.K. Singh - Development of North Eastern Region (Independent Charge),

External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs

2. Inderjit Singh Rao - Planning (Independent Charge), Statistics and Programme

Implementation (Independent Charge), Defence

3. Santosh Kumar Gangwar - Textiles (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs,

Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

4. Shripad Yesso Naik - Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge)

5. Dharmendra Pradhan - Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge)

6. Sarbananda Sonowal - Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and

Sports (Independent Charge)

7. Prakash Javadekar - Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge) /

Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge) / Parliamentary

Affairs

8. Piyush Goyal - Power (Independent Charge)/ Coal (Independent Charge) / New

and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge)

9. Dr. Jitendra Singh - Science and Technology (Independent Charge) / Earth Sciences

(Independent Charge) / Prime Minister Office, Personnel, Public Grievances &

Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space

10. Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge), Finance,

Corporate Affairs

11. G.M. Siddeshwara, Civil Aviation,

12. Manoj Sinha - Railways

13. Nihalchand - Chemicals and Fertilizers

14. Upendra Kushwaha - Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and

Sanitation

15. Radhakrishnan P - Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

16. Kiren Rijiju - Home Affairs

17. Krishan Pal - Road Transport and Highways, Shipping

18. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan - Agriculture, Food Processing Industries,

19. Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava - Tribal Affairs

20. Raosaheb Dadarao Danve - Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

21. Vishnu Deo Sai - Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment,

22. Sudarshan Bhagat - Social Justice and Empowerment


PERSONS IN NEWS

JUNE 2014

• Indian-origin judge V K Rajah appointed as 8th Attorney-General ofSingapore : Indian-origin judge V K Rajah on 25 June 2014 was appointed as8th Attorney-General of Singapore.

About Justice V K Rajah

Justice Rajah is graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1982,and worked for law firm Rajah & Tann. In 1997, he was appointed a SeniorCounsel and in 2007, he was appointed a Judge of Appeal. He has been theChairman of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education as well as the Board ofJudicial Learning since 2010. In 2012, he chaired the Fourth Committee on theSupply of Lawyers.

• Chung Hung Won retained as PM of S Korea : Chung Hung Won wasretained as PM of South Korea.

• Founder of Himalayan Natural Mineral Water Brand Dadi Balsara diedat 81 : Founder of Himalayan Natural Mineral Water Brand Dadi Balsara died on19 June 2014.

About Dadi BalsaraHe started his career as an LIC officer in Nagpur. He later switched careersand went to the US to study psychiatry on a scholarship. After obtaining adoctorate, he started a practice. After a few failures, Balsara got it his bigbreak when a Japanese television channel decided to host his holistic lifestyleprogrammes.

• Ratan Tata received honorary doctorate from York University : FormerTATA Group Chairman Ratan Tata on 21 June 2014 received an honorarydoctor of laws degree from York University in Toronto, Canada.

• Experiments of PIO student Prerna Pai approved for launch into spaceby NASA : Two experiments of Person of Indian (PIO) student Prerna Pai wereapproved for launch into space under NASA’s Cubes in Space (CIS) programme.

About CIS ProgrammeCIS is an international educational programme for school children that teachthem how to design STEM experiments for launch into space. STEM refers tothe academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched its CISprogramme in May 2014 in partnership with Rubik Learning Initiative, idoodlesoftware and the Colorado Space Grant Consortium’s RockSat-C programme.The programme invites students from around the world in the age group of 11-14 to devise experimental payloads for space.

• Gro Harlem Brundtland awarded Tang Prize in sustainabledevelopment : Former premier of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland awardedTang Prize.

About Gro Harlem Brundtland

• Gro Harlem Brundtland was born in Norway in 1939. She is a trained physician.

• In 1981, Dr. Brundtland became not only the first female, but also the youngestPrime Minister of Norway.


• She served three terms as Prime minister of Norway in the 1980s and 1990s.

• She was director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1998to2003.

• She also headed the UN World Commission on Environment and Development in1987 which is better known as Brundtland Commission that brought out theseminal report titled Our Common Future.

• Currently, Dr. Brundtland serves as Deputy Chair of The Elders, a group ofworld leaders whose purpose is to tackle the world’s toughest problems. Thegroup is chaired by Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General.

• While being the DG of WHO, she succeeded in generating support for the firstnegotiated agreement on a major public health issue: The Tobacco Convention.

• In 2003, she was recognized as Scientific American’s Policy Leader of theYear.

About Tang Prize

Samuel Yin established the Tang Prize in December 2012. It is awarded bienniallyto encourage individuals by recognizing and supporting scholars for conductingrevolutionary research in the four major fields of

• Sustainable Development

• Biopharmaceutical Science

• Sinology

• The Rule of Law

The winners of the prize will receive a cash reward of 50 million New Taiwandollar (NT$) which is equivalent to 1.7 million US dollars. The 50 million NTdollars comprises of 40 million NT dollars as cash prize and 10 million NT dollarsas research grant.

• INTERPOL Executive Committee selected Juergen Stock as candidatefor next Secretary General : Juergen Stock selected as the candidate ofINTERPOL’s Executive Committee to be next Secretary General of INTERPOL.

About Juergen Stock

• He has a distinguished career in policing and fighting crime at the internationallevel

• Since 2004, he has been the Vice-President of the German Federal CriminalPolice (BKA)

• He has previously served as Vice-President for Europe on INTERPOL’sExecutive Committee

• India-born Pratishtha Khanna honoured with Champions of Change :India-born Pratishtha Khanna is honoured Champions of Change by the WhiteHouse

About Pratishtha Khanna

• Pratishtha was born in Delhi and she migrated to the United States at the ageof 10.

• She is currently a senior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC) and will graduate with a BS in Biology in May 2015.

• She is also a member of Dreamers for DREAMers student organization atUMBC.

• Johann Breyer arrested in US on Nazi death camp charges : FormerNazi camp guard, Johann Breyer accused of aiding and abetting killing of Jewswas arrested without bail in Philadelphia on 17 June 2014.


• India-born Mexican citizen Sanjaya Rajaram to be honoured with WorldFood Prize of 2014 : Sanjaya Rajaram honoured World Food Prize 2014.

• Supreme Court judge Justice Vikramajit Sen recused from hearingAnsal plea : Justice Vikramajit Sen, the head judge on vacation bench of theSupreme Court on 16 June 2014 recused himself from hearing Ansal plea

• Kathleen Stephens took charge as US interim Ambassador : KathleenStephens on 6 June 2014 took charge as US interim Ambassador to India.

About Kathleen Stephens

Stephens was US ambassador to South Korea from 2008 to 2011 and previouslyserved in senior positions in Washington, Asia and Europe.

• Anil Chopra took over as Commander-in-Chief of Western NavalCommand : Vice Admiral Anil Chopra took over the charge of Western NavalCommand (WNC) as Commander-in-Chief on 6 June 2014. He was appointedtwo months after Vice Admiral Shekar Sinha took voluntary retirement.

• Nitin Gadkari got additional charge of Union Ministry Rural Development :Gadkari has been given additional charge of the Ministries of Rural Development,Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation on 4 June 2014.

• Abhijit Guha appointed member of UN expert panel on peacekeeping :Lieutenant General (retired) Abhijit Guha of Indian Army appointed as memberof a UN Expert Panel on Technology and Innovation in UN peacekeeping.

• Ecuador court sentenced former President to jail for embezzlement:A court in Ecuador sentenced former President Jamil Mahuad in absentia for 12years in jail for embezzlement.

• Sushma Swaraj became the first woman External Affairs Minister ofIndia : Sushma Swaraj became the first woman External Affairs Minister on 26May 2014.

The other firsts

• She became the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi in October 1998

• She became the first woman spokesperson for any political party in India

• Apart from this, she also became the youngest cabinet minister in Haryanagovernment at the age of 25 in 1977.

About Sushma Swaraj

• She is a law graduate who practised in the Supreme Court. She began herpolitical career with RSS student wing ABVP in the 1970s.

• She served as a member of the Haryana Assembly from 1977 to 1982 fromAmbala Cantonment.

• She had been elected seven times as a Member of Parliament and three timesas a Member of the Legislative Assembly.

• She was Cabinet Minister for Information and Broadcasting during the 13-dayAtal Bihari Vajpayee Government in 1996

• Duirng UPA-II regime, she was the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.


OBITUARIES OF FAMOUS PEOPLEJUNE 2014

• Ramanarayanan, Tamil film director and producer, died at 65 :Ramanarayanan, Tamil film director and producer died in Singapore at the ageof 65

About Ramanarayanan• He started his career as a dialogue-writer in Tamil film industry and later he

turned into producer and director.• He produced his first film Meenakshi Kungumam in 1977 and directed his

first film Sumai in 1981. Some of hit films are Kanne Radha, SoorakottaiSingakutty, Veeran and Sahadevan Mahadevan.

• His 125th film was Arya Surya.• Rama Narayanan was elected as MLA from the Karaikudi constituency in

1989.• He was the chairman of Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram in 1996.• He received the Tamil Nadu state Kalaimamani award.• He made films in nine languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi,

Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Oriya and Malay.• He has headed the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) for three consecutive

terms.• Gary Gilmour, former cricketer of Australia died : Gary Gilmour, a former

cricketer of Australia died in Sydney at the age of 62. For Australia, he played20 matches in both formats of cricket.

Gary Gilmour and Cricket• For Australian national cricket team, he played 15 test and 5 one-day matches• He is famously known for 6-14 in the ICC Cricket World Cup 1975 semi-final

against England• In 1973-74, he played his debut test match against New Zealand and scored

a half-century and took four wickets • He also holds the Australian cricket record of 217 runs for the seventh

wicket with Doug Walters against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1976-77.In this partnership, he contributed 101 runs of which 86 were scored ofboundaries

• His career ended as a cricketer at the age of 25 due to a foot injury• In 1971-72, in his maiden game for New South Wales scored 122• He was born in Newcastle in 1951

• Fernandao, the former Brazilian striker died in helicopter crash :Fernando Lucio da Costa, a former footballer of Brazil died in a helicoptercrash in central Brazil.

About Fernando Lucio da Costa• He was born in Goiania and began his football career with local club Goias

before signing for Olympique Marseille in 2001• He returned to Brazil to play for the Internacional (Brazilian football team) side

in 2004• He captained Internacional to their first Copa Libertadores title in 2006, then the

FIFA Club World Cup in 2006, Rio Grande do Sul title twice• He won a solitary cap for his country in 2005• He retired from football in 2011• In July 2012, he became the coach of Internacional but was sacked in just four

months


• Norman Willis, the former TUC leader died at 81 : Former TUC leader,Norman Willis who led the TUC during the most difficult years in the trade unionmovenment died at the age 81.

About Norman Willis• He became TUC leader in 1984 during the miners’ strike and stayed on until his

retirement in 1993• He joined TUC in 1973 as assistant general secretary from the Transport and

General Workers’ Union• He was born in Hayes, west London• He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University, before

rejoining the TGWU, eventually heading its research and education department• Chester Nez, the last of World War II Navajo code talker died : Chester

Nez, the last of the World War II Navajo code talkers died on 4 June 2014.About Chester Nez

• He was a member of the US Marine Corps 382nd Platoon• Nez a part of Chichiltah and Manuelito Chapters, co-authored by Judith Avila in

a book titled Code Talker. The book was first and only memoir by one of theoriginal Code Talkers of World War II

• Nez was discharged from the job in 1945 but later volunteered to fight in theKorean War

• Union Rural Development Minister Gopitnath Munde died : Union RuralDevelopment Minister Gopinath Munde died in a road accident in Delhi.

About Gopinath Munde• Munde was born in Parali of Beed district on 12 December 1949. He was a

Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for five terms from 1980 to 1985 andthen from 1990 to 2009.

• He was the Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assemblyfrom 1992 to 1995 and held the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtrafrom 1995 to 1999.

• He won the Lok Sabha election from Beed constituency for the first time in2009 and served as Deputy Leader of Opposition in 15th Lok Sabha (2009-2014).

• He also was the Chairman of the Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers in 15thLok Sabha.

• He won the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Beed Constituency by a margin of 2lakh, defeating National Congress Party’s (NCPs) Suresh Dhas.

• Indologist and Sanskrit Scholar Sukumari Bhattacharji died : Indologistand Sanskrit scholar Sukumari Bhattacharji who had equal grasp over Englishand Sanskrit language died on 24 May 2014.

• Azlan Shah-The Father of Malaysian hockey died at 86 : Azlan Shah bestknown as The Father of Malaysian hockey passed died

About Azlan Shah• Raja Azlan Shah was born on 19 April 1928 in Perak.• He was a lawyer by profession and served as a judge and the Lord President

of the Federal Court.• He played for the Perak Malays and Perak State teams.• The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is also named after him.• He was elected as the vice president of the International Hockey Federation

(FIH) in 1992.• He was also elected as the president of the Asian Hockey Federation in 1997

and remained till his death.• David Allen, former off-spinner of England and Gloucestershire died :

Former Gloucestershire off-spinner of England David Allen died at the age of

78. His death was announced by West Country County.


PERSONS APPOINTED

JUNE 2014

• A.K. Dubey appointed as Chairman of Coal India Limited : Additionalsecretary A.K. Dubey on 25 June 2014 was appointed as Chairman of CoalIndia Limited with immediate effect.

About Coal India Limited

Coal India Limited is an Indian state-controlled coal mining company headquarteredin Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is a Navratna company and is the largest coalproducer company in the world and contributes around 81% of the coalproduction in India.

• Rajeev Topno appointed as Private Secretary to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi : Rajeev Topno was appointed as Private Secretary to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. The ACC headed by PM Narendra Modi approved thename.

About Rajeev Topno• Topno was a Kutch District Development Officer during Kutch earthquake of

2001• He was chief executive of Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority

(GSDMA)• UNGA approved the name of Zeid al-Hussein to head OHCHR : United

Nations General Assembly on 16 June 2014 approved the name of Zeid Ra’adZeid al-Hussein to head the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) of the UN. With this approval, Jordanian Prince Zeid al-Hussein, acousin of Jordanian King Abdullah II, became the first Muslim and Arab to holdthe post. His tenure as UN high Commissioner for human rights will start on 1September 2014 as the successor of Navi Pillay of South Africa. Zeid al-Hussein, a PhD holder from Cambridge University will hold the position for four-year.

• Shaktikanta Das appointed as the new Revenue Secretary : ShaktikantaDas on 14 June 2014 was appointed as the new Revenue Secretary.

About Shaktikanta DasShaktikanta Das is a History post graduate 1980 Batch from Tamilnadu Cadre.Prior to this appointment he has served in the north block as Joint SecretaryFinance Expenditure in 2008 and Finance affairs upto December 2013. Hewas appointed as Fertilizer Secretary in December 2013. Prior to that, he wasSpecial Secretary at Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.

• Lt Gen Amit Sharma appointed as Commander-in-Chief of StrategicForces Command : Lt Gen Amit Sharma was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Command

About Amit Sharma• Sharma was the Chief of Staff of the Japiur-based South Western Command

of the Army and had headed the force’s elite 21 Strike Corps.• He also served as Director Long Term Force Structuring, Headquarters

Integrated Defence Staff.• He was the Defence Attache at Embassy of India in Paris where he was

responsible for Army and Naval cooperation with France, Belgium,Netherlands and Luxembourg.


• He has commanded an Armoured Regiment, an Independent ArmouredBrigade in the Western Deserts.

About the Strategic Forces Command• Strategic Forces Command (SFC) was created on 4 January 2003 by Atal

Bihari Vajpayee Government.• Air Marshal Tej Mohan Asthana became the first commander-in-chief of the

SFC.• It is responsible for the management and administration of the country’s tactical

and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile.• It is chaired in rotation by an officer from the Army, Navy and IAF.• The responsibility of the Strategic Forces Command is to operationalise the

directives of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).• The Command has the sole responsibility of initiating the process of delivering

nuclear weapons and warheads after acquiring explicit approval from theNCA.

• Rasik Ravindra, an Indian scientist, elected to UNCLCS : Indian scientistRasik Ravindra was elected as member of UN’s body focused on oceans andlaw of the sea by securing support of all 111 members.

About Rasik Ravindra• From 2006 to 2012, he was a Director of National Centre for Antarctic and

Ocean Research (NCAOR), where he was responsible to conduct marinegeophysical surveys and analysis of results for establishing the outer limits ofthe continental shelf of India

• From 1971 to 2005 he was a professional geologist with the Geological Surveyof India

• Some awardsa) National Award for Polar Sciences and Cryosphere in 2013b) National Mineral Award 1990About Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS)

Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS) in the UN body andconsists of 21 members and has a power to grant new seabed territory tonations. The members are elected for a term of five year by State Parties to theConvention from among their nationals. The members are experts in field ofgeology, geophysics or hydrography.

• Vishal Sikka appointed as CEO of Infosys : Vishal Sikka on 11 June 2014was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Infosys.

• Ranjit Kumar appointed as Solicitor General of India : Senior advocateRanjit Kumar was on 7 June 2014 appointed as the Solicitor General of India.

About Solicitor GeneralThe Solicitor General (SG) of India is subordinate to the Attorney General forIndia (AG). Attorney General is the chief legal advisor of Indian Governmentand its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India while the Solicitor Generalof India is the secondary law officer of the country.The Solicitor General of India is appointed for a period of 3 years.

• PK Mishra appointed as Additional Principal Secretary to PrimeMinister : PK Mishra was appointed as the additional Principal Secretary ofPrime Minister. He is a retired IAS officer of 1972 batch of Gujarat cadre.


About PK Mishra• He was the Chairman of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC)

for five years. He was appointed to GERC in 2008 after his retirement as IASofficer

• He was Secretary to the Union Agriculture Ministry between 2006 and 2008.Some of his achievements include involvement in national initiatives likea) Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)b) National Food Security Mission (NFSM)

• He was Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Narendra Modi till 2004• Madhuri Dixit appointed as brand ambassador of health campaign,

Mamta Abhiyan : Madhya Pradesh Government appointed Madhuri Dixit asthe brand ambassador of maternal and child health campaign, Mamta Abhiyan.

• Sanjay Kapoor appointed as Micromax Chairman : Sanjay Kapoor wason 5 June 2014 appointed as Micromax Chairman.

About Sanjay Kapoor• Sanjay was the chief executive officer for India and South Asia of Airtel from

March 2010 till May 2013.• Sanjay remained as one of the key executives in building Bharti Airtel from

being one of the many players in the industry to making it a leading telecomplayer.

• Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein nominated as UN high commissioner forhuman rights : Jordan Prince, Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein was nominated asUN high commissioner for human rights.

About Zeid Al-Hussein• At present, Zeid Al-Hussein is a Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the UN

and he also held the same post previously from 2000 to 2007.• He served as Jordan’s Ambassador to the US and non-resident Ambassador to

Mexico from 2007 to 2010 and also as Jordan’s Deputy PermanentRepresentative to the UN from 1996 to 2000.

About UN High Commissioner for Human RightsThe post was established by UN General Assembly in 1993, to promote andprotect the effective enjoyment by all people of all civil, cultural, economic,political and social rights, including the right to development. The term of UNhigh Commissioner for Human Rights is 4 years.

• Indian-American Shefali Duggal appointed as member of HolocaustMemorial Council : US President Obama appointed Indian-American ShefaliDuggal as the member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council on 3 June 2014.

About Shefali Razdan Duggal• She was a co-chair of Obama Victory Trustees• At time of this appointment as Member in the Holocaust Memorial Council she

was a member of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) National FinanceCommittee and National co-chair of the DNC’s Women’s Leadership forum

• She is a member of the National Board of Directors for Emily’s List, the HumanRights Watch California Committee North, and the National Advisory Board ofDoctors for America.

• She is also on the National Advisory Board of Beyond Bollywood at theSmithsonian Museum She is a senior advisor for the South Asian AmericanDigital Archive (SAADA)

• Kavery Banerjee appointed as Secretary, Department of Posts : KaveryBanerjee was appointed as the Secretary of Department of Posts by


Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. She succeeds P Gopinath.About Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet is a body whose approval is requiredfor all senior appointments in the Government of India under the Government ofIndia Transactions of Business Rules, 1961. These appointments include Boardlevel appointments in Public Sector Undertakings and appointments to the postsat the level of Joint Secretary.

• Salvador Sanchez Ceren sworn-in as the President of El Salvador :Former left wing rebel leader Salvador Sanchez Ceren was sworn-in as thePresident of El Salvador on 1 June 2014.

• Chandrashekhar Rao sworn-in as the First Chief Minister of Telengana :Chandrashekhar Rao was sworn-in as the First Chief Minister of Telengana

About Chandrashekhar Rao• Rao was born in Medak District of Hyderabad State in 1954.• KCR joined the TDP in 1983 and quit the TDP party in 2001.• He worked as Minister of Drought & Relief in NT Ramarao’s cabinet.• Under the leadership of K Chandra Sekhar Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS)

was formed to demand for a separate state in 2001.• Ajit Doval appointed as new National Security Adviser : Ajit Doval has

been appointed as the National Security Adviser on 30 May 2014. Doval whoretired as chief of IB will take the office from 31 May 2014.

About National Security Adviser (NSA)The National Security Advisor is the chief executive of the National SecurityCouncil (NSC). He is the person who acts as the primary advisor to the PrimeMinister of India on national and international security. He is the person, towhom the intelligence agencies like the Research and Analysis Wing andIntelligence Bureau reports, rather directly to the Prime Minister.

• Hiroshi Naka appointed as Vice President and Auditor General ofWorld Bank : Hiroshi Naka, Japanese national appointed as the Vice Presidentof World Bank

• Mukul Rohatgi appointed as 14th Attorney-General of India : MukulRohatgi has been appointed as the 14th Attorney-General of India. He succeedsGulam Vahanvati.

About Mukul Rohatgi• He is a senior Supreme Court advocate and is among the top corporate lawyers

in the country• He was the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) under the NDA regime in 1999.• He has represented top companies in the 2G Scam trial.• He has also been representing the Italian Embassy in the Supreme Court in

case relating to two Italian marines involved in killing of two fishermen off thecoast of Kerala in 2012.

• Nripendra Misra appointed as Principal Secretary to PM NarendraModi : Former Chairperson of TRAI, Nripendra Misra has been appointed asthe Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

• Ahmed Maitiq sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Libya : Ahmed

Maitiq was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Libiya on 26 May 2014.


PLACES IN NEWS

JUNE 2014

• Botswana’s Okavango Delta became 1000th site inscribed on WorldHeritage Site List : Okavango Delta in Botswana on 22 June 2014 becamethe 1000th site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.

About Okavango Delta

The delta is located in the northwest Botswana. It comprised permanentmarshlands and seasonally flooded plains. It is one of the very few majorinterior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetlandsystem that is almost intact.

• Myanmar’s first site, Ancient Pyu Cities, inscribed on the UNESCOWorld Heritage List : Myanmar’s first site, Ancient Pyu Cities, on 22 June2014, was inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage Site List.

About Ancient cities

The Cities are located in vast irrigated landscapes in the dry zone of theAyeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River basin. The three cities are partly excavatedarchaeological sites.

• 40 Indian workers missing from Mosul, Iraq : 40 Indian workers on 17June 2014 were reported to be missing from Mosul, Iraq.

About Mosul

Mosul is a city in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-controlled part of northernIraq. Mosul is located some 400 km northwest of Baghdad. Mosul is the secondlargest city of Iraq after Baghdad.

• Terrorists attacked Jinnah international airport at Karachi : JinnahInternational Airport of Karchi was in news when Terrorist belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban on 8 June 2014 attacked it.

• Uttarakhand Assembly held at Gairsain : The Uttarakhand Assemblysession for the first time held outside Dehradun at Gairsain.

• Indian aid worker Alexis Prem Kumar abducted in the Herat Provinceof Afghanistan : Heart Province in Afghanistan was in news because anIndian aid worker and Catholic priest Alexis Prem Kumar was abducted

• IAF mountaineering team explored unclimbed peak of Mt Gorichen inArunachal Pradesh : IAF mountaineering expedition team explored anunclimbed peak of Mt Gorichen of Arunachal Pradesh at a height 5887 meters.

• Solar Impulse 2 made inaugural flight from Payerne Airfield : Solarpowered plane, Solar Impulse 2 took off from Payerne airfield in Switzerland tocomplete its inaugural flight.

About Solar Impulse-2

• Solar Impulse-2 plane is as wide as 747 jet but weighs less than three tonnes

• It is the only airplane of perpetual endurance and is able to fly day and night onsolar power, without a drop of fuel

• The plane has been designed and engineered to demonstrate that how cleantechnologies can change the world


AWARDS AND HONOURS

JUNE 2014

• Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won prize at World Cup of SandSculpting-2014 : Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on 27 June 2014 wonthe People’s Choice prize at the World Cup of Sand Sculpting-2014 held in theAtlantic City of the US. He won prize for his work Save Tree, Save the Future. This is first sand art world cup at USA 2014.

About Sudarsan Patnaik

Sudarsan was born in Puri nearly near Bhubaneswar the capital city of Odishain India. He started sculpting images on sand since the age of seven and hasdesigned hundreds of sand sculpture. Pattnaik has participated in over 50International championships and festivals around the World and won manyprizes. He is also known for creating sand sculptures on current issues andsocial awareness. Recently, he was awarded with the Padmashri byGovernment of India in 2014.

• France announced to honour Shahrukh Khan with Legion of Honour :France on 25 June 2014 announced to honour Shahrukh Khan with Officer ofthe Legion of Honour for his contribution to Cinema.

About Officer of the Legion of Honour

Officer of the Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur) is aFrench order established by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 May 1802. The Orderis the highest decoration in France and is divided into five degrees: Chevalier(Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (GrandOfficer), and Grand Croix (Grand Cross).

• Inaugural Tang Prize winners for 2014 announced : Tang Prize Foundationannounced the inaugural Tang Prize

Tang Prize 2014 winners

• Sustainable Development - Gro Harlem Brundtland former Premier of Norway

She was awarded for her innovation, leadership and implementation ofsustainable development that laid out the scientific and technical challenges.

• Sinology – Chinese American, Historian Yu Ying-shih

He was awarded for his mastery of and insight into Chinese intellectual, political,and cultural history with an emphasis on his profound research into the historyof public intellectuals in China.

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

They were awarded for their discoveries of CTLA-4 and PD-1 as immuneinhibitory molecules, revealing ways to harness our incredibly powerful immunesystem to fight cancer and marking the beginning of the immunotherapyrevolution.

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

He was awarded for his contributions to human rights and justice around theworld. He is a lawyer and human rights activist who spent his lifetime fightingapartheid, helped write the new Constitution of South Africa.


About Tang Prize

Taiwanese Business Magnate, Samuel Yin founded Tang Prize Foundation inDecember 2012. The Tang prize is the first international academic award to bebased in Taiwan and commenced its inaugural year in 2014.

The prize is awarded biennially. Each category conferred carries a cash prizeof 40 million New Taiwan dollar (NT$) and a research grant of 10 million NewTaiwan dollar. The aim of the prize is to continue to innovate while cultivatingand nurturing new talent in their respective fields.

• Noted Hindi poet Kedar Nath Singh selected for Jnanpith Award 2013 :Kedarnath Singh, a noted Hindi poet has been chosen for the Jnanpith awardfor 2013. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honour.

About Kedarnath Singh

• He became famous with a book entit led teesra saptak edited bySachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan whose pen name was Agyeya

• He was born in 1934 in Chakiya village of Balia district of Uttar Pradesh

• He completed his MA and PhD from Banaras Hindu University in 1956 and1964

• He has been a professor and Head of Department of Hindi department ofJawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi)

• Salman Rushdie selected for 2014 Pen Pinter prize : Slaman Rushdiehas been named as the winner of 2014 Pen Pinter Prize for his outstandingliterary output and support for freedom of expression.

About Pen Printer Prize

The Pen Printer Prize is an annual literary award was established in 2009 bywriters’ charity English Pen. It was formed in memory of famous Britishplaywright and Nobel laureate Harold Pinter.

Previous winners of the Pen Pinter prize are

• Tony Harrison a British author was awarded in 2009

• Hanif Kureishi a British writer was awarded in 2010

• David Hare a British writer was awarded in 2011

• Carol Ann Duffy a British writer was awarded in 2012

• Tom Stoppard a British writer was awarded in 2013

• World Food Prize Foundation announced World Food Prize for 2014 :The World Food Prize 2014 was announced by the World Food Prize Foundationon 18 June 2014. India-born Mexican plant scientist, Sanjaya Rajaram wasselected for the year 2014. The award will be presented to Rajaram in DesMoines, lowa in October 2014. The Award was established in 1986 by Dr.Norman Borlaug to focus the world’s attention on hunger and on those whosework has significantly helped efforts to end the hunger. The prize is a 250000US dollars award presented annually on or around World Food Day (16October).

• Indian origin physicist Tejinder Virdee honoured knighthood by QueenElizabeth II : Indian origin physicist Tejinder Virdee on 14 June 2014 washonoured knighthood Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II.


About Tajinder Virdee

Sir Tejinder Singh Virdee is an experimental physicist and Professor of Physicsat Imperial College London. He is best known for originating the concept ofCMS.

CMS is a world-wide collaboration which was started in 1991 and now hasover 3000 participants from 38 countries.

• Swraj Paul honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award by a UK-basedbusiness association : Lord Swraj Paul has been honoured with the LifetimeAchievement Award by a UK-based business association.

About Lord Swraj Paul

• He is the founder of the UK-based steel and engineering multinational companyCaparo that first began operations in the West Midlands under the banner of asmall company called L K Industrial

• He was made the Life Peer is a member of the House of Lords in 1996 anddonated 1 million pounds to prevent the London Zoo closure in 1994

• In 1999, he became the chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton in 1999.In 2006, he became the Chancellor of the University of Westminster. From 1992to 1997, he was the pro-chancellor of Thames University and its chancellor in1998

• In 1983 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India

• In 1998, he was granted the freedom of the city of London

• Universities of UK, USA, Switzerland and India has awarded him 15 honorarydegrees

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology gave him the Corporate Leadership

• C Radhakrishnan selected for Moortidevi Award : Malayalam writer CRadhakrishnan selected for the prestigious Moortidevi Award for 2013 for hisnovel Theekkadal Katanhu Thirumadhuram.

Moortidevi award

Moortidevi award is presented by the Bhartiya Jnanpith and carries cash prizeof four lakh rupees, a plaque and a statue of goddess Saraswati. The awardis given in the memory of Moortidevi, the mother of Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain,the founder of Bhartiya Jnanpith. It is given to a contemplative or intellectualwork created by any living author writing in any of the languages enlisted inthe VIIIth Schedule of Indian Constitution including English, which underlinesand expresses Indian philosophy and cultural heritage based on wider idealsand human lives.

• Kolkata Airport bagged Service Quality Award : Kolkata Airport won theAirport Service Quality (ASQ) Award by Airport Council International (ACI) inthe category of the best improved airport in Asia Pacific Region. The categoryincludes airports that have experienced the biggest improvement in ASQ ratingbetween 2012 and 2013 in their region. BP Sharma, Airport Director, Kolkatareceived the award at the 9th ACI Asia Pacific Regional Assembly meet inSeoul, Korea.

• Somasundaram conferred with Bharat Ratna JRD Award for 2013 :Somasundaram (Airports Authority of India) was conferred the prestigiousBharat Ratna JRD Tata Award 2013 by ASI.


About Bharat Ratna JRD Tata AwardThe Award was instituted by Aeronautical Society of India (ASI) and will begiven to an individual making outstanding contributions in the field of civil aviation.It is an annual national award given in recognition and appreciation of outstandingcontribution and achievements made in the field of aeronautics and airspacesciences.

• Irish Author Eimear McBride won Baileys Prize for fiction : Irish authorEimear McBride won the 2014 Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction on 4 June2014 for her first novel A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing. Other books on theshortlist were Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, Hannah Kent’s BurialRites, Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland, Audrey Magee’s The Undertakingand Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch.

About the bookThe book is a dark story of a young woman’s relationship with her brother, setin an Ireland of religious oppression and sexual abuse. Her protagonist goeson a journey of spectacular self-destruction in an attempt to flee her demons.

About the AwardThe award was launched in 1996 and it was originally called Orange Prize forfiction. The prize carried a 30000-pound cash award.

• Kamal Nath sworn-in as Pro tem Speaker of Lok Sabha : Kamal Nath aleader of Congress party was sworn-in as the pro tem Speaker of 16th LokSabha on 4 June 2014. The oath was administered by President PranabMukherjee.Kamal Nath, 67, was the former parliamentary affairs minister and is a LokSabha member from Chhindwara of Madhya Pradesh.

• IGI Airport second best airport in Service Quality category : IGI of Delhiis the second best airport in the world for its service quality among the airportshandling 25-40 MPPA

About Airport Council International (ACI)ACI established in 1991 is a global body of airports, which represents theirinterests with governments and international organisations. It covers 1751airports in 174 countries. ACI provides the platform for pursuing a constructiveand cooperative relationship with the airline associations, governments andregulators on issues like liberalisation, ownership, capacity planning, regulatoryrestrictions, and environmental action.

• Anand Mahindra became first Indian to receive Harvard Medal : MahindraGroup Chairman Anand G Mahindra on 29 May 2014 became the first Indian toreceive the prestigious Harvard Medal. The award was presented during theHarvard’s 363rd Commencement at the annual meeting of the Harvard AlumniAssociation.

• Vishwanath Tripathi received Vyas Samman 2013 : Vishwanath Tripathi,eminent Hindi writer on 29 May 2014 was awarded with the prestigious VyasSamman for the year 2013. The literary prize carries a citation and a cashamount of 2.5 lakh rupees and memento. He received the award for his workVyomkesh Darvesh at 23rd edition of the annual ceremony.

About the Vyas Samman• The award was instituted in 1991 by the K K Birla Foundation. It is presented

for an outstanding literary work in Hindi published during the last 10 years.• Ram Vilas Sharma was the first person to receive the award for his Bharat ke

Pracheen bhasha parivar aur Hindi in 1991.• Narendra Kohli received for his novel Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati in 2012 and

Ramdarash Misra for his collection of poems Aam K Patte in 2011.


SPORTS

JUNE 2014

• Pankaj Advani won IBSF 6-Red World Snooker title in Egypt : Pankaj

Advani, the Indian cueist on 29 June 2014 won his maiden IBSF 6-Red World

snooker title at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. To win the title, he defeated Kacper

Flilpiak of Poland in a game that lasted for an hour.

About Pankaj Advani

• He won his first world title at the age of 18 and is only Asian to have ever won

both the Billiards and Snooker World Championships

• He is also one of the youngest Indians to be honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi

Khel Ratna award

• He has also been conferred with the Arjuna and Padmashree awards

• Saina Nehwal won Australian Open Super Series title : Saina Nehwal,

Indian badminton ace, on 29 June 2014 won 750000 US dollar Australian Open

Super Series by defeating Carolina Marin of Spain in straight-game 21-18, 21-

11 in final played at Sydney.

• 35th National Games to be held in Kerala from 31 January to 14 February

2015 : 35th National Games dates were announced on 26 June 2014 at the

Members’ Lounge of the Kerala Legislative Assembly complex,

Thiruvananthapuram by Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The games will be

held at 32 different venues across seven districts of Kerala from 31 January

to 14 February 2015. The dates for the games were formally approved by

Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Sarbanand Sonowal on behalf of

Government of India. The 35th National Games will be held in 36 disciplines and

will see a total of 11641 participants that includes 7744 athletes. The participants

will compete for a total of 365 gold and silver medals as well as 477 bronze

medals. This is for the second time Kerala will be hosting the National Games.

For the first time, Kerala conducted the 27th National Games in 1987.

Logo and the Mascot of the Game

The logo and the mascot of the 35th National Games was unveiled on 11

December 2009.

Mascot: Ammu, the Great Indian Hornbill

Logo: Design in the pattern of Kanikonana (Indian Laburnum Cassia) also

resembling a nettipattom (festival elephant’s mask)

Indian Olympic Association Secretary-general - Rajeev Mehta

Indian Olympic Association President - N Ramachandran

Goodwill Ambassador of 35th National Games - Sachin Tendulkar


• Srinivasan appointed as first Chairman of ICC : The in-exile-President of

BCCI, N Srinivasan has been appointed as the first Chairperson of ICC for a

period of two years from 2014 to 2016.

Srinivasan appointment as Chairman of ICC

His appointment came after the Supreme Court refused to stop Srinivasan

nomination to the ICC top position. Earlier, Srinivasan was barred by the Supreme

Court from carrying out his duties as Board of Cricket of India (BCCI) President

due to ongoing investigations into the match-fixing allegations in 2013 edition of

the IPL.

About ICC Full Council

Full Council of the ICC includes 37 Associate Members, five Affiliate Member

representatives and 10 Full Members. The ICC President, ICC Vice-President

and ICC Chief Executive are also part of the Full Council but don’t have voting

rights.

• Jitu Rai became first Indian shooter to win three medals in successive

ISSF Shooting World C : Jitu Rai on 19 June 2014 became the first Indian to

win three medals in successive ISSF Shooting World Cup. Also, by winning his

first-ever Gold medal and One Silver at the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Maribor,

Slovenia, he became the first Indian shooter to win two medals at the same

World Cup. He won Gold medal with 200.8 points on 19 June 2014. The Silver

medal was won by Spain’s Pablo Carrera and the Bronze medal was won by

Russia’s Anton Gourianov.

• AB de Villiers of South Africa replaced Virat Kohli as No. 1 batsman in

ICC ODI batsman rankings : AB de Villiers, the South African cricketer, on

21 June 2014 eclipsed Virat Kohli as the number One batsman in the ICC ODI

batsman ranking. With this, de Villiers became the top ranking batsman in both

Test and One day ICC rankings.

• Magnus Carlsen bagged FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship :

Magnus Carlsen, the world number one chess player on 18 June 2014 bagged

the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship title in Dubai. To win the Gold medal,

he scored 11 of 15 points. The silver medal was won by Fabiani Caruana who

was positioned at the second position. India’s Vishwanathan Anand clinched

the bronze medal after being at the third position in the tournament. Former

World Champion Viswanathan Anand settled for the bronze medal after finishing

the tournament undefeated.

• India won three ODI series against Bangladesh 2-0 : Indian cricket team

on 19 June 2014 won the three One Day International (ODI) series against

Bangladesh 2-0. With India already having won the first two ODIs, the third and

final ODI was abandoned due to rain at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur,

Bangladesh.


• India was captained by: Suresh Raina

• Bangladesh was captained by: Mushfiqur Rahim

• Man of the Series: Stuart Binny of India

• India won 12 medals to finish 5th at 16th Asian Junior Athletics

Championship : India won 2 Gold, 5 Silver and 5 Bronze medals at 16th Asian

Junior Athletics Championship.

Medals won by Indians

200 Meters Women: Dutee Chand – Gold

4 x 400M Relay Women: Jisha V V, Jessy Joseph, Vijaya kumara and Dutee

Chand – Gold

10000 Meters Men: Sharwan Kharb – Silver

Heptathlon Women: Swapana Barman – Silver

100M Hurdles Women: Meghana Shetty – Silver

Discus Throw Women: Navjeet Kaur Dhillon – Silver

800 Meters Women: Jessy Joseph – Silver, Archana Adhav – Bronze

3000 Meters Women: Sanjivini Jadhav – Bronze

5000 Meters Men: Sharwan Kharb – Bronze

Shot Put Women: Navjeet Kaur Dhillon – Bronze

Shot Put Men: Shakti Solanki – Bronze]

• Australia won the 2014 edition of Men’s Hockey World Cup : Australia

won the Men’s hockey World Cup title 2014 for second successive time.

Pakistan has won the Men’s Hockey World Cup for the maximum number of

times.

Captain of Australia: Mark Knowles of Australia

Captain of Netherlands: Robert van der Horst

Best Goal of the Tournament: Sebastien Dockier of Belgium

Top Scorer: Gonzalo Peillat of Argentina

Best Player of the Tournament: Mark Knowles of Australia

Best Goal Keeper: Jaap Stockmann of Netherlands

Young Player of the Tournament: Jeremy Hayward of Australia

About Men’s Hockey World Cup

Men’s Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised

by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in

1971. It is held every four years.

• Murli Kartik announced his retirement from all forms of cricket : Left-

arm spinner Murali Kartik on 14 June 2014 announced his retirement from all

forms of cricket. During his career, he had played eight Tests and 37 ODIs for


India between 1999 and 2007. Also, Kartik had taken 644 wickets from 203

matches. His international debut was against South Africa at Mumbai in February

2000, whereas, it took his two years to play his maiden ODI for India.

• Netherlands won the 2014 edition of Women’s Hockey World Cup :

Netherlands won the Women’s World Cup 2014 in The Hague, Netherlands.

Captain of Netherlands: Maartje Paumen

Captain of Australia: Madonna Blyth

Best Goal of the Tournament: Kim Lammers of Netherlands

Hero Top Scorer: Maartje Paumen (seven goals)

Best Player of the Tournament: Ellen Hoog of Netherlands

Best Goal Keeper of the Tournament: Rachael Lynch of Australia

Young Player of the Tournament: Florencia Martina Habif of Argentina

About Women’s Hockey World Cup

Women’s Hockey World Cup was held for the first time in 1974. It was organised

by the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) until

1981. The Event is organized every four years by the International Hockey

Federation since 1982.

• Commemorative postage stamps on 2014 FIFA World Cup released

by PM Narendra Modi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi released commemorative

postage stamps on the 2014 FIFA World Cup that is being played in Brazil.

• Rafael Nadal won French Open Title for the ninth time : Rafael Nadal

won the French Open title 2014 for the ninth time.

About French Open

The French Open 2014 was first held in 1928 and is also known as Roland

Garros. It is one of the world’s four major tennis tournaments.

• India slipped to 3rd position in ICC ODI rankings : India slipped to third

position in the ICC ODI team rankings released on 4 June 2014 in Dubai. India is

ranked after Australia (No. 1) and Sri Lanka (No. 2). Sri Lankan cricket team

eclipsed India with its 3-2 win over England in the latest ODI series.

On the other hand, Indian batsman Virat kohli retained his position as number

one ODI batsman, while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan

were ranked at sixth and eighth position, respectively. Kohli is followed by

South Africa’s AB Devilliers and Australia’s George Bailey.

• Amla appointed as test cricket captain of South Africa : South Africa

appointed Hashim Amla as test cricket captain. He succeeds Graeme Smith,

who retired in March 2014.

• Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Kings XI Punjab to win IPL 2014 for

second time : KKR won the seventh edition of Indian Premier League 2014

by defeating KXIP by three wickets in the final played at Chinnaswamy Stadium,

Bangalore.


• Man of the Match: Manish Pandey

• Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Bruce Oxenford, S Ravi, CK Nandan

• Referee: Roshan Mahanama

• Captains of the two teams

• Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir

• Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey

The previous winners of the IPL are as follows

• IPL Season 1: Rajasthan Royals

• IPL Season 2: Deccan Chargers

• IPL Season 3: Chennai Super Kings

• IPL Season 4: Chennai Super Kings

• IPL Season 5: Kolkata Knight Riders

• IPL Season 6: Mumbai Indians

• Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won Monaco Grand Prix

of Formula One : Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany on 25 May 2014

won Monaco Grand Prix of Formula One.

Monaco Grand Prix

The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race held each year in the

month of May since 1929 on the Circuit de Monaco and is the sixth race of the

Formula One season. It is widely considered to be one of the most important

and prestigious automobile races in the world.

Name : Amritpal Singh

Exam Cleared : RRB, PO, Food Inspector

I am glad to joined IBT.ibt is good institute for competitive exams.They

provide good study materials with cooperative faculty members.I

wish all the students best of luck. @ work hard @

STUDENT’S SPEAK


BOOKS AND AUTHORS

JUNE 2014

• Book titled Blood Feud written by Edward Klein released : A book BloodFeud: The Clintons vs. the Obamas written by Edward Klein was released.The book was published by the publishing house Regnery. Edward Klein is theformer editor-in-chief of New York Times Magazine.

About the book

Blood Feud is about the animosity, jealousy, and competition between America’stwo most powerful political couples. The book focused upon the relationshipbetween the Obamas and the Clintons with details on closed-door meetingsbuttressed by hundreds of interviews.

• A Bad Character authored by Deepti Kapoor : Novel A Bad Character wasauthored by Deepti Kapoor. It will be published in August 2014. It is the story ofa desire of young woman named Idha who escapes from the arranged marriageand security that her middle-class world has to offer. Subsequently she goesthrough a chance encounter with a charismatic, dangerous young man.Consequently, she is quickly exposed to the thrilling, often illicit pleasures thatboth the city, Delhi, and her body can hold.

• The Book titled Warrior State written by T V Paul presented to Vice-President : The book titled Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary Worldwritten by T V Paul was presented to the Vice President Hamid Ansari on 13June 2014. The book published by Oxford University Press, New York waslaunched in January 2014.

• Biography of Dilip Kumar entitled The Substance and the Shadowreleased : The Substance and the Shadow, the biography of 91-year-old-thespian Dilip Kumar was released on 10 June 2014 in Mumbai by AmitabhBachchan, Dharmendra and Aamir Khan. The biography in form of memoir hasbeen penned by Uday Tara Nayar, a former journalist.

About Dilip Kumar

• He was born in Peshawar, Pakistan in 1922 and spent his childhood inMaharashtra

• His debut film was Jwar Bhata of 1944 produced by Bombay Talkies and someother acclaimed films were Mela, Naya Daur, Aan, Devdas, Madhumati andMughal-E-Azam.

• He started a second inning in film industry in 1981 with Kranti and his lastappearance was in Qila of 1998

• For a term, he was nominated to Upper House of Parliament, Rajya Sabha

• By filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Dilip Kumar was described as the ultimate method actor• He is also known as Tragedy King

• Book titled Getting India Back on Track released : The book titled GettingIndia Back on track – An Action Agenda for Reform was released byPrime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 June 2014 in New Delhi. The book edited byBibek Debroy, Ashley Tellis and Reece Trevor was published by CarnegieEndowment for International Peace. The book contains insightful essays byeminent academicians and public policy experts and the foreword has beenwritten by Ratan Tata. It says how Indian policymakers can return the countryto a path of high and sustained economic growth.


• Anticipating India - The Best of National Interest authored by ShekharGupta released : The Book entitled Anticipating India - The Best of NationalInterest written by Shekhar Gupta, the editor-in-chief of The Indian Expresswas released on 24 May 2014.

The book has captured India’s political territory and trends of Shekhar Gupta’s900-odd columns spread through 19 years. The columns are a part of thecolumn, National Interest of Indian Express that was started by Shekhar Guptain November 1997.

• Post Haste: Quintessential India written by B.G. Verghese : A book PostHaste: Quintessential India written by B.G. Verghese was released on 1 May2014 at India International Centre in Delhi.B.G.Verghese decided to illustrate the book with stamps rather than photographsor drawings. He opined that stamps commemorate events such as winning theKargil War or a monument to a great hero.

• My Years with Rajiv and Sonia written by R.D. Pradhan : A book My Yearswith Rajiv and Sonia written by R.D.Pradhan released on 27 March 2014.R.D.Pradhan has penned his work experiences with Rajiv Gandhi and SoniaGandhi in his book.Pradhan who was associated with Rajiv after Indira Gandhi’s assassinationshares how Rajiv had tackled crucial situations like terrorism and the separatistmovement in the Punjab and festering insurgency in Mizoram. He also narrateshis associations with Sonia Gandhi and her career. He shreds light on how theSonia emerged as a formidable force to reckon with.

• Book entitled A Stamp Is Born authored by C. R. Pakrashi released :A book entitled A Stamp is Born authored by C. R. Pakrashi was released on 6May 2014 by Vice President of India, M Hamid Ansari. The book gives a graphicaccount of history and evolution of postage stamps.The author Pakrashi, whois also a renowned Stamp designer in the book, has described his first-handexperiences with all stages of production of the stamp right from conception tofinal execution and printing. The book includes 56 commemorative stamps.

• Arctic Summer written by novelist Damon Galgut : Arctic Summer writtenby Novelist Damon Galgut was released on 6 March 2014.Twice Booker shortlisted novelist Damon Galgut evokes the life and work of EMForster, his travels to India, and the freedom and inspiration he found there.The novel is based on the journey of E M Forster.

About the Damon GalgutDamon Galgut was born in Pretoria in 1963. He wrote his first novel, A SinlessSeason, when he was seventeen. His other books include Small Circle ofBeings, The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs, The Quarry, The Good Doctor, TheImpostor and In A Strange Room. So far he has written eight novels.

• The Candidate written by Anirudh Bhattacharyya : The candidate waswritten by Indian Journalist Anirudh Bhattacharya. The book was released on29 March 2014.The Candidate is a breezy and humorous story of the General Election of India.The book is about a story of a candidate who fights for the Narayanpore seat- A nondescript district in West Bengal.

About the AuthorAnirudh Bhattacharyya is a journalist who has extensively covered politicsand elections for the print and television media in India and the United Statesand has reported from the White House and Parliament House. From netas inIndia to senators in America, he has seen them up close and political. Formerlybased in New Delhi and New York, he currently lives in Toronto.


SPACE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

JUNE 2014

• Facelock, an alternative to passwords, designed by UK Scientists :Researchers at the University of York in the U.K. designed an alternative topasswords called Facelock. The new alternative will be based on thepsychology of facial recognition. The new research was published in theopen-access journal PeerJ.

• PSLV C23, carrying five satellites, launched successfully fromSriharikota : ISRO has launched PSLV C23 that carried five satellites fromfour nations from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

• Scientists developed sensing skin technology that can detect cracksin concrete structures : Scientists on 24 June 2014 developed new sensingskin technology that can detect cracks in concrete structures.

• World’s first Android Newscasters unveiled in Japan : World’s firstAndroid Newscasters was unveiled in Japan on 24 June 2014.

• World’s most powerful telescope ATLAST to be built by NASA totrack alien’s life : The Royal Astronomical Society, London on 24 June 2014unveiled the NASA plan to build ATLAST in Portsmouth

• myCopter Project Day to be held in Braunschweig, Germany inNovember 2014 : myCopter Project Day will be held in Braunschweig inGermany on 20 November 2014.

• Kudankulam became India’s first nuclear plant to generate 1000 MWpower : Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant on 8 June 2014 became India’s firstnuclear plant to generate 1000 MW power.

• New titanium dioxide tiles developed to fight against Air Pollution :New titanium Oxide tiles were developed by the research team from Universityof California to fight against Air Pollution.

• Peeper, the humanoid robot that can read emotions unveiled bySoftbank : Softbank Corp unveiled world’s first humanoid robot named Peeper.It is engineered to communicate and read human emotions.

• Scientists at NDRI cloned female buffalo calf Lalima : Scientists at theNational Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) on 2 June 2014 cloned female buffalocalf, Lalima.

• Korean Scientists developed robot Raptor that can outrun Usain Bolt :Korean Scientists on 1 June 2014 developed robot Raptor that can outrunUsain Bolt, the fastest man on the Earth.

• Human Proteome Map deciphering 84% of human proteins published :Human Proteome Map (HPM) deciphering 84% of human proteins was published

in British Journal Nature on 28 May 2014.


DEFENCE AND SECURITY

JUNE 2014• Supersonic Akash Missile test-fired by Army in very low Altitude in

ITR Balasore : Indian Army on 18 June 2014 test-fired surface-to-air Akashmissile from an Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore, Odisha. This test waslast among the validation trials being carried out by the Army on the first offproduction models of Akash Supersonic missile. Now it is ready for beinginduction in Indian army.

• Narendra Modi dedicated INS Vikramaditya to India : Narendra Modi, thePrime Minister of India on 14 June 2014 dedicated INS Vikramaditya to thenation. With this, India’s largest warship, INS Vikramaditya has been inductedinto Indian Navy.

About INS VikramadityaINS Vikramaditya has been acquired from Russia for over 15000 crore rupees.The deal for the warship was signed in 2004 during previous NDA regime. Ithas been dedicated to the nation after a gap of 10 years, whereas it joinedIndian Navy on 16 November 2013 after being commissioned by the then UnionDefence Minister AK Antony at Sevmash shipyard of Russia.• Length of the ship – about 284 meters and a beam of 60 meters• It has a total of 22 decks and carries 1600 personnel• Is capable of sustaining herself in sea for about 45 days• It is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier• It has been renamed in honour of legendary 1st Century BC emperor,

Vikramaditya• Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos successfully test-fired from INS

Kolkata : India on 9 June 2014 successfully test fired the supersonic cruisemissile BrahMos from indigenous INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar inKarnataka. BrahMos missile with a speed of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 is the product ofjoint collaboration between India and Russia and has a range of 290-km.

• Indian and French Air Force started Garuda V bilateral air exercise atJodhpur Air Base : The Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air Force (FAF)commenced the bilateral exercise Garuda V on 2 June 2014 at Jodhpur AirBase. The bilateral air exercise is fifth in the series and will end on 13 June2014. The aim of the exercise is to enhance operational co-operation and tovalidate capabilities.

• Supersonic Akash air defence missiles successfully interceptedtargets : Supersonic Akash air defence missiles on 28 May 2014 successfullyintercepted the targets. Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted the tests and it will bethe first service to induct the Akash missiles in their inventory.

About Akash Missile• Akash missiles were developed as part of Integrated Missile Development

Programme of the 1980.• It is an all weather area air defence weapon system for defending vulnerable

areas against medium range air targets penetrating from low, medium and highaltitudes.

• It is a Supersonic surface-to-air missile with a range of about 25 km andcarries a 55 kg fragmentation warhead that is triggered by proximity fuze. It isautonomous and its operation is fully automated.

• It uses state-of-art integral ram jet rocket propulsion system and the onboard

digital autopilot ensures stability and control.

.


STATE’s LEVEL NEWS

JUNE 2014

• Lt. Governor of Delhi Jung approved setting up of 500 water ATMs inDelhi : Najeeb Jung, the lieutenant Governor of Delhi, on 17 June 2013 approvedsetting up of 500 water ATMs in Delhi.

• Delhi LG Najeeb Jung approved the formation of DRSC to ensure roadsafety : Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung on 16 June 2014 approvedthe formation of District-level Road Safety Committees (DRSC) to ensure roadsafety.

• Delhi became first kerosene-free city in India : Delhi became firstkerosene-free city of India. This was achieved with implementation of theDelhi: A Kerosene-Free Scheme 2012.

• DMRC launched first Roof Top Solar Power Plant at Dwarka Sec21metro station : Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on 15 June 2014 launchedfirst Roof Top Solar Power Plant at Dwarka Sec21 metro station.

• UP Government raised retirement age of State Election Commissionerto 68 years : The Uttar Pradesh government raised the retirement age of StateElection Commissioner from 65 to 68 years.

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister presented tax free budget for fiscal2014-15 : Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh presented a tax free budget of274705 crore rupees for fiscal year 2014-15 with a proposed deficit of 4132crore rupees.

• UP government ordered establishment of women helpline in eachdistrict of State : Government of Uttar Pradesh has ordered establishment ofwomen helpline in 75 districts that will be monitored and maintained by the SSPand SP.

• Union Health Ministry nod to set Regional Institute of ParamedicalSciences in AIIMS Bhopal : Union Health Ministry gave consent for settingup of the Regional Institute of Paramedical Sciences in AIIMS Bhopal.

• MP Government approved Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir Link Project : MPgovernment approved the Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir Link Project (NMLP) andsanctioned 2143 crore rupees for the project.

• Madhya Pradesh Government donated one crore rupees forrestoration of Gandhi’s Tolstoy Farm : MP government decided to donate1 crore rupees for restoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s Tolstoy Farm. Gandhistarted his first Satyagraha from the farm.

• Uttarakhand Cabinet approved pension scheme for farmers :Uttarakhand Cabinet approved two schemes including pension scheme forfarmers and scheme to air-lift doctors to remote areas of the state.

• Andhra Pradesh raised retirement age of Government employees to60 years : Andhra Pradesh passed a Bill raising the retirement age ofgovernment employees from 58 to 60 years of bifurcated AP.

• Chandrababu Naidu sworn-in as first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh :Nara Chandrababu Naidu was sworn-in as the first Chief Minister of AndhraPradesh after bifurcation.


PLANS AND PROGRAMME

JUNE 2014

• Union Water Resource Ministry launched nationwide tree plantationdrive : Union Water Resources Minister, Uma Bharti on 17 June 2014 launcheda nationwide tree plantation drive and public awareness programme to saverivers. Uma Bharti also planted saplings on the banks of river Yamuna at Delhiin memory of victims of Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) tragedy that occurred in June2013. Similar functions were also held at Gangotri, Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanashi,Allahabad, Patna, Nabadweep and Ganga Sagar.

• Union Ministry of Minority Affairs launched Nalanda Project : UnionMinistry of Minority Affairs launched Nalanda Project for Minorities HigherEducational Institutions on 4 March 2014. Nalanda Project is an innovativeFaculty Development Program of Union Ministry of Minority Affairs. The NalandaProject is being taken up at Aligarh Muslim University, a premier Minority Universityof world fame. The Aligarh Muslim University is also a Nodal Staff College ofUniversity Grant Commission.

About Faculty development program

• The primary goal of faculty development is to help faculty learn new ways toachieve excellence and to grow as faculty members. It is an ongoing processof understanding, learning, and growth. Faculty development includes education,collaboration, resources and support.

• Faculty development is an essential element of institutional effectiveness inhigher education. It has become a priority at many academic institutions as away to improve the quality of academic programs and to respond to emergingfaculty, student, program and industry needs.

• The extent to which the University or College supports faculty developmentwill be strongly reflected in levels of student engagement and motivation, andthus ultimately, student learning.

• Union Ministry of Minority Affairs launched Maulana Azad SehatScheme : Union Ministry of Minority Affairs launched a new initiative MaulanaAzad Sehat Scheme for the welfare of minorities on 4 March 2014.

Main features of the Scheme

• Under the scheme, Sehat Card will be issued to every student of the Institutionfinancially aided by Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF).

• Preventive Health Check-up Camps will be organized by the Institute twice in ayear, through Government or Private Hospitals or Nursing Homes.

• All findings of the Preventive Health Checkups will be entered in the Sehat Cardof the student by the Doctors.

• In exceptional and deserving cases for serious ailments the poor studentsbelonging to notified minorities will be provided financial assistance for thetreatment in government or recognized hospitals. Serious ailments of kidney,heart, liver cancer and brain or any life threatening diseases including Kneesurgery and Spinal surgery will be covered.

• A Dispensary or Health Care Centre is to be set up in the educational institutions(School) to provide daily medical facilities to the students studying in the

educational institutions funded or aided by MAEF.


SUMMIT & CONFERENCE

JUNE 2014

• High-level forum Acting on the Call held in Washington : A high-levelforum Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths washeld in Washington on 25 June 2014. The forum was organised by US Agencyfor International Development (USAID) and the Governments of India and Ethiopiain collaboration with UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and otherpartners.

• SAARC Monsoon Initiative Programme National Working Group meetheld in Bhopal : SAARC Monsoon Initiative Programme National Working Groupmeet was organised on 20 June 2014 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. At the meet,it was discussed to take steps to link training and research programmes withmeteorology related information between different stakeholders.

• OSCE-Japan Conference held in Tokyo : Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) – Japan Conference was held in Tokyo on 17 June 2014.This was for the fourth time that Japan had hosted the OSCE Conference since2000 when annual conferences with the Asian partners started. The theme ofthe Conference was creating a safer, more interconnected and fairer world inthe face of emerging challenges in the larger OSCE area. The two-dayConference was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. TheConference was attended by the representatives of 57 OSCE participatingStates and Asian Partners for Co-Operation – Japan, the Republic of Korea,Thailand, Afghanistan and Australia.

• Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict launched in London :Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict was launched at ExCel Londonon 10 June 2014. The four-day Summit was launched by Hollywood actressand UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.The aim of the Summit was to take concrete action to improve lives of victimsand to establish best practice for obtaining witness testimony of crime ofsexual violence in conflict. The Summit called upon the nations involved towrite action against sexual violence in their army training.

• 6th International Nuclear Energy Forum ATOMEXPO-2014 held inMoscow : 6th International Nuclear Energy Forum ATOMEXPO-2014 was heldfrom 9 to 11 June 2014 in Moscow. The ATOMEXPO-2014 forum saw signing ofinternational agreements and memorandums by the nuclear sector companies.3544 delegates from 600 organisations, including 283 foreign companies’representatives participated in the Forum.

• 40th G-7 summit 2014 held at Brussels : 40th G-7 summit 2014 was heldat Justus Lipsius building, Brussels at the Council of the European Union on 4June 2014 – 5 June 2014. It was the first time that the EU hosted a G7 summit.The summit is jointly represented by the European Council President Hermanvan Rompuy and the European Commission President. The leaders of Canada,France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, thePresident of the European Council and the President of the European Commission

(G7 leaders) met for the summit.


BANKING AWARENESS

••••• RESERVE BANK OF INDIA : RBI is the Centeral Bank Of India formed under the

RBI Act,1934 established in 1935 and controls the entire money issue, circulation

the entire money issue, circulation and controls by its monetary policies and

lending policies by perodical updates on corrections to discipline the economy. It

act as a advisor to the govt. of india and states govt. to implement the forex

policies. It works in tandom with the govt of india in promoting trade and as the

account holder of the foreign currency transactions and the Balance of

payments(BOP).It is also known as the bank of last resort.

••••• PRESENT GOVERNOR OF RBI AND DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF RBI : The executive

head of Reserve Bank of India is known as the Governor, the governor is assist

by four deputy Governor.

Governor:

••••• New Governor : Raghuram Govind Rajan

••••• Appointed on : On 4 September 2013

••••• Former Governor : Duvvuri Subbarao (D. Subbarao)

••••• Retired on : September 4, 2013

List of Deputy Governor:

••••• Name: Dr.K.C.Chakrabarty

••••• Name: Urijit Patel (New Appointment, Replaced Subir Gokarn.)

••••• Name: R Gandhi (New Appointment, Replaced Anand Sinha.)

••••• Name: Shri H.R.Khan

Public Sectors Banks In India

••••• Which are owned and run by the government i.e. atleast 51% of the ownership

lies with the government. Public sector in Indian banking reached its present

situation in three stages- first the conversion of the imperial bank of India intoState bank of india in 1955 followed by the establishment of its seven subsidiary

banks; second the nationalization of 14 major commercial banks on july 14, 1969and last the nationalization of 6 more commercial banks on April 15, 1980. One of

Them- New bank Of India- was later on merged with punjab national bank.

Private sector banks

••••• Which are owned & run by private enterprises i.e atleast 51% ownership lies

with the non-government bodies. The Narsimham Committee on financial


sector(1991) recommended the establishment of such banks in India.The New

banks are required to registered as public limited companies under the companies

act,1956 with initial paid up capital of Rs.100 crore.Ex.ICICI and HDFC Banks etc.

REGIONAL RURAL BANKS

••••• In 1975, the state bank group and nationalized banks were required to sponsorand set up Regional Rural Banks in partnership with individual states to providelow cost financing and credit facilities to the rural masses. On the recommendationof the Banking Commission (1972), on October 2 1975 five Regional Rural Bankwere established. Their main function is to provide financial help to small andmarginal farmers and rural workers to help the rural economy to grow. Initially,the authorized share capital of each rural bank was Rs.1 crore, fifty percent ofthe issued capital was subscribed to by the central government fifteen percentby the concerned state and thirty five percent by the sponsor bank.Now in Indiathere are total 196 Regional Rural Banks.Ex: Punjab Gramin Bank and Himachalgramin Bank etc.

CO-OPERATIVE BANK

••••• Which are jointly run by a group of individuals and are formed under the companiesact 1956 and the co-oprative societies acts of different states.Which are jointlyrun by a group of individuals and are formed under the companies act 1956 andthe co-oprative societies acts of different states.

••••• The cooperative banks have a three-tier set-up.The state co-operative bank isthe apex institution in the state while central/district co-operative banks functionat the district level and primary credit societies work at the village level.Ex:Citizen urban co-operative Banks & Punjab Co-operative Bank.

SCHEDULED BANK

••••• Which is registered under IInd Scheduled of RBI act, 1934. Three eligibility criteriaexist for scheduled banks in India, the first of which entails carrying on thebusiness of banking in India, which all banks ostensibly meet. All scheduled banksmust maintain a reserve capital of 5 lakhs rupees in the Reserve Bank of India.Thus all commercial banks in India qualify as scheduled banks, though not allscheduled banks qualify as commercial banks.

NON SCHEDULED BANK

••••• The other commercial banks which do not part of the second schedule of the RBIact are known as the non scheduled banks. They are not entitled to theprivileges and facilities extended by RBI to scheduled banks.

Nationalised Banks

••••• At the time of independence, there were 645 banks with 4800 branches in indiaThe Government of india nationalized fourteen major banks on july 19, 1969


which had deposits of more than Rs. 50 crore.These Banks are Punjab national

bank, Central bank of india, United Commercial bank, bank of india, bank of

baroda, Allahabad bank union bank of india, canra bank, dena bank, Indian

Overseas bank united bank of india bank of Maharashtra, syndicate bank and

Indian bank On April 15 1980 six more banks were nationalized each of these

had deposits of more than Rs.200 crores. These banks are Andhra bank, Punjab

& sind bank. New bank of india, Vijaya bank, Corporation bank and oriental bank

of commerce. Rs. 87 crores were paid as compensation to the shareholders of

14 bank. Major share of ownership of State bank of india and its 5 subsidiaries

lies with the government. These are deemed as public sector banks.

••••• The other commercial banks which do not part of the second schedule of the RBI

act are known as the non scheduled banks. They are not entitled to the

privileges and facilities extended by RBI to scheduled banks.The cooperative

banks have a three-tier set-up.The state co-operative bank is the apex institution

in the state while central/district co-operative banks function at the district level

and primary credit societies work at the village level.Ex: Citizen urban co-operative

Banks & Punjab Co-operative Bank.In 1975, the state bank group and nationalized

banks were required to sponsor and set up Regional Rural Banks in partnership

with individual states to provide low cost financing and credit facilities to the

rural masses. On the recommendation of the Banking Commission (1972), on

October 2 1975 five Regional Rural Bank were established. Their main function is

to provide financial help to small and marginal farmers and rural workers to help

the rural economy to grow. Initially, the authorized share capital of each rural

bank was Rs.1 crore, fifty percent of the issued capital was subscribed to by

the central government fifteen percent by the concerned state and thirty five

percent by the sponsor bank.Now in India there are total 196 Regional Rural

Banks.Ex: Punjab Gramin Bank and Himachal gramin Bank etc.

Various RBI Rates

••••• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central banking institution of India. RBI control

the monetary policy Rupee as a sole controller. RBI also controls the liquidity

(flow of money) in Indian Market by Changing its Policy rates and Reserve ratios.

RBI have three rates: Bank Rate, CRR,SLR.

DIFFERENT RBI RATES

••••• Bank Rate: A bank rate is a rate at which the RBI lends money to the commercial

banks for the long term and rediscount the foreign currency bills. At present the

bank rate stands at 9% on 04 June 2014.

••••• Cash Reserve Ratio: Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of cash funds

that the banks have to maintain with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percentof this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this


method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks.

At present CRR stand at 4% on 04 June 2014.

••••• Statutory Liquidity Ratio : Statutory Liquidity Ratio is the amount a commercial

bank needs to maintain in the form of cash, or gold or government approved

securities (Bonds) before providing credit to its customers. At present SLR

stands at 22.5% as on 04 June 2014.

••••• Repo rate : Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends shot-term money to the

banks. When the repo rate increases borrowing from RBI becomes more

expensive. Therefore, we can say that in case, RBI wants to make it more

expensive for the banks to borrow money, it increases the repo rate; similarly, if

it wants to make it cheaper for banks to borrow money, it reduces the repo rate.

Current Repo rate is 8% on 04 June 2014.

••••• Reverse Repo rate : Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which banks park their

short-term excess liquidity with the RBI. The RBI uses this tool when it feels there

is too much money floating in the banking system. An increase in the reverse

repo rate means that the RBI will borrow money from the banks at a higher rate

of interest. As a result, banks would prefer to keep their money with the RBI.

Current Reverse Repo rate is 7% on 04 June 2014.

••••• MSF Rate:- Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) is the rate at which scheduled

banks could borrow funds overnight from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) against

approved government securities.To provide greater liquidity cushion the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) introduced Marginal Standing Facility or MSF. RBI announced

the introduction of MSF on May 3, 2011 and it was effected from May 9,

2011.Current Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) is 9% on 04 June 2014.

••••• Monetary Policy:- Monetary policy is the process by which monetary authority

of a country, generally a central bank controls the supply of money in the economy

by exercising its control over interest rates in order to maintain price stability and

achieve high economic growth.

IMPORTANT BANKING TERMS

••••• Monetary Policy:- Monetary policy is the process by which monetary authority

of a country, generally a central bank controls the supply of money in the economy

by exercising its control over interest rates in order to maintain price stability and

achieve high economic growth.

••••• Call /Notice-Money Market:-1.Call/Notice money is the money borrowed or

lent on demand for a very short period. When money is borrowed or lent for a

day, it is known as Call (Overnight) Money. Intervening holidays and/or Sunday

are excluded for this purpose. Thus money, borrowed on a day and repaid on thenext working day, (irrespective of the number of intervening holidays) is “Call

Money”.


••••• Notice Money:-When money is borrowed or lent for more than a day and up to

14 days, it is “Notice Money”.No collateral security is required to cover these

transactions.

••••• Inter-Bank Term Money:-Inter-bank market for deposits of maturity beyond

14 days is referred to as the term money market. The entry restrictions are the

same as those for Call/Notice Money except that, as per existing regulations, the

specified entities are not allowed to lend beyond 14 days.

••••• Treasury Bills.:-Treasury Bills are short term (up to one year) borrowing

instruments of the union government. It is a promise by the Government to pay a

stated sum after expiry of the stated period from the date of issue (14/91/182/

364 days i.e. less than one year). They are issued at a discount to the face

value, and on maturity the face value is paid to the holder. The rate of discount

and the corresponding issue price are determined at each auction.

••••• Special Drawing Rights (SDRs):-It is a reserve asset (known as ‘Paper Gold’)

created within the framework of the International Monetary Fund in an attempt to

increase international liquidity, and nowforming a part of countries official forex

reserves along with gold, reserve positions in the IMF and convertible foreign

currencies.

••••• NPA Account : If interest and instalments and other bank dues are not paid in

any loan account within a specified time limit, it is being treated as non-performing

assets of a bank.

••••• GAAR: The full form of GAAR is : General Anti-Avoidance Rules. Tax Avoidance

is an area of concern across the world. The rules are framed in different countries

to minimize such avoidance of tax. Such rules in simple terms are known as “

General Anti Avoidance Rules “.

• Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) : A Non-Banking Financial Company

(NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in thebusiness of loans and advances, acquis it ion of shares/stocks/bonds/

debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other

marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance

business, chit business but does not include any institution whose principalbusiness is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any

goods (other than securities) or providing any services and sale/purchase/construction of immovable property.

• BSBDA : Under the guidelines issued on August 10, 2012 by RBI: Any individual,

including poor or those from weaker section of the society, can open zerobalance account in any bank. BSBDA guidelines are applicable to “all scheduled

commercial banks in India, including foreign banks having branches in India”. All


the accounts opened earlier as ‘no-frills’ account should be renamed as BSBDA.

Banks are required to convert the existing ‘no-frills’ accounts into

‘Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts’.

• KYC : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised banks to follow „KYC

guidelines , wherein certain personal information of the account-opening

prospect or the customer is obtained. The objective of doing so is to enable the

Bank to have positive identification of its customers. This is also in the interest of

customers to safeguard their hard earned money.

The KYC guidelines of RBI mandate banks to collect three proofs from their

customers. They are-

••••• Photograph

••••• Proof of identity

••••• Proof of address

• Sub-prime crisis : The current Subprime crisis is due to sub-prime lending.

These are the loans given to the people having low credit rating.

••••• SWIFT : Society for worldwide Interbank financial telecommunication.

India was 74th Nation to join SWIFT Network.SWIFT Code is a standard format of

bank Identifier code. This code is used particularly in International transfer of

money between banks.

••••• NOSTRO Account: A NOSTRO account is maintained by an Indian bank in the

foreign countries.

• VOSTRO Account: a vostro a/c is maintained by a foreign bank in India with theircorresponding bank

• RuPay Card : RuPay is the Indian domestic card payment network set up by

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) at the behest of banks in India. The

RuPay project had been conceived by Indian Banks Association (IBA) and had the

approval of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

RuPay LogoNational Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has a plan to provide a

full range of card payment services including the RuPay ATM, RuPay MicroATM,

Debit, Prepaid and Credit Cards which will be accepted in India and abroad,

across various channels like POS, Internet, IVR and mobile etc.

• BIT COIN : it is a Virtual / Crypto / Digital Currency, was launched in 2009 by a

group of software Engineers with a paseudonym satoshi nakamoto total number

of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million by that group so far 12 million unit of bitcoin have

been created 1st Conference on bitcoin was held in Bangalore in 2013 which


was organized by coin monk it is the most expensive currency in the world one

unit of bitcoin is equal to $1200 approx Rs. 63000 as on Nov 2013 payment in

bitcoin is processing fee free a large amount of money can be transferred the

largest exchange dealing Bitcoin is Mt. Gox in japan 1st ATM was started on this

in Vancouver Canada it is stored in computers and can be minted by any one

who is having computer better than super computer of USA it is a risky currency

as can be hacked elliptic vault of UK has become the first insurance co to insure

bitcoind Thailand is the only nation that has banned it.

• RUPAY : Rupay is an Indian domestic card scheme conceived and launched

by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Its mission is to fulfill

the Reserve Bank of India’s vision of having a domestic, open loop, and

multilateral system of payments in India. RuPay works to enable electronic

payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions and hopes to provide banks

with new opportunities to operate in the card payments domain of India.

• LAF (LIQUIDITY ADJUSTMENT FACILITY) : it was introduced during june 2000

in this 2 scheme are there under the scheme (i) Repo actions (is used for

absorption of liquidity) means short term borrowing (ii) Reverse repo actions (for

injection of liquidity) are conducted on daily basis except Saturday all commercial

banks have current account and SGL (Subsidiary General ledger) account eith

RBI the size of bid is 5 cr and multiple thereof the eligible securities are transferable

Central Governmen dated securities & Treasury Bills.

• Minimum Reserve System : Under this system, a minimum amount of metallic

reserve is fixed. The cental bank is authorized to issue any amount of paper

notes on the basis of the minimum gold reserve. This system has been in operation

in india since 1957 Under it, Reserve bank of india is required to hold the minimum

reserves of Rs. 200 crore of which not less than Rs. 115 crore must be held in

the form of gold reserve holdings and the rest Rs. 85 crore in the form of foreign

currencies.

• How does the Reserve bank reach the currency to People : The reserve

bank manages the currency operations through its offices located at ahmedabad,

Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar,belapur (Navi Mumbai), Kolkata, Chandigarh,

Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mumbai, (Fort), Nagpur

, New Delhi, patna and Thiruvananthapuram. These offices receive fresh notes

from the note presses. Similarly, the Reserve bank office located at Kolkata,

Hyderabad, Mumbai nad new delhi initially receive the coins from the mints.

These offices then send them to the other offices the reserve banks the notes

and rupee coins are stocked at the currency chests and small coins at the small

coin depots the bank branches receive the bank notes and cons from the currency

chests and small coin depots for further distribution among the public.


• Currency Chest : To facilitate the distribution of notes and rupee coin, the

Reserve bank has authorized select branches of banks to establish currency

chests these are actually storehouses where bank notes and rupee coin are

stocked on behalf of the reserve bank at present there are over 4422 currency

chests the currency chest branches are expected to sidtribute notes and rupee

coins to other bank branches in their area of operation.

• Small coin depot : Some bank branches are also authorized to establish small

coin depots to stock small coins there are 3784 small coin depots spread

throughout the country the small coin depots also distribute small coins to other

bank branches in heir area of operation.

• Basel Committee : For international banks prudential norms were prescribed

by the bank for international Settlements popularly known as BIS the BIS appointed

a basel committee on banking supervision in 1988 basel committee appointed by

BIS formulated rules nd regulations for effective supervision of the central banks

for this it, also prescribed international norms in order to protect the interests of

the customers.

• Basel Accords : (Basel I, II and III) basel accord is a set of agreements set by

the basel committee on bank supervision (BCBS), which provides

recommendations on banking regulations in regards to capital risk, market risk

and operational risk the purpose of the accord is to ensure that financial institutions

have enough capital on account to meet obligations and absorb unexpected

losses the basel Accords refer to the banking supervision accords

(Recommendations on banking laws and regulations) Basel –0. and basel —

issued and later basel — by the basel committee on banking supervision (BCBS).

They are called the basel Accords as the BCBS maintains its secretariat at the

bank for international settlements in basel Switzerland and the committee normally

meets there.

• Basel I : The first Basel Accord known as basel I was issued in 1988 that

focused on the capital adequacy of financial institutions. The capital adequacy

risk, (the risk that a financial institution will be hurt by an unexpected loss)

categorizes the assets of financial institution into five risk categories (0%, 10%,20%, 50%, 100%,) Banks that operate internationally are required to have a risk

weight of 8% or less.

• Basel II : Basel II is the second of the basel Accords, which are recommendations

on banking laws and regulations issued by the basel committee on banking

supervision. The purpose of basel II, which was initially published in june 2004,

is to create an international standard that banking regulators can use when

creating regulations about how much capital banks need to put aside to guard

against the types of financial and operational risks banks face the second basel

accord known as basel II is to be fully implemented by 2015 it focuses on three


main areas including minimum capital requirements, supervisory review and

market discipline which are known as the three pillars the focus of this accord is

to strengthen international banking requirements as well as to supervise and

enforce these requirements.

• Basel III : Basel III is part of the continuous effort made by the basel committee

on banking supervision to enhance the banking regulatory framework it builds on

the basel I and basel II documrnts and seeks to improve the banking sector’s

ability to deal with financial and economic stress improve risk management and

strengthen the banks transparency the third of the basel accords was developed

in response to the deficiencies in financial regulation revealed by the global

financial crisis thus the focus of basel III is to foster greater resilience at the

individual bank level in order to reduce the risk of system wide shocks.

BANKING NEWS• sbiINTOUCH: SBI launches six digital banking branches : The State Bank

of India, country’s largest lender, on July 1, 2014 launched six digital branchesacross the country as part of its programme to offer next generation bankingsolutions to the growing mobile phone and internet savvy customer base.

These branches, named sbiINTOUCH, will facilitate services such as instantaccount opening with personalised debit cards, instant loan approval for carand home, remote expert advisors available via video links, along withinteractive walls and table displays.

Besides Delhi, where sbiINTOUCH branch was inaugurated by Finance MinisterArun Jaitley, the other such branches are located in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennaiand Ahmedabad.

“With the innovative technology and user-friendly features at the digital stores,SBI has led the way in digital innovation in the Indian banking industry,” Mr.Jaitley said.

“India is in the midst of a major demographic transition and we recognize thatour customers increasingly expect digital services to help them manage theirfinancial needs,” State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said.

sbiINTOUCH branches are primarily targeted at servicing the youth in the country.“Today, more than half of India’s population is under the age of 25. By 2020,India’s average age will be just 29 years – this is a digital demographic: one thatexpects businesses to provide solutions immediately. At the same time, themass-affluent – no matter what their age – have similar expectations. Thesebranches are a first step in the journey to offering full digital services acrossthe nation,” she added.

• Now Minors can open account in their name with Mother as guardians: To promote the objective of Financial Inclusion (FI) and also to bring uniformityamong banks in opening and operating minors’ accounts, Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) has advised all banks operating in India to allow a minor to open asavings /fixed / recurring bank deposit account through his/her natural orlegally appointed guardian. However, minors above the age of 10 years maybe allowed to open and operate savings bank accounts independently, if they


so desire. Banks may fix limits in terms of age and amount up to which minorsmay be allowed to operate the deposit accounts independently.

Minors account with Mother as guardians: The Reserve Bank of Indiahas felt that difficulty was experienced by women customers in opening bankaccounts in the names of minors, with mothers as their guardians. Presumably,the banks were reluctant to accept the mother as a guardian of a minor, whilefather is alive in view of section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act,1956, which stipulates that the father alone should be deemed to be the guardianin such case.

To overcome this legal difficulty and to enable the banks to open freely suchaccounts in the name of minors under the guardianship of their mothers, it wassuggested that the above provisions should be suitably amended. Theamendment of that section would solve the problem for Hindus while Minors’ ofother community would still be left out unless the laws governing thesecommunities are also likewise amended.

RBI in it’s Master Circular on Customer Service in Banks dated July 1, 2014 saidthat the legal and practical aspects of the above problem were examined inconsultation with the Government of India and it was advised that if the ideaunderlining the demand for allowing mothers to be treated as guardians relatesonly to the opening of fixed and savings bank accounts, there would seem tobe no difficulty in meeting the requirements as, notwithstanding the legalprovisions, such accounts could be opened by banks provided they takeadequate safeguards in allowing operations in the accounts by ensuring thatthe minors’ accounts opened with mothers as guardians are not allowed to beoverdrawn and that they always remain in credit. In this way, the minors’capacity to enter into contract would not be a subject matter of dispute. If thisprecaution is taken, the banks’ interests would be adequately protected.

• SBI, ICICI Bank CMDs among Forbes’ most powerful women :Chairperson of State Bank of India (SBI) Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya andManaging Director of ICICI Bank Ms. Chanda Kochhar are among the five womenfrom India featured in Forbes’ 100 most powerful women in the world, a listtopped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Arundhati Bhattacharya is ranked 36th on the power list, while Kochhar is43rd. Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar- Shaw is ranked 92nd on the list.PepsiCo’s India-born chief Indra Nooyi is 13th on the list while Cisco’s chieftechnology and strategy officer Padmasree Warrior is ranked 71st on Forbes’“definitive annual guide to the extraordinary icons and leaders, ground breakersand ceiling crashers who command the world stage.”

Merkel is followed by chair of the US Federal Reserve Janet Yellen, philanthropistMelinda Gates (3), former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton (6), GeneralMotors’ first woman CEO Mary Barra (7), US first lady Michelle Obama (8) andFacebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (9).

Forbes said as the head of India’s largest lender with about $380 billion inassets, Bhattacharya holds “one of the most powerful positions” on the Asiansubcontinent.

“Not only is she the first woman appointed to the position, but she is also theyoungest at age 57,” it said.


IMPORTANTABBREVIATIONS IN NEWS

• DICGC : Deposit insurance and credit guarantee corporation.

• OLTAS : On line Tax Accounting System is used for Direct Taxes

• TIN: Tax Information Network

• IMPS: Interbank Mobile Payment Service

• BSBDA Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account

• FCNR(B) Foreign Currency Non Resident Bank

• TARC Tax Administration Reform Commission

• ITEs: Intra Group Transactions and Exposures

• LCR: Liquidity Coverage Ratio

• NSFR: Net Stable Funding Ratio

• REER: Real Effective Exchange Rate

• LRMT: Liquidity risk monitoring tools

• CBS: Core Banking Solution

• DEAF: Depositor Education and Awareness Fund

• CRAR: Capital to Risk weighted Assets Ratio

• External Commercial Borrowings (ECB)

• SWIFT: Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

• FSLRC: Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission

• MIBOR: Mumbai Inter Bank Offer Rate

• LIBOR: London Inter Bank Offer Rate

• LAF – Liquidity Adjustment Facility

• GIRO Government Internal Revenue Order

• EEFC Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency

• FRBMA: Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act

• ALM Asset Liability Management

• AMFI Association of Mutual Fund in India.

• TIEA – Tax Information exchange Agreement

• CAR – Cash Adequacy Ratio

• CCEA – Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

• CECA Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

• CEPA – Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

• DTAA – Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

• ECBs External Commercial Borrowings

• EEFC Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency


• EFSF – European Financial Stability Facility

• FEMA Foreign Exchange Management Act

• FII – Foreign Institutional Investor.

• FINO Financial Inclusion Network Operation

• FIPB – Foreign Investment Promotion board

• FSLRC – Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission

• FTA Free trade agreement

• GAAR General anti avoidance rule

• GSLV Geo Synchronous Launch Vehicle

• MSF Marginal Standing Facility

• NBFC Non Banking Finance Companies

• NCTC National Counter Terrorism Centre

• NEFT National Electronic Funds Transfer

• NSG – Nuclear Suppliers Group

• PPP – Public Private Partnership & Purchasing Power parity

• PSLV – Polar Satellite Launch vehicle

• RTGS Real Time Gross Settlement

• SLR Statutory Liquidity Ratio

• TAPI Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India.

• QFI Qualified Foreign Investors

• VVPAT ‘Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail’

• TIEA :- Tax Information Exchange Agreement

• IUCN :- INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONVERSATION OF NATURE

• EPIC :- ELECTRICAL PHOTO IDENTITY CARD

• PVC :- POLYVINYL CHOLORIDE

• ILO :- INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION

• CSP :- CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER

• WETC :- WORLD EXPO TRADE CONVENTION

• GSICC :- GENDER SENSITISATION AND INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE

• CRIS :- CENTRE FOR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEM

• TDSAT :- TELECOM DISPUTES SETTLEMENT AND APPELLATE TRIBUNAL

• MGPSY :- MAHATMA GANDHI PRAVASI SURAKSHA YOJANA

• ECR :- EMIGRATION CHECK REQUIRED

• IWRC :- INDIAN WORKERS RESOURCE CENTRE

• NGT :- NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

• DMRC :- DELHI METRO RAIL CORPORATION

• RVNL :- RAIL VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED


• SAIL :- STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA LIMITED

• IOC :- INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

• PLO :- PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANISATION

• IFSC :- INDIAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM CODE

• SIP :- SYSTEMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN

• GDR :- GLOBAL DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS

• SDR :- SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS

• ETF :- EXCHANGE TRADE FUNDS

• USFDA :- UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

• ISSF :- INTERNATIONAL SHOOTING SPORT FEDERATION

• HAL :- HINDUSTAN AERONAUTICS LIMITED

• DRDO :- DEFENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

• LRDE :- ELECTRONICS AND RADAR DEVELOPMENT ESTABLISHMENT

• TDE :- TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT ESTABLISHMENT

• USAID :- US AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• OCC :- OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY

• SIT :- SPECIAL INVESTIGATION TEAM

• PPA :- POLAVARAM PROJECT AUTHORITY

• DBT :- DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

• USNAS :- U.S. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

• UNESCO :- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

• ATM :- ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET

• DGCA :- DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIATION

• ACARS :- AIRCRAFT COMMUNICATIONS ADDRESSING AND REPORTINGSYSTEM

• ADS-B :- AUTOMATIC DEPENDENT SURVEILLANCE BROADCAST

• AAPI :- ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER

• FACE :- FREE AIR CONCENTRATION ENRICHMENT

• CANWFZ :- CENTRAL ASIAN NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE-ZONE

• AAIPL :- AIR ASIA INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

• EPFL :- ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE

• IRENA :- INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY

• TIE :- TALENT IDEAS ENTERPRISE

• SOD :- SUPER OXIDE DISMUTASE

• CSIR :- COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH

• CWDT :- CAUVERY WATER DISPUTES TRIBUNAL

• T-TBI :- TECHNOPARK TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS INCUBATOR

• PMEAC :- PRIME MINISTER’S ECONOMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL


IMPORTANT DAYS

MAY .

1 International Labour Day (Worker's Day)

3 International Energy Day

9 World Thalassaemia Day

10 World Mother's Day

11 National Technology Day

17 World Telecommunication Day

18 World Museum Day

19 World Hepatitis Day

24 Commonwealth Day

31 World Anti-Tobacco Day

. JUNE .

1 International Children's Day,World Milk Day

5 World Environment Day

15 World Father's Day

21 World Music Day

23 International Olympic Day

. JULY .

11 World Population Day

18 Nelson Mandela International Day

28 World Nature Conservation Day


IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR EXAM

• Who approved Tesco’s plan to purchase 50% stake in Tata Group firm -Trenthypermarket on 28th May, 2014? Competition Commission of India

• Who has been appointed as the Vice President and Auditor General of the WorldBank on 23rd May,2014? Hiroshi Naka

• Which famous American poet and author died on 28th May, 2014 at her home inWinston-Salem of North Carolina? Maya Angelou

• India signed loan agreement with World Bank on 29th May, 2014 for_____________________________________. Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan III

• ___________________, best known as the Father of Malaysian Hockey died inIpoh, Malaysia on 28th May, 2014? Azlan Shah

• When was the 9th Sikkim State Legislative Assembly constituted?

28th May, 2014

• ________________ creator of the world’s first action figure G.I.Joe died of canceron 24th May,2014? Donald Levine

• US President Barack Obama announced on 27th May, 2014 to keep ________troops in Afghanistan till the end of 2014? 9800

• Which domestic e-retailer announced its acquisition of leading fashion e-tailerMyntra.com for 300 million US dollar? Flipkart

• The ____ European Parliamentary Election 2014 was held from 22nd May to 25thMay, 2014. 8th

• Corey Andersn who has the record of fastest One Day International(ODI) century,represents which country? New Zealand

• Who has set the record of being the youngest person to trek to the South Pole?

Lewis Clarke

• The newly appointed CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella was born in the city of_________________? Hyderabad

• In which city, the 2014 Winter Olympics was held? Sochi

• Matteo Renzi sworn in as the youngest Prime Minister of ____________? Italy

• Which Indologist and Sanskrit scholar having good grasp over English and Sanskritlanguage, passed away on 24th May, 2014? Sukumari Bhattacharji

• Following the direction of the European Union Court of Justice, when did Googlelaunch the service named ‘Right to be Forgotten’ for the Europeans?

29th May,2014

• Who won Monaco Grand Prix - Formula 1 On 24th May, 2014?

Nico Hulkenberg

• Which popular Hindi writer was awarded with the prestigious Vyas Samman-2013 on 29th May, 2014? Vishwanath Tripathi

• Exhibition on _____________________________started at the German HistoricalMuseum, Berlin on 28th May, 2014 and will run until the end of 2014?

100 years of Worl War I


• Who became the first Indian to receive the prestigious Harvard medal on 29thMay, 2014? Anand Mahindra

• Human Protene Map which deciphers 84% of human proteins has been publishedin ________________________ on 28th May, 2014? British Journal Nature

• Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India abolished the existing ___ EmpoweredGroup of Ministers and _____ Groups of Ministers to ensure greater accountabilityand transparency. 9, 21

• Which Solar powered plane had its inaugural flight on 2nd May, 2014 from Payerneairfield in Switzerland? Solar Impulse 2

• When did the private space travel firm-Space X unveiled its new manned DragonV2 Capsule which would take astronauts into Low-Earth orbit and beyond?

30th May,2014

• The illustrious names of Aryabhatta and Vahamihir are associated with the age ofthe _____________? Guptas

• The idea of Pakistan was first conceived by _____________________?

Muhammad Iqbal

• Which country has introduced “Direct Democracy”? Switzerland

• Which state has the lowest per captia income in India? Orissa

• The Governor General associated with the abolit ion of slavery was_____________________? Bentinck

• Who on 30th May,2014 deployed two Global hawks on Misawa airbase in NorthernJapan? US Air Force

• Who awarded the prestigious ‘Dag Hammarskjold’ medal on 29th May, 2014 to theeight Indian soldiers who lost their lives in peacekeeping operations in 2013?

Ban Ki-moon

• When did B.G.Srinivas, the President and member of the board of Infosys resign?

28th May, 2014

• Who has been appointed as the National Security Adviser of India on 30th May,2014? Ajit Kumar Doval

• Who presented the ‘Malti Devi Gyan Peeth Puraskar-2014’ to the fifteen outstandingteachers from girls’ higher secondary schools in Punjab? Mr.Hamid Ansari

• Which of the following became the 29th state of India on 2nd June, 2014?

Telangana

• Who topped the Forbes Most Poweful Women List, 2014? Angela Merkel

• Who sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana on 2nd June,2014?

Chandrashekhar Rao

• Who was the last US prisoner to have been freed in the swap deal with Talibanon 1st June, 2014? Bowe Bergdahl

• Which country’s king announced on 2nd June, 2014 to abdicate the throne due tohealth problems? Spain

• When was the Indian aid worker, Alexis Prem Kumar abducted in the HeratProvince of Afghanistan? 2nd June, 2014


• ________________________ became India’s first NABL accredited AquaculturePathology Lab on 30th May, 2014?

Central Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory

• As per the data released by UN Comtrade, which country became the secondlargest textile exporter of the world? India

• Who has been appointed as the test cricket captain of South Africa on 3rd June,2014? Hashim Amla

• Which state of India announced the enhancement of retirement age of governmentemployees from 58 to 60 years, on 3rd June, 2014? Jammu & Kashmir

• Which music group of Jaipur will perform at the Commonwealth Games, 2014 inGlasgow, Scotland? Kawa Music Group

• Which province of Canada on 5th June, 2014 adopted legislation ‘Right to Die’,which allows terminally ill patients to kill themselves with the doctor’s help?

Quebec

• Who was elected as the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha on 6th June, 2014?

Sumitra Mahajan

• Which video was launched by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in thefirst week of June, 2014 to highlight the health and economic impacts of tobaccoconsumption? The Price We Pay

• Which famous Indian Personality has been made the brand ambassador of maternaland child health campaign,”Mamta Abhiyan” on 6th June, 2014?

Madhuri Dixit

• Which will be the 19th country to adopt Euro as the currency from 1st January,2015? Lithuania

• Who has been nominated as the UN High Commissioner for human rights on 6thJune, 2014? Zeid Raad Zeid Al-Hussein

• Research team from University of _______________ on 6th June, 2014 came upwith Titanium oxide tiles to fight against air pollution? California

• When did Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung constitute an Expenditure FinanceCommittee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary of Delhi-S.K.Srivastava?

6th June, 2014

• Where was the 40th G-7 summit 2014 held on 4th and 5th June, 2014?

Brussels

• Which former Indian cricket captain joined the Mudgal Committee as an expert oncricketing affairs on 8th June,2014? Sourav Ganguly

• Who released the book titled,’Getting India Back on Track-An Action Agenda forReform’ on 8th June, 2014? Narendra Modi

• When was the INS Sindhurakshak- the Submarine of Indian Navy raised from thewaters by a salvage firm? 5th June, 2014

• Who on 6th June, 2014 took charge as US interim ambassador to India?

Kathleen Stephens


• UN General Assembly on 7th June, 2014; announced an award in honour of_______________________? Nelson Mandela

• Which state government announced 12 percent reservation in all state governmentjobs for BPL candidates? Sikkim

• When did India test fired the supersonic cruise missle Brahmos from indigenousINS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka? 9th June, 2014

• ____________ norms were eased on 9th June, 2014 by the RBI for opening ofbank account? KYC

• Who has been appointed as the Additional Principal Secretary of Prime Minister on9th June, 2014? P.K.Mishra

• Terrorists belonging to ____________________ attacked the Jinnah InternationalAirport of Karachi on 8th June, 2014? Tehreek-e-Taliban

• Which airport was awarded the Airport Service Quality Award by the AirportCouncil International in the category of the best improved airport in Asia PacificRegion, for the period between 2012-2013? Kolkata Airport

• Global Economic Prospects Report of World Bank which was released on 11thJune, 2014; revised down the economic forecast of developing world from ___to 5.3%. 4.8%

• When did tropical cyclone,’Nanauk’ emerge in Arabian Sea? 11th June, 2014

• Which country on 10th June, 2014 agreed in principal on the Indian NuclearLiability Law? Russia

• Which two countries on 7th June, 2014 decided to inject new momentum to theireconomic ties in order to explore untapped opportunities? India & China

• Who has been elected as the 10th President of Israel on 10th June, 2014?

Reuven Rivlin

• Who launched ‘Amma Salt’, a product of Tamil Nadu Salt Corporation Ltd on 11thJune, 2014? Jayalalithaa

• Narendra Modi on 10th June, 2014 decided to discontinue with _____ StandingCommittees. Four

• Which former all rounder cricketer of Australia died on 10th June, 2014 in Sydney?

Gary Gilmour

• Who has been appointed as the President of Reliance Jio Infocomm on 10th June,2014? Sunil Dutt

• Who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by a UK based businessassociation on 13th June, 2014? Lord Swaraj Paul

• Which Malayalam writer has been selected for the prestigious Moortidevi Awardfor the year 2013? C.Radhakrishnan

• Which Indian warship has been dedicated to the nation by the Indian Prime Ministeron 14th June, 2014? INS Vikramaditya

• When did Garuda V - Indo French Air Exercise conclude at Jodhpur?

13th June, 2014

• Maharashtra Government approved bifurcation of ___________ district, on 13thJune, 2014? Thane


• Which place in Iraq has been captured by the Militants belonging to Islamic Stateof Iraq & Greater Syria group on 10th June, 2014? Tikr i t

• When did the International Union for Conservation of Nature released the Red Listof Threatened Species? 12 June, 2014

• The book titled __________________ written by T.V.Paul was presented to theVice President of India, on 13th June, 2014? Warrior State

• Who commissioned 68MW unit at the Rampur Hydro Electric Project in HimachalPradesh on 13th June, 2014? BHEL

• Who was appointed as the Commander - in - Chief of Strategic Forces Commandon 13th June, 2014? Lt Gen Amit Sharma

• When did Delhi Metro Rail Corporation launched its first roof top solar power plantat Dwarka Sec-21 metro rail? 15th June, 2014

• Who has been re-elected as President of Columbia on 15th June, 2014?

Juan Manuel Santos

• Who on 14th June, 2014 was honoured knighthood Bachelor by QueenElizabeth II? Tejinder Virdee

• Who won the 2014 edition of Women’s Hockey World Cup? Netherlands

• Who on 14th June, 2014 announced his retirement from all forms of cricket?

Murali Kartik

• When is the World Blood Donor Day observed? 14th June

• Who won the Silver medal in men’s 10 meter air pistol event at the ISSF World CupShooting in Munich on 11th June, 2014? Jitu Rai

• Which country became a permanent signatory to the Washington Accord? India

• When did Maharashtra Assembly approved the bill to amend the Dance BarProhibition Act? 13th June, 2014

• Which Indian scientist was elected on 12th June, 2014 as a member of the UNCommission on the Limits of Continental Shelf? Rasik Ravindra

• The first China War was fought between __________________________?

China & Britain

• What are the dimensions of basketball court for the Olympics & World Tournaments?

28m*15m

• Federation Cup & Allwyn International Trophy are associated with which sport?

Volleyball

• When is the World Red Cross Day celebrated? May 8

• Gravity setting chambers are used in industries to remove ____________?

Suspended particulate matter

• Which city in India has been announced by the government on 16th June, 2014;as the first kerosene free city of India? Delhi

• Which country did Prime Minister of India officially visited on 15th June, 2014?

Bhutan


• Who has been appointed as the new Revenue Secretary of India on 14th June,2014? Shaktikanta Das

• Which real estate developer became first to receive the ISO Quality certificationon 16th June, 2014? DLF Home Developers Ltd

• When did Delhi Lieutenant Governor- Najeeb Jung approved the formation ofDistrict- level Road Safety Committees? 16th June, 2014

• Who has been appointed as the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of India on18th June, 2014? Rajeev Topno

• My Copter Project Day will be held in __________________ in Germany on 20thNovember, 2014? Braunschweig

• Taiwanese poet Yu His translated Tirukkural and Bharathi’s poems in______________ language? Mandarin

• When did Union Health Minister, Harshvardhan gave consent for setting up ofRegional Institute of Paramedical Sciences in AIIMS, Bhopal? 17th June, 2014

• Which former cricket captian of Bangladesh has been banned for eight years forbeing found guilty on charges of match fixing? Mohammad Ashraful

• Which company acquired Paladion Networks on 17th June, 2014? Infosys• Which Institute on 16th June, 2014 released its annual nuclear forces data which

assessed the current trends and developments in world nuclear arsenals?Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

• Union Water Resources Minister of India, _______________ launched a nationwidetree plantation drive & public awareness programme to save the rivers.

Uma Bharati• Which city recorded the highest consumption of cigarettes as per the ICICI Lombard

Tobacco Consumption Habits Survey? Kolkata• Which country on 16th June, 2014 cut off all the gas supplies to Ukraine over the

due payment? Russia• _____________ Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry O Rogozin visited India for two

days from18th-19th June, 2014? Russia• When and where was SAARC Monsoon Initiative Programme National Working

Group meet organised? 20th June, 2014; Bhopal• Chief Minister of which Indian state presented a tax free budget of 274705 crore

rupees on 20th June, for the fiscal year 2014-15? Uttar Pradesh• When did the Institute for Economics and Peace introduce the Global Peace Index

2014 in London? 18th June, 2014• Who on 17th June, 2014 was selected as the next Secretary General of INTERPOL’S

Executive Committee? Juergen Stock• Which Indian born was honoured with Champions of Change by the White House

on 17th June, 2014? Pratishtha Khanna• Which cricket team won the ODI series against Bangladesh on 19th June, 2014?

India• When did the Union Government of India reconstituted the 6 important cabinet

committees? 19th June, 2014• Which Indian infrastructure giant won the arbitration award against Maldivian

government on 19th June, 2014 for wrongful termination of project contract?G M R

• When did the Vice Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority of Indiaresign? 17th June, 2014


Documents

The Competition Time JULY 1470844