November 1, 2014

accounts as well as for transactions

done by savings bank account holders
at ATMs situated outside these six
metro centres. Banks are also free to
offer free transactions above this
mandated limit.

2) Devendra Fadnavis took the oath as

the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra
on 31 October 2014 at a glittering
ceremony held at Mumbais iconic
Wankhede Stadium. He became
Chief Minister of state 27th

Page

2 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) New restricted free monthly ATM

usage regime came into effect in 6
metro cities of the country from 1
November 2014. Under this regime the
number of mandated free transactions
for savings bank account holders at
other bank ATMs located in six metros
has been reduced from five to ..per
month Three
Explanation: This
restricted
free
monthly ATM usage regime came into
effect in countrys 6 metro cities
Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata,
Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The choice
of 6 metros for introducing this regime
was made primarily due to well-served
payment infrastructure available here.
This reduction in the number of
mandated
free
transactions
will,
however, not apply to customers having
no-frills/small/Basic
Savings
Bank
Deposit Account (BSBDA) type of

Explanation: Fadnavis
became
th
27 Chief Minister of Maharashtra and
the 18thperson to hold this post. He also
became the fourth politician from
Vidarbha region and the second
youngest to become Chief Minister of
Maharashtra.
The
oath
was
administered by Maharashtra Governor
Vidysagar Rao. Eknath Khadse, Sudhir
Mungantiwar, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja
Gopinath Munde and Vishnu Rama
Savra took over as Cabinet Ministers.

3) Warren Anderson, the former chief of

Union Carbide, died on 29 September
2014 at a nursing home in Vero Beach,
Florida according to public records.
Anderson was wanted in India in
connection with the 1984 Bhopal gas
tragedy in which over 3,000 people
were killed. This tragedy took place on
which date? Midnight of 2 December
1984

Explanation: The Bhopal horror began

around midnight on 2-3 December 1984
when a chemical reaction in a plant,
owned by US company Union Carbide
that made insecticides, caused a leak of
toxic gases (primarily Methyl isocyanide) that swept through the
surrounding community. The Madhya
Pradesh government confirmed 3,787
deaths as a result. More than a half
million people were injured, with many
dying from illnesses, including lung
cancer, kidney failure and liver disease.
Warren Anderson was heading Union
Carbide at that time and he reached
Bhopal 4 days after the mishap to be
arrested immediately. But after quickly
paying bail, he never returned to face
trial. In 1989, Union Carbide paid $470
million to the Indian government to
settle litigation stemming from the
disaster. His death was not made public
by his family and was revealed from
public records.

Page

3 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) What is the name of the Electronic

Toll Collection (ETC) programme that
was launched by the Union Government
on 31 October 2014 on the National
Highway 8 (NH-8) to enable motorists to
pay tolls electronically without stopping
at the toll plazas? FasTag
Explanation: This programme has
been launched by Ministry of Road
Transport
&
Highways,
National
Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and
Indian
Highways
Management
Company
Limited
(IHMCL)
in
partnership with private sector banks
ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. It was
launched on the 1,428-km highway
(NH-8) which connects the countrys
national capital Delhi with financial
capital Mumbai. FasTag users will be

able to cruise through the toll plazas

without the hassle of stopping for paying
cash with Axis Bank and ICICI Bank
facilitating electronic Toll Collection
service at all Toll Plazas on the National
Highways.

5) Who took over as the Secretary

Economic Affairs on 31 October 2014 to
complete the official-level makeover of
Finance Ministry? Rajiv Mehrishi
Explanation: Rajiv Mehrishi succeeded
Arvind Mayaram who was shifted to
Ministry of Minority Affairs on 30
October 2014. Earlier on 16 October
2014 Arvind Subramaniam joined as the
new Chief Economic Advisor.

6) Which bank became the second after

United Bank of India to tag Vijay Mallyaowned Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) as a
wilful defaulter? UCO Bank
Explanation: UCO Bank is amongst the
consortium of 17 banks that have a total
exposure of Rs. 6,500 crore in KFA.
While the consortium is led by SBI,
UCO on its part is said to have lent Rs.
300 crore. The grounded airline was
earlier declared a wilful defaulter by
United Bank of India. According to
Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI)
guidelines a wilful defaulter is one who
has the capacity to repay but chooses
not to do so. The money borrowed is
being used for purposes other than for
which it was taken.

7) The 139th birth anniversary of Sardar

Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 October 2014
was celebrated as the first edition of

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National

Unity Day)
Explanation: The Union Government
during October 2014 had decided to
observe the birth anniversary of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 October as
Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity
Day) every year. Sardar Patel,
nicknamed the Iron Man of India, was

the first home minister of the country

and is credited with persuading more
than 500 princely states to accede to
the Indian union post-Independence. On
the occasion of first National Unity Day
Run For Unity were organised all over
the country and a pledge to maintain
unity was taken by all government
employees as well as school and
college students.

November 2, 2014

Page

4 CURRENT AFFAIRS

proposal. Apart from Bangalore and

Mysore, the other cities that formally
get new old names are : Belgaum
Belagavi, Mangalore Mangaluru,
Gulbarga Kalaburagi, Hubli
Hubballi, Shimoga Shivamogga,
Chikmagalur

Chikkamagaluru,
Bellary Ballari, Bijapur Vijapura or
Vijayapura, Hospet Hosapete and
Tumkur Tumakuru.
1) From 1 November 2014 Bangalore
officially became Bengaluru and
Mysore became Mysuru. Altogether
the name of how many cities and
towns of Karnataka state was reverted
to their old Kannada names from this
day? Twelve

2) Which countrys central bank

surprised global financial markets on
31 October 2014 by expanding its
massive stimulus spending, which
resulted in rally in global stock markets
and Indias Sensex hitting an all-time
high on the day? Japan

Explanation: The
name
of
12
Karnataka cities and towns was
changed on the occasion of the
59thFormation Day of the state. The
state had sought the Centres
clearance for the change in names in
2006. The Union Home Ministry had
during October 2014 cleared this

Explanation: Bank of Japan (BOJ),

the central bank of Japan announced
its decision to buy more assets as a
preemptive strike to keep policy on
track. The bank would accelerate
purchase of Japanese government
bonds to increase its holding annually
by 30 trillion ($725 billion) and triple

its purchases of exchange-traded

funds and real-estate investment
trusts. But this move of BOJ was
criticized by numerous economists
who wondered if pushing even more
money into the financial system would
be effective as long as consumer
confidence continues to worsen and
demand remains weak. The BOJs
move stands in marked contrast with
the Federal Reserve, the central bank
of United States, announced closing
its monthly bond purchase programme
on 29 October 2014.

Page

5 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) What is the name of the Army

officer who appeared to seize power in
African country Burkina Faso on 1
November 2014 a day after countrys
longtime President Blaise Compaore
announced his resignation promising
early elections? Lieutenant Colonel
Issaac Zida
Explanation: Lieutenant
Colonel
Issaac Zida apparently took control of
the country after reports of heavy
gunfire near the presidential palace
early on 1 November. He was the
operational commander of the elite
presidential guards. The unfolding
crisis was being closely watched by
the United States and former colonial
power France, which were close
military allies of Compaore. Under his
rule, Burkina Faso became a key ally
in Western operations against al
Qaeda-linked groups in West Africa.

4) Who was appointed as the new

Chairperson of the National Institute of

Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP)

recently? Vijay Kelkar
Explanation: Vijay Kelkar was the
former Chairman of the 13th Finance
Commission and he succeeded former
PMEAC chairman C. Rangarajan.
National Institute of Public Finance
and Policy (NIPFP) is a think tank for
doing applied research in the field of
public finance and is based in New
Delhi.

5) What was the name of the

ambitious rocket plane of entrepreneur
Richard Bransons space company
Virgin Galactic that was meant to carry
rich tourists on short space rides and
which crashed on 31 October 2014?
SpaceShipTwo
Explanation: SpaceShipTwo was the
rocket plane for Virgin Galactic, the
space tourism company created by the
entrepreneur Richard Branson, and
Scaled Composites, the company that
designed and built the plane. The
plane crashed in the Mojave Desert on
31 October during a test flight, killing
one of the two pilots. Crash of
SpaceShipTwo came as a major
setback
for
commercial
space
industry. Virgin Galactic, which hoped
to begin tourist flights next spring,
already
has
more
than
700
reservations, initially sold for $200,000
a seat before rising to $250,000 last
year.

6) China on 1 November 2014

completed its first return mission to the
Moon with the successful re-entry and
landing of an unmanned probe. The

mission was launched to test

technology to be used for Chinas
fourth lunar probe. What is the name
of this ambitious mission which aims to
gather samples from the moons
surface and will be launched around
2017? Change-5
Explanation: This unmanned probe
landed safely in northern Chinas Inner

Mongolia region on 1 November after

taking some very good photographs of
the Earth and the moon. China sees
its
multi-billion-dollar
space
programme as a marker of its rising
global stature and mounting technical
expertise. It also has a rover on the
surface of the moon.

Page

6 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 3, 2014

1) A powerful blast set off by a suicide

bomber at Wagah in Pakistan on 2
November 2014 resulted in death of at
least 55 people and injuries to over
200. This blast occurred minutes after
the immensely popular flag-lowering
ceremony at the Indo-Pak border.
Which Al-Qaeda affiliated group
claimed responsibility for this attack
according to the media reports?
Jandullah
Explanation: The blast took place
near one of the exit gates after
hundreds of people were returning

after watching the flag ceremony at

Wagah border that involves Indian
Army
personnel
and
Pakistani
Rangers. India announced suspension
of the flag-lowering ceremony for three
days after this attack. The ceremony at
the Wagah-Attari border is one of the
longest in operation between India and
Pakistan. It had continued largely
untouched by the many ups and
downs in the relationship between the
two countries, including the recent
ceasefire violations at the border.

2) A very important and landmark

climate change report was adopted by
the United Nations on 1 November
2014 and was released a day later at
40th Session of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) held
at Copenhagen (Denmark). What is
the main conclusion of this report that
was finished by IPCC scientists in over
one year? Humans are altering
Earths climate system

Explanation: This IPCC Report is the

fifth assessment of climate science
and mitigation that the IPCC has
completed since 1990. It primarily
offers conclusive evidence that
humans are altering the Earths
climate system. It concludes that it is
now 95% certain that the build-up of
such gases from the burning of fossil
fuels and deforestation is the main
cause of warming seen since the
middle of the 20thcentury. The main
objective of IPCCs initiatives is to
bring all nations together to take steps
to reduce the process of climate
change. In December 2014, all
countries will meet in Peru to talk over
some options, with the goal of arriving
at a final agreement at a meeting in
Paris in December 2015. Its unclear,
however, whether the new IPCC report
can help overcome the political and
economic obstacles that have blocked
major
movement
of
reducing
emissions.

Page

7 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) What will the base year for

computation of Indias GDP data from
January 2015 as announced by the
National
Statistical
Commission
recently? 2011-12
Explanation: The base year for
computation of countrys GDP was
2004-05 till now. This change in base
year is being implemented so as to
take into account the structural
changes which have taken place in the
economy and also to include more
sectors in GDP computation which
were not included till now. This would
be sixth time that the base year will be
changed since 1948-49 was chosen

as the first base year for computing

countrys GDP estimates.
Read More about Base Year

4) Which
South
Asian
country
witnessed
a
24-hour
electricity
blackout on 1 November 2014 which
resulted in huge chaos all across the
country? Bangladesh
Explanation: Electricity was disrupted
all-across Bangladesh on 1 November
after a major fault due to heavy
demand which resulted in failure of the
relay system. This forced hospitals
and garment factories in the country to
rely on back-up generators and even
plunged the prime ministers official
residence in capital Dhaka into
darkness. Electricity was restored on
the next day.

5) A Chinese submarine and a warship

were allowed dock at its port in
Colombo
by
the
Sri
Lankan
Government recently despite concerns
raised by the Indian Government.
What are the names of this submarine
and warship which will remain in Sri
Lanka for 5 days for refuelling and
crew refreshment? Changzheng-2
(submarine) and Chang Xing Dao
(warship)
Explanation: Submarine
Changzheng-2 and warship Chang
Xing Dao arrived at the Colombo port
on 31 October 2014 and are to remain
here for 5 days for refuelling and crew
refreshment. Docking of these two
naval devices was done seven weeks
after another Chinese submarine, a

long-range deployment patrol, had

called at the same port ahead of a visit
to South Asia by Chinese President Xi
Jinping. China has invested heavily in
Sri Lanka in recent years, funding
airports, roads, railways and ports, a
development that has unsettled India,
traditionally the closest economic
partner of Sri Lanka. A 1987 accord
between India and Sri Lanka provides
that respective territories including
Trincomalee will not be used for
activities prejudicial to each others
unity, integrity and security.

6) Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq

equalled the record for the fastest Test

century on 2 November 2014 by

reaching the milestone in 56 balls
against Australia in Abu Dhabi. Whose
record
he
equalled?
Vivian
Richards of the West Indies
Explanation: West Indies great Vivian
Richards had established the world
record for fastest Test century off 56
balls against England at St Johns,
Antigua in 1986. Misbah-ul-Haq
equalled this record by reaching his
century in similar number of deliveries.
In the process he also broke Jacques
Kallis record of scoring fastest Test
century off 24 balls by achieving this in
just 21 balls. South Africas Kallis had
scored his 24-ball half century against
Zimbabwe in Cape Town in 2005.

Page

8 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 4, 2014

1) What is the name of the new

ambitious alliance formed by Internet
search engine Google on 3 November
2014 to promote the growth of Indic
language content online? Indian
Language Internet Alliance (ILIA)
Explanation: The main task of ILIA
would be to work together in building

Indic language content for the

hundreds of millions of Indians who
will be coming online for the very first
time. The alliance hopes to enable 300
million Indian language speakers to
become highly engaged Internet users
by 2017. The initiatives of ILIA would
include options such as Hindi Voice
Search and building relevant content
for new Indian language mobile users.
The alliance comprises of ABP News,
Amar Ujala Publications Ltd, C-DAC,
DB Digital, Firstouch, HinKhoj, Jagran
Prakashan
Ltd,
LinguaNext
Technologies Pvt. Ltd, NDTV, Network
18, Oneindia.com, Patrika Group,
Process Nine Technologies Pvt Ltd,
Prost Innovation Pvt Ltd, Reverie

Language Technologies Pvt Ltd,

Times
Internet
Ltd,
Ver
Se
Innovation/NewsHunt,
and
Webdunia.com in addition to Google.

2) Who was named by Pro-Russian

separatists of Ukraine as the leader of
their breakaway republic named
Donetsk Peoples Republic on 3
November
2014?
Alexander
Zakharchenko
Explanation: 38-year old Alexander
Zakharchenko is a former mining
electrician. He easily won election as
head of the Donetsk Peoples
Republic, an entity proclaimed by
armed rebels in the days after they
seized key buildings in cities of
Ukraines
Russian-speaking
east
during April 2014. Zakharchenkos
election could create a new frozen
conflict in post-Soviet Europe and
further threaten the territorial unity of
Ukraine, which lost control of its
Crimean peninsula during March 2014.

Page

9 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Who has been appointed as the

new Financial Services Secretary by
the Union Govt. on 3 November 2014?
Hasmukh Adhia
Explanation: Hasmukh
Adhia
replaces G S Sandhu, who was
transferred as the new Chairman of
National Authority for Chemical
Weapon
Convention
(NACWC).
Sandhu is the second Secretary
among five Secretaries in the Finance
Ministry who has been shifted after
Arvind Mayaram in last few days.
Adhia is a 1981-batch Indian
Administrative Service (IAS) officer of

Gujarat cadre and is presently posted

in Gujarat. After this reshuffle, the
General Budget for 2015-16 will be
presented by new team of Secretaries
with Rajiv Mehrishi as Economic
Affairs Secretary (who is also likely to
be nominated as new Finance
Secretary because of his seniority),
Expenditure Secretary Ratan Watal,
Revenue Secretary Shaktikantha Das,
Financial Services Secretary Adhia
and
Disinvestment
Secretary
Aradhana Jauhri with Chief Economic
Advisor Arvind Subramanian.

4) What was the real name of noted

actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar who
passed away on 3 November 2014?
Ganesh Kumar Narwode
Explanation: Sadashiv
Amrapurkar
was born as Ganesh Kumar Narwode
in Nasik in 1950 and later in 1974 he
adopted the name Sadashiv. He was
associated with Marathi stage before
migrating to the world of Hindi and
Marathi films. He shot into prominence
with his central negative character in
Govind Nihalanis Ardh Satya. Some
of his most popular Hindi films were
Sadak, Hukumat, Mohra, Ishq,
Aankhen and Coolie No.1. For
Mahesh Bhatts Sadak he won the
first-ever Fimfare award for Best
negative role.

5) Former Union Shipping Minister

G.K. Vasan on 3 November 2014 quit
Congress party and announced
floating a new party. What was the
name of the erstwhile political party
formed by his late father G.K.

Moopanar which is expected to be

revived by Vasan now? Tamil
Manila Congress (TMC)
Explanation: TMC was floated by
G.K. Moopanar, the father of G.K.
Vasan, in 1996 by breaking away from
the Congress, protesting the decision
of the party high command to form an
alliance with J. Jayalalithas AIADMK.
However, TMC was merged with the
Congress in 2002. Vasan quit
Congress as he felt the party was not
taking efforts necessary to fulfil the
aspirations of the people of Tamil
Nadu.

6) Who won the US Formula One

Grand Prix that was held on 2
November 2014? Lewis Hamilton of
UK
Explanation: Mercedes
Lewis
Hamilton pipped fellow teammate Nico
Rosberg (Germany) to take 24 point
lead over him with just two races left in
the season. Third spot was taken by
Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) of Red
Bull team. The two F1 GPs left this
year are Brazilian GP and Abu Dhabi
GP.

November 5, 2014

Page

10 CURRENT AFFAIRS

(WTC) fell down more than 13 years

ago, was opened in New York on 3
November 2014. This building is
constructed at a cost of $3.9 billion
and is the tallest building in the United
States. Which company became the
first to move into this building?
Conde Nast

1) One World Trade Center, the 104storey building at the same spot where
the twin towers of World Trade Centre

Explanation: One World Trade Center

is owned by the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey. The building
rose from the ashes of the 11
September 2001 terror attacks to
become a symbol of American
resilience. Publishing giant Conde
Nast, which publishes Vogue, The
New Yorker and Vanity Fair, opened
its office at One World Trade Center
by moving in 175 of its employees.

2) In an important development Indian

Navy withdrew two of its warships from
the Kolkata Port on 4 November 2014
after intelligence agencies warned of
an attack on the port and the city. This
development was a rare one and
came two days after a suicide bomber
killed 60 people on the Wagah border
in Pakistani side of the main border
with India. What are the names of the
two warships withdrawn in this move?
INS Khukri and INS Sumitra

Page

11 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Indian Naval spokesman

on 4 November shared information
pertaining to this move. INS Khukri
and INS Sumitra were ordered back
into sea for operational reasons and
an alert was sounded at Kolkata Port.
The two ships were meant to be at the
port until 7 November for public
viewing as part of ceremonies in the
run-up to Navy Day next month.

3) In a report tabled in the U.S.

Congress on 4 November 2014, U.S.
Security Department (The Pentagon)
openly criticised Pakistan for using
militant groups as proxies in a war
against Indian Army. What is the name
of this report, the conclusions of which
could
mark
growing
strategic
closeness between India and the
U.S.? Progress Towards Security
and Stability in Afghanistan
Explanation: The report stated
Afghan and India focused
militants continue to operate from
Pakistan territory to the detriment of
Afghan and regional stability. Pakistan
uses these proxy forces to hedge
against the loss of influence in
Afghanistan and to counter Indias

superior military. The report also

strongly hinted that the terrorist attack
on the Indian consulate in Herat
Province in Afghanistan in May 2014
was deliberately timed to coincide with
Narendra Modis swearing-in as Prime
Minister.

4) What is the name of the tropical

Super cyclone heading towards Japan
that is expected to be the most
powerful tropical cyclones of 2014?
Typhoon Nuri
Explanation: Typhoon Nuri attained
the Super Typhoon status on 2
November 2014 and was classified as
a Category 5 typhoon sustaining winds
of 287 km/h, with gusts up to 352
km/h, rivalling typhoon Vongfong
earlier this year. Nuri is the sixth
Pacific storm to reach super typhoon
status this season, with the average
being four. However, latest forecasts
predicted that Nuri is currently not
looking to directly impact Japan and is
expected to curl up towards the Bering
Sea.

5) The Union Cabinet on 4 November

2014 gave its approval to the proposal
for dissolution of the Delhi Assembly.
With this it became clear that
Assembly Elections in Delhi is on its
way. Delhi has been under Presidents
Rule since which date? 17 February
2014
Explanation: Presidents rule in Delhi
was imposed after the fall of the Arvind
Kejriwal government on 14 February.
The BJP was unable to form
government on its own after this

development. The proposal to dissolve

Delhi Assembly was moved by the
Union Home Ministry on the basis of
Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jungs
report which recommended dissolution

of the Assembly after his discussions

with the Aam Aadmi Party, BJP and
the Congress. All parties were
ostensibly in favour of fresh elections.

November 6, 2014

2014 MIDTERM POLLS

IN US

Page

12 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) US President Barack Obamas final

years in office looked starker as the
Republicans seized the control of the
Senate in the midterm elections held
on 4 November 2014. With this win the
Republican Party has gained a
majority in the US Senate since which
year? 2006
Explanation: The
elections
saw
sweeping gains by the Republican
Party in the Senate, House, and in
many gubernatorial elections, as well
as state and local races. The
Republicans gained control of the
Senate for the first time since 2006,
and solidified their majority in the
House. Republicans won in places
where Democrats were favored, like a
Senate race in North Carolina, pulled

out victories where the going was

tough, like a Senate battle in Kansas,
and swept a number of governors
races in states where Democrats were
favored, like Obamas home state of
Illinois. Republican Senator Mitch
McConnell of Kentucky, who won a
tough re-election battle against
Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes,
will replace Democrat Harry Reid as
Senate majority leader.

2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

during November 2014 asked banks to
put in place preventive measures in
view of the rise in the number of
cheque related fraud cases. What are
the important measures recommended
by the RBI in this issue?
- Provision of an SMS alert to
payer/drawer when cheques are
received in clearing
- Provision of alerting customers by
a phone call and get the
confirmation from the payer/drawer
in case of large value cheques
- Ensuring 100% implementation of
CTS (cheque truncation system) in
clearance

Ensuring
complete
KYCcompliance in clearance of cheques
In its notification, the RBI said that the
rise in the number of cheque related
fraud cases is a matter of serious
concern. It is evident that many of
such frauds could have been avoided
had due diligence been observed at
the time of handling and/or processing
the cheques and monitoring newly
opened accounts.

Page

13 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Which private-sector bank is the

only banking entity from entity to be
recognised by the World Economic
Forum (WEF) as a Global Growth
Company (GGC) for 2014? RBL
Bank (Formerly known as Ratnakar
Bank Limited)
Explanation: 17 companies from India
were recognised as Global Growth
Company by WEF as notified by it on
5 November 2014. RBL Bank,
headquartered
at
Kolhapur
(Maharashtra), is the only banking
entity out of these 17 companies from
India, which have been described as
regions most dynamic and highgrowth companies by the WEF.
Bandhan Financial Services, the
micro-finance entity which has won the
banking license to operate banking
services in the country, was also
among these 17 entities. Other
prominent entities in this list are Sobha
Developers, MakeMyTrip, JustDial,
Finolex,
FlipKart,
InterGlobe
Enterprises, Radikal Foods, 4G
Identity Solutions and Transasia BioMedicals.

4) The BSE Sensex crossed which

milestone mark for the first time on 5
November 2014? 28,000 points
Explanation: Both BSE Sensex and
NSEs Nifty achieved a new high on 5
November primarily on hopes of early
interest rate cuts and continued fund
flow from overseas investor. The
market also remained buoyant due to
the announcement of reform measures
such as diesel decontrol and
commencement of some energy
reforms (mainly in coal sector).
However, both Sensex and Nifty
closed lower than the record high
achieved during the day.

5) The maiden Budget of the newly

constituted Telangana state was
presented on 5 November 2014. Who
presented the first budget of the state?
Eatala Rajender, Finance Minister
of Telangana
Explanation: The first budget of
Telangana included outlay of Rs.
1,00,637 crore including Rs. 48,648
crore plan and non-plan outlay of Rs.
51,989 crore. The budget was
presented for the 10 months of the
current fiscal. States first budget
included revenue surplus of Rs. 3.02
crore. An allocation of Rs. 6,500 crore
was made for irrigation with the priority
to complete four lift irrigation projects
in Mahabubnagar district on warfooting and create irrigation potential
of 2.97 lakh acres.

6) What is the name of the

autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar

that was released on 5 November

2014? Playing It My Way
Explanation: Playing It My Way the
much-awaited autobiography of former
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was
released on 5 November in Mumbai in
presence of some of his former
teammates, celebrities and family
members. The book, the first copy of
which he gave to his mother Rajni
earlier in the day,was unveiled by
Tendulkar himself. Journalist Boria
Majumdar has assisted Tendulkar in
writing this book which has been
published by Hodder & Stoughton.

(IES) that started from 5 November

2014 at New Delhi? Redefining
Public-Private Cooperation for a
New Beginning
Explanation: IES is organised by
Geneva-based
World
Economic
Forum (WEF). The 2014 edition of IES
is organised in partnership with the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The summit concludes on 6 November
2014 and almost all important
business leaders took part in it. Union
Finance
Minister
Arun
Jaitley
addressed the inaugural session of
IES on 5 November and told that the
govt. might consider privatization of
some PSUs in coming months.

7) What is the theme of the 2014

edition of India Economic Summit

Page

14 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 7, 2014

1) Global NCAP, the worldwide safety

watchdog for passenger vehicles, on 6
November 2014 urged which car to be
withdrawn from the Indian market after
this car fared very poorly in crash tests
conducted by it recently? Datsun Go

Explanation: Datsun Go is a small

hatchback from the stable of Japanese
car maker Nissan and was launched in
India during 2013. Global NCAP
recently put the Datsun Go and the
Maruti Suzuki Swift through crash
tests in Germany. Both cars crumpled
during the test for a frontal collision,
with the Datsun Go performing far
worse. Datsun received zero of a
possible five stars in the tests for
Indian cars. The test concluded that
the body shell of the Datsun Go was
so weak that even adding airbags
would not protect passengers in case
of a major accident. The Chairman of
Global NCAP addressed his letter of

warning to Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn

to withdraw this car from the Indian
market.

2) Former Indian Prime Minister Dr.

Manmohan Singh was conferred with
the Grand Cordon of the Order of the
Paulownia Flowers Award on 5
November 2014. This award is one of
the highest civilian awards of which
country? Japan

Page

15 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The Grand Cordon of

the Order of the Paulownia Flowers is
perceived as the second highest
civilian award of Japan after Order of
the Chrysanthemum. The award was
presented to Dr. Manmohan Singh by
Japanese Emperor Akihito at the
Imperial Palace in Tokyo. He was
given this award for his significant
contribution to the enhancement of
relations and promotion of friendship
between Japan and India. He became
the first Indian to receive this
prestigious award.

3) According to the warning issued by

the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency
Response (UNMEER) on 6 November
2014, which country is seeing a surge
in number of Ebola cases while the
position has improved in other
neighbouring
countries?
Sierra
Leone
Explanation: UNMEER claimed that
the number of Ebola cases is surging
in Sierra Leone due to a lack of
treatment centres while scarcity of
food may also be forcing some people
to leave quarantined areas, risking
further spread of the virus. According

to the WHO some 4,818 people have

died of Ebola, mostly in Sierra Leone,
Liberia and neighbouring Guinea. But
while the situation is improving in
Liberia and stable in Guinea, twothirds of the new cases recorded in the
past three weeks have been in Sierra
Leone.

4) What is the name of the retired US

Navy SEAL who publicly identified
himself on 6 November 2014 as the
person who killed al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden? Robert ONeill
Explanation: In an interview given to
The Washington Post ONeill claimed
that he fired the two shots that killed
bin Laden. One current and one
former SEAL confirmed to the AP that
ONeill was long known to have fired
the shots that killed the leader of the
international terror group responsible
for the 11 September attacks. Osama
bin Laden was killed in a US Navy
Seal operation on 2 May 2011 in
Pakistans Abbottabad where he was
hiding.

5) The World Chess Championship

begins on 7 November 2014 featuring
the title clash between Chess World
Champion Magnus Carlsen and
Viswanathan Anand, the former
champion from India. The first game of
this much-anticipated rematch would
be held a day later on 8 November.
Which city is hosting this World
Championship clash? Sochi, Russia
Explanation: Viswanathan Anand lost
his World Chess Champion tag to
Norways Magnus Carlsen last year

when Carlsen almost humiliated

Anand in Chennai to win his maiden
World title. Anand is the world No. 6
and qualified for the title clash by
winning the Candidates Tournament in
March 2014. He has been a
grandmaster since 1988 two years
before Carlsen was born. But Carlsen,
a former child chess prodigy, has
since achieved the games highest
rating ever. His official FIDE Elo rating
eclipsed Anands for the first time in
2008, when Carlsen was just 17.

6) Lionel Messi scored his 71st UEFA

Championship League goal on 5

November 2014 to overtake former

Brazilian star Ronaldo and come on
par for scoring highest number of
goals. Whose record he equalled?
Raul Gonzalez
Explanation: Spains Raul Gonzalez
had the record of scoring highest
number
of
goals
in
UEFA
Championship League with 71 goals in
his name. Argentinas star striker
Lionel Messi, who plays for Barcelona
FC scored both the goals in his teams
2-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam on 5
November to equal Gonzalezs record.
However, Gonzalez took 142 matches
to score his 71 goals while Messi took
only 90 matches to reach this tally.

Page

16 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 8, 2014

1) Which lake on 7 November 2014

got the recognition of Indias first
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)certified fishery for sustainable clam
fishing? Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala
Explanation: Clam is an edible
marine product that is found in lakes

and freshwaters in form of two

calcareous shells or valves. The
fisherfolk of Ashtamudi Lake decided
to go in for sustainable activities after
they extracted over 10,000 tonne
clams from the lake, reducing its
capacity over the years. The certificate
for sustainable clam fishing was
provided to the Clam Governing
Council of Ashtamudi Lake. With this
certificate the lake would showcase to
the world that development and
environment protection go hand in
hand and participatory approach at the
local level in managing biodiversity is
an important aspect of it. This
achievement also opens up the scope
for other fisheries in India to work
towards MSC certification, which
would enhance conservation and

sustainability
of
the
resource.
Ashtamudi Lake, a Ramsar wetland of
international importance, is the second
largest estuarine system in Kerala and
the clam fishery began in 1981. It
supports the livelihoods of around
3000 fisherfolk involved in collection,
cleaning processing and trading
clams.

Page

17 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) What is the name of Indias first

automatic freight train especially
designed for transportation of finished
cars that was flagged-off on 7
November 2014? AutoLinxSM
Explanation: AutoLinxSM
was
flagged-off by Union Rail Minister D.V.
Sadanada Gowda at Melpakkam near
Chennai. This train carried around 280
finished cars and left for Delhi where it
would reach in a weeks time. It will
arrive at the multi-modal logistics park
of Container Corporation of India (CCI)
at Khatuwas near Delhi. The trial runs
for AutoLinxSM were completed in
October 2014 and four automotive
(original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs)- Ford, Honda, Hyundai, and
Renault-Nissan collaborated in it. This
train is developed by Delhi-based APL
Logistics Vascor Automotive, a joint
venture between APL Logistics and
Vascor. APL Logistics Vascor is the
first third-party logistics provider to
offer rail-based services under the
Automobile Freight Train Operator
license
administered
by
Indian
Railways.

3) Which village near Varanasi was

adopted by Prime Minister Narendra

Modi on 7 November 2014 under the

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (MP
Model Village Plan)? Jayapur
Explanation: Modi chose Jayapur
village in Varanasi district under the
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
Under SAGY, each Member of
Parliament (MP) needs to choose one
village each from the constituency that
they represent, fix parameters and
make it a model village by 2016. It was
launched on 11 October 2014 on the
birth anniversary of Jayaprakash
Narayan, the legendary socialist
leader. Modi announced adopting
Jayapur during his 2-day visit to
Varanasi, which he represents in the
Lok Sabha.

4) Regional approval for restarting

which nuclear power plant of Japan
was won on 7 November 2014, a
move which could make this plant the
first in Japan to be restarted under a
new and independent nuclear power
regulator? Sendai
Explanation: Sendai nuclear power
plant has 2 reactors to produce
nuclear electricity and is located some
1,000 km southwest of Tokyo in
Kagoshima prefecture. 38 of the 47
members of Kagoshimas Prefectural
Assembly backed the restart which is
an important endorsement to restart
the plant. This could pave the way for
a revival of the stalled industry more
than three years after the Fukushima
disaster of 2011, which set off closure
of numerous nuclear power plants
after a massive earthquake and
tsunami. Japan has been forced to
import expensive fossil fuels to replace

atomic power, which supplied around

30% of the countrys electricity before
the 2011 disaster.

5) The Indian Army on 7 November

2014 admitted its mistake over the
firing incident in Budgam district of
Kashmir which left two youths dead.
This firing incident took place at which
village of Budgam (near capital
Srinagar) on 3 November 2014?
Chattergam
Explanation: The soldiers of Indian
Army opened fire on a few Kashmiri
youths who were moving in a car at

Chattergam village of Budgam district.

Two were killed in the incident while
two were hospitalised for serious
injuries. This incident provoked local
populace who protested against it
vehemently. On 7 November the
Indian Army claimed responsibility for
the
incident
and
announced
compensation of Rs. 10 lakh each for
the next of kin of the two deceased
along with Rs. 5 lakh each for the
injured boys. It also offered quality
medical care at the 92 Base Hospital
for the injured youths.

November 9-10, 2014

Page

18 CURRENT AFFAIRS

strength of the Union Council of

Ministers reached 66. How many new
Cabinet ministers were inducted?
Four

1) 21 ministers were inducted into the

Narendra Modi Cabinet on 9
November 2014 with which the total

Explanation: The
four
cabinet
ministers inducted included include
former Goa Chief Minister Manohar
Parrikar, former Union Minister Suresh
Prabhu, Haryana leader Birendra
Singh and BJP General Secretary J.P.
Nadda. Three ministers of state
(independent charge) and 14 ministers
of state (MoS) were also inducted. The
three ministers of state (independent
charge) included Bandaru Dattatreya,
Dr. Mahesh Sharma and Rajiv Pratap
Rudy. 14 ministers of state included
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rajyavardhan
Rathore, Ramshankar Katheria, Vijay

Sampla, Babul Supriyo, Ram Kripal

Yadav, Sanwar Lal Jat, Giriraj Singh,
Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya,
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Jayant Sinha,
Y.S. Chowdary, Hansraj Gangaram
Ahir
and
Haribhai
Parthibhai
Chaudhary.
Following are the portfolios of 4
new Cabinet Ministers
Manohar Parrikar Defence Minister
(Arun Jaitley relieved of his Defence
Ministry portfolio)
Suresh Prabhu Rail Minister
(DV Sadananda Gowda shifted to the
Law and Justice Ministry , relieving
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad from this additional charge.)
J P Nadda Health and Family
Welfare Minister
(Harsh Vardhan has been shifted to
the Science and Technology and Earth
Sciences Ministry)
Birender Singh Panchayati Raj and
Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister

Page

19 CURRENT AFFAIRS

(This charge was held by Transport

Minister Nitin Gadkari till now after the
demise of Gopinath Munde)

2) Who became the new Chief Minister

of Goa on 8 November 2014?
Laxmikant Parsekar
Explanation: Laxmikant Parsekar was
elected the leader of the Goa BJP
Legislative Party on 8 November and
was administered the oath of office on
the same day. He replaced Manohar
Parrikar, who took oath as Union
Cabinet Minister on 9 November.

Three-time
legislator
Laxmikant
Parsekar was Health Minister till now
and became the 11th Chief Minister of
the state. Francisco DSouza, who had
earlier voiced discontent for choosing
Parsekar as the new chief minister,
was inducted into Cabinet along-with
Dayanand
Mandrekar,
Ramesh
Tawadkar, Mahadev Naik, Dilip
Parulekar, Milind Naik, Alina Saldanha
(all BJP), Ramkrishna Dhavlikar and
Deepak Dhavlikar (both MGP).

3) Which Shiv Sena leader came to

highlight for formally joining the BJP
before being sworn in as Cabinet
Minister in the first expansion of the
Narendra Modi government on 9
November 2014? Suresh Prabhu
Explanation: Prabhu was a cabinet
minister in the erstwhile Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Govt. of 1999-2004. He
received
the
partys
primary
membership on 9 November and was
welcomed by senior party leaders. He
is expected to assist Prime Minister
Narendra Modi at the upcoming G20
Summit in Brisbane. However, Suresh
Prabhus walkover to the BJP was
ridiculed by the Shiv Sena for being
opportunist.

4) Which anniversary of the fall of the

Berlin Wall was observed on 9
November 2014? 25th
Explanation: The infamous Berlin
Wall, that was used to separate West
Berlin from the portion of Berlin under
the possession of the erstwhile East
Germany, was erected in 1961 by East
Germany to protect the population of

East Germany from fleeing to the

affluent West Germany. It was often
called the Wall of Shame or the Iron
Curtain which restricted the freedom
of movement. On 9 November 1989
the
East
German
government
announced that all East German
citizens could visit West Germany and
West Berlin. This not just led to the
dismantling of this wall but also to
unification of Germany in 1990.

Page

20 CURRENT AFFAIRS

5) In a major breakthrough The West

Bengal Police arrested Sajid, the
mastermind of the Burdwan blast
case, on 8 November 2014. He is said
to
be
associated
with
which
Bangladesh-based terror group which
was allegedly planning to assassinate
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina?
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen
Bangladesh (JMB)
Explanation: Sajid
alias
Sheikh
Rahmatullah, is a member of JMB and
is also a member of Majlis-e-Sura
which is the central committee of JMB.
He was the chief of the Burdwan
module of JMB. This case is
associated with the blasts took place
on 2 October 2014 in a house in the
Khagragarh locality of Burdwan. Later
during investigations over 50 explosive
devices were recovered from the
house. The case was handed over to
the National Investigation Agency
(NIA) which unearthed the various
complexities of the case and
associated it with suspected plots to
assassinate Sheikh Hasina and
opposition leader Khaleda Zia.

6) Who was named as the mostpowerful woman in business in India

by Fortune Magazine in a list released
on 8 November 2014? Arundhati
Bhattacharya, Chairperson of SBI
Explanation: Arundhati Bhattacharya
is heading Indias largest banking
group the State Bank of India (SBI).
Bhattacharya made to number one
spot due to her relentless fight against
bad loans. Since she took over a year
or so ago, she has improved assets
quality, cut costs and recapitalised
SBI. ICICI Banks Chanda Kochhar
and Shikha Sharma of Axis Bank
follow Bhattacharya at the second and
the third place respectively. The other
women who figure in the top 10 are
Zia Mody Co-founder AZB Partners;
Mallika Srinivasan CEO of TAFE and
Aruna Jayanthi CEO of Capgemini
India; Preetha Reddy, MD, Apollo
Hospital Enterprise; Kiran Mazumdar
Shaw chairperson and MD at Biocon
and Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson,
HT Media.

7) The Bangladesh High Court on 9

November 2014 questioned the
legality of the 16th amendment of the
countrys Constitution. The notice
came on a writ petition filed by nine
Supreme Court lawyers seeking to
overturn the amendment two months
after the parliament amended the
Constitution. This amendment is
associated with which issue?
Empowering Parliament to impeach
Supreme
Court
judges
for
incapacity or misconduct
Explanation: The parliament, led by
ruling Awami League, had passed the

amendment bill on 17 September 2014

17 restoring an old provision allowing it
to impeach Supreme Court judges for
misconduct and incapacity. Following
the amendment, a Supreme Court
judge could be removed by adopting a
resolution with a two-third majority in
parliament on the basis of a
government probe. The judiciary of the
country fears that the amendment
might have been done with a mala fide
intention and that the judges might feel
at risk to pass an order against a
lawmaker.

8) What is the name of the

Badmintons top-ranked male player

who was temporarily suspended on 8

November 2014 after he failed a
doping test? Lee Chong Wei
Explanation: Lee Chong Wei is a
Malaysian player of Chinese origin and
is presently ranked No.1 in mens
badminton. A badminton official of
Malaysia confirmed that it was the
sample of Lee Chong Wei which had
failed during this years World
Championships. This sample test was
carried out on 5 November at Oslo
(Norway) and concluded that the
banned steroid dexamethasone was
taken. However, Chong Wei denied
cheating or relying on banned
substances despite this result.

Page

21 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 11, 2014

1) The Union Govt. on 10 November

2014 unveiled the draft Civil Aviation
Policy. Which two PSU stakeholders in
aviation sector are proposed to be
corporatised and listed on stock
exchanges as listed in this draft?
Airports Authority of India (AAI) and
Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited
(PHHL)
Explanation: The draft Civil Aviation
Policy was unveiled by Union Civil

Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi

Raju. The draft would now be open for
wider
consultation
with
all
stakeholders and is expected to be
implemented by January 2015. It
proposes to corporatise AAI and PHHL
so as to improve transparency and
efficiency of these two PSU entities.
An in-house expert committee for
suggesting road map of Air Indias
revival has also been proposed. The
draft also proposes to enhance
regional air connectivity, develop six
major metro airports as international
hubs, create more airports through
PPP mode, rationalise jet fuel cost,
promote air cargo, MRO and
helicopter operations and improve
passenger facilitation.

2) Which state became the first in

India to make voting compulsory in
local bodies after the Governor of the
state sanctioned the bill associated
with the issue? Gujarat
Explanation: Gujarat Governor O.P.
Kohli recently gave his sanction by
signing the controversial Gujarat Local
Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill,
2009. This bill empowers an official
chosen by the State Election
Commission to declare an absent
voter a defaulter except in case of
illness or being out of station. The
defaulter is liable for punishment but
the nature of penalty is not specified.
The Bill also makes a provision for
50% reservation for women in local
bodies, raising the quota from 33%.
This bill was opposed by the Congress
party. Legal experts also advocated
that
forcing
voters
could
be
unconstitutional and unworkable.

Page

22 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) An
aerial
defence
system
developed jointly by Israel and India
passed its first trial simulating combat
conditions in Israel on 10 November
2014. What is the name of this missile
system that is designed to shoot down
incoming aircraft or missiles from land
or sea platforms? Barak 8
Explanation: Israels
state-owned
company Israel Aerospace Industries
(IAI) and Indias Defence Research
and
Development
Organisation
(DRDO) are jointly developing this
Long Range Surface to Air Missile
(LRSAM) system. The Israeli and
Indian militaries both plan to use Barak
8 once it becomes operational within
months. The total cost of this project is

$1.4 billion and highlights burgeoning

Israeli-Indian defence ties.

4) What is the name of the prize given

on 9 November 2014 to 12 winners
from fields of Science and Math with
each prize worth $3 million, almost
three times the cash a Nobel Prize
winner receives? Breakthrough
Prize
Explanation: The Breakthrough Prize
was instituted in 2012 by Russian
billionaire venture capitalist Yuri
Milner. Later Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg,
Google
co-founder
Sergey Brin, and other tech industry
luminaries became associates in it and
now jointly award it. The first edition of
the prize was given in 2013 to 11
personalities from the field of Life
Sciences. This year the prize was
given to 6 personalities from the field
of Life Sciences and 6 from the field of
Mathematics. This prize is presently
the most rewarding one as far the
prize money is concerned.
5) Mercedes Nico Rosberg (Germany)
won the Brazilian F1 Grand Prix, the
penultimate GP race of the year, on 9
November 2014. With this it became
clear that the F1 World Champion for
2014 would be selected in the last GP
of the year. Which is the last Grand
Prix event of the 2014 season? Abu
Dhabi GP
Explanation: Rosbergs
win
at
Brazilian GP was his fifth of the year
and now he trails by only 17 points to
his teammate Lewis Hamilton who is
leader. This means that even with an

unprecedented double points on offer

at Abu Dhabis Yas Marina circuit,
Rosberg can only become champion if
Hamilton finishes out of the top two.

Hamilton finished second in Brazilian

GP while Brazilian Felipe Massa
finished third for Mercedes-powered
Williams in his home race.

November 12, 2014

banks, or non-banking financial
companies (NBFCs), have in recent
years played a bigger role in financing
small businesses and individuals in
India, taking over from the banks that
reined in credit as economic growth
slowed. These companies were now
so entrenched in the financial system
that they needed better regulation.

Page

23 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on

11 November 2014 raised the
minimum capital requirement for socalled shadow banks to Rs. 1 crore by
March 2016 and Rs. 2 crore by end of
March 2017. This was done to avoid
any potential risk to the economy from
these rapidly growing finance firms by
regulating them like traditional banks.
What was the minimum capital
requirement for these entities till now?
Rs. 25 lakh
Explanation: The
RBI
also
announced that certain investmentgrade non-banking firms would be
allowed to take deposits and the
companies will have until March 2016
to acquire a credit rating. It also
capped deposit-taking at 1.5 times the
size of a firms minimum capital, down
from four times previously. Shadow

2) What important decision regarding

subsidy for cooking gas (domestic
LPG) was taken by the Union Govt.
recently? It has capped or frozen
the budget subsidy for cooking gas
at Rs. 20 a kg
Explanation: The
Union
Govt.
decided to shift to a fixed budget
subsidy for cooking gas and has
hence frozen this subsidy at Rs. 20
per kg. This will not mean any
increase in price for the consumer
right away. However, if international
prices were to rise, as they normally
do in winter, then the government will
be faced with the choice of either
passing on the increase to consumers
(i.e., increasing prices of domestic
LPG) or asking the oil companies to
bear the burden. The decision to shift

to a per-kg subsidy norm has the

added advantage of introducing
transparency and predictability to the
calculation of the fuel subsidy element
of the fiscal deficit. Against the market
price in Delhi for a 14.2-kg cylinder of
Rs. 810, the subsidised price is Rs.
417. At Rs. 20 per kg, the budget
subsidy works out to Rs. 284 while the
under-recovery for the oil companies
will be Rs. 109.

3) The Summit of 21-nation AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

was held during November 2014 at
Beijing, China

Page

24 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The Summit meet of

APEC (called APEC CEO Summit
2014) was held from 8 November to
10 November 2014 at Beijing. APEC is
a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member
countries that seeks to promote free
trade and economic cooperation
throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It
was established in 1989 in response to
the growing interdependence of AsiaPacific economies and the advent of
regional trade blocs in other parts of
the world and to fears that Japan (a
member of G8) would come to
dominate economic activity in the
Asia-Pacific region.
4) 49th Jnanpith Award, the countrys
highest literary award, was conferred
on which literary personality by
President Pranab Mukherjee on 10
November 2014? Kedarnath Singh,
Hindi poet
Explanation: Kedarnath Singh is one
of the most prominent Hindi writers of

modern era. Some of his prominent

works are Akaal Mein Saras, Abhi
Bilkul Abhi, Zameen pak Rahi Hai,
Yahan se Dekho and Tolstoy aur
Cycle. The Jnanpith Award conferred
on him was for year 2013. He became
the 10th Jnanpith award winner of Hindi
language after Sumitranandan Pant
(1968), Ramdhari Singh Dinkar (1972),
Sachchidananda Vatsyayan (1978),
Mahadevi Varma (1982), Naresh
Mehta (1992), Nirmal Verma (1999),
Kunwar Narayan (2005), Amar Kant
and Shrilal Shukla (both 2009).

5) 11 women died and over fifty others

were hospitalised due to botched
surgeries at a government-organised
sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarhs
Bilaspur district. This incident shocked
the whole nation and protests against
the Chhattisgarh Govt. were held. This
sterilisation camp was set up in which
village of Chhattisgarh? Pendari
Explanation: A sterilisation surgeries
(laparoscopic tubectomy) were carried
out at the camp held at a private
hospital (Nemichand Jain Cancer and
Research Centre) in Pendari village on
outskirts of Bilaspur town on 8
November 2014. About 83 women had
undergone surgeries at this camp.
Over 60 women were admitted to
different
hospitals
after
they
complained of complications following
sterilization and were admitted to
Bilaspur district hospital. Four health
officials including Chief Medical Health
Officer of Bilaspur were suspended
following the incident.

6) Which Lumia smartphone will

become the first such device without
the iconic Nokia brand name and
would only have Microsoft name on it,
as announced by the company on 11
November 2014? Lumia 535
Explanation: Microsoft Corporation on
11 November 2014 unveiled the Lumia
535. This 5-inch Windows 8.1 phone
would be launched later this month in
some key markets. This would be first
Lumia range of mobile phone without
Nokia name on it. The Nokia name
has been dropped just months after

Microsoft fully acquired the Finnish

companys
handset
business.
Microsoft completed its $7.2 billion
deal to buy Nokias handset business
in April 2014. Nokia continues as a
networks, mapping and technology
licensing company. It owns and
manages the Nokia brand and only
licenses it to Microsoft. It is worth
mentioning that Nokia had partnered
with Microsoft in 2011 to launch its
Lumia range of smartphones based on
latters Windows Phone operating
system.

November 13, 2014

Page

25 CURRENT AFFAIRS

12th edition of ASEAN-India Summit

was
also
held
simultaneously.
The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a
forum held annually by leaders of 18
countries Australia, Brunei, Burma
(Myanmar), Cambodia, China, India,
Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia,
New Zealand, Philippines, Russia,
Singapore, South Korea, Thailand,
The United States and Vietnam.
1) The 2-day 9th East Asia Summit
started on 12 November 2014 with
heads of 18 countries participating in
it. This summit is being held in which
city? Nay Pyi Taw (capital of
Myanmar)
Explanation: Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi addressed 9th East
Asia Summits inaugural session on 12
November. He gave the call for Act
Asia Policy by amending the
traditional Look East Policy. The

2) The United States and China on 12

November 2014 unveiled ambitious
targets to reduce greenhouse gases.
What is this new target for United
States, which is a move to cut pollution
levels at a much fast rate?
Reduction
in
emission
of
greenhouse gases by 26% to 28%
by year 2025 as compared with 2005
levels

Explanation: Both countries agreed to

reduce emissions on the occasion of
bilateral talks held on the sidelines of
the 9th East Asia Summit held at
Myanmar. US President Barack
Obama announced that his country
would move much faster in cutting
pollution, with a goal to reduce by 26%
to 28% by 2025, compared with 2005
levels. Earlier in his presidency, he
had set a goal to cut emissions by
17% by 2020. China on the other hand
didnt commit to cut emissions by a
specific amount. Instead, it set a target
for countrys emission to peak by
2030, or earlier if possible. United
States and China are two of the
largest polluters in the world and the
breakthrough achieved by them
displays their desire to display a united
front on climate change.

Page

26 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Indian Railways had identified how

many areas in its operations to allow
100% foreign/private investment as
stated in the new guidelines under the
Railway FDI policy that was approved
by the Union Govt.? 17 sectors
Explanation: Broadly, the Railway
Ministry is putting up for private
participation projects that are expected
to be financially remunerative and on
which construction work has not
started. The Railways has sanctioned
projects running into lakhs of crores on
which work has not started because of
dearth of funds.

4) What was the consumer inflation for

October 2014, which is the slowest
pace of price rise since retail inflation

numbers were first published

January 2012? 5.52%

in

Explanation: Consumer inflation for

September 2014 stood at 6.46%.
Sharp drops in food and oil prices
were the major reasons for significant
drop in inflation. On the other hand
food price inflation, under a new series
published by the government, eased to
5.59% in October from 7.67% in
September. With consumer inflation
coming below the Reserve Bank of
Indias target level of 6%, and global
oil prices hovering near 4-year lows,
expectations are high that the central
bank could cut rates.

5) The Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP

govt. in Maharashtra won the muchawaited trust vote in Assembly on 12
November 2014 with the motion being
carried by a voice vote on the floor of
the Maharashtra Assembly. Who was
unanimously elected Maharashtra
Assembly Speaker on the same day?
BJPs Haribhau Bagde
Explanation: The
exercise
of
choosing Assembly Speaker became
a mere formality after the Sena and
Congress withdrew their nominee for
the post of Speaker paving way for
unanimous election of the BJPs
candidate as the new Speaker. This
controversial trust vote was won as the
Shiv Sena and the Congress, which
had said that they would vote against
the motion, chose not to exercise the
option. Sharad Pawars NCP also did
not participate in the voting. Later
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was
Maharashtras new Opposition leader.

November 14, 2014

Discovery of India, Glimpses of
World History and Toward Freedom.

2) In a major development India and

the US reached an agreement on
public stockpiling of food and thus
paving the way for the implementation
of WTOs global trade facilitation deal
that has been stalled for months. India
had called for a permanent peace
clause to protect its food stockpiling
scheme until a permanent solution on
the issue was found at the WTO. This
peace clause would have expired after
how many years as agreed to at WTO
talks held at Bali (Indonesia) during
2013? 4 years

Page

27 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) 125th birth anniversary of Pandit

Jawaharlal Nehru is being celebrated
on 14 November 2014. As first Prime
Minister of India, Nehru is considered
to be the architect of modern India and
the father figure of Indian politics of the
20th century. He was born on 14
November 1889 at which place?
Allahabad
Explanation: Born to Motilal Nehru,
the leading barrister of his time, Nehru
served twice as the President of the
Indian National Congress. He steered
free India to become a modern country
while being the Prime Minister of the
country from 15 August 1947 till his
death on 27 May 1964. He was a
prolific writer and gave the world some
of the iconic books on history such as

Explanation: Under the pact with

Washington, India will lift a veto on a
global agreement on streamlining
customs rules pertaining to food-grain.
The pact is likely to add $1 trillion to
the world economy as well as 21
million jobs, 18 million of them in
developing countries. India has
wanted to keep a peace clause that
protects its huge state food purchases
until the WTO can strike a definitive
deal on stockpiling. As originally
envisaged in Bali, the clause would
expire in four years. A peace clause is
an undertaking that action wont be
taken against India for breaching food
procurement subsidy levels (fixed at
10% of agricultural production) till the
formula for calculating trade distorting
subsidies is satisfactorily changed.

3) Scientists of the European Space

Agency (ESA) made space history on
12 November 2014 by placing a small
spacecraft on the surface of a
speeding comet. What was the name
of this mission under which the probe
named Philae was placed on a
comet? Rosetta Mission

Page

28 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The Rosetta Mission

was launched more than 10 years ago
on 2 March 2004 through Ariane 5G
rocket. Missions probe Philae was
placed successfully on the surface of
the comet named 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko. However, the reports
after this landing also suggested that
the probe bounced twice on comets
surface before attaining stability. With
this achievement, a comet no longer
remains a mysterious and sometimes
frightening spray of light across the
night sky, but another member of the
solar system to be explored, like the
moon and Mars. For scientists, one of
the key mysteries that Rosetta mission
will explore is whether Earths oceans
are filled with melted comets. Comet
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a
2.5-mile-wide ball of rock, ice and dust
moving faster than 40,000 mph.

4) The Indian Army convicted seven

soldiers, including two officers, in the
in-famous Machil fake encounter case
and
sentenced
them
to
life
imprisonment on 13 November 2014.
This incident involving staged killing of
three Kashmiri civilians took place on
which date? 30 April 2010

Explanation: On 30 April 2010, three

civilians were lured to work as porters
for the Army in Kupwara district.
Instead, the Army killed them in a fake
encounter, applied black paint on the
clean-shaven faces of the slain, placed
weapons on them and said they had
killed foreign militants. It was later
found that they three were the three
civilians missing from Rafiabad. The
staged killings known as the Machil
fake encounter case became one of
the important reasons for the 2010
mass protests in Kashmir in which the
police and CRPF killed more than 120
young unarmed protestors.

5) According to the data released by

the World Gold Council (WGC) on 13
November 2014, India once again
emerged as worlds biggest gold
consumer after it imported largest
amount of gold during the third quarter
of 2014. India overtook which country
to take number position once again?
China
Explanation: India once again took
over as the worlds biggest gold
consumer, buying 225.1 tonnes of gold
jewellery, coins and bars during third
quarter of 2014 quarter, compared to
182.7 tonnes in China. India, which
lost its crown as the leading gold buyer
to China in 2011, saw a 60% surge in
jewellery demand in the third quarter.
Last years number one consumer
China saw a 39% drop in jewellery
consumption as well as a 30% fall in
bar and coin investment. According to
WGCs data total gold demand fell 2%
to 929 tonnes in the third quarter.

6) Indian batsman Rohit Sharma

created ODI world record by scoring
264 runs against Sri Lanka at
Kolkatas Eden Garden on 13
November 2014. He also became the
first-ever batsman to score two double
centuries in ODI. Whose record he
broke to become highest individual
scorer in ODIs? Virendra Sehwag
Explanation: Rohit
Sharma
surpassed Virendra Sehwags 219
runs to become highest individual
scorer in ODIs. He achieved this feat
against Sri Lanka in the 4thODI of the
series at Eden Gardens (Kolkata).
Powered by Sharmas record breaking
innings India batting first, finished at
mammoth 404 for 5 wickets and easily
defeated Sri Lanka in the match.

7) V R Krishna Iyer, who turned 100

on 13 November 2014 and whose
100thbirthday was celebrated with joy
all across Kerala, was a leading
luminary of which field? Judiciary
Explanation: V R Krishna Iyer (also
known as Justice V R Krishna Iyer) is
a former Judge of the Supreme Court
of India. He is the last Supreme Court
judge to have previously served as a
politician as he had also served as a
minister in the first Communist
government in Kerala till 1959. In the
field of judiciary he is known as a
champion
for
civil rights and
democracy. Iyer is also an author of
over a 100 books on plethora of
subjects from law and judiciary to
travel and philosophy.

Page

29 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 15-16, 2014

1) The G-20 Summit 2014 started on

15 November 2014 in Brisbane, the
capital of Queensland (Australia). This
summit is which edition of the meeting
of the G-20 heads of state? Ninth
Explanation: G-20 (also known as
Group of 20) is a global forum of the

20 biggest economies of the world. It

includes
the
largest
developed
countries of the world as well as the
largest developing countries. The
group comprises of 19 countries
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa,
South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom
and United States. The 20th member is
the European Union (EU). The
European Commission (EC) and the
European Commission (EC) represent
EU in G-20. Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi represented India in
the summit. 6 countries Mauritania,

Myanmar, New Zealand, Senegal,

Singapore, and Spain have been
invited as guest countries to the
summit.

Page

30 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) According to an announcement
made by the Union Finance Ministry
on 14 November 2014, which two
States and three Union Territories
have achieved 100% banking inclusion
under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana (PMJDY) as on 5 November
2014? Goa and Kerala (states) and
Chandigarh,
Puducherry
and
Lakshadweep (Union Territories)
Explanation: 100% banking inclusion
means having at least one bank
account
for
every
household.
According to official data available till 5
November 2014, 11.26 lakh bank
accounts were opened in Kerala,
followed by 77,485 accounts in Goa,
1.36 lakh accounts in Chandigarh,
69,819 accounts in Puducherry and
3,588 accounts in Lakshadweep under
the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana
(PMJDY). States of Kerala and Goa,
union territories of Chandigarh,
Puducherry and Lakshadweep and
three districts of Gujarat Porbandar,
Mehasana, Gandhinagar have been
declared as 100% saturated in terms
of coverage of all households with at
least one bank account.

3) The Union Govt. launched a

modified Direct Benefit Transfer of
LPG (DBTL) scheme in how many
districts on 15 November 2014? 54
Explanation: Under this modified
DBTL scheme, LPG consumers who

have not yet availed the benefit will be

able to get cash subsidy amount
transferred into their accounts to buy
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)
cylinders at market price. Every time a
domestic LPG consumer books a
cylinder the government will transfer
Rs. 568 to the customers bank
account so that the money would be
there in the account before gas
reaches their homes. Each household
is entitled to get 12 subsidized
cylinders a year. So those who have
already exhausted the quota will not
get any subsidy this year. This scheme
will be implemented in the rest of India
on
1
January
2015.
Post
implementation of this scheme Indias
LPG subsidy burden of Rs 48,000
crore is expected to come down by
15%. The Aadhaar linked DBTL
scheme was launched on 1 June 2013
and finally covered 291 districts. The
government has comprehensively
reviewed the scheme and after
examining the difficulties faced by the
consumer substantively modified the
scheme prior to the launch.

4) The Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircrafts

of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were
allowed to fly again from 15 November
2014 after being grounded since 22
October 2014. These aircrafts were
grounded after a Sukhoi fighter
crashed on 14 October. This crash
took place near which place? Pune
Explanation: An IAF Sukhoi 30 MKI
fighter had crashed on 14 October
2014 in a village near Pune when it
was returning after a regular exercise.
After this the IAF had ordered an

inquiry into the snag that led to this

crash and announced grounding all of
the around 200 fighters of this make till
completion of this probe. A team of the
IAF, HAL personnel and Russian
technicians are examining the reasons
for crash but grounding of the aircraft
was withdrawn from 15 November.

5) The
Assembly
of
which
Northeastern state of India on 14
November 2014 adopted a motion
against attacks on people from
Northeast? Mizoram
Explanation: The Mizoram Assembly
unanimously adopted a resolution
condemning racial attacks on people
from the Northeast and expressed
hope that such incidents do not take
place again. The resolution was
moved in the Assembly by Mizo
National Front (MNF) MLA Lalruatkima
who said that even 67 years after
independence, people from the

Northeast have been discriminated

against because of the colour of skin,
the built of body and even due to slant
eyes.

6) The Islamic State (IS) group on 14

November 2014 ordered that the
organisation start minting gold, silver
and copper coins for its own currency.
What is the name given to this
currency? Islamic Dinar
Explanation: The plan to create its
own currency is part of IS grandiose
plan to restore the caliphate era that
dominated the Middle East more than
1,300 years ago. It has already
prepared its own flag, formed courts
and ministries, issued passports and
even license plates. IS is the violent
Sunni jihadist group that has seized
parts of Syria and Iraq and plans to
take more areas in the Arabic region
under its fold.

Page

31 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 17, 2014

1) Which Indian male badminton
player created history by defeating
two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of
China to win the China Open Super
Series tournament on 16 November
2014 Kidambi Srikanth
Explanation: Kidambi
Srikanth
shocked five time world champion and
two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of
China, who was also the home
favourite, by 21-19, 21-17 to win the

title. Lin Dan is considered the

greatest badminton player of all time
and deemed invincible by all
contemporaries. This was the first time
that any Indian male shuttler had won
a Super Series Premier event ever
since the Super Series and Premier
tournaments were introduced. Srikanth
belongs to Guntur (Andhra Pradesh).

2) The 2014 summit of G-20 nations

concluded at Brisbane (Australia) on
16 November 2014. Which city would
host the 2015 Summit of G-20 next
year? Antalya (Turkey)
Explanation: The
G-20
Summit
concluded with worlds most powerful
industrial economies pledging to grow
their combined economic output by an
extra 2.1%, i.e., around $2 trillion
over the next five years. The Brisbane
Action Plan was formulated to
achieve this goal through domestic
policy reforms.

Page

32 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Saina Nehwals title win at the

China Open Super Series tournament
on 16 November 2014 completed a
rare doubles in singles for India.
Nehwal defeated which player in the
final to give Indian this rare double title
win? Japans Akane Yamaguchi
Explanation: Saina Nehwal defeated
Akane Yamaguchi by 21-12, 22-20 in
the finals. This was Sainas third title of
the year as she had won the
Australian Super Series in June,
besides clinching the Syed Modi
International Grand Prix Gold early in
the year.

4) Andhra
Pradeshs Puttamaraju
Kandriga village came to news
recently due to which reason?
Sachin Tendulkar adopted this
village under the Sansad Adarsh
Gram Yojna (SAGY)
Explanation: Sachin Tendulkar visited
this village on 16 November 2014 for
the first time after his announcement
to adopt it during October 2014. This
village is in Nellore district of Andhra
Pradesh and with a population of
around 400, depends primarily on
farming as a source of livelihood.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his
Independence Day speech had urged
all MPs to adopt a village each by
2016, and another two by 2019,
focusing on providing modern and
better services and infrastructure.

5) During November 2014 Microsoft

issued an emergency patch for a
dangerous bug that had existed in the
Windows
operating
system
undiscovered for 19 years. The bug,
which is present in every version of
Microsoft Windows from Windows 95
onward, allows an attacker to remotely
take over and control a computer. This
bug was discovered by cybersecurity
research team of which company?
IBM Corp.
Explanation: The bug was discovered
by IBMs cybersecurity research team
in May 2014. It was revealed that a
hacker could take control of computers
after luring Internet Explorer browser
users to bobby-trapped Internet pages.
However, it was also revealed that

there was no evidence that hackers

had managed to pull-off any such
move.

6) India whitewashed Sri Lanka by 5-0

in the ODI series by winning the final
ODI held at Ranchi on 16 November
2014. When was the last time when
India had whitewashed Sri Lanka in an
ODI series? 1982
Explanation: This series win is Indias
second ODI series whitewash over Sri
Lanka at home the first since 1982,
when India had whitewashed it 3-0 in

the ODI series under the captaincy of

Kapil Dev. India won the final ODI at
Ranchi by 3 wickets under pressure
and were guided by a magnificent 139
not out by skipper Virat Kohli. Set to
chase a convincing target of 287 India
achieved the target with 8 balls to
spare. Virat Kohli was adjudged the
Man of the Series. Earlier Sri Lankan
skipper Angelo Mathews hit a brilliant
139 not out, the maiden century of his
career to steer his team to a
respectable score of 286.

November 18, 2014

Page

33 CURRENT AFFAIRS

and give a new feel to audience. What

was the slogan adopted for the
channel in this relaunch? Desh ka
Apna Channel

1) Doordarshan
National
(DD
National), the national channel of
government-run Doordarshan, was relaunched on 17 November 2014 with a
slew of new programming. This was
done in a bid to attract more viewers

Explanation: Doordarshan
beamed
completely fresh content from 17
November to its viewers across the
country. It came out not just with new
programmes but also repackaged itself
in new theme colours purple and
pink. Doordarshan had earlier put in
place new guidelines to acquire best
quality content to keep up with the
expectations of the audience. DD
National (also called DD1) is the
flagship TV channel of government-run
Doordarshan and has the widest reach
across the country.

Page

34 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) The report of Justice Mukul Mudgal

panel on match fixing in IPL was made
public on 17 November 2014. The
report gave a major relief to the
stepped down BCCI president N.
Srinivasan observing that it could not
be proved that he was involved with
betting activities. The report however
gave harsh comments on Raj Kundra,
co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, stating
that he was in touch with bookies who
indulged in betting. The report would
now be considered by the bench of
which two Justices of the Supreme
Court? Justices T.S. Thakur and
Ibrahim Kalifulla
Explanation: The Mukul Mudgal panel
was constituted by the Supreme Court
to probe the allegations of spot-fixing
in IPL matches. The committee is
headed by Justice (Retd.) Mukul
Mudgal, former Chief Justice of the
Punjab and Haryana High Court. The
panel submitted its final report to the
Supreme Court during November 2014
after going through its probe
thoroughly. The copies of the report
were made public on 17 November
2014. The report also stated that
N.Srinivasan along with four other
BCCI officials was aware of the
violation of the Players Code of
Conduct of a prominent unnamed
individual. On Gurunath Meiyappan,
son-in-law of Srinivasan, the panel
said investigations have confirmed that
he was a team official of the franchise
Chennai Super Kings.

3) What is the name of the proposed

tallest temple in the world, the
foundation stone of which was laid by

the President Pranab Mukherjee on 16

November
2014?
Vrindavan
Chandrodaya Mandir (Vrindavan,
UP)
Explanation: The
Vrindavan
Chandrodaya
Mandir
is
being
constructed at Vrindavan by ISKCON
and it will be the tallest and the most
expensive temple in the World. It will
have height of around 700 feet (213
meters) and would cost around Rs.
300 crore ($49 million). A look-alike of
the verdant forests of Vrindavan will be
recreated around this magnificent
temple. It will be spread over a
sprawling 26 acres, it will consist of the
twelve forests of Braj, with varieties of
lush vegetation, green pastures,
elegant vistas of fruit bearing trees,
flower laden creepers serenaded by
bird songs, clear water lakes with
lotuses and lilies and water falls that
tumble from small artificial hillocks.

4) What is the name of the American

hostage who was killed by the militants
of Islamic State (IS) as claimed in a
video released by it on 16 November
2014? Peter Kassig
Explanation: Peter Kassig was an
American aid worker from Indiana and
his family had claimed that he was
taken captive on his way to the Syrian
city of Deir al-Zor on 1 October 2013.
The announcement of Kassigs death,
the fifth such killing of a Western
captive by the Islamic State group,
formed part of a video posted online in
which IS showed the beheadings of at
least 14 men it said were pilots and
officers loyal to Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad.

5) Which
important
development
associated
with
the
Japanese
economy came to news on 17
November 2014? Its economy
unexpectedly slipped into recession
in the third quarter (July-September
2014)
Explanation: Japan is worlds third
largest economy after the US and
China. Countrys economy had been
forecast to rebound by 2.1% in the

third quarter of July-September 2014.

However, countrys Gross domestic
product (GDP) fell by an annualised
rate of 1.6% during the quarter.
Country had already observed a huge
fall of 7.3% during the second quarter
(April-June 2014) following a rise in
the national sales tax. This latest slide
is expected to delay an unpopular
sales tax hike and call a snap election
halfway through Prime Minister Shinzo
Abes term in office.

Page

35 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 19, 2014

1) Nanavati Commission, lead by

Retd. Supreme Court Justice G.T.
Nanavati, submitted its final report to
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben
Patel on 17 November 2014. This
Commission is associated with which
subject? Gujarat riots of 2002

Explanation: Nanavati
Commission
was constituted in 2002 by the Gujarat
govt. to inquire the incidents of
violence (riots) that took place after the
Godhra incident. Godhra incident is
associated with the burning of S-6
coach of Sabarmati Express near
Godhra railway station in February
2002. More than 1,000 people, mostly
of minority community, were killed in
the Gujarat riots that followed this
incident. Initially, the Terms of
Reference (TOR) of the commission
were to inquire into the facts,
circumstances and course of events
that led to the burning of the S-6 coach
of Sabarmati Express. Later the TOR
were further amended in June 2002,
as per which the panel was also asked
to inquire the incidents of violence that
took place after the Godhra incident.
The commission was given 24
extensions of around six months each

to complete its investigations. The

report of the commission is over 2,000
pages long.

2) Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), one of the

most popular small savings scheme in
India, was re-launched on 18
November 2014. It was discontinued
from November 2011 on the
recommendation of the Shyamala
Gopinath Committee. When KVP was
initially launched? 1 April 1988
Explanation: The Kisan Vikas Patra
was launched initially in 1988 and
became one of the most popular small
savings instruments ever. However,
the Shyamala Gopinath Committee
(2011) recommended that it should be
discontinued as it was prone to
misuse,
being
a
bearer-line
instrument.
KVP
was
later
discontinued from November 2011.
But now Union govt. has relaunched
the scheme with an objective of giving
a boost to countrys small savings
sector.

Page

36 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Click Here for Knowing all about Kisan

Vikas Patra

3) What is the name of the Chinese

supercomputer which was rated the
worlds fastest supercomputer for the
fourth consecutive year in the biannual
Top500 list released in Washington on
17 November 2014? Tianhe-2
Explanation: Tianhe-2 was developed
by Chinas National University of
Defence Technology and is installed at
the National Supercomputer Centre in
Guangzhou in south China. It can

operate at 33.86 petaflops per second

(Pflop/s), the equivalent of 33,860
quadrillion calculations per second.
Super computer Titan, installed at the
DOEs Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(US), remains the No. 2 system with a
performance of 17.59 Pflop/s. The No.
3 spot was acquired by Sequoia,
installed at the DOEs Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory.

4) Over 200 persons were injured

when hundreds of policemen and
followers of self-styled godman Sant
Rampals followers fought a pitched
battle as the police tried to enter the
ashram to arrest the godman on 18
November 2014. The police who
wanted to execute a warrant against
Rampal, used tear gas, water cannon
and lathicharged Rampals followers,
who responded by firing gunshots and
throwing acid pouches. Rampals
ashram named Satlok Ashram is in
which town of Haryana? Barwala
(Hisar district)
Explanation: The
Punjab
and
Haryana High Court had set a
deadline of 21 November 2014 for
producing him in a contempt case and
therefore the Haryana Government
was racing against time to get hold of
the godman to meet the deadline.
The standoff of several days between
the
authorities
and
Rampals
supporters took a violent turn on 18
November 2014 as they faced stiff
resistance from Rampals supporters.
Rampal, who faces arrest in a murder
case, has been hiding in his Satlok
Ashram for nearly two weeks.

5) According to the announcement

made by the Union Health Ministry on
18 November 2014, the Ebola virus
was found in the semen of a 26-yearold man who had travelled from an
Ebola-infested West African country to
India and reached Delhi on 10
November 2014. He is under
treatment and cannot transmit the
virus as he has been kept in an
isolation facility. This man arrived from
which country? Liberia
Explanation: The
Union
Health
Ministry said the semen tested positive
for the virus on two occasions.
Currently, this person does not have
any symptoms of the disease. This
person from Liberia is a recovered
case of Ebola and is in the shedding
stage. He can pass on the virus
through sexual contact and has
therefore been kept in isolation.

6) Which former cricketer was selected

for the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime
Achievement Award for 2014, given by
the Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI)? Dilip Vengsarkar
Explanation: Dilip
Vengsarkar
is
regarded as one of Indias best
batsmen. He is the only non-English
batsman to score three Test hundreds
at the Lords cricket ground and is the
second Indian to have played 100
Tests. He was a member of the 1983
World Cup and the 1985 World
Championship winning Indian teams
and was rated the worlds number one
batsman in the 1986-87 season. He
retired in 1992 and has since donned
the role of an administrator. He will be
handed a citation, trophy and cheque
for Rs. 25 lakh at the 8th annual BCCI
Awards Ceremony.

Page

37 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 20, 2014

1) What is the name of the internet
banking facility of Bharatiya Mahila
Bank Ltd (BMB) that was launched on
19
November
2014?

BMBSmartBanking
Explanation: BMB,
Indias
first
womens bank completed one year of
operations on 19 November 2014. On
this occasion a newly designed
website of the bank was also
launched. The BMBSmartBanking
was
launched
by
Ananthasubramanian, Chairman and

Managing
Director,
BMB.
BMB
currently has network of 33 branches
and all of them have core banking
solutions (CBS) with onsite ATMs.

2) The committee constituted to review

environmental laws in India submitted
its report to the Union Govt. on 18
November 2014. The committee was
constituted to provide the appropriate
actionables to the govt. in its move to
amend five key green laws to ensure
transparency
in
environmental
clearances.
Who
headed
this
committee? TSR Subramanian,
former Cabinet Secretary

Page

38 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The Govt. feels that

suggestions of this committee would
help the Environment Ministry in
avoiding undue delays and ensure
transparency in clearances and
implementation of projects. But the
forming of this committee and its
report were protested by a section of
environmental activists due to the
absence of any environmental expert
in the committee. This section feels
that committees suggestions could
result in complete dismantling of laws
and
institutions
related
to
environmental governance.
3) The controversial godman Sant
Rampal was arrested on 19 November
2014 from his besieged Satlok
Ashram in Barwala, Hisar (Haryana).
He has to be produced before the
Punjab and Haryana High Court in
Chandigarh by 21 November 2014 in
connection with a murder case. This
case pertains to which year? 2006

Explanation: It is alleged that Rampal

had made derogatory remarks against
Arya
Samajs
founder
Swami
Dayanand Saraswati. In 2006 the
differences between his supporters
and the people of Arya Samaj
culminated in a clash that resulted in
the death of one person. A case was
registered against Rampal in this case
way back but he was able to skip legal
hearing 42 times. It was then that an
arrest warrant was issued against him
by the Punjab and Haryana High
Court. Before arresting Sant Rampal,
the police had managed to evacuate
15,000 of his followers.

4) What is the name of Indonesian

capital
Jakartas
first
Christian
governor in nearly 50 years who was
sworn in on 19 November 2014
despite
protests
from
religious
hardliners opposing a non-Muslim
taking over this post? Basuki
Tjahaja Purnama
Explanation: Basuki
Tjahaja
Purnama, who is better known by his
nickname Ahok, is a Christian
belonging to the ethnic Chinese
minority. He has been serving as
acting governor since Joko Widodo
stepped aside last month to become
countrys president. The post of
Governor of Jakarta is considered one
of Indonesias most powerful political
jobs. Hundreds of religious hardliners
staged
protests against
Ahoks
appointment,
underlining
the
difficulties facing the presidents battle
against intolerance in a nation with the
worlds biggest Muslim population.

5) 5 Israeli citizens, including one

security personnel, were killed in an
attack by 2 Palestinians on a Jewish
synagogue situated near Jerusalem on
18 November 2014. It was the
deadliest attack on Israeli civilians in
more than three years. This incident
took place in which ultra-Orthodox
neighborhood of Jerusalem? Har
Nof
Explanation: Har Nof is an ultraOrthodox neighborhood in West
Jerusalem. The attack was carried out
at the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue
by two Palestinian assailants armed
with a gun, knives and axes. The
assailants,
cousins
from
East
Jerusalem, were killed at the scene in
a gun battle with the police that injured
two officers.

Page

39 CURRENT AFFAIRS

6) What is the name of the newly

launched e-mail application of tech
giant IBM made available for
enterprises that integrates social
media, file sharing and analytics to
help increase productivity? Verse
Explanation: Verse is a single
platform
e-mail
application
for
enterprises through which employees
can access emails, calendars, file
sharing, instant messaging, social
updates and video chats seamlessly.
IBM Verse is intended to help

enterprise customers unlock the full

potential of professionals and the
clients. The companys enterprise mail
service, known as Notes, is used by
companies worldwide, while more than
50,000 use IBMs social platform for
businesses, IBM Connections.

7) The first edition of the Champions

Tennis League (CTL) got underway
from 17 November 2014. CTL is styled
on the pattern of Indian Premier
League (IPL) and would feature some
of the top male and female players
from around the world. Who is the
promoter of CTL? Vijay Amritraj
Explanation: CTL is the first mega
professional tennis event in India and
is promoted by Vijay Amritrajs sports
management company Second Serve.
It will feature six teams, one each from
Delhi
(Delhi
Dreams),
Mumbai
(Mumbai Tennis Masters), Chandigarh
(Punjab Marshalls), Pune (Pune
Marathas),
Bengaluru
(Bangalore
Raptors) and Hyderabad (Hyderabad
Aces). Some of the great names from
tennis world to feature in CTL are
Venus Williams, Martina Hingis,
Jelena Jankovic, Juan Carlos Ferrero,
Thomas Enqvist, Mark Philippoussis,
Agnieszka Radwanska, Pat Cash,
Leander Paes, Greg Rusedski and
Marcos Baghdatis. The league would
conclude on 26 November 2014.

November 21, 2014

is this? 2G
investigation

1) Which bank would be merged with

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) as
approved by the Board of Directors of
KMB on 20 November 2014? ING
Vysya Bank

Page

40 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: As per as a notice to the

BSE by KMB, the KMB Board
approved a share swap ratio of 725
equity shares of Rs. 5 each of KMB for
every 1000 equity shares of Rs. 10
each held in IVB. This merger would
be first merger since 2010 in private
sector banking space when Bank of
Rajasthan was acquired by ICICI
Bank. ING Vysya Bank was the first
bank to come into existence through a
merger between an Indian bank and a
foreign bank when Dutch banking
group ING and Vysya Bank merged in
2002 to form this bank.

2) In an important development the

Supreme Court on 20 November 2014
removed the Director of Indias
premier investigating agency the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
from inquiry into one of the countrys
largest financial swindles. Which case

spectrum

scam

Explanation: CBI
Director
Ranjit
Sinha was removed from 2G scam
investigation case as the Supreme
Court bench ruled that there is credible
information that he has been trying to
subvert his own agencys inquiry on
the telecom scam. Sinha has been
accused by lawyer-activist Prashant
Bhushan of trying to protect some of
the telecom executives that his agency
has charged with criminal conspiracy.
As
evidence,
Bhushan,
during
September 2014, submitted a diary of
visitors to the CBI chiefs home.
Regular house calls were made by
men who are named as the accused
by the CBI. The Supreme Court has
been
monitoring
the
CBIs
investigation since 2010 based on a
petition by Prashant Bhushan. The
CAG in a report released in 2010, had
estimated the 2G spectrum scam
worth Rs. 1.76 lakh crore.

3) The International Film Festival of

India (IFFI) was inaugurated on 20
November 2014 at Goa, which is the
permanent venue for hosting the IFFI.
This is which edition of IFFI? 45th
Explanation: The opening ceremony
of 45th IFFI was held at Prasad
Mukherjee Stadium, Bambolim (Goa)
while screening of films was started at
Kala Academy, Panaji. The 11-day
cinematic extravaganza, which was

inaugurated by Amitabh Bachchan,

would feature 178 films from 79
countries. First film to be featured in
the festival was Iranian filmmaker
Mohsen Makhmalbafs film The
President.

Page

41 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) The Securities and Exchange Board

of India (SEBI) on 19 November 2014
approved new rules on insider trading
that will replace a two-decade old law.
Under the newly approved rule, which
new segment of people will be
considered insiders, i.e., persons
capable of influencing prices of shares
through the sensitive information they
possess about particular scrip/scrips?
Immediate relatives of senior
management, other stakeholders
such as founders, and third-party
clients handling market sensitive
information
Explanation: The rules, which are
based on recommendations first
revealed late during 2013, broaden the
scope of who can be held liable for
insider trading violations and require
company officials to be more
transparent
about
their
trading
activities. SEBI has widened the
definition of who exactly is an insider
by including persons in possession of
or with access to unpublished price
sensitive information. The definition
now states that all persons and their
immediate relatives with a contractual,
fiduciary or employment relationship
with the company will be considered
connected persons. New insider
rules are part of efforts being done by
SEBI to boost investor confidence in
stock markets.

5) Sri Lankan President Mahinda

Rajapaksa on 19 November 2014
pardoned five Indian fishermen who
had been sentenced to death for drug
trafficking. This is expected to result in
significant
reduction
in
tension
between India and Sri Lanka as the
death penalty triggered a diplomatic
row between the two. In which year
these 5 fishermen were arrested by Sri
Lankan Navy? in 2011
Explanation: Sri Lankan Navy had
arrested these 5 fishermen, belonging
to Tamil Nadu, in 2011 on charges of
illegal poaching in Sri Lankan waters,
a charge denied by them. On 30
October 2014 a Sri Lankan court
sentenced
them
death
penalty
triggering considerable anger in Tamil
Nadu. India has now welcomed the
death pardon by Mahinda Rajapaksa.

6) Four time Formula 1 (F1) champion

Sebastian Vettel of Germany would
join which F1 team in 2015 as
confirmed by the team on 20
November 2014? Ferrari
Explanation: Vettel, who has been
associated with Austrian F1 team Red
Bull for 5 years, would leave it to join
Italian marquee team Ferrari by
replacing Spanish driver Fernando
Alonso. The deal would be for 3 years.
Vettel will partner Finlands 2007 world
champion Kimi Raikkonen, who has a
year remaining on his contract. Alonso
is expected to return to McLaren, the
team he spent a torrid season with in
2007.

7) Which Spanish city has agreed to

enter into technical collaboration with
the Delhi Development Authority
(DDA) and New Delhi Municipal
Corporation (NDMC) to develop New
Delhi as a Smart City? Barcelona
Explanation: Barcelona is hosting the
Smart City Expo World Congress in
which the Minister for Urban
Development, Housing and Urban
Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary

Affairs
M.
Venkaiah
Naidu
participated. He held talks with Xavier
Trias, the Mayor of Barcelona, in
which Trias announced that Barcelona
would be happy to cooperate with
India to develop its smart cities on the
lines of Barcelona. The Mayor agreed
to develop a technical collaboration
proposal in cooperating directly with
Delhis municipal agencies DDA and
NDMC. Barcelona is regarded as the
foremost smart city of the world.

November 22, 2014

Page

42 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The notification issued

by the RBI stated that the penal
charges
should
be
directly
proportionate to the extent of shortfall
observed. Charges should be a fixed
percentage levied on the amount of
difference between the actual balance
maintained and the minimum balance
as agreed upon at the time of opening
of account. A suitable slab structure
for recovery of charges may be
finalized for the same.
1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on
20 November 2014 asked banks to
inform their customers about fall in
minimum balance well in advance and
said that penal charges should be
levied only to the extent of shortfall in
such
balances.
The
guidelines
pertaining to levying of penal charges
for non-maintenance of minimum
balance are coming into effect from
which date? 1 April 2015

2) Who will be the Chief Guest at the

2015 Republic Day celebrations of
India, as announced on 21 November
2014? US President Barack
Obama
Explanation: Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had invited Barack
Obama to be the chief guest at the
Republic Day ceremony of 2015. This
invitation was delivered by Prime

Minister during his visit to Myanmar

and Australia, when he met President
Obama at the East Asia summit and
the G-20 meeting of world leaders. On
21 November 2014 the official letter
from the White House was received
confirming this invitation. Obama
would thus become the first US
President to grace Republic Day
celebrations as the Chief Guest.
Obamas acceptance of Modis invite
is also being seen as a major sign of
the deepening ties between India and
the US.

Page

43 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) The Union Cabinet on 20 November

2014 approved the launch of
Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti
Yojana
(DDUGJY),
a
rural
electrification scheme. This scheme
would replace which existing scheme
which was launched by the erstwhile
UPA Govt.? Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY)
Explanation: Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) was
launched in March 2005 by the Union
Power Ministry with the objective of
electrifying over one lakh un-electrified
villages and to provide free electricity
connections to 2.34 Crore rural BPL
households. This scheme was later
brought under the ambit of Bharat
Nirman. The newly launched DDUGJY
will have components to separate
agriculture and non-agriculture feeders
facilitating judicious rostering of supply
to agricultural and non-agricultural
consumers in rural areas. The scheme
also includes strengthening and
augmentation of sub transmission and
distribution infrastructure in rural

areas,
including
metering
of
distribution transformers and feeders.
The estimated cost of the scheme for
above two components is Rs. 43,033
crore which includes the requirement
of budgetary support of Rs 33,453
crore from the government over the
entire implementation period.
4) The Centres decision to name the
domestic terminal of Hyderabads
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
(RJAI) after which leader was opposed
vociferously
in
the
Telangana
Assembly on 21 November 2014?
NT Rama Rao, former Chief Minister
of Andhra Pradesh
Explanation: The Centre had on 20
November 2014 decided to name the
domestic terminal of Hyderabad airport
on late NT Rama Rao. While shifting
the
international
airport
to
Shamshabad, the then Congress
Government named it after former
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi but chose
not to name the domestic terminal. On
21
November
the
leaders
of
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and
Congress strongly opposed the
decision in Telangana Assembly. TRS
demanded that the govt. should have
chosen someone from Telangana to
name the airport.

5) Which IIT became the first IIT to be

made a full member of the CMS
collaboration of CERN, the European
Organization for Nuclear Research,
where physicists and engineers are
probing the fundamental structure of
the universe? IIT Madras

Explanation: CERN
(Conseil
Europen
pour
la
Recherche
Nuclaire) is known for the discovery
of the Higgs boson in 2012. CMS
(Compact Muon Solenoid) is one of
the two CERN experiments that
discovered Higgs boson particles. IIT
Madras admission as a full-member of
CMS was made possible by a
presentation made to the CMS
Collaboration Board by Prafulla Kumar
Behera of the Department of Physics
at IIT Madras. He emphasised IIT
Madras capabilities in experimental
research, particularly in high-energy
physics.

Page

44 CURRENT AFFAIRS

6) The Delhi High Court in its order

given on 21 November 2014 said that
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam
of Delhis Jama Masjid, has no right to
pick his son as his successor. The
court also asked Bukhari to explain his
decision to pick his son as his
successor. Syed Ahmed Bukhari has
been the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid
since which year? 2000
Explanation: Syed Ahmed Bukhari
was appointed the Shahi Imam of
Jama Masjid, Indias largest mosque,
on 14 October 2000. He succeeded
his father late Syed Abdullah Bukhari,
who was the 12th Shahi Imam of Jama
Masjid. Syed Ahmed Bukhari had
announced the function to anoint his
19-year-old son as Vice-Imam on 22
November 2014. Bukhari had been
challenged by a series of public
interest
litigations
(PILs)
which
contend that the mosque is the
property of the Delhi Wakf Board,
which administers Muslim religious

properties, and the Shahi Imam cannot

unilaterally decide his successor. The
Bukharis have been the traditional
custodians of the Jama Masjid for
almost 400 years since it was built by
the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in
the 17th century.

7) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo

Abe dissolved parliaments lower
house on 21 November 2014 for a
snap election expected on 14
December. This decision was taken to
seek a fresh mandate for his visibly
struggling economic policies. The
general elections in Japan were due in
which year? 2016
Explanation: Shinzo Abe was elected
Japans Prime Minister in December
2012. He had announced a revival
strategy for struggling Japanese
economy and had returned to power
promising that Japan is Back. But
doubts are being raised about his
economic strategy especially after
data released during third week of
November 2014 showing that the
economy had surprisingly slipped into
recession in the third quarter after an
initial rise in the sales tax to 8% from
April 2014.
8) Kishore Biyanis Future Group
acquired which South India-based
supermarket chain as announced by
the group on 21 November 2014?
Nilgiris
Explanation: Nilgiris operate Nilgiris
convenience store chain in the
southern states of Kerala, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It

has 140 outlets in key urban centres in

these 4 southern states. It also owns a
portfolio of brands in dairy, bakery,
chocolates and staples along with their
manufacturing facilities in Bangalore.
The acquisition by Future Group will
lead to geographical expansion of the

convenience store network in southern

India, as its existing footprint is
primarily concentrated in North and
West India. The total value of this
acquisition was estimated at around
Rs. 300 crore.

November 23-24, 2014

Page

45 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Who became the Formula One (F1)

champion of 2014 by winning the Abu
Dhabi Grand Prix on 23 November
2014? Lewis Hamilton (Great
Britain)
Explanation: British
driver
Lewis
Hamilton, who represents Mercedes
team, won the 2014 by winning the
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held at Yas
Marina on 23 November. He pipped
fellow
teammate
Nico Rosberg
(Germany) despite Rosberg starting
the race from the pole position.
Rosberg could not garner any points
by finishing at a very disappointing
14th place. He however finished
second in overall season. Felipe
Massa (Williams) finished second in

the race and was followed by

teammate Valterri Bottas. This was the
second F1 championship title for
Hamilton, who first won the prestigious
championship in 2008. Mercedes won
the constructors title with massive 701
points and was followed by Red BullRenault (405 points) and WilliamsMercedes (320 points). Force India
achieved its best-ever performance in
F1 by collecting 155 overall points and
claiming 6th place in constructors
standings.
Final standings in 2014 F1
Driver
Team

Points

Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain)

Mercedes
384 points
Nico Rosberg (Germany)
Mercedes
317 points
Daniel Ricciardo (Australia)
Bull
238 points

Red

2) Which team created tennis history

by winning its maiden Davis Cup title
on 23 November 2014? Switzerland
Explanation: Led
by a
vintage
performance by Roger Federer,
Switzerland won its maiden Davis Cup
title with a 3-1 win over hosts France
on 23 November 2014. Federer
crushed Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
to give his country an invincible 3-1
lead over hosts. He was earlier
defeated by Frenchman Gael Monfils
on 21 November. Stan Wawrinka gave
Switzerland the first point by beating
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Switzerland were
2-1 up going into reverse singles after
Wawrinka and Federer teamed up to
beat Gasquet and Julien Benneteau in
the doubles on 22 November. This
defeat was Frances third defeat in
their last three finals.

Page

46 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) INS Vikrant, the countys first

aircraft carrier, has finally faded away
into history as dismantling of the
majestic vessel began on 21
November 2014 at Mumbai. This was
despite last ditch attempts by activists
and former navy servicemen to save it
from being dismantled and broken.
INS Vikrant was decommissioned from
the Indian Navy in which year? 1997
Explanation: The 16,000-tonne ship,
which had helped to enforce a naval
blockade of East Pakistan (present
Bangladesh) during the 1971 war, was
decommissioned in 1997. It was
purchased as HMS Hercules from
Britain in 1957 and rechristened INS
Vikrant. It was formally commissioned
into the Indian fleet at Bombay on 3
November 1961. The Bombay High

Court had given the go-ahead for

Vikrant to be auctioned in January,
after it rejected a public interest
litigation petition to save the vessel
and convert it into a maritime museum.
In March, the Indian Navy sold Vikrant
to a Mumbai-based ship breaking
company for Rs. 63 crore.

4) What is the name of the 19-year

son of the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid
who was anointed as his successor at
a ceremony on 22 November 2014?
Shaban Bukhari
Explanation: Shaban Bukhari was
anointed Naib or deputy Imam of the
17thcentury mosque by his father, Syed
Ahmad Bukhari. The anointment came
amid much controversy with three
petitions against it having been
admitted by the Delhi High Court soon
after the announcement of his intent
by the Shahi Imam in October 2014.
The Delhi High Court on 21 November
said that both the ceremony and the
anointment held no legal sanctity. The
court had, however, refused to stay
the ceremony with a Bench of Chief
Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S.
Endlaw saying that the function was
not legal and would not give any
special equities in their (Imam
Bukharis) favour.

5) What are the names of two Indians

who were declared Saints by the
Vatican on 23 November 2014?
Father Kuriakose Chavara and
Sister Euphrasia
Explanation: Father
Kuriakose
Chavara was ordained as a priest in

1829. He set up the first printing press

among the Syro-Malabar churches in
Kottayam, which went on to publish
the first Malayalam daily, and
popularised the concept of Sunday
sermons. He died in 1871 and is
buried at Saint Philominas Church at
Koonammavu in Ernakulam district.
Sister Euphrasia was known as a
praying mother and a saint among
nuns, who, according to followers, had
several miracles to her credit. She
died in 1952, at the age of 75 and is
buried at Ollur, Thrissur. With these
two canonisations, the centuries-old
Syro Malabar Church will have three
Saints, the first being Sister Alphonsa,
who was declared a saint in 2008.

6) On 22 November 2014 who became

the all-time highest scorer in the
history of La Liga the Spanish
Football League? Lionel Messi

Page

47 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: FC Barcelona superstar

Lionel Messi scored a hat trick in a 5-1
triumph against Sevilla on 22
November to complete 253 goals and
became the all-time highest scorer in
La Liga history. He eclipsed the earlier
record of 251 goals set by former
Athletic Club Bilbao striker, Telmo
Zarra in the 1950s.

7) Who were named World Athletes of

the Year at the IAAF (International
Association of Athletics Federations)
gala held at Monaco on 21 November
2014? Renaud Lavillenie (France)
and Valerie Adams (New Zealand)
Explanation: Renaud Lavillenie, the
Pole vault world record holder, was

named Best Male Athlete of the Year

while Valerie Adams, the Olympic shot
put champion, was named Best
Female Athlete of the Year. It marked
the first time that field event athletes
had won both awards and the first time
a male pole vaulter or a female
thrower
collected
the
honours.
Lavillenie set the world record of 6.16
metres in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk
in February 2014, breaking Sergei
Bubkas 21-year-old mark. He also
won 21 of 22 competitions. Valerie
Adams claimed a ninth global title
when she retained her world indoor
crown in Sopot, Poland. She was
unbeaten in 2014 and boosted her
winning streak to 56 competitions,
having not lost since 2010.
8) Who won the mens and womens
title of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon
held on 23 November 2014? Guye
Adola (Ethiopia) and Florence
Kiplagat (Kenya)
Explanation: Guye Adola broke the
course record to emerge triumphant in
the international elite mens category
by completing the race 59.06 minutes.
He broke the record set by
countryman Atsedu Tsegay last year.
World Half Marathon champion
Geoffrey Kamworor finished second
and third spot was claimed by another
Ethiopian Mosinet Geremew. In the
International Elite Women category,
defending champion Florence Kiplagat
of Kenya won with a timing of 01 hour
10 minutes beating compatriot Gladys
Cherono. Third position was claimed
by Ethiopian runner Worknesh Degefa.
The race comprised of 21.1 km.

November 25, 2014

States,
Russia,
China,
United
Kingdom, and France, plus Germany.

2) Who was appointed as the special

representative of India to conduct
boundary negotiations and strategic
consultations with China on 24
November 2014? Ajit Doval, the
National Security Advisor (NSA)

Page

48 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) The talks between Iran and six

world powers (P5+1) on the crucial
issue of Irans nuclear deal ended on
24 November 2014 without reaching
any break-off. However, the talks were
extended till which date with the aim of
achieving political agreement by
March 2015? 1 July 2015
Explanation: 24 November 2014 was
the deadline for a deal to resolve a 12year stand-off over Tehrans atomic
ambitions. These talks were held
between Iran and group of 6 countries
called P5+1in Vienna. The objective of
these talks was to achieve an accord
that could transform the Middle East,
open the door to ending economic
sanctions on Iran and start to bring the
country from the cold after decades of
hostility with the West. The P5+1 is a
group of six world powers which in
2006 joined the diplomatic efforts with
Iran with regard to its nuclear program.
The term refers to the P5 or five
permanent members of the UN
Security Council, namely United

Explanation: The appointment of

Doval comes at a time when there
have been several incidents of tension
between the two countries at the
border and Line of Actual Control
(LAC). Doval is credited with solving
several issues including planning key
missions related to Myanmar and
China related missions. In September
this year, Chinese incursions in
Ladakh raised security alarms for the
Indian government. Indian troops had
to reportedly make a tactical retreat of
about two kilometers in Chumar.
3) World chess champion, Norways
Magnus Carlsen retained his title,
defeating
Indian
challenger
Viswanathan Anand in the 11th round
of their title match on 23 November
2014. Anand was able to defeat
Carlsen in how many game/games?
One
Explanation: The 12-game World
Championship tie had started on 8
November at Sochi (Russia). Carlsen
won three games out of 11 games

held while Anand could win just one

game. Seven games were drawn and
Carlsen won the tie by 6.5 4.5.
Anands lone win came in the third
games whereas Carlsen won the
second, sixth and eleventh games to
claim the title. Carlsen had wrested the
World title from Anand last year in
Chennai

Page

49 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) On 23 November 2014 China

started generating electricity from the
biggest ever hydropower project in
Tibet. What is the name of this
hydropower
project
built
over
Brahmaputra River, the first unit of
which started operations? Zangmu
Hydropower Project
Explanation: The first unit of Zangmu
Hydropower Project, built at an
estimated cost of $1.6 billion, is on the
Yarlung Zangbo river (known as the
Brahmaputra in India). This dam
stands more than 3,300 metres above
sea level and is the largest dam ever
built on the Tibetan plateau. It will
have a total generating capacity of
510,000 kilowatts. Indias Foreign
Ministry last year urged China to
ensure
that
the
interests
of
downstream states are not harmed by
any activities in upstream areas of the
river, after state media reports that
China planned several more dams
there.

5) Former Union minister and senior

Congress leader Murli Deora passed
away in the early hours of 24
November 2014. He had the
recognition of serving which Union

ministry for the longest term?

Petroleum Ministry

Explanation: Deora
was
Indias
longest serving Petroleum Minister,
completing exactly five years in office
in a tenure that began in January 2006
and was spread between UPA-1 and
II. He was the Mayor of Mumbai from
1977-78 and was later elected to the
Lok Sabha four times from Mumbai
South, a seat later held by his son,
Milind, who is also a former MP and an
ex-Union minister. Deora was a sitting
member of the Rajya Sabha and was
suffering from cancer.

6) Share of which private sector bank

will be split and reduced to face value
of Rs. 2 from 4 December 2014, as
notified in a notification issued by the
NSE and the BSE? ICICI Bank
Explanation: Face value of ICICI
Banks equity share is Rs. 10 at
present. ICICI Bank has fixed record
date as 5 December 2014 for the
purpose of ascertaining the eligible
shareholders who would be entitled to
receive five equity shares of face value
of Rs. 2 each in lieu of one equity
share of face value of Rs. 10 each of
the bank. The stock split is expected to
increase investor participation in the
stock.

7) Which Northeastern state of India

launched the scheme management
system (SMS) software on 24
November 2014 for providing better
government services by way of
implementing online planning and

monitoring processes? Arunachal

Pradesh
Explanation: Arunachal
Pradesh
became the first state to implement
this software for governance. The

single window SMS offers multifaceted

modules, like project management,
annual plan, third party monitoring and
file management besides a grievances
redressal system for the citizens to
complaint against ongoing schemes.

November 26, 2014

new venture. Initially, the bank will
focus on motor and health insurance
and aims to grab about 0.5% of the
market share in five years. The
industry is expected to grow at a
CAGR of 15% to grow to Rs.1.80 lakh
crore by 2020 (from Rs. 77,000 crore).

Page

50 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Which private-sector bank on 25

November 2014 received approval
from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
to enter the general insurance
business? Kotak Mahindra Bank
(KMB)
Explanation: Kotak Mahindra Bank
was given the approval to form a
100% subsidiary to enter the general
insurance industry. KMB has also
floated the new venture with an initial
capital of Rs. 100 crore and Executive
Vice-President
Mahesh
Balasubramanium was named the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the

2) A new international bus service was

inaugurated by Union Road Transport
and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari
on 25 November 2014 from Delhis
Ambedkar Stadium bus terminal. This
daily bus service is between Delhi and
Kathmandu, the Nepali capital
Explanation: The
Delhi-Kathmandu
Bus service became operational after
the Union Cabinet on 24 November
2014 had approved the signing of
Bilateral Agreement for the regulation
of passenger traffic between India and
Nepal on the sidelines of the
forthcoming SAARC Summit in
Kathmandu on 26 November. The
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is
operating a luxury Volvo bus on the
Delhi-Kathmandu bus route and the
tentative one-way fare is likely to be
around Rs. 2,300. The bus will reach

its
destination
via
LucknowGorakhpur-Sunauli-Bhairahawa
and
will cover the distance of 1250 km
between two cities in about 30 hours.
The
inauguration
took
place
simultaneously
with
the
Prime
Ministers of the two countries
(Narendra Modi and Sushil Koirala)
flagging
off
Kathmandu-DelhiKathmandu
bus
service
from
Swaymbhu Terminal in Kathmandu. At
present, DTC has been running DelhiLahore bus, which was launched by
the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee in March 1999.

Page

51 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Which
Australian
international
cricketer went in a critical condition
after being struck by a ball while
batting on 25 November 2014? Phil
Hughes
Explanation: Phil Hughes is an
international cricketer who has played
for the country in 26 Tests and 25
ODIs. He got the injury while playing in
a Sheffield Game at the Sydney
Cricket Ground on 25 November.
Wearing a helmet, he attempted to
hook a rising fast delivery from Sean
Abbott but was hit on the side of his
head instead. He stood on the pitch for
a few moments before collapsing face
first on the ground. He was treated on
the field immediately and was then
taken to the boundary for further aid.
He was then transferred to the St.
Vincents Hospital nearby where he
remained critical and went into coma.
With the Test series against India
coming up, Hughes was expecting a
Test call to replace an injured Michael
Clarke.

4) Who was chosen as the next

chairperson of the Press Council of
India (PCI) on 24 November 2014 to
replace Justice Markandey Katju?
Justice
Chandramauli
Kumar
Prasad (CK Prasad)
Explanation: Justice CK Prasad, is a
former judge of the Supreme Court.
He was selected by a selection
committee headed by Vice-President
Hamid Ansari. Justice Markandey
Katju had demitted his office on 3
October 2014 after occupying the post
for 3 years. Press Council of India
(PCI) is a statutory body that governs
the conduct of the print media and was
set up on 4 July 1966 by the Indian
Parliament.

5) Renowned dancer Sitara Devi, who

passed away at the age of 94 in
Mumbai on 25 November 2014, was
an exponent of which classical dance
form? Kathak
Explanation: Sitara Devi was a
legend of Kathak and was a
pioneering force in bringing the genre
to Bollywood. She was born in 1920 in
Kolkata as Dhannolakshmi. Her father,
a Vaishnavite Brahmin scholar and
Kathak exponent, sent her to a local
school where she impressed her
teachers and the local media with her
performance in a dance drama,
Savitri Satyavan. At a tender age of
11 she impressed Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore with a three-our
solo recital. Kathak, which literally
means katha, is a narrative drama
which evolved out of the Krishna

temples of hinterland to scale the

pinnacle of glory in the Muslim courts.

6) Violence erupted in Ferguson, a

small town in Missouri State of the US,
on 24 November 2014 after the grand
jury found there was no probable
cause to charge the white officer for
shooting an 18-year old black youth.
This incident of August 2014 had
shocked the country for having partial
white-dominated
power
structure.
What is the name of the white officer
involved in this incident? Darren
Wilson

Page

52 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The grand jury, which

was hearing this case among others,
in its order given on 24 November
2014, said that it found there was no
probable cause to charge Officer
Darren Wilson with any crime for the
shooting of 18-year-old youth Michael
Brown. This meant Wilson would not
be indicted in the case that had rocked
the country. This shooting incident had
taken place on 9 August 2014, when a
black unarmed teenager Michael
Brown was allegedly killed by a white
police
officer,
Darren
Wilson.
Ferguson is a small suburb in St. Louis

County in the state of Missouri and

has been witness to longstanding
racial tensions in the predominantly
black city. This is because the power
structure of the town has been
dominated by the whites.

7) Which model of car from the stable

of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) became
companys third brand to cross sale of
15 lakh in the domestic market as
announced by the company on 25
November 2014? WagonR
Explanation: WagonR was launched
by the company in 2000 and its total
sales have crossed 15 lakh in the
domestic market. It thus became the
third car model of MSI to cross this
figure after Maruti 800 and Alto.
Earlier, this year companys compact
car Alto had become the second
model from the companys portfolio to
cross the 25 lakh unit sales mark in
the domestic market. Alto had entered
the 25 lakh club, where the only other
car is the Maruti 800. In January 2014,
MSI stopped production of the Maruti
800, the small car that was the carrier
for millions of Indian middle-class
families.

November 27, 2014

2) Which country was the only one to
object to three major agreements
proposed on the first day of the
18th SAARC Summit at Kathmandu?
Pakistan

Page

53 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) 18th SAARC Summit started on 26

November 2014 at Kathmandu, Nepal.
The summit of 8-nation South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) was held after an interval of
3 years. What is the motto of this
summit? Deeper Integration for
Peace and Prosperity
Explanation: SAARC is an economic
organisation of 8 countries of South
Asia Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The summit
was represented by heads of all 8
countries

Ashraf
Ghani
(Afghanistan),
Sheikh
Hasina
(Bangladesh),
Tshering
Tobgay
(Bhutan), Narendra Modi (India),
Abdulla Yameen (Maldives), Sushil
Koirala
(Nepal),
Nawaz
Sharif
(Pakistan) and Mahinda Rajapaksha
(Sri Lanka).

Explanation: The three proposed

agreements are associated with
energy cooperation, motor vehicle
agreement and railway linkages in the
region. Pakistan blocked these three
key proposals which were backed by
India and other countries. These three
agreements are primarily proposed to
promote cross-border trade, which
remains minimal between SAARC
countries. If these agreements are not
carried forward, to would mean a
failure of this summit in achieving
major agreements.

3) The Ministry of External Affairs on

26 November 2014 informed Lok
Sabha that the Ebola scare in West
Africa has claimed only one Indian life.
This Indian citizen was killed in which
African country? Liberia
Explanation: The name of the Indian
citizen who died of Ebola in Liberia
was Mohammed Amir and he was
employed there in a pharmacy. He
died of Ebola virus infection on 7
September 2014 and as per World
Health Organisation (WHO) norms his
body was buried in Liberia. In is worth
mentioning that one Ebola-affected
person was identified in India during
November 2014 and he too was a

Liberian citizen who had come to Delhi

from Liberia. The three worst Ebolaaffected countries of West Africa are
Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea with
over 5,000 deaths.

4) India ordered culling of over 2 lakh

birds in which state on 25 November
2014 after two bird flu outbreaks in the
state? Kerala

Page

54 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The
two
bird
flu
outbreaks
were
reported
from
Kottayam and Alappuzha and were the
first cases of the disease in the
country since February 2014. The
virus itself killed about 15,000 infected
ducks in Kottayam and another 500 in
nearby Alappuzha. Over 200,000 birds
are being culled (killed) in the villages
where the outbreaks were found and
an intensive surveillance campaign
had been launched in a 10 km radius
around the area to ensure that the
virus did not spread further. Since
2006 India has culled 6.4 million birds
due to bird flu.

5) A bill to amend a law on

appointment of CBI chief was passed
in the Lok Sabha on 26 November
2014. What is the name of the bill,
which was resisted by Congress as it
alleged that the bill was aimed at
keeping the largest opposition party
out of the selection process? Delhi
Special
Police
Establishment
(Amendment) Bill, 2014

Explanation: The said bill provides for

inclusion of leader of the single largest
opposition party in the three-member
committee that selects the CBI
Director since there is no recognised
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok
Sabha. The Committee has Prime
Minister and Chief Justice of India as
other members. The amendment bill
also provides that No appointment of
a Director shall be invalid merely by
reason of any vacancy or absence of a
member in the committee.

6) Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, the owner of

Pakistans biggest media group along
with actor Veena Malik and her
husband was sentenced to 26 years in
prison by an anti-terrorism court on 26
November 2014 for allegedly airing a
blasphemous programme. What is the
name of the media group owned by
Shakil-ur-Rahman? Geo TV
Explanation: Shakil-ur-Rahman is the
owner of Geo TV and Jang, two of
the most respectable media groups of
Pakistan. He was accused of allowing
the
airing
of
a
blasphemous
programme by Geo television in May,
which played a religious song while
staging a mock marriage of Malik with
Bashir. TV host Shaista Wahidi was
also given similar sentence. Both
Wahidi and the Geo group had
tendered apology after the allegations
were levelled but the extremists in the
country refused to accept it.

November 28, 2014

had scored 3 Test centuries and 2 ODI
centuries. On 11 January 2013, he
became the first Australian batsman in
the history of ODI cricket to score a
century on debut, a feat which he
achieved against Sri Lanka in
Melbourne.

Page

55 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes

(Phil Hughes), who had sustained
severe head injury after being struck
by a ball on 25 November, passed
away on 27 November 2014 at a
Sydney hospital. He was representing
which team in the Sheffield Shield
match in which he sustained this fatal
injury? South Australia
Explanation: The Sheffield Shield
match was being played between
South Australia and New South Wales
at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Hughes was batting on 63 when he
was struck by a bouncer from New
South Wales bowler Sean Abbott.
Hughes was wearing a helmet, but the
ball made contact with an unprotected
area. He collapsed before receiving
mouth to mouth resuscitation and was
subsequently taken to St Vincents
Hospital, Sydney, where he underwent
surgery and was placed into an
induced coma. He passed away on 27
November due to subarachnoid
haemorrhage. His death led to gloom
over the cricketing fraternity all over
the world. Hughes had represented
Australia in 26 Tests and 25 ODIs. He

2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on

27 November 2014 issued final
guidelines for payments and small
banks that aim to take banking
services to more people and small
businesses. What is the prescribed
minimum paid-up equity capital for
both these categories of banks? Rs.
100 crore
Explanation: The small bank will
primarily undertake basic banking
activities of acceptance of deposits
and lending to un-served and underserved sections, including small
business units, small and marginal
farmers, micro and small industries
and unorganised sector entities. On
the other hand payments banks would
help a common person to make
payments through an easy mode, to a
wide array of institutions/people in a
cost effective manner. They are
expected to emerge as specialized
banks to provide services to small
businesses and persons.

3) The 18th SAARC Summit held at

Kathmandu (Nepal) concluded on 27
November 2014. Only one agreement

was signed at summit while agreement

on
two
proposed
economic
agreements could not be reached. The
signed agreement pertains to which
topic? To create a regional
electricity grid in the SAARC region

Page

56 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: At the start of the

summit,
key
agreements
were
proposed to free up road and rail
movement in the SAARC region. But
these agreements were shelved during
the course of the summit, mainly due
to
Pakistans
attitude.
Pakistan
blocked two key proposals which were
backed by India. However, the
agreement to integrate energy grids of
all the member countries was signed
on 27 November. In its 30 years, the
SAARC has delivered negligible
results for economic ties and
development among its eight members
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka. Despite a free trade
pact since 2006, South Asian nations
conduct only 5% of their total trade
with each other, and there are few
transport and power links among
them.

4) India launched the electronic visa

facility for foreign tourists on 27
November 2014. Under this facility
tourists from 43 countries can apply for
Indian visa in four simple steps. The
facility has been initially introduced at
how many airports of the country?
Nine
Explanation: The
electronic
visa
facility or the electronic travel
authorisation
(ETA)
has
been
introduced in a phased manner at nine

airports across the country Delhi,

Mumbai,
Chennai,
Kolkata,
Hyderabad,
Bengaluru,
Kochi,
Thiruvananthapuram and Goa. 76
counters have been established at
these 9 airports for this facility. A
foreign tourist will have to apply online
at the website, upload a photo and
passport and pay a fee online. In 72
hours, the applicant would receive an
ETA by e-mail. The 30-day permit
would include sightseeing, visiting
friends and family, recreation, short
duration medical treatment, and a
casual business visit. The step is
aimed at boosting tourism sector and
offer hassle-free travel to foreign
nationals.

5) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

during November 2014 eased rules for
low-cost housing loans. What is the
new prescribed rule? Banks can
now extend loans to individuals
against long-term bonds issued by
banks for financing infrastructure
and affordable housing
Explanation: This regulation has been
imposed primarily to provide liquidity to
retail investors investing in such longterm bonds. The RBI also proposed
that the banks should lay down a
policy in this regard prescribing
suitable margins, purpose of the loan
and other safeguards. Such loans
should be subject to a ceiling,
say, Rs. 10 lakh per borrower, and
tenure of loan should be within the
maturity period of the bonds. Banks
would not be permitted to lend against
such bonds issued by other banks.

6) In one of the first operation of its

kind in India of separating conjoined
twins in India, conjoined twin girls
sharing a common liver were
successfully separated recently. This
operation was performed in which
hospital?
Medanta
Hospital
(Gurgaon)
Explanation: The liver specialists at
Gurgaons
Medanta
Hospital
accomplished
this
surgical
feat

recently, giving a new lease of life to

Saboora and Safoora of Jammu and
Kashmir, who were joined at the
abdomen and shared a liver since
birth. The operation was performed by
a team of nearly 40 doctors led by
chief liver surgeon A.S. Soin. The
operation was a complex one as there
is no described anatomy of a liver that
is shared between two humans and
there is no standard technique to split
it.

Page

57 CURRENT AFFAIRS

November 29, 2014

1) In a surprise move the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) on 28 November
2014 scrapped the gold import curb
scheme, popularly known as the 80:20
Scheme. This scheme required trading
companies to export 20% of gold
imported. When the scheme was
imposed by RBI? August 2013
Explanation: The 80:20 Scheme was
put in place in August 2013 to curb
gold imports, considered a major
cause for the widening current account
deficit. The move to curb this scheme
came as a surprise because after gold

imports surged 280.4% year-on-year

in October 2014, the RBI had been in
talks with the government for a
decision on increasing curbs on gold
imports. Indias trade deficit in October
narrowed to $13.36 billion, after hitting
an 18-month high of $14.2 billion in
September 2014. The 80:20 Scheme
ensured that at least one-fifth of every
lot of imported gold is exclusively
made available for the purpose of
exports.

2) Ministry of Railways has decided to

allow public private partnership (PPP)
in
computerized
passenger
reservation, as stated by it on 28
November 2014 in the Rajya Sabha.
What would be the name of the
proposed computerized Passenger
Reservation
System
(PRS)-cum
Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS)
terminals that would be opened under
this scheme? Yatri Ticket Suvidha
Kendra (YTSK)

Explanation: All
the
authorized
ticketing agents, who have worked for
at least five years in providing railway
ticketing
(reserved/unreserved)
services for passengers of Indian
Railways, are eligible to become YTSK
licensee. In addition a large number of
safeguards would be established built
in the YTSK counters for general as
well as Tatkal booking, taking
adequate financial security, not
allowing booking of concessional
tickets (except senior citizens tickets),
non-availability of facility of block
booking etc. restricted facility for
cancellation of tickets etc.

Page

58 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) The erstwhile political party of Tamil

Nadu the Tamil Maanila Congress
(TMC), was re-launched on 28
November 2014 by former Union
Minister G.K. Vasan who had earlier
deserted the Congress party. Who
was the founder of TMC, who had
established this party initially in 1996?
G.K. Moopanar
Explanation: TMC was floated by
G.K. Moopanar, the late father of G.K.
Vasan, in 1996 by breaking away from
the Congress, protesting the decision
of the party high command to form an
alliance with J. Jayalalithas AIADMK.
However, TMC was merged with the
Congress in 2002. G.K. Vasan
announced re-launching the erstwhile
TMC in a programme held at Tiruchi.

4) What was the GDP growth rate for

second quarter of 2014-15 (JulySeptember 2014) as announced on 28
November 2014? 5.3%

Explanation: Indias gross domestic

product (GDP) expanded 5.3% in the
July-September quarter from a year
earlier. Growth in the June quarter
(April-June 2014) had spurted to a 21/2 year high of 5.7%. Lower growth
during second quarter was attributed
due to a slump in countrys
manufacturing sector. Worried by the
growth performance, and encouraged
by low oil prices and falling inflation,
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan to cut
interest rates when it holds its policy
review on 2 December 2014.
5) Thailands
military-appointed
legislature on 28 November 2014
started impeachment proceedings
against ousted former Prime Minister
Yingluck
Shinawatra.
This
impeachment is being seen as a
further step to try to end the political
influence of her powerful family. The
impeachment has been carried out in
which case? Over a loss-making
rice subsidy programme
Explanation: Yingluck was removed
from office in May 2014, after a court
found her guilty of abuse of power,
days before the army staged a coup
after months of sometimes violent
street demonstrations in Bangkok
aimed at ousting her government. A
day after she was removed, Thailands
National Anti-Corruption Commission
found her guilty of mishandling the rice
scheme. The military junta of Thailand
is edging a step closer to rooting out
the influence of Yingluck and her
brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra. Thailand has been

convulsed by bouts of political

turbulence ever since Thaksin was
removed in 2006. The kingdom is
bitterly divided between his supporters
and detractors.

6) The market capitalization of all

listed companies on the Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE) hit which landmark
figure on 28 November 2014? Rs.
100 trillion
Explanation: BSE is the oldest stock
exchange in Asia. The combined
market capitaliastion of all listed
companies on the exchange hit a

record Rs. 100 trillion (1 lakh crore)

mark in morning trade on 28
November
2014.
Nearly
5,500
companies are listed on the BSE, but
the top 100 companies make up for
over 70% in market capitalization.
Market capitalisation is used to
compare companies in terms of their
market value. So, to gauge BSEs
standing, its market cap should be
seen in the global context. In dollar
terms, BSEs market cap is now nearly
$1.7 trillion (at Rs. 60 per dollar). That
is roughly one tenth the size of the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE),
which has a market cap of nearly
$18.8 trillion.

November 30, 2014

Page

59 CURRENT AFFAIRS

of first train service from this state?

Meghalaya

1) Which Northeastern state came on

the railway map of India on 29
November 2014 with commencement

Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra

Modi flagged off the first train from
Meghalaya

the
55819
Up
Mendipathar Guwahati. Mendipathar
is the first railway station in Meghalaya
and train connectivity in the state
became possible due to construction
of the 19.75 km long line from Dudhnoi
in Assam to Mendipathar. Earlier a
railway line between Dudhnoi and
Deepa (Meghalaya) was proposed in
the Rail budget of 1992-93. Later
alignment was changed to DudhnoiMendipathar in 2007 due to opposition
of local people. A train engine rolled

on the soil of the hilly state for the first

time on 31 March 2014.

2) On 27 November 2014 the World

Trade Organization (WTO) clinched
the first global trade deal after years of
stalemate between its members. This
historic deal is associated with which
subject?
New
standards
for
customs
checks
and
border
procedures

Page

60 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The deal was adopted

by 160 member countries barely a
fortnight after India and the United
States resolved a major dispute over
food subsidies. It paved the way to
remove a major irritant in adopting the
trade facilitation agreement (TFA) to
make global trade easier, faster and
cheaper
by
making
systems
transparent and reducing red tape.
The agreement means the WTO will
introduce new standards for customs
checks and border procedures.
Proponents say this will streamline the
flow of trade around the world, adding
as much as $1 trillion and 21 million
jobs to the world economy.

3) In
a
major clampdown
for
suppression of material facts in IPO
documents, SEBI on 29 November
2014 penalised merchant banking
arms of SBI, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra,
IDBI, DSP Merrill Lynch and Edelweiss
groups in a public offer of 2012. This
public offer was of which reputed
rating agency? CARE
Explanation: The IPO of CARE came
in December 2012, prior to which
these six bankers had filed a Red

Herring Prospectus for the public issue

involving sale of nearly 72 lakh shares.
SEBI had discovered that merchant
banking arms of SBI, ICICI, Kotak
Mahindra, IDBI, DSP Merrill Lynch and
Edelweiss had picked and chosen
some material facts that they preferred
to disclose and suppressed some
material facts about the IPO. The six
merchant banks have been asked to
pay a fine of Rs.1 crore the
maximum penalty applicable for
violation of disclosure related norms in
IPO documents within 45 days.

4) Ousted Egyptian President Hosni

Mubarak was on 29 November 2014
acquitted of a murder charge by a
court which found him not guilty in the
killing of hundreds of unarmed
protesters during the 2011 revolution.
This revolution had toppled his 3decade old govt. in Egypt. The
judgment also overturned the life
sentence pronounced on him. When
he was given this life sentence?
June 2012
Explanation: Mubarak was sentenced
to life in prison in 2012 but the verdict
was successfully appealed in January,
2013, as the presiding judge ruled that
there was not enough evidence
presented by the prosecution. His
retrial began in April 2013. He was
given life sentence for allegedly
sanctioning the murder of 846
protesters
during
Egypts
2011
uprising. The judgment also meant
that Mubarak will now face no
punishment for allegedly profiting from
the export of gas at below-market
rates.

Page

61 CURRENT AFFAIRS

5) Paradip Refinery, being established

with a cost of Rs.34,555 crore and
having capacity to process 15 million
tonnes per annum, would be
commissioned in phases from March
2015. This Odisha-based refinery is
capable for processing a broad basket
of crude oil grades, including cheaper
high-sulphur heavy crudes. Which
PSU oil company owns Paradip
Refinery? Indian Oil Corporation
(IOC)

Explanation: Apart from the refinery,

IOC is also setting up a polypropylene
project with capacity of 680 KTA at
Paradip. Among the major pipeline
projects envisaged by the company in
the near future are Paradip-Hyderabad
product pipeline, Durgapur-BarauniPatna-Muzzaffarpur LPG pipeline,
augmentation of the existing KoyaliSanganer pipeline and its extension as
Jaipur-Panipat Naphtha pipeline and
Koyali-Ahmednagar pipeline.

Current Affairs | Banking & Financial | Daily Multiple Choice Questions | Free PDF