Daily GK update 1st December 2014

1. UN climate summit begins in Peru

i. Officials from over 190 nations, including India, on Monday converged in Lima at the
UN climate summit to negotiate on a new ambitious and binding deal to cut global
carbon emissions, in the last chance to reach on a historic deal to be signed next year
in Paris.

ii. Negotiations have been ongoing for 20 years, as the UN continues to bring its
member countries together to help curb the damaging effects of coal burning and
gasoline use, among other sources of pollution.
iii. During the 12-day summit in the Peruvian capital, countries will put forward what
they plan to contribute to the 2015 pact in the form of Intended Nationally Determined
Contributions (INDCs) by the first quarter of 2015, well in advance of the Paris
conference in December.
iv. The Lima conference needs to provide final clarity on what the INDCs need to contain,
including fordeveloping countries who are likely to have a range of options from, for example,
sector-wide emission curbs to energy intensity goals.
v. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar leads India's 17- member delegation to negotiate
terms for the final agreement to be signed in Paris, which will take effect in 2020.

2. Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas won Uruguay Presidential Election 2014

i. Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas on 30 November 2014 won the 2014 presidential
elections of Uruguay extending the decade-long rule of a leftist coalition. Vazquez
belongs to the leftist Broad Front coalition party of Uruguay.
ii. Vazquez won comfortably with 52.8 percent votes support while his centre-right challenger
Luis Lacalle Pou of the National Party trailed on 40.5 percent votes.
iii. He will succeed President Jose Mujica who was barred by law from running for a second
consecutive term.

3. Modi dedicates Tripura power plant to nation

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated to the nation the second unit of
the 726 MW gas-based power plant at Palatana in Tripura. A host of dignitaries from
India and Bangladesh, which facilitated transportation of heavy machineries to the plant,
were present on the occasion.
ii. Senior advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Minister of State for
power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, as well Indian Minister of State for
Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan graced the inauguration of the plant
 owned by ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC). ONGC CMD D.K. Sarraf and the
Union Petroleum Secretary were also present.
iii. Mr. Modi commissioned the second unit by pushing a button in the plant control
room at 2.40 p.m. He also addressed the gathering at the site.

4. PM announces Rs 28,000 cr for new rail projs in Northeast

i. Focusing on improving connectivity to the Northeast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi

on Monday said the Centre would provide Rs 28,000 crore for laying new railway lines
in the region and develop the untapped tourism potential of the area.
ii. The Prime Minister also said that the Centre has sanctioned Rs 5000 crore to provide
2G mobile coverage in this area for comprehensive telecom development plan of the northeast
region.
iii. As energy is a lifeline for development, Rs 5000 crore has been sanctioned for the
northeastern region power system improvement project for six states, including
Nagaland, the Prime Minister said.
iv. The Prime Minister said his government has decided to set up a National Sports
University in Manipur and the people of the region will be great beneficiaries.
v. The NE region could be the organic capital of the country, Modi said, adding that the Centre
has decided to set up six new agriculture colleges in this area.

5. The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence announced

i. The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence was announced on 30
November 2014.

The awards were announced in the following category:

Business Leader of the Year Dilip Shanghvi
Company of the Year Tata Consultancy Services
Emerging Company of the Year Adani Ports & SEZ
Global Indian of the Year Satya Nadella
Startup of the Year Zomato
Business Reformer of the Year UK Sinha
Corporate Citizen of the Year Tata Steel
Lifetime Achievement Yusuf Hamied
Entrepreneur of the Year - Dhiraj Rajaram and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

About ET Awards: i. ET awards are the awards conferred by The Economic Times in
the field of business, corporate and government policies, economies in India.
ii. It is an annual award. The award was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank. Since
2012, Standard Chartered Bank has been the presenting sponsor of The Economic
Times Awards for Corporate Excellence.
6. Egypt court declared Islamic State of Iraq and Syria a terrorist group
i. An Egyptian court on 30 November 2014 declared the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS) group as a terrorist organization and banned it in the country.
ii. The court in its ruling added that it considers all of the Islamic State's affiliates to be
terrorist organizations as well.
iii. This jihadi group regularly attacks Egyptian security forces and has declared
responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks.

7. Former Arunachal Pradesh CM Jarbom Gamlin passes away

i. Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin has died.
ii. He was 53. Gamlin was suffering from liver thrombosis. His family said he passed
away last night at a hospital at Gurgaon in Haryana.
iii. His body will be flown to Aalo in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on
Tuesday. Gamlin is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

8. ICC names SAP as analytics and cloud partner for 2015 World Cup
i. The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced an innovative new
partnership with SAP SE, a worldwide leader in enterprise application software services,
as its exclusive Analytics and Cloud Partner for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
ii. In addition, SAP will provision cloud-based services to host the ICCs historical ICC
Cricket World Cup statistics database, incorporating match data for its flagship ODI
event.
iii. Our partnership with the ICC will allow SAP to continuously develop technology that
can be adapted for infinite use cases. In this instance, our technology provides the ICC
the ability to engage fans with insightful and user-friendly solutions, bring them closer to
the action on the field and keep them informed about their favourite matches.

9. UAE captain Khurram Khan became the oldest player to score a century in ODI
i. United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Khurram Khan became the oldest player to score
a century in the One-Day International (ODI). He scored the winning century against
Afghanistan in Dubai on 30 November 2014.
ii. He achieved the feat at an age of 43 years and 162 days thus breaking the record
held in the name of Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka. Jayasuriya scored 107 against
India in 2009 when he was 39 years old.
iii. Khan smashed 17 fours to score unbeaten 132 run and he also put on a 160 run
third wicket partnership with Mohammad Shadzad.

10. Mascot for the 2016 European football championship named Super Victor
i. The mascot for the 2016 European football championship has been named Super
Victor.
ii. The announcement was made on 30 November 2014.The name for the cartoon
character boy dressed as a footballer in blue and white with a red cape and number 16
jersey was preferred to Driblou and Goalix.
 iii. The mascot made its first appearance on the pitch of Marseille`s new Velodrome
stadium before kickoff of France`s 1-0 friendly victory over Sweden. In 1984, the mascot
for the European Championships organised in France was Peno, and the 1998 World
Cup mascot was called Footix.
iv. Euro 2016 will take place in France from 10 June 2016 to 10 July 2016.

11. Baichung Bhutia conferred with AFC 'Hall of Fame' Award

i. Former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia has been conferred with the Asian
Football Confederation (AFC) Hall of Fame Award.
ii. He received the award in Manila, Philippines yesterday on the occasion of afc's 60th
anniversary. FIFA President Sepp Blatter presented the award to Baichung, the only
Indian in the AFC's Hall of Fame.
iii. All India Football Federation President Praful Patel and a host of dignitaries from all over the
football world were present on the occasion.
iv. After receiving the award, Baichung said the award was not solely for him, but for football,
for India and for all Indian footballers who have to struggle against all odds to prove themselves
every single day.

12. Adelaide to host 1st India-Australia Test

i. The first cricket Test between India and Australia will be held here from December 9
after the four-match series schedule was revised on Monday in the wake of young
player Phillip Hughes tragic death which left the home team distraught.
ii. Revised Schedule: 1st Test (Dec 9-13), 2nd Test (Dec 17-21), 3rd Test (Dec 26-30)
and 4th Test (Jan 6-10). Venues: 1st Test (Adelaide), 2nd Test (Brisbane), 3rd Test
(Melbourne) and 4th Test (Sydney) #AUSvsIND, the BCCI said on its official twitter
handle.
iii. Hughes funeral would be held in Macksville on Wednesday.

Daily GK update - 2nd December 2014

1. RBI keeps interest rate unchanged

i. RBI in its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement kept the policy rates unchanged.
 ii. On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macro-economic situation,
the RBI has decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility
(LAF) unchanged at 8.0 per cent.

iii. It has also kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0
per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).
iv. It has said that it will continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per
cent of bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate, and liquidity under 7-day and 14-day term
repos of up to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions.
v. As a result of these decisions, the reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain
unchanged at 7.0 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank
rate at 9.0 per cent
vi. The headline inflation has been receding steadily, and current readings are below
the January 2015 target of 8 per cent as well as the January 2016 target of 6 per cent,''
the RBI said.

Current RBI Policy & Reserve Rates:

Repo Rate 8% (Unchanged)

Reverse Repo 7% (Unchanged)
CRR 4% (Unchanged)
SLR 22% (Unchanged)
MSF 9% (Unchanged)
Bank Rate 9% (Unchanged)

Note: As on 2, Dec, 2014, RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in its fifith bimonthly monetary
policy statement kept the key policy rate unchanged.

2. Vajpayee's birthday to be celebrated as 'Good Governance Day'

i. Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's birthday on 25th December would be
observed as national 'Good Governance Day', Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.
ii. Modi was addressing party MPs at the meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party,
where BJP President Amit Shah was also present.
iii. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the party MPs that the birthday of former Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would be observed as national 'Good Governance Day'
on December 25, where all BJP MPs and government officials will make the day
symbolic of good governance," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap
Rudy told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday.
3. Former Maharashtra CM A. R. Antulay passes away
i. Senior Congress leader A R Antulay passed away here today after a prolonged
illness. He was 85.
ii. Antulay, who was a former Maharashtra Chief Minister and a Minister in the UPA-I
government, was suffering from a kidney ailment. He breathed his last at the Breach
Candy hospital, where he was admitted last month.
iii. The veteran Congressman, who hailed from the coastal Konkan region of
Maharashtra, passed away at around 10 am today, his son-in-law Mushtaq Antulay, told
PTI.
iv. The funeral will take place at his native Ambet village in the States Raigad district
tomorrow.

4. India successfully test-fires Agni-IV missile

i. India today successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable strategicballistic missile Agni-
IV, with a strike range of about 4,000 km, from a test range off the Odisha coast.
ii. This was the fourth trial of Agni-IV missile. The last trial was carried out successfully
on January 20 this year from the same test range off Odisha coast.
iii. Supported by a mobile launcher, the sleek missile was flight tested from the launch
complex-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, at about 10.20 am.
iv. The test conducted by the specially formed Strategic Force Command (SFC) was
successful, Ravi Kumar Gupta, Director of the Directorate of Public Interface, Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said.

5. Film artist Duncan Campbell won Turner Prize for the year 2014
i. Film artist of Ireland Duncan Campbell on 1 December 2014 won Turner Prize 2014
for a video called It For Others. The video reflects on African art and includes a dance
sequence inspired by Karl Marx. He received the prize of 25000 pounds at Tate Britain
in London.
ii. He became the fifth winner of Tuner Prize 2014 since 1996 and the fourth graduate of
our Master of Fine Art programme from the Glasgow School of Art to have won the prize
in the last 10 years.

6. Rajdeep Sardesai penned the book titled 2014: The Election That Changed India
i. Rajdeep Sardesai penned the book titled 2014: The Election That Changed India. The
book was released on 1 November 2014.
ii. The book tracks the story of 2014 Indian general elections that changed the political
landscape of India and is regarded as the most important elections in Indian history
since 1977. The 2014 election led to the demise of grand old party of India Congress
Party and spectacular rise of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
iii. The book is a thoughtful reflection on what ails Indias sensation-seeking, ratings-
addled and chronically shallow news television.

About Rajdeep Sardesai : Rajdeep Sardesai is an Indian news presenter and author.
 Sardesai is currently a consulting editor at the India today group and will be doing a
marquee show for Headlines Today.

7. Veteran music critic SV Krishnamurthy passed away

i. The veteran music critic of The Hindu SV Krishnamurthy passed away on 30
November 2014 after a brief illness. He was 89.
ii. Born in 1925, Krishnamurthy joined The Hindu in 1947 in a Kasturiranga Iyengar
studentship and was promoted as a sub-editor in 1948.

8. Prime Minister of Taiwan Jiang Yi-huah resigned after election loss

i. The Prime Minister of Taiwan Jiang Yi-huah on 29 November 2014 resigned after
election loss. He lost his first election since protests erupted over a
controversial TRADE deal with mainland China.
ii. His ruling party Kuomintang party (KMT) was placed second in election with just over
40 percent support. Democratic Progressive Party won the elections with more than 47
percent of the vote.

9. Bollywood actor Deven Varma passes away

i. Veteran actor-filmmaker Deven Varma, best known for his comic performance in
Khatta Meetha and Angoor, passed away this morning at his residence following a heart
attack, family sources said. He was 78.
ii. Varma started his acting career as a stage artist and eventually made his Bollywood
debut with a supporting role in Yash Chopras Dharmputra in 1961, which did not do
well.
iii. He shot to fame with his performance in 1975 film Chori Mera Kaam, which bagged
him his first Filmfare Award for Best Comedian.
iv. Varma went on to star in memorable films like Chor Ke Ghar Chor, Sanjeev Kapoor-
starrer Angoor, Gol Maal, Khatta Meetha, Naastik, Rang Birangi, Dil, Judaai, Andaz
Apna Apna and Dil Toh Pagal Hai.
v. His dual role of Bahadur in Gulzars 1982 film Angoor, is considered as one of the
most loved comic roles in Hindi cinema.

10. Russia launched new generation GLONASS-K navigation satellite

i. Russia on 30 November 2014 launched the new generation navigation satellite
GLONASS-K from the Plesetsk space centre in Russias northwestern Arkhangelsk
region.
ii. The satellite was launched on a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Fregat upper stage.
The carrier rocket was launched in a normal mode.
iii. This is the fifth launch of a Global Navigation Satellite System satellite (GLONASS)
from the Plesetsk space centre. The first launch of a GLONASS satellite from Plesetsk
took place on 26 February 2011.

11. West zone storm into Deodhar trophy finals; To clash with East zone tomorrow
i. Defending champions West Zone are to meet East Zone in the final of the Deodhar
Trophy cricket tournament on Wednesday. In the second semi-final in Mumbai
yesterday,
 ii. West Zone defeated South Zone by two wickets. Chasing an imposing 315 for
victory, West surpassed the target by making 319 for 8 in 47.1 overs. Sent in to bat,
South had made 314 for 7 in their 50 overs.
iii. Earlier, East Zone registered a 52-run win over North Zone in the first semi-final in Mumbai.

Daily GK update - 3rd December 2014

1. Anil Sinha takes over as new CBI Chief

i. Mr. Sinha is the third consecutive chief of the agency from Bihar following Ranjit Sinha
and A.P. Singh
ii. Anil Kumar Sinha, a 1979-batch IPS officer, on Wednesday took over the reins of the
Central Bureau of Investigation at a time when the agency is facing criticism from courts
over its handling of probe in coal allocation and 2G scams.

iii. Mr. Sinha, 58, has been with the agency as a Special Director for the past 21 months
and supervised the Saradha chit fund probe.
iv. He has a tough task cut out to restore the credibility of the CBI, which has drawn flak
from various courts, including the Supreme Court which had once called it a caged
parrot.

2. SBI Cards ties up with Future Group to offer co-branded card

i. SBI Cards has tied up with Future Group company Fashion at Big Bazaar (FBB) to
offer a co-branded CREDIT CARD, Styleup.
ii. The new Styleup card offers a lifetime flat 10 per cent discount on fashion apparel,
fashion accessories and footwear at all FBB and Big Bazaar stores and the customers
will also get 10 times the rewards on all Big Bazaar purchases besides other discounts
and rewards.
iii. SBI Cards is the only free-standing CREDIT CARD company in the country.
iv. All others are parts of banks SBI Cards has been seeing strong year on year growth
in the last few years. The tie-up with the Future Group is to fuel this performance by
entering into the high growth retail sector that is expected to increase to more than US$
800 billion by 2015, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson, State Bank of India said,
adding that the offering would create value for customers and is a win-win situation for
both partners.
3. World Bank, ADB to assist AP in Hudhud cyclone relief works
i. Teams from World Bank and ADB now on a visit here have assured the Andhra
Pradesh Government to assist the State in Cyclone Hudhud rehabilitation works.
ii. The World Bank Country Director Omno Rahl and Country Director of Asian
Development Bank (ADB) Theresakho today called on State Chief Secretary IYR
Krishna Rao at the secretariat for an update on the relief and rehabilitation works of the
cyclone Hudhud damages in the state.
iii. During the meeting some of the Secretaries made presentations on cyclone Hudhud
relief and rehabilitation works.
iv. The World Bank team lead by Tarun Bajaj, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic
Affairs participated in an hour long presentations by Secretaries on the rehabilitation
works of cyclone.

4. Sachin Tendulkar to lead Kerala in a run ahead of National Games

i. Sports-mad Kerala will launch itself into a frenzied run ahead of the start of
35th National Games here with brand ambassador and cricket legend Sachin
Tendulkar, no less, in the lead.
ii. Styled Run Kerala Run, the group run is being organised across the State to
celebrate the historic event when the State is hosting the Games after a gap of 28
years.
iii. The run will be taken out between January 20 and 22, 2015, to declare solidarity with
the Games and welcome sportspersons, sports organisers, and sports lovers from
different parts of the country.
iv. The National Games will be held from January 31, 2015 to February 14, 2015.

5. Central Bank to raise Rs. 626.23 cr from preferential issue to LIC

i. Central Bank of India today said it would raise about Rs. 626 crore through
preferential allotment of shares to countrys largest insurer LIC to FUND business
growth.
ii. The capital raising committee of the board approved raising of additional equity
capital by issuance of up to 8.28 crore shares at Rs. 75.55 a equity, Central Bank of
India said in a statement.
iii. Thus, the bank would raise Rs. 626.23 crore by allotting shares on preferential basis
to LIC. This would be subject to approval of Government of India, Reserve Bank of
India, shareholders and other statutory authorities, it said.

6. Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait Delhi branch offers full-fledged services

i. Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) has launched full-fledged services from its fourth
branch in India located at New Delhi. The branch will cater to its Non-Resident Indian
(NRI) clients.
ii. Earlier in August this year, the bank had launched soft or partial services from the
branch located in the national capital, said a bank official.

7. India improves rating on global corruption index

 i. India has showed some improvement in addressing corruption this year, ranking 85th
among 175 countries as against 94th last year, graft watchdog
TransparencyInternational India (TII) said on Wednesday.
ii. Denmark retained its position as the least corrupt country in 2014 with a score of 92
while North Korea and Somalia shared the last place, scoring just 8, it said.
iii. In India's neighbourhood, China moved to 100th place, down from 80th last year, while
Pakistan and Nepal were at 126th position.
iv. Bangladesh was 145th and Bhutan 30th in the ranking. Sri Lanka was ranked 85th
with India.
v. Afghanistan was at a bleak 172.

8. Cricket world bids tearful adieu to Phil Hughes

i. Tearful tributes were paid to young Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes at his funeral
today. Thousands gathered at the ceremony which was held at Hughes' former school
in his coastal home town of Macksville. The procession moved through the streets with
players and other mourners walking behind.
ii. The Australian players later formed a guard of honour and the hearse. The coffin was carried
by pall bearers, Phillip's father, his brother, Australian skipper Michael Clarke, Mitchell
Lonergan, Matthew Day, Aaron Finch and Tom Cooper. A lone cricket bat rested against the
coffin.
iii. Eyes welled up all around and mourners, including Clarke, broke down while reading out
tributes to Hughes, who died last week after being hit on the head by a bouncer during a
domestic game. Indian stand-in skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Team Director Ravi
Shastri were present in the ceremony.
iv. Million others mourned the death of talented cricketer through live television feeds of his
funeral.
v. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also joined the world in bidding farewell to Hughes. Mr
Modi said in a tweet that Hughes will be missed and his game and exuberance won him
fans all over.

Daily GK update - 4th December 2014

1. Yuvraj, Gambhir out of World Cup 2015

 i. Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has been included in the 30 probables for the ICC
Cricket World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March
29, 2015.
ii. The team does not have a single left arm seamer. The unlucky one to miss the
probables group is Madhya Pradesh wicket-keeper-batsman Naman Ojha. Karnataka
seamer R. Vinay Kumar has not been selected.

iii. The selectors more or less maintained the team which played against West Indies
and Sri Lanka in the recently concluded ODI series.
iv. The prominent players to miss out the list are: Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan,
Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and the man-of-the-series in the 2011 World Cup
Yuvraj Singh.
v. Of all the players ignored, Yuvrajs journey has been the most dramatic. The left-
handed batsman was named Player of the Tournament for his fantastic run in the 2011
World Cup but his career took a hit after he had to undergo treatment for rare form of
germ cell cancer between his lungs.
vi. Apart from Dhoni, the list has two wicketkeepers in Wriddhiman Saha and young
Sanju Samson, who has also impressed with his batting in the domestic arena.
vii. Cheteshwar Pujara, who is regarded a Test specialist, Pragyan Ojha, Dinesh
Karthik and Naman Ojha were among the other notable omissions.
viii. Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa, who have been in and out of the
national squad in recent times have also found a place in the probables list.

The following is the list of probables:

MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa, Virat
Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Manoj Tiwary, Manish Pandey,
Wriddhiman Saha, Sanju Samson, R Ashwin, Parvez Rasool, Karn Sharma, Amit
Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd
Shami, Umesh Yadav, V Aaron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Mohit Sharma, Ashoke
Dinda, Kuldeep Yadav and Murali Vijay.

2. Canara Bank wins trophy

i. Canara Bank has been conferred with the Niryat Bandhu Silver Trophy in the in the
banks category for its support services rendered for promotion of exports.
ii. President Pranab Mukherjee handed over the trophy to Canara Bank Executive
Director VS Krishna Kumar in Delhi on Tuesday.
iii. The Bank has been giving thrust to exports sector along with other priority sector
lending. The banks export credit outstanding stood at Rs11,546 crore as of September
30, 2014.

3. India celebrates 43rd Navy Day; President, PM salute devotion of Navy personnel
 i. India is celebrating 43rd Navy Day today. President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi have saluted Navy Personnel .
ii. President Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings to all members of the Indian
Navy and their families on the occasion of Navy Day.
iii. In his message, Mr Mukherjee said, the current geo-strategic environment has
enhanced the role and responsibilities of the Indian Navy in protecting the nations
maritime interests.

4. Union Finance Ministry constituted High Level Committee to hear industry's tax
issues
i. The Union Finance Ministry on 3 December 2014 constituted a High Level Committee
(HLC) to interact with trade and industry on tax-related issues on a regular basis. The
high level committee will be headed by former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Ashok
Lahiri.
ii. Other two members of the committee are Sidhartha Pradhan, retired member of the
Settlement Commission (Income Tax and Wealth Tax) and Gautam Ray, retired DG
(Audit) of the Customs and Central Excise.
iii. The High Level Committee will interact with trade and industry on regular basis and
ascertain areas where clarity in tax laws is required.
iv. The HLC will give recommendations to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
and the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) for issuance of appropriate
clarifications by way of circulars, instructions on tax issues.

5. Justice Krishna Iyer passes away

i. Eminent jurist and former Supreme Court judge, Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, passed
away at a private hospital in Kochi around 3.30 p.m. on Thursday. He died due to renal
and cardiac failure, hospital sources said. He was hospitalised for a fortnight.
ii. Justice Iyer, known for his forthright views, turned 100 recently. He was sworn in as
the judge of the Supreme Court on July 17, 1973 and retired at the age of 65 on Nov.14,
1980.

6. Prince of Gujarat: The Extraordinary Story of Prince Gopaldas Desai released

 i. Book titled Prince of Gujarat: The Extraordinary Story of Prince Gopaldas Desai
(1887-1951) authored by Rajmohan Gandhi was released on 7 November 2014.
ii. In this biography, author Rajmohan Gandhi has used letters, raredocuments, personal
accounts and historical narratives in the book and tried to recreate vivid and moving detail of life
and times of a leader of supreme honesty and unalloyed patriotism who also battled against the
hierarchies of Indian society.

7. India, Japan to cooperate in Cyber security & Green ICT

i. India and Japan will cooperate in the fields of Cyber security and Green Information
and Communication Technology, ICT.
ii. The two countries announced the decision in a statement following Joint Working
Group Meeting in New Delhi today.
iii. India and Japan will also cooperate in disaster management and detection of
symptoms and quick response to cyber attacks.
iv. The two countries decided to further discuss development of standards in the field of
Information and Communication Technology for future cooperation.
v. India has also offered Japan to manufacture ICT equipment in India.

8. Govt officials, HDIL chairman booked for irregularities in Bandra slum

rehabilitation project
i. An FIR has been registered against two senior bureaucrats and HDIL Group chairman
in connection with alleged irregularities in a slum redevelopment project in suburban
Bandra. Maharashtras Anti-Corruption Bureau has booked Principle Secretary
(Housing) Debashish Chakrabarty and Principal Secretary (Woman and Child
Development) Ujjwal Uke along with HDILs ten directors in the case.
ii. The complainant in this case owned a commercial space at the Motilal Nehru Nagar.
After the plot was redeveloped under Slum Rehabilitation Authority scheme by HDIL in
2005-2006, he was deliberately declared ineligible for allotment of a shop.

9. East Zone lifts Deodhar Trophy

i. East Zone has won the Deodhar Trophy cricket tournament, beating West Zone by 24
runs.
ii. In the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday, East Zone won the toss
and opted to bat first.
iii. They compiled 269 for 8 in the stipulated 50 overs, courtesy half centuries by skipper
Manoj Tiwary, Virat Singh and Biplab Samantray. Manoj Tiwary top scored with 75.
iv. In reply, Kedar Jadhav's 97 went in vain as West Zone were bundled out for 245 in
47.2 overs. Pacer Ashok Dinda bagged 4 wickets and was adjudged man of the match.

10. India's Ravi in ICC panel of umpires for World Cup

i. Indian umpire S Ravi was on Wednesday named in a 25-member list of match officials
for next year's ICC ODI World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
ii. "The team includes five officials from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match
Referees, 12 umpires from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and eight umpires
from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires," the ICC said in a statement.
iii. The match referees are David Boon, Chris Broad, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle and
 Roshan Mahanama.
iv. The elite panel umpires in the list are Aleem Dar, Billy Bowden, Bruce Oxenford, Ian Gould,
Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Nigel Llong, Paul Reiffel, Richard Illingworth, Richard
Kettleborough, Rod Tucker and Steve Davis.

Daily GK update - 5th December 2014

1. Narndra Modi named 'Asian of the Year' by Singapore's Straits Times

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was today named Asian of the Year for being a
development-focused leader by editors of Singapores leading daily, The Straits Times.
ii. Despite being relatively new to the job, he has already made a mark on Asia,
reaching out to neighbours and receiving national leaders including Xi Jinping of China
and Tony Abbott of Australia, said the Singapore Press Holdings Ltd, publisher of the
daily.

iii. It said Modi has had a highly successful visit to Japan for a summit with Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe.
iv. Mr Modi has got India and the world excited about his countrys prospects again. He
has given his people a renewed sense of direction and purpose, and there are hopeful
signs that he is minded to using his strong mandate to good effect in one of Asias major
powers. We wish him and India every success, Warren Fernandez, editor of the daily
said.
v. Every December, editors of the Singapore daily pick an Asian whose actions have
significantly impacted his own society or the wider Asian continent in the 12 months
past.

2. Govt relaxes norms for licenses for e-rickshaw drivers

i. The government on Friday approved relaxation in norms for e-rickshaw drivers,
paving the way for the battery-operated vehicles to ply on national capital roads, which
were banned by the Delhi High Court on safety concerns.
ii. "Cabinet has approved relaxation in norms for driving licences for e-rickshaw drivers,"
a source said after the Cabinet meeting in New Delhi on Friday.
iii. "The norms have been relaxed for issuing licences for e-rickshaw drivers. The
provision that no person shall be granted a learners licence to drive a
commercial vehicle unless he or she has held a driving licence for light motor vehicle for
at least one year has been waived," another source said.
iv. E-rickshaw is a legal entity and any driver passing the driving test would now be granted a
 licence, he added.
v. The government in October had notified the rules for plying of e-rickshaws making drivers
licence mandatory for operating them and limiting the maximum speed to 25 km per hour.

3. RBI relaxed norms for PPIs and doubled the limit to one lakh rupees
i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 3 December 2014 relaxed the norms for Pre-
paid Payment Instruments (PPI) and doubled the limit of PPI from 50000 rupees to one
lakh rupees.
ii. The move would help in achieving the objective of limiting cashtransactions in the system.

Highlights of RBI norms on PPI

i. The maximum validity of gift cards has been enhanced from one year to three years.
Other provisions of PPI guidelines with respect to gift cards will continue.
ii. RBI also allowed issue of multiple PPIs by banks from fully-KYC compliant bank
accounts for dependent or family members.
iii. Only one card can be issued to one beneficiary.
iv. The bank may put in place mechanisms to monitor and report suspicious
transactions on these PPIs to Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND).
v. The central bank also permitted banks to issue rupee denominated PPIs for visiting
foreign nationals and NRIs.

4. RBI issues norms for trading platform for MSME receivables

i. RBI issued guidelines for setting up a trading platform for trade receivables and bills of
exchanges of Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises - MSME.
ii. In a notification issued from Mumbai, RBI said that the Trade Receivables
Discounting System - TReDS should have a minimum paid up equity capital of 25 crore
rupees and non-promoters would not hold over 10 per cent of the equity capital of
TReDS.
iii. The foreign shareholding in the TReDS would be as per the extant foreign
investment policy. According to RBI, TReDS will facilitate financing of invoices/bills of
MSMEs drawn on corporate and other buyers, including government departments and
PSUs by way of discounting. It would discount invoices so that final payment of the bill
to the MSME is made by buyer on a due date.
iv. RBI has said that entities, other than the promoters, will not be permitted to have
shareholding in excess of 10 per cent of the equity capital of the TReDS.
v. The overall financial strength of the promoters/entity seeking to set up TReDS would
be an important criteria of assessment/selection.

5. HDFC Bank rules out a JV for payment bank

i. HDFC Bank has become the first in the sector to rule out a joint venture
partnership with any applicant for one of the proposed payment banks (PBs).
ii. We will not do a joint venture for this. We are a full bank ourselves and dont need to
form an alliance, said Aditya Puri, managing director.
iii. In final guidelines issued last week, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed entities to
form an alliance with a lender to form a PB.
 iv. The idea is that PBs would tap unbanked areas and such an alliance would help.
Puri said HDFC Bank was capable of tapping far-flung areas on its own. Nor does he
think they pose a worry on competition.
v. There is enough for everyone to do. There is space for payment banks, small banks,
regional rural banks and large banks to exist, he said.

6. NRAI chief Raninder becomes first elected Indian in ISSF committee

i. National Rifle Association of India President Raninder Singh has created history by
becoming the first Indian to become an elected member of the all-powerful International
Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF)'s Executive Committee.
ii. Contesting his first election, Raninder garnered 22 out of 25 votes in the General
Assembly meeting held at Munich,Germany.
iii. It is the first time in its 107-year history that an Indian has been elected as the
member of the global body representing the sport of Shooting. He was also elected as
the member of the Administrative Council of ISSF with 145 out of 293 votes.

7. Private entity cannot hold more than 26% in coal venture

i. A private sector entity cannot own more than 26 per cent stake in public-private joint
ventures for coal block allocations. However, if it is more than one private sector entity,
the structure should be such that its stake does not exceed 49 per cent.
ii. This will ensure that the private party cannot veto board decisions, a
senior Coal Ministry official said.
iii. This will also enable Government entities to retain the majority stake. In seeking the
Cabinets nod for the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014 to replace the
ordinance, the Government has proposed this change.
iv. A total of 92 blocks are being offered under the first round.

8. Hockey Champions Trophy begins in Odisha

i. The Hockey Champions Trophy has been inaugurated at the Kalinga Stadium at
Bhubaneswar in Odisha.
ii. All the eight Captains of the participating teams were present during the inauguration
of the Trophy being organized by Federation of International Hockey (FIH).
iii. The Tournament matches are starting from tomorrow as every team will play three
league matches.
iv. India will play Germany, Argentina and Netherlands on 6th, 7th and 9th this month.
Australia, Belgium, England and Pakistan are also participating in the Champions
Trophy.

9. Air India, NBCC sign MoU for development of land parcels

i. Air India and National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited, NBCC, today
signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU for development of land parcels of Air
India at various locations on joint venture basis.
ii. The MoU was signed in the presence of Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah
Naidu and Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju.
iii. Partnering with NBCC will help both parties unlock more value from Air Indias land,
totalling nearly 8 million square feet spread across the country. It will benefit from the
 governments recent move to hike the floor area ratio of a building's constructed area to
the size of land.

Daily GK update - 6th December 2014

1. PSU bank ATMs will be able to print in Hindi soon

i. ATMs installed by state-owned banks will soon have the facility for issuing the
transaction receipt in Hindi, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday in response to a
question in the Lok Sabha.

ii. "The government has instructed public sector banks (PSBs) to install those ATM
machines which can produce receipts in both Hindi and English languages.
iii. PSBs have been advised to ensure that all ATM machines have facility of doing
transactions/printing in Hindi as well as in English.
iv. Most ATMs have a bilingual option on their home screens. Some machines, like
those installed by ICICI Bank offer a regional language option as well in non-Hindi
speaking states.

2. Ashton Carter new US defense secretary

i. US President Barack Obama yesterday named Ashton Carter, a technocrat and
academic with deep experience working in the Pentagon, to replace Chuck Hagel as US
Defence Secretary.
ii. Obama praised the 60 year old former Deputy Defence Secretary, saying that he
would bring to the job a unique blend of strategic perspective and technical know how.
iii. Carter, who is expected to be confirmed by the Senate, takes over as the US military
finds itself in an air war against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, a sharp reversal
of course for an administration that had sought to bring home troops after 13 years of
fighting.
iv. Ashton carter was born in 1954 and he is a physicist and former Harvard professor.
v. He was professor and chair of the International Relations, Science, and Security faculty in
Kennedy school of Harvard.
vi. He served as assistant secretary of defense for international security policy under President
Clinton (1993-94).

3. Arun Duggal appointed as non-executive Chairman of Credit rating agency

ICRA
i. Credit Rating Agency ICRA Limited on 5 December 2014 appointed Arun Duggal as
non-executive Chairman after he was elected unilaterally by the ICRA Board. Currently,
Arun Duggal is serving as an independent director on the Board of ICRA Ltd.
ii. He will replace Pranab Kumar Choudhury who will resign from ICRA Limited and all
other affiliated entities on 29 January 2015. He has been associated with the rating
agency for 24 years.
 iii. Duggal is the former Chairman of the non-banking financial company Shriram
Capital Ltd.

4. ICICI Bank ties up with price comparison app Zopper

i. ICICI Bank, the countrys largest private sector lender, has tied up with Zopper, an e-
commerce app for offline and online price comparison.
ii. This will allow ICICI debit and credit card holders to avail themselves of exclusive
discounts at retail stores in their city, which are powered by the Zopper app iii. To be
eligible for this offer, ICICI Bank customers need to download the Zopper app on their
smartphone, the company said in a statement.
iv. This deal helps Zopper to increase its user base, as ICICI Bank promotes the
scheme to its customers via SMS, email, ATMs, etc. An ICICI customer can
then download Zopper app to see and avail of offers in their city.
v. This unique partnership between Zopper & ICICI has invigorated the retail ecosystem
in areas under ambit. Merchants are getting more footfalls and ICICI customers are
getting exclusive discounts.

5. ICICI Bank sells Russian subsidiary to Sovcombank

i. The board of countrys largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Friday approved
sale of the banks shareholding in its Russian subsidiary ICICI Bank Eurasia, to a third
party Sovcombank.
ii. ICICI Bank Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Bank at its
meeting held on December 05, 2014, approved a proposal for the sale of ICICI Banks
shareholding in ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company (IBEL), a non-material
wholly-owned banking subsidiary in Russia, to Sovcombank, an unrelated third party
Russian bank, ICICI Bank said in a release to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
iii. ICICI Bank Eurasia accounted for less than 0.1 per cent of ICICI Banks consolidated
total assets at that date and consolidated profit after tax for the period, the BSE release
said.

6. Govt appoints Dinesh Kumar as CEO of Polavaram Project

i. Senior IAS officer Dinesh Kumar was today appointed as Chief Executive Officer of
the Polavaram Project Authority.
ii. Kumar, a 1983 batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, is currently working as
Development Commissioner in the Ministry of Textiles.
iii. He has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Polavaram Project Authority
under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, in
the rank and pay of Additional Secretary, for a tenure of three years, an order issued by
the Department of Personnel and Training said.

7. Orion spacecraft marks dawn of new chapter in space exploration: US

 i. The successful test flight of the Orion spacecraft is the dawn of a new chapter in
space exploration, the White House today said after NASAs unmanned spacecraft
completed its first test flight.
ii. Orion is expected to take up its first crew in 2021.
iii. After a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a United Launch
Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at 7:05 a.m. local time this morning, Orion orbited the
Earth twice, reaching speeds of 20,000 miles per hour and travelling through belts of
intense radiation before enduring a fiery, 4,000 degree F re-entry into Earths
atmosphere.

8. American, South African hostages killed in Yemen

i. An American photojournalist and a South African aid worker held by al-Qaeda
militants in Yemen have been killed in a failed U.S. rescue attempt, authorities said on
Saturday.
ii. Speaking in Afghanistan, U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Luke Somers
and a second non-U.S. citizen hostage were murdered by al-Qaeda militants during
the raid.
iii. Lucy Somers, the photojournalists sister, told The Associated Press that she and
her father learned of her 33-year-old brothers death from FBI agents at 5 a.m. GMT
(10.30 a.m. IST) on Saturday.

9. Fifth World Cup Kabaddi begins today

i. The Fifth World Cup Kabaddi begins today at Jalandhar in Punjab. 19 teams from 15
nations are participating in the tournament. These include 11 Men's and 8 women's
teams.
ii. Though the tournament will be inaugurated today evening, matches will start tomorrow. Prize
worth 5.27 crore rupees are up for grabs in team and individual events which will continue till
20th of this month.

Daily GK update - 7 - 8th December 2014

1. Kotak Mahindra Bank launches savings bank account for customers of 55 years
and above
i. Kotak Mahindra BankBSE 0.38 % (KMB) today announced the launch of Grand, a
savings bank account tailored exclusively for customers of 55 years and above.
ii. According to a press release issued by the bank, Grand has been designed keeping
in mind their need for hassle-free banking, financial independence and personal
attention.

iii. According to the release, customers will earn 6 per cent pa on savings balance of
over Rs 1 lakh and 5 per cent on balances up to Rs 1 lakh.
 iv. To earn higher return on their balances, they can sign up for the Kotak ActivMoney
facility, which converts savings account balance above a certain amount into term
deposits.

2. India sets new world record for largest human flag

i. India today set a new world record for the largest human flag, formed by over 50,000
volunteers, beating the previous record held by Pakistan.
ii. The event saw about 1.5 lakh volunteers, mainly youth, turn up for the event at
YMCA Grounds here even as 50,000 of them formed the tricolour, Governor of Rotary
3230, organiser of the My Flag My India campaign, ISAK Nazar, told reporters here.
iii. The Guinness World Record for the largest human flag was previously held by the
Sports Club of Lahore with 28,957 people forming the flag, he said.
iv. This is the first record (of its kind) in independent India and our aim was to infuse
patriotism and nationalism in the present generation and next-generation youth, he
said, adding, youngsters formed the crux of the participants.

3. Modi, Mukesh Ambani most searched personalities in 2014: Yahoo

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Mukesh Ambani feature amongst the
most searched personalities online this year, according to search engine Yahoo.
ii. According to the seventh edition of Yahoo Indias Year in Review, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi led the list of High and Mighty? the Political Top 10 in 2014, followed by
his aides Arun Jaitley (Finance and I&B Minister) and BJP President Amit Shah.
iii. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Railways Minister
Suresh Prabhu and BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav have also been named in the
list.
iv. The review is based on users daily search habits and an editorial selection of what
they read, recommended and shared most on Yahoo in India.
v. The slew of reforms and Modis efforts to improve diplomatic ties were of ongoing
interest to Yahoo users. Make in India made it to the top of the list of Biggest Financial
Events of the Year, Yahoo said

4. Dev Shah becomes world champion in Under-7 category in World Schools Chess
Championships
i. Seven-year-old Dev Shah of Mumbai has become the youngest rated chess player
from India.
ii. Dev Shah has become the world champion in the Under-7 category in the World
Schools Chess Championships that concluded recently at Juiz de Fora in Brazil.
iii. Dev, a trainee of South Mumbai Chess Academy and student of Dhirubhai Ambani School,
was among three boys who scored the highest score. The Mumbai boy was ruled the victor on
account of a better aggregate score

5. Mandatory for PSUs to procure 20 percent of products manufactured by MSME:

Govt
i. Government today said that it will be mandatory for Public Sector Undertakings, PSUs
from 1st April, 2015 to procure 20 percent of the products manufactured by Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprises, MSME.
 ii. He said, so far only 32 PSUs have met 20 percent procurement limit. The Minister
said that the government is also considering of imposing a penalty against the PSUs
and other departments for failing to meet the required limit of procurement of MSME
products.

6. India forex reserves up $ 1.432 billion to $ 316.311 billion

i. India's forex reserves surged by 1.432 billion US dollar to 316.311 billion dollar in the
week ended 28th November.
ii. A RBI press release has informed that foreign currency assets, a major part of the
overall reserves, increased by 1.424 billion dollar to 290.822 billion dollar in the
reporting week. In the previous week, total reserves had declined by 672.4 million dollar
to 314.878 billion dollar.
iii. The country's gold reserves remained unchanged at 19.738 billion dollar. The
Special Drawing Rights increased by 6.4 million dollar to 4.229 billion dollar, while the
country's reserve position with the IMF also rose by 2.5 million dollar to 1.521 billion
dollar during the week.

7. Indian Blind Cricket Team lifts World Cup after defeating Pakistan
i. India lifts the Blind Cricket World Cup after defeating Pakistan by five wickets. In the
summit clash Defending Champions Pakistan scored 389 runs for the loss of 7 wickets
in 40 overs in Cape Town, South Africa yesterday. India had asked Pakistan to bat first
after winning the toss.
ii. Chasing a tough target, India managed to reach in 39.4 overs, losing 5 wickets in the
process.
iii. For India, Prakasha Jayaramaiah scored 82 runs, while Ajay Reddy made 74.
Interestingly, in the opening match of the tournament Pakistan had beaten India by
seven wickets. It was the 4th edition of the Blind Cricket World Cup.

8. GSAT-16 launched from Kourou in French Guiana functioning normally

i. Indias communication satellite GSAT 16 is performing normally which was launched
successfully from Kourou in French Guiana yesterday morning . The ISRO sources say
that the first Apogee Manoeuvre Firing commenced as planned at 03:51 hrs IST early
this morning.
ii. The Liquid Apogee Motor was fired for a duration of 6131 seconds for targeted
perigee-raising from 256 km to 16271 km as well as to reduce orbital inclination from
5.98 degrees to 1.35 degrees. The firing of apogee motor will consume 879 kg
propellant during this manoeuvre.
iii. The satellite will be placed in the Geostationary orbit of about 36000 kms after three
manoeuvres by 12th of this month. GSAT 16 has highest number of 48 transponders
that will be used for television, telephone and internet applications.

9. Kumar Sangakkara became fourth batsman to complete 13000 ODI runs

i. Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara on 3 December 2014 became the fourth
batsman to complete 13000 One-Day Internationals (ODI) runs.
ii. Sangakkara achieved the feat of crossing 13000 run during the third match of ODI
series with England. He took 386 matches to complete these many runs.
 iii. The all-time list of most-run getters in ODI is led by Sachin Tendulkar of India with
18426 runs from 463 ODIs. He is followed by Ricky Ponting of Australia with 13704 runs
from 375 ODIs and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka with 13430 runs from 445 matches.

10. Amos Meindi of Kenya won 29th Pune International full Marathon
i. Amos Meindi of Kenya won 29th Pune International full Marathon in Mens category
on 7 December 2014. He finished the race by completing 41.175 km in 2 hours 18
minutes and 36 seconds.
ii. Regassa Bezida of Ethiopia and Teresse came at second place and third place
respectively.

11. Carnatic vocalist Nedanuri Krishnamurthy died

i. Veteran Carnatic vocalist Nedanuri Krishnamurthy died on 8 December 2014 in

Visakhapatnam. He was 87. He was undergoing treatment for lung cancer.
ii. He was born on 10 October 1927 in Kothapalli in the erstwhile Hyderabad State of
British India
iii. He underwent training in Carnatic music (vocal and violin) with Dwaram Narasinga
Rao Naidu in Maharajas Music College at Vizianagaram in early 1940s
iv. Later he developed his style of music under guidance of Carnatic vocalist, Sripada
Pinakapani

12. Uber taxis banned in Delhi, company blacklisted

i. The Delhi Government today banned all operations by private cab service Uber with
immediate effect and blacklisted it from providing any transport service in the national
capital in the wake of the alleged rape incident in a taxi plying for it.
ii. The action came a day after a taxi driver employed by Uber was arrested from
Mathura for allegedly raping a 27-year-old woman executive in his cab.
iii. The transport department has banned all activities related to providing of any
transport service by www.uber.com with immediate effect. The department has also
blacklisted the company from providing any transport service in the NCT of Delhi in
future, the Delhi Government said in a statement.
iv. It said the Transport Department has cancelled the permit and registration certificate
of the taxi (DL1YD 7910) and driving licence of the accused.
v. According to the department, the taxi permit was granted on May 28, 2014, after due
verification of character and antecedents of the permit holder.

Daily GK update - 9th December 2014

1. Modi wins TIME readers poll for Person of the Year

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who did not make it to the final eight selected
byTIME for the annual Person of the Year title, has been hailed as one by its readers in
an online poll conducted by the publication.
ii. Mr. Modi has been named winner of this years readers poll for TIME Person of the
Year, securing more than 16 per cent of the almost five million votes cast.

iii. Protesters in Ferguson, who were demonstrating against a grand jurys decision not
to indict white police officer Darren Wilson who shot and killed unarmed black teenager
Michael Brown in August ranked second with 9 per cent of the votes. TIME said a
strong showing of readers from India helped drive Mr. Modis first-place finish.
iv. More people from the country voted than from any other country, with the exception
of the United States, it said. Readers from more than 225 countries participated in the
online poll, with U.S. votes leading the tally at 37 per cent, followed by India at 17 per
cent, and Russia at 12 per cent.
v. TIME said Mr. Modi became Prime Minister in May after securing a landslide victory
on a platform of rebooting Indias stalling economy. But his detractors have
questioned his past record, it added.

Note: The annual honour, that has been bestowed by the magazine since 1927, goes to
the person who most influenced the news during the year for better or worse. Mr.
Modi was among the 50 global leaders, business chiefs and pop icons named as
contenders for the annual honour.
2. Govt bans all unregistered app-based taxi providers

i. The Centre has asked States to ensure that all unregistered taxi services cease
operations for now, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, after a female passenger
reported she was raped by a driver contracted to US online cab company Uber in New
Delhi.
ii. New Delhi had already decided to ban all unregistered internet taxi firms after the
incident, a government official told Reuters earlier on Tuesday. Uber has been
operating in 11 Indian cities.

3. Satyarthi, Malala to receive Nobel awards on Wednesday

i. Child rights activists Indias Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistans Malala Yousafzai, along
with 11 others will receive this years Nobel Prizes tomorrow.
ii. The Nobel Laureates take centrestage in Swedens capital Stockholm and Norwegian
Oslo, where they will receive the Nobel medals, Nobel diplomas and documents
confirming the Nobel Prize amount.
iii. Satyarthi, 60, and Yousafzai, 17, will share the $1.1-million Peace Prize at Oslo,
while all the other awards will be presented in Stockholms.
iv. Satyarthi, along with his wife Sumedha, son, daughter-in-law and daughter reached
Oslo yesterday.
v. Frenchman Patrick Modiano will be presented the Literature Nobel, US-British
scientist John OKeefe and Norwegian husband-and-wife duo Edvard and May-Britt
Moser Nobel in medicine and Japanese scientists Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano
and Japanese-born American Shuji Nakamura the Nobel in Physics.
vi. Americans Eric Betzig and William Moerner and German scientist Stefan Hell will
share the Nobel in Chemistry, while Frenchman Jean Tirole will be presented the Nobel
for Economics.

Note: Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have been presented to the Laureates at
ceremonies on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobels death.

4. Gwladys Nocera of France won Hero Women's Indian Golf Open 2014
i. Gwladys Nocera of France on 6 December 2014 won the Hero Women's Indian Golf
Open 2014 at the Delhi Golf Club. She received the prize money of 300000 US dollars.
ii. She won her first title of the 2014 season with a score 11 under par total of 208.

5. Subramanian Committee on Leveraging the Post Office Network submitted report

to Union government
 i. Subramanian Committee on Leveraging the Post Office Network on 4 December 2014
submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Communications
and Information Technology.
ii. The objective of the Committee was to transform the Post Office Network in keeping
with changing market trends and competition.
iii. The committee has made around 181 recommendations to make the post office
competitive and efficient. These recommendations ranges from formulation of a New
Postal Law to New Organisational design of India Post to Extension of Post Office
network in Rural areas.

6. Hockey Olympian Grihanandan Singh died

i. Hockey Olympian Grihanandan Singh died on 7 December 2014 in New Delhi. He
was 88.
ii. Nick named Nandy Singh was an Indian field hockey player who won two Olympic
gold medals, at the 1948 London Olympics and later in 1952 Helsinki Olympics with the
Indian team.

7. Warren buffet became second richest person of World

i. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Warren buffet became second richest
person in the World. He replaced Carlos Slim, business magnate of Mexico. Bill Gates
is the world richest person.
ii. Buffet chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has a net worth of 73.7 billion US dollars
and his annual business profits recorded 19.5 billion US dollars which is up 13 percent.
Berkshire reached 52 week high in intraday trading which is closed at 185750 US
dollars.
iii. Slim has net worth of 62.9 billion US dollars. Slim profit has fallen 10.9 billion US
dollars since the start of 2014 and his business profits dropped by 14 percent.

8. Andhra Pradesh Government signed MoU with Singapore for development of its
new capital
i. Andhra Pradesh Government on 8 December 2014 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Singapore for the development of its new capital that is set to
come up near Vijawayada region.
ii. The MoU was signed by International Enterprise Singapore CEO Teo Eng Cheong
and the Infrastructure Corporation of the Andhra Pradesh representative Sambasiva
Rao.
iii. Under the MoU, Singapore will prepare a master plan for building the new capital of
Andhra Pradesh.
iv. The master plan will be designed for the capital region that is likely to come up in an
area of approximately 7300 square kilometres and also for the capital city that will be
spread in an area of 125 square kilometres.

9. Adelaide Test: Warner hits century before India fight back

i. Australia's David Warner paid a fitting tribute to his deceased teammate Phillip Hughes by
cracking a rollicking 145 before India clawed back with three quick blows to share the honours
on an emotionally charged opening day of the first cricket Test in Adelaide on Tuesday.
 ii. Opting to bat first, Australia rode on Warner's 10th Test century and were cruising
along comfortably before India struck three vital blows at the fag end of the day to
reduce the hosts to 354 for six at the Adelaide Oval.
iii. The home team was comfortably placed at 258 for two when Warner became
debutant spinner Karn Sharma's maiden victim, which triggered a collapse of sorts with
Mitchell Marsh (41), night-watchman Nathan Lyon (3) and Brad Haddin (0) falling in
quick succession to help India stage a fightback.
iv. Steven Smith was unbeaten on 72 when stumps were drawn for the day with four balls still to
be bowled.
v. Earlier, the stadium witnessed a gamut of emotions before the commencement of the match as
spectators clapped for exactly 63 seconds as a mark of respect for Hughes.
vi. Both teams wore black arm bands while the Australians had Hughes' Test cap No 408
inscribed on their jerseys.
vii. Warner was finally out after facing 163 balls and striking 19 boundaries. He holed
out in the deep mid-wicket region where Ishant Sharma took a catch off Karn's bowling.

Daily GK update - 10th December 2014

1. Richard Rahul Verma confirmed as US Ambassador to India

i. Richard Rahul Verma was on Wednesday unanimously confirmed as the next US

Ambassador to India by the Senate, making him the first-ever Indian-American to hold
the post.

ii. 46-year-old Verma's nomination was approved by the Senate by a voice vote,
reflecting a sense of bi-partisan support to the Indo-US ties and showing his popularity
among Senators across the aisle.
iii. The Senate raced through his nomination process ahead of more than 50
ambassadorial nominations to make sure that he is in New Delhi when US President
Barack Obama travels to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on
January 26.
iv. Verma, who quietly played an important role in the Congressional passage of civil nuclear
deal with India, had advocated for strong Indo-US ties when in the administration and recently
started "India 2020" project at Centre for American Progress a top American-think tank.
v. He will replace Nancy Powell, who resigned in March after a damaging row over the
treatment of diplomat Devyani Khobragade over visa fraud charges.
vi. The US Embassy in New Delhi is currently headed by charge d'affaires Kathleen Stephens.
2. Human Rights Day observed globally on 10 December
i. Human Rights Day was observed globally on 10 December 2014. The theme for the
2014 Human Rights Day is Human Rights 365. Ii. The theme was based on the idea
that every day is Human Rights Day and everyone is entitled to basic human rights day.
iii. The day celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that
each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that
human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community
with the same ideals and values.
iv. The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption
and proclamation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December
1948.
v. First Human Rights Day was celebrated in 1950.

3. SBI launches first homegrown economic indicator

i. The State Bank of India has launched two indices namely the SBI Monthly
Composite Index and the SBI Yearly Composite Index that will primarily track
manufacturing activity and offer a forward-looking economic trends.
ii. SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya told reporters in Mumbai that the Index will
analyse data from both manufacturing and services industries to determine expansion
or contraction in the economy.
iii. Both these indices will fulfill complementary purposes such as month-on-month
sentiment movement and year-on-year growth forecast, respectively.
iv. Currently, Markers at present depend on HSBC India Purchasing Managers'
Index(PMI) and HSBC India Services Business Activity Index to get clues about
economic trends.

4. Indias second most up and coming destination for expats: HSBC

i. India has been ranked as the second most up and coming destination the
countries that are getting better as a place to live and work in for expats after China,
says an HSBC survey.
ii. According to the Expat Explorer survey commissioned by HSBC Expat, emerging
Asian economies are an attractive destination for challenge-seeking and adventurous
expats, with 44 per cent of them saying they made the move for a new challenge.
iii. India is likely to develop its industrial sector to catch up on infrastructure
development, which will happen with the help of overseas funding. Its natural to
assume that the foreign funding will bring along foreign human expertise, HSBC India
Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management Sanjiv Sud said.
iv. Indian economy is consistently growing above 5 per cent every year, and is expected
to post a 7.3 per cent growth in 2016, according to HSBC.
v. Expats in China and in India are also the most confident and have a positive outlook
on the local economy with 60 per cent of them sharing the feeling that their host country
is getting better as a place to live and work, compared to the 32 per cent global
average.

5. Indias GDP may grow 5-6% in 2015: Moodys

 i. Indian economy is expected to pick up pace in 2015 and grow in the range of 5 to 6
per cent, helped by strong domestic demand, rating agency Moodys today said.
ii. India will have stronger GDP growth in 2015, which we forecast at 5-6 per cent, up
from around 5 per cent in 2014, Moodys said in a report titled 2015 Outlook-Global
Credit Conditions.
iii. The country, it said, has benefited from a strong domestic demand base and
diversified export market that give protection from the effects of a slowing Chinese
economy and muted growth in the euro zone and Japan.

6. BHEL commissioned Nyaborongo Hydro Power Plant in Rwanda

i. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) successfully commissioned a 28 MW
Nyaborongo Hydro Electric Project in Rwanda on turnkey basis.
ii. With the commissioning of this project, the installed generating capacity of Republic
of Rwanda has gone up by 24 percent from 119 MW to 147 MW
iii. BHEL's scope of work in the contract included turnkey execution for the Nyaborongo
hydro power project comprising two hydro generating units of 14 MW each.

7. Ministry of Railways inaugurated Wi-Fi broadband services at New Delhi railway

station
i. Ministry of Railways inaugurated Wi-Fi broadband services at the New Delhi railway
station on 8 December 2014.
ii. The Wi-Fi facility is being executed by RailTel, a Public Sector Undertaking of the
Ministry of Railways.
iii. The RailWire powered Wi-Fi will give maximum speed of 1 mbps and the facility is
free for first 30 minutes by registering on the Wi-Fi network through mobile.
iv. If user wants to use beyond 30 minutes then the user may purchase scratch cards
priced at 25 rupees for 30 minutes and 35 rupees for 1 Hour and are valid for 24 hours.

8. Azim Premji awarded Swiss Ambassador's Award

i. Chairman of Wipro Azim Premji was awarded Swiss Ambassador's Award in Mumbai.
He was awarded for inspirational and socially responsible leadership.
ii. Switzerland ambassador Linus von Castelmur praised Azim Premji as a beacon of
the corporate world who has maintained values such as tolerance, honesty and
modesty.
iii. Swiss Ambassador's Award was constituted in 2010. The award recognises
individuals who have contributed to the promotion of Indo-Swiss relations or have stood
out for their exceptional role in society and industry.

9. Veteran Journalist Piratla Venkateswarlu passed away

i.Veteran journalist Piratla Venkateswarlu passed away on 8 December 2014 in Narayanaguda
following a brief illness. He was 74.
ii. Piratla began his career as a full-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker.
iii. He was the National Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the
students wing of Bharatiya Janata Party.

10. Pakistan 8th most dangerous country in the world: Report

 i. A US-based intelligence think tank has placed Pakistan eighth in the list of the most
dangerous countries in the world which is led by Iraq.
ii. Afghanistan, the only other South Asian country in the list, is placed fourth in the
Country Threat Index, CTI compiled yesterday by Intel Center, a Washington-based
company working for intelligence agencies.
iii. The rankings were prepared after examining the volume of terrorist and rebel alerts,
messaging traffic, videos, photos, incidents and the number of killed and injured in a country
over the past 30 days.
iv. The other countries in the top 10 are Nigeria (second), Somalia (third) followed by
Yemen (fifth), Syria (sixth), Libya(seventh), Egypt (ninth) and Kenya (10th).

Daily GK update - 11th December 2014

1. Ebola fighters named Time's 2014 'Person of the Year'

i. The countless doctors, nurses and caregivers at the forefront of battling one of the
worst ever outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus, were collectively named as Time magazine's
2014 'Person of the Year'.

ii. The 'Ebola fighters' have been awarded for their "tireless acts of courage and mercy"
and for "risking, persisting, sacrificing and saving".
iii. Time's editors unveiled the winner of the annual honour selecting the Ebola fighters
from an initial list of 50 world leaders on Wednesday, business heads and record-
breaking artists that was narrowed down to a shortlist of eight this week.
iv. "Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to
keep us safe from infectious disease, and 'us' means everyone, not just those in faraway places
where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day.
v. "The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to
stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its
defences, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time's 2014
Person of the Year," Editor Nancy Gibbs said explaining the publication's reasoning behind the
choice.
vi. Time had conducted a separate online poll in which it gave a chance to its readers to select
who they think should win the title of Person of the Year.

Note: The readers' poll was won by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had
secured more than 16 percent of the almost five million votes cast.
2. Kailash Satyarthi, Malala Yousafzai receive Nobel Peace Prize

i. Indias Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 today, sharing it
with Pakistans Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel laureate, for their work on
promoting child rights in the troubled sub-continent, where millions are deprived of their
childhood and education.
ii. Satyarthi and Yousafzai are precisely the people whom Alfred Nobel in his will calls
champions of peace, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Thorbjorn Jagland
said in his speech before awarding them the prize.
iii. A young girl and a somewhat older man, one from Pakistan and one from India, one
Muslim, the other Hindu; both symbols of what the world needs: more unity. Fraternity
between the nations!, he added.
iv. Satyarthi, 60, who gave up his job as an electrical engineer to run an NGO for
rescuing children from forced labour and trafficking, and 17-year-old Malala, who
survived a near-fatal Taliban attack two years ago with determination advocating
education for girls, were named by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee for the prestigious
award on October 10.
v. They received the Nobel medal which is 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold
and weighs around 175 grams.
vi. They will share $1.1 million prize money.

3. Russia agrees with India to construct 12 nuclear reactors

i. Russia's state-owned Rosatom said it would supply 12 nuclear energy reactors for
India over 20 years, under an agreement aimed at boosting nuclear energy cooperation
signed by the two countries during a summit in New Delhi on Thursday.
ii. A 1,000-megawatt reactor is operating at the Russian-built Kudankulam power station
in India's Tamil Nadu district, with a second due to come on stream in 2015.
iii. Russian President Vladimir Putin had been pushing for Rosatom to increase the
number of reactors it could supply to as many as 25.
iv. Indian officials say that a total of six reactors will be built at Kudankulam, with a
further six to follow at a site that has not yet been determined.

4. Global economy to grow over 3% in 2015, 2016:UN

i. The global economy will grow by more than 3 percent in 2015 and 2016 however the
growth will be uneven in some regions, predicts the United Nations.
ii. The UN's annual economic report yesterday said that growth edged up in 2014 at an
estimated 2.6 percent. The UN is forecasting 3.1 percent economic growth in 2015 and
3.3 percent growth in 2016.
iii. The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 report says business investment
will be a major driver in the United States, growth in the world's least developed
 economies will exceed the global average, and strong household consumption will keep
East Asia the world's fastest growing region.
iv. Among developed economies, the report says the United States will see 2.8 percent
growth in 2015 and 3.1 percent in 2016.

5. India likely to improve economic growth to 6.3% in 2016: UN

i. A United Nations report has said that India's economic growth is expected to improve
to 6.3 per cent in the next two years, with the country leading the economic recovery in
the South Asian region.
ii. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects, WESP, 2015 report, released
today says India is likely to make progress in implementing economic policy reforms
and help in providing support to business and consumer confidence. This economic
growth is despite the continuing financial crisis and the emergence of new challenges,
including geopolitical conflicts such as in Ukraine, and the Ebola outbreak in West
Africa.
iii. The report also says that India is estimated to record a 5.4 percent economic growth
this year and its GDP will improve to 5.9 per cent next year and to 6.3 per cent in 2016.

6. Bhutan became 181st member of MIGA, agency of World Bank

i. Bhutan on 8 December 2014 became the 181st member of Multilateral Investment
Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
ii. MIGA is the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank
Group.
iii. Bhutan has fulfilled all of its membership requirements to become the member of
MIGA.

Benefits of becoming a member

i. The move will allow the private sector and corporations of a country to explore
external commercial borrowing (ECB).
ii. Once a member of MIGA, the private sector and corporations in the country will have
the option of directly applying to MIGA for issuance of guarantee to attract Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI).
iii. MIGAs guarantee can help investors obtain access to ECB with improved financial
terms and conditions.

7. Pioneer of home video game console Ralph Henry Baer died

i. The pioneer of home video game console Ralph Henry Baer died on 6 December
2014 in Manchester following a brief illness. He was 92.
ii. He was famously known as the Father of Video Games due to his contributions to
video game industry.

8. Randhir Singh appointed as honorary member of IOC

i. Randhir Singh was appointed as an honorary member of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC). He was appointed as the honorary member during the IOC session in
Monaco held from 8 December 2014 to 9 December 2014.
 ii. He was named for the honorary membership of the IOC after he served IOC as a full
member from India from 2001 to 2014.
iii. Randhir Singh is the second Indian to become an honorary member of the IOC after
Ashwini Kumar. Ashwini Kumar was also given the membership after serving as full IOC
member from India.

9. Pakistan beat Netherlands 4-2 in quarter-final of Champions Trophy Hockey

i. Pakistan becomes the first team to enter the semi finals of ongoing Hockey
Champions Trophy tournament at Bhubaneswar. They beat The Netherlands 4-2 in the
quarter finals.
ii. The quarter final match between Argentina and Australia is underway. Later in the
evening, India will fight for a semi final spot as they take on Belgium in the quarterfinals.
iii. The match will begin at 7.30 pm. All India Radio will broadcast the live commentary
of the match. In other quarter final fixtures, England will face Germany in the evening.

10. Adelaide Test, Day 3: India in comfortable position; Kohli hits ton

i. On third day of the Adelaide Cricket Test, India gets into a comfortable position
against Australia. At the stumps India were 369 for the loss of five wickets in the first
innings and now trail Australia by 148 runs.
ii. Skipper Virat Kohli struck a superb century that cruised India from early hiccups.
Kohli paved the way for his 7th Test Century before he succumbed to Mitchell
Johnson's bouncer at 115 runs.
iii. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane chipped in with half centuries. For Australia Mitchell
Johnson and Nathan Lyon picked 2 wickets each. Earlier, in the morning hosts had declared their
first innings at 517 for 7.

Daily GK Update - 12th Dec 2014

1. Anurag Jain appointed as joint Secretary.

i. Senior IAS officer Anurag Jain was appointed as the Joint Secretary in Prime Minister's Office
(PMO) of India.
ii.A 1989 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, is presently working as Joint Secretary in
Department of Financial Services under the Finance Ministry.
iii. He has held various posts in the state including Collector, Bhopal and Secretary to Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

2. CBI arrests West Bengal Minister Madan Mitra in Saradha scam.

i. Central Bureau of Investigation arrested West Bengal Transport Minster and senior Trinamool
Congress leader Madan Mitra.
ii. CBI has arrested Madan Mitra, a Cabinet Minister in the Government of West Bengal on
prima facie evidence of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation as well as deriving
undue financial benefits from the Saradha Scam.
iii.Other than allegations of pressurising Saradha chairman and managing director Sudipta Sen,
Mr. Mitra has publicly endorsed the Saradha group.

3.Tata Power acquired 540 MW thermal power plant for 3000 crore rupees.
i. Tata Power on acquired 540-megawatt (MW) thermal power plant in Maharashtra for 3000
crore rupees.
ii. The thermal plant was acquired from the promoters of IRB Infrastructure. With this deal, Tata
Power aimed to increase its total capacity to 8885 MW.
iii. Tata Power used to be the nation's biggest private sector electricity producer but overtook by
Adani power recently.

4.Delhi HC banned Xiaomi to sell phones in India over patent issue with Ericcson.
i. Delhi High Court on 10 December 2014 banned Xiaomi to sell phones in India over patent
issue with Ericsson.
ii. The High Court ordered Xiaomi to not bring any new phones into India nor sell or advertise
them here unless it resolves the legal issues surrounding its operations.

5. LS passes bill on coal block allocations.

i. Lok Sabha passed a bill which provides for fresh auction of 204 coal blocks de-allocated by the
Supreme Court in September with the government allaying apprehensions of some parties that
the legislation would lead to privatisation of the sector.
ii. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, which replaces and Ordinance promulgated in
October, was passed by voice vote overcoming demands by some opposition parties it be sent to
the Parliamentary Standing Committee for closer scrutiny.

iii. The Bill provides for "allocation of coal mines and vesting of the right, title and interest in
and over the land and mine infrastructure, together with mining leases, to successful bidders and
allottees through a transparent bidding process.

6. 22 states, UTs support bill to prevent 'honour killings'.

i. As many as 22 states and Union Territories have supported a Law Commission
recommendation to bring a bill to prevent 'honour killings', but govt on refused to fix a timeline
to put in place a legal framework, saying a decision will be taken after due consultations.

ii. Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the policy
decision to enact a legislation on the issue will be taken after considering the comments of all
states and holding consultations with the stakeholders.

iii. In its 2001 report, the panel, then headed by Justice P V Redi, had recommended brining a
bill "to provide for, in the interests of protecting individual liberty and preventing victimisation,
prohibition of unlawful assemblies and other conduct interfering with the freedom of
matrimonial alliances in the name of honour and tradition and for the matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto."

7. Essar gets $1-bn loans, $8-bn crude.

i. Russian President Vladimir Putin, offered the Ruias-promoted Essar Group a $1-billion credit
line and an $8-billion crude supply contract.

ii. The steel-to-oil Indian conglomerate signed two separate agreements with St Petersburg-based
Vneshtorgbank (VTB) and Moscow-based Rosneft.
iii. Andrey Kostin, President and chairman of VTB Bank Management Board, signed a
memorandum of understanding with Shashi Ruia, co-founder of Essar Group, to provide a credit
facility of up to $1 billion.
iv. The financing follows the $1.2-billion successful transaction arranged in the first half of 2014
by VTB Capital.
8. India to face Pak in CT semifinal.
i. A cracker of a contest is on the cards when a confident India takes on a resurgent Pakistan in
what promises to be a battle of attrition between the two traditional rivals at the Hero Champions
Trophy hockey tournament.

ii. The match also provides India an opportunity to avenge their defeat at the hands of Pakistan in
the bronze medal match in the last edition of the elite eight-nation tournament held at Melbourne
in 2012.
iii. Going by present form and record, India definitely will enjoy an upper-hand over their
neighbours.

Daily GK Update - 13th December 2014

1. Dineshwar Sharma has been appointed as the next chief of Intelligence Bureau(IB).

i. A 1979-batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre known for keeping a low profile.

ii. Sharma is heading the crucial counter-surveillance of IB and is credited

with success in several clandestine operations of the the agency in that area.
iii.Sharma, who hails from Bihar, will succeed Syed Asif Ibrahim whose tenure ends on
December 31.
iv.Sharma has served at various desks in Intelligence Bureau since he was posted in the
organisation in 1991 which includes Kashmir, Northeast besides stints in Lucknow.

2. Ruhi Singh won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014.

i. Ruhi Singh of India was in news because she won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014 at
Beirut, Lebanon.
ii. She is the first person to win this pageant from India and she won the pageant among the 145
other countries.
iii. Rebecca Boggiano from Australia finished as first runner-up and Sofia Alkhadra from
Palestine was the second runner-up.

3. Asha Bhosle awarded DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award 2014

i. Playback singer Asha Bhosle on 10 December 2014 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement
Award at the 11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) held in Dubai.
ii. She received the award for her decades of dedication to Indian Film Industry.
iii. Along with her, another Egyptian actor Nour El-Sherif was also received the DIFF Lifetime
Achievement Award for his work on over 100 films.

4. Oil India signs contract for two oil blocks in Myanmar

i. Oil India Ltd, the second largest state explorer, has signed contract for two offshore oil and gas
blocks it had bagged in Myanmar.

ii. OIL along with its consortium partners signed Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with
Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) for two offshore blocks M4 and YEB at Nay Pyi Taw.
iii. A total of 30 blocks (11 shallow water and 19 deepsea) were put on offer in this bidding
round. OIL and partners bid for three offshore blocks M-4, M-8 and YEB and won two of them.

5. ONGC declares interim dividend, notifies 3 discoveries.

i. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Saturday announced three new oil and gas
discoveries in Krishan Godavari Basin and Mumbai offshore and said it will pay its shareholders
an interim dividend of 100 per cent.
ii. The total payout on this account will be Rs 4,277.75 crore out of which the Government of
India will receive Rs 2948.08 crore on its shareholding. In addition, dividend distribution tax of
Rs 855.55 crore.
iii. ONGC said it has made three discoveries one in deepwater KG Basin off the east coast,
second in Mumbai offshore basin off the west coast and the third in Cauvery basin in the
southern onland part of the country.

6. Indias Forex reserves down $1.64 billion.

i. According to the RBIs weekly statistical supplement, foreign currency assets, the biggest
component of the Forex reserves, plunged $867.4 million at $289.95 billion in the week under
review.

ii. The foreign currency assets had risen $1.42 billion at $290.82 billion in the week under
review (Nov 28).
iii. The value of special drawing rights (SDRs) was lower by $21.6 million at $4.20 billion.
iv. Gold reserves for the week under review were down by $753.2 million at $18.98 billion.

7. Lima talks: New draft text introduced without consultation.

i. Former Vice President of the Unites States Al Gore, former President of Mexico Felipe
Calderon, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Peru's President Ollanta Humala, and Peru's
Environment Minister and President of the COP, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, gathered at the U.N.
Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru.

ii. Delegates from more than 190 countries are meeting in Lima, to work on drafts for a global
climate deal that is supposed to be adopted next year in Paris.
iii. Developing countries have been opposing the mitigation centric approach of the developed
countries which are not ready to commit to financial targets or technology transfer.

8. Australia defeated India in a thriller.

i. Australia defeated India in the first test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy in Adelaide.
ii. Virat Kohli scored a fighting hundred but in vain as was outshown by Nathan Lyon's 11
wickets haul.
iii. Australia is now 1-0 up in the series with the next match to be played at Gabba.
Daily GK Update - 14th and 15th December 2014

1.Central Sydney under Siege

i. Terrified hostages cowered inside a cafe in central Sydney Monday with an Islamic flag
displayed against a window, sparking a security lockdown in an area home to government and
corporate headquarters.

ii. Martin Place was evacuated as scores of armed police surrounded the Lindt chocolate cafe,
with TV pictures showing a flag - black with white Arabic writing - held to a window by
customers.
iii. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep concerns over the Sydney cafe siege
incident.

iv. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he has convened the National Security
Committee for emergency briefings after hostages were reportedly taken in a Sydney cafe today.

2. Rahman and Jal for oscars

i. Indias music maestro A.R. Rahman may end up getting his third Oscar nomination in the best
original score category after making it to the list of 114 probables.
ii. while Hindi film Jal also features in the long list of best picture Oscar hopefuls.

iii. Rahman, who has previously been nominated for 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire, for
which he won two Oscars, has made it to the list for three of his films including Hollywood
movies The Hundred-Foot Journey and Million Dollar Arm and Rajinikanth-starrer Tamil film
Kochadaiiyaan.
iv. Jal features in the best picture list as an independent submission, while India will officially be
represented at the Academy awards in the best foreign feature category by Liars Dice.

3. PM Narendra Modi launched Born Again on the Mountain by Arunima Sinha

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a book tittled Born Again on the Mountain by
Arunima Sinha.
ii. She is the first Indian amputee and first female amputee to climb Mount Everest.
iii. The book is about her unforgettable story of hope, courage and resilience.
iv. She was a national level volleyball player who was pushed out of a running train by thieves in
2011 as she attempted to fight them off.

4. Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss crowned Miss World 2014

i. Miss South Africa, Rolene Strauss was crowned Miss World 2014 at the final of the beauty
pageant held in London, UK.

ii. Strauss, 22-year-old fourth-year medical student at University of the Free State, was presented
with the sash by the outgoing Miss World, Megan Young of the Philippines.
iii. Rolene Strauss will now travel to the violence-hit Central American nation to build a school
named in their honour.
iv. Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was the runner-up and Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit,
came third in the 64th annual competition, contested by women from 121 countries.
v. India's 21-year-old Jaipur-born Koyal Rana made it to the top 10 but failed to make it to the
top five. However, she bagged the sub-title of Best Designer of the world.
vi. She also shared the Beauty With A Purpose title with Kenya, Guyana, Brazil and Indonesia.
vii. Priyanka Chopra was the last Indian winner of the coveted title in 2000.

5. Miss World 2014: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan felicitated.

i. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was on Sunday (December 14) felicitated by the Miss World
Organisation at the 64th edition of the international beauty pageant for her commitment to
beauty with a purpose since winning the crown two decades ago.
ii. Described as embodiment of beauty with purpose, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is also seen as the
most successful Miss World so far, a title that she won in 1994.

6. Wholesale inflation hits zero, lowest in over 5 years.

i. Wholesale price inflation hit a zero level in November, the lowest in about five and half years,
on account of decline in prices of food, fuel and manufactured items.
ii. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was at 1.77 per cent in October and 7.52 per
cent in November 2013.
iii. Onion price contracted 56.28 per cent as compared to a contraction of 59.77 per cent in
October. In case of vegetables, the contraction was 28.57 per cent.
iv. Prices in fuel and power segment contracted by 4.91 per cent, as against 0.43 per cent
inflation in October.
v. The decline in both retail and WPI inflation for November coupled with contraction of
industrial production to 4.2 per cent in October, will put pressure on RBI to lower interest rates
to boost growth.

7. Anil Ambani's BIG Cinemas sold to Carnival

i. Anil Ambani led Reliance Group has sold its multiplex business to South India-based Carnival
Group in the largest ever deal in this space.
ii.The transaction will reduce Reliance Capitals overall debt by Rs 700 crore and is part of
Reliance Capitals strategy to exit minority investments.
iii.The deal will make Carnival the third largest multiplex operator with nationwide presence and
over 300 screens, a statement said on Monday.
iv.The deal struck between Carnival Cinemas and Reliance MediaWorks, will exclude IMAX
Wadala (Mumbai) and some other properties worth Rs 200 crore, the statement added.
v. Reliance Capital is the parent firm of Reliance MediaWorks, which operates one of the largest
cinema chains, under the brand BIG Cinemas with over 250 screens pan-India.

8. World Hockey Body Suspends Two Pakistani Players Following Obscene Gestures.

i. Two Pakistani field hockey players were suspended and one was reprimanded for making
obscene gestures after their team's semi-final win over hosts India in the Champions Trophy
semi-final, the sport's governing body said on Sunday.

ii. Muhammad Tousiq and reserve goalkeeper Ali Amjad were handed a one-match ban that
sidelined them from the final of the eight-nation tournament against Germany later on Sunday in
Bhubaneswar.
iii. As the final hooter sounded in Saturday night's 4-3 thriller, excited Pakistani players took off
their shirts and made rude gestures towards Indian fans at the packed 7,000-capacity Kalinga
stadium.

9. Germany beat Pakistan 2-0 to win Champions Trophy.

i. Olympic champions Germany clinched the Champions Trophy title with a convincing 2-0 win
over Pakistan in the summit clash.
ii. Overall, it was Germany's 10th Champions Trophy title. Pakistan, on the other hand, had
bettered their bronze medal finish in the 2012 edition of the tournament in Melbourne by
bagging the silver.
iii. Christopher Wesley (18th minute) and Florian Fuchs (57th) scored for Germany. The
Germans were by far the better side on the ground as they dominated the Pakistanis for most part
of the match.

10. Anerood Jugnauth appointed as Mauritius Prime Minister.

i. Anerood Jugnauth appointed as Mauritius Prime MinisterAnerood Jugnauth was appointed as
Mauritius Prime Minister by the President Purryag on 14 December 2014.
ii. He became the Prime Minister of Mauritius for the sixth time following victory of his alliance
in Mauritius elections 2014.
iii. Jugnauth replaced Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam of Labour Party, who resigned
as the Prime Minister on 13 December 2014.

Daily GK Update - 16th December 2014

1. Taliban storm Pakistan military school

i. Taliban gunmen stormed a military school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar ,
killing 20 students and one soldier, the highest-profile militant attack to hit the troubled region in
months, officials said.

ii. Taliban spokesman Mohammed Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call
to media, saying that six suicide bombers had carried out the attack in revenge for the killings of
Taliban members at the hands of Pakistani authorities.
iii. A Pakistani hospital official says around 100 are feared killed in a Taliban attack on a school
in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

2. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo re-elected for another four year term

I. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected for another four-year term.
ii. He was re-elected after Japan's ruling coalition (Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito) won a
two thirds majority in the Snap elections held for the Lower House (House of Representatives) of
the Bicameral legislature, the National Diet.
iii. Abes party Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 290 seats and its coalition partner Komeito
won 35 seats together garnering a total of 325 seats out of 475 seat of Lower House

3. US senate confirms Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General.

i. Thirty seven-year-old Indian-American physician Vivek Hallegere Murthy has been confirmed
as the 19th Surgeon General of America by U.S. Senate.

ii. The upper house of US Congress confirmed Mr. Murthys

nomination by 51 votes to 43 more than year after President Barack Obama had nominated him
to this top administration post on public health issues in November 2013 which saw a strong
opposition from the powerful pro-gun lobby National Rifle Association (NRA).
iii. He is youngest person and first person of Indian-origin to hold the post.

4. Six new ministers inducted in Telangana State Cabinet

i. Six new ministers were inducted into Telangana State cabinet by Chief Minister K
Chandrasekhara Rao.
ii. The ministers took the oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad.
iii. List of the ministers
1. Thummala Nageswara Rao (Former MLA of Khammam)
2. Charlakola Lakshma Reddy (MLA from Jadcherala constituency, Mahabubnagar district)
3. Azmeera Chandulal (MLA from Mulugu, Warangal district)
4. Jupally Krishna Rao (MLA from Kollapur,Mahabubnagar district)
5. Allola Indrakaran Reddy (MLA from Nirmal, Adilabad district)
6. Talasani Srinivas Yadav (MLA representing Sanathnagar, Rangareddy)

5. India third on black money list.

i. As India continues its pursuit of suspected black money stashed abroad, an international think-
tank has ranked the country third globally with an estimated USD 94.76 billion (nearly Rs 6 lakh
crore) illicit wealth outflows in 2012.
ii. As a result, the cumulative illicit money moving out of the country over a ten-year period
from 2003 to 2012 has risen to USD 439.59 billion (Rs 28 lakh crore).
iii. Russia is on the top with USD 122.86 billion, followed by China at the second position (USD
249.57 billion) in terms of the quantum of black money moving out of a country for 2012 the
latest year for which these estimates have been made.

6. Gujarat announces Rs. 1,100-crore relief package for farmers

i. The Gujarat government on Monday announced a relief package of Rs. 1,100 crore for farmers
in the State.
ii. The package includes Rs. 600 crore worth of subsidy on interest for agriculture loans and Rs.
500 crore on power bills.
iii. This year, the district cooperative banks and nationalized banks have disbursed loans to the
tune of Rs. 2,100 crore. The interest on this amount is Rs. 1,200.

7. IRCTC tops 2014 Google search in India

i. The Indian Railways official website, IRCTC, was most searched in Google by people in
India in 2014. The search engine company has released the list of most searched and trending
words.
ii. E-commerce website Flipkart, PSU lender SBI Online, e-tailer Snapdeal and PNR status were
other most searched words.

8. French star Thierry Henry retires

i. Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry announced his retirement on Tuesday,
ending a 20-year career in which he earned a place in the pantheon of modern greats.

ii. Henry was a member of the France teams that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European
Championship.
iii. Henry netted 26 goals that season and went on to score 226 times in 369 appearances for
Arsenal from 1999 to 2007, winning seven trophies.
9. Viswanathan Anand won London Classic

i. Five-time chess world champion Viswanathan Anand won his maiden London Classic title
after defeating British Grandmaster Michael Adams in the fifth and final round on Monday.

ii. The victory confirms Anand's presence in elite chess for some time.
iii. Anand matched Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Anish Giri on points and then has the
superior tie-break to clinch the title.

Message -
BA family remembers NIRBHAYA on her second martyrs day. She lost her body to keep her
soul alive, alive for a purpose, for a change, for a revolution. But after two years of this blot on
the destiny of Indian women something has changed , changed for worse. The roads are not
much more than an abyss for Women who are adored as Durga but Raped as a commodity.
Please respect Girls, You are here because of her. Let's bring a change in your mentality and
make this world an Eden for all of us.

Daily GK update - 17th December 2014

1. Suicide bomb, gunfight at Afghan bank, civilians inside.

i. Taliban militants detonated a suicide bomb and stormed a bank in southern Afghanistan .
ii. The attackers forced their way inside after the bomb exploded at the entrance of the Kabul
Bank branch in Lashkar Gah killing at least six people, the capital of the insurgency-racked
province of Helmand.
iii. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack on Kabul Bank, an institution that
nearly collapsed in 2010 in a $900 million fraud case that underlined endemic corruption in
Afghanistan.

2. Lok Sabha passed NCT of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2014.
i. The Lok Sabha passed the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi Laws (Special
Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2014. The bill was presented in Lok Sabha by the Union Urban
Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu.
ii. The Bill seeks to amend the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions)
Second Act, 2011 as the deadlines provided under the 2011 Act expires on 31 December 2014.
iii. Thus, the bill seeks to extend the deadlines under the National Capital Territory of Delhi
Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011 up to 31 December 2017.

3. Xu Youyu of China won Olof Palme Human Rights Prize for the year 2014.
i. Pro-democracy activist of China Xu Youyu won the Olof Palme Human Rights Prize for the
year 2014.

ii. The award given annually by the Stockholm-based Olof Palme

Memorial Fund of Sweden was announced on 16 December 2014.
iii. He received the award for his strong-principled work for democracy, social justice, human
rights and freedom of speech which has universal meaning.
iv. In 2008, he was one of the most evident signatories of Charta 08 manifesto that urged a series
of reforms in China.

4. PETA India names ex-SC judge Man of the Year

i. Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez and former Supreme

Court judge KS Radhakrishnan have been given PETA Indias People of the Year award for their
contribution towards the protection of animals.
ii. The animal rights organisation named Ms. Fernandez as Woman of the Year and justice
(retd) Radhakrishnan as Man of the Year.
iii. Justice Radhakrishnan headed a bench that passed a landmark judgement in favour of PETA
India and the Animal Welfare Board of India, clarifying that bulls must not be used in jallikattu,
bull races.

5. US decides to bid for 2024 Olympics

i. International Olympic Committee (IOA) President Thomas Bach has welcomed the U.S.
decision to bid for the 2024 Games and says whichever city is chosen will be a very strong
contender.

ii. The U.S. Olympic Committee board voted on Tuesday in

favour of a bid, but must still decide which city to put forward among four candidates Boston,
Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington.
iii. The United States hasnt hosted the Summer Olympics since the Atlanta Games in 1996. New
York and Chicago ran failed bids for the 2012 and 2016 Games, respectively.

6. Adani, POSCO tie-up for new terminal in Aus to export coal

i. Adani Group's Australian subsidiary today said it has signed an MOU with a South Korean
steel giant for the construction of a new strategic terminal at Abbot Point coal port to export
high-quality coal globally at competitive rates.
ii. Terminal Zero (T0) will be constructed at the port of Abbot Point near Bowen town,
Queensland, as per the Memorandum of Understanding inked between the company and Korea's
POSCO.

7. Tata Steel chosen among 100 most valuable brands in 2014 .

i. Tata SteelBSE 1.04 % has been chosen as one of the 100 Most Valuable Brands 2014 by
World Consulting & Research Corporation (WCRC)
ii. The Most Valuable Brands of the year 2014 (India edition) is a research endeavour to
showcase and recognise brands that have established their presence and authority in the Indian
market by virtue of their credibility and enormous customer loyalty.

8. India vs Australia, 2nd Test: Vijay ton puts India in driver's seat.
i. Murali Vijay scored 144 and shared a century stand with Ajinkya Rahane as India's batsmen
dictated terms to an Australian attack that fell short of expectations Wednesday on the opening
day of the second test.
ii. Four days after losing eight wickets in the final session of a 48-run defeat in Adelaide, India
dominated on day one in Brisbane to reach 311-4 at stumps.

Message - Terrorism has no religion,no creed,no language it could only and collectively
described by the word i.e. SIN , No Quran no Bible no Geeta make u a terrorist, It's just a failure
of a section of human race which is on a wrong track and sabotaging their brothers repeatedly
and traumatizing them. God have given us a precious gift of life, we should use it constructively
as destruction can lead all of us to a never lit black hole.

Daily GK Updates - 18th December 2014

1. ISRO successfully launches GSLV Mark-III

i. ISRO successfully carries out human crew module experiment; module safely splashes down
into Bay of Bengal off Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

ii. Also known as LVM3/CARE, this suborbital experimental mission was intended to test the
vehicle performance during the critical atmospheric phase of its flight and this carried passive
(non functional) cryogenic upper stage.
iii. With todays successful launch, the vehicle has moved a step closer to its first development
flight with the functional C25 cryogenic stage.

2. 26/11 trial: Pak court grants bail to Lakhvi

i. LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, one the seven Pakistani nationals accused
of planning and abetting the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was granted bail on Thursday by the
Anti-Terrorism Court.
ii. The seven accused Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid
Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum are facing trial at the Adiala Jail in
Rawalpindi.
iii. Lakhvi and six others had filed bail applications on Wednesday even as lawyers were
observing strike to condemn the terrorist attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that left 148
people, mostly children, dead.

3. Priyanka Chopra inks deal with American TV network

i. After launching her music career in the U.S., Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has now
sealed a one-year TV development deal with ABC Television Studios.
ii. The ABC deal comes after Priyanka had a voice role in the animated feature Planes
iii. The actresss first single, In My City, was also selected as the theme song to the 2013
season of the NFL Networks Thursday Night Football and her cover of Bonnie Raitts I Cant
Make You Love Me was featured in a nationwide campaign for Beats By Dre.

4. The Lunchbox honoured by Toronto film critics

i. Indian film director Ritesh Batras The Lunchbox has been named best first feature at the
18th annual Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) awards in Toronto.

ii. Its the only Indian movie to win a TFCA award, voted by the members of the association,
which includes Toronto-based journalists and broadcasters who specialise in film criticism and
commentary.
iii. The awards, to be hosted by Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the Toronto International
Film Festival, will be presented at a gala dinner here Jan 6, next year, said their official site
torontofilmcritics.com.

5. Twins at peak of mountaineering glory

i. By scaling Mount Vinson, Antarcticas highest mountain at 4,892 metres, Tashi Malik and
Nungshi Malik from Dehradun have become the worlds first twins and siblings to climb the
highest peaks on the seven continents.

ii. The 23-year-old twins accomplished their Mission 2 for 7 on

Tuesday night (IST) when they conquered the mountain.
iii. The mission, which they have dedicated to the cause of the Indian girl child, started by
conquering Mt. Kilimanjaro in February 2012. The mission progressed as they conquered Mt.
Everest in May 2013; Mt. Elbrus in August 2013; Mt. Aconcagua in January 2014; Mt. Carstensz
Pyramid in March 2014; and Mt. McKinley in June 2014.
6. SC directed Union government to complete fencing along Indo-Bangladesh border in 3
months
i. The Supreme Court (SC) directed the Union Government to complete fencing work along
Indo-Bangladesh border within three months.
ii. The direction was given to check cross-border influx of illegal Bangladesh nationals into
Assam. It also asked the government to streamline the process to deport them back.
iii. The court also asked the Union government why even after 67 years of independence, the
eastern border is left porous.

7. Former Olympic wrestling champion suspended for one year.

i. Former Olympic wrestling champion Steeve Guenot was suspended for one year on Thursday
by the French anti-doping agency for missing doping tests.
ii. Guenot, who has been suspended until July 30, 2015, will not appeal the decision, meaning
that he wont be able to compete at the European Games in Baku next June.

8. AIBA bans Sarita Devi

i. Indian woman boxer L. Sarita Devi was on Wednesday handed a one-year ban by the
International Boxing Association (AIBA) for refusing to accept her bronze medal at the Asian
Games.

ii. But the punishment is unlikely to hurt her career too badly as
she would be available to compete in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers.
iii. Sarita, who had refused to accept the medal to protest her controversial semifinal bout loss,
has been banned retrospectively from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2015 and fined 1000 swiss
francs.

Daily GK update - 19th December 2014

1. NASAs Kepler mission discovers super-Earth
i. NASAs planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft, which is carrying out a new mission has made its first exoplanet
discovery a super-Earth located 180 light-years from Earth.

ii. This led to the discovery of a planet, HIP 116454b, which is 2.5 times the diameter of Earth and follows a close,
nine-day orbit around a star that is smaller and cooler than our Sun, making the planet too hot for life as we know it.
iii. The discovery was confirmed with measurements taken by the HARPS-North spectrograph of the Telescopio
Nazionale Galileo in the Canary Islands, which captured the wobble of the star caused by the planets gravitational
tug as it orbits.

2. Lakhvi booked again; to remain in jail

i. Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi will remain in jail for at least three more months with Pakistani authorities on Friday slapping
stringent provisions under public security against the key accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack, a day after a court
gave him bail sparking outrage in India.
ii. Lakhvi (54) was detained for three months under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
iii. Lakhvi was granted bail by Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court on Thursday due to lack of evidence against him.

3. 8.75% interest on PF for 2014-15

i. Over five crore provident fund subscribers governed by the EPFO will get 8.75 per cent interest on their deposits for
the current fiscal.
ii. The Finance Ministry has ratified the rate for 2014-15, after a decision was taken to retain the interest payout at this
level by the Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation.
iii. Following the ratification by the Finance Ministry, the decision would now be notified by the Labour Ministry as also
by the Income Tax Department.

4. Carbon-dioxide emissions at all-time high in 2013.

i. Global carbon-dioxide emissions from burning of fossil fuels and production of cement reached a high of 35.3 billion
tonnes in 2013, mainly due to the continuing steady increase in energy use in emerging economies such as India.

ii. Brazil (6.2 per cent), India (4.4 per cent), China (4.2 per cent) and Indonesia
(2.3 per cent) reported a sharp rise in emissions of the greenhouse gas that year.
iii. The global emissions, however, increased at a notably slower rate of 2 per cent than the average yearly 3.8 per
cent since 2003.
iv. China, the United States and the European Union remain the top three emitters of carbon dioxide, accounting for
29 per cent, 15 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, of the worlds total.

5. It's Atletico De Kolkata Vs Kerala F.C. in ISL Finals

i. Atletico De Kolkata and Kerala F.C. will Lock horns in the ISL finale on 20th December 2014.
ii. Atletico defeated Goa F.C. in the penalty shoot outs after the goalless draws over two legs.
iii. While Kerala F.C. defeated Chennaiyan F.C. 4-3 on aggregates to reach the summit clash.
iv. Atletico is co owned by Saurav Ganguly while Sachin is the joint owner of the Kerala F.C.

6. Veteran poetess Imtiaz Dharker awarded with the Queens Gold Medal for Poetry 2014.

i. Noted Pakistan-born poetess Imtiaz Dharker was awarded the Queens Gold
Medal for Poetry 2014 for her latest poetry collection Over the Moon.
ii. The award recognizes Imtiaz Dharker lifes contribution to poetry. It will be presented to Dharker in 2015.
iii. Earlier on 4 December 2014, Dharker was unanimously chosen for the award by the Poetry Medal Committee at
Windsor.

7. TVS Chairman Venu Srinivasan conferred honorary citizenship of Busan

i. TVS chairman Venu Srinivasan was made Honorary Citizen of Busan, Korea.

ii. He was conferred with the citizenship for his efforts to enhance friendship and cooperation between India and
Republic of Korea.
iii. He was conferred the title by Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City, Suh Byung-soo during the honorary citizenship
ceremony held at Busan.

8. US released three Cuban spies of Wasp Network.

i. United States in third week of December 2014 released three Cuban spies of
Wasp network.
ii. These spies were released as part of announcement restoring diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba after
more than 50 years of enmity.
iii. The Wasp Network is a spy ring of Cuba that included five members of a 14 member espionage team called La
Red Avipsa.
GK Updates - 20th December 2014
1. Richard Rahul Verma sworn in as US Ambassador to India.
i. Indian-American Richard Rahul Verma has been sworn in as the US Ambassador to India by Secretary of State
John Kerry.

ii. 46-year-old Verma is the first ever Indian-American to be the top US

diplomat in New Delhi.
iii. He was confirmed by the US Senate by a voice vote last week. Last week he met Obama at the White House.
iv. He will replace Nancy Powell, who resigned in March after a damaging row over the treatment of diplomat Devyani
Khobragade over visa fraud charges.

v. Verma had advocated for strong Indo-US ties when in the administration and recently started India 2020 project
at Centre for American Progress

2. Mid-Year Economic Review projects 5.5 per cent growth

i. Despite the sprouting of green shoots, a robust recovery is still to fully take hold, says the Mid-Year Economic
Analysis for the current year, tabled in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

ii. The Review projects 2014-15 growth will be 5.5 per cent. India faces challenges that are mostly domestic, says the
Review.
iii. The Review says that over-indebtedness in Indias corporate sector is amongst the highest in the world. This, it
says, exerts a drag on future investment and spending. The public private partnership model has been less than
successful, the Review says.

3. Instagram worth $35 bn, surpasses Twitter.

i. Photo sharing website Instagram has been valued at $35 billion by Citigroup, surpassing Twitter.
ii. This beats Twitters market cap of $23 billion by a wide margin, wired.com reported.
iii. In the last nine months, Instagrams user base grew 50 per cent, while Twitter could only boost its active user base
by 4.8 per cent in the last quarter.

4. Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls: 30 pc voting till noon.

i. Braving the winter chill, nearly 30 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise till noon on Saturday in 20
constituencies in the final phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
ii. Bani constituency in Kathua district witnessed the highest voting percentage of 41, Jammu East segment in the
heart of Jammu city registered the lowest of 19.20 per cent voting.

5. Flipkart files application to become public, raises USD 700 mn.

 i. E-commerce major Flipkart on Saturday announced filing application with
Singapore based companies regulator ACRA to become a public company after raising USD 700 million for long
term strategic investments in India following which its number of investors exceeded 50.
ii. The USD 700 million fund raised by Flipkart added new investors Baillie Gifford, Greenoaks Capital, Steadview
Capital, T. Rowe Price Associates and Qatar Investment Authority on companys board.
iii. Its existing investors DST Global, GIC, ICONIQ Capital and Tiger Global also participated in this latest financing
round.

6. SEBI bars 260 entities for suspected money laundering.

i. In its biggest ever crackdown for suspected tax evasion and laundering of black money through stock trading
platforms, the Securities and Exchange Board of India barred 260 entities, including individuals and companies, from
the securities markets.

ii. While 152 entities have been barred in one case relating to an entity, named First Financial Services Ltd, another
108 entities have faced the action in a case related to Radford Global Limited.
iii. In its orders, SEBI said that the modus operandi of the barred entities typically involved stock market dealings
aimed at evading long-term capital gains tax and showing the source of income as legitimate from stock markets.

7. FIPB clears HDFC Bank's proposal to raise Rs 10,000 crore

i. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has cleared HDFC Bank's proposal to raise Rs 10,000 crore, ending
months of struggle by India's most valuable bank by market cap to enhance its capital base.
ii. Shareholders in May this year allowed the lender to raise Rs 10,000 crore through routes that may include public or
private placement as well as domestic or international markets.
iii. The proposal will now go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs that vets all foreign investment proposals
in excess of Rs 1,200 crore.

8. Batting order collapse costs India Brisbane Test

i. A listless India capitulated to a four-wicket defeat in the second cricket Test against Australia with an inept batting
display by the top-order to give the hosts an invincible 2-0 lead in the four-match series in Brisbane on Saturday.
ii. Chasing a paltry victory target of 128, Australians lost as many as six wickets but were always in control as they
knocked off the required runs.
iii. Steven Smith , the Aussie skipper was adjudged Man of the Match for his blisttering hundred in the first inning.

Daily GK Update - 21st & 22nd Dec 2014

1. Walmart to open new store in India after 2-year gap

i. After a gap of two years, US retail major Walmart will open a new cash and
carry store in Agra as it returns focus on India.
ii. The company, which opened its last store in Bhopal towards the end of 2012, has said it will focus on cash and
carry business in India in the absence of clarity on FDI in multi-brand retail trade.
iii. "Walmart is committed to India and we are focused on our growth plans... We have recently received all internal
approvals for opening a new store in Agra, our second one in the city," Walmart spokesperson told PTI.

2. Jyotsna Suri elected as the President of the FICCI

i. Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson of Bharat Hotels, on 20 December 2014 was elected as the President of the Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
ii. Suri succeeded Sidharth Birla.
iii. Alok B Shriram, deputy managing director of DCM Shriram Industries Ltd, assumed the charge of the president of
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

3. India-Russia talks on to finalise copter deal

i. Following the in-principle agreement reached by India and Russia for the production of Russian helicopters in India,
both sides are carrying out discussions to work out the details to quickly conclude a deal.
ii. Initially the helicopters will be used to cater to the requirements of the Indian armed forces and only after that will
exports happen, Russian embassy officials told The Hindu.
iii. This effectively means that the Utility Helicopter deal which was earlier cancelled as a global tender and changed
into Buy and Make category under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) will go the Russian way.

4. Prakash Mishra takes over as CRPF DG

i. Senior IPS officer Prakash Mishra on Monday took over as the new chief of
country's largest paramilitary and lead anti-Naxal operations force CRPF.
ii. Mishra, an ex-Odisha police DGP and 1977-batch IPS officer, took charge at the Central Reserve Police Force
headquarters here after his name was announced for the post by the government last week.

CRPF is the mainstay for anti-Naxal operations and Mr Mishra has himself spearheaded such operations when he
was the Director General of Police in Odisha.
5. Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid arrives in Kolkata

i. Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid arrived in Kolkata on a two-day visit to West Bengal.
ii. He was received at the airport by the Minister for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Firhad Hakim.
iii. The Bangladesh President had arrived in Delhi on December 18 on a six-day official visit during which he held
talks with the Indian leadership with an aim to further strengthen the already close bilateral relations between the two
countries.

6. Rajinder Khanna to be New Chief of RAW

i. Special Secretary in Research and Analysis Wing or RAW, the country's external intelligence gathering agency,
Rajinder Khanna was appointed as its new chief.
ii. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared Mr Khanna, a 1978
batch RAS cadre, for the post of RAW chief for a period of two years from December 31 after incumbent Alok Joshi
retires.

7. India observed National Mathematics Day to commemorate birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan
i. India on 22 December 2014 celebrated National Mathematics Day. The day is observed to commemorate the birth
anniversary of great Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
ii. The declaration to observe 22 December as National Mathematics Day was made by former Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh on 26 February 2012 at Madras University on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of
Ramanujan.

8. Rafique heads Atletico de Kolkata to glory

i. Mohammed Rafique nodded home the most important goal in the Indian Super League as Atletico de Kolkata won
the inaugural edition. The injury-time goal from the substitute broke Kerala Blasters hearts after a rousing first-half
display at the D.Y. Patil stadium.

ii. Chennaiyin FCs Elano Blumer and FC Goas goalkeeper Jan Seda (FC Goa) topped the list for Golden Boot and
Golden Glove awards respectively.
iii. Elano scored eight goals in 11 matches, apart from one assist
Atletico de Kolkata is co - owned by Saurav Ganguly while Sachin Tendulkar is the co - owner of Kerala F.C.
9. India won Men and Women title of Kabaddi World Cup 2014
i. India on 20 December 2014 won the Men and Women title of Kabaddi World Cup 2014.
This was the fifth Kabaddi World Cup.
ii. In Men, India defeated Pakistan while in women, India defeated New Zealand to win the title for the fourth
consecutive time.
iii. The final match of the cup was played at Guru Gobind Singh Multipurpose Stadium in Jalandhar, Punjab, India.

10. Tendulkar named ambassador for 2015 ICC World Cup

i. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was on Monday named the ICC World Cup ambassador for the second successive
edition.

ii. The International Cricket Council today announced Sachin Tendulkar as the
World Cup 2015 Ambassador. It will be the second successive time that the India maestro will be the Ambassador of
ICCs pinnacle tournament, after he fulfilled the role in the previous event in 2011, the ICC said in a statement.
iii. In his role as ambassador, Tendulkar will promote and support a variety of ICC initiatives to enhance the profile of
the tournament, which is the third biggest sporting event in the world and will take place in Australia and New Zealand
from February 14 to March 29.

Daily GK Update - 23rd December 2014

1. Gujarat to host Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
i. The 13th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), an event which celebrates the achievements of Indians
living abroad, will be held in Gujarat from January 7-9.

ii. Gujarat has been chosen as the partner State as 2015 happens to be the
100th year of Mahatma Gandhis return to India from South Africa. To reflect this, the event will showcase his work
and achievements.

iii. On January 7, the youth segment of PBD will be inaugurated with the theme Bharat ko jano and Bharat ko mano.
iv. PBD will have a plenary in which presentations will be made on the flagship programmes of the government such
as Namami Ganga, Swachh Bharat, Skill Development and Urban Development and NRIs and People of Indian origin
(PIO) would be impressed upon to take part in them.
2. Pakistan, Russia sign $1.7 billion energy deal
i.For the first time, Pakistan and Russia have signed an energy deal worth $1.7 billion to lay a gas pipeline from
Karachi to Lahore, a move that may lead to further improvement in their ties.
ii. the pipeline would be used to transport imported LNG from Karachi to Punjab province.
iii. The energy agreement was signed during the day-long visit of Sergei Shoigu last month, the first visit by a Russian
Defence Minister to Pakistan in 45 years.

3. BJP won in Jharkhand with a clear mandate

i. BJP is emerging as single largest party in Jharkhand as counting of votes for the 81-member assembly began at
24 centres across the state.

ii. Out of 81 seats for which trends were available, BJP was leading in 42 while JMM was ahead in 17 seats.
iii. The BJP and its ally AJSU headed by Sudesh Mahto were well on the road to forming a coalition government.
iv. A record 66.47 per cent polling had been registered in the five-phase polling, which began on November 25.

4. Yes Bank gets $200 millionn from ADB for onlending to SHGs, farmers
i. Private sector lender Yes Bank on Tuesday said it has raised $200 million in an unsecured loan from Asian
Development Bank for onlending to small farm households and rural womens self help groups (SHG).

ii. The money will be used for onlending in rupee equivalent amounts to finance working capital and investment
requirements of the twin target groups.
iii. ADBs capital investment and technical assistance will provide sustainable finance to low income women and their
families.
iv. The project targets small farmers to allow them to benefit from agricultural value chains and enhance their
productivity through better access to markets and investment finance.
v. Yes Bank said ADB will also provide a Capacity Development Technical Assistance grant up to $1 million, which
will be used for capacity building and improving the financial literacy of women borrowers.

5. PDP ahead in J & K.

i. PDP emerged as the largest party in the assmbly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
ii. BJP was closely behind with 25 seats in total while PDP got 28 seats.
iii. PDP is in the best position of making the government with the help of Indian National Congress, which fared well
than expected with 12 seats.
iv. Omar Abdullah's National Conference, which is the current Ruling party came third with 15 seats in it's kitty.

6. Rajya Sabha refers two bills to Select Committees

i. The Payment and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and The
Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014 were passed by Lok Sabha in the Winter session of Parliament.
ii. The Select Committee for Payment and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014 consists of 13 members.
iii. The other bill sent to the Select Committee is the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014, which seeks to repeal 90
Amendment Acts which have become redundant.

Daily GK Updates - 24th December 2014

1. Bharat Ratna for Vajpayee, Madan Mohan Malaviya.

i. The President's Office on Wednesday announced the Bharat Ratna award to

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
ii. The announcement was made on the eve of Mr. Vajpayee's 90th birthday and the 153rd birth anniversary of Pandit
Malviya.
iii. Earlier, Mr. Advani had written a letter to the UPA Government to award the Bharat Ratna to the former Prime
Minister.
iv. Mr. Vajpayee will be the seventh Prime Minister to receive the award, while Pandit Malviya will be the 12th person
to be honoured posthumously.
v. In 2013, the award was conferred to cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and scientist C.N.R Rao.

2. Cabinet clears coal Ordinance.

i. The Cabinet on Wednesday approved re-promulgation of an Ordinance to facilitate e-auction of coal blocks for
private companies for captive use and allot mines directly to state and central PSUs.

ii. The government had to go in for re-promulgation of the Ordinance as the

Rajya Sabha could not take up the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill.
iii. The re-promulgation of the Ordinance will enable the Coal Ministry to go ahead with its decision to give a total 101
mines, including 65 through auction, in the first phase.
iv. As many as 36 blocks will be directly allotted to state-owned companies. The government had increased the
number of coal mines to be auctioned or allotted in the first tranche to 101, from 92.
v. Of the 101 blocks to be allotted and auctioned in the first lot, 63 mines would be given to the power sector, while
the rest would be for sectors like steel and cement.

3. Govt approves Ordinance to hike FDI in insurance to 49%.

i. Government on Wednesday approved promulgation of an Ordinance to hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in
the insurance sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.

ii. The Insurance Bill, which has been pending since 2008 in the Rajya Sabha, seeks to increase the composite
foreign investment limit in insurance companies to 49 per cent from current level of 26 per cent.
iii. The proposed hike in foreign investment limit to 49 per cent in the insurance sector has potential to attract up to
USD 7-8 billion (about Rs 50,000 crore) from overseas investors, giving a major boost to the segment.
iv. The 49 per cent cap would include both FDI and foreign portfolio investments.

4. Deadline to exchange pre-2005 notes extended till June 30.

i. The deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000,
has been extended by another six months till June, 30, 2015.
ii. The Reserve Bank of India has stated that the public can do so till June 30, 2015. Earlier in March 2014, it had set
the last date for public to exchange these notes was January 1, 2015
111. In notes issued post 2005, the year of printing is visible at the bottom on the reverse.
iv. Post-2005 notes have added security features and help in curbing the menace of fake currency.

5. Filmmaker Kailasam Balachander passed away

i. South Indian filmmaker Kailasam Balachander died on 23 December 2014 following a heart attack. He was 84.
ii. His films like Bama Vijayam, Sindhubhairavi, Varumayin Niram Sivappu and Thanneer Thanneer are some of
notable films in the history of Tamil cinema.
iii. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1987and is a recipient of the ANR National Award and Dadasaheb
Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema in 2010.

6. Snapdeal launched online Agri Store to aid farmers

i. E-retailing firm Snapdeal.com on 23 December 2014 launched the online Agri store offering agricultural products to
the farmers. The store was launched on the occasion of National Farmer's Day.
ii. The Agri Store aims to offer wide variety of farm items from seeds to fertilisers, farming tools and irrigation tools.
This online store is also accessible through mobile phones, making it convenient for farmers to shop.
A Hindi version of the store will also be launched soon to aid farmers in making an informed decision.