Current Affairs Practice Questions

Q1. Who has sworn in as Australia's new Prime Minister on 18 September 2013?

Ans. Tony Abbott

Q2. Who became the first Indian-origin contestant to win the Miss America pageant on 15 September 2013?

Ans. Nina Davuluri

Q3. Name the Bollywood actor who  was on 16 September 2013 conferred the Pride of the Nation award for his attempt to raise the sensitive issue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination through his role as a RAW agent in Madras Café film?

Ans. John Abraham

Q4. International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on 16 September 2013 across the world to bring awareness about the depletion of Ozone layer in the atmosphere. What is the theme for the year 2013?

Ans. A healthy atmosphere, the Future We Want.

Q5. Who were jointly awarded with Amnesty International's Ambassador ofConscience Award for 2013 on 17 September 2013 in Dublin, Ireland?

Ans. Malala Yousafzai and Harry Belafonte

Q6. Name the Indian wrestler who has bagged a bronze medal in the 60 kilogram freestyle category at the World Wrestling Championships held in Budapest, Hungary on 17 September 2013?

Ans. Bajrang Kumar

Q7. Union Government of India on 17 September 2013 hiked the import duty on gold from 10 percent to ......... percent?

Ans. 15%

Q8. Name the movie which was on 21 September 2013 nominated as India’s official entry to 2014 Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category?

Ans. The Good Road, a Gujarati Movie

Q9. Who was on 19 September 2013 appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court?

Ans. Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant

Q10. Name the version of Finacle, an advanced universal banking solution that simplifies banking operations, launched by Infosys on 18 September 2013?

Ans. Finacle 11E

Q11. Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and His Highness the Aga Khan, a Swiss-born philanthropist and Muslim spiritual leader, unveiled the restored Humayun’s Tomb on 18 September 2013. Where Humayun’s Tomb is situated?

Ans. New Delhi

Q12. Name the first nationalised bank for women expected to be operational from November 2013 which started the Recruitment Process recently?

Ans. Bhartiya Mahila Bank

Q13. Which club won the 126th Durand Foot ball tournament as it defeated ONGC 2-1 in the final at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on 19 September 2013?

Ans. Mohammedan Sporting club from Kolkata

Q14. Who was on 19 September 2013 named by Tata Steel Ltd as managing director-designate, India and South East Asia?

Ans. TV Narendran

Q15. Union Cabinet on 20 September 2013 approved setting up of a nine million tonne  refinery-cum-petrochemical complex by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, HPCL's in which place?

Ans.  Barmer in Rajasthan.

Q16. Union Government of India on 20 September 2013 finalised setting up world’s Largest Solar Power Project, the Ultra- Mega Green Solar Power Project in which state of India?

Ans. Rajasthan

Q17. Which airlines on 20 September 2013 got the all-important no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to start airline operations in India?

Ans. AirAsia India

Q18. India wrestling team on 20 September 2013 earned a maiden Wrestling World Cup berth on the back of its best-ever sixth-place finish in men’s freestyle at the World Championships. Where was the World Championships held?

Ans.  Budapest, Hungary.

Q19. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 September 2013 increased the repo rate or the short term lending rate by 25 basis points to ............ per cent with immediate effect?

Ans. 7.50%

Q20. Who was elected as the Chairperson of the International Coffee Council recently?

Ans. Jawaid Akhtar

Q21. International Day of Peace observed on 21 September 2013 across the world to recognise the efforts of those who have worked hard to end conflict and promote peace. What is the theme for the year 2013?

Ans.  Education for Peace.

Q22. Who was appointed as member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for a five-year term on 21 September 2013?

Ans. Justice Darmar Murugesan

Q23. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman Nandan Nilekani on 20 September 2013 launched its multi-lingual website to reach out to various sections of the society from the UIDAI Tech Centre Bangalore. Name the URL of the website?

Ans. www.uidai.gov.in

Q25. Union Cabinet on 20 September 2013 cleared a proposal for regulating and monitoring the quality of care and education provided to children at play schools and crèches across the country. Name the draft policy?

Ans.   National Early Childhood Care and Education (NECCE)

Cabinet Ministers of India 2014

Cabinet Ministers
● Narendra Modi – Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, All important policy issues and all other portfolios not allocated to any Minister 
● Rajnath Singh – Home Affairs 
● Sushma Swaraj – External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs 
● Arun Jaitley – Finance, Corporate (Additional charge – Affairs Information and Broadcasting)
● Manohar Parrikar – Defence
● M Venkaiah Naidu – Urban Development, Housing, Urban Poverty Alleviation, Parliamentary Affairs 
● Nitin Gadkari – Road Transport and Highways, Shipping
● Suresh Prabhu – Railways
● Uma Bharati – Water resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
● Dr Najma Heptulla – Minority Affairs
● Ramvilas Paswan – Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 
● Kalraj Mishra – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 
● Maneka Gandhi – Women and Child Development 
● Ananthkumar – Chemicals and Fertilizers 
● Ravi Shankar Prasad – Communications and Information Technology
● Ashok Gajapathi Raju – Civil Aviation 
● Anant Geete – Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises 
● Harsimrat Kaur Badal – Food Processing Industries 
● Narendra Singh Tomar – Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment 
● Jual Oram – Tribal Affairs 
● Radha Mohan Singh – Agriculture 
● Thaawar Chand Gehlot – Social Justice and Empowerment 
● Smriti Irani – Human Resource Development 
● JP Nadda – Health and Family Welfare
● Birender Singh – Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation
● DV Sadananda Gowda – Law and Justice
● Dr Harsh Vardhan – Science and Technology Earth Sciences


Ministers of State (Independent Charge) 
● General VK Singh – Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge), External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs 
● Inderjit Singh Rao – Planning (Independent Charge), Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge), Defence 
● Santosh Gangwar – Textiles (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation 
● Shripad Naik – Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) 
● Dharmendra Pradhan – Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) 
● Sarbananda Sonowal – Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge) 
● Prakash Javadekar – Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs 
● Piyush Goyal – Power (Independent Charge), Coal (Independent Charge), New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge) 
● Dr Jitendra Singh – Science and Technology (Independent Charge), Earth Sciences (Independent Charge), Prime Minister Office, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space 
● Nirmala Sitharaman – Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge), Finance, Corporate Affairs
● Bandaru Dattatreya – Labour and Employment
● Rajiv Pratap Rudy – Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs
● Mahesh Sharma – Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge), Civil Aviation

Ministers of State 
● GM Siddeshwara – Civil Aviation 
● Manoj Sinha – Railways 
● Nihalchand – Chemicals and Fertilizers 
● Upendra Kushwaha – Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation 
● Pon Radhakrishnan – Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises 
● Kiren Rijiju – Home Affairs 
● Krishan Pal – Road Transport and Highways, Shipping 
● Dr. Sanjeev Balyan – Agriculture, Food Processing Industries 
● Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava – Tribal Affairs 
● Raosaheb Danve – Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 
● Vishnu Deo Sai – Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment 
● Sudarshan Bhagat – Rural Development
● Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi – Minority Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs
● Ram Kripal Yadav – Drinking Water and Sanitation
● HP Chaudhary – Home Affairs
● Sanwar Lal Jat – Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
● Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya – Agriculture
● Giriraj Singh – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
● Hansraj Gangaram Ahir – Chemicals and Fertilizers
● Dr Ramshankar Katheria – Human Resource Development
● Jayant Sinha – Finance
● YS Chowdary – Science and Technology, Earth Science
● Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore – Information and Broadcasting
● Babul Supriyo – Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
● Niranjan Jyoti – Food Processing Industries
● Vijay Sampla – Social Justice and Empowerment

Indian Banks and their Headquarter, Heads and Slogans

Name of Bank	Headquarter	Formation	Chairman/Managing Directors	Slogan
Allahabad Bank	Kolkata	1865	Rakesh Sethi	A Tradition of Trust
Andhra Bank	Hyderabad	1923	C. V. R. Rajendran	For all your needs
Bank of Baroda	Baroda	1908	S. S. Mundra	India's International Bank
Bank of India	Mumbai	1906	Vijayalakshmi R. Iyer	Relationship beyondbanking
Bank of Maharashtra	Pune	1935	Sushil Muhnot	One Family, One Bank
Canara Bank	Banglore	1906	R. K. Dubey	Together we can
Central Bank of India	Mumbai	1911	Rajeev Rishi	Central to you since 1911
Corporation Bank	Mangalore	1906	Sadhu Ram Bansal	Prosperity to all
Dena Bank	Mumbai	1938	Ashwani Kumar	Your Trusted Family Bank Taking Banking
Indian Bank	Chennai	1907	T. M. Bhasin	Technology to the Common Man
Indian Overseas Bank	Chennai	1937	M. Narendra	Good people to grow with
Oriental Bank of Commerce	New Delhi	1943	S. Lal Bansal	Where Every Individual is Committed
Punjab National Bank	New Delhi	1895	K. R. Kamath	The name you can bank upon
Punjab and Sind Bank	New Delhi	1908	Jatindraver Singh	Where service is a way of life
Syndicate Bank	Manipal	1925	Sudhir Kumar Jain	Faithful, Friendly
UCO Bank	Kolkata	1943	Arun Kaul	Honours yours trust
Union Bank of India	Mumbai	1919	Arun Tiwari	Good people to bank with
United Bank of India	Kolkata	1950	Deepak Narang, Shri Sanjay Aryan	The Bank that begins with U
Vijaya Bank	Banglore	1931	V. Kannan	A Friend you can bank upon

Important Institutions and Its Headquarters in India

Education 
● Commission of Scientific and Technical Words Terminology—New Delhi
● Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages—Hyderabad
● Institute of National Sanskrit—New Delhi
● National Sanskrit Vidyapeeth—Tirupati
● Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit Vidyapeeth—New Delhi
● Rashtriya Bal Bhavan—New Delhi
● Institute of Central Indian Language—Mysore
● Indian Council of Higher Research—Shimla
● Indian Institute of Social Sciences and Research—New Delhi
● Council of Indian Philosophy Research—New Delhi and Lucknow
● Indian Institute of Science—Bengaluru
● Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management—Gwalior
● Central Hindi Institute—Agra

Environmental Institutes
● Arid Zone Research Institute—Jodhpur
● Central Pollution Control Board—Delhi
● Central Museum Authority—New Delhi
● Rehabilitation Institute of Social Forestry and Ecology—Allahabad
● G. B. Pant Himdoya Environment and Development Institute—Almora
● Himalayan Forest Research Centre—Shimla
● Indian Forest Research and Education Council—Dehradun
● Institute of Indian Forest Management—Bhopal
● Institute of Indian Plywood Industry and Research—Bengaluru
● Institute of Forest Genetic Tree Breeding—Coimbatore
● Forest Productive Centre—Ranchi
● Institute of Forest Research and Human Resource Development—Chindwara
● Institute of Rainforest—Jorhat
● Institute of Lumbering Science and Technology—Bengaluru
● Institute of National Science & Technology—Faridabad
● Indian Botanical Survey—Kolkata
● Indian Anthropology Survey—Kolkata
● Indian Forest Survey—Jorhat
● Tropical Institute—Jabalpur

Defence Institutes
● Air Force Academy—Hyderabad
● Air Force Technical College—Bengaluru
● College of Military Engineering—Pune
● Defence Management Institute—Sikandrabad
● Defence Services Staff College—Wellington
● Directorate General N.C.C.—New Delhi
● Electrical and Mechanical Engineering School—Baroda
● Hindustan Aeronatic Limited—Bengaluru
● Indian Air Force Training Centre—Chennai
● Indian Military Academy—Dehradun
● Institute of Armament Technology—Pune
● Military College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering—Sikandrabad
● Directorate of National Cadet Core—New Delhi
● National Defence Academy—Kharagwasala
● Naval College of Engineering—Lonavala
● Officers Training Academy—Chennai

Art and Culture
● Institute of National Museum History for Art Conservation and Science Museum—New Delhi
● Allahabad Museum—Allahabad
● Asiatic Society—Kolkata
● Indian Anthropology Survey—Kolkata
● Indian National Archives—New Delhi
● Central Buddh Education Institute—Leh
● Central High Tibetean Educational Institute—Varanasi
● Central Secretariat Library (1981)—New Delhi
● Cultural Institute and Training Centre (1979)—New Delhi
● Delhi Public Library—New Delhi
● Gandhian Recollection and Philosophy Recollection—New Delhi
● Institute of Indian Diamond—Surat
● Indian Museum—Kolkata
● Indira Gandhi National Art Centre—New Delhi
● Indira Gandhi National Human Museum—Bhopal
● Jawahar Lal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (1954)—Imphal
● Kala Chitra Foundation—Chennai
● Khudabaksh Oriental Public Library—Patna
● Lalit Kala Academy (1954)—New Delhi
● Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Asian Studies Institute—Kolkata
● National Drama Vidyalaya (1959)—New Delhi
● National Science Museum Parishad—Kolkata
● National Modern Art Technique (1954)—Kolkata
● National Library (1948)—Kolkata
● National Museum—New Delhi
● National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Heritage—Lucknow
● National School of Drama—New Delhi
● Nav-Nalanda Mahabihar—Bihar
● Nehru Memorial Museum and Library—New Delhi
● Raja Rammohan Rai Library Foundation—Kolkata
● Ram Krishan Mission Sanskrit Institute (1938)—Kolkata
● Rampur Raja Library—Rampur
● Sahitya Academy (1954)—New Delhi
● Salarjanj Museum—Hyderabad
● Sangeet Natak Academy—New Delhi
● Victoria Memorial Hall—Kolkata

Food and Civil Supply
● Indian Standard Bureau—Delhi
● Indian Examination House—Kolkata

Health and Family Welfare
● Central Health Education Bureau—New Delhi
● National Medical Science Academy—New Delhi
● National Ayurvedic Institute—Jaipur
● National Siddh Institute—Chennai
● National Yunani Institute—Bengaluru
● Morarji Desai National Yog Institute—New Delhi
● National Natural Medical Institute—Pune
● National Homeopathic Institute—Kolkata
● National Ayurvedic Vidyapeeth—New Delhi
● Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd.—Rasoyni (Maharashtra)

Industries
● South India Textile Research Association—Coimbatore
● North India Cloth Research Institute—Ghaziabad
● Silk and Art Silk Mills Research Association—Mumbai
● Indian Jute Industry Research Association—Kolkata
● Wool Research Institute—Thane
● National Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd.—Trombay
● Pesticide Technology Institute—Gurgaon
● Hindustan Antibiotic Ltd.—Pimpri, Pune
● Plastic Engineering and Technology Institute—(Sepate) Chennai
● Indian Bureau of Mines—Nagpur
● National Aluminium Co. Ltd.—Orissa
● Hindustan Zinc Ltd.—Udaipur

Law and Justice
● National Justice Academy—Bhopal
● Sardar Ballabh Bhai Patel National Police Academy—Hyderabad
● Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain National Crime and Justice Institute—New Delhi

Labour
● Labour Bureau Institute—Chandigarh and Shimla
● V. V. Giri National Labour Institute—Noida (U. P.)
● Central Labour Board—Nagpur
● Director General of Mines Security—Dhanbad
● Central Education Media Institute—Chennai
● Institute of Central government Training and Research—Kolkata

Mass Communication
● Publication Deptt.—New Delhi
● Film Department—Mumbai
● National Film Archieves—Pune
● Indian Committee of Children Film—Mumbai
● Directorate of Publications and Visual Publicity—Delhi
● Directorate of Regional Publicity—New Delhi
● Testimony Board of Central Movie—Mumbai
● Institute of Indian Film and Television—Pune
● Satyajeet Ray Film and Television Institute— Kolkata

Institute of Science and Technology
● Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science—Kolkata
● Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology—Pune
● Indian Astro-physics Institute—Bengaluru
● Jawahar Lal Nehru Developed Scientific Research Centre—Bengaluru
● Indian Institute of Geomagnetism—Mumbai
● Indian Science Academy—Bengaluru
● Indian National Science Academy—New Delhi
● Indian Science Congress Association—Kolkata
● Indian National Engineering Academy—New Delhi
● Indian National Oceanic Information Service Centre—Hyderabad
● Indian Oceanic Technical Institute—Chennai
● National Antarctic and Ocean Research Centre—Goa
● National Biological Science Centre—Bengaluru
● National Institute of Reservation—New Delhi
● Centre of National Cell Science—Pune
● Centre of National Mental Research—Manesar
● National Plant-Genome Research Centre—New Delhi
● National Earthquake Science Data Centre—New Delhi
● Indian Science Academy—Allahabad
● Survey Training Institute—Hyderabad (with the help of U.N.D.P.)
● Bose Institute—Kolkata
● Agarkar Research Institute—Pune
● Sri Chitra Triunal Medical Science and Technical Institute—Tiruvananthapuram
● Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology—Dehradun
● N. N. Bose National Fundamental Science Centre—Kolkata
● Birbal Sahani Institute of Paleo-botany—Lucknow
● Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council—New Delhi
● Science Expansion (Vigyan Prasar)—New Delhi
● Liquid Crystal Research Institute—Bengaluru
● Aryabhatta Research Observatory—Nainital
● Director of Atomic Mineral Investigation and Research—Hyderabad
● Indian Uranium Corporation Ltd.—Jaduguda
● Heavy Water Board—Mumbai
● Nuclear Fuel Campus—Hyderabad
● Bhabha Atomic Research Centre—Mumbai
● Shri Ram Institute of Chemical Research—New Delhi
● Institute for Plasma Research (I. P. R.)—Ahmedabad
● Harish Chand Research Institute—Chennai
● Physics Institute—Bhubaneshwar
● Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre—Kolkata
● Deptt. of Atomic Energy—Mumbai
● Project Directorate, Integrated Coastal and Sea Coast Management—Chennai
● Sea-biotic Resources and Ecology Centre—Cochin
● Hindustan Zinc Limited—Udaipur
● D. N. A. Finger Print and Centre—Hyderabad
● Biotic Resources and Continuous Development Centre—Imphal
● Life Science Institute—Bhubaneshwar
● Physical Research Laboratory—Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
● S. V. National Technical Institute—Surat
● Saha Nuclear Physics Institute—Kolkata (W. Bengal)
● Cosmic Rays Research Institute—Gauribidanow
● Shri Ram Chennai Research Institute—New Delhi
● Tata Institute of Fundamental Research—Mumbai
● Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology—Kocchi
● Institute of Mathematical Science—Chennai
● Institute of Physics—Bhubaneshwar
● National Biology Centre—Bengaluru
● Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.—Jaduguda (Jharkhand)
● Vishveshraiya National Technical Institute—Nagpur

Transport
● Diesel Locomotive Works—Varanasi
● Chitranjan Locomotive Works—Chitranjan
● Rail Coach Factory—Kapurthala
● Integral Coach Factory—Perambur, Kapurthala
● Rail Wheel Factory—Bengaluru
● Marine Engineering and Research Institute—Kolkata
● Marine Engineering and Research Institute—Mumbai
● Lal Bahadur Shastri Coastal Research and Higher Study Institute—Mumbai
● Indian Inland Waterways Authority—Noida
● Maritime Training Institute Powai—Mumbai
● Hindustan Shipyard Limited—Visakhapatnam
● Central Inland Water Transport Corporation—Kolkata
● Civil Aviation Security Bureau—Delhi
● National Aviation Management and Research Institute—Delhi
● Fire Training Centre—New Delhi
● Fire Service Training School—Narainpur (Kolkata)
● Indira Gandhi National Flying Academy—Furshatganj (U. P.)
● Indian Tourism and Travel Management Institute—Gwalior
● National Water Sporting Institute—Goa

Water Resources
● Central Soil and Material Research Centre—New Delhi
● Central Water and Electric Research Centre—Kharagwasala (Pune)
● National Project Construction Corporation Ltd.—New Delhi
● National Hydrology Institute—Roorkee (Uttarakhand)

Welfare
● National Blind Institute—Dehradun
● National Orthopedic Disabled Institute—Kolkata
● Aliyawarjung National Hard of Hearing Institute—Mumbai
● National Mental Disabled Institute—Sikandrabad
● National Rehabilitation Training and Research Institute—Cuttack
● Physically Disabled Institute—New Delhi
● Multi-disabled Strengthen Institute—Chennai
● National Public Cooperation and Child Development Institute—New Delhi

Youth Work and Play
● Rajeev Gandhi National Youth Development Institute—Perambur
● Laxmibai National Physical Education Institute (1957)—Gwalior

Energy
● National Thermal Power Corporation—New Delhi
● Electric Finance Corporation Ltd.—New Delhi

Communication
● Telecommunication Engineering Centre—New Delhi
● National Telecommunication Finance and Management Academy—Hyderabad
● High Level Telecommunication Training Centre—Ghaziabad
● Advance Level Telecommunication Training Centre—Ghaziabad
● Bharat Ratna Bhim Rao Ambedkar Telecommunication Training Institute—Jabalpur

Amazing Facts About Our World

● World population in 2011 – 6,988 million (3,523 million males and 3,465 million females)
● World population under 30 in 2011 – 3,649 million
● World population over 60 in 2011 – 785 million
● World population over 100 in 2011 – 532,000
● Number of births worldwide every day – 378,000
● Number of deaths worldwide everyday – 162,000
● World economic growth rate in 2010 – 5.0% (-0.6% in 2009)
● Number of illiterate adults – 796 million
● Number of unemployed people – 205 million
● Average world life expectancy – 70.8 years for females; 66.4 years for males
● Annual world population increase – 79.33 million people
● Number of people living outside country of birth – 214 million, or more than 3% of the world’s population
● Fertility rate – 2.5 births per woman
● Urban population – 50.5% of total population
● World trade in 2009 – US $ 25.2 billion
● Annual world defence expenditure – US $ 1,630 billion
● Number of TV sets – 1.4 billion
● Number of radio receivers – 2.2 billion
● Number of cigarettes smoked – 5,600 billion a year
● Number of internet users – 2.0 billion
● Number of mobile phone users – 4.7 billion
● Number of motor vehicles on the road – 790 million
● Number of people who cross international borders every day – 2 million
● Number of people living in extreme poverty – 1.4 billion
● Number of people living in urban slums – 828 million
● Number of undernourished people – 925 million
● Number of overweight adults – 1.6 billion
● Number of obese adults – 502 million
● Number of people dying of starvation – 24,000 every day
● Number of people lacking clean water – 1.1 billion
● Number of people lacking basic sanitation – 2.6 billion
● Number of recorded executions in 2008 – 2,390
● Number of people worldwide exposed to indoor 
air pollution that exceeds WHO guidelines – 1 billion
● Annual carbon dioxide emissions – 7.7 billion tonnes of carbon equivalent

Indian Railway at a Glance

1831-33 : A thought to create railway development for the transportation between Madras and Bangalore cropped up.

1844 : R. S. Stephenson thought of creating East India Railway.

1845-46  : Survey work for new rail line for Calcutta–Delhi.

1848-49  : Construction of Howrah and Raniganj rail line.

1850 : Construction of Indian Peninsular Railway company for rail line between Bombay thane and Calcutta–Mirzapur rail line began.

1853 : Inauguration of Indian Railway on 16 April, 1853 by running train between Boribundar (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) and Thane.

1854 : 24 miles railway line EIR, between Howrah Hoogely opened on 15 August.

1856 : Madras Railway company opened Madras Arkonam for passenger transportation.

1857 : Northern Railway began its first train between Allahabad and Kanpur on March.

1860 : Morse Telegraph Telecommunication started by Indian Railway.

1860-68 : Immediate Guarantee System began  East Indian Railway Great India Peninsula Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway and Madras states Railway participated in it.

1869-81 : Under new system state government were authorised to lay rail lines.

1890 : Indian Railway Act passed.

1905 : Formation of Railway Board.

1922 : Re organisation of Railway and more right were given.

1924 : Rail Budget was separated from General Budget.

1925 : E.I.R and GIPR were given separate place and right in railway management.

1925 : First rail electrification of Harbour branch of Bombay with 1500 volt DC.

1928 : Electrification of Bombay Suburban Section of  B.B. & C.I.R.

1931 : Electrification of Madras suburban section.

1937 : India got 3200 km long rail line on separation of Burma from India.

1939-42 : Security material for world war produced in railway workshops.

1942 : War transport established.

1947 : 11,200 km long rail line to Pakistan.

1950 : First steam engine manufactured by Chitranjan  locomotive.

1950 : Nationalization of Indian  Railway.

1953 : Railway centenary celebrated throughout the country.

1955 : First diesel locomotive plied on metre gauge in Neville and Gandhidham section.

1955 : Coach factory established in Perambur.

1957 : Bombay Madras rail line from 25 KVAC inaugurated, Railway security Force Act passed.

1958 : Electrification of Howrah–Vardhman section.

1961 : First electric engine Lokmanya was manufactured by Chitranjan Locomotive.

1962 : First electric train ran between Bombay and Pune.

1964 : Kunjaru Committee organised to bring reforms in Rail administration.

1964 : Production started in Diesel Locomotive works Varanasi.

1970 : First combined planning of Railway (1970-85) started.

1972 : Manufacturing of steam engines stopped in Chitranjan Rail Engine Factory from 5 February, Jammu appeared on Indian railway map.

1974 : Third class in railway banished.

1976 : IRCON established in April.

1977 : Railway Time Table ‘Train At a Glance’ launched.

1979 : Central organisation for modernisation of workshop established.

1978 : Double Decker train service ‘Panchvati Express’ began between Bombay–Pune on 12 April.

1982 : Palace on Wheel started.

1984 : Metro train inaugurated in Calcutta.

1985 : Nation's first computerised reservation center began in New Delhi on 15 November, 1985, second combined planning (1985–2000) began.

1986 : Indian Railway Finance Corporation established.

1987 : Center for Railway Information Service established in New Delhi.

1988 : Indian Rail Electricity Institute established in Nasik optical fiber Communication Service started between Churchgate–Virat in 1988. India’s first Shatabdi Express New Delhi–Jhansi) launched.

1989 : Formation of Railway Time Committee and Railway Dhaba Authority.

1990 : Goods passengers train service began between India and Bangladesh.

1991 : First train service in Mizoram from Bhai Rabi station began on 6 March ‘Palace on Wheels’ started with new decore.

1992 : RFFC established. ‘Apna Wagon’ scheme began. For the first time in the world first women special Train between Churchgate–Borivallie on 5 May started.

1993 : Sleeper class began on 1st April. Formation of Ojha Committee to solve the problems of Konkan railway

1994 : Rail passengers Insurance Scheme launched. First Rail Bus service began between Medata road and Medata city of Northern Railway.

1995 : Metro rail began between Tollyganj and Damdam on 27 September. 1995 was celebrated as ‘Rail Consumer year’.

1996 : 6 new regional rails formed in Hubali, Hajipur, Jaipur, Bhuvneshwar, Allahabad and Jabalpur. Formation of Delhi Metro Rail corporation Ltd. On 4 March, the name Mumbai VT changed to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

1997 : Telephone service based on satellite started in August Kranti Express on 15 April.

1998 : Konkan railway fully in operation from 26 January. On 1 May Prime Minister dedicated to the nation. Walky–Talky communication between guards and drivers began. 3 phase Electric engines of 6000 HP began to be manufactured indigenously. ‘Fairy Queen’ got place in Guinness Book for having the oldest Steam engine in working condition.

1999 : At  Delhi railway station, worlds, biggest route relay interlinking began. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway declared world heritage by UNESCO. Nilgiri Mountain Railway celebrated its centenary.

2000 : Online rail information system started first time at the Church gate head office on 29 April. On 17 December at Kota station of western railway first time automatic charting system inaugurated.

2001 : 22-28 January. BNR Hotel, Puri celebrated its platinum jubilee. On 24 February, at Chennai station first time Internet Trade Center was opened. On 5 November, Western railway celebrated its golden jubilee

2002 : On the beginning of 150th year of Indian Railway on 15 April, in a special programme. Mascot Bholuguard and special monogram launched.

2003 : On 5 January Western Railway celebrated golden jubilee of its Electric Rail Service. On 15 February the name of ‘Wheel and Axil factory’ changed as Rail wheel factory. On 1 May for the first time RailTel began broadband in the moving train in the world.

2004 : UNESCO declared Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus as world heritage.

2005 : Nilgiri Mountain Rail was declared world heritage by UNESCO. E-ticketing began in all the trains.

2006 : ‘Anumati Yojna’ began to run passenger train from 26 January. A.C. facility for general public at lower prices began.

2007 : Throughout the country with 139 Telephones Extensive Railway Enquiry began.

2008 : First train service started in Kashmir Valley on 11, October.