Monday, January 26, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Current Affairs 2014 at a glance
❖ Narendra Damodardas Modi was sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister of India on May 26, 2014.
The swearing in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan was attended by the heads/ representatives of eight SAARC nations. Along with Modi 44 Ministers also took oath.
❖ The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the first party in 30 years to win a majority on its
own in the Lok Sabha. In the 16th Lok Sabha elections it won 282 seats. Indian National Congress won 44 seats.
❖ Anandiben Patel became the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat in May 2014. Sikkim Democratic Front leader Pawan Chamling was sworn in as the CM of Sikkim for a record fifth consecutive term. Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik was sworn in as the CM of Odisha for the fourth consecutive term. Congress leader Nabam Tuki became the CM of Arunachal Pradesh for the second consecutive time.
❖ Jitan Ram Manjhi succeeded Nitish Kumar as the new CM of Bihar. TR Zeliang succeeded Neiphiu Rio as the CM of Nagaland.
❖ 13 - year-old Malavath Purna became the youngest female climber to scale the Mount Everest on May 25, 2014.
❖ Dalia Grybauskaite was re-elected as the President of Lithuania in May 2014. She is the first female President of Lithuania.
❖ Salvador Sanchez Ceren took office as the President of El Salvador on June 1, 2014. Luis Guillermo Solis became the President of Costa Rica on May 8, 2014. Juan Carlos Varela assumed office as the President of Panama on July 1, 2014.
❖ Peter Mutharika assumed office as the President of Malawi on May 31, 2014.
❖ Major General Kristin Lund of Norway is the first-ever woman to serve as the head of a UN peacekeeping operation.
❖ Nripendra Mishra was appointed as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is
the former Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
❖ Former United States Secretary of the State Hillary Rodham Clinton launched her book 'Hard Choices'.
❖ 'RuPay', India's own card payment network, was launched by the President Pranab Mukherjee. It was developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The RuPay card is accepted at all ATMs.
❖ Justice B. S. Chauhan was appointed the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
❖ Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has been included in the second schedule to the RBI Act, 1934.
Now BMB becomes eligible for loans from RBI on bank rate.
❖ RBI made it mandatory for banks to install talking ATMs with Braille keypads from July 2014
onwards. It is for the benefit of persons with disabilities.
❖ P.J. Nayak Committee appointed by the RBI recommended the reduction of government stake in public sector banks to less than 50 percent.
❖ Japan won the Thomas Cup men's badminton title for the first time. Japan defeated Malaysia in the final in New Delhi in May 2014. China won the Uber Cup women's badminton title for the
13th time by defeating Japan in the final in New Delhi. India won a bronze medal for the first time in Uber Cup.
❖ Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the Indian Premier League- 7 title by defeating Kings XI Punjab at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on June 1, 2014. It is KKR's second IPL trophy.
❖ Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekar Rao was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, the 29th State of India, on June 2, 2014. Telugu Desham Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu took over as the first Chief Minister of bifurcated Andhra Pradesh on June 8, 2014.
❖ The Supreme Court appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee to probe the 2013 IPL spot fixing allegations.
❖ Manuel Santos won the Presidential elections of Colombia for the second time in June 2014.
❖ Reuven Rivlin succeeded Shimon Peres as the new President of Israel in June 2014.
❖ Former army chief Abdel Fattah el Sisi was sworn in as the President of Egypt in June 2014.
❖ Mukul Rohatgi was appointed the Attorney General of India in June 2014. Ranjit Kumar is the new Solicitor General.
❖ N. Srinivasan is the first Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
❖ Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as the President of Ukraine.
❖ Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a third term in office in June 2014.
❖ Sumitra Mahajan became the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha in June 2014. She represents Indore Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh.
❖ Former Intelligence Bureau chief Ajit Doval was appointed the National Security Adviser (NSA). He is the first police officer to be decorated with Kirti Chakra, a gallantry award given during peacetime.
❖ Kedarnath Singh was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honor and is the 49th recipient of Jnanpith award.
❖ The 2013 Moortidevi award was given to Malayalam writer C. Radhakrishnan. He is a scientist
turned writer.
❖ France announced to honor Shah Rukh Khan with Officer of the Legion of Honour for his contribution to cinema.
❖ Former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland is the first recipient of the Tang Prize
for sustainable development. She is the former Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO).
❖ India-born plant scientist Sanjay Rajaram was chosen for the World Food Prize for 2014. He is a renowned wheat scientist.
❖ Irish author Eimear McBride won the 2014 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction for her debut
novel 'A Girl is a Half-formed Thing'. This prize was earlier known as Orange Prize.
❖ The autobiography of Hindi actor Dilip Kumar 'The Substance and The Shadow' was launched.
❖ The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was test-fired. It is an Indo-Russian missile with a range of 290 km.
❖ Okavango Delta in Botswana became the 1000th site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.
❖ Rani-ki-Vav, an 11th century stepwell in the Patan area of Gujarat and the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Himachal Pradesh were accorded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
❖ The government has accepted the report of Arvind Mayaram Committee on rationalizing definitions of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).
❖ Salman Rushdie, the India born UK author was named the winner of 2014 Pen Pinter Prize.
❖ Saina Nehwal won the Australian Open Super Series badminton title defeating Spain's Carolina Marin.
❖ Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the World Rapid Chess Championship and also the World Blitz
Chess Championship, both in Dubai in June 2014.
❖ Australia retained the men's Hockey World Cup title by outplaying Netherlands in the final in
The Hague, Netherlands in June 2014. Netherlands defeated Australia to win the women's title.
❖ Rafael Nadal of Spain clinched the 2014 French Open tennis men's singles title beating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the final. It is Nadal's 9th French open title. Maria Sharapova of Russia won
her second French Open women's singles title by defeating Simona Halep of Romania.
❖ Two Indian Americans Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe became the co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest held in USA.
The swearing in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan was attended by the heads/ representatives of eight SAARC nations. Along with Modi 44 Ministers also took oath.
❖ The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the first party in 30 years to win a majority on its
own in the Lok Sabha. In the 16th Lok Sabha elections it won 282 seats. Indian National Congress won 44 seats.
❖ Anandiben Patel became the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat in May 2014. Sikkim Democratic Front leader Pawan Chamling was sworn in as the CM of Sikkim for a record fifth consecutive term. Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik was sworn in as the CM of Odisha for the fourth consecutive term. Congress leader Nabam Tuki became the CM of Arunachal Pradesh for the second consecutive time.
❖ Jitan Ram Manjhi succeeded Nitish Kumar as the new CM of Bihar. TR Zeliang succeeded Neiphiu Rio as the CM of Nagaland.
❖ 13 - year-old Malavath Purna became the youngest female climber to scale the Mount Everest on May 25, 2014.
❖ Dalia Grybauskaite was re-elected as the President of Lithuania in May 2014. She is the first female President of Lithuania.
❖ Salvador Sanchez Ceren took office as the President of El Salvador on June 1, 2014. Luis Guillermo Solis became the President of Costa Rica on May 8, 2014. Juan Carlos Varela assumed office as the President of Panama on July 1, 2014.
❖ Peter Mutharika assumed office as the President of Malawi on May 31, 2014.
❖ Major General Kristin Lund of Norway is the first-ever woman to serve as the head of a UN peacekeeping operation.
❖ Nripendra Mishra was appointed as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is
the former Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
❖ Former United States Secretary of the State Hillary Rodham Clinton launched her book 'Hard Choices'.
❖ 'RuPay', India's own card payment network, was launched by the President Pranab Mukherjee. It was developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The RuPay card is accepted at all ATMs.
❖ Justice B. S. Chauhan was appointed the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
❖ Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has been included in the second schedule to the RBI Act, 1934.
Now BMB becomes eligible for loans from RBI on bank rate.
❖ RBI made it mandatory for banks to install talking ATMs with Braille keypads from July 2014
onwards. It is for the benefit of persons with disabilities.
❖ P.J. Nayak Committee appointed by the RBI recommended the reduction of government stake in public sector banks to less than 50 percent.
❖ Japan won the Thomas Cup men's badminton title for the first time. Japan defeated Malaysia in the final in New Delhi in May 2014. China won the Uber Cup women's badminton title for the
13th time by defeating Japan in the final in New Delhi. India won a bronze medal for the first time in Uber Cup.
❖ Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the Indian Premier League- 7 title by defeating Kings XI Punjab at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on June 1, 2014. It is KKR's second IPL trophy.
❖ Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekar Rao was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, the 29th State of India, on June 2, 2014. Telugu Desham Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu took over as the first Chief Minister of bifurcated Andhra Pradesh on June 8, 2014.
❖ The Supreme Court appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee to probe the 2013 IPL spot fixing allegations.
❖ Manuel Santos won the Presidential elections of Colombia for the second time in June 2014.
❖ Reuven Rivlin succeeded Shimon Peres as the new President of Israel in June 2014.
❖ Former army chief Abdel Fattah el Sisi was sworn in as the President of Egypt in June 2014.
❖ Mukul Rohatgi was appointed the Attorney General of India in June 2014. Ranjit Kumar is the new Solicitor General.
❖ N. Srinivasan is the first Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
❖ Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as the President of Ukraine.
❖ Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a third term in office in June 2014.
❖ Sumitra Mahajan became the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha in June 2014. She represents Indore Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh.
❖ Former Intelligence Bureau chief Ajit Doval was appointed the National Security Adviser (NSA). He is the first police officer to be decorated with Kirti Chakra, a gallantry award given during peacetime.
❖ Kedarnath Singh was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honor and is the 49th recipient of Jnanpith award.
❖ The 2013 Moortidevi award was given to Malayalam writer C. Radhakrishnan. He is a scientist
turned writer.
❖ France announced to honor Shah Rukh Khan with Officer of the Legion of Honour for his contribution to cinema.
❖ Former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland is the first recipient of the Tang Prize
for sustainable development. She is the former Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO).
❖ India-born plant scientist Sanjay Rajaram was chosen for the World Food Prize for 2014. He is a renowned wheat scientist.
❖ Irish author Eimear McBride won the 2014 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction for her debut
novel 'A Girl is a Half-formed Thing'. This prize was earlier known as Orange Prize.
❖ The autobiography of Hindi actor Dilip Kumar 'The Substance and The Shadow' was launched.
❖ The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was test-fired. It is an Indo-Russian missile with a range of 290 km.
❖ Okavango Delta in Botswana became the 1000th site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.
❖ Rani-ki-Vav, an 11th century stepwell in the Patan area of Gujarat and the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Himachal Pradesh were accorded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
❖ The government has accepted the report of Arvind Mayaram Committee on rationalizing definitions of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).
❖ Salman Rushdie, the India born UK author was named the winner of 2014 Pen Pinter Prize.
❖ Saina Nehwal won the Australian Open Super Series badminton title defeating Spain's Carolina Marin.
❖ Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the World Rapid Chess Championship and also the World Blitz
Chess Championship, both in Dubai in June 2014.
❖ Australia retained the men's Hockey World Cup title by outplaying Netherlands in the final in
The Hague, Netherlands in June 2014. Netherlands defeated Australia to win the women's title.
❖ Rafael Nadal of Spain clinched the 2014 French Open tennis men's singles title beating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the final. It is Nadal's 9th French open title. Maria Sharapova of Russia won
her second French Open women's singles title by defeating Simona Halep of Romania.
❖ Two Indian Americans Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe became the co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest held in USA.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Madhya Pradesh Sub-Inspector Police Exam., 2012 Solved Paper
General Knowledge (Exam Held on 16-9-2012)
1. Rana Kumbha constructed the 'Kirtistambha' at Chittor to commemorate his victory against–
(A) Ahmadshah of Gujarat (B) Mahmud Khilji of Malwa
(C) Khan of Nagpur (D) Rao Jodha of Marwar
Ans : (B)
2. The First War of Panipat was fought in A.D. 1526 between–
(A) Ibrahim Lodi and Rana sanga
(B) Mahmud Lodi and Babur
(C) Babur and Rana sanga
(D) Babur and Ibrahim Lodi
Ans : (D)
3. Which Moghul emperor first granted the English the licence to trade and to establish factories in India ?
(A) Akbar (B) Jahangir
(C) shahjahan (D) Aurangzeb
Ans : (B)
4. The 'swadeshi Movement' and 'Boycott of Foreign Things' were started by the Congress in 1905 to protest–
(A) Curtailment of the rights of representation granted under the Indian Councils Act, 1892
(B) Partition of Bengal
(C) Restrictions imposed on the entry of Indians into Canada
(D) Lord Curzon's efforts to establish control over the universities
Ans : (B)
5. The Lucknow Congress of 1916 was important, because at this session the party–
(A) Repudiated political militancy of the 'garam dal'
(B) Signed a pact with the Muslim League
(C) Opposed participation of India in the First World War
(D) Rejected separate electorates for Muslims and Dalits
Ans : (B)
6. In 1932, a compromise, known as the 'Poona Pact', was worked out on the question of separate electorates. Who were the two main leaders involved ?
(A) Gandhiji and Lord Irwin (B) Gandhiji and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
(C) Gandhiji and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (D) Gandhiji and Aga Khan
Ans : (B)
7. What is the time taken by the Earth to complete one rotation on its imaginary axis ?
(A) 24 hr 37 min 23 sec (B) 24 hr
(C) 23 hr 56 min 4 sec (D) 23 hr 52 min
Ans : (C)
8. In which atmospheric layer is the ozone layer situated ?
(A) Troposphere (B) Stratosphere
(C) Mesosphere (D) Ionosphere
Ans : (C)
9. The Finance Commission makes its recommendations to–
(A) The Finance Minister (B) The Planning Commission
(C) The Parliament (D) The President
Ans : (D)
10. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra is–
(A) Ashok Chauhan (B) Sushil Kumar Shinde
(C) Sanjay Nirupam (D) Prithviraj Chauhan
Ans : (D)
11. The author of the book, Gulliver's Travels is–
(A) Jonathan Swift (B) Charles Dickens
(C) Charles Lamb (D) T. S. Eliot
Ans : (A)
12. Red soil is commonly found in the States of–
(A) Punjab and Rajasthan
(B) Himachal Pradesh and Haryana
(C) Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh
(D) Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh
Ans : (D)
13. When did the Reserve Bank of India become a State-owned institution ?
(A) 1956 (B) 1952
(C) 1950 (D) 1949
Ans : (D)
14. Who was the President of the Constituent Assembly which was constituted to frame the Constitution of India ?
(A) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru (B) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(C) Dr. Rajendra Prasad (D) Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
Ans : (C)
15. Which part of our Constitution primarily reflects Mahatma Gandhi's principles ?
(A) The Preamble
(B) Part III-Fundamental Rights
(C) Part IV-Directive Principles of State Policy
(D) Part IV A-Fundamental Duties
Ans : (C)
16. Which of the following is a Fundamental Right as provided under Part III of the Constitution ?
(A) Promotion of educational and economic interests of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections
(B) Right to reside and settle in any part of India
(C) Right of workers to participate in the management of industries
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
17. 1n case of conflict between the Central and State law on a subject in the Concurrent List–
(A) The law which was passed first prevails
(B) The law of State prevails
(C) The law of Centre prevails
(D) Both laws stand nullified
Ans : (C)
18. Part IV A of the Constitution lays down the Fundamental Duties of the citizens. Which of the following is not a duty included among Fundamental Duties ?
(A) To profess and propagate one's own religion
(B) To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of enquiry and reform
(C) To safeguard public property and to abjure violence
(D) To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture
Ans : (A)
19. Taxes on income, other than on agricultural income, are–
(A) Levied and collected by the Central Government and appropriated by it
(B) Levied and collected by the Central Government but assigned to States within which they are leviable
(C) Levied and collected by the Central Government but distributed between the States and the Centre
(D) Levied by the Central Government but collected and appropriated by the State
Governments
Ans : (C)
20. A, 5-point formula was proposed by India to define relations between sovereign States, which was known as 'Panchsheel' formula. India signed the first 'Panchsheel Agreement' in 1954. Which was the country with which this agreement was signed ?
(A) China (B) Pakistan
(C) Bhutan (D) Sri Lanka
Ans : (A)
21. Which one of the following Amendments has been described as Mini Constitution ?
(A) 42nd (B) 43rd
(C) 52nd (D) 59th
Ans : (A)
22. Which of the following organs of the United Nations Organization elects / elect judges of the International Court of Justice ?
(A) The Economic and Social Council
(B) The Security Council and the General Assembly
(C) The Trusteeship Council and the Economic and Social Council
(D) The Security Council
Ans : (B)
23. In blogging, the blogger, with the help of his computer and the Internet–
(A) Puts out his ideas, information, photos, etc., on the Internet, which can be accessed by any other person
(B) Visits the Web site of another person and makes changes in the information posted thereon
(C) Accesses another person's computer and steals secret information stored therein
(D) Accesses another computer and continuously exchanges information with it
Ans : (A)
24. Power from powerhouses is often transmitted as alternating current at 33000 volts or more. Why is power transmitted as such high voltage ?
(A) Transmission is faster at high voltages
(B) Transmission loss is lower at high voltages
(C) It is difficult to generate electricity at lower voltage
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
25. When a patient's blood pressure is taken, the pressure exerted by blood on the walls of the blood vessels is measured. At what stage is this pressure measured ?
(A) When the heart sends out oxygenated blood to the body parts
(B) When deoxygenated blood goes into the heart
(C) At both the stages
(D) At the in-between stage
Ans : (C)
26. The winner of Indian Premier League, 2012 is–
(A) Chennai Super Kings
(B) Delhi Daredevils
(C) Kolkata Knight Riders
(D) Mumbai Indians
Ans : (C)
27. Which of the following is a tribal group of Africa ?
(A) Eskimos
(B) Ainu
(C) Fula
(D) None of these
Ans : (D)
28. The Chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission is–
(A) Prof. P. K. Dubey
(B) Prof. P. K. Joshi
(C) A. K. Pandey
(D) P. K. Pandey
Ans : (C)
29. The words 'satyameva Jayate' in the National Emblem are taken from–
(A) Mahabharata
(B) Mundaka Upanishad
(C) Kautilya's Arthashastra
(D) Samaveda
Ans : (B)
30. The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through–
(A) India (B) Egypt
(C) Mexico (D) Iran
Ans : (B)
31. Which country in Europe is called the 'Land of Midnight Sun' ?
(A) Norway (B) Finland
(C) Iceland (D) Sweden
Ans : (A)
32. Swami Vivekananda gained fame and recognition in the Western World after his address to the World Congress of Major Religions in 1893. In which city was this congress held ?
(A) London (B) Paris
(C) Berlin (D) Chicago
Ans : (D)
33. Where was Mother Teresa born ?
(A) India (B) Albania
(C) Hungary (D) Poland
Ans : (B)
34. Who was the first navigator to circumnavigate the Earth by the sea route ?
(A) Ferdinand Magellan
(B) Marco Polo
(C) Vasco da Gama
(D) Christopher Columbus
Ans : (A)
35. Which of the following countries was discovered by the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama?
(A) India
(B) China
(C) Australia
(D) New Zealand
Ans : (A)
36. What is an ecosystem ?
(A) The unit of man and all living beings which interact with each other
(B) The unit comprised of man, other living beings and the plant kingdom
(C) The unit comprised of all living beings and their environment
(D) That part of the Earth and the atmosphere where living beings are found
Ans : (B)
37. Malaria affects lakhs of Indians every year. Which part of the body is damaged by this disease ?
(A) Heart (B) Lungs
(C) Spleen (D) Liver
Ans : (C)
38. How does the Sun get its energy ?
(A) From gravitational pressure
(B) From nuclear fission
(C) From nuclear fusion
(D) None of the above
Ans : (C)
39. The Shahnama, written by Firdausi, tells the tale of kings of one country .Which is this country ?
(A) Egypt (B) India
(C) Turkey (D) Persia
Ans : (D)
40. Which of the following statements is correct ?
(A) The entropy of the world keeps on increasing
(B) The entropy of the world keeps on decreasing
(C) The entropy of the world is constant
(D) The entropy of the world increases and decreases in a cyclic manner
Ans : (A)
41. The frequency range of FM radio broadcast in India is–
(A) 102 MHz -132 MHz
(B) 80 MHz -102 MHz
(C) 88 MHz -108MHz
(D) 78 MHz -102 MHz
Ans : (C)
42. Who among the following has not been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature ?
(A) Derek Walcott
(B) Dario Fo
(C) Toni Morrison
(D) Robert Richardson
Ans : (D)
43. Two large temple complexes have been found in Angkorwat, Cambodia. Which religion are they associated with?
(A) Hinduism
(B) Buddhism
(C) Shintoism
(D) None of these
Ans : (A)
44. Fidel Castro ousted a dictator from Cuba in 1959. Who was this dictator ?
(A) Duvalier
(B) Batista
(C) Pinochet
(D) None of these
Ans : (B)
45. Wheels of passenger vehicles are fitted with tyres and tubes which are filled with air. What is the main reason for not filling up the tubes with water ?
(A) Filling them with water will increase the weight
(B) If they are filled with water, the force of shocks on passengers, generated by uneven surface of the road, will increase very considerably
(C) Air is cheaper than water
(D) It would not be convenient to fill up the tubes with water
Ans : (B)
46. As mother is B's sister and C's daughter. B's daughter is P who is Q's sister. If C is not Q's grandmother, how is C related to Q?
(A) Father
(B) Mother
(C) Grandfather
(D) Aunt
Ans : (C)
47. Four boys are wearing clothes of different colours. Ravi is not wearing white and Ajay is not wearing blue. If Sohan is wearing red, what is the colour of Sachin's clothes ?
(A) Blue
(B) White
(C) Yellow
(D) Cannot be determined
Ans : (D)
48. A factory makes shoes of two types, A-type and B-type. Both require the same amount of leather which is available in such quantity that 80 pairs of shoes can be made per day. It takes twice as long to make A-type shoes as B-type. The capacity of the factory is such that if only B-type shoes were to be made, 100 pairs could be produced in one day. A-type shoes require some special material which is available in quantities sufficient for 40 pairs per day. The special material required for B-type shoes is available in quantities sufficient for 70 pairs per day. If the factory makes a profit of Rs. 200 per pair on A-type shoes and Rs. 150 per pair on 8-type shoes how many pairs of shoes of each type should it produce every day for maximum profit ?
(A) A-type 40 and B-type 20
(B) A-type 10 and B-type 70
(C) A-type 20 and B-type 60
(D) None of the above
Ans : (D)
49. A leap year is chosen at random. What is the probability that this year would have 53 Mondays ?
(A) 1/7
(B) 2/7
(C) 3/7
(D) None of these
Ans : (B)
50. Three horses, A, B and C, are participating in a race. If the probability of A winning the race is twice the probability of B winning it and the probability of B winning the race is twice the probability of C winning it, what is the probability that either B or C will win the race ?
(A) 1/7
(B) 2/7
(C) 3/7
(D) None of these
Ans : (C)
51. Some men are travelling with their horses. At one point of time, half the men are riding their horses while the rest are walking along leading their horses. If the number of legs on the ground at that time is 40, what is the number of horses in the party ?
(A) 8 (B) 10
(C) 12 (D) None of these
Ans : (A)
52. A family is comprised of father, mother, son and daughter. The father's age is 3 times the age of the daughter. The son is half as old as his mother and is 7 years older than his sister. If the father is 9 years older than his wife, what is the mother's age ?
(A) 45 years (B) 50 years
(C) 60 years (D) None of these
Ans : (C)
53. Six friends went for a vacation and stayed in a resort where nine cottages in a row were available for them. They all stayed in separate cottages. Mohan, Rani and Chitra did not stay in the cottages at the two ends. Nobody stayed next to Mohan and Salman. There was only one empty cottage between Mohan and Chitra. Jayant's cottage was adjacent to both Chitra and Anil. Rani stayed next to the cottage at the beginning. Which cottages remain empty after they are accommodated ?
(A) Nos. 1, 6, 8 (B) Nos. 4, 6, 8
(C) Nos. 3, 5, 9 (D) Nos. 2, 5, 7
Ans : (A)
54. A plane mirror is kept in front of a clock. If the actual time is 3 : 25, what time would the reflection show (if we notice only the positions of the two hands of the clock and do not pay attention to the numerals on the dial) ?
(A) 9 : 55 (B) 8 : 35
(C) 3 : 25 (D) None of these
Ans : (B)
55. A person has five coins. If he knows for certain that–
1. Coin no.1 is genuine;
2. One of the remaining four coins is counterfeit and its weight is different from the others.
then what is the minimum number of weighings which will enable him to find out which coin is counterfeit and whether it is heavier or lighter than the others ?
(A) 1 (B) 2
(C) 3 (D) 4
Ans : (B)
56. Six students are taking coffee in the coffeehouse. A and Bare from Delhi while the others C, D, P and Q are from Bhopal. D and Q are tall while the others are short. A, C and D are girls while the others are boys. Who is the tall girl from Bhopal ?
(A) C (B) D
(C) P (D) Q
Ans : (C)
57. What is the missing number ?
0 1 2 3
1 3 4 16
2 5 6 ?
(A) 22 (B) 106
(C) 39 (D) None of these
Ans : (C)
58. The remnants of one of the most ancient civilizations of the world, 'Indus Valley Civilization', were first discovered in Harappa. Where is this Harappa situated ?
(A) Sind, Pakistan
(B) Punjab, India
(C) Punjab, Pakistan
(D) Haryana, India
Ans : (A)
59. In 1950s, the Archaeological Survey of India found several sites in one part of India which yielded evidence that the Mohenjodaro-Harappa Civilization was centred, not in Indus Valley, but in this part of India. In which present State are these sites situated ?
(A) Maharashtra (B) Gujarat
(C) Rajasthan (D) Punjab
Ans : (B)
60. River Narmada flows down from Amarkantak Hills to the sea. What is the name of the area where it meets the sea ?
(A) Gulf of Kutch (B) Gulf of Khambat
(C) Gulf of Mannar (D) Bay of Bengal
Ans : (B)
61. Commonwealth Games, 2010 were held at–
(A) Colombo (B) London
(C) NewDelhi (D) Seoul
Ans : (C)
62. Karera Sanctuary is situated at–
(A) shivpuri (B) Mandsaur
(C) Damoh (D) Tikamgarh
Ans : (A)
63. Barman Fair is held at–
(A) Sodalpur (B) Porsa
(C) Pipaliya Khurd (D) Gadarwara
Ans : (D)
64. Who is the 'Man of the Tournament' of World Cup Cricket, 2011 ?
(A) Yuvraj Singh (B) Kumar Sangakara
(C) Ricky Ponting (D) Jacques Kallis
Ans : (A)
65. Which of the following National Highways does not pass through Madhya Pradesh ?
(A) NH27 (B) NH28
(C) NH 78 (D) NH 79
Ans : (B)
66. How many tiers of administration are there in Panchayati Raj in Madhya Pradesh ?
(A) A single tier-at village level
(B) Two tiers-at village and district levels
(C) Three tiers-at village, block and district levels
(D) Four tiers-at village, block district and State levels
Ans : (C)
67. In the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984, which was the gas that had leaked out ?
(A) Carbon monoxide (B) Hydrogen sulphide
(C) Ethyl cyanide (D) Methyl isocyanate
Ans : (D)
68. Who founded the Ramakrishna Mission ?
(A) Ramakrishna Paramhans
(B) Swami Dayananda Saraswati
(C) Swami Vivekananda
(D) Shankaracharya
Ans : (C)
69. Which architect has prepared the plan for Chandigarh city ?
(A) Edwin Lutyens (B) Le Corbusier
(C) Charles Correa (D) None of these
Ans : (B)
70. Who got the Khajuraho temples constructed ?
(A) Chhatrasal (B) Kings of Parmar dynasty
(C) Kings of Chandel dynasty (D) King Bhoja
Ans : (C)
71. Who was the founder of the Chola dynasty in South India ?
(A) Karikala (B) Parantaka
(C) Rajaraja (D) None of these
Ans : (D)
72. Which was the most famous festival of the Vijayanagar empire ?
(A) Ramnavami (B) Brahmotsava
(C) Mahanavami (D) Vasantotsava
Ans : (C)
73. The famous caves at Ajanta-Ellora contain statues and murals associated with–
(A) Hinduism (B) Buddhism
(C) Jainism (D) All of these
Ans : (D)
74. Which 'pir' lies in the famous 'mazar' at Ajmer ?
(A) Muin-ud-din Chishti (B) Nizam-ud-din Auliya
(C) Baba Farid (D) Sheikh salim Chishti
Ans : (A)
75. Where was the Jain Seer Lord Mahavira born ?
(A) Lumbini (Nepal) (B) Kunda (Bihar)
(C) Shravanbelgola (Karnataka) (D) None of these
76. Who was the first 'Guru' of the Sikhs?
(A) Guru Amardas (B) Guru Nanakdev
(C) Guru Arjundev (D) Guru Tegh Bahadur
Ans : (B)
77. Gaya district of Bihar is associated with the name of Mahatma Buddha. In this district–
(A) Mahatma Buddha was born
(B) Mahatma Buddha gained enlightenment
(C) Mahatma Buddha delivered his first sermon
(D) Mahatma Buddha expired
Ans : (B)
78. The ambitious road development project of India, known as the 'Golden Quadrangle Project', will join four important places. Which are these places?
(A) srinagar, Kannyakumari, Porbandar and silchar
(B) Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Guwahati
(C) Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai
(D) Jalandhar, Pune, Hyderabad and Dibrugarh
Ans : (C)
79. The first Indian satellite was launched into space in 1975. What was it called ?
(A) Aryabhatta (B) Rohini
(C) Insat-1A (D) IRS-1A
Ans : (A)
80. Ashok Chakra is awarded for–
(A) Bravery in the face of enemy, during a war
(B) Bravery during anti-terrorist operations
(C) Life-saving
(D) All of the above
Ans : (A)
81.The Defence Research and Development Organization of India has developed a missile which can be launched from a submarine. What is it named ?
(A) BrahMos (B) Astra
(C) Prithvi-4 (D) K-15
Ans : (D)
82. The 'Param' series of super-computers was developed in India by which of the following institutions ?
(A) Indian Institute of Sciences
(B) Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
(C) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(D) Electronic Corporation of India
Ans : (B)
83. Quite often, deltas are formed at river mouths. What is the reason for formation of delta ?
(A) The flow of the river slows down considerably by the time it meets the sea. Hence, the sand and pieces of rocks carried by the river fall off at its mouth and collect in the form of a delta
(B) The tide in the sea stops the river from flowing into the sea the sand and pieces of rocks carried along by the river current fall off and form a delta
(C) Salts are present in seawater. When the river meets the sea, the sand and rock particles suspended in the river water get precipitated and they settle down at the bottom to form a delta
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)
84. Food is cooked more quickly in pressure cooker, because–
(A) The boiling point of water is lowered in it
(B) The boiling point of water is raised in it
(C) It absorbs heat quickly
(D) It retains heat for a longer time
Ans : (B)
85. Optical fibers are hair-thin tubes of special glass and light can pass through them from end to end. Their special property is that light continues to travel through them even when they are bent. Which property of light underlies this phenomenon ?
(A) Total internal reflection (B) Refraction
(C) Diffraction (D) Polarization
Ans : (A)
86. Why are Polaroids used in sunglasses ?
(A) For the sake of fashion
(B) To reduce the glare
(C) To improve resolving power of the eyes
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
87. When an aeroplane is flying at a great height, the sky appears black to its passengers. Why ?
(A) The dust particles and droplets of water present in the atmosphere absorb the light and do not allow it to reach the eyes of the passengers
(B) The atmosphere is very rare at great heights and so the scattering of light is negligible
(C) The light is so polarized that no part of it is able to reach the eye of the passengers
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
88. The image formed by an object on the retina of the human eye is–
(A) Real and inverted (B) Real and upright
(C) Virtual and inverted (D) Virtual and upright
Ans : (A)
89. A heater running on 220 volt takes 5 minute to boil a quantity of water. If the heater is run on 110 volt instead of 220 volt, how much time will it take to boil the same quantity of water ?
(A) 10 minute (B) 15 minute
(C) 20 minute (D) 25 minute
Ans : (C)
90. A GM counter is used for detecting–
(A) Underground oil (B) Coal
(C) Radioactivity (D) Methane gas
Ans : (C)
91. In which organ of the body is the red blood corpuscle made ?
(A) Liver (B) Bone marrow
(C) Kidneys (D) Heart
Ans : (B)
92. The edible potato is the modified form of which part of the plant ?
(A) Roots (B) Stem
(C) Flower (D) None of these
Ans : (B)
93. What is the main constituent of 'Gobar Gas' (biogas) ?
(A) Hydrogen (B) Carbon monoxide
(C) Acetylene (D) Methane
Ans : (D)
94. What is the 'non-stick' substance used in cookwares ?
(A) Polymonochlorotrifluoroethylene
(B) Polymethyl methacrylate
(C) Polyacrylonitrile
(D) Polytetrafluoroethylene
Ans : (D)
95. The gas used for cooking (LPG) is chiefly a mixture of–
(A) Methane and carbon monoxide
(B) Hydrogen and nitrogen
(C) Butane and propane
(D) Propane and nitrogen
Ans : (C)
96. One card is pulled out at random from a well-shuffled deck of playing cards (52 cards). This is seen to be a card of hearts. It is put back and the deck is shuffled again. Another card is now pulled out of the deck. What is the probability of the second card being a black king ?
(A) 1/104 (B) l/52
(C) 1/26 (D) None of these
Ans : (C)
97. Why does a foul smell emanate from some ponds, tanks, etc. ?
(A) Pesticides and other organic chemicals reach the water body and kill off fishes, etc., living therein, causing the foul smell
(B) Fertilizers used in farming reach the water body and give rise to excessive growth of aqueous plants. When these plants die, excessive quantities of organic matter are collected, depleting dissolved oxygen and causing foul smell
(C) Household wastes contain small quantities of mercury, cadmium, copper, zinc, etc., which pollute the water bodies, causing the death of fishes and other aquatic organisms and leading to foul smell
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
98. Government of India calendars show dates both in Christian era (AD) and Saka era. In which year did the Saka era start ?
(A) 150 BC (B) 130 BC
(C) 56 BC (D) AD 78
Ans : (D)
99. Who was the first woman ruler of India ?
(A) Nurjahan (B) Razia Sultan
(C) Chandbibi (D) Durgavati
Ans : (B)
100. Who founded the Chalukya dynasty in South India ?
(A) Harihara (B) Pulakesin
(C) Parantaka (D) Bukka
Ans : (B)
1. Rana Kumbha constructed the 'Kirtistambha' at Chittor to commemorate his victory against–
(A) Ahmadshah of Gujarat (B) Mahmud Khilji of Malwa
(C) Khan of Nagpur (D) Rao Jodha of Marwar
Ans : (B)
2. The First War of Panipat was fought in A.D. 1526 between–
(A) Ibrahim Lodi and Rana sanga
(B) Mahmud Lodi and Babur
(C) Babur and Rana sanga
(D) Babur and Ibrahim Lodi
Ans : (D)
3. Which Moghul emperor first granted the English the licence to trade and to establish factories in India ?
(A) Akbar (B) Jahangir
(C) shahjahan (D) Aurangzeb
Ans : (B)
4. The 'swadeshi Movement' and 'Boycott of Foreign Things' were started by the Congress in 1905 to protest–
(A) Curtailment of the rights of representation granted under the Indian Councils Act, 1892
(B) Partition of Bengal
(C) Restrictions imposed on the entry of Indians into Canada
(D) Lord Curzon's efforts to establish control over the universities
Ans : (B)
5. The Lucknow Congress of 1916 was important, because at this session the party–
(A) Repudiated political militancy of the 'garam dal'
(B) Signed a pact with the Muslim League
(C) Opposed participation of India in the First World War
(D) Rejected separate electorates for Muslims and Dalits
Ans : (B)
6. In 1932, a compromise, known as the 'Poona Pact', was worked out on the question of separate electorates. Who were the two main leaders involved ?
(A) Gandhiji and Lord Irwin (B) Gandhiji and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
(C) Gandhiji and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (D) Gandhiji and Aga Khan
Ans : (B)
7. What is the time taken by the Earth to complete one rotation on its imaginary axis ?
(A) 24 hr 37 min 23 sec (B) 24 hr
(C) 23 hr 56 min 4 sec (D) 23 hr 52 min
Ans : (C)
8. In which atmospheric layer is the ozone layer situated ?
(A) Troposphere (B) Stratosphere
(C) Mesosphere (D) Ionosphere
Ans : (C)
9. The Finance Commission makes its recommendations to–
(A) The Finance Minister (B) The Planning Commission
(C) The Parliament (D) The President
Ans : (D)
10. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra is–
(A) Ashok Chauhan (B) Sushil Kumar Shinde
(C) Sanjay Nirupam (D) Prithviraj Chauhan
Ans : (D)
11. The author of the book, Gulliver's Travels is–
(A) Jonathan Swift (B) Charles Dickens
(C) Charles Lamb (D) T. S. Eliot
Ans : (A)
12. Red soil is commonly found in the States of–
(A) Punjab and Rajasthan
(B) Himachal Pradesh and Haryana
(C) Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh
(D) Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh
Ans : (D)
13. When did the Reserve Bank of India become a State-owned institution ?
(A) 1956 (B) 1952
(C) 1950 (D) 1949
Ans : (D)
14. Who was the President of the Constituent Assembly which was constituted to frame the Constitution of India ?
(A) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru (B) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(C) Dr. Rajendra Prasad (D) Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
Ans : (C)
15. Which part of our Constitution primarily reflects Mahatma Gandhi's principles ?
(A) The Preamble
(B) Part III-Fundamental Rights
(C) Part IV-Directive Principles of State Policy
(D) Part IV A-Fundamental Duties
Ans : (C)
16. Which of the following is a Fundamental Right as provided under Part III of the Constitution ?
(A) Promotion of educational and economic interests of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections
(B) Right to reside and settle in any part of India
(C) Right of workers to participate in the management of industries
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
17. 1n case of conflict between the Central and State law on a subject in the Concurrent List–
(A) The law which was passed first prevails
(B) The law of State prevails
(C) The law of Centre prevails
(D) Both laws stand nullified
Ans : (C)
18. Part IV A of the Constitution lays down the Fundamental Duties of the citizens. Which of the following is not a duty included among Fundamental Duties ?
(A) To profess and propagate one's own religion
(B) To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of enquiry and reform
(C) To safeguard public property and to abjure violence
(D) To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture
Ans : (A)
19. Taxes on income, other than on agricultural income, are–
(A) Levied and collected by the Central Government and appropriated by it
(B) Levied and collected by the Central Government but assigned to States within which they are leviable
(C) Levied and collected by the Central Government but distributed between the States and the Centre
(D) Levied by the Central Government but collected and appropriated by the State
Governments
Ans : (C)
20. A, 5-point formula was proposed by India to define relations between sovereign States, which was known as 'Panchsheel' formula. India signed the first 'Panchsheel Agreement' in 1954. Which was the country with which this agreement was signed ?
(A) China (B) Pakistan
(C) Bhutan (D) Sri Lanka
Ans : (A)
21. Which one of the following Amendments has been described as Mini Constitution ?
(A) 42nd (B) 43rd
(C) 52nd (D) 59th
Ans : (A)
22. Which of the following organs of the United Nations Organization elects / elect judges of the International Court of Justice ?
(A) The Economic and Social Council
(B) The Security Council and the General Assembly
(C) The Trusteeship Council and the Economic and Social Council
(D) The Security Council
Ans : (B)
23. In blogging, the blogger, with the help of his computer and the Internet–
(A) Puts out his ideas, information, photos, etc., on the Internet, which can be accessed by any other person
(B) Visits the Web site of another person and makes changes in the information posted thereon
(C) Accesses another person's computer and steals secret information stored therein
(D) Accesses another computer and continuously exchanges information with it
Ans : (A)
24. Power from powerhouses is often transmitted as alternating current at 33000 volts or more. Why is power transmitted as such high voltage ?
(A) Transmission is faster at high voltages
(B) Transmission loss is lower at high voltages
(C) It is difficult to generate electricity at lower voltage
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
25. When a patient's blood pressure is taken, the pressure exerted by blood on the walls of the blood vessels is measured. At what stage is this pressure measured ?
(A) When the heart sends out oxygenated blood to the body parts
(B) When deoxygenated blood goes into the heart
(C) At both the stages
(D) At the in-between stage
Ans : (C)
26. The winner of Indian Premier League, 2012 is–
(A) Chennai Super Kings
(B) Delhi Daredevils
(C) Kolkata Knight Riders
(D) Mumbai Indians
Ans : (C)
27. Which of the following is a tribal group of Africa ?
(A) Eskimos
(B) Ainu
(C) Fula
(D) None of these
Ans : (D)
28. The Chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission is–
(A) Prof. P. K. Dubey
(B) Prof. P. K. Joshi
(C) A. K. Pandey
(D) P. K. Pandey
Ans : (C)
29. The words 'satyameva Jayate' in the National Emblem are taken from–
(A) Mahabharata
(B) Mundaka Upanishad
(C) Kautilya's Arthashastra
(D) Samaveda
Ans : (B)
30. The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through–
(A) India (B) Egypt
(C) Mexico (D) Iran
Ans : (B)
31. Which country in Europe is called the 'Land of Midnight Sun' ?
(A) Norway (B) Finland
(C) Iceland (D) Sweden
Ans : (A)
32. Swami Vivekananda gained fame and recognition in the Western World after his address to the World Congress of Major Religions in 1893. In which city was this congress held ?
(A) London (B) Paris
(C) Berlin (D) Chicago
Ans : (D)
33. Where was Mother Teresa born ?
(A) India (B) Albania
(C) Hungary (D) Poland
Ans : (B)
34. Who was the first navigator to circumnavigate the Earth by the sea route ?
(A) Ferdinand Magellan
(B) Marco Polo
(C) Vasco da Gama
(D) Christopher Columbus
Ans : (A)
35. Which of the following countries was discovered by the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama?
(A) India
(B) China
(C) Australia
(D) New Zealand
Ans : (A)
36. What is an ecosystem ?
(A) The unit of man and all living beings which interact with each other
(B) The unit comprised of man, other living beings and the plant kingdom
(C) The unit comprised of all living beings and their environment
(D) That part of the Earth and the atmosphere where living beings are found
Ans : (B)
37. Malaria affects lakhs of Indians every year. Which part of the body is damaged by this disease ?
(A) Heart (B) Lungs
(C) Spleen (D) Liver
Ans : (C)
38. How does the Sun get its energy ?
(A) From gravitational pressure
(B) From nuclear fission
(C) From nuclear fusion
(D) None of the above
Ans : (C)
39. The Shahnama, written by Firdausi, tells the tale of kings of one country .Which is this country ?
(A) Egypt (B) India
(C) Turkey (D) Persia
Ans : (D)
40. Which of the following statements is correct ?
(A) The entropy of the world keeps on increasing
(B) The entropy of the world keeps on decreasing
(C) The entropy of the world is constant
(D) The entropy of the world increases and decreases in a cyclic manner
Ans : (A)
41. The frequency range of FM radio broadcast in India is–
(A) 102 MHz -132 MHz
(B) 80 MHz -102 MHz
(C) 88 MHz -108MHz
(D) 78 MHz -102 MHz
Ans : (C)
42. Who among the following has not been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature ?
(A) Derek Walcott
(B) Dario Fo
(C) Toni Morrison
(D) Robert Richardson
Ans : (D)
43. Two large temple complexes have been found in Angkorwat, Cambodia. Which religion are they associated with?
(A) Hinduism
(B) Buddhism
(C) Shintoism
(D) None of these
Ans : (A)
44. Fidel Castro ousted a dictator from Cuba in 1959. Who was this dictator ?
(A) Duvalier
(B) Batista
(C) Pinochet
(D) None of these
Ans : (B)
45. Wheels of passenger vehicles are fitted with tyres and tubes which are filled with air. What is the main reason for not filling up the tubes with water ?
(A) Filling them with water will increase the weight
(B) If they are filled with water, the force of shocks on passengers, generated by uneven surface of the road, will increase very considerably
(C) Air is cheaper than water
(D) It would not be convenient to fill up the tubes with water
Ans : (B)
46. As mother is B's sister and C's daughter. B's daughter is P who is Q's sister. If C is not Q's grandmother, how is C related to Q?
(A) Father
(B) Mother
(C) Grandfather
(D) Aunt
Ans : (C)
47. Four boys are wearing clothes of different colours. Ravi is not wearing white and Ajay is not wearing blue. If Sohan is wearing red, what is the colour of Sachin's clothes ?
(A) Blue
(B) White
(C) Yellow
(D) Cannot be determined
Ans : (D)
48. A factory makes shoes of two types, A-type and B-type. Both require the same amount of leather which is available in such quantity that 80 pairs of shoes can be made per day. It takes twice as long to make A-type shoes as B-type. The capacity of the factory is such that if only B-type shoes were to be made, 100 pairs could be produced in one day. A-type shoes require some special material which is available in quantities sufficient for 40 pairs per day. The special material required for B-type shoes is available in quantities sufficient for 70 pairs per day. If the factory makes a profit of Rs. 200 per pair on A-type shoes and Rs. 150 per pair on 8-type shoes how many pairs of shoes of each type should it produce every day for maximum profit ?
(A) A-type 40 and B-type 20
(B) A-type 10 and B-type 70
(C) A-type 20 and B-type 60
(D) None of the above
Ans : (D)
49. A leap year is chosen at random. What is the probability that this year would have 53 Mondays ?
(A) 1/7
(B) 2/7
(C) 3/7
(D) None of these
Ans : (B)
50. Three horses, A, B and C, are participating in a race. If the probability of A winning the race is twice the probability of B winning it and the probability of B winning the race is twice the probability of C winning it, what is the probability that either B or C will win the race ?
(A) 1/7
(B) 2/7
(C) 3/7
(D) None of these
Ans : (C)
51. Some men are travelling with their horses. At one point of time, half the men are riding their horses while the rest are walking along leading their horses. If the number of legs on the ground at that time is 40, what is the number of horses in the party ?
(A) 8 (B) 10
(C) 12 (D) None of these
Ans : (A)
52. A family is comprised of father, mother, son and daughter. The father's age is 3 times the age of the daughter. The son is half as old as his mother and is 7 years older than his sister. If the father is 9 years older than his wife, what is the mother's age ?
(A) 45 years (B) 50 years
(C) 60 years (D) None of these
Ans : (C)
53. Six friends went for a vacation and stayed in a resort where nine cottages in a row were available for them. They all stayed in separate cottages. Mohan, Rani and Chitra did not stay in the cottages at the two ends. Nobody stayed next to Mohan and Salman. There was only one empty cottage between Mohan and Chitra. Jayant's cottage was adjacent to both Chitra and Anil. Rani stayed next to the cottage at the beginning. Which cottages remain empty after they are accommodated ?
(A) Nos. 1, 6, 8 (B) Nos. 4, 6, 8
(C) Nos. 3, 5, 9 (D) Nos. 2, 5, 7
Ans : (A)
54. A plane mirror is kept in front of a clock. If the actual time is 3 : 25, what time would the reflection show (if we notice only the positions of the two hands of the clock and do not pay attention to the numerals on the dial) ?
(A) 9 : 55 (B) 8 : 35
(C) 3 : 25 (D) None of these
Ans : (B)
55. A person has five coins. If he knows for certain that–
1. Coin no.1 is genuine;
2. One of the remaining four coins is counterfeit and its weight is different from the others.
then what is the minimum number of weighings which will enable him to find out which coin is counterfeit and whether it is heavier or lighter than the others ?
(A) 1 (B) 2
(C) 3 (D) 4
Ans : (B)
56. Six students are taking coffee in the coffeehouse. A and Bare from Delhi while the others C, D, P and Q are from Bhopal. D and Q are tall while the others are short. A, C and D are girls while the others are boys. Who is the tall girl from Bhopal ?
(A) C (B) D
(C) P (D) Q
Ans : (C)
57. What is the missing number ?
0 1 2 3
1 3 4 16
2 5 6 ?
(A) 22 (B) 106
(C) 39 (D) None of these
Ans : (C)
58. The remnants of one of the most ancient civilizations of the world, 'Indus Valley Civilization', were first discovered in Harappa. Where is this Harappa situated ?
(A) Sind, Pakistan
(B) Punjab, India
(C) Punjab, Pakistan
(D) Haryana, India
Ans : (A)
59. In 1950s, the Archaeological Survey of India found several sites in one part of India which yielded evidence that the Mohenjodaro-Harappa Civilization was centred, not in Indus Valley, but in this part of India. In which present State are these sites situated ?
(A) Maharashtra (B) Gujarat
(C) Rajasthan (D) Punjab
Ans : (B)
60. River Narmada flows down from Amarkantak Hills to the sea. What is the name of the area where it meets the sea ?
(A) Gulf of Kutch (B) Gulf of Khambat
(C) Gulf of Mannar (D) Bay of Bengal
Ans : (B)
61. Commonwealth Games, 2010 were held at–
(A) Colombo (B) London
(C) NewDelhi (D) Seoul
Ans : (C)
62. Karera Sanctuary is situated at–
(A) shivpuri (B) Mandsaur
(C) Damoh (D) Tikamgarh
Ans : (A)
63. Barman Fair is held at–
(A) Sodalpur (B) Porsa
(C) Pipaliya Khurd (D) Gadarwara
Ans : (D)
64. Who is the 'Man of the Tournament' of World Cup Cricket, 2011 ?
(A) Yuvraj Singh (B) Kumar Sangakara
(C) Ricky Ponting (D) Jacques Kallis
Ans : (A)
65. Which of the following National Highways does not pass through Madhya Pradesh ?
(A) NH27 (B) NH28
(C) NH 78 (D) NH 79
Ans : (B)
66. How many tiers of administration are there in Panchayati Raj in Madhya Pradesh ?
(A) A single tier-at village level
(B) Two tiers-at village and district levels
(C) Three tiers-at village, block and district levels
(D) Four tiers-at village, block district and State levels
Ans : (C)
67. In the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984, which was the gas that had leaked out ?
(A) Carbon monoxide (B) Hydrogen sulphide
(C) Ethyl cyanide (D) Methyl isocyanate
Ans : (D)
68. Who founded the Ramakrishna Mission ?
(A) Ramakrishna Paramhans
(B) Swami Dayananda Saraswati
(C) Swami Vivekananda
(D) Shankaracharya
Ans : (C)
69. Which architect has prepared the plan for Chandigarh city ?
(A) Edwin Lutyens (B) Le Corbusier
(C) Charles Correa (D) None of these
Ans : (B)
70. Who got the Khajuraho temples constructed ?
(A) Chhatrasal (B) Kings of Parmar dynasty
(C) Kings of Chandel dynasty (D) King Bhoja
Ans : (C)
71. Who was the founder of the Chola dynasty in South India ?
(A) Karikala (B) Parantaka
(C) Rajaraja (D) None of these
Ans : (D)
72. Which was the most famous festival of the Vijayanagar empire ?
(A) Ramnavami (B) Brahmotsava
(C) Mahanavami (D) Vasantotsava
Ans : (C)
73. The famous caves at Ajanta-Ellora contain statues and murals associated with–
(A) Hinduism (B) Buddhism
(C) Jainism (D) All of these
Ans : (D)
74. Which 'pir' lies in the famous 'mazar' at Ajmer ?
(A) Muin-ud-din Chishti (B) Nizam-ud-din Auliya
(C) Baba Farid (D) Sheikh salim Chishti
Ans : (A)
75. Where was the Jain Seer Lord Mahavira born ?
(A) Lumbini (Nepal) (B) Kunda (Bihar)
(C) Shravanbelgola (Karnataka) (D) None of these
76. Who was the first 'Guru' of the Sikhs?
(A) Guru Amardas (B) Guru Nanakdev
(C) Guru Arjundev (D) Guru Tegh Bahadur
Ans : (B)
77. Gaya district of Bihar is associated with the name of Mahatma Buddha. In this district–
(A) Mahatma Buddha was born
(B) Mahatma Buddha gained enlightenment
(C) Mahatma Buddha delivered his first sermon
(D) Mahatma Buddha expired
Ans : (B)
78. The ambitious road development project of India, known as the 'Golden Quadrangle Project', will join four important places. Which are these places?
(A) srinagar, Kannyakumari, Porbandar and silchar
(B) Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Guwahati
(C) Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai
(D) Jalandhar, Pune, Hyderabad and Dibrugarh
Ans : (C)
79. The first Indian satellite was launched into space in 1975. What was it called ?
(A) Aryabhatta (B) Rohini
(C) Insat-1A (D) IRS-1A
Ans : (A)
80. Ashok Chakra is awarded for–
(A) Bravery in the face of enemy, during a war
(B) Bravery during anti-terrorist operations
(C) Life-saving
(D) All of the above
Ans : (A)
81.The Defence Research and Development Organization of India has developed a missile which can be launched from a submarine. What is it named ?
(A) BrahMos (B) Astra
(C) Prithvi-4 (D) K-15
Ans : (D)
82. The 'Param' series of super-computers was developed in India by which of the following institutions ?
(A) Indian Institute of Sciences
(B) Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
(C) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(D) Electronic Corporation of India
Ans : (B)
83. Quite often, deltas are formed at river mouths. What is the reason for formation of delta ?
(A) The flow of the river slows down considerably by the time it meets the sea. Hence, the sand and pieces of rocks carried by the river fall off at its mouth and collect in the form of a delta
(B) The tide in the sea stops the river from flowing into the sea the sand and pieces of rocks carried along by the river current fall off and form a delta
(C) Salts are present in seawater. When the river meets the sea, the sand and rock particles suspended in the river water get precipitated and they settle down at the bottom to form a delta
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)
84. Food is cooked more quickly in pressure cooker, because–
(A) The boiling point of water is lowered in it
(B) The boiling point of water is raised in it
(C) It absorbs heat quickly
(D) It retains heat for a longer time
Ans : (B)
85. Optical fibers are hair-thin tubes of special glass and light can pass through them from end to end. Their special property is that light continues to travel through them even when they are bent. Which property of light underlies this phenomenon ?
(A) Total internal reflection (B) Refraction
(C) Diffraction (D) Polarization
Ans : (A)
86. Why are Polaroids used in sunglasses ?
(A) For the sake of fashion
(B) To reduce the glare
(C) To improve resolving power of the eyes
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
87. When an aeroplane is flying at a great height, the sky appears black to its passengers. Why ?
(A) The dust particles and droplets of water present in the atmosphere absorb the light and do not allow it to reach the eyes of the passengers
(B) The atmosphere is very rare at great heights and so the scattering of light is negligible
(C) The light is so polarized that no part of it is able to reach the eye of the passengers
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
88. The image formed by an object on the retina of the human eye is–
(A) Real and inverted (B) Real and upright
(C) Virtual and inverted (D) Virtual and upright
Ans : (A)
89. A heater running on 220 volt takes 5 minute to boil a quantity of water. If the heater is run on 110 volt instead of 220 volt, how much time will it take to boil the same quantity of water ?
(A) 10 minute (B) 15 minute
(C) 20 minute (D) 25 minute
Ans : (C)
90. A GM counter is used for detecting–
(A) Underground oil (B) Coal
(C) Radioactivity (D) Methane gas
Ans : (C)
91. In which organ of the body is the red blood corpuscle made ?
(A) Liver (B) Bone marrow
(C) Kidneys (D) Heart
Ans : (B)
92. The edible potato is the modified form of which part of the plant ?
(A) Roots (B) Stem
(C) Flower (D) None of these
Ans : (B)
93. What is the main constituent of 'Gobar Gas' (biogas) ?
(A) Hydrogen (B) Carbon monoxide
(C) Acetylene (D) Methane
Ans : (D)
94. What is the 'non-stick' substance used in cookwares ?
(A) Polymonochlorotrifluoroethylene
(B) Polymethyl methacrylate
(C) Polyacrylonitrile
(D) Polytetrafluoroethylene
Ans : (D)
95. The gas used for cooking (LPG) is chiefly a mixture of–
(A) Methane and carbon monoxide
(B) Hydrogen and nitrogen
(C) Butane and propane
(D) Propane and nitrogen
Ans : (C)
96. One card is pulled out at random from a well-shuffled deck of playing cards (52 cards). This is seen to be a card of hearts. It is put back and the deck is shuffled again. Another card is now pulled out of the deck. What is the probability of the second card being a black king ?
(A) 1/104 (B) l/52
(C) 1/26 (D) None of these
Ans : (C)
97. Why does a foul smell emanate from some ponds, tanks, etc. ?
(A) Pesticides and other organic chemicals reach the water body and kill off fishes, etc., living therein, causing the foul smell
(B) Fertilizers used in farming reach the water body and give rise to excessive growth of aqueous plants. When these plants die, excessive quantities of organic matter are collected, depleting dissolved oxygen and causing foul smell
(C) Household wastes contain small quantities of mercury, cadmium, copper, zinc, etc., which pollute the water bodies, causing the death of fishes and other aquatic organisms and leading to foul smell
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)
98. Government of India calendars show dates both in Christian era (AD) and Saka era. In which year did the Saka era start ?
(A) 150 BC (B) 130 BC
(C) 56 BC (D) AD 78
Ans : (D)
99. Who was the first woman ruler of India ?
(A) Nurjahan (B) Razia Sultan
(C) Chandbibi (D) Durgavati
Ans : (B)
100. Who founded the Chalukya dynasty in South India ?
(A) Harihara (B) Pulakesin
(C) Parantaka (D) Bukka
Ans : (B)
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
CURRENT AFFAIRS AT A GLANCE 2014
❖ Latvia adopted the Euro currency on January 1, 2014 and became the 18th member of the Eurozone.
❖ Corey Anderson of New Zealand scored the fastest century in One Day International cricket history on January 1, 2014. He scored a hundred in just 36 deliveries against the West Indies. He beat the previous record of 100 off 37 balls set by Shahid Afridi of Pakistan in 1996.
❖ Sheikh Hasina was sworn in on January 12, 2014 for the third time as Bangladesh's Prime Minister. Her party is Awami League.
❖ India's first monorail service was started in Mumbai on February 2, 2014.
❖ Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist CNR Rao were conferred the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India on February 4, 2014. The award was announced on November 16, 2013.
❖ Harish Rawat was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on February 1, 2014.
❖ 'Chronicles of a Corpse Bearer' is a book written by Cyrus Mistry, which won the DSC Prize for
South Asian Literature at the Jaipur Literary Festival 2014. This award in 2013 was won by Jeet Thayil for his novel 'Narcopolis'.
❖ Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat Spain's Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open men's singles tennis title. Li Na of China won the women's singles title by defeating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.
❖ The prestigious Padma Awards for 2014 were announced which includes Padma Vibhushan for two individuals, Padma Bhushan for 24 and Padma Shri for 101 people. Out of 127 awardees 27 are women. Padma Vibhushan awardees are Raghunath Mashelkar (Science & Engineering) and yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar.
❖ Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese Prime Minister to be the chief guest at India's 65th Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2014.
❖ Janet Yellen is the first woman ever to head the United States central bank Federal Reserve.
❖ Sub-Inspector K. Prasad Babu was conferred the Ashok Chakra posthumously on the 65th Republic Day by the President Pranab Mukherjee. K. Prasad Babu was from Andhra Pradesh. He was given this award for an anti-Maoist operation near Andhra Pradesh- Chhattisgarh border. Ashok Chakra is India's highest peacetime gallantry award.
❖ Matteo Renzi became the youngest Italian Prime Minister in February 2014. He is 39 years old.
❖ Sushil Koirala assumed office as the Prime Minister of Nepal on February 11, 2014. He is also the President of the Nepali Congress Party.
❖ N.Ramachandran was elected the new President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in February 2014. He is also the World Squash Federation President.
❖ Satya Nadella, an Indian American, was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft on
February 4, 2014. He succeeded Steve Ballmer.
❖ Former Supreme Court judge Ashok Kumar Mathur has been appointed the Chairman of the
7th Pay Commission.
❖ Eminent Gandhian and environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt was selected for the 2013 Gandhi Peace Prize. He is one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement. He was awarded the Ramon
Magsaysay Award in 1982.
❖ Famous Hindi writer Vishwanath Tripathi has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013 for his memoir 'Vyomkesh Darvesh'. Vyas Samman is a literary award given by
the K.K. Birla Foundation.
❖ Odia became the sixth language to get classical language status after Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu,
Kannada and Malayalam.
❖ The Expert Committee to Revise and Strengthen the Monetary Policy Framework, headed by RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel suggested the central bank to adopt the new consumer price index for anchoring the monetary policy.
❖ Facebook announced its acquisition of WhatsApp Inc. for $19 billion. WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by Brian Acton and John Koum. It is an instant messaging app for smartphones.
❖ The Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia in February 2014. Russia topped the medals table with13 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze. It won a total of 33 medals. India did not win any medal. Next Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang in South Korea in 2018.
❖ Michelle Bachelet was sworn in as the President of Chile on March 11, 2014. She already served as the President once from 2006 to 2010.
❖ The third edition of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) was held in The Hague, Netherlands in March 2014. The NSS aims to prevent nuclear terrorism by reducing the amount of dangerous
nuclear material in the world.
❖ Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra was selected for the Saraswati Samman for the year 2013 for his book "Dhool Paudho Par". He is the second Hindi author to receive the honor after the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991.
❖ ESPN cricinfo presented the Cricketer of the Generation award to Sachin Tendulkar.
❖ The International Women of Courage Award 2014 was presented by the US first lady Michelle Obama to Laxmi, a Delhi acid attack survivor.
❖ Mortal remains of about 282 Indian soldiers of 1857 mutiny were exhumed from a well at Ajnala
in Amritsar district of Punjab in March 2014.
❖ The Reserve Bank of India had extended the deadline for Indian banks to meet capital requirements under the Basel III norms by a year to March 31, 2019.
❖ Mizoram defeated Railways to win the 68th Santosh Trophy Football championship in Siliguri in
March 2014. It is the maiden Santosh Trophy title for Mizoram.
❖ Viswanathan Anand won the World Candidates chess tournament title at Khanty Mansisyk, Russia.
❖ Khushwant Singh, a renowned author, passed away on March 20, 2014. He authored books such as 'Train to Pakistan', 'With Malice towards One and All', 'The Sunset Club', 'Truth, Love and a Little Malice', etc.
❖ Eminent film lyricist Gulzar was chosen for the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2013. This award is the highest film award in India.
❖ The people of Crimea voted to become part of Russia in a referendum in March 2014. The leaders of Group of Eight (G8) countries suspended Russia from the group on the issue of annexation of Crimea by Russia. Crimea was separated from Ukraine.
❖ The third Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in March 2014. India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand are the seven members of this group. Sumith Nakandala of Sri Lanka is the Secretary General. The Secretariat of BIMSTEC is established in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
❖ Assam is the first State in India to observe Child Protection Day to secure the future of children
on March 4, 2014.
❖ The armies of Nepal and India held a joint military exercise named Surya Kiran VI in Nepal.
❖ Admiral Robin K. Dhowan assumed office as the Chief of Naval Staff on April 17, 2014. He succeeded Admiral D.K. Joshi.
❖ R. Gandhi has been appointed as a Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India. RBI has four deputy governors.
❖ The 2014 Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded to Ramesh Agrawal of Chhattisgarh.
❖ Koyal Rana won the Miss India 2014 crown.
❖ India - born poet Vijay Seshadri won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for his collection of poems "3 Sections".
❖ Ex-coal secretary P.C. Parakh released his book titled "Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and Other Truths".
❖ Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian novelist, died on April 17, 2014. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. His major books include One Hundred Years of Solitude, Autumn of the Patriarch, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Love in the Time of Cholera.
❖ Renowned cinematographer V.- K. Murthy passed away. He won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2008. He shot India's first cinemascope movie 'Kagaz ke Phool'.
❖ RBI gave approvals to IDFC Ltd and Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited to start new banks. IDFC is an infrastructure finance company based in Mumbai and Bandhan is a micro lender based in Kolkata.
❖ Sun Pharmaceuticals will buy Ranbaxy Laboratories.
❖ Sri Lanka won the World Twenty 20 title for the first time defeating India by six wickets in Mirpur, Bangladesh in April 2014.
❖ Australian women cricket team won the Women's World Twenty 20 Cup 2014 by defeating England in the final in Mirpur, Bangladesh. This is the third successive Women's World Twenty20 title for Australia.
❖ Corey Anderson of New Zealand scored the fastest century in One Day International cricket history on January 1, 2014. He scored a hundred in just 36 deliveries against the West Indies. He beat the previous record of 100 off 37 balls set by Shahid Afridi of Pakistan in 1996.
❖ Sheikh Hasina was sworn in on January 12, 2014 for the third time as Bangladesh's Prime Minister. Her party is Awami League.
❖ India's first monorail service was started in Mumbai on February 2, 2014.
❖ Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist CNR Rao were conferred the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India on February 4, 2014. The award was announced on November 16, 2013.
❖ Harish Rawat was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on February 1, 2014.
❖ 'Chronicles of a Corpse Bearer' is a book written by Cyrus Mistry, which won the DSC Prize for
South Asian Literature at the Jaipur Literary Festival 2014. This award in 2013 was won by Jeet Thayil for his novel 'Narcopolis'.
❖ Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat Spain's Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open men's singles tennis title. Li Na of China won the women's singles title by defeating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.
❖ The prestigious Padma Awards for 2014 were announced which includes Padma Vibhushan for two individuals, Padma Bhushan for 24 and Padma Shri for 101 people. Out of 127 awardees 27 are women. Padma Vibhushan awardees are Raghunath Mashelkar (Science & Engineering) and yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar.
❖ Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese Prime Minister to be the chief guest at India's 65th Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2014.
❖ Janet Yellen is the first woman ever to head the United States central bank Federal Reserve.
❖ Sub-Inspector K. Prasad Babu was conferred the Ashok Chakra posthumously on the 65th Republic Day by the President Pranab Mukherjee. K. Prasad Babu was from Andhra Pradesh. He was given this award for an anti-Maoist operation near Andhra Pradesh- Chhattisgarh border. Ashok Chakra is India's highest peacetime gallantry award.
❖ Matteo Renzi became the youngest Italian Prime Minister in February 2014. He is 39 years old.
❖ Sushil Koirala assumed office as the Prime Minister of Nepal on February 11, 2014. He is also the President of the Nepali Congress Party.
❖ N.Ramachandran was elected the new President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in February 2014. He is also the World Squash Federation President.
❖ Satya Nadella, an Indian American, was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft on
February 4, 2014. He succeeded Steve Ballmer.
❖ Former Supreme Court judge Ashok Kumar Mathur has been appointed the Chairman of the
7th Pay Commission.
❖ Eminent Gandhian and environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt was selected for the 2013 Gandhi Peace Prize. He is one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement. He was awarded the Ramon
Magsaysay Award in 1982.
❖ Famous Hindi writer Vishwanath Tripathi has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013 for his memoir 'Vyomkesh Darvesh'. Vyas Samman is a literary award given by
the K.K. Birla Foundation.
❖ Odia became the sixth language to get classical language status after Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu,
Kannada and Malayalam.
❖ The Expert Committee to Revise and Strengthen the Monetary Policy Framework, headed by RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel suggested the central bank to adopt the new consumer price index for anchoring the monetary policy.
❖ Facebook announced its acquisition of WhatsApp Inc. for $19 billion. WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by Brian Acton and John Koum. It is an instant messaging app for smartphones.
❖ The Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia in February 2014. Russia topped the medals table with13 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze. It won a total of 33 medals. India did not win any medal. Next Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang in South Korea in 2018.
❖ Michelle Bachelet was sworn in as the President of Chile on March 11, 2014. She already served as the President once from 2006 to 2010.
❖ The third edition of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) was held in The Hague, Netherlands in March 2014. The NSS aims to prevent nuclear terrorism by reducing the amount of dangerous
nuclear material in the world.
❖ Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra was selected for the Saraswati Samman for the year 2013 for his book "Dhool Paudho Par". He is the second Hindi author to receive the honor after the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991.
❖ ESPN cricinfo presented the Cricketer of the Generation award to Sachin Tendulkar.
❖ The International Women of Courage Award 2014 was presented by the US first lady Michelle Obama to Laxmi, a Delhi acid attack survivor.
❖ Mortal remains of about 282 Indian soldiers of 1857 mutiny were exhumed from a well at Ajnala
in Amritsar district of Punjab in March 2014.
❖ The Reserve Bank of India had extended the deadline for Indian banks to meet capital requirements under the Basel III norms by a year to March 31, 2019.
❖ Mizoram defeated Railways to win the 68th Santosh Trophy Football championship in Siliguri in
March 2014. It is the maiden Santosh Trophy title for Mizoram.
❖ Viswanathan Anand won the World Candidates chess tournament title at Khanty Mansisyk, Russia.
❖ Khushwant Singh, a renowned author, passed away on March 20, 2014. He authored books such as 'Train to Pakistan', 'With Malice towards One and All', 'The Sunset Club', 'Truth, Love and a Little Malice', etc.
❖ Eminent film lyricist Gulzar was chosen for the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2013. This award is the highest film award in India.
❖ The people of Crimea voted to become part of Russia in a referendum in March 2014. The leaders of Group of Eight (G8) countries suspended Russia from the group on the issue of annexation of Crimea by Russia. Crimea was separated from Ukraine.
❖ The third Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in March 2014. India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand are the seven members of this group. Sumith Nakandala of Sri Lanka is the Secretary General. The Secretariat of BIMSTEC is established in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
❖ Assam is the first State in India to observe Child Protection Day to secure the future of children
on March 4, 2014.
❖ The armies of Nepal and India held a joint military exercise named Surya Kiran VI in Nepal.
❖ Admiral Robin K. Dhowan assumed office as the Chief of Naval Staff on April 17, 2014. He succeeded Admiral D.K. Joshi.
❖ R. Gandhi has been appointed as a Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India. RBI has four deputy governors.
❖ The 2014 Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded to Ramesh Agrawal of Chhattisgarh.
❖ Koyal Rana won the Miss India 2014 crown.
❖ India - born poet Vijay Seshadri won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for his collection of poems "3 Sections".
❖ Ex-coal secretary P.C. Parakh released his book titled "Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and Other Truths".
❖ Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian novelist, died on April 17, 2014. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. His major books include One Hundred Years of Solitude, Autumn of the Patriarch, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Love in the Time of Cholera.
❖ Renowned cinematographer V.- K. Murthy passed away. He won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2008. He shot India's first cinemascope movie 'Kagaz ke Phool'.
❖ RBI gave approvals to IDFC Ltd and Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited to start new banks. IDFC is an infrastructure finance company based in Mumbai and Bandhan is a micro lender based in Kolkata.
❖ Sun Pharmaceuticals will buy Ranbaxy Laboratories.
❖ Sri Lanka won the World Twenty 20 title for the first time defeating India by six wickets in Mirpur, Bangladesh in April 2014.
❖ Australian women cricket team won the Women's World Twenty 20 Cup 2014 by defeating England in the final in Mirpur, Bangladesh. This is the third successive Women's World Twenty20 title for Australia.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
TOP 100 CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 2014
National
Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2014 introduced in Lok Sabha
- It is also called Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill
- It seeks to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime
- Inserts article Articles 246A, 269A and 279A in the Constitution
- Provides for Union Finance Minister headed GST Council
- Sets in a uniform and integrated indirect tax regime in India
14th Finance Commission submitted its report to President
- It covers the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2020
- The Commission headed by former RBI Governor Y V Reddy
- Provides for devolution of tax receipts from the Centre to the States
- Article 280 of Constitution provides for appointment of Finance Commission
- First and 13th Finance Commission was headed by K C Neogy & Dr Vijay Kelkar resp.
Union government decriminalized Attempt to Suicide
- For this purpose Section 309 of Indian Penal Code removed
- 20th Law Commission headed by Justice A P Shah recommended in its 210 Report
- 210th Report on Humanization and Decriminalization of Attempt to Suicide
- France was the first country to decriminalize this offence
Lok Sabha passed the Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2014
- Introduced as a periodic measure for updating the list of laws in force
- Seeks to repeal 90 laws and pass amendment to two laws
- Proposes to amend the two laws to rectify typographical errors
- The laws are Railways (Amendment) Act, 2008 and the Indian Maritime University Act, 2008
Karnataka Mobile One App launched for m-governance
- Launched by President Pranab Mukherjee in Bengaluru
- First such app in India to usher in an era of mobile governance
- Developed under the ICARE program of Karnataka government
- Expected to provide more than 4000 services to citizens
Social Justice Bench constituted on social issue
- Constituted by Supreme Court on 3 December 2014
- Started operation on 12 December 2014
- The brainchild of Chief Justice of India H L Dattu
- Two-judge bench to be headed by Justice Madan B Lokur
- The other member is Justice U U Lalit
627 names of Indians holding black money abroad submitted to SC
- Includes details of treaties India signed with France and other nations
- Half of the 627 names are Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)
- Most of them have accounts with HSBC Bank, Geneva
- SIT headed by Justice M B Shah is probing black money case
Union government unveiled new counter-Naxal doctrine
- Proposes four-pronged approach to deal with Naxals
- These are Security, Development, Rights and Entitlement and Public Perception Management
- Focus on security interventions in worst LWE-affected areas
- In moderately-affected areas, security and development initiatives will be focus
- In less affected areas, development interventions will take precedence
Swachh Bharat Mission launched
- Launched on occasion of 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
- Aims at making India clean by 2019
- The year 2019 will be 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
- Nine people nominated to inspire people to join the Mission
SC quashed allocation of 214 coal blocks
- Quashed by SC bench headed by Justice R M Lodha
- Allocations were arbitrary and illegal
- 4 out of 218 coal blocks not cancelled
- Includes one of NTPC and SAIL each and two of Sasan UMPP owned by Anil Ambani
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) launched
- It was launched on 28 August 2014
- Aims to open 15 crore bank accounts by 15 August 2015
- It is a mega financial inclusion plan
- Each person covered to be provided bank accounts and RuPay debit cards
- Also provision for inbuilt insurance cover of 1 lakh rupees
India: first Country to Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty
- India ratified the treaty on 30 June 2014
- Will facilitate access to published works for blind and visually impaired persons
- The treaty was signed in Marrakesh, Morocco on 28 June 2013
- It has been signed by 64 countries
SC ruled Shariat Courts are illegal
- No legal status has been granted to the Sharia Courts
- Its fatwas/decrees are illegal if it violates fundamental rights
- The decision was delivered by SC bench headed by Justice C K Prasad
- The judgement given on a petition filed by Vishwa Lochan Madan in 2005
India became permanent signatory to Washington Accord
- India signed the Accord on 13 June 2014
- Joined a select group of 17 countries who joined the Accord
- Global employment opportunities for India’s technical and engineering graduates to increase
- Accord promotes mobility and quality assurance of engineers across international boundaries
Sumitra Mahajan elected as Speaker of 16th Lok Sabha
- She replaced Meira Kumar
- Became the second women presiding officer of the Lok Sabha
- She was elected to 9th Lok Sabha in 1989 for the first time
- 2014 elections was her eighth continuous term as Member of Parliament
Telangana became the 29th state of India
- It achieved statehood on 2 June 2014
- Ten districts of the then Andhra Pradesh became part of Telangana
- Chandrasekhar Rao sworn-in as the first Chief Minister
- ESL Narasimhan is the Governor of Telangana
- Hyderabad is the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
Narendra Modi sworn-in as 15th Prime Minister of India
- He was sworn-in on 26 May 2014
- He took oath with 45 Council of Minister including 23 Cabinet Ministers
- First Prime Minister of India born in independent India
- For the first time 25% of the Cabinet post allocated to women
- Swearing-in ceremony attended by heads of seven SAARC countries
16th Lok Sabha Elections 2014
- The election results for 543 constituencies declared on 16 May 2014
- Bharatiya Janata Party emerged victorious with 282 seats
- Congress led incumbent government just secured 44 seats
- BJP won the majority for the first time since independence
- The elections were conducted in nine phases from 7 April – 12 May 2014
Karnataka: first state in India to launch Health Adalat
- The Health Adalat was launched in Gulbarga, Karnataka.
- Aims to ensure that all health facilities extended by the government reached all sections of society.
- During Health Adalat the department will interact with public representatives.
Debroy Panel on restructuring Railway Board
- The Panel would submit its report till the end of 2015
- The seven-member panel will be headed by economist Bibek Debroy
- Mandated to estimate the financial needs of railways and ensure policies to raise resources
- Restructuring of railway board announced in Union Budget 2014-15
Film Liar's Dice: India's official entry for Oscar Awards 2015
- The movie has been directed by Geethu Mohandas
- It is nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category
- 12-member jury headed by eminent filmmaker T Hariharan nominated it
- Leading casts are Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui
- The 87th Oscar Awards will be held in the US on 22 February 2015
C Rangarajan Committee on Poverty
- Total number of poor in India at 363 million or 29.6 percent of the population
- The daily per capita expenditure pegged at 32 rupees for the rural poor
- The daily per capita expenditure pegged at 47 rupees for the urban poor
- Poverty line is pegged 972 rupees per month for rural India
- Poverty line pegged at 1407 rupees per month for urban India
Largest Solar Power Plant of India launched
- 130-MW Welspun Solar Plant launched at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, MP
- It is also the Asia's Largest Solar Power Plant.
- It was constructed at a cost of 1100 crore rupees.
- The Project will raise Indian solar capacity by 7 percent.
International
US President signed Ukraine Freedom Support Bill, 2014
- The Act authorizes administration to impose sanctions on Russia
- The sanctions to be imposed if needs arises
- Sanctions were imposed on Russia over Ukraine crisis
- Authorizes 350 million US dollars in lethal and non-lethal military aid Ukraine
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe re-elected
- He was re-elected for another four year term
- Japan's ruling coalition won a two thirds majority in the Snap elections
- Elections were held for the Lower House of the National Diet.
- The elections saw the voter turnout at 52.7 percent, the lowest since World War-II
Nobel Prize presented
- Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi & Malala Yousufzai
- Physiology Prize winners John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser
- Literature Nobel Prize winner French author Patrick Modiano
- Physics Nobel Prize winner Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura
- Chemistry Nobel Prize Eric Betzig from Janelia Research Campus, Stefan Hell, Gottingen
- Economic Nobel Prize given to Jean Tirole
First World Soil Day observed on 5 December 2014
- The Day was observed by the UNFAO
- UNFAO and GSP declared the year 2015 as UN International Year of Soils
- Events held to raise idea that soil is a critical component of natural system
- The day coincides with birthday of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 released
- This was the 20th edition
- Measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 175 countries
- India with a score of 38 was ranked 85th
- The index was topped by Denmark with a score of 92.
- Index is prepared by Transparency International
Time Magazine released list of 25 Best Inventions 2014
- Mangalyaan named among the best inventions of 2014
- Magazine describes it as a technological feat
- It is described as Supersmart Spacecraft- Mangalyaan
- The list also includes two inventions of Indians namely Blue Room and tablet toy, Osmo
The G20 Summit 2014 concluded
- The Summit saw release of Brisbane Action Plan
- Action Plan comprises of 800+ reforms to boost global growth
- Sets an ambitious goal to lift G20 growth by 2.1 percent by 2018
- Seeks to reduce the gender gap in labour force participation rates by 25 percent by 2025
25th anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall celebrated
- The fall of the Berlin Wall happened on 9 November 1989
- It was the most significant event in recent German history
- The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by East Germany
- It was built to stop people fleeing from East Germany to the West
- The Wall stretched for 155 kilometers of which only 3 kilometer remains now
Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2014 released
- The list gives the annual ranking of the World’s 72 Most Powerful People
- The list was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked 15th
- Mukesh Ambani is ranked 36th on the list
India re-elected to UNHRC
- It was re-elected for the period 2015-2017
- India received the highest 162 votes in the Asia Pacific group
- India’s first term as member due to end on 31 December 2014
- 14 other member states also elected to UNHRC for a three-year term
- The UNHRC promotes and protects human rights
India-Vietnam signed 7 pacts
- Pacts signed to strengthen Strategic Partnership
- Signed during President Pranab Mukherjee visit to Vietnam
- President gifted sapling of the holy Bodhi Tree to Vietnam
- Diplomatic relations between the two countries established in 1972
- The strategic relationship between the two countries established in 2007
Inaugural Tang Prizes 2014 presented in Taipei
- The Tang Prize is treated as Asia's version of the Nobels
- Winners of the inaugural Tang Prizes are
- Sustainable Development - Gro Harlem Brundtland former Premier of Norway
- Sinology – Chinese American, Historian Yu Ying-shih
- Biopharmaceutical Science - James P Allison of US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan
- The Rule of Law - Albie Sachs, former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa
Unity Deal signed in Afghanistan
- Unity deal signed between Abdullah Abdullah and Ghani Adhmadzai
- The deal ended three-month stalemate over government formation in Afghanistan
- The stalemate was due to allegations that elections were rigged
- The deal calls of creation of post of CEO who will be the acting Prime Minister
Ebola Virus Disease outbreak
- More than 7000 patients died due to the Ebola Virus in West Africa.
- Ebola Virus disease first surface in Guinea in March 2014
- Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia are the countries affected
- Ebola disease was first detected in Congo basin of Zaire
Fields Medal 2014
- The Fields Medal Awards held in Seoul, South Korea.
- The award recognized contributions of four medalists.
- Artur Avila, Manjul Bhargava, Martin Haire, Maryam Mirzakhani are the recipients
- The Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936.
- First winner were Finnish mathematician Lars Ahlfors and American mathematician Jesse Douglas.
Prayuth Chan-ocha elected Prime Minister of Thailand
- He is the 29th Prime Minister of Thailand
- He was elected with a vote of 191-6 votes in National Legislative Assembly (NLA)
- He is a former Army Chief of Thailand
- He seized the power in June 2014
6th BRICS Summit: Fortaleza Declaration
- Held in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July and 16 July 2014.
- Theme of the Summit was Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions.
- The participating countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
- The BRICS Network University will be established
- BRICS Development Bank to be established
UNSC adopted resolution to probe into MH-17 plane crash
- Resolution adopted by 15-member UNSC unanimously.
- It demands free access to the crash site of Malaysian plane MH17.
- It insisted on dignified and respectful treatment of bodies of the victims.
Science & Technology
Scientific breakthrough of the year 2014: Rosetta space mission
- Rosetta is the European space mission
- First spacecraft to land on a comet
- The comet is named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
- It landed on 12 November 2014, 10 years after the launch
ISRO successfully launched GSLV Mark-III-X from Sriharikota
- This was the experimental launch of the rocket
- Weighing 630 tonnes, it is India’s heaviest rocket
- It carried Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE)
- The full fledged launch of the rocket will take place in two years.
India joined Thirty Meter Telescope Project
- India jointed the project as Full Member
- India to deliver 100 smaller, hexagonal mirrors
- The project in India coordinated by Dept of Science & Technology and DAE
- The telescope will be the largest in the world.
- It is being built atop Mauna Kea Mountain in Hawaii.
World’s first womb-transplant baby born
- The baby boy was born to a Swedish woman
- It was born at the University of Gothenburg's hospital
- The woman was born without a womb, although the ovaries were intact
- The replacement womb came from a 61-year-old woman
- She was suffering from a genetic condition called Rokitansky syndrome
New compound BQU57 developed
- It will block protein Ral aiding cancer growth
- Developed at University of Colorado Cancer Center
- The study of the compound published in journal Nature
- The lead author of the study is Dan Theodorescu
ISRO launched Mangalyaan to Mars orbit
- India inserted the spacecraft in Mars orbit in first attempt
- ISRO became the fourth space agency in the world to send a mission to Mars successfully
- Mangalyaan costs 74 million US dollars, the most cost-effective in world
- It will be finding the presence of methane on the Mars
INS Kolkata dedicated to nation
- INS Kolkata commissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai
- It is the country’s largest indigenously built warship
- Equipped against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and fighter aircraft
- It is commissioned without its main air defence weapon
- The warship has been constructed by Mazagon Dockyards Limited
New biochip to detect blood sugar via saliva
- The advancement will help diabetics to not to undergo blood test
- It is made from a one-inch-square piece of quartz coated with a thin layer of silver
- It uses a series of specific chemical reactions combined with plasmonic interferometry
- The device is sensitive enough to detect minutest differences in glucose concentrations
Lima Call for Climate Action
- Issued at the conclusion of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP)
- The President of 20th CoP was Manuel Pulgar-Vidal
- Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to form foundation for climate action post 2020
- Seeks to put world on track to New Universal Climate Agreement
- 21st COP will be held in Paris, France
The US and China agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions
- US will reduce carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels
- China did not set a specific target, but said emissions would peak by 2030
- The two countries agreed to reduce the possibility of military accidents in the air and sea
- The two countries together produce about 45% of the world's carbon dioxide
India State of Forest Report 2013
- It was released by Union Ministry of Environment & Forest
- The India State of Forest Report 2013 was the 13th report in the series
- States with maximum increase in forest cover are West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala
- States with largest forest cover are MP & Arunachal Pradesh
- Mizoram has the highest forests cover in terms of percentage of forest
Bor Wildlife Sanctuary of Maharashtra
- It is India’s 47th Tiger Reserve
- Union Environment Ministry notified Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve
- Bor sanctuary is in Wardha district of Maharashtra
- It will be an important corridor between Tadoba – Andhari and Pench Tiger Reserves
- Tiger Reserves in Maharashtra: Melghat, Pench, Tadoba, Nagzira and Sahyadri
Personalities
Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss crowned Miss World 2014
- Outgoing Miss World, Megan Young of the Philippines presented the sash
- Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was the first runner-up
- Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, was the second runner-up
- India's Koyal Rana bagged the sub-title of Best Designer of the world
- This was the 64th Miss World Competition
Justice Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer died at 100
- He died on 4 December 2014 due to renal and cardiac failure.
- He was former Supreme Court Judge and an MLA from Kerala.
- He became the judge of the Supreme Court in 1973
- He retired at the age of 65 in 1980.
- There are 105 published books by V. R. Krishna Iyer.
Australian opener Philip Hughes died
- Died after a bouncer ball of Sean Abbott hit back of his head
- The accident happened at Sheffield Game at Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia
- He was a left-handed opening batsman
- He had played 26 Tests and 25 ODIs for Australia
- Indian cricketers Raman Lamba and Nari Contractor also died in same situations
Chief Guest of Republic Day 2015: US President Barack Obama
- He will be the first US President to attend the Republic Day Parade of India.
- Obama will participate in the Republic Day celebrations of India on 26 January 2015.
- Obama will be the first US President to travel to India twice.
Legendary Kathak danseuse Sitara Devi died
- Dance based on themes, poetry and choreography of her father
- She was born as Dhannolakshmi in the Brahmin family
- Rabindranath Tagore described her as Nritya Samragini
- She is known as a pioneering force in bringing the genre to Bollywood
Neha Gupta won International Children’s Peace Prize 2014
- Awarded for her work to help orphans in India
- Her organisation Empower Orphans has helped 25000 vulnerable children
- She became the first ever American to be awarded with the prize
- In 2013, the award was conferred on Malala Yousufzai
Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh received 49th Jnanpith Award
- Conferred for his outstanding contribution towards Indian literature
- 10th Hindi writer to receive the country’s highest literary award
- Known for his work Abhi Bilkul Abhi and Yahan Se Dekho
- First recipient G Sankara Kurup for Odakkuzhal (Flute) in Malyalam language
Sanjaya Rajaram received World Food Prize 2014
- Awarded for his research that led to increase in wheat production
- He is credited with developing the Veery lines of wheat in the 1980s
- He helped secure 1.3 percent rise in global wheat production per annum.
- He is senior scientific advisor at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
Arvind Subramanian appointed Chief Economic Advisor
- Appointed Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) for a period of three years
- Third economist of international rapport to be appointed as CEA
- Expert of the Indian and Chinese economy
- Raghuram Rajan, the RBI Governor, was previous CEA
Justice H L Dattu sworn-in as 42nd Chief Justice of India
- Oath of office administered by President Pranab Mukherjee.
- Succeeded Chief Justice RM Lodha
- Lodha demitted office on 27 September 2014
- Dattu will retire from his office on 2 December 2015.
- He joined Supreme Court of India as a Judge on 17 December 2008.
Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed Chairperson of National Commission for Women
- Eighth chairperson of National Commission for Women
- She was the National Spokesperson National Executive of BJP
- National Commission for Women was set up as a statutory body in January 1992
- It was set up under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990
Narula Brothers won 7 crore rupees in Season 8 of KBC
- The two brothers, Achin and Sarthak Narula emerged victorious in Season 8 of KBC
- The tagline for the season 8 is Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi, Dil Bhi Jeete Jate Hain
- The show was first telecast on Star Plus in 2000
- It is based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Govind Mishra received Saraswati Samman 2013
- He received it for novel Dhool Paudhon Par
- His novel was published in 2008
- The novel illustrates the struggle of modern Indian women
- He is the second Hindi author to be conferred with award
- Harivansh Rai Bachchan was the first Hindi author to receive the award
Pran, the Creator of Chacha Chowdhury died at 75
- He created or sketched Chacha Chaudhary for the Hindi magazine Lotpot in 1969
- His Chacha Chaudhary strips found a permanent place in International Museum of Cartoon Art, USA.
- His name was included in People of the Year 1995 by Limca Book of Records.
Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag took over as Chief of Army Staff
- He succeeded General Bikram Singh to become the 28th Army Chief
- He will serve as Army chief for 29 months till 31 December 2016
- He is the 2nd Gorkha Rifles officer to become Army chief
- First was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw
Veteran actress Zohra Sehgal died at 102
- She was called as the grand old lady of Bollywood
- She was the recipient of Padma Vibhshan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri
- Sehgal’s daughter Kiran in 2012 wrote her biography named Zohra Segal: Fatty
- Zohra last appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhasali's film Saawariya in 2007
Chandi Prasad Bhatt won the Gandhi Peace prize 2013
- He is a Gandhian, an environmentalist and a social activist.
- In 1964, he founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeswar.
- He was awarded with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1982.
- In 2005, he was awarded with Padma Bhushan.
Sports
Germany won men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2014
- Germany defeated Pakistan by 2-0 margin to win the trophy
- This was 10th Champions Trophy crown for Germany.
- It had last won the tournament in 2007
- For bronze medal, World champion Australia defeated India 2-1
UAE captain Khurram Khan: the oldest player to score an ODI century
- He scored the winning century against Afghanistan in Dubai
- He achieved the feat at an age of 43 years and 162 days
- He broke the record of Sanath Jayasuriya
- Sanath Jayasuriya had scored 109 against India in 2009 at the age of 39
Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma scored the highest ODI score ever of 264
- The score of 264 runs is also the second-highest List A score
- With this he became the only cricketer to score two Double ODI centuries
- He achieved this distinction during the 4th ODI between India and Sri Lanka
- He broke the record of highest ODI score of 219 runs made by Virender Sehwag
- Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer to score double century in ODIs
Virat Kohli became fastest cricketer to reach 6000 ODI runs
- He achieved the distinction after his 53-run knock in the third ODI between India and Sri Lanka
- He took 144 match and 136 innings to make 6000 runs
- He is the eighth Indian to have scored 6000 or more runs and 47th overall
- He overtook legendary West Indian Vivian Richards' record
- Richards reached the milestone in 1989 by playing 141 innings in 156 matches
MC Mary Kom bagged her first Asian Games Gold Medal
- She defeated Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan
- She won in women’s flyweight category (48-51kg)
- First Indian woman boxer to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Games
- She is nicknamed as Magnificent Mary
Chennai Super Kings won 2014 Champions League Twenty20 title
- It defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets
- The match was played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
- Chennai Super Kings won the trophy for the second time.
- Earlier they won the CLT20 in South Africa in 2011.
Hockey Player Manpreet Singh named Junior Men Player of the Year by AHF
- The announcement was made at Asian Hockey Federation Congress
- The congress was held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh has played 103 international matches.
- He is the captain of the India Junior Hockey team.
- He made his international debut in 2011.
Marin Cilic of Croatia won Men's Singles title of US Tennis Open
- Cilic defeated 10th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan
- The Women’s singles was won by Serena Williams of US
- The Men’s Doubles title was won by Mike and Bob Bryan of US
- Sania Mirza of India and Bruno Soares of Brazil won the Mixed Doubles title
- Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia won the US Open women's doubles title
2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games concluded
- The Medal tally was topped by England
- India stood at the fifth position in the rankings.
- India won 64 medals (15 Gold, 30 silver and 19 Bronze)
- This was third highest medal haul after 2010 Delhi CWG and 2002 Manchester CWG
- The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia
Kush Kumar first Indian player to reach semis of World Junior Squash Championship
- The World Junior Squash championship held at Windhoek in Namibia.
- He defeated England's George Parker in straight games in quarterfinal.
- Kush Kumar is a professional squash player from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- Presently, his ranking is 220 in the world.
Himachal Pradesh to host First Para-gliding World Cup 2015 in India
- This will be the first para-gliding World Cup to be hosted in India.
- To be organised under Para-gliding World Cup Association, France.
- It will be hosted in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh from 24 October 2015
- Himachal Pradesh had hosted the Para-gliding pre-World Cup in 2013
Germany won the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup
- Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the final
- Final was played at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Mario Gotze scored the lone goal of final during the extra-time
- It lifted the trophy for 4th time in FIFA world Cup history and first since 1990
- Germany became 1st European team to win World Cup played in North or South America
Sim Bhullar became first Indian-origin basketball player to join NBA
- He signed a summer contract with the Sacramento Kings.
- Sacramento Kings is a professional basketball team in the US.
- Sim Bhullar is originally from Canada and his parents are from Punjab.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the Men’s Wimbledon Tennis Open 2014
- He defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland
- This is the second Wimbledon title for Djokovic
- Djokovic won the seventh career Grand Slam
- Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title in 2011
Economy & Corporate
Advisory Group on Integrated Development of Power
- The Group was headed by Suresh Prabhu
- It has suggested opening up of the coal sector
- Called for improvement in Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries
- Expedite reforms in the distribution sector with targeted actions
SBI Mutual Fund launched Shariah Equity Fund
- The fund is aimed at attracting investments from Muslim populations of India.
- The fund approved by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board
- SBI MF fourth fund house in India to have an Islamic equity fund.
- India second country outside the Islamic world where a state-owned bank is offering such fund
- The UK is the first country who issued sovereign Islamic bonds in June 2014
Kotak Mahindra Bank first bank in India to fully own insurance business
- RBI gave permission to the bank for setting up Kotak General Insurance
- Kotak General Insurance will be the 29th non-life insurance company in the country
- The CEO of the company will be Mahesh Balasubramanian
- The bank already promotes life insurance with Old Mutual of South Africa
SEBI de-recognised Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE)
- De-recognised on account of serious irregularities in demutualisation process
- SEBI demutualisation rules requires every stock exchange to sell brokers' 51% equity
- DSE was incorporated in 1947
- It is an amalgamation of Delhi Stock and Share Brokers' Association Ltd and the Delhi Stocks and Shares Exchange Ltd
Shell India won 18000-crore rupees tax dispute case
- It won the tax case against Income Tax department
- The decision given by Bombay High Court
- Decision based on legal principle laid down in the Vodafone case
- It ruled that transfer pricing does not arise in case of transfer of shares
- The case pertains to alleged under pricing of shares issued by Shell India
Alibaba made the record of earning 9.3 billion US dollars on a single day
- Alibaba shipped 278 million orders out of which 43 percent were mobile devices
- It achieved the staggering figure on Singles Day shopping event
- The event celebrates the bachelorhood of Young single Chinese
- Alibaba is a Chinese e-commerce giant founded by Jack Ma
SoftBank of Japan to invest 10 billion dollars in India
- Will invest in India's IT and communications sector in coming years
- Announced to invest 627 million US dollars in Snapdeal
- Signed definitive agreement to invest 210 million US dollars in ANI Technologies
- Chairman and CEO of the SoftBank is Masayoshi Son
Union government de-regulated diesel and hiked natural gas rates
- The price of diesel to be market-linked
- The retail rates will reflect price changes in the global market.
- The government will no longer provide subsidy on diesel.
- This is the first reduction in diesel rates since 2009.
Google closed Orkut
- Orkut is a social network site
- Google announced to shut down Orkut in June 2014.
- Old users of Orkut can take back up of pictures till September 2016.
- Orkut was started in 2004 and named after its creator, Orkut Buyukkokten.
- Google has moved to a new platform the Google Plus.
Union government decided to wind up HMT Watches
- The unit has been incurring losses since 2000
- HMT Watches is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hindustan Machines Tools (HMT) limited
- HMT Limited was set up at Bangalore in 1961 in collaboration with Japan’s Citizen Watch
- In 2000, HMT Watch Business group was restructured as HMT Watches Ltd.
RBI fixed the upper age limit at 70 years for M.D. and CEO in private sector banks
- The decision was taken to comply with the Section 196(3) of the Companies Act, 2013
- Individual bank’s boards free to prescribe a lower retirement age for whole time Directors
- Earlier, no maximum age was specified and decisions were taken case by case
Union Government granted Navratna Status to CONCOR
- CONCOR is the 17th Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to achieve Navratna Status.
- The status was accorded by the Department of Public Enterprises.
- CONCOR current Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) is Anil Kumar Gupta.
- It deals in Export-Import and domestic trade and commerce policy of India.
Expenditure Management Commission constituted
- The Commission will be headed by Bimal Jalan
- He is a former RBI Governor
- Commission will suggest the way for managing public finances by reducing subsidies.
ICICI Bank became the first bank in India to launch EMI facility on Debit Card
- This was so far available only for credit cardholders.
- Will enable customers to convert their high value transactions into easy installments
- Facility available to debit cardholders with minimum fixed deposit of 10000 rupees
C S Verma elected as First President of Indian Steel Association
- C S Verma is currently working as the head of Steel Authority of India Limited
- The Indian Steel Association was formally launched on 26 August 2014
- Aims to work towards transforming the Indian steel industry as a global leader
- Membership of ISA open to any steel producer with a yearly capacity of at least 2 million tones
DIPP notified Press Note 8 allowing 100% FDI in Rail infrastructure
- FDI in rail infrastructure will be through automatic route
- FDI will not be allowed in train operations and safety
- Proposals involving FDI beyond 49 percent in sensitive areas to be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Security
- Definitions of infrastructure and common facilities have also been widened
Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2014-15
- This was the first budget of newly appointed government led by Narendra Modi
- It focussed on providing good infrastructure like public transport, solid waste disposal
- Emphasized on skill development and entrepreneurship in the budget
- Announced that the FDI cap in Defence sector would be raised to 49 percent
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