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July 1, 2014

1) State Bank of India (SBI) on 1 July
2014 launched six digital branches
across the nation to serve tech-savvy
customers. One of such branches in
Delhi was inaugurated on this day by
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Other 5
such branches are located in Mumbai,
Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
What is the name given to this new
range of branches which will have full
digital banking capabilities?
sbiINTOUCH (These sbiINTOUCH
branches will include instant account
opening with personalised debit cards,
instant loan approvals for education, car
and home and remote expert advisors
available via video links. The new
branches will be located in malls and
will be primarily aimed at youth, who
look for digital banking)

2) Indias Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV-C23) successfully put five
satellites from abroad into their perfect
orbits on 30 June 2014. These 5
satellites belonged to which four
countries? France, Germany,
Canada and Singapore (The PSLV put
into orbit SPOT satellite from France,
AISAT from Germany, NLS7.1 and
NLS7.2, both from Canada, and
VELOX-1 from Singapore. Antrix, the
commercial wing of the Department of
Space, will be charging a fee for putting
each of these satellites into orbit. The
launch was conducted from ISROs
spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra
Pradesh)

3) Which public sector financial entity
engaged in commercial and
development banking operations is
celebrating its 50
th
anniversary (Golden
Jubilee) during July 2014? Industrial
Development Bank of India
IDBI (IDBI was established in 1964
under an Act of Parliament as a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI). In 1976, the ownership of
IDBI was transferred to the Government
of India and it was made the principal
financial institution for coordinating the
activities of institutions engaged in
financing, promoting and developing
industry in India. IDBI provided financial
assistance, both in rupee and foreign
currencies, for green-field projects as
also for expansion, modernisation and
diversification purposes. During
September 2004 the RBI incorporated
IDBI as a scheduled bank under
the RBI Act, 1934. Consequently, IDBI,
formally entered the portals of banking
business as IDBI Ltd. from 1 October
2004. The commercial banking arm,


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IDBI BANK, was merged into IDBI in
2005)

4) It was reported in some newspapers
that the Finance Ministry is considering
doubling the exemption limit for
investments by individuals in financial
instruments to Rs 2 lakh in the
forthcoming Annual Budget. This is
being sought so as to give a major
boost to household savings. What was
the savings rate of India during 2012-
13, a figure declining continuously since
2007-08? 30% of GDP (The savings
rate of the country stood at 38% of
countrys GDP during 2008. There have
been demands from bankers and
insurers to hike the tax exemption limit
from Rs 1 lakh per annum to encourage
household savings. The Direct Taxes
Code (DTC) too had recommended that
the combined ceiling for investments
and expenditures be raised to Rs 1.5
lakh per annum)

5) What is the name of the BPO
business of Shashi and Ravi Ruia of
Essar Group, a part of which is being
sold to Paris-based Teleperformance for
$600 million? Aegis BPO (Aegis, part
of the $39-billion Essar Group, is the
fourth largest Indian BPO company with
$800 million in revenues. Aegis offers a
suite of solutions to clients managing
over 1 billion customer interactions
every year for over 300 clients across
verticals such as BFSI, telecom,
healthcare, travel, retail and technology.
It employs more than 50,000 people
across 12 countries. Ruia brothers are
in the process of selling US and
Philippines operations of the company
to Teleperformance. Teleperformance is
a leading provider of outsourced
customer experience management
services)

July 2, 2014

1) Which wildlife sanctuary of
Maharashtra was recently notified as
the 47
th
Tiger Reserve of India and the
6
th
of Maharashtra? Bor Wildlife
Sanctuary(Bor Sanctuary is situated
in Wardha district of Maharashtra. Bor
becomes the sixth tiger reserve in
Maharashtra after Tadoba, Melghat,
Pench, Nagzira and Sahyadri, and the
47
th
in the country. With Project Tiger
coverage, the Bor Wildlife Sanctuary
notified by the state in 1970, would
now receive funding and technical
support to strengthen tiger


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conservation and eco-development
and to benefit local communities living
along the fringes of the reserve)

2) Indian Army Chief General Bikram
Singh started a rare official visit of
China from 2 July 2014 during which
he will hold talks with the top brass of
the Chinese military, foreign ministry
officials besides addressing the
Chinese military academy. This 4-day
visit will conclude on 5 July and is only
the second visit of an Indian Army
Chief to China. Who was the first Army
Chief to visit China? General N.C.
Vij (Vij visited China during 2005.
General Singh, also chair of the
committee of chiefs of staff of the
Indian armed forces, will hold talks
with General Fan Changlong, the Vice
Chairman of Chinas Military
Commission. The Commission which
is the highest military body in China is
headed by Chinese President Xi
Jinping. This visit is a part of the new
emphasis on increased military-to-
military contact between the armed
forces of the two countries)

3) Who headed the committee on
Tendulkar Committee methodology for
estimating poverty, the report of which
was submitted to Planning
Commission on 1 July 2014? C.
Rangarajan (C. Rangarajan, the
former chief of Prime Ministers
Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC),
submitted the report to planning
minister Rao Inderjit Singh. The
Planning Commission in May 2012
had constituted the expert group under
the then PMEAC chairman C
Rangarajan to review the Tendulkar
Committee methodology for estimating
poverty, following an uproar over the
number of poor in the country. The
Planning Commissions estimates had
drawn flak in September, 2011 when
in an affidavit to the Supreme Court it
was stated that households with per
capita consumption of more than Rs.
32 in urban areas and Rs. 26 in rural
will not be treated as poor)

4) Which ship of the Indian Navy
became the first one from India to take
part in RIMPAC 2014 (Rim of the
Pacific Exercise), which is the worlds
largest international maritime warfare
exercise? INS Sahyadri (INS
Sahyadri is an indigenously built
guided missile stealth Frigate. It is
taking part in RIMPAC 2014, a naval
exercise in which 23 countries from
the world over are participating. The
massive exercise is being held from 26
June to 1 August 2014 at Honolulu,
Hawaii and is hosted by the US Navys
Pacific Fleet headquartered at Pearl
Harbour)

5) The United States has named a
mountain in Antarctica in honour of an
eminent Indian-American scientist
whose pioneering biological research
expedition has provided critical data
about animal populations. What is the
name of this Indian scientist who was
born in Bihar? Akhouri
Sinha (Sinha, a professor in the
Department of Genetics, Cell Biology
and Development at the University of
Minnesota, was recognised by the US
Geological Survey, which named the


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mountain Mt. Sinha, for his work he
did as an explorer in 1971-72. Sinha
belongs to Buxars Churamanpur
village in Bihar. He graduated with a
B.Sc. degree from the Allahabad
University in 1954 and M.Sc. degree in
Zoology from the Patna University in
1956)

July 3, 2014

1) Freshly-appointed Infosys CEO
Vishal Sikka, who will take charge on 1
August 2014, will get an annual salary
of $5.08 million (over Rs. 30 crore) to
become the highest-paid CEO in
Indian software industry. His total
salary (including stock options) stands
at $7.08 million, which is roughly
comparable to the 4.23 million euroes
(Rs. 34 crore) he was making at his
previous job as Chief Technology
Officer (CTO) at German software
major SAP. Who was till now the
highest paid CEO in the Indian
software industry? N.
Chandrasekaran (N.
Chandrasekaran, the chief executive
officer (CEO) of Indias largest
software services exporter Tata
Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS),
received a nearly 60% hike in annual
salary in 2013-14 and his annual
compensation stood at 18.68 crore
($3.15 million) in the year ended
March 2014. Now Vishal Sikka
becomes the highest paid CEO in the
Indian software industry)

2) The minimum export price (MEP) on
onion was raised to $500 per tonne on
2 July 2014 as the price of onion in the
domestic market continues to rise.
What was the present MEP on onion
which was announced by the Union
Govt. on 17 June 2014? $300 per
tonne (On June 17, an MEP of $300
per tonne was imposed on onion, but it
had not helped to arrest the prices.
Now raising the MEP to $500 per
tonne means that onions, which are
priced below Rs. 30 per kg, will not be
allowed to be exported from the
country)

3) Which state declared camel as the
State animal on 30 June 2014?
Rajasthan (Rajasthan Govt. declared
camel as the State animal mainly to
check the dwindling number of camels.
Camel, which is also known as the


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ship of the desert, is slaughtered for
its meat, killed as part of sacrifice in
several districts of Rajasthan and
illegally transported to the
neighbouring states for slaughter
which had resulted in its numbers
falling sharply. Fast disappearing
grazing areas has also added to a
severe food crisis for camels.
According to the Livestock Census
data, there were 668,000 camels in
Rajasthan in 1997 which were reduced
to 498,000 camels in 2003, amounting
to a 25% decrease in five years. By
2008, the number had decreased
further by 13.5% to 430426. Camels
provide livelihood to a large number of
people in rural Rajasthan)

4) Defending champion Andy Murray
(Britain) was ousted from Wimbledon
2014 mens singles championship
after being defeated in the
quarterfinals on 2 July 2014. Which
Bulgarian player defeated him to
become the first Bulgarian man to
reach the semi-finals of a grand slam
tournament? Grigor
Dimitrov (11
th
seeded Grigor Dimitrov
defeated Murray by 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 to
reach semi-finals. Andy Murray had
won the Wimbledon mens singles title
last year to become the first British
player in 77 years to win the coveted
title)

5) Who on 1 July 2014 became the
first female four-star Admiral in the
history of U.S. Navy? Michelle
Janine Howard (Howard was
promoted as U.S. Navys first female
four-star admiral in a ceremony
presided by Secretary of the Navy Ray
Mabus. She is now serving as the
38
th
Vice Chief of Naval Operations)

6) What is the quarterfinal line-up of
FIFA World Cup 2014 after conclusion
of all matches of last-16 stage on 1
July 2014? France Vs Germany,
Brazil Vs Colombia, Argentina Vs
Belgium and Netherlands Vs Costa
Rica (One special fact of this
quarterfinal line-up is that it represents
4 teams from Latin America
(Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and
Costa Rica) and 4 teams from Europe
(Belgium, France, Germany and the
Netherlands)
July 4, 2014

1) Indian Railways on 3 July 2014
achieved a major milestone by running
the fastest train in India (christened
semi-bullet train by some segments
of media). This test train achieved
fastest speed of 160 km/hr on Indian
tracks and covered the distance
between Delhi and Agra (178 km) in


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around 99 minutes. The highest train
speed record for Indian Railways was
150 Km/hr. till now. Which train had
this record under its belt? New Delhi
Bhopal Shatabdi Express(The
Bhopal Shatabadi Express currently
takes 120 minutes to reach Agra. The
trial run of the semi high-speed train
was conducted on a 10-coach train,
which left New Delhi station at 11:15
am and reached Agra about 99
minutes later. Achieving the highest
speed of 160 kmph during its run, the
train took 103 minutes to reach New
Delhi on its return journey. However,
the train took only 89 minutes to reach
Agra from Nizamuddin station from
where Railways plans to actually
launch its commercial operations)

2) Union Govt. on 2 July 2014 brought
onion and potato within the purview of
stockholding limits under the Essential
Commodities Act, 1955. What would
be the main benefit of this move which
has been done with a view to control
the prices of onion and potato and
improve availability? With this the
State governments can take action
to impose stockholding limits to
take up de-hoarding
operations (With imposition of the
Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the
various state governments can impose
stockholding limits, which ensures that
traders cannot stock more than a
prescribed quantum. If it is found that
traders are holding more than the
prescribed limit, they can be fined and,
in some cases, even prosecuted.
Currently, stock limit provisions exist
for various foodgrains and cereals
under the Essential Commodities Act)

3) The Indian Air Force (IAF) on 3 July
2014 launched nations first 3D mobile
game in a bid to attract generation-
next youth to pursue a career in the air
force. What is the name of this mobile
game? Guardians of the Skies
(GOTS) With this launch, the IAF
has embarked on its first sortie in
virtual world. GOTS, which is freely
available on android, windows and iOS
platforms for mobile, has been
conceptualised to showcase the might
of the air force in a virtual format with
users being offered gripping air
combat scenarios and realistic
graphics. The game is targeted at the
youth, to give them the feel of the
excitement of being part of the IAF)

4) Pentagon, the defence
headquarters of the United States,
recently notified the sale of the anti-
ship Harpoon missiles to India. The
deal estimated at around $200 million
will provide enhanced capabilities in
defence of critical sea lines of
communication. This Harpoon missile
system would be employed on which
class of submarines of the Indian
Navy? Shishumar class
submarine (India has already
purchased Harpoon missiles for
integration on Indian Air Force Jaguar
aircraft and Indian Navy P-8I maritime
patrol aircraft. The entire package
under the foreign military sale route
includes more than a dozen UGM-84L
Harpoon Block II Encapsulated
Missiles, 10 UTM-84L Harpoon
Encapsulated Training missiles, and
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certification training vehicles. The
Harpoon missiles for India would be
manufactured by Boeing Corporation)

5) Who was re-appointed as the
Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) on 3 July 2014 by the
Union Govt.? Harun Rashid
Khan (The appointment has been
made for two years with effect from 4
July 2014 or until further orders,
whichever is earlier. Khan was
appointed deputy governor in July
2011 for a three-year term, which was
set to expire on 3 July. As deputy
governor, Khan looks after the foreign
exchange department and internal
debt management, among others. The
other two RBI deputy governors are
Urjit Patel and the recently appointed
R. Gandhi. The government is yet to
appoint a deputy governor to replace
KC Chakrabarty, who retired on 25
April 2014)

6) The Chief Operating Officer (COO)
of social networking major Facebook,
who is on a visit to India, on 3 July
called on Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. What is her name?
Sheryl Sandberg

July 5-6, 2014

1) Czech Republics Petra Kvitova on
5 July 2014 claimed her second
Wimbledon womens singles title with
a crushing command performance
over Canadian player Eugenie
Bouchard 6-3, 6-0. She took just 55
minutes to win the title. In which year
Kvitova had won her first Wimbledon
womens singles title? In 2011(With
this win Kvitova dashed Eugenie
Bouchards dream of becoming the
first-ever Canadian to win a tennis
Grand Slam title)

2) All the 46 Indian nurses working in a
Tikrit hospital in Iraq, who were
kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria (ISIS) militants, were
released on 4 July 2014. These nurses
reached India safely on 5 July 2014
through a special Air India flight. They
arrived through which Iraqi city which


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is the capital of countrys Kurdistan
Region? Erbil (Erbil is the fourth
largest city of Iraq. Indian nurses
reached Erbil on 4 July after being
released by ISIS)

3) The rail-link for Katra was
inaugurated by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 4 July 2014 by
flagging off the inaugural train from
Katra to Jammu. The Katra-Udhampur
rail section also features Indias
longest steel girder bridge. What is the
name of this bridge? Jhajjar
Bridge (Jhajjar Bridge is countrys
longest steel girder bridge and has
been built at a height of 85 metres)

4) Who on 4 July 2014 created history
by becoming the first woman to
participate in a Formula One
weekend? Susie Wolff (She took
part in the practice session of the
British F1 Grand prix at the famed
Silverstone circuit in her Mercedes-
powered car as part of Williams team.
However, her time on the track was
cut short after an engine problem
occurred after completing just one
timed lap. 22 years earlier Giovanna
Amati had made three unsuccessful
Grand Prix qualification attempts.
Susie will now get another opportunity
to take part in the German F1 Grand
Prix)

5) Which four teams have qualified for
the semi-finals of the ongoing FIFA
World Cup 2014? Germany, Brazil,
Argentina and Netherlands (The
semi-final line-up is Germany Vs
Brazil (8 July) and Argentina Vs
Netherlands (9 July). One important
fact about this line up is that one team
each from Europe and South America
is in both the semi-final matches.
Germany defeated France by 1-0,
Brazil defeated Colombia by 2-1,
Argentina defeated Belgium by 1-0
and Netherlands defeated Costa Rica
by 4-3 (penalties) to enter semi-finals)

6) Star Brazilian striker Neymar Jr.
was ousted from FIFA World Cup
2014 after sustaining a serious back
injury in the quarterfinals against
Colombia on 4 July 2014. His ouster
came as a rude shock to Brazil as
Neymar was teams best player and
was looking in good form despite
heavy pressure on him. How many
goals he had scored in this World
Cup? Four (Neymay Jr. sustained
injury after being kneed in his spine by
Colombian defender Juan Zuniga)





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July 7, 2014

1) A panel headed by C. Rangarajan,
former Chairman of PMEAC (Prime
Ministers Economic Advisory Council),
has dismissed the Suresh Tendulkar
Committee report on estimating
poverty. The report submitted by
Rangarajan to Planning Minister Rao
Inderjit Singh recently stated that the
number of poor in India was much
higher in 2011-12 at 29.5% of the
population. What was the poverty
figure stated for the same year in the
Suresh Tendulkar Committee report,
which was severely criticized for its
findings? 21.9% (According to the
Rangarajan panel, poverty stood at
38.2% in 2009-10 and slid to 29.5% in
2011-12. This is at variance with the
Tendulkar methodology under which
poverty was estimated at 29.8% in
2009-10 and declined to 21.9% in
2011-12. This finding of C. Rangarajan
committee means that 3 out of 10
persons in India are poor. The
Planning Commission in May 2012
had constituted the expert group under
C. Rangarajan to review the Tendulkar
Committee methodology for estimating
poverty)

2) Gujarat Governor Dr. Kamla
Beniwal was on 6 July 2014 shifted as
the new Governor of which state by
the Union Govt.? Mizoram (It is
worth mentioning that Kamla Beniwal
had been involved in a long tussle with
the Gujarat Govt. then led by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi over the
appointment of Lokayukta in the state
and the matter had gone to court.
Mizoram Governor Vakkom
Purushothaman was shifted as
Governor of Nagaland. Governor of
Rajasthan Margaret Alva will
discharge the functions of Governor of
Gujarat in addition to her own duties
until regular arrangements for the
office of the Governor of Gujarat are
made. Purushothaman will also
continue to hold the additional charge
of the office of the Governor of
Tripura)

3) Ukraine scored the biggest tactical
victory over pro-Russia rebels in last 3
months on 5 July 2014 by taking
control of a key eastern Ukraine city in
the strategic Donetsk region. What is
the name of this city? Slovyansk (It
is worth mentioning that Ukraine


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Govt.s anti-terrorist operation to
retake control of the eastern region of
the country has achieved little beyond
heavy shelling and growing numbers
of civilian casualties. But the capture
of Slovyansk marks the first time they
have taken a significant rebel
stronghold. The city was taken over by
the rebel forces during April 2014 after
a long series of fighting between the
rebel gunmen and Ukrainian troops)

4) Who won the Wimbledon mens
singles title for 2014 on 6 July 2014?
Novak Djokovic (Serbias Djokovic
defeated his opponent Roger Federer
(Switzerland) in five close sets 6-7(7),
6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 in an epic final.
This was the second Wimbledon
singles title for Djokovic and seventh
Grand Slam title overall. He had won
his first Wimbledon title in 2011. On
the other hand, Federer was aiming to
win his record 8
th
Wimbledon title by
winning this final)

5) Who won the British F1 Grand Prix
for 2014 on 6 July 2014, which was
the 50
th
edition of British Grand Prix at
Silverstone circuit? Lewis Hamilton
of Britain (This was Hamiltons
27
th
career victory, his fifth of the
season and his second at his home
race, which he won in 2008 while
driving for McLaren. Valtteri Bottas
(Williams) was second while Daniel
Ricciardo (Red Bull) finished at third
place. Hamiltons teammate Nico
Rosberg could not complete the race.
Force Indias Nico Hulkenburg
(Germany) finished the race at
8
th
position)

July 8, 2014

1) In a landmark judgment, the
Supreme Court on 7 July 2014
declared that no legal status has been
granted to the Shariat Courts. It also
ruled that religious decrees or fatwas
are illegal if they tread on the rights of
an individual. This important ruling was
given on the petition filed by which
lawyer who had challenged the legality
of the Shariat Courts? Vishwa
Lochan Madan
Explanation : Advocate Vishwa
Lochan Madan had filed his petition in
2005. In the petition, he stated that
institutions like Darul Qaza and Darul-
iftaa are operating like parallel courts
which take decisions on the


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fundamental rights of the Muslim
citizens. In its order the Supreme
Court objected to the Shariat Courts
ordering punishments against innocent
people and said that no religion
permits the same.

2) Which state has the highest number
of people below poverty line according
to the new definition of poverty that is
part of the new poverty estimates that
have been made by a panel led by C.
Rangarajan? Chhattisgarh
Explanation : According to these
estimates 47.9% of Chhattisgarhs
population is below poverty line.
Chhattisgarh thus tops the list of states
with the highest poverty count. On the
other had just 6.3% of Goas
population is below poverty line and it
thus tops the list of states with the
lowest poverty count. On a national
level, the C. Rangarajan committee
report estimated the number of poor at
45.46 crore at 2011-12 prices, which is
much higher than the 35.47 crore
estimate by the Suresh Tendulkar
committee.

3) Eduard Shevardnadze, the last
Foreign Minister of the erstwhile Soviet
Union (USSR), who passed away on 7
July 2014, was the former President of
which former Soviet Republic?
Georgia
Explanation : Eduard Shevardnadze
was one the most powerful ministers
of the former USSR. He was Foreign
Minister from 1985 to 1990. In the
aftermath of USSRs collapse in 1991
Shevardnadze returned to a newly
independent Georgia. He was formally
elected president of Georgia in 1995.
After allegations of apparent electoral
fraud during the 2003 legislative
election Shevardnadze was forced to
resign following a series of public
protests and demonstrations. He was
86.

4) The Supreme Court on 7 July 2014
refused to put a stay on the
governments decision to appoint Lt.
Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next
Army Chief. This ruling was given on a
petition filed by a senior officer of
Indian Army, who had had alleged
favouritism in the selection of Lt. Gen.
Suhag as the Army commander in-line
to take over as the Army Chief. What
is the name of this officer? Lt. Gen.
Ravi Dastane
Explanation : Besides challenging Lt.
Gen Suhags appointment as
Commander of the Eastern Command,
Lt. Gen. Dastane in his petition had
also questioned Lt. Gen. Sanjiv
Chachras appointment as head of the
Western Command. Lt Gen Dastane
argued that he was the third senior-
most officer eligible for the post of
Army Commander of Eastern or
Western Command.

5) Which senior leader of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
was deputed to join the BJP on 7 July
2014? Ram Madhav
Explanation : Ram Madhav is the
spokesman of the RSS and is the
most known faces of the RSS in the
last few years. While members of the


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RSS, which is the ideological mentor
of the BJP, often join the political
party, Madhav is the one of the most
prominent faces to cross over into
active politics. He is expected to be
handed an important role in party
affairs. Another senior RSS leader
Shiv Prakash too had been deputed to
the BJP and is also expected to be
given organisational responsibility.

6) The benchmark BSE Sensex on 7
July 2014 crossed which milestone
mark for the first time? 26,000
points
Explanation : The Sensex closed at
26,100 on 7 July, its highest close till
date. This spurt in indices was on the
back of strong inflow of foreign funds
ahead of the General Budget. The
NSE Nifty also soared to hit yet
another high of 7,787.95 in opening
trade. The BSE 30-share barometer
spurted by 137.29 points, or 0.52%, to
trade at a lifetime high of nearly
26,100 with stocks of infrastructure, IT,
power, capital goods, auto and realty
sectors, leading the rally.

7) What is the name of the large and
powerful typhoon that was heading
northwest toward Japans southern
islands on 7 July 2014 and it hit
Okinawa on early 8 July with winds of
up to 150 mph? Typhoon Neoguri
Explanation : Typhoon Neoguri is
expected to be one of the largest
typhoons to hit Japan in the month of
July. It was also the first time for that
the Japan Meteorological Agency
(JMA) had issued a special warning for
a typhoon since the current warning
system was introduced last August.
Many meteorologists believe that
Typhoon Neoguri would be the first
super typhoon of 2014. The term
Neoguri means raccoon in Korean.

July 9-10, 2014

1) What GDP growth rate range for
2014-15 was estimated in the
Economic Survey 2013-14, which was
tabled on 9 July 2014 in the Lok
Sabha? 5.4 to 5.9%
Explanation : GDP growth slowed to
below 5% for two consecutive years,
i.e. 2012-13 and 2013-14. The
Economic Survey envisages a better
performance during 2014-15 on
account of growth in sectors like
manufacturing and mining)



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2) What was the fiscal deficit for 2013-
14, as disclosed in the Economic
Survey 2013-14? 4.5% of GDP
Explanation : Fiscal deficit is the
difference between the governments
expenditures and its revenues. An
important factor in the increase in the
Centres fiscal deficit after 2008-09
has been the sharp increase in
subsidies from 1.42% of GDP in 2007-
08 to 2.56% of GDP in 2012-13. For
2013-14 the subsidy bill is 2.26% of
GDP.

3) Who was appointed the new
President of the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) on 9 July 2014? Amit
Shah
Explanation : Amit Shah, a close and
controversial aide of Prime Minister
Modi, was appointed to the top post in
BJP at a meeting of Parliamentary
Board where incumbent Rajnath Singh
resigned after a tenure of one-and-a-
half years. The former Minister of
State for Home in Gujarat and who
faces charges in the Sohrabuddin fake
encounter case is largely credited for
BJPs stunning performance in Uttar
Pradesh where the BJP won 71 out of
80 Lok Sabha seats. Amit Shah has
become the 10
th
President of BJP
since it was founded in December
1980.

4) Germany reached the finals of the
FIFA World Cup 2014 by inflicting a
historic 7-1 victory over hosts Brazil in
the first semi-final played in Belo
Horizonte on 8 July 2014. With this
Germany have now reached FIFA
World Cup finals for how many times?
Eight times
Explanation : Germany had reached
the finals of FIFA World Cup in 1954,
1966, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990 and
2002. It won the title in 1954, 1974 and
1990. However, the German team that
played in finals in 1954, 1966, 1974,
1982, 1986 and 1990 was the West
German team before unification of
Germany. It played as unified
Germany from 1994.

5) Argentina defeated the Netherlands
in the second semi-final of FIFA World
Cup 2014 by 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out
on 9 July 2014. It will meet Germany in
the final on 13 July 2014. This would
be Argentinas ..appearance
in a FIFA World Cup final Fifth
Explanation : Argentina had reached
the finals of FIFA World Cup in 1930,
1978, 1986 and 1990. It won the title in
1978 and 1990. Germany and
Argentina would meet in a FIFA World
Cup final for the third time. The two
teams met in finals in 1986 and 1990
too.

6) Brazils 1-7 loss to Germany in the
first semi-final of FIFA World Cup on 8
July 2014 was countrys worst-ever
defeat in the game. It, however, lost by
the same margin of 6 goals only once
in the history. To which team it had
lost by same goal difference?
Uruguay
Explanation : It lost to Uruguay by 6-0
in 1920, i.e., by a margin of 6 goals.
Brazils semifinal loss of 8 July thus


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equaled its worst defeat by 6 goals.
The defeat broke Brazils 62-match
home unbeaten streak in competitive
matches dating back to its 13 loss to
Peru in the 1975 Copa America.

7) Who became the leading goal
scorer in the history of FIFA World
Cups by scoring his record 16
th
World
Cup goal on 8 July 2014? Mirolsav
Klose of Germany
Explanation : German forward
Mirolsav Klose scored his 16
th
goal of
FIFA World Cup when he scored the
second goal for Germany in the semi-
finals against Brazil. He broke the
record of Ronaldo, the Brazilian star
striker of yesteryears. Ronaldo had
scored 15 goals in FIFA World Cups. It
is worth mentioning here that Klose
became the first-ever player to feature
in four FIFA World Cup semi-finals
when he featured against Brazil on 8
July.

8) Germanys 7-1 win over Brazil on 8
July 2014 also made Germany the
leading goal scoring country in all FIFA
World Cups. It has now 223 goals in
World Cups. Which countrys record it
broke? Brazil
Explanation : Brazil was the leading
goal scoring country in football World
Cups with 221 goals. But now
Germany has 223 goals and it has one
more game (the finals) to play in the
ongoing World Cup 2014.

July 11, 2014

1) In the Union Budget 2014-15, the
govt. announced setting up of a
commission to bring in reforms related
to spending for achieving maximum
output. What is the name given to this
commission? Expenditure
Management Commission EMC
Explanation : The proposed EMC will
review the allocated and operational
efficiencies of government expenditure
to achieve maximum output and will
give its interim report within this
financial year.

2) Allocation of Rs 4,200 crore in the
Union Budget 2014-15 was
announced for the development of the
ambitious Allahabad-Haldia National
Waterway-1. This project was


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conceived numerous years ago but
was languishing for being
implemented. In which year this
project was first envisaged? 1986
Explanation : This project envisaged
in 1986, which aimed to use the 1,620
km-long channel not only for
transportation of goods but also for
river cruises, had been languishing for
the past several years. It was to be
completed in six years. The project
envisages construction of permanent
terminals at various places, including
Varanasi, the constituency of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, besides
floating terminals at a number of
places, including Allahabad and
Ghazipur.

3) The revival of the Kisan Vikas Patra
(KVP) was announced in the Union
Budget 2014-15 on 10 July 2014. The
KVP was discontinued from November
2011 on the recommendation of which
committees recommendations? The
Shyamala Gopinath Committee
Explanation : The Shyamala
Gopinath Committee, in its report
submitted on 7 June 2011, had
recommended that the KVP be
discontinued as it was prone to
misuse, being a bearer-line
instrument. It said the KVP was more
popular than the National Savings
Certificate (NSC) because of the ease
of transfer and liquidity.

4) What is the name given to the
mission to provide total sanitation to
every Indian by 2019, which was
announced in the Union Budget 2014-
15? Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
Explanation : The Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan will be a tribute to Mahatma
Gandhi on his 150
th
birth anniversary,
as the Government wants to celebrate
it with a spick and span India. This
goal of a clean India was also set by
the previous UPA government and the
erstwhile governments plan was to
achieve 100% access to sanitation for
all rural households in the country by
2022. For completion of this goal they
were working under the programme
Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA).

5) How much fund was allocated to the
proposed Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), which
was announced in the Union Budget
2014-15? Rs. 1,000 crore
Explanation : The Government has
proposed to initiate the scheme
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana from financial year 2014-15.
The PMKSY has been envisaged to
provide assured irrigation to mitigate
risk to the farmer since bulk of the
farm lands are rainfed and depend on
monsoon.

6) What name was given to a new
mission announced in the Union
Budget 2014-15 to deliver integrated
project based infrastructure in the rural
areas? Shyama Prasad Mukherji
Rurban Mission SPMRM
Explanation : Shyama Prasad
Mukherji Rurban Mission will be
launched basically to deliver urban


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amenities in the rural areas through
PPP model. This mission is based on
Gujarat model of a similar programme
through which people living in the rural
areas are delivered efficient civic
infrastructure and associate services.

7) How much fund was allocated for
the One Rank, One Pension (OROP)
scheme for armed personnel in the
Union Budget 2014-15? Rs. 1,000
crore
Explanation : One rank, one pension
means that retired soldiers of the
same rank and length of service will
now receive the same pension,
regardless of when they retire. At
present, pensioners who retired before
2006 draw less pension than their
counterparts and even their juniors.
The decision to implement OROP
scheme was first announced by former
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. In
the UPA interim budget in February
this year, P. Chidambaram also
allocated Rs. 500 crore. However,
much to the disappointment of
services personnel and thanks to
bureaucratic delays, the actual
implementation of the scheme got
delayed.
8) What major sop was announced for
new power projects in the Union
Budget 2014-15? The 10-year tax
holiday for new power projects was
extended
Explanation : The Finance Minister
announced extension of the 10-year
tax holiday to companies that start
power generation by 31 March 2017.
The power sector had called for the
extension of the sunset tax clause for
power companies to include plants
that provide power till March 2017 as
opposed to 2013 earlier.

9) The Jayaprakash Narayan National
Centre for Excellence in Humanities,
that was proposed in the Union Budget
2014-15, would be established in
which state? Madhya Pradesh

10) Which two film institutes were
given the status of institutes of national
importance in the Union Budget 2014-
15? Film and Television Institute
of India (FTII), Pune and Satyajit Ray
FTII, Kolkata







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July 12, 2014

1) The controversial bill on Polavaram
Project of Andhra Pradesh was
passed in the Lok Sabha on 11 July
2014 amid protests from members of
the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS),
the BJD, the Trinamool Congress, the
AIMIM and sections of the Congress.
Why the TRS is protesting vociferously
against passing of this bill? Because
the Bill paves the way for the
shifting of seven mandals from
Telangana to Andhra Pradesh
Explanation : The bill titled Andhra
Pradesh Re-organisation
(Amendment) Bill was opposed on the
grounds that the transfer of land was
being done in an unconstitutional
manner, violating Articles 3 and 4 of
the Constitution which mandates that
the two State Assemblies have to be
consulted. The Polavaram project is a
multi-purpose irrigation project, which
constitutes of a dam across the
Godavari River and is under
construction located in West Godavari
District and East Godavari District in
Andhra Pradesh state. Its reservoir
spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and
Orissa States also.

2) Delhi was declared as worlds
second most populated city in 2014 in
the revision of United Nations World
Urbanisation Prospects 2014 Report
that was released on 10 July 2014.
Which city once again occupied the
top spot as worlds most populated
city? Tokyo
Explanation : Tokyo topped UNs
ranking of the most populous cities in
2014 with 38 million inhabitants and
while its population is projected to
decline, it will remain the worlds
largest city in 2030 with 37 million
people. Delhi become the worlds
second most populous city in 2014
after Tokyo, more than doubling its
population since 1990 to 25 million.
The Indian capital is expected to retain
the spot of the worlds second most
populous city through at least 2030,
when its population is expected to rise
swiftly to 36 million.

3) Name of which Portugal bank was
associated with the Portuguese
banking crisis which affected stock
markets all over the world on 11 July
2014? Banco Espirito Santo SA
Explanation : Banco Espirito Santo
SA (BES) is the second-largest bank
in Portugal. The banking crisis in
Portugal started after the ratings


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agencies Moodys and S&P sharply
downgraded the long-term debt ratings
of the bank after a missed payment on
short-term debt by a member of the
BESs ultimate parent, the Espirito
Santo Group (ESG). However, BES
sought to reassure investors by
revealing its exposure to related
companies.

4) Vakkom B. Purushothaman, who
resigned on 11 July 2014, was the
Governor of which state? Mizoram
Explanation : His resignation came in
the wake of his transfer to Nagaland
as its new Governor. Purushothaman
criticised the way Governors were
being shunted by the NDA government
since it came to power in May 2014.
He belonged to the Congress and was
appointed by the UPA government.
Purushothaman had served as
Minister in different Cabinets and was
Speaker of the Kerala Assembly.

5) The tender bids for the construction
and maintenance of the ambitious
Statue of Unity commemorating
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat
were opened on 9 July 2014. Which
company looks all set to bag this
iconic project? L&T
Explanation : Engineering giant L&T
(Larsen & Toubro)s bid for Rs. 2,980
crore was the lowest among the
bidders and the company looks all set
to bag the project. However, the
estimated cost of the project stood at
Rs. 2,063. The project involves
construction of a huge 182-metre-tall
Statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on
River Narmada at Bharuch (Gujarat).

6) 102-year old Zohra Sehgal known
as the Grand Old Lady of Indian
Theatre passed away on 10 July
2014. She was cremated with full state
honours on 11 July 2014 at the Lodhi
Road crematorium in Delhi. She was
associated with the dance troupe of
which famous dancer that initiated her
towards the world of theatre? Uday
Shankar
Explanation : Zohra was attracted
towards Uday Shankars troupe after
watching a performance in Europe.
She joined the troupe in August, 1935
at the age of 23. She migrated to films
in 1946 with films like Dharati ke Laal
and Neecha Nagar. Cheeni Kum
and Saawariya were her last films in
2007. She received the Padma
Vibhushan, Indias second-highest
civilian honor, in 2010.





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July 13-14, 2014

1) Germany created history by winning
the FIFA World Cup 2014 on 13 July
2014 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio.
Germany defeated Argentina by 1-0.
This win was Germanys ..title
win of FIFA World Cup? Fourth
Explanation : Germany won its earlier
FIFA World Cups in 1954, 1974 and in
1990. It finished as runners up in
1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002 while
finished at third spot in 1934, 1970,
2006 and 2010. Germany thus
equalled Italys record of winning the
tournament four times. Brazil has won
the tournament most number of times
5.

2) Who scored the lone goal for
Germany in the finals of FIFA World
Cup 2014 to give his country 1-0 win
over Argentina? Mario Gtze
Explanation : Gtze scored the goal
in the 2
nd
half of extra time in the
113
th
minute to help Germany lift the
FIFA World Cup for the fourth time. He
scored the goal when the match was
moving towards penalty shoot-outs.
This was his first World Cup and he
scored two goals in the tournament.

3) The Netherlands secured third
place in FIFA World Cup 2014 by
defeating hosts Brazil by 3-0 in the
third place play-off match held on 12
July 2014 at Brasilias Estadio
Nacional. This was time
that the Dutch have ended a World
Cup at third place First
Explanation : The Netherlands have
never finished third in the history of
FIFA World Cup. They lost in the
1974, 1978 and 2010 finals and in
their only other battle for third place,
against Croatia in 1998. On the other
hand Brazil could not salvage the
countrys pride in this classification
match after their worst-ever World Cup
defeat a 7-1 drubbing against
Germany in the semi-finals.

4) Who won the prestigious Golden
Boot award for FIFA World Cup 2014?
James Rodriguez of Colombia
Explanation : Rodriguez scored 6
goals in FIFA World Cup 2014.
The Golden Boot or Golden
Shoe Award goes to the top
goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup. It
was introduced at the first FIFA World
Cup held in 1930. Thomas Muller
(Germany) was awarded Silver Boot
for scoring 5 goals and Neymar
(Brazil) was awarded Bronze Boot for


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his 4 goals in the tournament. This
was the first time that a Colombian
footballer won this prestigious award.

5) Who won the Golden Ball award
for FIFA World Cup 2014? Lionel
Messi (Argentina)
Explanation : The Golden
Ball award is presented to the best
player at each FIFA World Cup finals,
with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA
technical committee and the winner
voted for by representatives of the
media. Messi is the star striker and
captain of Argentina and scored 4
goals in the tournament. The Silver
Ball was awarded to Thomas Muller
(Germany) while the Bronze Ball was
given to Arjen Robben (the
Netherlands).

6) Who won the Golden Glove award
in FIFA World Cup 2014? Manuel
Neuer (Germany)
Explanation : The Golden Glove
award is presented to the best
goalkeeper of the tournament decided
by a FIFA Technical Study Group that
recognises the top goalkeeper of the
tournament based on the players
performance throughout the final
competition.

7) What is the name of first in series of
anti-submarine corvettes indigenously
built by Kolkata based Garden Reach
Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. (GRSE),
which was handed over to Indian Navy
on 12 July 2014? INS Kamorta
Explanation : INS Kamorta is the first
Indian Naval warship ever built in the
country with almost 90% of indigenous
content. Work on the warship started
in 2006. The handing over of the
warship marked fruition of a significant
project in Indias pursuit for self-
reliance in indigenous warship
building.

8) India film thespian Dilip Kumars
ancestral home in Pakistan has been
declared as a national heritage by
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
recently. He has directed the Ministry
of Information, Broadcasting and
National Heritage to acquire the
house. This house is situated in which
city of Pakistan? Peshawar
Explanation : Presently in a shabby
condition, Dilip Kumars ancestoral
home is being illegally occupied by
someone, who claims to be his
relative, but is actually not. The
Pakistan Government is planning to
invite Dilip Kumar and other members
of his family after converting the house
into a museum. Dilip Kumar was born
as Yusuf Khan. His father Lala
Ghulam Sarwar had shifted to Mumbai
from Peshawar in the 1930s.

9) Which West Bengal hospital came
to news recently for death of 12
newborn babies within 48 hours at the
hospital? Malda Medical College
and Hospital
Explanation : The hospital, located
about 300 kilometers north of West
Bengal capital Kolkata, accepted
several of the newborns as transfers


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from smaller hospitals in the region. All
12 infants, aged 1 month or younger,
were underweight and suffered from
malnutrition. The hospital saw 23
newborns die of suspected
encephalitis last month and more than
60 die in 2011.

July 15, 2014

1) The first train from Delhi to newly
opened Mata Vaishno Devi railway
station (Katra) departed from New
Delhi on 14 July 2014. What is the
name of this newly instituted train?
Shree Shakti Express
Explanation : Shree Shakti Express
was announced by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 4 July 2014 when
he inaugurated the first strain from
Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to Jammu.
Consisting of one first AC, five AC two
tier and nine AC three tier coaches,
the Shri Shakti Express will stop at
Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana, Jalandhar
Cantt, Pathankot cantt , Jammu Tawi
and Udhampur Stations en-route in
both directions.

2) The 20
th
FIFA World Cup (2014)
concluded on 13 July 2014 with
Germany winning the title. Which
country is to host the 21
st
FIFA World
Cup to be held in 2018? Russia
Explanation : Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff symbolically handed
over the World Cup to her Russian
counterpart Vladimir Putin on 13 July
2014. Russia was awarded the hosting
rights for 21
st
FIFA World Cup in
December 2010 by FIFAs Executive
Committee convened in Zurich. Russia
was voted ahead of the joint hosting
by Spain and Portugal. Russia will be
hosting FIFA World Cup for the first
time.

3) The Lok Sabha on 14 July 2014
cleared the Telecom Regulatory
Authority (Amendment) Bill despite
opposition from the Congress, the Left
Parties, the RJD and the Aam Aadmi
Party. Passing of this bill became
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(TMC) took a U-turn and decided not
to oppose the bill. What is the purpose
of passing this bill? To remove the
legal hurdles in ex-TRAI chief
Nripendra Misras appointment as
the Prime Ministers Principal
Secretary
Explanation : If cleared, the Telecom
Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill
will replace the ordinance that the new
government passed just two days after
taking over in May to enable Misra to
join Modis team. Misra, a 1967-batch
IAS officer who retired in 2009, joined
the PMO the same day the ordinance
was promulgated. The ordinance was
necessitated as some service-clause
for a person appointed as TRAI
Chairman made his/her future
appointments for govt. posts almost
impossible.

4) Drug pricing regulator the National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
(NPPA) has recently fixed the price of
108 non-scheduled formulation packs
of 50 anti-diabetes and cardiac
medicines. This has been done to
bring down prices of some key
medicines. Which Paragraph of the
Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) is
associated with this subject?
Paragraph 19
Explanation : Paragraph 19 of DPCO,
2013, authorises the NPPA in
extraordinary circumstances, if it
considers it necessary to do so in
public interest, to fix the ceiling price or
retail price of any drug for such period
as it deems fit. Under the Drug Price
Control Order (DPCO) 2013, the
Government currently controls the
prices of 652 essential drugs listed in
the National List of Essential
Medicines (NLEM). The drugs that will
become cheaper would include
atorvastatin, gliclazide, glimepiride,
heparin and metolazone, among
others.

5) 5 new Governors for the states of
Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West
Bengal, Gujarat and Nagaland were
appointed by the Union Govt. on 14
July 2014. Who are these 5 persons?
Ram Naik (Uttar Pradesh),
Balramji Dass Tandon
(Chhattisgarh), Keshari Nath
Tripathi (West Bengal), Om Prakash
Kohli (Gujarat) and Padmanabha
Balakrishna Acharya (Nagaland)
Explanation : Ram Naik was sent to
Uttar Pradesh after B L Joshi,
considered close to the Gandhi family,
resigned after feelers from the new
NDA government to quit. Balramji
Dass Tandon was appointed Governor
of Chhattisgarh following Shekhar
Dutts resignation on 18 June after he
too was sounded by the Union Home
Ministry. Former UP Vidhan Sabha
Speaker Keshari Nath Tripathi has
been asked to leave for Kolkata after
M K Narayanan stepped down
following his questioning by the CBI
over AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter
deal. Om Prakash Kohli would take
over as Governor in Gujarat after
Kamla Beniwal was shifted to Mizoram
for remainder of her term till
November. P.B. Acharya was
appointed Governor of Nagaland after
the President accepted resignation of
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Purushothaman, who was also
officiating as Nagaland Governor.
Acharya will also hold additional
charge of Tripura.

July 16, 2014

1) The 6
th
BRICS summit, being hosted
by Brazil, started on 15 July 2014.
Which Brazilian city is hosting this
summit? Fortaleza
Explanation : The 6
th
BRICS summit
is being held from 15 July to 17 July
2014 at Fortaleza. BRICS is the
grouping of 5 major emerging
economies and includes Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa
(BRICS). Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is representing India at
the Summit. It is worth mentioning that
it is the first time that Brazil is hosting
the summit under the current five-year
summit cycle. It hosted the summit
earlier in 2010 in Brasilia but then the
summit did not include South Africa.

2) What is the definition of affordable
housing loans as announced by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15
July 2014? Rs. 50 lakh in metros
and Rs. 40 lakh in non-metros, given
by banks from the proceeds of long-
term bonds (of minimum seven years
maturity)
Explanation : This announcement
was made by the RBI in a bid to boost
the housing sector. The RBI also
announced that the cost of a house
cannot exceed Rs. 65 lakh and Rs. 50
lakh in the metros and non-metros,
respectively, to qualify as affordable
houses. There are six metros in the
country: Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata,
Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Under the current regulatory regime,
loans given by banks to individuals
up to Rs. 25 lakh in metros and Rs. 15
lakh in non-metros for
purchase/construction of a dwelling
unit, per family, are considered as
affordable housing loans. These loans
fall under the priority sector lending
category for banks. The RBI said that
it will periodically review the definition
of affordable housing, on account of
inflation. This RBI move is expected to
make housing loans up to Rs. 50 lakh
cheaper.

3) The SEBI closed the five-and-a-half
year long probe into the countrys
biggest corporate fraud involving


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erstwhile Satyam Computer and
barred companys founder B.
Ramalinga Raju and four others from
markets for 14 years. SEBI asked
these people to return how much
money for earning unlawful gains as
interest? Rs. 1,849 crore
Explanation : The money needs to be
deposited with the SEBI within 45
days, while interest would be levied at
12% per annum with effect from 7
January 2009 the day this mega-
scam came to the light through a letter
written by Raju himself. On 7 January
2009, Raju the then Chairman of
Satyam Computer had sent an email
to the SEBI, wherein he admitted and
confessed to inflating the cash and
bank balances of the company,
besides understating liabilities and
other financial mis-statements. After
the fraud came to the light, the
government had ordered an auction
for sale of the company in the interest
of investors and employees of what
was known at that time as the
countrys fourth largest IT firm. The
company was acquired by Tech
Mahindra, then renamed as Mahindra
Satyam and eventually it was merged
with Tech Mahindra.

4) On 15 July 2014 it came to light that
the Narendra Modi government has
returned another proposal of the
Supreme Court collegium on the
elevation of a judge. The government
returned the collegium file
recommending elevation of Karnataka
High Court judge KL Manjunath, since
a senior Supreme Court judge had
written an adverse note against him.
Manjunaths appointment as the Chief
Justice of which High Court was
barred from this decision of the govt?
Punjab and Haryana High Court
Explanation : The development came
just days after the government, in a
similar move, sent back a
recommendation of the SC collegium,
rejecting former solicitor general Gopal
Subramaniums name for appointment
as a Supreme Court judge.

5) Who was awarded the Gandhi
Peace Prize for 2013 by the President
Pranab Mukherjee on 15 July 2014?
Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the noted
environmentalist
Explanation : Chandi Prasad Bhatt
has been a pioneer of the Chipko
Movement of Uttarakhand. The
Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted in
1995 on the occasion of the 125
th
birth
anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It
carries a plaque, citation and an
amount of Rs one crore.

6) What is the name of the Northwest
Pacific typhoon that struck into the
Philippines on 15 July 2014 and is
expected to bring in heavy rains in
India too? Typhoon Rammasun
Explanation : Typhoon Rammasun is
a category-2 storm that struck the
Philippines on the noon of 15 July. It is
expected to then enter South China
Sea and churn up into a stronger
category-3 typhoon and bring in heavy
rains in the South-East Asian region
including India. On 15 July a churn in
the air was visible over northwest Bay


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of Bengal ahead of the formation of
what looks like the next fresh low-
pressure area. The impact of Typhoon
Rammasun is expected to bring in
heavy to very heavy rains in regions of
Uttar Pradesh, east Rajasthan and
north Madhya Pradesh.


July 17, 2014

1) The Union Government has decided
to do away with the necessity of filing
affidavits from a gazetted officer or a
notary for a big chunk of government-
related work and instead to promote
self-attestation of documents. This
move is based on the
recommendations of which
commission? 2
nd
Administrative
Reforms Commission
Explanation : The move is based on
the recommendation of 12
th
report of
the second Administrative Reforms
Commission (2
nd
ARC), titled Citizen
Centric Administration-The Heart of
Governance, which suggested
simplifying procedures for self-
certification provision. Under the self-
attestation method, the original
documents are required to be
produced at the final stage. The
method of self-attestation is stated to
be citizen friendly as obtaining either
an attested copy or affidavit not only
costs money but also involves
wastage of time of the citizens and the
government officials.

2) A team of researchers of which
university recently a major milestone in
the field of health by creating human
blood and all its associated
components in a laboratory by using
stem cells? University of
Wisconsin-Madison
Explanation : This team was led by
University of Wisconsin-Madisons
stem cell scientist Igor Slukvin. The
team successfully cracked the elusive
code to turn stem cells into human
blood. With this the ability to make
human blood in the lab including all
the different types of cells in them took
one giant leap. They discovered two
genetic programs responsible for
taking stem cells and turning them into
both red and white cells that make up
human blood. The method developed
can produce blood cells in abundance.
For every million stem cells the


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researchers were able to produce 30
million blood cells.

3) The Supreme Court on 16 July
2014 issued notices to all states
seeking their views on whether a
terminally ill person can execute a
living will that life support system be
withdrawn if he or she reaches a
vegetative state with no hope of
revival. The states have to respond to
the notices within eight weeks. Who
has been appointed as the amicus
curiae to assist in this highly complex
case? T. R. Andhyarujina, a former
Solicitor General
Explanation : Amicus curiae is
someone who is not a party to a case,
who offers information that bears on
the case but who has not been
solicited by any of the parties to assist
a court. A constitution bench headed
by Chief Justice RM Lodha, Justice
Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice J.
Chelameswar, Justice A.K. Sikri and
Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman issued
the notice on a plea filed with it, saying
the question of passive euthanasia
(mercy killing) needs a comprehensive
examination as there was no
authoritative judicial pronouncement
on the issue. Attorney General Mukul
Rohatgi told the Court that the issue
entirely concerns the legislature and
the judiciary should not take it up. The
government also told the Court that
passive euthanasia is a form of suicide
which cannot be allowed.

4) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
was sworn in for another 7-year term
on 16 July 2014. This will be
consecutive term for Assad
3
rd

Explanation : President Bashar al-
Assad was re-elected in a landslide
victory during June 2014 amid a civil
war and in a vote dismissed by the
opposition and its Western allies as a
sham. He has served as Syrian
President since 2000, when he
succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad,
who led Syria for 30 years until his
death.

5) Which former Indian sportsman has
been elected as the newest member of
Laureus World Sports Academy,
becoming the 47
th
member of the elite
panel? Rahul Dravid
Explanation : Dravid, the fourth-
highest run scorer in Test cricket, was
elected as the 47
th
member of Laureus
World Sports Academy, which
includes some of the greatest
sportsmen and women ever. It
includes great sports personalities
such as Michael Johnson, Sir Bobby
Charlton, Jack Nicklaus, Franz
Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Kapil Dev,
Martina Navratilova, Sir Vivian
Richards, Sergey Bubka, Mark Spitz
and Daley Thompson. Laureus World
Sports Academy confers the Laureus
World Sports Awards annually which
are one of the most prestigious sports
awards in the world and are often
called the Oscars of Sports. Till now
only one Indian sportsman Kapil Dev
was the member of this academy.


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July 18, 2014

1) A Malaysian Airlines passenger
plane (Flight No. MH-17) carrying 295
people crashed in Eastern Ukraine on
17 July 2014. Reports suggested that
the ill-fated plane was shot down in a
missile attack but the reports were not
confirmed. This plane was on its flight
to Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur
from which European city?
Amsterdam
Explanation : Malaysian Airlines on
17 July announced that the plane, a
Boeing 777, lost contact with the ATC
over the Ukrainian airspace. On the
other hand Ukraines separatist leader
Andrei Purgin told that he was certain
that Ukrainian troops had shot the
plane down but gave no explanation or
proof for his statement. Anton
Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraines
Interior Minister, said the plane was
flying at an altitude of 10,000 metres
(33,000 feet) when it was hit by a
missile fired from a Buk launcher. This
is the second major tragedy to hit
Malaysian Airlines after the mysterious
disappearance of the MH-370 flight on
8 March 2014. The still-to-found
aircraft carried 227 passengers on its
flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

2) What is the minimum paid-up
capital limit recommended by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for those
entities who wish to set up payments
and small banks, as announced in the
draft rules released by it on 17 July
2014? Rs. 100 crore
Explanation : According to the draft
guidelines, existing authorised non-
bank pre-paid instrument issuers
(PPIs), non-banking finance
companies (NBFCs), corporate BCs
(business correspondents), mobile
telephone companies, super market
chains, companies, real sector co-
operatives and public sector entities
are eligible for setting up a payments
bank. The guidelines allow even banks
to take equity position in a payments
bank as permitted under the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949. The promoters
will have to have an initial minimum
capital of at least 40%. It has
prescribed a lock-in period of five
years for promoters holding. The
central bank has sought suggestions
and comments on the draft guidelines
by 28 August 2014.



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3) What important order was passed
by the National Green Tribunal (NGT)
on 17 July 2014, which is expected to
lead to another battle in the continuing
turf war between the NGT and the
Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MoEF)? NGT declared itself to be
a court with all powers that a court
has
Explanation: The order, authored by
NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar,
said that the NGT is like a civil court
and satisfies all the stated features for
acting as an independent judicial
tribunal with complete and
comprehensive powers. The order
underlined that the purpose of the
NGT Act will stand defeated if the
tribunal is not said to have all the
powers of a court. However, the order
may lead to another battle in the
continuing turf war between the NGT
and the MoEF. Despite persistent
requests, the MoEF had last year
declined to give the NGT the authority
to take suo motu cognizance,
reminding that it is a tribunal. In an
affidavit to the SC, the MoEF had even
said the NGT was causing
embarrassment by not acting as per
the Act. This NGT order was passed
while it was hearing petitions
challenging the 2011 Coastal
Regulation Zone notification and the
environment clearance given to the Rs
5,000-crore Vizhinjam sea project in
Kerala by the MoEF.

4) Which country on 17 July 2014
became worlds first developed nation
to repeal carbon laws that put a price
on greenhouse-gas emissions?
Australia
Explanation : Australian upper Senate
on 17 July voted 39-32 to scrap the
carbon tax that was introduced by
centre-left Labour government Prime
Minister Julia Gillard in July 2012 and
was introduced in November 2013.
This tax imposed A $25 (US$23.45)
tax per metric tonne of carbon dioxide
on countrys worst greenhouse gas
polluters. The tax was devised to
penalize hundreds the countrys
biggest polluters. Australia is one of
the largest per capita greenhouse gas
emitters due to its reliance on coal-
burning power stations to power
homes and industry. The carbon tax
and plans for an eventual emissions
market dominated Australian politics
for years, gaining momentum in 2007,
when former Labour Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd called climate change the
greatest moral challenge of our time
and made signature of the Kyoto
climate protocol one of his first political
acts after taking office.

5) Which city would host the next
summit of IBSA (India, Brazil and
South Africa) to be held in 2015?
New Delhi
Explanation : IBSA Summit 2015
would be the 7
th
summit of this three-
nation grouping. This was agreed to at
a meeting Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had with South African
President Jacob Zuma in Brasilia on
16 July 2014 on the sidelines of the
summit BRICS leaders held with South
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South-South Cooperation and greater
understanding between three
important continents of the developing
world namely, Africa, Asia and South
America.

6) Who was appointed as the Judicial
Commissioner by the ICC to hear the
misconduct case against England
paceman James Anderson during on
the ongoing test series against India?
Gordon Lewis AM of Australia
Explanation : Anderson is facing a
charge under Level 3 of the ICC Code
of Conduct for Players, following
allegations that he pushed and abused
Indias Ravindra Jadeja during the
lunch break on the second day of the
Nottingham Test.

July 19-20, 2014

1) Which country became the first in
the world to legalise child labour
recently? Bolivia
Explanation : While most of the world
is trying to diminish child labour,
Bolivia has become the first nation to
legalise it from age 10. The Congress
of this Latin American country had
(during early July 2014) approved a
legislation legalise child labour from
the age of ten. Vice-President Alvaro
Garcia signed it into law on 17 July
2014 in the absence of President Evo
Morales, who was travelling. Under the
legislation, 10-year-olds will be able to
work as long as they are under
parental supervision and also attend
school. It sets 12 as the minimum age
for a child to work under contract.
They also would have to attend
school. The bills sponsors say
lowering the minimum work age from
14 simply acknowledges a reality:
Many poor families in Bolivia have no
other choice than for their kids to work.
The bill offers working children
safeguards.

2) Diplomats from Iran and five
permanent members of the UN
Security Council plus Germany (P5+1)
on 18 July 2014 reached an
agreement to extend the Iran nuclear
talks till which date? 24 November
2014
Explanation : Iran and six world
powers failed to meet their target date
for cutting a nuclear deal in the talks
held at Vienna. They, however, agreed


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to extend the talks until 24 November
in a bid to overcome stubborn
differences over the size and capacity
of activities by Tehran that could be
used to make nuclear arms. Months of
exhausting negotiations were meant to
culminate in an agreement by 20 July
2014 that would limit the nuclear
programmes Iran says it needs to
produce energy and for other peaceful
purposes but which can also be used
to make nuclear arms. In return, Iran
would have gotten progressive relief
from all nuclear-related sanctions on
its economy. It is worth mentioning
that P5+1 include 5 permanent
members of the UN Security Council
(United States, United Kingdom,
Russia, China and France) and
Germany.

3) What is the name of the India-born
Chief Business Officer (CBO) of
Internet giant Google, who in a
surprise move announced quitting the
company after working for 10 years?
Nikesh Arora
Explanation : Nikesh Arora is often
regarded as among the top lieutenants
at Google. Google CEO Larry Page
posted a post explaining Nikesh
Aroras decision to quit the company.
He also mentioned the important role
played by him in bringing Google up to
the level it is today. Arora is moving to
Japans SoftBank Corp as Vice-
Chairman.

4) The Bank Employees Federation of
India (BEFI) on 19 July 2014 released
a list of 1,129 wilful corporate loan
defaulters on the occasion of the Bank
Nationalisation Day. All the companies
mentioned in the list had defaulted
loans over Rs. 10 crore. What is the
approximate aggregate value of these
defaulters? Rs. 54,000 crore
Explanation : The purpose of
releasing the list by BEFI on the Bank
Nationalisation Day was to put
pressure on the defaulters and bank
managements. BEFI claimed that a
similar list released by unions about
five years ago helped some recovery.
This list claimed that during the year
ended 2013-14, provisioning for Non
Performing Assets (NPAs) accounted
for Rs. 63,591 crore out of a total
operating profit of Rs. 1,27,965 crore.
Lanco Mandakini Hydro Energy,
Sujana Group, Kingfisher, Progressive
Construction, Viceroy Hotels, Regency
Ceramics, Nav Bharat International, S
Kumars Nationwide Ltd and Deccan
Chronicle have been named in the list,
among others.

5) The Union Govt. on 19 July 2014
set up an expert committee to look into
concerns raised by cost accountants
over some provisions in the new Cost
Records and Audit Rules. Who is
heading this committee? R. S.
Sharma, ONGCs former Chairman
and Managing Director
Explanation : Following notification of
the Companies (Cost Records and
Audit) Rules 2014, the Council of the
Institute of Cost Accountants of India
(ICoAI) had expressed concerns over
certain provisions of the rules,
particularly coverage of sectors of
economy under the rules. The other


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members of the committee will be R K
Jain, Additional Secretary in Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare, former
ICWAI (Institute of Cost and Works
Accountants of India) President
Chandra Wadhwa, and Aruna Sethi,
Adviser (Cost), Ministry of Corporate
Affairs.

July 21, 2014

1) Which tobacco company of the
United States was ordered by a
Florida state jury to pay a whopping
$23.6 billion in punitive damages to
the wife of a longtime smoker who
died of lung cancer? RJ Reynolds
Tobacco Company
Explanation : This order was passed
on 18 July 2014 and was seen as one
of the largest for a single plaintiff in
Florida history. During the four-week
trial, lawyers for Michael Johnsons
widow Cynthia Robinson argued that
RJ Reynolds was negligent in
informing consumers of the dangers of
consuming tobacco and thus led to
Johnson contracting lung cancer from
smoking cigarettes. Michael Johnson
passed away in 1996 while fighting
lung cancer. The order stated that RJ
Reynolds took a calculated risk by
manufacturing cigarettes and selling
them to consumers without properly
informing them of the hazards.
However, RJ Reynolds plans to appeal
the court decision and verdict and is
confident that the court will follow the
law and not allow this runaway verdict
to stand.

2) Which Southeast Asian country on
20 July 2014 allowed 100% foreign
ownership in banks? The
Philippines
Explanation : The order announced
on 20 July allows foreign banks to own
100% stock of an existing domestic
bank or to open a fully owned
subsidiary incorporated under
Philippines laws. It replaces a cap of
60% on foreign ownership and
abolishes previous rules that allowed
just 10 foreign banks in the country.
The new law is in preparation for the
economic integration of members of
the 10-country Association of South-
East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015.

3) Andhra Pradesh Government on 20
July 2014 formed an advisory


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committee on the new capital city for
the State with representation from the
industry. Who has been appointed
head of this committee? P.
Narayana, Minister for Municipal
Administration and Urban
Development
Explanation : Other members of this
committee includes G V Sanjay Reddy
of GVK Group, B Srinivas from GMR
Group, M Prabhakar Rao, Chairman of
Nuziveed Seeds, C Srinivasa Raju,
Chairman of Peepul Capital. The panel
would propose an action plan with
timelines for submission of its
recommendations on
conceptualisation of an inclusive city,
creation of a viable urban ecosystem,
efficient use of natural resources,
urban planning policies, effective
institutional management system,
among others. It would also advise on
supplementing resources committed
by the Central government for the new
capital with mechanisms to raise
additional resources for development.

4) Who won the German Grand Prix
F1 title for 2014 on 20 July 2014?
Nico Rosberg of Germany
Explanation : It was fourth win of the
season and the first at a home race for
Rosberg belonging to the Mercedes
team. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
captured second place while
Rosbergs Mercedes teammate Lewis
Hamilton took third place. With this win
Rosberg has extended his lead in the
Formula One drivers standings to 14
points over Hamilton. The race began
with a first lap collision between
McLarens Kevin Magnusson and
Felipe Massa in a Williams.

5) Who was appointed as the Private
Secretary (PS) to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 20 July 2014?
Sanjeev Kumar Singla
Explanation : Sanjeev Kumar Singla
is a 1997 batch IFS officer and he
succeeds Vikram Misri, who is going to
Spain as Ambassador. Misri, a 1989
batch IFS officer, served as Private
Secretary to former Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh.
July 22, 2014

1) Which private sector bank has
agreed to buy a 15% stake in
beleaguered Multi Commodity
Exchange of India Ltd (MCX),
announcement of which pushed the
stock value of MCX by more than 10%
on 21 July 2014? Kotak Mahindra
Bank


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Explanation : The commodity market
regulator, Forward Market
Commission (FMC), had ordered MCX
to reduce its promoter- Financial
Technologies (FTs) stake from 26 to
2% in December last year after FT
was found not fit and proper to own
stake in any exchange, following the
NSEL crisis. However, since the
promoter repeatedly missed the
deadline for reducing its stake, the
regulator said it would not allow the
exchange to issue any new contracts
beyond August, unless they did so.
The news of Kotak Mahindra Banks
buyout has thus come at the right time.
Prominent investor Rakesh
Jhunjhunwala had recently acquired
nearly two per cent stake in MCX for
about Rs. 66 crore a few days ago.

2) Defence Ministry has recently
approved the takeover of which public
sector telecom cable manufacturing
company by the Ordnance Factory
Board (OFB)? Hindustan Cables
Explanation : Hindustan Cables is a
government owned company
established in 1952 and is engaged in
manufacture of telecom cables. It was
profitable till 1994 but then started
accumulating losses. The companys
units in West Bengal and Hyderabad
producing Polythene Insulated Jelly
Filled (PIJF) cables had not been in
production since January 2003, as
there is no requirement of these
cables in BSNL/MTNL. Now the
Department of Defence Production,
Ministry of Defence has conveyed its
in-principle approval on takeover of
Hindustan Cables Limited by the OFB.

3) India achieved a historic Test win
over England at Lords on 21 July
2014 by defeating them by 95 runs to
lead the five test series 1-0. This win
was Indias first at Lords since 1986.
Who led India in the 1986 tour to
achieve that historic test win? Kapil
Dev
Explanation : The 1986 win at Lords
under the leadership of Kapil Dev was
Indias lone win at this historic venue
better known as the Mecca of Cricket.
Thus India once again created history
under the leadership of M.S. Dhoni at
Lords. Ishant Sharmas career best
bowling figure of 7 wickets for 74
played crucial role in Indias win.
Needing 319 runs in the second
innings to win the Test, England
seemed cruising at one time with the
score at 173 for 4. But a huge collapse
after lunch brought England to 223 all
out and gave India this historic win.
Ishant Sharma was declared man of
the match.

4) NASA organised a renaming
ceremony at Cape Canaveral in
Florida on 21 July 2014, which was the
site of the path-breaking launch of first
humans to set foot on the moon.
Which anniversary of moon landing is
NASA celebrating this year? 45
Explanation : The 45
th
anniversary of
the landing of NASA astronauts Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin was
celebrated on 21 July. On 20 July
1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became
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moon. NASA honoured Neil
Armstrong, who died in 2012, on this
occasion by naming the historical
launch building at Cape Canaveral
after him. Both Aldrin and Michael
Collins, the Apollo 11 command
module pilot who orbited the moon,
were present on this occasion.

5) Maharashtra minister Narayan
Rane resigned from the Maharashtra
Cabinet on 21 July 2014. He had been
pushing for the replacement of Chief
Minister Prithviraj Chavan after the
partys rout in the Lok Sabha elections.
What portfolio was Rane holding in
Maharashtra Cabinet? Industries
Minister
Explanation : Rane had quit his
Cabinet post in May 2014 after his son
Nilesh Rane was defeated in the Lok
Sabha polls from Konkan. However,
the party had not accepted his
resignation. He has been open about
his unhappiness with the party high
command for bypassing him for the
post of Maharashtra Chief Minister.

6) Britains largest retailer Tesco plc
on 21 July 2014 announced
appointment of Unilever executive and
turnaround specialist Dave Lewis as
the new CEO. He replaces whom,
whose three year reign proved almost
disastrous for the company? Philip
Clarke
Explanation : Philip Clarke will
continue as CEO until 1 October 2014
and will remain available to support
the transition until the end of January
2015. Lewis, currently working as
Unilevers Global President, Personal
Care, has been responsible for a
number of business turnarounds as
well as leadership in areas of
significant strategic priority.

July 23, 2014

1) The United Nations Security Council
on 21 July 2014 unanimously backed
a resolution over the downing of MH17
with Russia backing the resolution at
the eleventh hour after some changes
were made to the text. This resolution
was sponsored by which country?
Australia
Explanation : The 15-nation UN
Security Council adopted the
Australian-drafted resolution and


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condemned in the strongest terms the
downing of MH17 on 17 July 2014 in
Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, which
resulted in the tragic loss of 298 lives.
Australia brought this resolution to the
Security Council as it sought a
response from the alleged pro-Russian
rebels who were hampering recovery
efforts at the site of crash. At least 37
Australian citizens were killed in this
crash and the number was revised
from the earlier estimate of 28. The SC
resolution puts in place an
international, independent
investigation into the plane crash and
puts more pressure on Moscow to use
its influence over the separatists. A
ceasefire has also been declared
within a 10-kilometre radius around the
crash site, to allow international
investigators to safely access the area.

2) Which company has recently
announced dividend-payout worth Rs.
12,750 crore to its shareholders, which
is believed to be the highest-ever
dividend payout by an Indian
company? Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS)
Explanation : TCS will shell out about
Rs. 12,750 crore to its 600,000
shareholders. Though the move will
deplete the cash chest of Indias
largest IT company by more than half,
the lions share of the dividend
largesse will go to TCS parent, Tata
Sons, which will become richer by Rs.
9,382 crore. TCS is the largest
software exporting company of India
and Tata Sons has 73.69% stake in it.
As of 30 June 2014, the company had
a cash chest of Rs. 25,900 crore.

3) India was ranked at sixth place in a
list of countries with the highest
prevalence of child marriages in the
world released by the UNICEF
recently. Which country was placed at
first place in this list? Niger
Explanation : According to a UNICEF
report titled Ending Child Marriage
Progress and prospects Child
marriage among girls is most common
in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa
and India is among the top 10
countries with the highest rates of child
marriage. The 10 countries with the
highest rates of child marriage are
Niger, Bangladesh, Chad, Mali,
Central African Republic, India,
Guinea, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and
Nepal respectively. According to this
report South Asia is home to almost
half (42%) of all child brides
worldwide; India alone accounts for
one third of the global total.

4) Who emerged as the winner in the
presidential election held in Indonesia
on 9 July 2014? Joko Widodo, who
is the Governor of Jakarta
Explanation : Joko Widodo won the
hearts of Indonesians with his
common man image and emerged
with 53% of the vote as announced by
the Election Commission on 22 July
2014. The numbers were released
shortly after his opponent, former
general Prabowo Subianto, declared
he was withdrawing from the contest,
saying there was massive fraud during
the election and that it was unfair and
undemocratic. These elections were


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held to replace the incumbent
president Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.

5) Which BJP member of parliament
(MP) was declared an absconder in
the Babri Masjid demolition case by a
special CBI court on 21 July 2014?
Sakshi Maharaj, BJP MP from Uttar
Pradeshs Unnao constituency
Explanation : The move came in the
wake of Sakshi Maharajs continued
absence for the trial he is facing in the
Babri Masjid demolition case. Sakshi
Maharajs name, with other senior BJP
leaders, figured in a First Information
Report (FIR) filed in Ayodhya on 2
December, 1992. While 49 people
were named as accused for the
demolition of the mosque, 13 were
acquitted of the charges at the primary
stages.

6) Tennis ace Sania Mirza was
appointed as the brand ambassador of
which state recently? Telangana
Explanation : Sania Mirza, a native of
Telangana capital Hyderabad, was
provided a cheque for Rs. 1 crore
towards expenditure for her coaching,
while being appointed as the brand
ambassador of the newly formed state.

July 24, 2014

1) 20
th
Commonwealth Games at
Glasgow (Scotland) opened on 23 July
2014 after a grand opening ceremony
held at Celtic Park Stadium, the venue
for opening ceremony. What is the
motto of these Games? People,
Place, Passion
Explanation : XX Commonwealth
Games were inaugurated by Queen
Elizabeth at Scotlands capital
Glasgow on 23 July 2014. More than
4,500 athletes from 71 Commonwealth
countries are taking part in this multi-
sport event being held from 23 July to
3 August 2014. Clyde, named after the
river which flows through the centre of
Glasgow is the mascot of these
games. 261 events would be held in
17 different sports during the games
which are the third largest multi-sport
event after the Olympics and the Asian
Games. Indian contingent comprises


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of athletes and was led by Olympic
silver medal winner shooter Vijay
Kumar in the march past held for the
opening ceremony.

2) Which company on 23 July 2014
became the first Indian company to
cross market capitalization value of
Rs. 5 lakh crore? Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS)
Explanation : Market capitalization is
the value of a companys outstanding
shares and is used to determine a
companys size. TCSs market
capitalization crossed 5 lakh crore
mark on account of appreciation in the
price of TCS scrip following good
financial results and record dividend
declaration by the company. State-
held ONGCs market cap of around
Rs. 3.5 lakh crore is way behind that of
TCS. It is worth mentioning that TCS
market cap is more than the combined
market cap of its nearest three rivals
Infosys (Rs 1.90 lakh crore), Wipro (Rs
1.39 lakh crore) and HCL Tech (Rs
1.07 lakh crore).

3) Which organisation/board has been
chosen by the University Grants
Commission (UGC) to conduct the
National Eligibility Test (NET) as
announced by UGC on 22 July 2014?
Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE)
Explanation : UGC decided to
outsource the conduct of the NET to
CBSE as it perceived it was ill-
equipped to conduct the nation-wide
examination held for university-level
teaching and junior research
fellowships (JRFs). The decision was
taken at UGCs full commission
meeting held recently. For CBSE, this
will be a first as the Board has till now
conducted examinations only for
secondary and school-leaving
students. The minimum qualification
for NET is post-graduation. The UGC
will share its resource persons with
CBSE to set the question papers in 80
subjects. UGC took this decision as it
felt that the CBSE had the
infrastructure and had developed the
expertise from conducting school-
leaving examinations, All-India
Engineering Entrance Examination
and All India Pre-Medical Test
annually.

4) The Andhra Pradesh government
on 22 July 2014 conveyed its
recommendation to K.
Sivaramakrishnan, who is heading the
committee constituted by the Union
Government to identify a suitable
place for the new capital of state. The
AP Govt. in this recommendation
pitched for which place for locating the
new capital? Between Vijayawada
and Guntur
Explanation : The state govt.
conveyed to the committee the distinct
advantages enjoyed by Vijayawada-
Guntur region in terms of availability of
abundant water and road, rail and air
connectivity. The Sivaramakrishnan
Committee has submitted a draft
approach paper to the Union Home
Ministry listing out various options for
creation of the new capital. The
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capital would be in the region of
Rs.1.40 lakh crore.

5) Who was hired as the new coach of
Brazils national football team
recently? Dunga
Explanation : Former Brazil captain
Dunga thus replaces Luiz Felipe
Scolari, who resigned last week after
Brazil failed to win the World Cup.
Brazil was eliminated in the semifinals
in a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany.
Dunga was the captain of Brazils
1994 World Cup-winning team, and
had coached the national team at the
2010 World Cup in South Africa. He
was dismissed after Brazil lost 2-1 in
the quarterfinals to the Netherlands.

6) Name of which Chinese meat
supplier came to limelight in the
Chinese meat scandal for allegedly
selling expired beef and chicken to
reputed companies like Starbucks and
Burger King? Husi Food Co.
Explanation : The name of Shanghai-
based Husi Food Co. came to fore
after a Shanghai broadcaster, Dragon
TV, reported on 20 July 2014 that Husi
repackaged old beef and chicken and
put new expiration dates on them. It
said they were sold to McDonalds,
KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants. This
news led to a string of safety scares in
China and other countries. Starbucks
Corp. said it removed from its shelves
sandwiches made with chicken that
originated at Husi. Burger King Corp.
said it stopped using hamburger it
received from a supplier that used
product from Husi. Pizza restaurant
chain Papa Johns International Inc.
announced it stopped using meat from
Husi. In Japan, McDonalds Corp. said
it stopped selling McNuggets at more
than 1,300 outlets that used chicken
supplied by Husi. It said Husi had
been supplying chicken to it since
2002.

July 25, 2014

1) Which public-sector undertaking
(PSU) on 23 July 2014 became the
17
th
Navratna status company?
Container Corporation of India
Limited (CONCOR)
Explanation : The Ministry of Heavy
Industries and Public Enterprises,
Department of Public Enterprises,


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Government of India granted Navratna
status to CONCOR on 23 July 2014.
CONCOR is a PSU engaged in
providing comprehensive logistics
solutions. It has the largest network of
62 inland container depots
(ICDs)/container freight stations in India.
In addition to providing inland transport
by rail for containers, it has also
expanded to cover management of
ports, air cargo complexes and
establishing cold-chain. The
Government of India (GoI) holds
61.80% stake in CONCOR (as per the
shareholding pattern as on 30 June
2014).

2) What is Indias Human Development
Index (HDI) rank in the recently released
Human Development Report (HDR) 2014?
135 out of 187 countries
Explanation : Indias ranking in HDR
climbed up just one rank as compared
to 2013 despite significant acceleration
on its road towards achieving the
millennium development goals. Smaller
SAARC countries like Sri Lanka (73) and
Maldives (103) pipped India behind in
the rankings. India also has the lowest
HDI among all BRICS nations, with its
life expectancy higher only than South
Africa. Russia, Brazil and China are in
the high HDI category with rankings of
57, 79 and 91 respectively. The HDR is
an annual report brought out by the
United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) since 1990. HDI is
assessed on the basis of three
parameters long and healthy life, access
to knowledge and a decent standard of
living. Norway, Australia, Switzerland,
Netherlands and the United States
respectively topped the HDI ranking list
while Niger, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Central African Republic and
Sierra Leone were at the bottom of the
list.

3) Who was during July 2014 chosen as
the head of the committee formed to
review the previous UPA governments
decision to raise the price of natural gas
that would have led to a cascading effect
on power tariff, urea costs and retail price
of piped cooking gas? Suresh Prabhu
Explanation : Suresh Prabhu is a
former Union power minister. An
indicative terms of reference for the
committee includes revisiting the
Natural Gas Pricing Guidelines of 2014
(NGPG 2014) and the C. Rangarajan
formula and the possibility of applying
the same in its present form or with
modifications.

4) Who won the first gold medal for
India at the 20
th
Commonwealth Games
being held at Glasgow, Scotland? K.
Sanjita Chanu, woman weightlifter
Explanation : Sanjita Chanu opened
Indias campaign on a flying note on 24
July 2014 by winning a gold medal in
womens 48kg category. After that Sukhen
Dey bagged the second gold for India in
mens 56kg category to give the country
its second gold medal of the day.

5) An Air Algerie passenger aircraft en-
route from Ouagadougou in Burkina


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Faso to Algiers crashed on 24 July
2014 killing 116 people on-board. This
crash took place in deserts of which
country? Mali
Explanation : The wreckage of an Air
Algerie plane was found 50 kilometers
north of the Burkina Faso border in the
Malian region of Gossi. The crash took
place some 50 minutes after taking-off
from Ouagadougou. The dead included
50 French, 24 Burkinabe, 8 Lebanese,
6 Algerians, 6 Spanish, 5 Canadians, 4
Germans and 2 Luxembourg nationals.
The sole survivor, a young Algerian
soldier, was critically injured. This was
the third major air crash worldwide in
just a week after 17 July shooting of
Malaysian Airlines MH17 in eastern
Ukraine and Taiwans TransAsia crash
on 23 July in a Taiwanese island killing
48 people on-board.
6) Sri Lankan batsman Mahela
Jayawardene smashed an unbeaten
140 against South Africa on the first day
of the second Test against South Africa
at Singhala Sports Club (SCC) ground
in Colombo on 24 July 2014. What
unique record Mahela achieved with
this century at SCC? This was his
11
th
century at SCC ground, which is
the most by any batsman at a single
venue
Explanation : This century against
South Africa was also the 34
th
century
for Mahela Jayawardene and he joined
Indias Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara of
the West Indies at fifth place on the list of
highest Test century makers.

July 26-27, 2014

1) Indian would soon join the select
band of nations with capability to store
crude oil. At which three places these
strategic reserve caverns are being
constructed to store crude oil safely?
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
and Mangalore & Padur (both on the
western coast of Karnataka)
Explanation : By building caverns at
these three places India would join the
company of a select few the US,
Japan, China, Korea and the
Scandinavian countries, with capability
to store large amount of crude oil
safely. These state-of-the-art caverns
are being constructed by Indian
Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil
Industry Development Board. An area
7-km long and as high as a 10 storey
building would feature in the tunnels


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made for these caverns which would
be safe even from deadly missile
attacks. India will hold 1.3 million
tonnes of crude oil as a strategic
reserve here at these three caverns. In
all, the three projects would cost about
Rs. 4,000 crore.

2) The Union Govt. on 26 July 2014
launched a web portal for enabling
government-citizen discussions on
several issues. What is the name of
this portal which was inaugurated by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi?
MyGov
Explanation : The main objective of
MyGov is to engage the youth of the
country in the nations development. It
presents an opportunity to citizens to
both discuss and do constructive work.
There are multiple theme-based
discussions on MyGov where a range
of people would share their thoughts
and ideas. The portal is implemented
and managed by National Informatics
Centre (NIC) and the Department of
Electronics and Information
Technology (DeitY).

3) 15
th
anniversary of Kargil War of
1999 was observed on 25 and 26 July
2014. The primary event to mark the
15
th
anniversary of the victory was held
at which place? The Kargil War
Memorial in Drass
Explanation : The war was fought in
the summer of 1999 to evict Pakistani
regular forces which had intruded and
occupied winter vacated posts on the
Indian side of the Line of Control,
violating an unwritten agreement. The
Indian Army operation named
Operation Vijay cost the Army
hundreds of young lives, in whose
memory the commemorative function
is held every year. 4 Indian soldiers
(Captain Vikram Batra, Grenadier
Yogendra Singh Yadav, Lieutenant
Manoj Kumar Pandey and Rifleman
Sanjay Kumar) were awarded Indias
highest gallantry award the Paramvir
Chakra, for their gallant in this War.

4) How many banks were fined by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 25
July 2014 for violating central bank
rules in the case of Deccan Chronicle
Holdings? Twelve
Explanation : These 12 banks are
Andhra Bank (Rs 10 lakh), Axis Bank
(Rs 15 lakh), Canara Bank (Rs 10
lakh), Corporation Bank (Rs 10 lakh),
HDFC Bank (Rs 5 lakh), ICICI Bank
(Rs 40 lakh), IDBI Bank (Rs 15 lakh),
IndusInd Bank (Rs 10 lakh), Kotak
Mahindra Bank (Rs 10 lakh), Ratnakar
Bank (Rs 5 lakh), State Bank of
Hyderabad (Rs 10 lakh) and Yes Bank
(Rs 10 lakh). The RBI had carried out
a scrutiny of the loan and current
accounts of Deccan Chronicle
Holdings Ltd., in certain branches of
these banks in late 2013. After this
scrutiny it came to the conclusion that
some of the violations were
substantiated and warranted
imposition of monetary penalty.

5) Who on 25 July 2014 was
appointed by the Supreme Court as
the Special Judge to preside over the
Special Court set up for exclusively


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holding trial in cases of coal block
allocation scam? Bharat Parashar,
the Additional Sessions Judge
Explanation : Bharat Parashar is an
officer of the Delhi Higher Judicial
Service (DHJS). The Supreme Court
also named senior advocate R S
Cheema as Special Public Prosecutor
to conduct prosecution of the high and
mighty allegedly involved in this scam.
Cheema is a Chandigarh-based noted
criminal lawyer. The CBI has initiated
around 16 regular cases on coal block
allocations, including those against the
then MP Naveen Jindal and former
minister of state for coal Dasari
Narayan Rao in relation to coal block
allocation and against K M Birla and
former coal secretary P C Parakh for
alleged illegality in grant of blocks to
Hindalco Industries Ltd.
6) The first edition of Pro Kabaddi
League (PKL), the IPL-style
professional league for traditional
Indian sport of Kabaddi, started from
26 July 2014. Eight franchisee teams
are taking part in the inaugural PKL.
Who is the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of PKL who has been
responsible for doing important
groundwork for bringing it to surface?
Charu Sharma
Explanation : Charu Sharma is a
famous commentator, TV host and
former sportsman. He was associated
with IPL also and has been the driving
force for PKL. The inaugural PKL
season includes 8 teams Bengal
Warriors, Jaipur Pink Panthers,
Bengaluru Bulls, Telugu Titans, U
Mamba, Dabang Delhi, Puneri Paltan
and Patna Pirates.

July 28, 2014

1) According to reports released on 27
July 2014 yet another intrusion by
China was made on 22 July when
some Chinese graziers put up three
tents in the Indian territory. They
withdrew after talks between troops on
either side of the border. This intrusion
was made in which sector?
Demchok Sector of Ladakh(in
Jammu and Kashmir)
Explanation : On 22 July 2014 the
Chinese graziers (herdsmen) put up
three tents at the Charding Nilu Nullah
Junction in the Demchok sector, which
is situated along the Line of Actual
Control (LAC), the de-facto border


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between India and China. A flag
meeting between the commanders
from both sides finally resulted in the
Chinese agreeing to move back the
graziers a day after. The incident
comes on the back of two reported
incursion attempts by China earlier in
July 2014 in Demchok and Chumar
areas in Ladakh.

2) Public sector based Central Bank
during July 2014 announced its plans
to sell 4% of its stake to LIC for Rs.
581 crore. This stake sale is planned
to meet banks capital requirement of
Rs. 2,000 crore this fiscal. With this
proposed sale Union Govt.s holding in
Central Bank would come down to
84%
Explanation : Presently the Union
Govt. holds 88% stake in Central
Bank. Once the bank gets funds from
LIC, it will then approach the
government for around Rs. 1,500 crore
of additional capital. The government
has earmarked only Rs.11,200 crore
for fund infusion into public sector
banks this current fiscal, down from
Rs.14,000 crore in the last fiscal.

3) What is the name of the typhoon
which killed thirteen people in China
and affected about 2.5 million people
before being dissipated on 26 July
2014? Typhoon Matmo
Explanation : Matmo was a tropical
cyclone and was known as Typhoon
Henry in the Philippines. It struck
Taiwan before making landfall in China
on 23 July 2014. More than 2.5 million
people were affected as the impact of
the typhoon spread to eight provinces
of Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui,
Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong and
Guangdong. Later the typhoon was
downgraded to a tropical storm and
dissipated on 26 July. Matmo was the
10
th
typhoon to affect China this year
and destroyed homes and crops and
caused direct economic losses worth
3.37 billion Yuan ($547 million).

4) Which company signed an
agreement to acquire all the three
hydroelectric power plants of
Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. (JAL) with
a combined production capacity of
around 1,800 MW? Reliance Power
Explanation : Reliance Power is
group company of the Anil Dhirubhai
Ambani Group (ADAG). It signed
agreement an exclusive Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU), for the 100%
acquisition by Reliance Power of the
entire hydroelectric power portfolio of
Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd (JPVL)
which is an associate company of JAL.
JPVLs hydroelectric power portfolio
has an aggregate capacity of nearly
1,800 MW, the largest in the private
sector in India and with an asset base
of over Rs. 10,000 crore. The portfolio
comprises of the three plants, with an
asset life of over 50 years, each using
run-of-the-river technology to convert
natural water flow to electricity
eliminating the need for a large
reservoir. The completion of the
proposed transaction would make
Reliance Power the largest provider of
hydroelectric power in the private
sector in India. Currently, Reliance
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projects aggregating over 5,000 MW
under development, of which 4,200
MW are located in Arunachal Pradesh,
700 MW in Himachal Pradesh and 400
MW in Uttarakhand.

5) Who won the 2014 Hungarian
Formula One (F1) Grand Prix on 27
July 2014? Daniel Ricciardo of
Australia
Explanation : Red Bulls Daniel
Ricciardo claimed his second F1
victory by winning the Hungarian GP.
Fernando Alonso (Spain) claimed the
second spot for his Ferrari team while
Mercedes Lewis Hamilton (Great
Britain) won the third place. However,
the race would be remembered for
Lewis Hamilton ignoring his team
Mercedes orders to let championship
leader Nico Rosberg go by. Rosberg
thus finished the race at fourth place.

July 29, 2014

1) What is the name of the mission
announced by the Union Govt. on 28
July 2014 envisioned to protect the
indigenous breeds of cows in the
country? Rashtriya Gokul Mission
Explanation : Rashtriya Gokul
Mission (RGM) was announced as
part of BJPs poll promise to protect
the cow and its progeny. To protect
indigenous breeds, such as Punganur,
Vechur and Krishna Valley, the
Government plans to set up Gokul
Grams (cow sanctuaries), for which
public-private partnerships as well as
NGOs will be involved. The
Government has kept aside Rs. 500
crore for the mission out of the Rs.
1,200 crore allocated for cattle and
dairy development during the 12
th
Plan.
Of this Rs. 150 crore will be spent this
fiscal.

2) What is the theme of the Science
Express which was flagged-off from
Safdarjung Railway Station (Delhi) on
its third phase of journey on 28 July
2014? Biodiversity
Explanation : The Science Express
Biodiversity Special train was
launched in 2012 and has covered 114
stations and travelled more than
37,000 km in the first two phases. The
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across the country in the next 194
days. The train is a venture of the
three ministries, Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate
Change, Ministry of Science and
Technology and Indian Railways. It will
travel for 194 days and stop at 57
places before ending its journey on 4
February 20015 in Gandhinagar.

3) Which debutant weightlifter from
India on 27 July 2014 broke the games
record to win a gold medal in mens 77
kg event at the ongoing
Commonwealth Games 2014 at
Glasgow? Satish Sivalingam
Explanation : The 22-year-old Satish,
who was the 2013 Commonwealth
Weightlifting Championships gold
medallist, lifted a total of 328 kg
(149+179) to pip the 2010 CWG gold
medallist Ravi, who had to be content
with a silver medal following an effort
of 317 kg (142+175). Satishs 149 kg
lift in snatch lift erased the earlier
record of 148 kg in the name of Yuko
Peter of Nauru while winning gold in
2010 Delhi.

4) The licences of six Delhi-based non
banking financial companies (NBFCs)
were cancelled over a period of three
months from April to June 2014. These
cancellations were made by which
entity which is the statutory authority
on NBFCs? The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI)
Explanation : The certificate of
registration of six entities were
cancelled by the RBI following which
these entities would not be able to
conduct business. These 6 entities are
GE Strategic Investments India,
Profound Exports, Two Brothers
Holding, Swank Services Private Ltd,
Praxis Consulting and Information
Services and Credible Microfinance
Ltd. However, the RBI did not provide
any reasons for the cancellation.

5) Which telecom company recently
became the first in India to have a
combined subscriber base of over 300
million? Bharti Airtel
Explanation : Bharti Airtels
subscriber base across mobile, fixed
line and DTH services crossed 300
million recently. Companys latest 100
million subscribers were added in less
than 2 years. Bharti Airtel has been
ranked as the fourth-largest mobile
service provider globally and second-
largest globally outside of China. It
started its operations in 1995 and had
touched 100-million customer mark in
2009 and the 200 million mark in 2012.




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July 30, 2014

1) Which Indian online retailer,
recently raised $1-billion (Rs 6,013
crore) of fresh funds in one of the
largest funding for any e-commerce
company globally? Flipkart
Explanation : Flipkart is the largest
online retailer of India with around 22
million registered users and five million
shipments in a month. This massive
funding was co-led by existing
investors Tiger Global Management
and Naspers. Singapores sovereign
wealth fund GIC, along with existing
investors Accel Partners, DST Global,
ICONIQ Capital, Morgan Stanley
Investment Management and Sofina,
also participated in the fund-raising.
The company will utilise the proceeds
to make long-term strategic
investments in India. It is estimated
that the firm has, so far, raised over
$1.7 billion from investors, including
the current transaction.

2) The Law Commission of India (LCI)
has proposed that a seven-member
Judicial Appointments Commission
(JAC), should be set up to make
recommendations to the President on
transfer and appointment of judges to
the higher judiciary. It has asked for a
pre-ponderence of members of the
judiciary with three sitting judges of
the Supreme Court, the Minister of
Law and Justice, an eminent jurist and
an eminent member of civil society as
its other members. Who is the
Chairman of Law Commission of India
(LCI)? Justice A P Shah, Former
Delhi High Court Chief Justice
Explanation : The JAC Bill 2013,
introduced in the Rajya Sabha by the
previous UPA government, also
proposed the inclusion of two eminent
persons in the JAC, both selected by
the same committee as suggested by
LCI. But the Bill proposed a six-
member JAC instead of seven as
proposed by A P Shah. Shah has also
favoured a fixed tenure of two years
for the CJI, and an increase in the
retirement age of HC Judges to 65
years to bring it at par with that of SC
Judges.

3) 100
th
anniversary of the First World
War was commemorated on 28 July
2014 all over the world. Over 10
million people (including civilians and
soldiers) are believed to be killed in
this War which pulled in close to 70
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Which incident led to this War? The
assassination of Archduke Franz-
Ferdinand heir to the Austro-
Hungarian throne, by a pro-Serb
nationalist in Sarajevo on 28 June
1914
Explanation : This assassination
provoked Austria-Hungary to declare a
war on Serbia on 28 July 1914 a
month after Archduke Franz-
Ferdinands killing. The 1
st
World War
went on till 1918 and was responsible
for redrawing the world map and later
shaping the geopolitics of the coming
century.

4) What is the name of the Power
Minister of Haryana who resigned from
Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress
ministry on 29 July 2014? Ajay
Yadav
Explanation : Ajay Yadav is six-time
Congress MLA from Rewari. He
resigned from the cabinet after
alleging bias in several matters
including recruitment and induction of
members to various commissions and
statutory bodies.

5) Which English cricketer was banned
from displaying political messages on
the field by the International Cricket
Council (ICC) after he wore wristbands
supporting Palestinians during the
third test against India on 28 July
2014? Moeen Ali
Explanation : Moeen Ali is an all-
rounder in England playing against
India in the ongoing series. He came
to highlight after he wore wristbands
with Save Gaza and Free Palestine
while batting against India on 28 July
2014 at Rose Bowl in Southampton in
the third Test of the Test series. ICC
clothing rules do not allow displays of
messages relating to political, religious
or racial activities during internationals.
However, the England and Wales
Cricket Board didnt believe Ali was
committing an offence for his act of
solidarity with Gazas Palestinians,
who are in an ongoing war with Israel.

July 31, 2014

1) The European Union (EU) on 29
July 2014 slapped comprehensive
economic sanctions against Russia for
the first time. These measures were
announced at an emergency meeting
of the EU ambassadors in Brussels.
What are the important sanctions
slapped on Russia?


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- The export of sensitive
technologies in the energy sector
from EU countries to Russia have
been banned
- Russian banks access to the
European financial markets have
been restricted
- Curb has been imposed on export
of high technology arms for the
Russian armed forces from the EU
countries
Explanation : These measures will
ensure that some key sectors of the
Russian economy will be brought
under the sanctions regime for the first
time since the EU began imposing
penalties on Russia following its
annexation of Ukraines Crimean
peninsula in March 2014. The EUs
sanctions so far have been limited to
visa ban on top Russian government
officials and various individuals
allegedly involved in the Ukraine crisis.
The EU is hoping that the new
measures will put pressure on Russia
to change its course on Ukraine and to
seek a negotiated settlement to the
crisis.

2) What is the name of the village near
Pune which witnessed a major
landslide on 30 July 2014 killing over
20 people and hundreds missing?
Malin
Explanation : Malin village is in the
Ambegaon taluka of Maharashtra and
is situated about 70 km from Pune
near the famous Bhimashankar
Jyotirling temple. A major landslide
was triggered by heavy rains taking
place around the region. Huge
boulders from a hillock came crashing
down on a village early on 30 July.

3) Which Nigerian weightlifter became
the first to be caught in a dope offence
in the ongoing Commonwealth Games
2014 at Glasgow, due to which India
got an additional medal in the event?
Chika Amalaha
Explanation : Chika Amalaha was the
winner of gold medal in womens 53kg
weightlifting competition held on 25
July 2014. However, after her A
sample failed in the dope test, her B
sample also turned positive.
Consequentially, Indias Swati Singh
was handed the bronze while Matsha
Santoshi, who had won the bronze,
was upgraded to silver. India thus
returns with 12 medals (three gold,
four silver, five bronze) from
weightlifting in the Games, two medals
more than in 2010 Delhi.

4) Former foreign minister K. Natwar
Singh made some startling revelations
about Congress President Sonia
Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi on
30 July 2014. These revelations were
made pertaining to an autobiography
of Singh to be released on 1 August
2014. What is the name of this
autobiography? One Life Is Not
Enough
Explanation : K. Natwar Singh
revealed that Congress president
Sonia Gandhi was stopped by her son,
Rahul, from becoming prime minister
in 2004 because he was scared she
too would fall victim to political
assassinations that had earlier


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ravaged the Nehru-Gandhi family. He
was foreign minister in the first UPA
government that won power in 2004.
He was forced to resign under a cloud
of scandal in 2005 after a UN inquiry
named him as a beneficiary in illegal
payoffs relating to an Iraqi oil-for-food
programme.

5) The Union Govt., in an ambitious
initiative, has proposed merging the
Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with the
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK). Women
and Child Development Maneka
Gandhi said the performance of BMB
and RMK was not satisfactory and that
is why government was mulling
merger of the two to strengthen the
lending facility to women. When was
the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh
established? In 1993
Explanation : The RMK was set up in
1993 under the Women and Child
Welfare Ministry with an initial corpus
of Rs 31 crore. It is estimated that it
has corpus of over Rs. 200 crore at
present. It follows a quasi-formal credit
delivery mechanism involving simple
and minimum procedure and provides
micro-finance services without
collateral for livelihood and income
generation activities. The BMB was
established on 19 November 2013
with an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore.

6) Who would head the soon-to-be-
incorporated private bank IDFC, which
was one of the two entities to have
received the banking license by the
RBI? Rajiv Lall
Explanation : Rajiv Lall is the
Executive Chairman of IDFC at
present. Subject to RBI approval, Rajiv
Lall will be the Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer of IDFC Bank,
which is expected to be formed by 25
October 2015. IDFC Bank will be a
listed entity from day one of operations
and the existing shareholders of IDFC
will be given an equivalent number of
shares in the bank. The demerger of
IDFC and IDFC Bank is to be
completed within six-nine months, and
a large part of its assets will be
transferred to the bank..





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