Gyanm general awareness november 2014 issue

THE NEW GLOBAL LORD
A small person who supported his father by selling
tea to the rail passengers -- Narendra Damodardas
Modi, scripted the history when he almost single
handedly proved his mettle by securing landmark
victory in the recent general elections to the Lok
Sabha to ascend the throne of Prime Minister of
India, thus relieving the country from the vicissitude
of coalition politics and the compulsions attached
with it.
After a long gap, India now has a leader who is
decisive and means business. From being a Chief
Minister of a state to being the prime minister is not
a small transition; it also means having a global
view of the things than just focusing on domestic
issues. And he has proved that he is as consummate a
player at Foreign Policy as he at domestic issues.
His first master stroke was invitation to leaders of
SAARC countries and PM of Mauritius for his
swearing-in ceremony. It not only took the whole
polity by surprise but also created an atmosphere of
cordiality with neighbouring countries. The decision
was being watched by foreign policy experts for he
was being seen as a belligerent person with coloured
vision of India’s neighbours.
His choice of Bhutan as his first country for visit
rather than Japan, further consolidated the
importance he attached to neighbouring countries.
He followed this visit up by going to Nepal, a first
for an Indian Prime Minister in last seventeen years.
The month of September can be described as
remarkable for the scale and speed with which Mr.
Modi has undertaken the Foreign Policy platform by
storm. Stretching his landscape of vision from Japan
in the East, to China in the North, to Australia in
the South and USA in the West proves that he has
the right perspective of the world in his mind. The
alacrity and the speed with which he accepted the
invitation of the US President to visit USA proved
that he is ready to forget the past snubs and move
forward to establish a new era in relationship
between two countries.
The highpoint of his diplomatic mission was his
meeting with Mr. Barack Obama. The leaders of two
largest democracies need a real push that would take
the relationship to a new height to take on the
challenges posed by totalitarian state like China.
The world today has become a dangerous place to
live; the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism in the
Middle East, the dangerous hotspots in the Europe
pose a real threat. India as an emerging economy in
the world has an important role to play at the world
stage.
Mr. Modi has proved that he is deft and flexible
enough to adjust his views to the ground realities
and does not suffer from blinkered vision. He has
proved that he is capable to sit at the high table of
international diplomacy with comfort and ease. His
emergence on the world stage has been stupendous
and he has a task to prove that the breathless pace
of meetings is not without purpose for there is more
to diplomacy than meetings only.
His call to the world leaders to come together as an
all G group to fight out terrorism is a clarion call
that has the power to change the world scenario.
May Almighty give shape to his dreams to make this
world a better place to live.
–Chief Editor
GENERAL AWARENESS – NOVEMBER 2014 1

GENERAL AWARENESS
NOVEMBER 2014
Year: 2014 Vol. 3, Issue 05
A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION &
TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD.
SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH
CONTENTS
CURRENT AFFAIRS
JULY TO SEP. 2014 2-26
BULLET NEWS
APRIL to JUNE 2014 27-35
IBPS CLERK GUESS
PAPER 36-53
PUNJAB GK 54-67
SCIENCE MCQs 68-80
LATEST GK BULLETS 81-100
FIGURES TO REMEMBER
REPO RATE 8.00%
REVERSE REPO RATE 7.00%
MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY
9.00%
RATE
STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 22%
CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.00%
BANK RATE 9.00%
BASE RATE(s)
9.80% –
(of various banks)
10.25 %
INDIA’S RANK IN
Global Competitiveness 71st
Human Development Index 135th
Global Innovation Index 76th
Economic Confidence Index 01st
Choice for FDI 4th
Global Peace Index 143rd
Press Freedom Index 2014 78th
Ease of Doing Business (World Bank) 134th
Social Progress Index 102nd
World Press Freedom Index 140th
Environment Performance Index 155th
Index for Nuclear Safety 23rd
Index of Economic Freedom 120th
Rank in Energy Usage 69th
Ease of Doing Business (Forbes) 98th
Corruption Perception Index 94th
World Prosperity Index 106th
Global Hunger Index 2013 63rd
NATIONAL NEWS
SEPTEMBER 2014
MODI MAKES HISTORY AT MSG, NEW YORK
Billed as one of the largest receptions ever held for a foreign head of state in the
USA, PM Modi addressed a historical public gathering of over 18,000 persons at the
USA’s most prestigious venue – Madison Square Garden in New York on 28th
September. Pitching his 3D mantra for assured progress, Modi said, "We have
democracy (peoples government), demographic dividend (young generation) and
demand (huge market of over 125 crore Indians) on our side." India is the youngest
nation in the world with 65% of its population below 35 years of age. He made four
promises to NRI community:
 Life time visas for persons of Indian origin (PIO) cardholders
 PIO and Overseas Indian Citizen (OCI) cards to be merged in to one common
card
 Those who come to India for long stay will not have to report periodically at
police stations as is the present requirement
 US nationals to get long term visas and visa on arrival following electronic travel
authorization
Recognising the importance of Modi’s visit to USA, the US Senate unanimously
passed a resolution designating September 30 as 'US-India Partnership Day'
(For further details of Modi’s US visit, please see our next issue)
President: Barack Obama Prime Minister: No Position
Capital: Washington DC Currency: U S Dollar Parliament: Congress
CHINESE PRESIDENT VISITS INDIA
During recent visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China signed 12 pacts to commit
investment of $20 billion in India in the next five years besides allowing greater
market access to Indian companies in sectors like pharmaceutical and farm-products.
Highlights of the pacts are:
 China to help in modernization of Indian railways, including setting up of a

 Railway University and adding to the speed of trains,
beginning with Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore corridor for
trains 160 kmph speed.
 Three MoUs signed for Gujarat -- making Guangzhou
and Ahmedabad as sister cities, setting up of industrial
parks in Gujarat.
 Making the Guangdong province and the Gujarat
partners in cultural and social ties.
 To provide support for setting up automotive industrial
park near Pune, Maharashtra.
 Agreed to opening of a new route to Kailash
Mansarovar via Nathu La in Sikkim.
 To observe year 2015 as “Visit India” year in China,
and 2016 as “Visit China” in India.
China’s Premier (Prime Minister): Li Keqiang
Capital: Beijing Currency: Renminbi (Yuan)
China’s Parliament: National People's Assembly
JAPAN TO INVEST $35 BILLION IN INDIA
During recent Japan visit of our Prime Minister, Japan
pledged to invest Rs. 2.1 lakh crore ($35.5 billion) in a wide
spectrum of projects in India over five years. These include
infrastructure, clean energy and skill development. Japan
will also provide all possible support to introduce the
Shinkansen, or bullet train, along the Ahmedabad-Mumbai
route.
Japan’s Emperor: Akihito Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe
Capital: Tokyo Currency: Yen Parliament: Diet
KASHI TO LEARN FROM KYOTO
India and Japan have signed a partner city affiliation
agreement between Varanasi (Kashi) and Kyoto, which will
see cooperation in the fields of heritage conservation, city
modernisation and culture. Kyoto is also known as ‘city of
thousand shrines.’
GOOD NEWS FOR UNDERTRIALS
In a historic landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has
directed that all under-trial prisoners who have been in the
prison for a period more than half of the jail term prescribed
for the offences they had been arrested should be released
on bail immediately. The Court asked trial court judges to
visit jails under their jurisdiction every week starting from
October 1 and order the release of such under trial
prisoners in the jail itself.
PRESIDENT VISITS VIETNAM
President Pranab Mukherjee made a four-day state visit to
Vietnam and met his counterpart Truong Tan Sang. The
two countries signed seven pacts to further strengthen their
strategic partnership in key sectors including Oil Exploration,
Agriculture and Air Connectivity between the two countries.
President: Trương Tan Sang P M:Nguyen Tan Dung
Capital: Hanoi Currency: Dong
Parliament: National Assembly
NUCLEAR DEAL INKED WITH AUSTRALIA
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott came to India on a
two day visit. India signed a landmark civil nuclear
cooperation agreement with Australia on 5th September at
New Delhi. The deal will ensure regular supply of Uranium
for peaceful purposes. Back in 2012, Australia reversed its
policy on nuclear sales to India as the latter refused to sign
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
POSTAL STAMP ON GREAT MUSICIANS
President released a set of eight commemorative postage
stamps on great Indian musicians - Pandit Ravi Shankar,
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, D.K. Pattammal, Pandit Mallikarjun
Mansur, Gangubai Hangal, Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Ustad
Vilayat Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
INDIA 71ST IN GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
India has slipped to 71st position (from 60th in 2013) in an
annual global competitiveness list released by the World
Economic Forum. Switzerland remains on top, followed by
Singapore and United States.
GATES FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT TOILETS
Union Urban Development Ministry and international
organisation Bill and Milinda Gates Foundation have agreed
on a partnership to promote user friendly toilets to improve
sanitation system in India under Swachchh Bharat Mission.
The mission aims at providing toilet facility in every
household in the country by 2019.
INDIA’s FIRST CORAL GARDEN
In an attempt to conserve several coral species at one place
and to boost tourism in the state, the country's first 'Coral
garden' will be set up at Mithapur coastal region of
Devbhoomi-Dwarka district in Gujarat.
DOORDARSHAN COMPLETES 55 YEARS
Public service broadcaster Doordarshan is celebrating 55
years of its service. Doordarshan made a modest beginning
in India on 15th September 1959, when the first
experimental centre at Delhi with a small transmitter was
inaugurated by the then President Rajendra Prasad.

NALANDA UNIVERSITY IN ‘NEW AVATAR’
The ancient Nalanda University (NU), which attracted
students from the world over in 6th century A D, started
functioning once again after almost 800 years at its newly
established campus at Rajgir, Bihar. The university was
inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The NU came into existence by the Nalanda University Act
passed by Parliament. Economist Amartya Sen is the
Chairman of the Governing Body of the university that has
received financial support from a number of countries –
China, Australia, Singapore and Thailand. The idea of
resurrecting the ancient seat of learning was mooted by
former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
INDIA RANKS 3RD IN IT SECURITY
According to the I T security firm Trend Micro, India ranks
third after Japan and the US in the tally of countries most
affected by online banking malware during the April-June
quarter of 2014.
NATIONAL NUTRITION WEEK
This week is celebrated every year from 1st September to
the 7th September to make people aware about important
tips of their health and well-being. The theme for this week
is ‘Poshak Ahaar, Desh Ka Adhaar’.
 India has signed an agreement with Germany for
cooperation in the field of skill development, solid waste
management and cleaning of rivers.
 Liar’s Dice, a Hindi film directed by Geetu Mohandas
has been selected as India’s entry for the Oscar Awards
in the foreign film category.
 India and Bangladesh have reached a decision on
ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) and
to ensure zero border killings.
 India and Bangladesh signed a MoU on cooperation in
the field of traditional systems of medicine and
homeopathy.
 Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister visits
Afghanistan to meet President and to review key
projects.
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 64 on 17th
September.
AUGUST 2014
INDIA SAYS NO TO WTO TRADE AGREEMENT
At the recent WTO
meet at Geneva, India
blocked a deal on
"Trade Facilitation
Agreement", a
worldwide streamlining
of customs rules that
would cut container
handling times,
guarantee standard procedures for getting goods to and
from their destinations and kill off vast amounts of
paperwork at borders around the world. Some estimates
said it would add $1 trillion to the world economy as well as
21 million jobs, 18 million of them in developing countries.
MODI VISITS NEPAL
Prime Minister Mr Modi visited Kathmandu, Nepal and
addressed the Constituent Assembly. India agreed to
provide Nepal with $ 1 billion as concessional line of credit
for various development purposes. Modi suggested HIT
formula for Nepal’s development, implying H for highways, I
for I-ways (for digital revolution) and T for Transways (for
electricity transmission). He said that India will focus on the
4 Cs - cooperation, connectivity, culture and constitution -
to enhance bilateral ties.
OVER 28 % CHILDREN ARE MALNOURISHED
A report released by
the ICDS (Integrated
Child Development
Services) about
anganwadis says that
about 2.3 crore
children in India, up to
6 years of age, are
suffering from
malnourishment and are under-weight. This staggering
number amounts to over 28% of the 8 crore children who
attend anganwadis across India. The situation is worst in
Bihar where roughly 50 per cent children in 0-6 age group
are malnourished.
NEW DOMAIN NAMES ENDING WITH .BHARAT
Indian domain names will now make their debut with the
extension .Bharat which will be in Devanagari script. The
facility wil be available in Indian languages like Hindi, Dogri,
Konkani, Maithalai, Marathi, Nepali and Sindhi.
U K DY P M VISITS INDIA
Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister of UK visited India. He
met Prime Minister and expressed his desire to work with
India in realising the new government’s goal of economic
and social transformation through greater collaboration in
areas such as clean energy, infrastructure development and
cleaning of rivers.
WORLD’s HIGHEST PILLAR BRIDGE
Northeast Frontier Railway (NRF) has started construction of
a bridge with highest pillars in the world, near Noney in
Manipur, with height of pillars upto 141 metres. The bridge is
part of the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line to connect the
capital of Manipur with the Broad Gauge network of the
country.
Rs. 8,000 CRORE SUPPORT FOR J&K
Prime Minister waived off Rs. 60-crore liability of Jammu
and Kashmir towards the Food Corporation of India and
announced Central assistance of Rs. 8,000 crore for four
major road projects connecting J&K with rest of the country.
RUN FOR AWARENESS FOR BREAST CANCER
“Pinkathon Delhi 2014” - a run for cause was organised in
Delhi with the slogan "Each One, Kheench One" urging all
men to encourage at least one special woman in their life to
run for a good cause. The event raises awareness of breast
cancer among women.

 Sushma Swaraj, the External Affairs Minister visited
Vietnam on August 24 to give a fillip to bilateral ties in
keeping with Prime Minister’s Look East policy.
 India's first Indian Institute of Engineering Science and
Technology (IIEST) inaugurated at Shibpur, Howrah in
West Bengal
 Prime Minister to visit Japan on 30th August to take the
relations of the two countries to a new level and
increase cooperation in various fields.
 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)
Foreign Ministers meeting held in Nay Pyi Taw,
Myanmar, on 8th August, attended by Sushma Swaraj.
 India to construct a pipeline for supply of petroleum
products from Raxual, Bihar to Amlekhganj, Nepal; to
be extended to Kathmandu later on.
JULY 2014
FOREST COVER CROSSES 24 PER CENT
As per India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2013 the total
forest and tree cover of the country is 78.92 million hectare,
24.01 percent of the geographical area of India.
Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover of 77522
square kilometer, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, 67321
square kilometer. In terms of percentage, Mizoram has
highest cover at 90.38 percent, followed by Lakshadweep-
84.56 percent. Punjab retains the ‘distinction’ of having the
lowest area under Forest cover with only 3.52% of its area
under forest cover while Haryana is a little better with
3.59% of its area under forest cover.
AREA
( MILLION HA)
AREA
(IN %)
Forest Cover 69.79 21.23
Tree Cover 9.13 2.78
Total 78.92 24.01
INDO–CHINA ENCYLOPEDIA RELEASED
India and China have jointly released the first encyclopedia
on their age-old cultural contacts, tracing back their history
to over 2,000 years, starting from the visit of Chinese
scholar Huen Tsang to India in the 7th century to bring
Buddhist scriptures to China.
INDIA RATIFIES MARRAKESH TREATY
India has become
the first country to
ratify the
Marrakesh Treaty
to facilitate access
to published
works for persons
who are visually
impaired, or
otherwise print
disabled. The
Treaty was
adopted by 79 member countries of the World Intellectual
Property Organisation (WIPO) in June 27, 2013 at
Marrakesh, Morocco.
INDIA RANKED 76th IN INNOVATION
India has slipped ten places in the Global Innovation Index
2014 to the 76th rank. Switzerland topped the 142-nation
list. The index ranks countries on innovation, based on a
survey done by INSEAD, Cornell University and the World
Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
ULTRA RICH GROW FAST IN POOR INDIA
The number of ultra-high networth individuals (UHNIs) in
Indiahaving an investible surplus of over Rs 25 crore rose
16 per cent to 1.17 lakh last fiscal, and this is estimated to
triple to 3.43 lakh in the next three years, says a wealth
report by the Kotak group and Ernst & Young.
DELHI 2nd MOST POPULOUS CITY IN WORLD
A recent UN study “World Urbanization Prospects” by U.N.
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has
ranked Tokyo as the world’s most populous city with 38
million inhabitants, followed by Delhi with 25 million
inhabitants. The study has projected rapid urban growth in
India, China and Nigeria.
INDIA RANKS 135TH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
India’s ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI)
remained unchanged at 135 in 2013, reflecting little
improvement in the living standard of its people. The report
is topped by Norway, followed by Australia and Switzerland.
Countries at the bottom of index are Niger, Congo and
Central African Republic.
The HDI reflects long-term progress in three basic
dimensions of human lives - a long and healthy life, access
to knowledge and a decent standard of living. It covers 187
countries and is published annually by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP).
DILIP’S HOUSE IS NATIONAL HERITAGE SITE
Legendary actor Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home at Mohalla
Khudadad in Peshawar, Pakistan has been declared as a
national heritage monument by the Pak government. After
acquiring the house, the government is plans to convert it
into a museum.
 World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim visits India.

NEWS FROM STATES
SEPTEMBER 2014
UNPRECEDENTED FLOOD HAVOC IN J&K
First week of September saw all the major rivers of Jammu
Kashmir state, particularly Jhelum River over flowing much
above the danger mark, flooding a large part of the state,
including main city Srinagar, causing unprecedented havoc
all around. The situation was declared a “national-level
disaster” by Prime Minister.
Hundreds of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF)
personnel worked round the clock to rescue thousands of
marooned persons. Indian Army launched “Operation
Megh Rahat” – a rescue operation to save and provide
relief to the flood victims. Central govt announced a flood
relief package of Rs. 1,000 crore for the state.
MADHYA PRADESH TOPS IN GDP GROWTH
According to recent data from CSO, Madhya Pradesh
outpaced all the major states to top the economic growth
charts with a scorching 11 per cent growth in 2013-14 — a
year when India recorded only 4.7 per cent growth. Madhya
Pradesh is followed by new comer Uttrakhand, pushing
Bihar to number three spot.
MAHARASHTRA PUT UNDER PRESIDENT RULE
President’s rule was imposed in Maharashtra from 28th
September on recommendation of the Union Cabinet,
following the stepping down of Prithviraj Chavan as Chief
Minister as he lost the majority in the state.
BIHAR TO RESTORE GLORY OF ‘ORWELL’
Bihar govt has launched the renovation and beautification
work of the birthplace of famous author, journalist and critic
George Orwell at Motihari in East Champaran district of
Bihar, around 165 km from Patna. Orwell, the author of
novels like Animal Farm and Ninteen Eighty-Four, was born
at Motihari on 25th June 1903.
`SWAVALAMBAN ABHIYAN': A set of 11 new pro-poor
initiatives of the Gujarat government aimed at
promoting dignity and self-sufficiency of the poor, launched
at Gandhinagar by the Prime Minister on his birthday – 17th
September.
 General elections declared in Haryana and Maharashtra
for October 15 for electing Members of Legislative
Assembly (MLAs).
 Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has announced that
Vijayawada will be the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
 Uttarakhand Government has declared 9 September as
Himalaya Diwas to spread the message of conservation
of the Himalayan ecosystems.
 Lucknow joins the elite club of metro cities to have
Metro rail service as the work started on the project on
27th September.
 Railway starts conversion of the 201 km long Silchar-
Lumding meter-gauge rail route in Barack valley in
Assam into broad-gauge.
 3rd Ladakh Marathon at Leh in J&K was held on 16th
September. This is world’s highest/toughest marathon
held at 3,524 meter (11,562 feet) altitude.
 Kerala will host a Global Agro meet and an exhibition
on hi-tech agriculture and food processing at Kochi on
6th and 7th of November.
AUGUST 2014
FOUR NEW GOVERNORS APPOINTED
Kalyan Singh Rajasthan
Vajubhai Vala Karanatka
C Vidyasagar Rao Maharashtra
Mridula Sinha Goa
Sheila Dikshit resigned as Governor of Kerala
K Sankaranarayanan quits as Governor of Maharashtra
Kamala Beniwal sacked as Mizoram Governor
V K Duggal resigned as Manipur Governor
‘HIMALAYAN KUMBH’ STARTS IN U’KHAND
The 20-day Nanda
Devi Raj Jat yatra,
also called the
‘Himalayan Kumbh,’
began amid religious
customs and
traditions from Nauti
village in Chamoli
district in
Uttarakhand on 18th
August. The yatra, which is dedicated to the Nanda Devi —
the reigning deity of Uttarakhand — takes place once in 12
years, and involves a 280-kilometre difficult hilly trek.
 Sikkim has become the first choice of foreign tourists in
the north-eastern states of the country, attracting
31698 tourists in 2013, followed by Arunachal Pradesh.
JULY 2014
AMITABH BACHCHAN: The Indian Megastar was
appointed as Brand Ambassador of Maharashtra for
promoting horticulture sector of the state.
SANIA MIRZA: International tennis star was appointed
Brand Ambassador of the Telangana State

GOVERNMENT
INITIATIVES
SEPTEMBER 2014
‘MAKE IN INDIA’ CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for
making India a manufacturing destination at the launch of
his ambitious “Make in India” campaign in the presence of
some 3000 business leaders from around the world
gathered at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
The key elements of the project are as under:
25 Thrust Sectors: Government has identified 25 sectors
where India can become world leader. These include
automobiles, chemicals, IT, pharma, textiles, ports, aviation,
leather, tourism and hospitality and railways.
Single Point Interaction For Investors: Invest India will
be first reference point to guide foreign investors. It will
provide help on regulatory and policy issues and assist in
obtaining regulatory clearances
www.makeinindia.com: Visitors registered on the
website or raising queries will be followed up with relevant
information and a newsletter Global Launch Make in India
will be launched at national and state levels and missions
abroad will take it forward
Who And Where: The portal will track visitors for their
geographical location, interest and real time user behaviour.
Subsequent visits will be customised for the visitor based on
this information.
Domestic Focus: Government will identify select domestic
companies having leadership in innovation and new
technology. The idea is to turn these into global champions
to promote green and advanced manufacturing and help
them to integrate into global value chain
Regulatory Regime Overhaul: Review of all regulatory
processes to make them simple and reduce complications.
Proactive Approach: Investor facilitation cell to assist
foreign investors from the time of their arrival in the country
to the time of their departure.
All Stakeholders on Board: State governments, business
chambers, prominent corporates and foreign companies will
be made part of the project.
DEEN DAYAL ANTYODAYA YOJANA
To impart skills to rural and urban poor, the Government
has launched Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, which would
work towards empowering the population through
enhancement of livelihood opportunities. Rs. 1,000 crore
has been allocated for this purpose during 2014-15, out of
which Rs. 500 crore will be spent on skill development of
over five lac urban poor. Further, September 25 will be
celebrated as Antyodaya Diwas every year to mark the birth
anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL YOUTH
The Aajeevika Skills Development Programme has been
renamed as “Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen
Kaushalya Yojana” with reeduction in the minimum entry
age to 15 years from 18 years. Besides, skills imparted
under the programme will now be benchmarked against
international standards by roping in private players so that
rural youths are provided with certificates recognised
overseas. The programme aims to train 10 lakh rural
youths by the end of the 12th five year plan (2012-17).
TARGET SET FOR CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS
Government has set a target of constructing 30-kilometre
roads per day. Further, CCTVs are being introduced at all
toll plazas during the current year and all road toll points
would be connected with e-governance system. Govt also
plans to start cashless treatment of road accident victims
during critical golden hour.
COUNTRY’S FIRST ‘CBDR’ IN SPITI, HP
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate
Change has sanctioned Rs 5.12 crore for the country’s first
'Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve' (CDBR) in the Spiti region
of the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh.
The project aims at conserving medicinal plants, rare wildlife
species and natural water bodies found in the cold desert.
JALAN TO HEAD EXPENDITURE COMMISSION
The Expenditure Management Commission, headed by Bimal
Jalan, has been entrusted with the task of suggesting ways
to improve fiscal discipline, target subsidies more efficiently
and imposition of user charges on utilities.
HEAVY FINES FOR TRAFFIC OFFENCES
The new Road Safety and Transport Bill, 2014 proposes a
steep hike in penalties for traffic violations, up to Rs 3 lakh
along with a minimum 7-year imprisonment for death of a
child in certain circumstances. It also proposes a fine of Rs
5 lakh per vehicle as well as imprisonment for faulty
manufacturing design, besides cancellation of licences for
rash and negligent driving.
RVCs PLANNED FOR TAMING INFLATION
Govt has launched the Reefer Vehicle Call-in-Centre (RVC)
for smooth transportation of perishable goods. The RVC will
identify bottlenecks faced in transportation of goods on the
national highways and find ways to overcome them so as to
control inflation in prices of perishable goods in the
country.
RVC is a joint initiative of the Department of Agriculture and
Cooperation, National Centre for Cold-chain Development
and Mahindra Logistics.

ANTI T B SURVEY LAUNCHED
The first anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Survey of India
for the year 2014-15 was launched on September 6
supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The
survey aims to improve our preparedness to fight T B,
particularly the Multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).
DEVRAJ COMMITTEE ON UNIVERSITIES
A high-powered committee headed by H Devraj, set up at
the behest of the Supreme Court to look into the working of
'C' category deemed universities has found that out of 41
such universities hardly 10 fulfill the criteria needed to
become deemed university. Rest of them may be allowed
to exist as educational institutions affiliated to universities.
 All India Radio has started free SMS service to provide
news in Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Dogri and Nepali.
 A National Sports University will be set up in Manipur to
promote excellence in sports studies.
 Textiles Ministry has approved setting up of 13 textile
parks entailing investment of at least 100 crore rupees
in each park.
 India Newborn Action Plan launched in New Delhi to
achieve the single digit neonatal mortality and stillbirth
rate by 2030.
 The Supreme Court has directed Central Government to
ensure 3 percent quota for disabled persons in all
government jobs, including IAS and promotions.
 The Expenditure Management Commission, headed by
Bimal Jalan, has been entrusted with the task of
suggesting ways to improve fiscal discipline, target
subsidies more efficiently and imposition of user
charges on utilities.
AUGUST 2014
BILL PASSED FOR JUDICIAL COMMISSION
On 13th August, the Lok Sabha passed the National Judicial
Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 to scrap the collegium
system of appointing Supreme Court and High Court
judges. Along with it, the 99th Constitution Amendment Bill
was also passed which gives constitutional status to the
proposed Commission. The bill was passed by Rajya Sabha
also on14th August. (See The Adjoining Box)
FDI IN DEFENCE RAISED TO 49%
The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for raising
FDI limit in Defence from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. In
Railways, the proposal is to allow up to 100 per cent FDI in
infrastructure projects such as high-speed train systems,
suburban corridors and dedicated freight line that are to be
executed under public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
FLIPKART MoU WITH HANDLOOM WEAVERS
Union Textiles Ministry has signed a MoU with online
shopping company Flipkart to provide online marketing
platform to handloom weavers all over India. It aims to help
weavers and artisans on areas such as deciding on the right
selling price, payment automation, proper packaging,
transportation, and brand building etc. at the national level.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW JUDICIAL BILL – 2014
 A six member panel for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court &
High Court
 CJI will head the panel which will have 2 SC judges, 2 eminent
persons and law minister
 Constitutional amendment status to stop easy change in current
legislation by future govts.
 Eminent persons will be selected by CJI, PM & Open party in Lok
Sabha
 One of eminent persons will be nominated from persons belonging to
SC/STs OBCs. Minorities or women
 Term of eminent person will not exceed 3 years will not be re-nominated
 If two members are panel do not agree appointment will not happen
President can return recommendation for reconsideration once
ADVANTAGES
 Judges no more will choose themselves. Armed with expertise of legal
luminaries. Parliament to have a significant say
 With the dearance of bill. Government to lay down a set procedure for
appointment of judges to higher judiciary
 Government vested with more powers no more to remain a post office
can flag objections at elementary stage of selection and shoot down a
candidature
 More transparency, consistency and accountability in judicial
appointments
CRITICISM
 Moe political interference likely in recommendation of ‘suitable’
candidates for elevation to the bench
 Given the composition of the commission executive can have its way
by attainting majority in the committee intelligence reports can be cited
by political parties to scuttle chances of a candidate who may not find
favour with political parities
 Procedural delay for appointment of Judges, Thereat to judicial
independence as political parties may strike a deal over a candidate
HISTORY OF THE COLLEGIUM SYSTEM
Putting an end to interference of political parties and the executive, the
collegium system was introduced in 1993 under which no ‘outsider’ had
any role to play in selection and appointment of judges to HCs and SC
Under the current system, a collegium of three senior most judges of a
high court, headed by the CJ of the said court, recommends name of
lawyers / lower court judges to the Supreme Court of elevation to the
bench. The law ministry or the government has little say in the entire
selection process. Even if the executive objects to a candidature it has
little choice but to accept the same after the SC relterates its decision.
ADVANTAGES
 Aware of performance of lawyers and lower judiciary, HC/SC judges
better placed to recommend names
 Performance as a lawyer / lower court judge sole consideration for
recommending or selecting
 Total judicial independence without any interference of political party or
executive
 Minimal delay in the selection process as all main decisions to be
taken by HCs & SC
PITFALLS
 Executive can object but only to a limited extent. Final word lies with
the Supreme Court
 Abject lack of transparency in selection as grounds for clearing or
rejecting remain’s unknown
 Larger room for arbitrary and whimsical decisions

CABINET NOD FOR DIGITAL INDIA PROJECT
Union Cabinet has approved the Digital India Programme to
transform the Indian economy into a digitally empowered
knowledge economy. The project aims to provide thrust to
nine growth areas that include - Broadband highways,
Everywhere Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access
Programme, e-Governance, e-Kranti for electronic delivery
of services, Information For All, Electronics Manufacturing,
IT for Jobs and early harvest programmes.
RASHTRIYA GOKUL MISSION LAUNCHED
Govt has launched a nationwide scheme by the name
Rashtriya Gokul Mission to promote conservation and
development of indigenous breeds of cows in a focused and
scientific manner. The Mission is a focused project under
National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy
Development.
AGE OF JUVENILE LOWERED TO 16
The Union Cabinet has cleared a historic, all new juvenile
justice law under which 16 to 18 year olds who commit
heinous offences such as rapes and robberies can be tried
as adults. Heinous offence has been defined as “an offence
for which the minimum punishment under the IPC or any
other law is imprisonment for seven years or more.” The bill
is yet to be passed by the Parliament.
EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
Govt has approved the constitution of the Expenditure
Management Commission to be headed by former RBI
Governor Bimal Jalan. The commission will suggest ways to
reduce food, fertiliser and oil subsidies and narrow the fiscal
deficit. The subsidy bill on food, petroleum and fertilisers is
estimated at Rs 2.51 trillion for 2014-15,
 The Union Cabinet has lifted the restriction of one LPG
cylinder per month for domestic use, within the overall
limit of 12 cylinders in a year.
 Govt. has set up R. Ramanujam committee to identify
obsolete laws which hamper governance by creating
avoidable confusion.
JULY 2014
WEBSITE LAUNCHED FOR PUBLIC GOVERNANCE
Prime Minister has launched a website, mygov.nic.in to
help people contribute in governance of the country by
giving their views on important issues. Initially three
suggested topics include–
 Creative engagement with govt. departments
 Suggest ideas to boost girl child education
 Suggest a roadmap to clean the Ganga
FDI IN INSURANCE HIKED TO 49%
The Union Cabinet has hiked FDI cap in insurance sector
from 26 to 49 per cent, liberalizing foreign investments, a
move that will cheer foreign investors and facilitate funds’
flow. It will provide a boost for the pension sector also as
the FDI cap in pension has been linked to insurance.
GOVT TO LAUNCH 4 NEW VACCINES
Four new vaccines will be introduced in India as part of the
Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) to reduce child
mortality by two-thirds by next year. The 4 vaccines are
against rotavirus, rubella and polio (injectable) and an adult
vaccine against Japanese encephalitis
RS. 7060 CR FOR 100 SMART CITIES
Govt plans to allocate Rs 7,060 crore in this financial year
for developing 100 ‘smart cities' in the country as satellite
towns of larger cities and for modernising the existing mid-sized
cities. The new cities need to be developed to
accommodate the burgeoning number of people, otherwise,
the existing cities would soon become unliveable.
‘SOIL HEALTH CARD’ LAUNCHED FOR FARMERS
Govt plans to provide 'Soil Health Card' to all farmers for
optimum utilization of resources and right selection of crops.
The Card will give crop-wise recommendations of
nutrients/fertilizers required for a particular village to help
the farmers improve productivity by wise use of inputs.
‘KISAN TV’ FOR FARMERS
Government to launch ‘Kisan TV' dedicated to the interests
of agriculturists and allied sectors and has allocated Rs 100
crore for this purpose. The channel will provide real time
information on farming techniques, water conservation and
on new technologies to help the farmers.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT FOR 50 CRORE BY 2022
Government has set a target to develop skills of 50 crore
people by 2022 under the National Policy on Skill
Development (NPSD). This target will be distributed among
20 ministries and National Skill Development Corporation
(NSDC). Government has set up a National Skill
Development Agency (NSDA) to coordinate and harmonise
the skill development efforts of the govt and private sector.
PRADHAN MANTRI KRISHI SINCHAYEE YOJANA
The government plans to launch a nationwide rural
irrigation scheme to insulate farmers from excessive
dependence on monsoon. Rs 1,000 crore will be spent on
creating infrastructure for the ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana’ to provide assured water to farmers.

VALIDITY OF INDUSTRIAL LICENCES EXTENDED
The Government has extended the validity period of an
industrial licence to three years from present two years,
with a provision for further extension by two years. The
licence will, however, lapse automatically after five years, in
the absence of commencement of commercial production
PLAN TO MERGE 3 SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEMES
The Ministry of Labour and Employment plans to launch a
pilot in 20 districts from January 1, 2015 to enable
unorganised workers to avail benefits of the Rashtriya
Swastha Bima Yojana (RSBY), Aam Aadmi Bima Yojan
(AABY) and Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme
(IGNOAPS) via one single smart card. The pilot project
would be funded from the National Social Security Fund.
GOVT TO SET UP 660 NIRBHAYA CENTRES
Women and Child Development Ministry has advised that at
least 660 rape crisis centres will be established across the
country and named as Nirbhaya centres, as a tribute to the
victim of December 16, 2012 Delhi gangrape case.
The Nirbhaya Centres will act as one stop centre for
women victims of molestation, rape, sexual assault,
domestic violence and provide them medical assistance,
police assistance, psycho-social support and counselling,
legal aid and temporary shelter.
 To protect investors, the Cabinet has cleared the SEBI
Bill, to empower SEBI to initiate action against ponzi
schemes and investment frauds.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
SEPTEMBER 2014
S&P UPGRADES INDIA’s RATING TO ‘STABLE’
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has raised the outlook on India’s
sovereign rating from negative to stable and said the new
government has the willingness and capacity to deliver on
reforms and restore high growth. The agency said that
there has been a considerable improvement in sentiment
and macro indicators with the new government taking over.
ADB UPS INDIA’S GROWTH RATE TO 6.3%
Asian Development
Bank has revised
India's GDP growth
upwards by 0.3 per
cent to 6.3 per cent for
2015, saying that the
India’s economy shows
a new promise of turnaround after the election brought a
stable government in May.
PPI TO TRACK INFLATION IN SERVICES
The government has set up a committee headed by Prof. B
N Goldar to develop a new inflation index - the Producer
Price Index which may replace the Wholesale Price Index.
The most important part of PPI will be inclusion of services,
as currently there is no index tracking inflation in this sector
that contributes about 55% to India's GDP.
 Continuing a downward trend, India’s forex fell by
$101.3 million to $315.59 billion in the week ended
September 19.
 Growth of the eight core industries slowed down to 2.7
per cent during July 2014 on shrinking output of crude
oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers and steel.
 Index of Industrial Production grew only 0.5% in July
as against 3.4% in June primarily due to 1% drop in
manufacturing sector which constitutes 75% of index.
 India's exports growth slowed down to 2.35% in
August, touching $26.96 billion, while imports reached
$ 37.80 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $ 10.84 billion.
AUGUST 2014
GDP GROWTH JUMPS TO 5.7%
Latest data from CSO shows that India’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) grew at 5.7 per cent during April-June, the
highest in past 10 quarters. The boost came from increase
in factory output with the latter showing a big jump from –
1.2% in the last year to 3.5 % growth this quarter.
Electricity output grew robust 10.2 per cent as compared to
3.8 per cent in same quarter this year.
RBI PUTS GDP GROWTH RATE AT 5.5%
With improvement in economic activity and revival of
sentiments, the RBI has projected that GDP growth in the
current fiscal may rise up to 5.5% from 4.7% in the last
financial year as there are early signs of modest
strengthening of corporate sales and business flows.
UN REPORT PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 5.5%
A report from the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) says that
India’s economy is expected to record stronger growth
momentum of 5.5 per cent in the current fiscal,
underpinned by "solid expansion" in industrial and services
sectors, and impetus to economic reforms by the new
government.
 Global rating agency Moody’s has projected a better
growth outlook for India saying that the country’s GDP
would grow by 5% this year.
JULY 2014
NOMURA PREDICTS 6% GROWTH FOR INDIA
According to the Japanese brokerage firm Nomura, India is
set to be Asia's biggest turnaround story and the country's
GDP growth is expected to rise to over 6 per cent in FY
2015 and over 7 per cent in FY 2016. The Indian economy
is starting to turn around as inflation is abating, the current
account deficit is narrowing, forex reserves are
accumulating and growth is just starting to rise.
FITCH PROJECTS 5.5 % GROWTH FOR INDIA
International rating agency Fitch has improved India's
economic growth forecast to 5.5 per cent this financial year
and 6.5 per cent in FY16 due to the clear mandate received
by the pro-reform Narendra Modi government.
The agency said there will be significant risks to growth if
the monsoon turns out to be much weaker than expected.

ECONOMY
SEPTEMBER 2014
214 COAL BLOCKS ALLOCATION CANCELLED
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on 24th
September cancelled 214 coal block allocations made since
1993, except four blocks — one belonging to NTPC and SAIL
each and two allocated to Sasan ultra mega power projects.
The Court granted six months breathing time to mining
companies to wind up their operations in the coal blocks.
The allocation of coal block licenses has been the subject of a CBI
investigation that is being monitored by the Supreme Court. It
became a major political issue when CAG Vinod Rai in his report
in 2012 stated that around Rs. 1.83 lakh crore has been lost
because coal blocks were not auctioned openly.
GOVT PLANS 45,000 CRORE DISINVESTMENT
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
approved the sale of stakes in Coal India Limited (CIL), Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). The Finance
Ministry proposes to sell 10, 5 and 11.36 per cent holding in
CIL, ONGC and NHPC respectively. Govt expects to mop up
around Rs. 45,000 crore through this sale.
MNREGA TO FOCUS ON DRAUGHT RELIEF
With a view to mitigating drought and drought-like situation
in many parts of the country, govt has directed that 50 per
cent of all the works taken up at the district level under
MNREGA scheme should only be for water conservation.
NETHERLAND TO HELP INDIA IN AGRICULTURE
The Netherlands is working with India to set up 10 centres
of excellence across the country with an aim to raise
agriculture output and introduce modern farm technologies
and techniques. Three such centres are already working in
Kerala, Maharashtra, and Punjab.
MUKESH IS THE RICHEST – 8th TIME
Reliance Industries Chairman, Mukesh Ambani has topped
the Forbes list of billionaires in India for the eighth
consecutive year with a net worth of $23.6 billion, followed
by Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharma at $18 billion.
100 BILLIONAIRES IN INDIA
According to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014,
India ranks sixth in terms of number of billionaires, having
100 such people, collectively having $175 billion in
networth, while globally the number of uber-rich has
reached a record high of 2,325 persons.
 The Asian Development Bank to give $63.3 million loan
to improve urban municipal services in 14 towns in
north Karnataka and $150 million for development of
renewable energy in Rajasthan.
 India's foodgrain production is projected to drop by 7
per cent to about 120 million tonnes this year due to
poor monsoon.
 Union government has decided to close down India’s
sole and oldest (1961) public sector watch company -
HMT Watches in a phased manner.
 India has signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in
services and investments with 10 ASEAN countries.
ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations
 The ADB to give $150 million loan to help build
transmission lines for renewable energy development in
Rajasthan.
 Telephone subscriber base in India rose marginally in
July to reach 94.64 crore, with 34.5 lakh users added
during the month, with a monthly growth of 0.37%.
AUGUST 2014
PHONE USERS REACH 943 MILLION
The number of telephone subscribers in India increased by
0.49 per cent over May 2014 to 942.95 million at the end of
June, 2014. The share of urban subscribers was 59.36%.
SEBI SETS 15 MINUTE LIMITS
SEBI has proposed that all listed companies should intimate
decisions on dividends, bonus, fund-raising and buyback,
among others, within 15 minutes of closure of the board
meetings. The move is part of SEBI's effort to ensure 'timely
and adequate' disclosures by listed companies to avoid
chances of insider trading.
 Retirement fund body EPFO’s trustees have decided to
retain interest payment on provident fund deposits for
2014-15 at 8.75 per cent.
 ‘Vistara’: Brand name of the new joint venture airline
of the Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines.
 Country’s first seaplane service was launched on
Mumbai-Lonavla short route (80 kms) from the Juhu
aerodrome on 25th August.
JULY 2014
RANGARAJAN PANEL REPORT ON POVERTY
As per Dr. C Rangarajan panel estimates, a person spending
less than Rs 1,407 a month (Rs 47/day) in urban areas and
Rs 972 a month (Rs 32/day) in rural areas would be
considered Below Poverty Line. The number of poor in India
stood at 36.3 cr. (29.5%) in 2011-12, down from 45.4
crore(38.2%) in 2009-10, as per Rangarajan panel norms.

As per Tendulkar Committee, these figures were fixed at Rs
1,000 a month (Rs 33/day) in cities and Rs 816 a month (Rs
27/day) in villages.
INDIA HAS WORK FORCE OF OVER 47 CRORE
As per NSSO survey result for 2011-12, the estimated
workforce in India is 47.41 crore persons of which 82.7 per
cent is in unorganised sector and 17.3 percent is in
organised sector.
DISINVESTMENT TARGET - RS. 58,425 CRORE
The government has set a target of mopping Rs 43,425 cr
from stake sale in PSU firms and an additional Rs. 15,000 cr
from sale in other entities such as SUUTI (Specified
Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India). The bulk of the Rs
15,000 cr would be from offloading shares in Axis Bank
MSP FOR KHARIF CROPS 2014-15
CROP MSP PER QUINTAL
PADDY 1360
JOWAR 1530
BAJRA 1250
MAIZE 1310
GROUNDNUT 4000
TUAR AND URAD DAL 4350
MOONG 4600
SUNFLOWER 3750
SAHOO PANEL PROPOSES ‘BhDRs’
A government panel led by M S Sahoo has proposed a new
class of securities, 'Bharat Depository Receipts (BhDRs)', for
foreign firms to raise money in India, to provide more
choice to domestic investors. A BhDR would be a rupee
denominated instrument issued by domestic depository
against listed equities of a foreign company.
FDI IN DEFENCE, INSURANCE RAISED TO 49%
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in defence manufacturing
has been hiked from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. The
ownership of such joint ventures will stay with Indian
companies. FDI in insurance sector has also been hiked to
49 per cent from 26 per cent.
W B LOAN FOR ROAD CONNECTIVITY
World Bank has sanctioned $500 million loan for India’s
National Highways Inter-connectivity Improvement Project
(NHIIP) to improve the national highway network
connectivity to less-developed states.
INDIA SIGNS FATCA WITH USA
India and the US have agreed to implement Foreign
Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a US law that
targets tax non-compliance by US taxpayers with foreign
accounts. As per FATCA, it is compulsory for US taxpayers
to report about their offshore assets and accounts.
Similarly, foreign financial institutions are required to report
about accounts held by US taxpayers.
INDUSTRIAL MoU SIGNED WITH CHINA
India and China have signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) that allows Chinese companies to
invest in industrial parks and zones in India. This way
Indian firms will get the benefit of learning economies of
scale and inventory management from the Chinese firms.
TCS REACHES MARKET CAP OF 5 TRILLION
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has become first Indian
company to achieve a market capitalization of Rs. 5 lakh
crore rupees. TCS is followed by Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) at 3.5 lakh crore rupees and Reliance
Industries at 3.3 lakh crore rupees.
 World Bank to provide $153 million (Rs 920 crore) loan
for the Odisha Disaster Recovery Project to restore and
improve housing and public services in Odisha.
 The ADB has approved a multi-tranche loan facility of
$300 million to help Assam continue its drive to
eliminate power sector inefficiencies.
 Britain has granted one billion pound ($1.68 billion)
credit line for investment in Indian infrastructure
projects.
 The government has granted Navratna status to
Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR).
BANKING & FINANCE
SEPTEMBER 2014
BENEFITS UNDER ‘PMJDY’ ARE FOR ALL
Government has decided that benefits under Pradhan Mantri
Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) would be extended to existing
bank account holders provided they apply for it.
The idea of universal bank accounts was originally proposed
by Nachiket Mor committee formed by the RBI to improve
financial inclusion. Universal financial access aims to
improve financial savings, reduce leakages through direct
benefit transfer and bring down use of cash.

RBI CLARIFIES ON INOPERATIVE ACCOUNTS
The Reserve Bank has said that the savings bank accounts
in which even if dividend cheque has been credited in it in
the previous two years, the account may not be treated as
inoperative. A bank account becomes inoperative or
dormant if no credit or debit transaction has been
conducted for a period of two years or more.
SBI, ICICI TOP IN MOBILE TRANSACTIONS
State Bank of India accounted for half of the total number
of banking transactions done through mobile phone in
June,2014, while ICICI Bank became the first bank to
surpass the Rs 1,000-crore mark in terms of amount of
transactions done through mobile phones.
AXIS BANK/ICICI BANK TO COLLECT TOLL TAX
NHAI-promoted Indian Highways Management Company
Limited (IHMCL) has inked a pact with Axis Bank and ICICI
Bank for services related to electronic toll collection.
Considering the complexities and geographical spread, the
nationwide electronic toll collection (ETC) would be first of
its kind in the whole world.
COMMITTEE ON CAPACITY BUILDING
RBI formed G Gopalakrishna Committee to give
recommendations on capacity building in banks and non-banks,
streamlining training intervention and suggesting
changes thereto in view of ever increasing challenges in
banking and non-banking sectors. RBI released committee’s
recommendations on 23rd September for inviting
suggestions from the stakeholders.
KINGFISHER DECLARED ‘WILFUL DEFAULTER’
The public sector United Bank of India (UBI) has slapped
wilful defaulter notice on Kingfisher Airline, its promoter
Vijay Mallya and its directors. Kingfisher Airlines had taken
a loan of Rs 350 crore from the bank. The Airlines owes
around Rs.7,500 crore to a consortium of 17 banks led by
the State Bank of India.
WHAT IS WILFUL DEFAULT
Banks play an important role in development of the country by
providing need based funding to the industry. But some
scrupulous borrowers default in repayment of their dues thereby
putting public funds at risk. Banks take all possible steps to
ensure quick recovery of funds. One such option with banks is to
declare the defaulting borrower as “wilful defaulter”. Recently, a
lot of heat was generated in newspapers when the United Bank of
India declared Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher Airlines as ‘wilful
defaulter’. Let us see who is a wilful defaulter.
DEFINITION
Wilful default broadly covers the following actions by the
borrowers:
a) Deliberate non-payment of the dues despite adequate cash flow
and good networth;
b) Siphoning off of funds to the detriment of the defaulting unit;
c) Assets financed either not been purchased or been sold and
proceeds have been misutilised;
d) Misrepresentation / falsification of records;
e) Disposal / removal of securities without bank's knowledge;
f) Fraudulent transactions by the borrower.
CUT-OFF LIMITS
As per the Central Vigilance Commission guidelines, all cases of
wilful default with an outstanding balance of Rs. 25 lakh or more
have to be reported by the banks/FIs to RBI.
In all cases of wilful defaults of one crore and above, Banks are
required to examine the scope for filing the court case and also
consider criminal action wherever instances of cheating/fraud by
the defaulting borrowers are detected.
The identification of the wilful default has to be made keeping in
view the track record of the borrower and should not be decided on
the basis of isolated or stray transactions/incidents. The default to
be categorised as wilful must be intentional and deliberate
PENAL MEASURES
Banks are required to initiate the following measures against the
wilful defaulters:
1) No additional facilities should be granted by any bank to the
wilful defaulters.
2) They should be debarred from institutional finance from the
scheduled commercial banks, Development Financial Institutions,
Government owned NBFCs, investment institutions etc. for
floating new ventures for a period of 5 years from the date on
which their name is published in the RBI list of wilful defaulters.
3) Banks should initiate legal action against the borrowers /
guarantors. They may initiate criminal proceedings against wilful
defaulters, wherever necessary.
4) Wherever possible, the banks may go in for a change of
management of the wilfully defaulting borrower unit.
5) A promoter or director on the Board of a company which has
been identified as a wilful defaulter will not be allowed to be on the
board of any other company.
6) In order to prevent the access to the capital markets by the
wilful defaulters, a copy of the list of wilful defaulters (non-suit
filed accounts) and list of wilful defaulters (suit filed accounts) are
forwarded to SEBI by RBI and Credit Information Bureau (India)
Ltd. (CIBIL) respectively.
GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL MECHANISM
Banks are required to take the following measures in identifying
and reporting instances of wilful default:
(i) With a view to imparting more objectivity in identifying cases
of wilful default, decisions to classify the borrower as wilful
defaulter should be entrusted to a Committee of higher
functionaries headed by the Executive Director and consisting of
two GMs/DGMs as decided by the Board of the concerned
bank/FI.
(ii) The decision taken on classification of wilful defaulters should
be well documented and supported by requisite evidence. The
decision should clearly spell out the reasons for which the
borrower has been declared as wilful defaulter vis-à-vis RBI
guidelines.
(iii) The borrower should thereafter be suitably advised about the
proposal to classify him as wilful defaulter along with the reasons
therefor. The concerned borrower should be provided reasonable
time (say 15 days) for making representation against such
decision, if he so desires, to a Grievance Redressal Committee
headed by the Chairman and Managing Director and consisting of
two other senior officials.
(v) A final declaration as ‘wilful defaulter’ should be made after a
view is taken by the Committee on the representation and the
borrower should be suitably advised.

SBI STARTS ACCOUNTS FOR MINORS
State Bank of India has introduced personalised savings
accounts for anyone below 18-year age. Account named
'Pehli Udaan' is a singly operated savings bank account for a
minor aged 10 years and above and who can sign uniformly,
while account 'Pehla Kadam is a savings bank account for
minor of any age operated jointly with his/her parent or
guardian.
CARDLESS WITHDRAWAL FROM ICICI BANK
ICICI Bank has introduced a Cardless Cash
Withdrawal facility which allows customers to transfer
money from their account to anyone in India with a mobile
number. The recipient, even if he does not have a bank
account, can withdraw money round the clock without using
a debit card from over 10,000 ATMs of ICICI Bank.
RBI NOT TO PRINT RUPEE ONE NOTE
The Law Ministry has clarified that the Government of India
has all the powers to print rupee one currency notes under
the Coinage Act, 2011and the Reserve Bank has the
authority to issue bank notes of denominational values of Rs
2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500, Rs 1,000, Rs
5,000 and Rs 10,000. The Govt. of India also has the sole
right to mint coins of denominations up to Rs. 1000.
H R KHAN COMMITTEE
The government has set-up a Committee headed by the
Deputy Governor H R Khan of Reserve Bank of India to take
stock of unclaimed deposits in the Public Provident Fund
(PPF) and post office saving schemes and suggest how
these funds can be utilised for the benefit of senior citizens
BANKS TO FIX TIMELINE FOR LOANS
RBI has said that Banks should clearly delineate the
procedure for disposal of loan proposals, with appropriate
timelines, and institute a suitable monitoring mechanism for
reviewing applications pending beyond the specified period.
NABARD PUTS COOP BANKS ON CBS
A total of 201 state and district level Central Cooperative
Banks with 6914 branches from 16 states and three union
territories of the country have joined the 'NABARD initiated
Project on Core Banking Solutions in Co-operative Banks.
 RBI has advised that if a company fails to repay its
bank dues, its other group units may also be termed
wilful defaulters.
 RBI has fixed 70 years as the upper age limit for
Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers and
other whole-time director of banks in the private sector.
 Export-Import Bank of China and China Development
Bank Corp.signed MoU with SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis
Bank to facilitate trade between the two countries.
AUGUST 2014
PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJNA
Prime Minister has announced a new financial scheme -
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna to provide a bank account
to every poor in the country as part of 'Sampoorn Viteeyea
Samveshan' or Comprehensive Financial Inclusion.
To begin with, over 1.84 crore accounts were opened on
launch date 28th August. The government has set a target
of 15 crore new accounts by 2018, ensuring at least two
bank accounts per family.
The salient features of the scheme are:
 The scheme will be launched in two phases – first from
15.8.14 to 15.8.15 and second from 16.8.15 to 15.8.18,
each phase targeting opening of 7.5 crore bank
accounts.
 The accounts will be opened with zero balance with no
minimum balance condition.
 Every account holder will get a accidental insurance
cover of Rs. One lac.
 Persons opening account upto 26th January, 2015 will
also get a health insurance cover of Rs. 30,000.
 All account holders will be issued Rupay debit card to
facilitate ATM withdrawals.
 All account holders will get mobile banking facility for
easy money transfer.
 Accounts runs satisfactorily for 6 months will be allowed
to have over draft facility of Rs. 5000.
 A Rs 1,000-crore credit guarantee fund will be set up by
NABARD for this purpose.
Of the 24.67 crore households in the country, 10.19 crore do not
have access to banking services. In rural areas, 44 per cent
households and in urban areas 33 per cent still do not have a
bank account. The present banking network of the country
comprises of a branch network of 1,15,082 and an ATM network
of 1,60,055.
SLR SLASHED TO 22 PER CENT
RBI has reduced the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of
scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points from 22.5
per cent to 22.0 per cent with effect from the fortnight
beginning 9th August, 2014, unlocking around Rs 40,000
crore of bank funds. All other rates – Repo, Reverse repo,
MSF and Bank Rate have been left unchanged.

FREE ATM TRANSACTIONS LIMITED TO 5/3
Banks have been advised to provide their savings bank
account holders with at least five free transactions per
month at their own ATMs. Beyond this, banks may decide to
levy transaction charges (not exceeding Rs 20).
The number of free transactions on ATMs set up by other
banks will continue to five per month except in six metros -
Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and
Hyderabad, where it has been reduced to three only per
month.
‘BHARAT BILL PAYMENT SYSTEM’
For the convenience of people to pay school fees and
municipal taxes and utility bills through an integrated
platform, the Reserve Bank proposes to set up an "anytime
anywhere" bill payment system by the name ‘Bharat Bill
Payment System’.
Bill payment is a major component of the retail payment
transactions as over 3,080 crore bills amounting to more than
Rs 6,00,000 crore are generated each year in the top 20 cities in
the country.
 The Reserve Bank has approved the transfer of surplus
(profit) amounting to Rs 526.79 billion for the year
ended June 30, 2014 to the Government of India.
 India post announced the launch of over 1000 ATMs in
the near feature. It will also enable core banking
solution at its 25000 offices over the next year.
JULY 2014
RBI MOOTS PAYMENT BANK AND SMALL BANK
The Reserve Bank has issued guidelines for setting up of
Payment Bank and Small Banks. A minimum paid-up capital
of Rs.100 core will be required for setting up of these
banks. Both the banks will have to comply with the CRR and
SLR requirements.
Payment Banks will be allowed only acceptance of demand
deposits and payments and remittances services to migrant
labour workforce, low-income households, small businesses and
other unorganised entities. They will not be allowed to
undertake lending activities.
Small Bank shall primarily undertake basic banking activities
of acceptance of deposits and lending to small farmers, small
businesses, micro and small industries and unorganised sector
entities. The area of operations of the small bank will be
restricted to contiguous districts in a homogenous cluster of the
States.
REVISED KYC NORMS FROM RBI
RBI has revised its "know your customer" guidelines where
a main change is that it has now specified "officially valid
documents" to be the Aadhaar card, voter ID card,
permanent account number (PAN) card, driving licence,
passport, or the NREGA card. The Ration Card has been
dropped from the list.
Now, Banks are no more authorized to accept any
other document as proof of identity.
Rs. 5000 CR LYING IN UNCLAIMED ACCOUNTS
Parliament has been advised that Banks had Rs 5,124 crore
in unclaimed deposits (accounts with no operations for 10
years) lying with them as of December 31, 2013. This
amount will be transferred to the Depositor Education and
Awareness Fund for promotion of depositors' interests.
The Reserve Bank has from time to time advised banks to
play a more pro-active role in finding the whereabouts of
the people whose accounts have remained inoperative.
Banks are required to transfer the unclaimed amount to
Reserve Bank of India every month.
RBI TO IDENTIFY ‘LARGE’ BANKS
The Reserve Bank has said that Banks having size equal to
or more than 2 per cent of GDP will be designated as
domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) and they
will be subject to higher capital requirements. Additionally,
five largest foreign banks, based on their size, will also be
added to the sample for identification of D-SIBs.
D-SIBs are perceived as banks that are ‘Too Big To Fail
(TBTF)’. This perception of TBTF creates an expectation
of government support for these banks at the time of
distress. Due to this perception, these banks enjoy certain
advantages in the funding markets.
PSBs TO ISSUE RUPAY CARDS
Govt has urged public sector banks to issue RuPay cards to
all existing customers who do not have debit cards as well
as to new clients. Banks have also been told to "encourage"
merchant establishments to install point of sale terminals for
RuPay cards. Already, 20 million cards have been issued.
GOVT PLANS UBI’s MERGER WITH IDBI
The government has asked IDBI Bank and Kolkata based
United Bank of India to prepare a consolidation plan in view
of poor performance of UBI. Govt also plans to approve the
merger plan of SBI and State Bank of Patiala.
SIX NEW DRTs TO BE SET UP
To expedite the process to recover bad bank loans, govt
proposes to set up six new Debt Recovery Tribunals. The
Government of India had constituted 33 Debts Recovery
Tribunals and five Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunals
across the country. These six additional tribunals will make
total number of tribunals to 39.
NO 60% CUT OFF FOR EDUCATION LOANS
The Madras High Court has ruled that banks cannot fix 60%
cut off of minimum marks in Plus Two as condition for
extending education loan to students joining engineering
courses. Once a candidate has been admitted in a course,
banks should consider his request for loan on genuine
grounds of need and not on basis of marks obtained at plus
two level.

RBI TO SWAP GOLD
RBI plans to swap some of the old gold lying in its Nagpur
vault since pre-Independence times—and whose quality is
not exactly top grade—with purer gold. The operation would
"standardise the gold available with RBI in India with
respect to international standards" and the gold acquired
would placed at its overseas custodian, Bank of England.
MFIs CAN NOT CHARGE MORE THAN 27.75%
RBI has advised that the lending rate ceiling for micro
finance companies will continue at their present level - at
27.75% for the July to September quarter. This is the
highest rate MFIs can charge to their borrowers in the next
quarter. They may have to charge less if their cost of funds
is lower than 17.75%.
The Non Banking Finance Companies engaged in Micro
Finance are required to be registered with RBI as NBFC-MFIs
and have to follow the guidelines for maximum rate
of interest they can charge on loans.
BANK CREDIT GROWTH MORE THAN DEPOSITS
Bank deposits grew 13.24 per cent year-on-year to Rs
79,96,060 crore during the fortnight ended July 11 and
credit growth was 13.67 per cent reaching Rs 61,21,418
crore during the same period.
 The RBI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with the Monetary Authority of Hong Kong for exchange
of supervisory information of banking.
 The Reserve Bank will soon put to circulation Rs 10
denominated coins on the occasion of diamond jubilee
of Coir Board.
 RBI has allowed Non Banking Financial Companies
(NBFCs) to accept e-KYC service to verify identity and
address proof of customers to reduce risk of fraud.
DEFENCE, SCIENCE
& TECHNOLOGY
SEPTEMBER 2014
JOINT ARMY EXERCISE HELD WITH US ARMY
A joint 14 days military exercise between the armed forces
of America and India was held at Ranikhet in Almora district
of Uttrakhand. The exercise included 250 personnel of the
US army and a similar strength of a Mountain Brigade of the
Indian Army.
INS SUMITRA JOINS INDIAN NAVY
The new generation Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel
(NOPV), INS Sumitra, built by Goa Shipyard Limited for the
Indian Navy, was formally commissioned by Chief of Naval
Staff on 4th September 2014 at Chennai.
 Pakistan conducted a successful test of its surface to
surface missile Hatf IX (NASR), having a range of 60
kilometers
 Iran unveiled a new surface-to-air missile - Talash-3
(“Endeavor-3”), claimed to be capable to shoot down
hostile target at high altitude.
INDIA CONQUERS MARS IN FIRST ATTEMPT
India scripted history on September 24, early in the morning
when it became the first country to place its Mars Orbiter
Spacecraft (MOS) in the orbit in very first attempt.
Highlights of the mission are as under:
 The mission puts ISRO among an elite league of three
other space agencies- NASA, European Space Agency
and Russian Space Agency, to undertake a successful
voyage to the Red Planet.
 Scientists ignited the main 440 Newton Liquid Apogee
Motor (LAM) and eight small thrusters on 24 September
morning to slow down the speed of Mars Orbiter
Mission (MOM) spacecraft ‘Mangalyaan’.
 The 1,350 kg spacecraft was slipped into its elliptical
orbit spanning 423 km X 80,000 kms, capping a 66
million km journey that began on November 5 last.
 The spacecraft will take 77 hours or 3.2 earth days for
each rotation around Mars
 At just $74 million, the mission is less than the
estimated $100 million budget of the sci-fi blockbuster
“Gravity”.
 MOM costed one tenth of NASA’s Mars mission Maven
that entered the Martian orbit just 2 days back, on
September 22.
 Till date, of the 51 missions to Mars launched by
several other countries, only 21 have been successful.
The spacecraft is carrying five scientific instruments aboard
for various investigations:
i) Mars Colour Camera: to take images of the planet's
surface features
ii) Methane Sensor: to look for the methane gas, an
indication of life on the planet
iii) Mars Exosphere Neutral Composition Analyser: to
study neutral gas atoms found in the outermost part of
the Martian atmosphere.
iv) Lyman Alpha Photometer: to measure relative
abundance of two isotopes of hydrogen on Mars
v) Thermal Infrared Imagery Spectrometer: to map the
surface temperature to infer presence of minerals.
MARS PLANET PROFILE
After Venus, Mars is the closest planet to the Earth. It is the
fourth planet from the Sun. Named after the Roman god of
war; it is also called the “Red Planet” due to its reddish
appearance because of abundance of red oxide dust on the
planet.
Distance from Earth: 60 million kms, farthest could be
400million kms.
Distance from Sun: 150 million kms
Diameter: 6,800 kms
Circumference: 21,300 kms
Known Moons: 2- Phobos & Deimos
Orbit Period: 687 Earth days (Mars year)
Rotation Period: 24hrs, 37min (Mars day)
Surface Temperature: Average -81 °F
Atmosphere: Less than 1% of earth’s, mostly Carbon-di-oxide,
96%
Surface gravity: 37% of the Earth, i.e. one can jump
three times higher on Mars

CROPS IN ‘FERTILE CRESCENT’ UNDER THREAT
Scientists have warned that millions of lives could be at risk
because of the threat to food crops posed by conflict in the
Middle East. Many of the most valuable wild relatives of
crops vital to global food security grow in the Fertile
Crescent – a region that encompasses Iraq, Syria, Israel and
Lebanon.
REMAINS OF SUPER DINOSAUR DISCOVERED
Researchers at Drexel University in the US have claimed to
have discovered in Argentina remains of an enormous
Dinosaur weighing nearly 60 tons. The scientists said
measurements of the fossilized bones suggest that the
animal was about 26 meters long. The new super massive
dinosaur has been named Dreadnoughtus.
 China launched two satellites - Yaogan-21 and Tiantuo-
1 to relay information on natural resources, disaster
management and smart satellite experiments.
 DRDO successfully test-fired Agni-I - nuclear-capable
surface-to-surface missile from Wheeler Island off
Odisha coast. It has a striking range of 700 to 1250 km.
AUGUST 2014
INDO RUSIA JOINT AIR DRILL
India and Russia conducted their first-ever joint Air Force
exercise “Avia Indra-2014” in Astrakhan region located
north of the Caspian Sea. Beginning on 25th August, the
exercise will continue till 5th September.
CHINA DISPLAYS ICBM DONGFENG - 41
China has unveiled its next generation Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Dongfeng – 41 (DF-41). The
missile with an operation range varying between 12000 km
to 15000 km is amongst the world’s longest range missiles.
INDARC OBSERVATORY DEPLOYED IN ARCTIC
Country’s first multi-sensor moored observatory IndARC was
successfully deployed in Kongsfjorden Fjord of the Arctic
region, roughly halfway between North Pole and Norway on
July 23. A team of scientists from the Earth System Science
Organisation-National Institute of Ocean Technology (ESSO-NIOT)
Chennai and ESSO-National Centre for Antartic and
Ocean Research (NCAOR) termed the same as a milestone
in India’s scientific endeavours in the Arctic region.
MARS ROVER CREATES TRAVELLING RECORD
NASA’s Mars exploration rover ‘Opportunity’ set the record
of maximum distance covered by a rover in one go when it
travelled a distance of 157 feet (48 meters) on 27 July 2014
on the surface of Mars. The 384-pound rover landed on
Mars on January 25, 2004.
ROSETTA CREATES SPACE HISTORY
After travelling a distance of 6.4 billion kilometres since it
was launched in March 2004, Rosetta- space vehicle by
European Space Agency made history on August 6 when it
became the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet —
67P/Churyumov - Gerasimenko, a 4.5-km-long object. It
will airdrop a lander – Philae on the comet.
DRAUGHT PREDICTIONS BY SATELLITE
NASA scientists have developed Soil Moisture Active Passive
(SMAP) satellite that can predict the severity of droughts
worldwide and help farmers maximize the crop yield. This
mission is scheduled to launch in November 2014.
REVERSE VENDING MACHINES IN UAE
An integrated environment and waste management
company will install reverse vending machines designed to
collect and recycle domestic light bulbs and batteries across
the UAE, making the Gulf country the second nation in the
world, after the UK to adapt this technology.
JULY 2014
INS KOLKATA JOINS INDIAN NAVY
The Indian Navy‘s largest ever destroyer – INS Kolkata was
inducted in to service on 10th July. It is India’s first
domestically built guided missile destroyer to feature a
Western-style air search radar and stealth technology.
ADVANCED BRAHMOS TEST FIRED
An advanced version of the 290-km range Brahmos
supersonic cruise missile was successfully tested off the
coast of Odisha, giving the country the capability to hit
enemy targets hidden behind mountains or in a cluster of
buildings with “pinpoint accuracy”. The missile travelled its
full strike range of 290 km in 500 seconds.
INDIA LAUNCHES FIVE FOREIGN SATELLITES
India successfully launched five foreign satellites from four
countries on board PSLV-C23 rocket on June 30. The five
satellites, launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at
Sriharikota, included two from Germany, and one each from
France, Canada and Singapore.
PSLV: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
HIGH SPEED DATA TRANSFER BY LI-FI
A Mexican software company has managed to transmit
audio, video and Internet data across the spectrum of light
emitted by LED lamps — at a data transfer rate of 10
gigabytes per second. The technology called Li-Fi or light
fidelity can illuminate a large work space, such as an office,
while providing full mobile Internet to every device that
comes into the range of the light spectrum.
OBJECTS SPOTTED BEYOND PLUTO
Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have
discovered two new objects beyond Pluto for NASA’s New
Horizons spacecraft to visit. New Horizons spacecraft,
launched in 2006, is on track to become the first probe to
visit Pluto in July 2015, some 4.7 billion miles from Earth in
the Kuiper Belt.
CARBON GEL – WORLD’s LIGHTEST MATERIAL
The world's lightest solid material - carbon aerogel - created
by Chinese scientists has fetched a staggering $1.6 million
at an auction. With a density of just 0.16 milligrams per
cubic centimeter, a sixth of air's density, the carbon aerogel
was developed by scientists at Zhejiang University last year.

NASA SATELLITE TO TRACK CO2
American space agency NASA has successfully launched a
satellite -Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), designed
to track atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, a leading human-produced
greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.
 Warships, submarines, aircrafts and helicopters of
India, US and Japan participated in the trilateral
Malabar naval exercise from 24th July in North Western
Pacific Ocean.
INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER 2014
MODI ADDRESSES UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 69th
session of United Nations General Assembly, UNGA in New
York. The theme of the speech was ‘delivering and
implementing the Post-2015 development agenda’.
BAMIYAN, DHAKA TO BE CULTURAL CAPITAL
SAARC Culture Ministers Conference was held at New Delhi
on 25 September. The meet named Bamiyan, the Afghan
town which shot into prominence when the Taliban blew up
two ancient statues of the Buddha in 2001, to be the SAARC
cultural capital for a year beginning April 2015 and Dhaka
for 2016-17. The year 2016-17 was also declared the SAARC
Year of Cultural Heritage.
FRANCE ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE SMOKING
In a bid to reduce high smoking rates among the teenagers,
France plans to introduce plain cigarette packaging and ban
electronic cigarettes in certain public places. The new
cigarette packets would be “the same shape, same size,
same colour, same typeset” to make smoking less attractive
to young smokers.
U N CLIMATE SUMMIT HELD IN NEW YORK
UN Climate Change Summit 2014 held at UN headquarters
in New York on 23 September 2014. The purpose of the
Summit was to raise political momentum for a meaningful
universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015.
SCOTLAND TO STAY WITH UK
Scotland has rejected independence and decided to stay
with United Kingdom. In a referendum that threatened to
break up 307 years union between them, 55 percent
Scottish people polled NO vote and 45 percent YES vote to a
simple question – “Should Scotland be an independent
country?”
United Kingdom comprises of four countries – England,
Scotland, North Ireland and Wales.
UKRAINE MOVES AWAY FROM RUSSIA
Ukraine's Parliament has ratified a landmark European
Union pact that decisively steers the former Soviet state
towards Europe and away from Russian influence. The
legislation grants greater autonomy to the separatist regions
in the east of the country, as well as amnesty for most of
those involved in recent fighting with government forces.
NATO ADOPTS ‘WALES RESOLUTION’
The NATO summit was held in Wales, UK on 4 to 5
September 2014. Leaders from around 60 countries
including USA and France attended the summit. The
resolutions adopted in the summit were named ‘Wales
Resolution’.
PAKISTAN REELS UNDER FLOOD FURY
At least 280 people have been killed and over two million
affected in massive flooding triggered by heavy monsoon
rains in Pakistan, mainly in Punjab province and in Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir (PoK). Most havoc was caused by
overflowing of major rivers like Chenab and Jhelum.
NO INDIAN UNIVERSITY IN WORLD’s TOP 220
The QS World University Ranking 2014 ranks Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, USA at number one, followed by
the University of Cambridge, Imperial College, London,
Harvard University and University of Oxford. Highest rank
secured by an Indian university is 222 secured by IIT,
Bombay, followed by IIT Delhi-235.
ONE MILLION BABIES DIE IN FIRST 24 HOURS
A report released by the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF) states that one million babies each year died
within 24 hours of birth from mostly preventable causes.
Further, almost 2.8 million babies die each year within the
first 28 days. The Report showed that many of these deaths
could be easily prevented with simple, cost-effective
interventions before, during and immediately after birth.
 6th meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation for Home Ministers held on September 19
at Kathmandu, attended by Rajnath Singh.
 West Asia’s largest consumer IT and electronics retail
show- GITEX Shopper held at World Trade Center in
Dubai
 London will host its first-ever Regional Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas (RPBD) next month from October 16 to 18.
 The seventh round of nuclear talks between Iran and
six major world powers- US, UK, France, Russia, China
and Germany were held in New York.
AUGUST 2014
EBOLA CATASTROPHE IN WEST AFRICA
Three West Africa nations - Liberia, Guinea and Sierra
Leone, are struggling to control an outbreak of Ebola viral
fever that has claimed over 700 lives in the recent past.
The World Bank has pledged USD 200 million in emergency
funding to contain spread of deadly Ebola.
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola
haemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal illness in
human with almost 90 per cent mortality rate. It is
highly infectious and can spread easily through close
contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other
bodily fluid. The virus was first discovered nearly four
decades ago in Congo in a village near the Ebola River.

NAGOYA PROTOCOL RATIFIED BY 51 MEMBERS
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and
the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their
Utilization will enter into force on 12th October 2014
following its ratification by 12 more countries. With this
development, 51 members to Convention on Biological
Diversity that was agreed in October 2010 in Nagoya,
Japan have ratified the treaty.
India is currently the President of CoP till CoP-12 is held
in Pyeongchang, South Korea in October this year. CoP
equal to Conference of the Parties.
BANGLADESH TO JOIN BRICS BANK
Bangladesh has decided to join the newly formed BRICS
Bank, an initiative of the world's five emerging economies -
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Named as 'New Development Bank', BRICS Bank was
formed after an agreement was signed by BRICS countries
during July, 2014 Summit in Brazil, with the aim at easing
financing constraints faced by BRICS and other
developing countries to address infrastructure gaps and
sustainable development needs.
100 YEARS OF WORLD WAR I
Britain observed Lights Out Project on 4 August 2014 to
commemorate 100 years of First World War (WW-1). Under
the project, lights were turned-off for an hour to pay tribute
to all those who died in World War I.
World War I, also called The Great War, took place in and
around Europe from July 1914 to November 1918 involving 135
countries and claiming more than 9 million lives.
WORLD’s FIRST ECO TEMPLE
A Hindu temple - Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, claimed to
be the world's first 'eco-temple' featuring solar panels and a
rainwater harvesting system, has been opened in northwest
London in the UK.
THE "ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE"
Over the past several
weeks, social media has
been flooded with one of
the most effective fund-raising
campaigns of all
time - The "Ice Bucket
Challenge". It encou-rages
participants to
dump bucket of freezing
water on their head to
raise awareness for the
‘amyotrophic lateral sclerosis’ (ALS) – a debilitating disease.
Participants are encouraged to donate $10 if they complete
the challenge or $100 if they don't. In the past few weeks
alone, the ALS Association has earned more than $88.5
million this way.
 The World Health Organization has asked for a ban on
the use of e-cigarettes indoors and its sale to children.
 The US government has said that its economy grew at
a brisk annual rate of 4.2 percent in the April-June
quarter, slightly faster than it had first estimated.
JULY 2014
6TH BRICS SUMMIT HELD AT FORTALEZA, BRAZIL
Prime Minister Mr. Modi visited Fortaleza, Brazil to attend
the 6th BRICS Summit. The five countries decided to
establish the New Development Bank with an initial
authorised capital of USD 50 billion which will be equally
shared by the founding members to prevent domination by
any one member. The Bank will work for funding
infrastructure and “sustainable development” projects in the
BRICS countries. India will have the first Presidency of the
NDB for six years with headquarters in China.
Agreement was also reached on establishing a
Contingency Reserve Arrangement with an initial size
of USD 100 billion to provide additional liquidity protection
to member-nations during balance of payments problems.
Funding of CRA is 41 per cent by China, 18 per cent each
from Brazil, India, and Russia, and 5% from South Africa.
The 7th BRICS Summit will be held in the Russian city
of Ufa.
ISRAEL OPENS WAR WITH GAZA
Israel Defence Forces
launched “Operation
Protective Edge”
against Hamas
militants in Gaza strip
for their alleged
kidnapping of three
Israeli teenagers. In
over a month long
conflict, Israeli forces have killed over one thousand persons
in Gaza strip through attack by ground and air strikes.
MALAYSIAN PLANE SHOT DOWN, KILLING 298
A Malaysian aircraft, flight MH 17 flying from Amsterdam to
Kuala Lumpur was shot down by terrorist using a Russian
Buk missile when it was flying above 33,000 feet over
eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 295 people aboard.
The disaster is clouded in mystery as both Russia and
Ukraine claim that their forces have not shot the plane.
UKRAINE MOVES TOWARDS EUROPEAN UNION
Ukraine signed a landmark economic trade pact with the
European Union June 27. The Association Agreement is
expected to boost Ukraine’s exports to the European Union
but has attracted strong negative reaction from the Russia.
It was a refusal to sign this pact last year by Mr
Poroshenko’s predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, which
triggered popular protests in Ukraine, leading to Russia’s
annexation of the Crimea peninsula
 India will host the 7th IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa)
summit in 2015.

PERSONS IN NEWS
SEPTEMBER 2014
R A MASHELKAR: Eminent scientist and former Director
General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,
has been named to head an expert panel to recommend
best technologies for the "Swachh Bharat" national
sanitation campaign with an emphasis on areas like potable
water and sanitation.
AKKINENI NAGESWARA RAO (ANR): Legendary Telugu
actor, who passed away in January 2014, became the first
Indian actor to be honoured with a postage stamp by the
U.S. Post Service (USPS).
CHITRESH TATHA: 12-year-old, a sailor of ‘Optimist’
dinghy category is the youngest sailor to represent India at
the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea.
TN SURESH KUMAR: A senior ISRO scientist has become
the first Indian to visit the stratosphere, the second layer of
the Earth’s atmosphere. He travelled to an altitude of
17,100 metres in 48 minutes in a MIG-29 reaching a
maximum speed of 1850 km per hour from Sokol Airbase
near Nizhny Novgorod in Russia.
J. JAYALALITHAA: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was in news
as she and three others were sentenced to four years in jail
by a special court in Bangalore in a 66.65 crore rupees
Disproportionate Assets case on 27th September. She was
also fined Rs. 100 crore.
ALOK SHETTY: The 28 year old Indian architect has been
named ‘Young Leader of Tomorrow’ by Time magazine for
his pioneering work in designing affordable flood-proof
houses for slum dwellers.
KRITTIKA BISWAS: 21 year old daughter of an Indian
diplomat in New York consulate was in news as she won a
significant legal victory from the local court which awarded
$225,000 settlement for her wrongful arrest and jail for a
day in 2011.
JACK MA: Chinese founder and
promoter of world’s largest online
shopping portal – Alibaba was in
news as the firm successfully
launched world’s largest IPO,
amassing around $25 billion from the
investors.
CONNIE HEDEGAARD, Commissioner for Climate Action,
European Commission visited India to mobilize opinion in
favour of acceptance of Common But Differentiated
Responsibility (CBDR) resolution in an realistic manner
wherein all countries agree to accept their responsibility
towards control of emissions affecting the climate change.
TOM THABANE: Prime Minister of Lesotho, a tiny hilly
kingdom in South Africa, was in news as he fled in fear of
his life after soldiers seized power in a coup.
USAIN BOLT: Sprint king from Jamaica was in news as he
visited Bangalore for a day to take part in a cricket match at
the Chinnaswamy Stadium as part of promotional activity for
a footwear company.
AUGUST 2014
IROM SHARMILA CHANU: The human rights activist and
former journalist was in news as an Imphal sessions court
on 19th August ordered her release, accepting her plea that
she did not attempt suicide by fasting unto death.
Ironically, after release she again went on protest fast and
was rearrested.
She has been on a fast since November, 2000 when Assam
Rifles men killed 10 persons at Malom area in Imphal in
an alleged encounter with insurgents. She has been
demanding repeal of the draconian Armed Forces (Special
Powers) Act (AFSPA), which gives sweeping powers to
armed forces in disturbed areas.
V K DUGGAL: Manipur Governor resigned, the 9th
governor to do so in last few months, following change of
govt at the center.
SHAH RUKH KHAN: Indian superstar has been roped in as
an ambassador for Inter-pol’s “Turn Back Crime” campaign
to promote awareness of how everyone can play a role in
preventing crime. The campaign aims at empowering the
public to not to be duped by criminals when buying products
or using the internet.
KAMLA BENIWAL: Governor of Mizoram was in news as
she was sacked by a Presidential order. She was earlier
Governor of Gujarat and shifted to Mizoram on July 6 this
year. She was sacked reportedly for certain irregularities
committed by her during her Gujarat tenure.
NIKHIL CHANDWANI: The 20-year-old noted Indian
author and documentary filmmaker, has become the first
Asian to win the prestigious Author of the Year award from
the American Literary Forum Society for his novel 'Coded
Conspiracy’.
K. SANKARANARAYANAN: Maharashtra Governor was in
news as he quit his office to protest his transfer to Mizoram.
JOHN KERRY: US Secretary of State (Foreign Minister)
visited in India to hold 5th Indo-US Strategic Dialogue
CHUCK HAGEL: U.S. Defence Secretary (Defence Minister)
visited India to lay the groundwork for the revival of Indo-
U.S. defence ties.
GENERAL PRAYUTH CHAN-OCHA: Thailand's coup
leader was in news as he was appointed Prime Minister by a
legislature that was formed by him only, giving the army
chief a veneer of legitimacy to his action.
JULY 2014
ARSENIY YATSENYUK: Ukraine’s Prime Minister was in
news as he resigned in a shock move to protest the
disbanding of the ruling parliamentary coalition, plunging
the strife-torn nation into political uncertainty.
AKHOURI SINHA: In a rare honour, the USA has named a
mountain in Antarctica after this eminent Indian-American
scientist whose pioneering biological research expedition to
Antarctica has provided vital data about animal populations
in that area.

NEYMAR: Ace striker of Brazil’s football team was in news
as he suffered a back bone fracture after being hit by the
Colombian defender Juan Zuniga. Brazil’s bid to win a sixth
World Cup suffered a devastating blow as Neymar was ruled
out of the rest of the tournament.
APPOINTMENTS
SEPTEMBER 2014
R A MASHELKAR: Technology Head of the "Swachh
Bharat Mission".
LALITHA KUMARAMANGALAM: Chairperson of the
National Commission for Women.
P. SATHASIVAM: Governor of Kerala, he is former Chief
Justice of India
HARDEEP SINGH PURI: Secretary General of
Independent Commission on Multilateralism
O PANNEERSELVAM: Elected as new Chief Minister of
Tamil Nadu, in place of Jayalalitha
ADIL ZAINULBHAI: Former McKinsey India Chief has
been appointed Chairman, Quality Council of India.
Formed jointly by Govt of India and three apex industry
organizations – FICCI, ASSOCHAM and CII, the Council aims
at helping India achieve and sustain total quality and
reliability, in all areas of life, work, environment, products
and services across all levels -- individual, organisational,
community and societal.
Justice H.L. DATTU: 42nd Chief Justice of India.
ASHRAF GHANI: President of Afghanistan
VOREQE BAINIMARAMA: Fiji's new Prime Minister
JOHN KEY: Prime Minister of New Zealand
LE YUCHENG: China's new Ambassador to India.
RICHARD RAHUL VERMA: Next US ambassador to India.
AUGUST 2014
FOUR NEW GOVERNORS APPOINTED
Kalyan Singh Rajasthan
Vajubhai Vala Karanatka,
C Vidyasagar Rao Maharashtra
Mridula Sinha Goa
K.V. THOMAS: Congress MP appointed Chairman of the
Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
The post is given for one year to a member of the largest
opposition party in the Lower House. The committee
scrutinizes the accounts of the government and the
reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
S S MUNDRA: Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of
India for three year term. He is ex CMD of Bank of Baroda.
T M BHASIN: Chairman of the Indian Banks Association –
IBA for 2014-15. He is CMD of Indian Bank.
RAJNI RAZDAN: Chairman, Union Public Service
Commission – UPSC.
M. THAMBIDURAI: Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha
K. V. Chowdary: Chairman of Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT)
AHMET DAVUTOGLU: New Prime Minister of Turkey
HAIDAR AL-ABADI: Prime Minister of Iraq
GEN. PRAYUTH CHAN-OCHA: Prime Minister of Thailand
JULY 2014
SIX NEW GOVERNORS APPOINTED
Ram Naik Uttar Pradesh.
Kesri Nath Tripathi West Bengal
Om Prakash Kohli Gujarat
Balramji Dass Tandon Chhattisgarh.
Padmanabha Acharya Nagaland.
Kaptan Singh Solanki Haryana
PINKY ANAND: Additional Solicitor-General
FUAD MASUM: President of Iraq
JOKO WIDODO (JOKOWI): President of Indonesia
JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER: President of the European
Commission
AWARDS & HONOURS
SEPTEMBER 2014
SARASWATI SAMMAN: Noted Hindi novelist Govind
Mishra for his novel ‘Dhool Paudhon Par’.
The prize is given annually by the K K Birla Foundation in
recognition of outstanding literary work in any one of the
Indian languages listed in Schedule VIII of the constitution
of India. The prize carries a cash award of Rs. Ten lakh.
SHANTI SWARUP BHATNAGAR AWARD: 10 scientists
selected for the annual award conferred for their
outstanding works in the field of science and technology. It
consists of a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and a
plaque.
SAAKSHAR BHARAT AWARDS are given on International
Literacy Day – Sep 8 by the Union Ministry of Human
Resource Development for the best performance in the field
of adult education.
BHARTENDU HARISHCHANDRA AWARDS: Given by
Union Ministry for Information & Broadcasting for original
writing in Hindi by Indian authors on subjects like
Journalism and Mass Communication, National Integration,
Women’s Issues and Children’s Literature.
MIDORI PRIZE IN BIODIVERSITY – 2014: Kamal
Bawa, Indian scientist and ecologist for his research on
climate change in the Himalayas.
The prize given by a Japanese foundation, honours three
individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Gyanm general awareness november 2014 issue

Gyanm general awareness november 2014 issue

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