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GK Power Capsule – December 2014 (The Hindu Review)
This GK Capsule has been prepared by Career Power Institute Delhi (Formerly Known as Bank Power). This has been
prepared on the basis of news and events appeared in The Hindu Newspaper in the month of September 2014.
1.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the shortterm indicative
ve policy rate (repo rate)
unchanged at 8 per cent, as the current
economic environment is not conducive to cut
rates in Fifth Bi-monthly
monthly Monetary Policy. RBI
retained its growth projection for 2014-15
2014
at 5.5
per cent.
a. Bank Rate – 9 % (Unchanged)
b. Cash Reserve Ratio – 4 % (Unchanged)
c. Statutory Liquidity Ratio – 22 % (Unchanged)
d. Repo Rate – 8 % (Unchanged)
e. Reverse Repo Rate – 7 % (Unchanged)
f. Marginal Standing Rate – 9 % (Unchanged)
2.
Senior IAS officer S Bhattacharya was appointed
as the Chairman and Managing Director of Coal
India Ltd.
Senior IPS officer Prakash Mishra was appointed
as the Directorate General of Central Reserve
Police Force.
Dineshwar Sharma was appointed as Director of
the Intelligence Bureau. Sharma will succeed
Syed Asif Ibrahim who will re
retire on 31
December 2014.
Veteran journalist-turned-diplomat
diplomat Maleeha
Lodhi was appointed as 16th Pakistan
Ambassador to the United Nations.
Indian-American
American Richard Rahul Verma’s
nomination as the next US Ambassador to India
was confirmed by the US Senate.
Physicist Ashton Carter was nominated as the
next defence secretary of US Department of
Defence.
Senior IPS officer Anil Kumar Sinha was
appointed as the new CBI Director. Anil Sinha
will succeed Ranjit Sinha.
Union Home Ministry approved the appointment
off OP Singh as Director General of National
Disaster Response Force.
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10. Union Government nominated Rajiv Mehrishi as
a Director on the Central Board of Directors of
Reserve Bank of India. He succeeded Arvind
Mayaram.
11. Former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Anoop
Mishra was appointed as new Secretary General
of the Lok Sabha. He was appointed by Lok
Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
12. United Nations Women announced the
appointment of Indian tennis superstar Sania
Mirza, as its Goodwill Ambassador for South
Asia.
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13. Megastar
star Amitabh Bachchan was honoured with
the Yash Chopra Memorial Award.
14. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpee and
freedom fighter Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya
(posthumously) will receive the Bharat Ratna.
15. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was a freedom
fighter and educationist who was part of the
Indian National Movement. He was president of
Indian National Congress (INC) for two terms in
1909 and1918. He was one of the founders of
the Hindu Mahasabha. He was also founder of
the Banaras Hindu University in 1916.
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16. Vajpayee is a three time Prime Minister of India
who served the first term in 1996 for just 13
days. During his second term in 1998-1999
1998
he
served for 13 months. In his final and third term
he completed the full five-year
year from 1999
1999-2004.
Thus, he became the first Prime Minister from
outside the Indian National Congress party to
serve a full five-year term. He was also the
Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of
Prime Minister Morarji Desai in 1978. As foreign
minister, that year Vajpayee became
bec
the first
person to deliver a speech to the United Nations
General Assembly in Hindi.
17. Noted Pakistan-born
born poetess Imtiaz Dharker
was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry
2014 for her latest poetry collection Over the
Moon.
18. Pro-democracy activist off China Xu Youyu won
the Olof Palme Human Rights Prize for the year
2014.
19. Miss South Africa, Rolene Strauss was crowned
Miss World 2014 at the final of the beauty
pageant held in London, UK. Miss Hungary,
Edina Kulcsar, was the runner-up
runner
and Miss
United States,
ates, Elizabeth Safrit, came third.
India's 21-year-old Jaipur-born
born Koyal Rana
made it to the top 10 but failed to make it to the
top five.
20. Playback singer Asha Bhosle was awarded the
Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Dubai
International Film Festival (DIFF) held in Dubai.
21. Child rights campaigner of India Kailash
Satyarthi and Education activist of Pakistan
Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize
for the year 2014. Both the recipients received
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medals and prize money 1.4 million US dollars
from the Norwegian Nobel Committee at Oslo,
Norway on 10 December 2014.
Kailash Satyarthi is a children's rights activist
and founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
Child education activist of Pakistan Malala
Yousafzai at the age of 17 became the youngest
ever recipient
pient of the Nobel Prize and also the
first person to win the Nobel Prize from
Pakistan. She is known for her activism for right
to education for women especially in the Swat
Valley.
Chairman of Wipro Azim Premji was awarded
Swiss Ambassador's Award in Mumbai.
Mum
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was
named as the Asian of the Year 2014 by
Singapore’s leading newspaper The Straits
Times.
Michael Phelps was crowned Male Athlete of the
Year at the 2014 USA Swimming Golden Goggle
Awards. He was crowned with the title for a fifth
time.
Aaranyak, an Assam-based
Assam
NGO won United
Nations Lighthouse Activities award for the year
2014.
Hockey Olympian Grihanandan Singh died.
died
Veteran
Carnatic
vocalist
Nedanuri
Krishnamurthy died.
Belgium's former Queen Fabiola died.
Former
mer Chief Minister of Maharashtra and a
veteran Congressman Abdul Rahman Antulay
passed away.
Veteran Bollywood actor
actor-comedian, director and
producer Deven Verma died.
Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister
Jarbom Gamlin died.
Crime novelist Phyllis Dorothy
Dorot James died.
Legendary Kathak danseuse Sitara Devi.
Koppillil Radhakrishnan, Chairman of ISRO,
featured in the Top 10 List of Journal Nature.
The mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror
attacks, Zaki-ur-Rehman
Rehman Lakhvi, was in news
recently after an Anti Terrorism
Te
Court (ATC) in
Pakistan granted bail to him on 18 December
2014.
A R Rahman was nominated for Oscar Awards
for the year 2015 in the Music Original Score
Category for three films. He was nominated for
the films Million Dollar Arm, The Hundred-Foot
Hundred
Journey
ourney and Indian film Kochadaiiyaan.
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling on 12
December 2014 became longest serving Chief
Minister of India. He completed his 20 years in
the office.
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40. Miss
World
honoured
Aishwarya Rai
Bachan was honoured with a special award at
the Miss World 2014 ceremony in London for
charitable work.
41. Ruhi Singh of India was in news because she
won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014 at
Beirut, Lebanon on 10 Decemberr 2014.
42. Richest man of Russia Alisher Usmanov was in
news as he decided to return the Nobel Prize
medal to James D Watson which he bought for
4.8 million US dollars at auction from him.
43. James D Watson was in news because he
auctioned his Nobel Prize medal for 4.8 million
US dollars.
44. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was rere
elected unopposed as head of Conservative
Christian Democrats party.
45. The main and oldest litigant in the Ram
Janmbhoomi-Babri
Babri Masjid dispute, Mohammad
Hashim Ansari was in news recently as he
decided to withdraw his plea.
46. Ashutosh Maharaj was in news because the
Punjab and Haryana High Court on 1 December
2014 directed the Punjab government to
perform last rites of him within 15 days.
47. World War- II Indian pilot Late Mohinder Singh
Pujji was
as in news because UK honoured him by
unveiling his eight-foot
foot bronze statue at St
Andrew's Garden in Gravesend, Kent, Great
Britain.
48. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited
United Arab Emirates.
49. Chintagufa area of Sukma district in
Chhattisgarh was
as in news as Maoists killed more
than dozen CRPF personnel in an attack.
50. Bollywood actresses Priyanka Chopra and
Freida Pinto launched a multi-level
multi
global
campaign, Girl Rising in New Delhi.
51. Indian Communication Satellite GSAT
GSAT-16 was
launched successfully
lly from the Kourou space
port in French Guiana. It was launched by the
European Ariane-5
5 launch vehicle VA221 of
Arianespace. The GSAT-16 satellite was built by
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in
Bengaluru. It is the 18th satellite launched by
Arianespace for ISRO.
52. NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first
mission to Mars, Mariner 4 mission on 28
November 2014. Mariner 4 mission launched on
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28 November 1964 was the NASA’s first
successful journey to Mars.
World Diamond Conference was held
hel in New
Delhi on 11 December 2014. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin
along with Minister for Mineral Resources of
South Africa Susan Shabangu attended the
inauguration of World Diamond Conference.
15th Indo-Russian
Russian Bilateral Annual Summit was
held in Delhi. President Vladimir Putin of Russia
visited India to hold the summit on the
invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During the summit, both the countries signed 20
agreements in the fields such as nuclear energy,
oil and gas, health, investment, mining, media
and wind power. Both the countries agreed on
the construction of at least 12 new nuclear
power units within the next 20 years, including
two new units at the Kudankulam Nuclear
Power Plant. Both also countries agreed to find
fi a
new site to construct a new nuclear plant.
18th South Asian Association of Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) summit was held in
Kathmandu, Nepal. The theme of the summit
was Deeper Integration for Peace and
Prosperity. The summit took place after an
interval
val of three years. The last summit was held
in 2011 in Maldives. The next summit will now
be held in Islamabad in 2016. During the
summit, the leaders signed an agreement on
energy cooperation namely SAARC Framework
Agreement for Energy Cooperation, SAARC
Regional Railway Agreement and SAARC Motor
Vehicle Agreement.
The Sushaasan Express was flagged off by the
Union Ministry of Mines and Steel. The
Sushaasan (good governance) Express was
launched from Gwalior, the birth place of former
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
India set the Guinness Record for largest human
formation of a national flag in the world. To set
the record around 50000 volunteers from
Chennai gathered at YMCA Grounds to form the
human Tricolour with Chakra, the National Flag
of India.
Cricket
ricket fans paid their tribute to 25
25-year-old
Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes who died on
27 November 2014, after being into induced
coma. He went into induced coma on 25
November 2014 after a bouncer ball of Sean
Abbott hit back of his head during a Sheffield
Game at Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia.
Section 309 Indian Penal Code was in news
recently as Union Home Ministry decided to
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remove this Section, thus decriminalizing
attempt to suicide.
The National Heritage City Development and
Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) was in news
recently as Union Urban Development Minister
M Venkaiah Naidu announced the plans to
launch the scheme. HRIDAY is a scheme for
conserving and preserving the heritage
characters of 12 cities. These are: Amritsar,
Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Ajmer, Mathura, Dwarka,
Badami, Velankanni, Kanchipuram, Warangal
(Telangana) and Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh).
GSLV Mark-III-X was in news recently because
Indian Space Research Organisation launched it
successfully from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at
Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. GSLV Mark-III-X is
the heaviest rocket (630 tonnes) of India, which
was launched on an experimental mission along
with human Crew module Atmospheric Reentry
Experiment (CARE). In the experimental
mission, the crew module separated itself from
the rocket at an altitude of 126 km for re-entry
into the earth's atmosphere. Crew module, in the
process of re-entry into earth’s atmosphere, was
controlled by 3 parachutes which helped it to
splash safely into the Bay of Bengal off Andaman
and Nicobar Islands.
Druzhba-Dosti is a term used for vision
statement of India and Russia over the next
decade released during the 15th Indo – Russia
Annual Summit held in New Delhi on 11
December 2014. The joint statement was
released by during the visit of Russian President
Vladimir V Putin to India at the invitation of the
Prime Minister of India Narendra Mod to hold
the annual summit.
The book titled Why I Assassinated Gandhi
written by Nathuram Godse and Gopal Godse
was in news.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a book
tittled Born Again on the Mountain by Arunima
Sinha. She is the first Indian amputee and first
female amputee to climb Mount Everest.
Union Government released Calendar for the
year 2015 with the theme Clean India Green
India.
Book titled Prince of Gujarat: The Extraordinary
Story of Prince Gopaldas Desai (1887-1951)
authored by Rajmohan Gandhi was released.
Rajdeep Sardesai penned the book titled 2014:
The Election That Changed India. The book was
released.
Book titled Letters for a Nation written by
Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla was
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published by Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin
Books.
Book titled Next China-India War - World's First
Water War – 2029 authored by former Army
chief General Sundarajan Padmanabhan was
released.
Biography titled My Name is Abu Salem written
by S Hussain Zaidi was released.
The Committee headed by former Supreme
Court Judge Justice (retired) G.P. Mathur will
look into Anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
The Union Finance Ministry constituted a High
Level Committee headed by former Chief
Economic Advisor (CEA) Ashok Lahiri, to
interact with trade and industry on tax-related
issues on a regular basis.
73. Union Government observed 25 December 2014
as Good Governance Day. The day was observed
to celebrate the 90th birth anniversary of Atal
Bihari Vajpayee.
74. Indian dairy sector majors decided to celebrate
26 November as National Milk Day to mark the
93rd birth anniversary of Father of White
Revolution, Dr. Verghese Kurien.
75. The advanced version of Mark-II Pinaka Rocket
was successfully test fired at Chandipur, about
15-km from Balasore in Odisha. It was test-fired
using a multi-barrel launcher. Rocket has a
range of more than 60-km.
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76. Nuclear capable missile Agni-IV was test fired
from Integrated Test Range in Wheeler Island,
Odisha. Agni-IV is a surface-to-surface missile
with 4000 km range.
77. Russia and four other ex-Soviet nations, viz.,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan
finalised the creation of Eurasian Economic
Union.
78. Ukrainian Parliament, Rada, overwhelmingly
adopted a bill that enables the country to join
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
79. BJP leader, Raghubar Das was elected as party
leader by BJP Party of Jharkhand on 26
December 2014. He will became the first nontribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand. BJP- AJSU (All
Jharkhand Students Indian Union) alliance
secured 42 seats out of 81 seats where BJP alone
secured 37 seats.
80. In Jammu and Kashmir election Peoples
Democratic Party of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
with 28 seats emerged as the largest party in the
house of 87 seats. BJP with 25 seats stood at the
second position.
81. President Pranab Mukherjee signed ordinances
on Insurance Bill and e-auction of coal mines.
Ordinance hiked FDI limit in Insurance sector to
49 per cent from 26 per cent.
82. The government kickstarted the auction process
for cancelled coal mines with the launch of a
portal for electronic bidding for 24 coal blocks in
the first tranche.
83. The direct benefit transfer on LPG under which
cash subsidy is paid to consumers so that they
can buy cooking gas at market price, was rolled
out in 54 districts from November 15 and will be
extended all over the country from January 1.
From January 1, LPG consumers across the
country will have to buy cooking gas at market
rates. They will get the difference between
current subsidised rate and market price for 12
cylinders in a year in cash that will be
transferred to their bank acounts. PAHAL or
Pratyaksh Hanstantarit Labh has been rolled out.
84. In a bid to make cooking gas (LPG) easily
available to consumers, 5-kg mini LPG cylinders
will now be available at select petrol pumps and
neighbourhood grocery stores besides regular
gas agencies in almost all major cities. Now the
subsidised cooking gas will also be available in
5-kg cylinders. Those entitled to subsidised gas
can buy 34 bottles of 5-kg each at Rs 155 per
cylinder in Delhi.
85. The Centre will soon bring 103 rivers under
national waterways to give boost to the inland
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water transportation, which is largely underutilised.
86. Wholesale price inflation hit zero in November,
its slowest level since July 2009, as fuel inflation
dropped to a five-year low and the rate of price
rise in food items fell drastically due to
favourable bases and declining global
commodity prices.
87. India will remain the world’s fourth largest steel
maker this year even as its production growth
outpaced the global average in the first 11
months, World Steel Association data showed.
88. Asian Development Bank has granted a
whopping Rs 6,000 crore soft loan for
strengthening and building road network in
Madhya Pradesh.
89. Finance minister Arun Jaitley introduced the
Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, in
the Lok Sabha to facilitate the introduction of
proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) that
would replace most of the central and state
levies from April 2016 and create a single
national market. Though under its ambit, the
petroleum products would not be subject to the
levy of GST till the GST Council decides. In the
interim, both the Centre and states would
continue to impose their respective tax on
petroleum products. Taxes including excise duty,
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services tax, VAT, CST, entertainment tax,
purchase tax, and luxury tax among others will
be subsumed in the new indirect tax. For its
passage, the Bill needs two-thirds
thirds majority in
both the Houses and ratification by 50 per cent
states’ legislatures. The Bill proposes to give
states a five-year
year compensation timeline for
revenue losses: 100% for the first three years,
75% for the fourth year and 50% for fifth year.
Central and state GST will be decided by
b the GST
Council.
India has not fared well in Forbes’ list of
the ‘Best Countries for Business’ this year,
ranking 93rd out of 146 nations, behind
countries like Mexico, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka.
Denmark topped Forbes’ 9th annual ranking of
the Best Countries
tries for Business, followed by
Hong Kong, New Zealand, Ireland and Sweden.
India’s GDP is expected to rise to 5.5 per cent in
the current fiscal from 4.7 per cent last year,
says the Finance Ministry’s Mid--Year economic
review.
The Defence Acquisition Cou
Council approved
proposals worth Rs 4,444 crore, including the
purchase of four helicopters for survey vessels
at Rs 2,324 crore.
An international think-tank
tank has ranked it third
globally with an estimated USD 94.76 billion
(nearly Rs 6 lakh crore) illicit wealth
wea outflows in
2012. China is on the top with USD 249.57
billion, followed by Russia with USD 122.86
billion in terms of the quantum of black money
moving out of a country for 2012.
Government made it clear that Aadhaar number
was not mandatory for transf
transfer of subsidy
amount of LPG cylinder and the option of
providing a bank account is also available under
the Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG.
The Lima climate talk held in Peru. Next will
held in Paris in 2015.
India’s economic growth is expected to improve
to 6.3 per cent in 2016 with the country leading
economic recovery in South Asia, according to a
United Nations report.
India’s current account deficit widened to $10.1
billion or 2.1% of gross domestic product in the
second quarter of the current fiscal from
f
$5.2
billion or 1.2% of GDP in the year--ago-period.
The country’s balance of payments (BoP)
remained surplus for the fourth consecutive
year at 6.9 billion dollar for the second quarter,
narrower than 11.2 billion dollar surplus in the
first quarter, the
he Reserve Bank of India said.
said
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a
brainstorming session with all chief ministers of
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states on replacing Soviet-style
Soviet
central planning
with a ‘Team India’ concept that would give
federal states a greater role.
100. Reiterating thee promise of 24×7 electricity to all
by 2019, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said use
of information technology will help in achieving
the target.
43,033
101. The government has also approved Rs 43,033crore rural electrification scheme, Deendayal
Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana.
Yo
The scheme will
replace the existing Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY).
102. A government-constituted
constituted task force to review
the operations of India Post has suggested
creation of a Postal Bank of India (PBI), which
would work independently within
w
the postal
department with banking professionals. The
task force headed by former cabinet secretary
TSR Subramanian has also suggested setting up
of three subsidiaries as a part of a holding
company under the postal department for
extending services in the fields of banking, ecommerce and insurance.
103. Tax Administration and Reform Commission
headed by Parthasarathi Shome Committee
proposed levying of banking transaction tax on
withdrawal of cash beyond a specified limit in a
day to check black money. BCTT was introduced
in June 2005, but was withdrawn in April 2009.
BCTT was levied in respect of cash withdrawals
in a day exceeding Rs 50,000 in the case of an
individual and Rs 1 lakh in the case of other
persons.
104. Indian economy grew at 5.3 per cent in JulySeptember quarter. The Gross Domestic Growth
in the second quarter was better than 5.2 per
cent of the same period last fiscal but was slower
than 5.7 per cent rate achieved in April-June
April
quarter of current fiscal.
105. Reserve Bank of India allowed banks to extend
loans up to Rs 10 lakh to individuals against
long-term
term infrastructure bonds issued by them,
thus easing loan norms for low-cost
low
housing.
106. Punjab National Bank said it will not put a cap
on number of free ATMs transactions for its
saving account customers.
ustomers.
107. As oil ministers of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries meet in Vienna
to press for a one million barrels a day
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production cut to support falling Brent crude oil
prices.
108. To ease visa processing and help increase tourist
inflow, the Union government rolled out the
much-awaited
awaited electronic visa system for visitors
from 43 countries.
109. Of the 7.64 crore bank accounts opened under
the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana so far, 5.74
crore have no deposits. A total of Rs. 6,015 crore
is held in the remaining 1.9 crore accounts. Thus,
the average deposit in each of these is Rs.
3165.78. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has
raised the target for opening of PMJDY bank
accounts by the next Republic Day to 10 crore.
110. The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly
overw
for the break-up of Google.
111. The Reserve Bank of India issued final guidelines
for small finance banks and payments banks,
paving the way for mobile firms and
supermarket chains, among others, to enter the
banking arena to cater to individuals and small
businesses. The minimum paid--up capital for
these banks will
ill be Rs.100 crore each. The
foreign shareholding will be in line with the
foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for
private sector banks. Applications will be
accepted till the close of business as on January
16, 2015.
112. Individuals/professionals with 10 years of
experience in banking and finance and
companies and societies will be eligible to set up
small finance banks. Existing non-banking
non
finance companies (NBFCs), micro finance
institutions (MFIs), and local area banks (LABs)
can also opt for conversion
sion into small finance
banks. The small finance banks will primarily
undertake basic banking activities of acceptance
of deposits and lending to un
un-served and
underserved sections. However, RBI said, “There
will not be any restriction in the area of
operations
tions of small finance banks.” The small
finance banks will be subject to all prudential
norms and regulations of RBI as applicable to
existing
commercial
banks,
including
requirement of maintenance of Cash Reserve
Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR).
The small finance banks will be required to
extend 75 per cent of its adjusted net bank credit
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(ANBC) to the sectors eligible for classification
as priority sector lending (PSL) by the RBI.
113. The RBI said that the objectives of setting up of
payments banks will be to further financial
inclusion by providing small savings accounts
and payments/remittance services to migrant
labour workforce, low income households, small
businesses, other unorganised sector entities
and other users. Existing non
non-bank pre-paid
payment instrument (PPI) issuers and other
entities such as individuals / professionals, nonnon
banking finance companies (NBFCs), corporate
business
correspondents(BCs),
mobile
telephone companies, super-market
super
chains,
companies, real sector cooperatives
cooperati
and public
sector entities can apply to set up payments
banks. A promoter/promoter group can have a
joint venture with an existing scheduled
commercial bank to set up a payments banks. On
acceptance of demand deposits, the RBI said that
payments bank w
would initially be restricted to
holding a maximum balance of Rs. 100,000 per
individual customer. Payments banks, however,
cannot issue credit cards. It also stated that
apart from amounts maintained as Cash Reserve
Ratio (CRR), it will be required to inve
invest
minimum 75 per cent of its “demand deposit
balances” in Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR).
114. Namibia became the first African country in
Africa to go to presidential and legislative polls
using EVMs made in India.
115. Market capitalisation of all listed companies
compani on
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Asia first stock
exchange, reached historic milestone of Rs. 100
lakh crore-mark
mark on 28 November for the first
time.
116. The Reserve Bank of India
Indi came out with the
final guidelines for the Bharat Bill Payment
System, which will help consumers pay multiple
bills like electricity, telephone and school fees at
a single point of transaction. The RBI-promoted
RBI
payment retail gateway and the issuer of the
Rupay debit Cards, the National Payment
Corporation of India (NPCI) has
ha been appointed
as the nodal body. The apex banks has set a
Rs.100-crore
crore net worth and domestic
registration as qualifying conditions for those
seeking to be authorised collection agents.
117. China and Pakistan have kicked off their multimulti
billion dollar ‘Economic
‘Econ
Corridor’ project that
passes through Pakistan-occupied
Pakistan
Kashmir
(PoK) by laying the foundation of a fenced fourfour
lane motorway, setting in motion a mammoth
project connecting the two countries.
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118. In order to improve performance of public
sector banks, the government
overnment sought
suggestions from the general public on various
parameters, including bad assets that have hit a
record low in terms of volumes.
119. Indian and France agreed to overcome
differences and fast-track
track ongoing negotiations
for the purchase of 126 Rafale fighter jets from
France.
120. India, backed by the United States, opposed a
U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling
on New Delhi to voluntarily abandon its nuclear
weapons. The resolution, which also targeted
Israel and Pakistan, was, however, passed
overwhelmingly.
121. To help attract foreign funds in construction of
townships, hospitalss and hotels, the government
relaxed the FDI policy for this sector by easing
exit norms and reducing built
built-up area and
capital needs. India allows 100 per cent FDI in
the sector through the automatic route. The new
policy has done away with the three-year
three
lock-in
period for repatriation of investment. Under the
new policy, the minimum floor area requirement
has been reduced to 20,000 square metres from
50,000 square metres earlier. It also brought
down the minimum capital requirement to $5
million from $10 million.
paid Payment
122. Relaxing norms for Pre-paid
Instruments (PPIs), the Reserve Bank of India
doubled the card limit to Rs.1 lakh.
123. India is only “partly free” with a rank
ank of 30 out of
65 countries in Internet freedom but as of May
this year.
124. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the
first phase of the capital city in Guntur district
would be completed by 2019.
nment told the Supreme Court that
125. Government
students of Kendriya
ya Vidyalayas can learn
Sanskrit this academic year without having to
take exams and study German as an optional
subject.
126. ICICI Bank has informed the stock exchanges
that the bank decided to sell its shareholding in
ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Com
Company
(IBEL), a non-material wholly-owned
owned banking
subsidiary in Russia.
127. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh and
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad took
a firm step to strengthen their relationship by
announcing a matrimonial alliance between the
two families. Mr. Prasad’s youngest daughter Raj
Laxmi is set to marry Mr. Mulayam Singh’s grand
nephew and Mainpuri MP Tej Pratap Yadav.
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128. A Boeing aircraft has completed the world’s first
flight using ‘green diesel’, a sustainable biofuel
made from vegetable oils, waste cooking oil and
animal fats.
129. The Lok Sabha cleared The Repealing and
Amending (Second) Bill, 2014, to remove 90
redundant Amendment Acts from the statute
book.
130. The U.S. and NATO closed their combat
command in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, more than 13 years
after
er invading the country in the wake of the
September 11 terror attacks to target al-Qaeda
al
and Osama bin Laden. However, American
officials say the U.S. troop total will shrink to
5,500, and to near zero by the end of 2016.
131. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
S
said in the
Rajya Sabha that the Centre had asked all States
and Union Territories to stop operations of Web
Webbased taxi services such as Uber till they got
themselves registered with the authorities
concerned
132. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has rruled
against the U.S. imposing high duty on imports of
certain Indian steel products, an order hailed by
India as a ‘significant victory’ that will help
domestic manufacturers and exporters.
133. A technical survey to restore a 496
496-km-long
historic road link between
be
Guwahati and Dhaka
via Shillong and Sylhet, snapped during
Partition, began.
134. A proposal to give Rs.5 lakh each to the kin of
the 1984 anti-Sikh
Sikh riot victims, triggered after
the assassination of former Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi, was approved by the government.
135. A goods train from China completed the world’s
longest rail journey when it reached M
Madrid, its
final destination.. The train was flagged off from
China’s international commodity hub of Yiwu on
November 18.
136. UN General Assembly adopted an India-led
resolution declaring June 21 as ‘International
Day of Yoga’.
137. Google has said that it will shut down Google
News in Spain because of a new law that will
force it to pay news outlets whose content it
publishes, partially or in whole.
138. The Securities and
an Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) said it had passed orders against 51
entities and its directors carrying on
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8
unregistered collective investment schemes
(CIS), since January 1, 2011.
139. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan
cautioned the government on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ mantra,
suggesting that India would have to look for
regional and domestic demand for growth — to
make in India primarily for India. He suggested
Make for India.
140. The Maharashtra government declared Dahi
Handi (forming of human pyramids and
breaking the earthen pot on the occasion of
Krishna Janmashtami) an “adventure sport.”
141. Nineteen long years after it was first screened,
Hindi romantic-drama Dilwale Dulhania Le
Jayenge , on 12 December, the film completed its
1,000th week at the iconic Maratha Mandir
cinema hall in south Mumbai.
142. China has tested a hypersonic strike vehicle Wu14, signalling that Beijing is working on a new
ultra high speed weapon system that can breach
the existing missile shield of the United States.
143. Russia responded angrily to news that U.S.
senators had passed a bill calling for fresh
sanctions against Moscow and the supply of
lethal military aid to Ukraine.
144. Mauritius President named veteran politician Sir
Anerood Jugnauth as Prime Minister, after the
84-year-old won a landslide taking nearly threequarters of the seats in Parliament.
145. The Centre has decided to provide financial
assistance to parents of transgender children to
enable them to bring them up without
discrimination and stigma. The financial
assistance scheme, fully sponsored by the
Centre, provides for Rs. 1,000 per transgender
child a month as monetary help to parents until
it reaches 18 years.
146. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won
comfortable re-election in a snap poll he had
billed as a referendum on his economic policies.
147. The U.S. Congress passed a $1.1-trillion spending
bill for fiscal year 2015 amid intense partisan
wrangling.
148. Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe
announced his resignation, following repeated
calls for him to step down amid anti-government
protests and a political crisis in the
impoverished Caribbean nation.
149. The Supreme Court allowed Anil Kumar Sinha,
the new CBI Director, to take charge of the
investigation and prosecution in the 2G
Spectrum scam cases.
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150. The dreaded IS terror group has been banned in
India, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
disclosed.
151. Indian woman boxer L. Sarita Devi was handed a
one-year ban by the International Boxing
Association (AIBA) for refusing to accept her
bronze medal at the Asian Games.
152. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a
monetary penalty on ICICI Bank (Rs.50 lakh) and
Bank of Baroda (Rs.25 lakh) for violation of its
instructions on Know Your Customer (KYC) and
anti-money laundering (AML) norms. It also
cautioned State Bank of India, Axis Bank and
State Bank of Patiala for these violations.
153. Goa Talkies is organising the first edition of the
Goa Short Film Carnival from February 20 to 22,
2015.
154. India will receive € 625 million from Germany to
support green energy infrastructure, according
to a financial cooperation agreement signed
between the two countries.
155. The United Nations said it has sent a team of
international experts to Bangladesh to help
clean up the world’s largest mangrove forest,
more than a week after it was hit by a huge oil
spill.
156. The Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority (IRDA) has slapped a penalty of Rs.31
lakh on Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of
Commerce Life Insurance Company and Rs.5
lakh on Anand Rathi Insurance Brokers for
violating regulatory norms.
157. A 1000-kg “glide bomb,” designed and
developed by the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), was
successfully tested. An Indian Air Force fighter,
which took off from the Kalaikunda air base,
near Kharagpur, West Bengal, dropped one over
the Bay of Bengal, off the Odisha coast. The
bomb, guided by its on-board navigation system,
glided for about 100 km before reaching the
targeted area with precision.
158. Following a bird flu scare, 100 geese and a few
other birds were culled in the Sukhna lake in
Chandigarh.
159. President Pranab Mukherjee handed over the
recordings of transmissions made by All India
Radio and Doordarshan during the Liberation
War of 1971 to Bangladeshi President Abdul
Hamid. Receiving the Bangladeshi President at
the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
160. At least 32 militants were killed by the Pakistan
Army in the restive northwest region bordering
Afghanistan, taking the number of terrorists
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killed to 89 after the Peshawar school massacre
that left 148 people dead.
161. The Modi government has promised Housing for
all by 2022, relaunching the programme Rajiv
Awas Yojana under the Sardar Patel National
Mission for Urban Housing.
162. The 13th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
will be held in Ahmadabad, Gujarat from January
7 to 9. Gujarat has been chosen as the partner
State as 2015 happens to be the 100th year of
Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South
Africa. On January 7, the youth segment of PBD
will be inaugurated with the theme Bharat ko
jano andBharat ko mano.
163. Ford Credit India has been granted licence by
the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a nonbanking financial company in India. Ford Credit
India is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Credit
Company.
164. The Maharashtra Assembly passed the Maratha
reservation Bill. The previous Congress-NCP
government issued ordinances to provide 16 per
cent reservation to Marathas.
165. The deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency
notes of various denominations, including
Rs.500 and Rs.1,000, has been extended by
another six months till June 30, 2015.
166. The Union government has approved an
amendment
to
the
Andhra
Pradesh
Reorganisation Act to increase the number of
seats in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council
from 50 to 58.
167. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate
the 102nd Indian Science Congress in Mumbai
here on January 3, it was officially announced.
ALL THE BEST
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