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General Awareness - Bullet

(Comprehensive summary of the period October-December 2014)

Dear PaGaLGuY readers,
General Awareness Bullet is a comprehensive summary of important news and events held during the
period ranging from October December 2014.
Please print a hard copy of this for your regular use. Our goal is to ensure that you perform well in
your exams and have the requisite material readily available.
We intend to release a PaGaLGuY Bullet on various exams every month.
This bullet is relevant for Banking, SSC and all Insurance Exams.
To download all the material that we have you should visit us at: http://www.pagalguy.com
Prepared by Neeraj Mishra

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Reserve Bank of India RBI is the nations central bank; which is also called the Banker of the Banks.
RBI established by RBI Act 1934 in 1935 and nationalized in 1949.
It was established with the objective of ensuring monetary stability and operating the currency and credit system of the
country to its advantage.
The Reserve Bank of India was set up on the basis of the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission.
The functions of the Reserve Bank can be categorized as follows:
i. Controls the monetary policy of India.
ii. Regulation and supervision of the banking and non-banking financial institutions.
iii. Regulation of money, forex and government securities markets as also certain financial derivatives
iv. Issuing money (the rupee) and adequately ensuring a high quality money supply;
v. Providing loans to commercial banks in order to maintain or grow the Gross National Product (GNP);
Note: Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a currency controls the supply of money, often
targeting an inflation rate or interest rate to ensure price stability and general trust in the currency
Present Governor of RBI Raghuram Rajan
There are 4 Deputy Governors of RBI 1. S.S. Mundra
2. R. Gandhi
3. Urjit Patel
4. H.R. Khan
Headquarter of RBI located in Mumbai.

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RBI in News

RBI keeps interest rate unchanged

i. On Dec 2, 2014, RBI, in its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement,
kept the key policy rates unchanged.
ii. On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the RBI has decided to keep the repo rate under the
liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 8.0 per cent.
iii. RBI kept the repo rate (8 per cent) , reverse repo rate (7 per cent) and the
CRR (4.0 per cent) unchanged.
About RBI policy rates:
1. Repo Rate It is the rate at which RBI lends money to the commercial
banks in the event of any shortfall of funds.
Note: i. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation.
ii. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper
rate. When the repo rate increases, borrowing from the central bank
becomes more expensive
iii. REPO rate is the rate of interest which RBI implements on the short
term loans, i.e., from a period ranging between 2 days to 3 months (90
Days).
2. Reverse Repo Rate - It is the rate at which RBI borrow money from
commercial banks.
Note: i. It is a monetary policy instrument which can be used to control
the money supply in the country. It is mostly done when there is surplus
liquidity in the market.
ii. Reverse repo rate is always lower than the repo rate.
3. Bank Rate - Bank rate is the rate of interest implemented by RBI when it lends money to a public sector bank for the
long term basis, i.e. from a period ranging from 90 days to 1 year.
Or Bank rate, also referred to as the discount rate, is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on the loans and
advances to a commercial bank.
Note: Please note that Bank Rate and Repo Rate seem to be similar terms because in both of them RBI lends to the
banks. However, Repo Rate is a short-term measure and it refers to short-term loans and used for controlling the
amount of money in the market, Bank Rate is a long-term measure and is governed by the long-term monetary policies
of the RBI.
4. MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) It is the rate at which banks borrow funds overnight from the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) against approved government securities.
Note: MSF came into effect in May 2011. Under the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF), currently banks avail funds from
the RBI on overnight basis against their excess statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) holdings.
About RBI reserve rates:
1. CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) It is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with the RBI.
Note: If the central bank decides to increase the CRR, the available amount with the banks comes down. The RBI uses
the CRR to drain out excessive money from the system.
2. SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is the amount a commercial bank needs to maintain in
the form of cash, or gold or govt. approved securities (Bonds) before providing credit to its customers.
Note: SLR rate is determined and maintained by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in order to control the expansion of
bank credit.

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How SLR determined? - SLR is determined as the percentage of total demand and percentage of time liabilities. Time
Liabilities are the liabilities a commercial bank liable to pay to the customers on their anytime demand. .
What is the need of SLR? - With the SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio), the RBI can ensure the solvency a commercial
bank. It is also helpful to control the expansion of Bank Credits. By changing the SLR rates, RBI can increase or
decrease bank credit expansion.

Current Rates:

1. Repo Rate
2. Reverse Repo

8%
7%

3. CRR
4. SLR
5. MSF
6. Bank Rate

4%
22%
9%
9%

(Unchanged)
(Unchanged)
(Unchanged)
(Unchanged)
(Unchanged)
(Unchanged)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 of various denominations by another six
months till 30 June 2015.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed the norms for Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPI) and doubled the limit of PPI
from 50000 rupees to 1 lakh rupees. The move would help in achieving the objective of limiting cash transactions in the
system.
Key Facts Maximum validity enhanced from 1 year to 3 years.
RBI also allowed issue of multiple PPIs by banks from fully-KYC compliant bank accounts for dependent or family
members.
Only one card can be issued to one beneficiary.
RBI permitted banks to issue rupee denominated PPIs for visiting foreign nationals and NRIs.

About Prepaid payment instruments

Prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) are those which facilitate purchase of goods and services against the value stored on such
instruments. The value stored on such instruments represents the value paid for by the holder, by cash, by debit to a bank
account, or by credit card.
Reserve Bank scraps 80:20 norms for gold imports
i. The Reserve Bank of India announced to withdrawal gold import restrictions popularly known as the 80:20 scheme
with immediate effect.
ii. Scrapping of 80:20 will automatically control gold smuggling. It will also ease supply for local jewellers and exporters,

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List of Important Abbreviations

1. ADR 2. ATM 3. BOP
4. CAD
5. CRR
6. CD
7. CRAR
8. SLR
9. CDR
10. ALM
11. CAR
12. IFSC
13. KYC
14. NEFT
15. LCR
16. LAF
17. NDTL
18. RRB
19. SEBI

American Depository Receipt

Automated Teller Machine
Balance of Payments
Capital Account Deficit
Cash Reserve Ratio
Certificate of Deposit
Capital to Risk Weighted Asset Ratio
Statutory Liquidity Ratio
Corporate Debt Restructuring
Asset Liability Management
Cash Adequacy Ratio
Indian Financial System Code
Know Your Customer
National Electronic Funds Transfer
Liquidity Coverage Ratio
Liquidity Adjustment Facility
Net Demand Time Liability
Regional Rural Banks
Securities and Exchange Board of India

20. PIO

Persons of Indian Origin

21. FRBMA

Fiscal Responsibility and Budget

22. DTAA
23. TIEA

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

Tax Information exchange Agreement

24. PPP

Public Private Partnership & Purchasing Power parity

25. ASBA

Application Supported by Blocked Amount

26. NBFC
27. EEFC

Non Banking Finance Companies

- Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency

28. RTGS
29. MSF

Real Time Gross Settlement

Marginal Standing Facility

30. CBS
31. FSLRC

Core Banking Solution

Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission

32. NITI (Aayog)

33. CIBIL

National Institution for Transforming India

Credit Information Bureau Limited

34. SWIFT

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial

Telecommunication
Government Internal Revenue Order

35. GIRO

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Important Committees in News:

Committee
1. G.P. Mathur Committee

Objective
to examine the possibility of constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for
reinvestigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases.

2. T S R Subramanian Committee

to leverage the post office/ to transform the Post Office Network in keeping with
changing market trends and competition.

3. Ashok Lahiri Committee

4. TSR Subramaniam Committee

to interact with trade and industry on tax-related issues on a regular basis.

to review the processes, laws and Acts of the Ministry of Environment, Forests
and Climate Change

5. Pratyush Sinha committee:

6. T.K. Vishwanathan committee
7. H R Khan Committee
8. Gopalakrishna Committee
9. G N Bajpai Committee

to assess compensation for coal blocks.

to provide Bankruptcy code for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
to examine the un-claimed amount in PPF, Post Office and Savings Schemes.
on Capacity Building in Banks and non-Banks
to review the investment guidelines for national pension system (NPS) schemes
in private sector.

10. Sivaramakrishnan Committee

11. G. Padmanabhan Committee
12. Nachiket Mor committee
13. Nachiket Mor Committee
14. Justice Prabha Sridevan
committee

to suggest the place to build the capital city of Andhra Pradesh

implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BPPS)
for small and payments bank
to permits NBFCs to work as Business Correspondents of banks.
to function as a think-tank to help draft a new National Intellectual Property
Rights Policy (National IPR Policy)

15. PJ Nayak Committee

to review Governance of Boards of Banks in India

Indias GDP Growth projected by different Org. for current fiscal i.e. 2014-15
Name of Org.
1. RBI
2. World Bank
3. IMF
4. ADB (Asian Develop. Bank)
5. Fitch
6. Moodys
7. United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD)

GDP growth Projected at - %

5.5 %
5.6%
5.6 %
5.5%
5.6%
5.6%
5.6%

Note: Global economy to grow over 3% in 2015 & 2016: United Nations

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Summits/Conferences around the World 1. 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2015 Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Note: i. Guyana President Donald Ramotar is the chief guest of the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
ii. The event is being held in Gandhinagar to mark the centenary of the return of the " Sarva Sreshtha Pravasi Bhartiyaor
foremost Indian diaspora member, Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa.
iii. 12th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held in New Delhi.
Note: i. On January 9, 1915 Mahatma Gandhi (Sarva Sreshtha Pravasi Bhartiya) return to India from South Africa and
led India to independence and transformed the lives of Indians endlessly.
ii. The government of India choses January 9 to celebrate Pravasi Divas which is organized by Ministry of Overseas
Indian Affairs (MOIA), from 7th-9th January every year since 2003.
iii. The decision to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was suggested by L. M. Singhvi Committee, a High Level
Committee (HLC) on the Indian Diaspora which was set up by the Govt. of India.
iv. After receiving the report of the L. M. Singhvi Committee, Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Bajpayee
announced on January 8, 2002, to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas"(PBD) on 9 January from 2003.

Important Summits/Conference
Summits / Conference

Venue

1. World Diamond Conference 2014

2. 8th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission meeting
3. UN climate summit 2014
4. 18th SAARC Summit 2014
Theme - Deeper Integration for Peace, Progress &
Prosperity
Note: SAARC total members 8
1. Afghanistan 2. Bangladesh. 3. Bhutan. 4. India
5. Maldives 6. Nepal 7. Pakistan. 8. Sri Lanka

New Delhi
South Korea
Lima, Peru
Kathmandu (Nepal)

5. 19th SAARC Summit 2016

6. G20 Leaders Summit 2014
7. G-20 meeting (2014) of Finance ministers and central
bank governors

Islamabad, Pakistan
Brisbane, Queensland (Australia)
Cairns (Australia)

8. 15th G-20 Summit 2015

9. 16th G-20 Summit 2016
10. NATO Summit 2014
11. 3rd Nuclear security summit 2014
12. 4th Nuclear security summit 2016
13. 6th BRICS Summit 2014
Theme "Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions

Turkey
China
Wales (Britain)
Hague, Netherland
United States
Fortaleza, Brazil

14. 7th BRICS Summit 2015

15. IBSA Summit 2015
Note: IBSA consist of India-Brazil-South Africa

Ufa, Russia
New Delhi, India

16. G-7 Summit 2014

17. 3rd BIMSTEC Summit 2014 (Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)
18. 3rd BIMSTEC Summit 2014 (Energy Ministerial Meeting)
Note: 4th BIMSTEC Summit 2015 Bhutan
BIMSTEC members Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Thailand

Brussels
Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar)

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Nepal

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Financial/Banking - News
1. Lok Sabha passes Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014 This bill
amends Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 and aims to strengthen the Regional
Rural Banks and deepen their financial inclusion.
Important Points
Approved capital: This amendment bill increases the authorized capital of
each Regional Rural Bank (RRB) from Rs 5 crore to Rs 2000 crore divided into
Rs 200 crore of fully paid share of Rs 10 each. As per the parent Act the Rs 5
crore share capitals of RRBs is split into 5 lakh shares of Rs 100 each.
Allotted capital: It also provides that the authorized capital issued by any
RRBs shall not be reduced below Rs 1 crore and shares in all cases to be fully
paid up shares of Rs 10 each.
Term of directors: The bill raises the tenure of directors to 3 years from
existing 2 years. The Bill also states that no director can hold office for a total
period exceeding six years.
ICICI Bank in News
Country's first contact-less debit & credit cards launched by ICICI Bank i. The first 'contact-less' debit and credit cards to enable electronic payments
without swiping was launched by ICICI Bank.
ii. The cards, which are based on near field communication (NFC) mechanism,
will allow customers to manage their accounts without having to insert or
swipe the cards.
Note: Customers need not swipe the card at the point of sale terminal. The card
is similar to the Metro card used in Metro trains. You can simply tap it on the
terminal and pay for your purchases.
ICICI Bank has launched its own version of Digital Village Project by adopting
entire Akodara Village in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat.
ICICI Bank launched a savings account for minors above 10 years of age which is known as Smart Star accounts.
ICICI Bank offers Card less Cash Withdrawal at ATMs. Now customer can withdrawal cash without a debit card at an
ICICI Bank ATM.
Note: Bank of India is the first bank to launch this facility.
SBI (State Bank of India) in News
SBI Cards has tied up with Future Group company Fashion at Big Bazaar (FBB) to offer a co-branded CREDIT CARD,
Styleup.
Note: i. The new Styleup card offers a lifetime flat 10 per cent discount on fashion apparel, fashion accessories and
footwear at all FBB and Big Bazaar stores and the customers will also get 10 times the rewards on all Big Bazaar purchases
besides other discounts and rewards.
ii. SBI Cards is the only free-standing CREDIT CARD company in the country.
State Bank of India to launch Islamic equity fund: State-owned bank will launch an Islamic equity fund next month
aimed mainly at the country's 170 million Muslims.
Note: i. India's stock exchanges have between 600 and 700 companies that are Sharia-compliant.
ii. India is only the second country outside the Islamic world where a state-owned bank is offering a Sharia-compliant
fund. The U.K. issued sovereign Islamic bonds in June.
SBI launches mPassBook facility on its smartphone application anywhere' mobile application, for its retail banking users.
Note: mPassBook was an electronic application of a physical passbook for savings bank and current accounts.
SBI lend $ 1 billion to Adani Group to build Australian coal mine which it aims to build by end-2017. Founder of Adani
Group Gautam Adani.
State Bank of India (SBI) launched a savings account for minors above 10 years of age which is known as Pehla Kadam
and Pehli Udaan
SBI signed 500 million dollar Line of Credit with Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank).
SBI, celebrated 150 years of its operations in Sri Lanka on 13/Sept/2014.

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Kotak Mahindra Bank in News
Kotak Mahindra Bank is the first bank to fully own an insurance business
i. Kotak Mahindra Bank became the first bank to get the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) permission to set up a whollyowned non-life insurance company.
ii. The bank is already the promoter of a life insurance company in partnership with Old Mutual of South Africa.
Note: i. RBI guidelines allow a bank to hold max 50 per cent in insurance joint venture. However, RBI allowed some
exceptions, like SBI and ICICI Bank. In both these partnerships, the banks hold 74 per cent.
Kotak Mahindra acquired ING Vysya Bank deal at around Rs 15,000 crore.
i. Kotak Mahindra Bank announced it was acquiring Bengaluru-headquartered ING Vysya Bank in an all-stock deal.
Kotak Mahindra Bank launched Facebook-based funds transfer platform KayPay
Note: KayPay is a bank agnostic payment product for Facebook users to send money to each other.
Other Financial/Banking/ News
1. Canara Bank has been conferred with the Niryat Bandhu Silver Trophy
in the in the banks category for its support services rendered for
promotion of exports.
2. China beats India in November FII inflows: HSBC
Note: Among Asian economies, China regained the top position as the most loved market, pushing India down to second
position in the region, while Thailand was placed at the third spot, it said.
3. Union Cabinet approved hike of government stake in IFCI to 51 percent - The increase in government stake will be through
infusion of 60 crore rupees by way of acquisition of preference shares from existing shareholders. As a result, Indias
oldest financial institution IFCI will now become a government owned company.
Note: The current shareholding of Union government in IFCI after inclusion of the preference share capital was 47.93
percent. Therefore, IFCI was not a Government Company under section 2(45) of the Companies Act, 2013.
4. ADB give $200 Million Loan to YES Bank to Helps Rural Women, Small Holder Farmers - The Asian Development Bank
(ADB) has signed a loan of up to $200 million with YES Bank Ltd which will provide financing assistance to low income
women borrowers and small-scale farmers in rural India.
5. India's LIC International and Abu Dhabi -based First Gulf Bank are planning to introduce a unique co-branded credit card
in the United Arab Emirates to address concerns of insurance policy holders.
6. The Asian Development Bank has agreed to give $150-million loan to the Government of India to help build transmission
lines for renewable energy in Rajasthan.
7. ADB (Asian Development Bank) approves $350 mn for up gradation of roads in Madhya Pradesh.
8. Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) retains interest rate on provident fund at 8.75 percent for the current
fiscal.
9. Union Government signed a loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 75 million dollar and 1.8 million
dollar grant for Karnataka Integrated Urban Water Management Investment Program (KIUWMIP).
10. Federal Bank Limited launched a savings account for minors above 10 years of age which is known as Young Champ.

Banking Schemes KISAN VIKAS PATRA (KVP) -

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) relaunched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Key facts Money will be doubles in 8 years 4 months (100 months).
KVP will be available in the denomination of Rs 1,000; 5,000; 10,000 and 50,000.
Interest applicable on KVP is 8.7%
No KYC norms would be applicable at the time of purchase of KVP.
There will be no upper ceiling on investment. .
No PAN requirement for investment in Kisan Vikas Patra
The facility of transfer from one post office to another anywhere in India and of nomination will be available.
Earlier, it was launched by the Government on April 1, 1988

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PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA

'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' Scheme for financial inclusion launched was launched by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 28th Aug 2014 to help the poor open bank accounts.

Key Facts:
Slogan of the Scheme - Mera Khata Bhagya Vidhaata.
Aims to open 15 Crore Bank accounts by 15 Aug. 2015.
Every person will eligible insurance to receive an accident insurance cover of up-to Rs. 1 Lakh.
An additional Rs. 30,000 life insurance cover will be provided for those opening bank accounts before January 26, 2015.
HDFC Ergo General Insurance will provide the accident cover under the scheme.
LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) will provide the life insurance cover of Rs 30,000 under the scheme
Rs 5,000 overdraft facility for Aadhar-linked accounts, Ru Pay Debit Card with and minimum monthly remuneration of Rs
5,000 to business correspondents who will provide the last link between the account holders and the bank.

'NITI Aayog' Replace Yojana Aayog (Planning Commission)

The Government has replaced 64 year old Yojana Aayog (Planning Commission) with a new institution named NITI Aayog
(National Institution for Transforming India) on January 1 2015.
NITI Aayog has a distinctive innovative structure to help states to participate in policy making which would help India to
become a challenging economic power.
The objective of NITI Aayog is to provide a critical directional and strategic participation into the development process". It
will act as a "think-tank" and advise the Centre and states on policy matters.
Structure of NITI Aayog
i. Chairman - Prime Minister will be the chairman of NITI Aayog.
ii. 1 Vice Chairman - Arvind Panagariya (eminent economist) selected first Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog.
iii. 2 Full time members - Bibek Debroy an Economist and V.K. Saraswat (Former Secretary Defence R&D) has selected as the
full time members of the Aayog.
iii. Ex-officio 4 members - Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu and Radha Mohan Singh have been
named as Ex-officio members.
iv. Special Invitees - Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Smriti Irani are the special invitees.
v. It will have Governing Council, comprising Chief Ministers of states and Heads of all Union Territories. The Governing
Council replaces the earlier National Development Council.
Difference between Nitti Aayog and Planning Commission In 1950 Planning Commission was set up by the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, to formulate Five-Year
Plans.
The Planning Commission was set up to help a strong Centre plan and frame policies that would impact all states. Under
the Planning Commission flow of policy was directed from centre to state.
Under NITI Aayog it has programmed for open and ongoing involvement and partnership of every states of India, which
means now the state government can play direct and active role in achieving national objectives to suit their unique needs
rather than be dictated to by the Centre.
The big difference is, the States will now have a greater role in formulating the plans.
Note: Earlier Planning Commission formulated plans and then asked the States to implement them (provided they
agreed), now the States themselves will be able to actively participate in the planning so that there is no communication
gap and the plans can be implemented effectively.

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Foreign Investment
Foreign Investment - Investment' is generally assumed as financial aid to the capital of an enterprise or purchase of
shares in the enterprise. 'Foreign investment' is investment in an enterprise by a Non-Resident irrespective of whether
this involves new capital or reinvestment of earnings.
Foreign investment is of two kinds:
1. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) FDI' means investment by non-resident entity/person resident outside India in the
capital of the Indian company under Schedule 1 of FEMA (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India)
Regulations 2000. .
Note: FDI, in various sectors, is allowed, up to the different limits, varying from 20% to 100%, subject to applicable laws/
regulations; security and other conditionality.
2. Foreign Portfolio Investment: Foreign portfolio investment is the entry of funds into a country where foreigners make
purchases in the countrys stock and bond markets, sometimes for assumption.
What is the procedure for receiving Foreign Direct Investment in an Indian company: An Indian Company may
receive Foreign Direct Investment under the two routes as given under:
1. Automatic Route: FDI is allowed under the automatic route without prior approval either of the Government or the
Reserve Bank of India in all activities/sectors as specified in the consolidated FDI Policy, issued by the Government of
India from time to time.
2. Government/ Approval Route: All Foreign Direct Investment proposals requires prior approval of the Government
which are considered by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of
Finance.
1. Defence

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FDI Limits in Various Sectors are following:

Govt. has raised the FDI limits in
defence sector to 49% from 26%

2. Insurance

Govt. has raised the FDI limits in

defence sector to 49% from 26%

3. Public Sector Banks

4. Private Sector Banks

20%
74%

5. Pension Sector
6. Multi Brand
7. Single Brand
8. Tourism
9. Print Media
10. Civial Aviation
11. Pharmaceutical industry
12. Education Industry

49%
51%
100%
100%
26%
49%
100%
100%

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Person Appointed - India

New Appointment in Financial Sector New Indian Overseas Bank CMD - R Koteeswaran
New MD and CEO of Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) - Animesh Chauhan
New MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank - Kishore Kumar Sansi
New MD and CEO of United Bank of India - P. Srinivas
New Chief Economic Advisor - Arvind Subramanian
New Finance secretary - Rajiv Mehrishi. He replaces Arvind Mayaram
New Financial Services Secretary - Hasmukh Adhia appointed. He replaces GS Sandhu
New Chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory Fund and Development Authority (PFRDA) Hemant Contractor
New Director of Central Board of Directors of the RBI - Hasmukh Adhia
New Appointment in Important Institutions
Chairman of NITI Aayog - Prime Minister Narendra Modi
First Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog - Arvind Panagariya
First Chief Executive officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog - Sindhushree Khullar
New President of FICCI - Jyotsna Suri. He replaces Sidharth Birla
New CMD of Coal India - S. Bhattacharya
New Joint Secretary in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of India - Anurag Jain
New Chairman of Press Council of India - Justice CK Prasad. He replaced Markandey Katju
New Secretary General of Lok Sabha - Anoop Mishra
New Chairman of UPSC - Deepak Gupta. He replaces Rajni Razdan.
New Chairman of Bar Council of India - Mannan Kumar Mishra
New Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) - Anita Kapur. She replaced K V Chowdary
New Chairman of Prasar Bharti Board - Surya Prakash. He succeeded Mrinal Pande
New Chief Justice of India - Justice HL Dattu. He replaces CJI RM Lodha
New chief of the National Commission for Women (NCW) - Lalitha Kumaramangalam. She replaces Mamta Sharma.
New Gujarat Speaker - Ganpat Vasava
New Chief Minister of Sates
New CM of Jharkhand Raghubar Das (first non-tribal CM of the state). He replaces Hemant Shoren.
New CM of Goa - Laxmikant Parsekar.
New Chief Minister of Maharashtra - Devendra Fadnavis
New CM of Haryana - Manohar Lal Khattar
New chief minister of Tamil Nadu - O. Panneerselvam. He replaces J. Jayalalithaa
New CEO of the Polavaram Project Authority - Dinesh Kumar
New Governor Appointed New Governor of Uttarakhand - K.K. Paul
New Governor of Mizoram Aziz Qureshi
New Governor of Kerala - P Sathasivam. He replaces Sheila Dikshit
New Appointment in different Agencies New Chief of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) - Prakash Mishra
New Chief of RAW (Research & Analysis Wing) Rajinder Khanna
New chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB) - Dineshwar Sharma. He replaces Syed Asif Ibrahim.
New CBI Chief - Anil Kumar Sinha. He replace Ranjit Sinha
New interim Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). Rajiv. He replaces Pradeep Kumar
New Chairman of credit rating agency ICRA Limited - Arun Duggal

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New Ambassador appointed New US Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma. He replaces Nancy Powell.
New China Ambassador to India - Le Yucheng. He replaces replaced Wei Wei
New Bangladesh Ambassador to India - Syed Muazzem Ali. He replaced Tariq A
Karim
Myntra.com named Kangana Ranaut as its brand ambassador.
Amitabh Bachchan named brand Ambassador of Andhra Pradesh health sector.
Events Chief Guest
Chief Guest of Indias Republic Day 2015 - Barack Obama (US President)
Note: He will be the first US President to attend the Republic Day Parade of
India.
Chief guest of the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas - Donald Ramotar (Guyana
President)
New Union Minister Appointed:
New Defence Minister - Manohar Parrikar
New Railway Minister - Suresh Prabhu
New Tourism Minister Dr. Mahesh Sharma
New Law and Justice Minister - D V Sadananda Gowda
New Communications and Information Technology Minister - Ravi Shankar
Prasad
New Health & Family Welfare Minister - Jagat Prakash Nadda:
New Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water &
Sanitation - Birender Singh
New Science and Technology, Earth Sciences Minister - Dr. Harsh Vardhan

Person Appointed - International

New Prime Minister Appointed in various countries:
New Sri Lank PM - Ranil Wickeramasinghe
New Mali PM - Modibo Keita. He replaced Moussa Mara.
New Mauritius PM - Anerood Jugnauth. He replaced Navinchandra Ramgoolam
New Japan PM - Shinzo Abe was re-elected for another four-year term.
Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas won Uruguay Presidential Election 2014.He will become new President of Uruguay on 1
March2015.
New Prime Minister of Yemen - Khaled Bahah
New Prime Minister of New Zealand - John Key re-elected for a third term
New Prime Minister of Fiji - Voreqe Bainimarama.
New Iraqi Prime Minister - Haider al-Abadi
New Presidents appointed in various countries
New President of Sri Lanka - Maithripala Sirisena. He replaces Mahinda Rajapaksa.
New President of Romania - Klaus Werner Iohannis. He replaces Traian Basescu.
New Brazilian President - Dilma Rousseff re-elected for 2nd term
New President of Indonesia - Joko Widodo
New President of Afghanistan - Ashraf Ghani. He replaced Hamid Karzai
New interim president of Burkina Faso - Michel Kafando
New President of Turkey - Recep Tayyip Erdogan
New Indonesia President - Joko Widodo

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New Ambassador Appointed
UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia - Sania Mirza
Note: She became the first South Asian woman to be appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador.
iii. The other Goodwill Ambassadors include British actor Emma Watson, Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman, HRH
Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand, and Indian actor-filmmaker-singer Farhan Akhtar.
Brand ambassador for 2015 ICC World Cup - Sachin Tendulkar
Others Appointment 1. New US defense secretary - Ashton Carter. He replaced Chuck Hagel
2. New Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief - Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar
3. New UN Messenger of Peace - Leonardo DiCaprio
4. New International Economic Association President: Kaushik Basu:
5. New Executive Director (ED) in World Bank: Subhash Chandra Garg

Books/Authors
Book Titled 1. The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years
2. Born Again on the Mountain
3. My Name is Abu Salem
4. Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11
5. Your Dreams Are Mine Now: She Showed him What Love
6. Next China-India War - World's First Water War 2029

Written/ Authored by Pranab Mukherjee ( President of India)

Arunima Sinha
S Hussain Zaidi
Sandeep Unnithan
Ravinder Singh
Sundarajan Padmanabhan

7. The Election That Changed India

8. 'Playing it My Way'
Note: Playing It My Way is the autobiography of former
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
9. Truth Always Prevails
10. Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar
11. And Then One Day
12. The Lives of Others
Note: Novel was short listed for the prestigious Man Booker
Prize 2014.
13. One Life is Not Enough
14. The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Note: Winner of Man Booker Award 2014
15. Hlaf Girlfriend
16. The Vijay Mallya Story
17. God of Antarctica
18. The Substance and the Shadow
Note: The Substance and the Shadow, the biography of 91year-old actor Dilip Kumar
19. Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and other Truths
20. The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and
Unmaking of Manmohan Singh
21. My Years with Rajiv and Sonia
22. Not Just an Accountant

Rajdeep Sardesai
Sachin Tendulkar & Boria Majumdar

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Sadruddin Hashwani
Dilip DSouza
Naseeruddin Shah's autobiography
Neel Mukherjee
Kunwar Natwar Singh
Richard Flanagan
Chetan Bhagat
K Giriprakash
Yashwardhan Shukla
Uday Tara Nayar
PC Parakh
Dr. Sanjaya Baru
R.D.Pradhan
Vinod Rai

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Obituary
India
Person died
1. K. Balachander
2. Piratla Venkateswarlu
3. Grihanandan Singh
4. Nedunuri Krishnamurthy
5. V. R. Krishna Iyer
6. Nand Chaturvedi
7. GS Gangaram Laxman Taleka
8. Narayanan Lakshmi Balakrishnan
9. Upendra Jethalal Trivedi
10. V R Gowarikar
11. Boobli George Verghese
12. Deven Varma
13. Jarbom Gamlin
14. SV Krishnamurthy
15. Veenapani Chawla
16. Tapan Raychaudhuri
17. Ravi Chopra
18. Murli Deora
19. Sitara Devi
20. Qimat Rai Gupta
21. Sadashiv Amrapurkar
22. Pran Kumar Sharma

Field associated with

South India filmmaker
Veteran Journalist
Hockey Olympian
Veteran Carnatic vocalist Sangita Kalanidhi
Eminent jurist and former Supreme Court judge
Noted Hindi poet
Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Asso. General Secretary
Malayalam film actor
Gujarati film actor
Former ISRO Chairman
Noted journalist
Veteran actor-filmmaker
Former Arunachal Pradesh CM
veteran music critic
acclaimed theatre personality
distinguished historian of modern Indias economic
director of famous TV show Mahabharata
Former Petroleum Minister
Renowned Kathak dancer
Havells India Limited chairman
Veteran Bollywood actor
Cartoonist

WORLD
Person died
1. Luise Rainer
2. Geoff Pullar
3. Phil Hughes
4. Phyllis Dorothy James
5. Hillel Oscar
6. Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan
7. Michael Sata
8. Senzo Meyiwa
9. Mohammad Ghouse
10. Richard Attenborough

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Field associated with

First back-to-back Oscar winner American film actress
Former England cricketer
Australian cricketer
Crime novelist
Umpire and former captain of Israel's national cricket team;
died after being hit in the jaw by a ball
Indian-origin hotel doorman, who served world leaders like
Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and
Richard Nixon at the famous Galle Face Hotel in Colombo.
Zambia President
South African footballer
Former International cricket umpire
Gandhi' filmmaker

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Person Resigned/ Retired

India
Person
1. K. Radhakrishnan
2. Raghunath K. Shevgaonkar
3. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
4. Terry Walsh
5. Leela Samson

Field associated with

Retired as ISRO chief
Director of the Indian Institute of Technology
Retired from Test cricket
Indian Hockey coach
Resigned as Sangeet Natak Akademi chairperson

World
1. Chuck Hagel

US Defence Secretary resigned

Persons/ Personalities in News India

Person
1. A.R. Rahman

Why in News Nominated for Oscar Awards 2015 . He was nominated for the films
Million Dollar Arm, The Hundred-Foot Journey and Indian film
Kochadaiiyaan.
TVS chairman was conferred with Honorary Citizen of Busan, Korea
Won Mayoral election from Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) Municipal Corporation.
She scripted history by becoming the first transgender to get elected as
mayor in the state.
became longest serving Chief Minister of India

2. Venu Srinivasan
3. Madhu Kinnar (Transgender)
4. Pawan Chamling

World
1. Larry Page ( CEO and co-founder of Google)
2. Rolene Strauss
3. Barack Obama

named Business Person of the Year 2014

Miss World 2014
Indias Chief Guest of Republic Day 2015

Awards & Honours 1. Business person of the year for 2014 - According to Fortune magazine Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder of
Google, Larry Page has emerged as the 'business person of the year' for 2014.
2. Bharat Ratna Award 2014 Madan Mohan Malviya (posthumously) Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Former Prime Minister of
India) conferred with Bharat Ratna Award 2014.
Note: i. Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian educationist and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence
movement and as the four time president of Indian National Congress.
ii. Banaras Hindu University (BHU) is a public central university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Established in 1916 by
Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya.
iii. Bharat Ratna Award 2013 conferred to Sachin Tendulkar & Prof. CNR Rao
3. Miss World 2014 conferred to- Rolene Strauss of South Africa crowned Miss World 2014.
4. Time magazines "Person of the Year 2014"- Ebola fighters

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Note: The uncountable doctors, nurses and caregivers at the forefront of battling one of the worst ever outbreaks of the
deadly Ebola virus, were collectively named as Time magazine's 2014 'Person of the Year'.
5. Time magazines reader poll "Person of the Year 2014" - Narendra Modi (PM of India),
6. Asian of the Year' award - Narendra Modi (PM of India), award was given by Singapore leading daily newspaper "The
Straits Times".
7. Olof Palme Human Rights 2014 - Xu Youyu of China won the Olof Palme Human Rights Prize for the year 2014. The
award given annually by the Stockholm-based Olof Palme Memorial Fund of Sweden.
8. Yash Chopra Memorial Award conferred to - Amitabh Bachchan
9. Europe's best football player of the year award - Cristiano Ronaldo
10. Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014 conferred to - Ruhi Singh
11. PETA Indias People of the Year award 2014 conferred to - Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez and former Supreme
Court judge KS Radhakrishnan.
12. Queens Gold Medal award 2014 conferred to - Imtiaz Dharker (Noted Pakistan poetess)for her latest poetry collection
Over the Moon.
13. Lifetime Achievement Award conferred to - Playback singer Asha Bhosle awarded Lifetime Achievement Award at the
11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) held in Dubai.
14. Turner Prize 2014 conferred to - Duncan Campbell (Film artist of Ireland)
15. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Hall of Fame Award conferred to - Baichung Bhutia (Former Indian football captain)
16. Bharat Asmita award conferred to - Trilochan Sastry, Professor in Quantitative Methods and Information Systems,
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB),
17. Russian film Leviathan directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev won the best film award comprising Golden Peacock at the
45th International film Festival of India held in Goa.
18. Polly Umrigar Award 2013-14 conferred to: Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar
19. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award2014 conferred to- Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar
20. Japan national award conferred to: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
21. International Childrens Peace Prize 2014 - Indian-American Neha Gupta
22. Sumitra Charat Ram Award 2014 - Veteran classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj conferred with award
23. Sir Ross Masood Lifetime Achievement Award 2014 - Saiyid Hamid conferred
24. 2014 Worlds Children prize - Malala Yousafzai
25. 2014 Man Booker Prize - Australian author Richard Flanagan won 2014 Man Booker Prize for his novel The Narrow Road
to the Deep North
26. 2014 Liberty Medal - Malala Yousafzai
27. Euromoney's Central Bank Governor of Year Award - Raghuram Rajan
28. Indira Gandhi prize for peace, disarmament for 2014: Indian space agency ISRO conferred the Indira Gandhi Prize for
Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2014 in recognition of its contribution in strengthening international
cooperation in peaceful use of outer space.
29. Assam NGO Aaranyak won UN Lighthouse Activities award
i. Aaranyak, an Assam-based NGO working for the conservation of nature and a Kathmandu-based International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on 25 November 2014 won United Nations Lighthouse Activities award for
the year 2014.

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Nobel Prize - 2014

Fields
1. Nobel Prize in Peace

Winner
Kailash Satyarthi (India) & Malala Yousufzai
(Pakistan)

Work
For their struggle against the dominance of
children & for the right of all children to
education.

Note: i. Pakistans Malala Yousafzai (17), is the youngest recipient of the prize.
ii. Child rights activist Satyarthi, runs NGO Bachpan Bachao Aandolan (Save Childhood Movement).
iii. Kailash Satyarthi is the second Indian to win Nobel Peace Prize. The winner before him was Mother Teresa.
2. Nobel prize in
Literature

Patrick Modiano (France)

For the art of memory with which he has

evoked the most ungraspable human
destinies and uncovered the life-world of
the occupation".

3. Nobel prize in
Economics

Jean Tirole (France)

For research on market power and

regulation.

4. Nobel prize in
Medicine

1. John O'Keefe (British-American researcher)

2. Edvard Moser (Norway)
3. May-Britt Moser (Norway)

For their discoveries of cells that constitute

a positioning system in the brain" [Brain
GPS]

5. Nobel prize in Physics

1. Isamu Akasaki (Japan)

2. Hiroshi Amano (Japan)
3. Shuji Nakamura (Japanese American)

For Invention of blue LEDs

6. Nobel Prize in
Chemistry

1. Eric Betzig (American)

2. William E Moerner (American)
3. Stefan W Hell (Germany)

For the development of super-resolved

fluorescence microscopy".

Important News - India

Indias rank in different sector
India is worlds 4th largest steel maker.
Note: China has been ranked on the top, followed by the Japan and the US.
India ranks 18th on list of most desirable places to work.
Note: The US has been ranked on the top, followed by the UK, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
India slips to 4th place in UNCTAD's FDI destination ranking.
Note: China has retained its top position as the world's most attractive investment destination followed by the US and
Indonesia at second and third place, according to the UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2014.
India is home to the 2nd largest proportion of high-earning expatriates in the world.
Note: China and ahead of countries such as Switzerland, Russia and Hong Kong - according to the seventh Expat Explorer
survey by HSBC Expat.
Delhi Metro ranked 2nd among 18 international Metro systems in terms of overall customer satisfaction in an online
customer survey.
Note: London DLR, Delhi Metro and Bangkok respectively were the best three performers in the Net Promoters Score
(NPS) category.

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New Power plants installed Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the second unit of the 726 MW gas-based power plants at Palatana
in Tripura.
Suzlon Energy installed worlds tallest hybrid wind generator turbine in Kutch, Gujarat.
SunEdison signed MoU with Rajasthan Government to set up 5000MW solar projects.
BHEL will set up first Supercritical Thermal Power Plant in Telangana state.
Stamp/Coins released by government
Memorial coin in honour of Jamsetji Tata released by govt.
Stamp on Sri lankan Buddhist monk Anagarika Dharmapala released by govt.

Other Important Facts 1. Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik from Dehradun, Uttarakhand became the worlds first twin and sibling to climb the highest
peaks of the seven continents.
2. United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has decided to prepare a Tea Atlas in Indias North Eastern State Assam. This
atlas seeks to create a comprehensive database of the tea gardens and socio-economic condition of its workers in state.
3. Congress celebrated its 130th Foundation Day on 29th December 2014.
4. Delhi govt ban on Uber taxi service, after a 27-year-old MNC executive, who used its mobile app to book a cab, was raped
allegedly by the driver.
5. Private entity cannot hold more than 26% in coal venture
Note: i. According to Coal Ministry - A private sector entity cannot own more than 26 per cent stake in public-private joint
ventures for coal block allocations.
ii. However, if it is more than one private sector entity, the structure should be such that its stake does not exceed 49 per
cent.
6. India celebrates 43rd Navy Day on 4th December
7. Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's birthday on 25th December would be observed as National 'Good
Governance Day'.
8. IBM launches new e-mail service Verse.

India ranking in different Indexes

Index
1. Human Development Index 2014

Rank
135 (Norway on the top)

2. Global Environment Performance Index 2014

3. Global Hunger Index Report 2014
4. Intellectual property (IP) environment 2014
5. Global Peace Index 2014
6. World Press Freedom Index 2014
7. Global Innovation Index 2014
8. Global Competitiveness Index 2014
9. World Bank - Ease of Doing Business"

155 (Switzerland on the top)

55 (Mauritius on the top)
25 (US on the top)
143 (Iceland top the list while Syria the most violent place)
140 in the list of 180 countries
76
71
142 (Singapore top)

10. Intellectual property (IP) environment 2014

25 (US ranked on the top followed by UK and France)

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First in India -

First-ever Offshore Wind Power Project (100 MW capacity) in India will be set
up at - Gujarat coast
First Mega International Food Park was inaugurated at Dabwala Kalan, in
Fazilka District Punjab under the aegis of Mega Food Park Scheme.
First Olive refinery will be set up in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
First Skill development centre opens in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
First Mega Food Park opens in Tumkur in Karnataka.
First kisan mandi is set up at Alipur in north Delhi
First Health Adalat launched in Karnataka.
Financial inclusion: Kerala became the first state in the country to have bank
accounts for all families under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY).
Note: In addition, Goa, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep and three
districts of Gujarat- Porbandar, Mehasana, Gandhi Nagar, have also covered all
households under PMJDY with at least one bank account.
Fits first e-police station launched by Delhi Police.

(India) States News

1. Amitabh Bachchan named as the Brand Ambassador of AP health sector
2. Andhra Pradesh Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with Singapore for the development of its new capital that is set to come up near Vijawayada region.
3. Madhya Pradesh will celebrate 2015 as Tourism Year.
4. Gujarat government set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to promote Vadodara as the state's cultural capital and
encourage tourism in the city.
5. Uttarakhand Government declared 9 September as Himalaya Diwas
6. 18th district of Arunachal Pradesh - Namsai
Note: Now Arunachal Pradesh state there is now total eighteen districts.
7. Haryana government reversed the retirement age of government employees from 60 to 58 years.
8. The Uttar Pradesh government decided to open Nirbhaya Centers in all districts of the state.
9. Goa became a permanent venue for the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
10. Karnataka cities renamed
1. Bangalore - Bengaluru
2. Mangalore Mangaluru
3. Mysore Mysuru
4. Bellary Ballari
5. Belgaum Belagavi
6. Hubli - Hubballi
7. Tumkur Tumakuru
8. Bijapur - Vijayapura
9. Chikmagalur - Chikkamagaluru 10. Gulbarga Kalaburagi
11. Hospet - Hosapete
12. Shimoga - Shivamogga
Forbes: Forbes is an American business magazine owned by Forbes, Inc. Published biweekly, it features original articles on
finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications,
science, and law. Its headquarters are in New York City
Forbes List According to the Forbes India List, the Top 5 richest people of India:
1. Mukesh Ambani
2. Dilip Shanghvi
3. Azim Premji
4. Pallonji Mistry
5. Lakshmi Mittal
Note: Mukesh Ambani topped the list for the eighth consecutive year with a net worth of 23.6 billion US dollars.

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India Deals /Agreement / MoU (Memorandum of understanding) with Other Countries
1. India and Japan to Cooperate in the Fields of Cyber Security and Green ICT (Information and Communication Technology).
2. Pakistan and Russia have signed an energy deal worth $1.7 billion to lay a gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore.
3. India signed a MoU with Mozambique for cooperation in the field of oil and gas.
Note: Mozambique is a country in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east.
4. India extends $80-mn line of credit to Fiji: India announced a $75-million line of credit for Fiji for a co-generation power
plant and upgrading the sugar industry and also a $5-million fund to develop its villages even as the two countries
agreed to expand their defence and security cooperation.
5. China and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral Antarctic cooperation.
6. India and Bhutan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop Nalanda University in Bihar as an
international centre of excellence.
7. India and Republic of Korea signed an a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate technical cooperation in
Railway sector between the two countries.
8. Government is planning to cover the entire country under Indira Gandhi Maatritva Sahyog Yojana by 2016.The scheme
envisages providing cash directly to pregnant and lactating mothers during pregnancy and lactation to improve health and
nutrition.

Defence/Science News 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

ISRO successfully launches GSLV Mark-III the largest rocket of India.

Russia launched the new generation navigation satellite GLONASS-K.
NASAs Kepler mission discovers 1st Alien Planet super-Earth
India successfully test-fires Agni-IV missile with a strike range of about 4,000 km, from a test range off the Odisha coast.
NASA celebrated 50th Anniversary of First Mars Mission, Mariner 4
i. NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first mission to Mars, Mariner 4 mission on 28 November 2014. Mariner 4
mission launched on 28 November 1964 was the NASAs first successful journey to Mars.
ii. The Mission was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
iii. Mariner 4 remained operational long after its planned eight-month mission life.

ISRO Launched Mangalyaan to Mars Orbit

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan, is Indias first interplanetary mission to the planet Mars.
ISRO became the fourth agency in the world to accomplish this mission.
Earlier - Roscosmos (Russia), NASA (USA) and ESA (European) accomplished the mission successfully to Mars.
India became first Asian country to undertake a mission to the red planet.
India's MOM is the cheapest inter-planetary mission, which entered the Martian orbit on 24 September 2014.

Warship/Aircraft carrier
1. INS Kolkata
2. INS Vikrant
3. INS Arihant
4. INS Vikramaditya
5. INS Kamorta

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Class & Type

Indias largest indigenously built warship.
Indias first aircraft carrier scrapped.
Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
Kiev-class aircraft carrier
Indias first indigenously built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)

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Important Schemes launched by Govt. of India Name of Scheme

1. Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana

Objective
Rural electrification scheme

Note: The scheme replace the existing Rajiv

Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY).
2. Bal Swachhta Mission

Sanitation initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission.

3. Jeevan Pramaan - Digital Life Certificate

Aadhar-based Digital Life Certificate" for pensioners

4. Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate

programme

To ensure labour reforms and also to ensure transparency in the labour

sector.

5. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

An ambitious village development project under which each MP will take

the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure
in three villages by 2019.
Note: Under this yojana around 2,500 villages to be developed as
Adarsh Gram.

6. Swachh Bharat Mission (Ek Kadam

A clean India campaign around the country. to clean the streets, roads
Swachhata Ki Aur)
and infrastructure of the country.
Note: i. The Mission aims at fulfilling the dream of clean India of Mahatma Gandhi by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.
ii. The Tagline Ek Kadam Swachhata Ki Aur was given by Ms.Bhagyasri Sheth of Rajkot.
iii. Logo created by Shri Anant Khasbardar of Kolhapur
iv. Aamri Khan is the national brand Ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission
7. KIRAN ( Knowledge, Involvement, Research,
Advancement through Nurturing)

scheme for Women Scientists

Important News around the World 1. Worlds largest cruise ship terminal opens in Dubai
2. A gold chain hand-made in Dubai has entered Guinness World Records as the world's longest chain. The chain, which set
the record with a total length of 5.522 kilometers, has more than 4 million links and is made of 22 carat gold. It weighs 256
kg.
3. Bhutan became the 181st member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
Note: MIGA is the political risk insurance and credit enhancement agency of the World Bank Group.
4. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) successfully commissioned a 28 MW Nyaborongo Hydro Electric Project in
Rwanda on turnkey basis.
5. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index - Bill Gates is the world richest person, Warren buffet became second
richest person in the World. He replaced Carlos Slim, business magnate of Mexico
6. United Nations declared year 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming.
7. Sweden is the first European Union (EU) country to officially recognise the State of Palestine.
8. Nigeria is now free of Ebola - WHO
9. According to WHO - Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria, are the only three countries in the world where polio remains
endemic.

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10. India re-elected to UN Economic and Social Council
Note: The 193-member UN General Assembly elected 18 members of the UN
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to serve a three-year term
beginning January 1, 2015.

Forbes List

Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2014

Top 5 on the list
1. Vladimir Putin
2. Barack Obama

3. Xi Jinping

4. Pope Francis
5. Angela Markel
Note: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ranked 15th on the Forbes list.
The next Indian on the list is Mukesh Ambani at 36th rank.

Sports ScanCricket News 1. Sachin Tendulkar appointed as ambassador of Cricket World Cup 2015
2. India won the Blind Cricket World Cup by defeating Pakistan in the final.
3. Deodhar Trophy 2014 East Zone defeated West Zone to win title.
4. Duleep Trophy 2014: Central Zone defeated South Zone to won the title
5. Virat Kohli is named the new captain of the Indian Test team.
6. MRF Tyres of India announces association as Global Partner for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
7. Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara became fastest to score 12000 Test runs.
8. United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Khurram Khan became the oldest player to score a century in the One-Day
International (ODI). He scored the winning century against Afghanistan in Dubai on 30 November 2014
9. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is selected for Polly Umrigar Award for the 2013-14 season.
10. Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar conferred with C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2014
11. Johnson named ICC Cricketer of the Year: Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson declared ICC Cricketer of the Year as
well as the ICC Test cricketer of the Year award.
12. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli became the quickest cricketer to reach 6,000 runs in ODIs, bettering legendary West Indian
Vivian Richards record during his 53-run knock in Indias third ODI against Sri Lanka.
13. MS Dhoni named as captain of ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014. He has been selected in the ICC ODI team of the year for the
eight time (seventh year in a row), while fifth year as a captain of the team.
14. Angelo Mathews named as captain of the ICC Test Team of the Year 2014.
15. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh of Australia selected as Bradman Honouree 2014
16. BCCI signs five-year agreement with MRF Pace Foundation
Note: Glenn McGrath, director of the foundation and former Australian pace bowler, will train the players. McGrath who
played for Australia for 14 years was himself trained in the foundation under Dennis Lillee in 1992.
17. Marvan Atapattu's is new Sri Lanka Coach.
18. Rohit Sharma creates history, slams record 264 runs to become highest ODI scorer against Sri Lanka.
Note: i. Rohit Sharma become the first man ever to smash two double centuries in ODIs.
ii. His first (209) came against Australia in Bangalore on November 3, 2013

ICC World Cup Cricket Venue:

ODI (One day International)
1. Australia & New Zealand
2015
2. England
2019
3. India
2023
Test- World Cup Cricket
1. England
2017 (1st Time)

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2. India

2021
T20- World Cup Cricket
1. India
2016
2. Australia
2020
Note: Bangladesh -2014. Sri Lanka defeat India
to win the maiden title.

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Football News 1. Winner of Indian Super League (Football) - Atletico de Kolkata defeated Kerala Blasters FC to won the title.
Note: Indian Super League, officially known as the Hero Indian Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional
football league in India. Total Number of Teams - 8
Atletico de Kolkata team owner Sourav Ganguly,
Kerala Blasters FC team owner Sachin Tendulkar
2. Super Victor is the mascot named for 2016 European football championship.
Note: Euro football championship 2016 will be held in France.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo received 2013-14 European Golden Boot award
FIFA (Football) World Cup venue
Venue
Year
1. Russia
2018
2. Qatar
2022
Note: Germany defeat Argentina by 1-0 to lift 2014 FIFA World Cup title.
Hockey News 1. Hockey Champions Trophy 2014 - Germany beat Pakistan to win the title.
2. Sultan of Johor Cup title (Hockey) 2014 India ( juniors) defeated Great Britain to retain the title.
3. India (Mens) wins Gold medal in Asian Games 2014. India defeated Pakistan in the final.
4. India (Womens) wins Bronze medal in Asian Games 2014.
5. Sardar Singh, captain of the mens hockey team is the Indian contingents flag bearer at 17th Asian Games
Venue

Hockey World Cup venue

Year

1. India (Mens)

2018

2. England (Womens)

2018

Note: Hockey World Cup 2014 Mens Title Australia defeated Netherland.
Hockey World Cup 2014 Womens Title - Netherland defeated Australia.
Tennis News 1. Roger Federer wins Brisbane International Title 2014. He beat Pat Rafter Arena to clinch his 83rd career title.
Note: Roger Federer becomes the third man, after Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, to secure 1,000 ATP wins.
2. Maria Sharapova wins Brisbane International Title 2014. She defeats Ana Ivanovic to clinch her 34th career title.
3. Stan Wawrinka wins Chennai Open Title 2014. He defeated Aljaz Bedene in the final.
4. Novak Djokovic wins ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Finals
5. Roger Federer defeated Gilles Simon to win Shanghai Masters.
6. Davis Cup 2014 - Switzerland defeated France to win 1st-ever Davis Cup of Tennis
Note: Switzerland is the fourteenth nation to win the Davis Cup.

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Category
Mens Single
Womens Single

Category
Womens Single
Doubles Title

China Open 2014

Winner
Novak Djokovic
Maria Sharapova (Russia)

Runner-up
Tomas Berdych (China)
Petra Kvitova

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 2014

Winner
Runner-up
Seren a Williams (US)
Simona Halep (Romania)
Sania Mirza & Cara
Su-Wei Hseih & Shuai Peng
Black

US Open 2014
Category

Winner

Runner-up

Mens Single
Womens Single

Marin Cilic (Croatia)

Serena Williams

Kei Nishikori (Japan)

Caroline Wozniazki (Denmark)

Mens Doubles

Mike and Bob Bryan

Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez

Mixed Doubles

Sania Mirza & Bruno

Soares

Abigail Spears & Santiago

Gonzalez

Category
Mens Single
Womens Single

Wimbledon 2014
Winner
Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Petro Kvitova (Czech
Republic)

Runner-up
Roger Federer (Swiz)
Eugenie Bouchard

Badminton News 1. PV Sindhu won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton title for the
second consecutive time. She defeated Korean Kim Hyo Min
2. China open singles titles: Ace shuttlers Saina Nehwal defeated Akane
Yamaguchi of Japan to win the title
3. China open singles titles: K Srikanth defeated Lin Dan of China to win the
title
4. Ajay Jayaram won Dutch Open Grand Prix badminton tournament
Chess News 1. Magnus Carlsen beats Viswanathan Anand to win World Chess Championship title 2014.
2. Viswanathan Anand won London Classic title.
3. Seven-year-old Dev Shah of Mumbai has become the youngest rated chess player from India.
4. World Chess Championship 2014 held in Russia.
Golf News
1. Hero Women's Indian Golf Open 2014 - Gwladys Nocera of France won the title
2. World Tour Golf Championship held in Dubai.
3. Oliver Wilson defeated world number one Rory McIlroy to win first European golf title.
4. Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won Venetian Macau Golf Open

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5. Europe retains Golf's Ryder Cup by defeating United States
Grand Prix (Formula-1) News 1. Lewis Hamilton has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2. Nico Rosberg wins Brazilian Grand Prix.
3. Lewis Hamilton wins United States Grand Prix
Other Sports News 1. Kabbadi World Cup 2014 Indian Mens & Women won the title of Kabbadi World Cup 2014.
Note: In Men, India defeated Pakistan in the final and in Women, India defeated New Zealand.
2. S Shrikrishna defeated Ishpreet Singh Chadha to win the National Sub-Junior Billiards title 2015.
3. Honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) - Randhir Singh
4. Michael Phelps was crowned Male Athlete of the Year at the 2014 USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards on 24 November
2014. He was crowned with the title for a fifth time.
5. Ms. Deborah, a tribal girl from Andaman and Nicobar Islands has created history in National Level by winning four Gold
Medals in the Track Asia Cup Cycling Championship 2014 which concluded at Indira Gandhi Stadium, New Delhi.

2014
2016
2018
2020

Olympic Games Venue

Sochi (Russia)
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Pyeongchang (South Korea)
Tokyo (Japan)

Commonwealth Games Venue

1. Glasgow (Scotland)
2014
2. Gold Coast (Australia)
2018

Asian Games 2014 held in Incheon (South Korea). This is the (17th edition) of Asiad games.
Mascot - Harbour Seal Siblings - Barame, Chumuro and Vichuon.
Theme - Meet Asias Future.
Note: 2018 Asian Games will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Asian Games 2014 -Medal Tally
Country + Ranking
Gold
Silver
Bronze
1. China
151
108
83
2. South Korea
79
71
84
3. Japan
47
76
77
4. Kazakahistan
28
23
33
8. India
11
10
36

Female Sports Player in News

Name
Field
1. MC Mary Kom Boxing
2. Seema Punia
Discus Throw
3. Manju Bala
Hammer Throw
4. Simona Halep
Tennis
5. Dipika Pallikal
Squash
6. Joshana Chinappa
Squash
7. L Sarita Devi
Boxing
8. PV Sindhu
Badminton
9. Saina Nehwal
Badminton
10. Petro Kvitova
Tennis
11. Renubala Chanu
Weightlifting
12. Heena Sidhu
Shooting

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Total
342
234
200
84
57

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Male Sports Player in News
Name
Field
1. Abhinav Bindra
Shooting
2. Jitu Rai
Shooting
3. Saurav Ghosal
Squash
4. Yuki Bhambri
Tennis
5. Pankaj Advani
Billiards
6. Magnus Carlsen
Chess
7. Swarn Singh
Rowing
8. K. Srikanth
Badminton
9. Vikas Krishan
Boxing
10. Anirban Lahiri
Golf
11. Ajay Jayaram
Badminton
12. Rory McIlroy
Golf
13. Michael Phelps
Swimmer
14. Lewis Hamilton
Formula 1
15. Nico Rosberg
Formula 1
16. Marin Cilic
Tennis
17. Kei Nishikori
Tennis
18. Gurmail Singh
Hockey
19. Yogeshwar Dutt
Wrestling
20. Bajrang
Wrestling
21. Jai Bhagwan
Boxer
22. Manoj Kumar
Boxer
23. Mark Selby
Snooker

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International Organizations & their Headquarter

Organization
1. United Nations Organization (UN)
2. United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF)
3. United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA)

Headquarter
New York
New York
New York

4. United Nations Conference on Trade &

Development (UNCTAD)
5. World Health Organization (WHO)
6. International Labour Organisation
7. World Trade Organisation
8. World Meteorological Organisation
9. World Intellectual Property Organisation
10. World Economic Forum

Geneva, Switzerland

11. United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO)
12. Organisation for Economic Cooperation &
Development (OECD)

Paris, France

13. United Nations Industrial Development

Organisation (UNIDO)
14. International Atomic Agency
15. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC)

Vienna, Austria

16. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

17. World Bank

Washington DC
Washington DC

18. Amnesty International

19. International Maritime Organisation
20. Commonwealth of Nations

London, UK
London, UK
London, UK

21. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

Brussels, Belgium

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Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland

Paris, France

Vienna, Austria
Vienna, Austria

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22. South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC)

Kathmandu, Nepal

23. Asian Development Bank

Manila, Philippines

24. Association of South East Nations (ASEAN)

Jakarta, Indonesia

25. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

Singapore

26. International Cricket Council (ICC)

Dubai, UAE

27. Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO)

Rome, Italy

All the Best .

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