CURRENT AFFAIRS (01-07 Feb, 2015) Date: 01 Feb, 2015

1) India on 31 January 2015 successfully tested the first-ever canister based version of Agni-V, which is countrys longest range ballistic missile. The missile was launched from a canister from Wheeler Island (Odisha). What is the range of this missile? 5,000 KM 2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 30 January 2015 constituted a 7-member committee on urban cooperative banks (UCBs). The committee will primarily re-examine and recommend appropriate set of businesses, size, conversion and licensing terms for the UCBs. Who is heading this committee? R. Gandhi (Deputy Governor, RBI) 3) During January 2015 the Union Government proposed major changes to the 1953 Tea Act to give more teeth to the regulator of the tea sector. These amendments primarily aim at plugging loopholes in relevant sections of the Tea Act to enable takeover of the management or control of tea gardens, which have been closed for over 90 days. The regulator of countrys tea sector, which is being given additional powers with these proposals, is Tea Board of India

4) Who took as the new Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on 31 January 2015? T. Suvarna Raju 5) Serena Williams won the womens singles title of Australian Open 2015 on 31 January 2015 by defeating Maria Sharapova. With this title win she overtook the Grand Slam title wins by tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. This was her . Grand Slam singles title? 19th

Date: 02 Feb, 2015

1) Indias Leander Paes and Swiss Martina Hingis won the mixed-doubles title of 2015 Australian Open on 1 February 2015. They defeated third seeds Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic by 6-4, 6-3 in the final. With this win, both Paes and Hingis have now won similar number of Grand Slam titles respectively. What is this identical number of Grand Slam title wins for both? Fifteen

2) World No.1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won the 2015 Australian Open singles title. He defeated Britains Andy Murray by 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 in the final on 1 February 2015. With this title win Djokovic has now won how many Australian Open titles? Five 3) A government-appointed committee on anti-Sikh riots of 1984 recently submitted its report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh. What is the main recommendation of this committee, which was headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retd.) G.P. Mathur? Fresh probe into these riots through a Special Investigation Team (SIT) 4) The 29th edition of the famed Surajkund International Crafts Mela started from 1 February 2015 at Surajkund (Faridabad) in Haryana. Which state has been chosen as the theme state for this years mela? Chhattisgarh

5) India on 1 February 2015 launched its flagship diplomacy magazine in Chinese language to give interesting information about the countrys rich culture and tradition. This Chinese version (Yindu Shijiao) was launched on the occasion of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajs maiden visit to China. What is the name of this diplomacy magazine published by India? India Perspectives

Date: 03 Feb, 2015

1) The RBI deadline for applying for the payments banks ended on 2 February 2015. Which companies/groups are the prominent bidders for the payments banks which will offer services such as remittances and deposits? Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd., Future Group, UAE Exchange India, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, IIFL, PayTM and Oxigen

2) Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has applied for a payments bank licence, the application deadline for which ended on 2 February 2015. It tied up with which bank for seeking this licence? State Bank of India (SBI) 3) Union Govt. has decided to rename the second phase of JNNURM, the scheme to rejuvenate Indias 500 cities and towns, after Atal Bihari Vajpayee. What will be the new name of this scheme? Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 4) Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) recently announced plans to offer cash-on-delivery (CoD) option for railway tickets bought online. The scheme is aimed at targeting customers who are reluctant to use their bank credit card or those who dont have net-banking enabled bank account or cards. Which entity has been authorized for providing these CoD-based train tickets? Anduril Technologies

5) Indias first germplasm bank in the private sector started its operations from 1 February 2015. This bank capable of protecting the seeds up to 40 years has been set up at Medchal near Hyderabad. Which company has established this germplasm bank? Gubba Group

6) What is the name of the 17th edition of the international theatre festival by the National School of Drama (NSD) that started on 1 February 2015 in New Delhi and which is believed to be the largest such festival in the whole of Asia? Bharat Rang Mahotsav

Date: 04 Feb, 2015

1) The RBI on 3 February 2015 increased the amount Indians can remit in foreign exchange without end-use restrictions to $ 2,50,000 per year per person. What was this limit at present? $ 1,25,000 per year per person 2) Union Government is set to launch its own brand to sell low cost generic medicines from 1 July 2015. The Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India (BPPI), the nodal agency under the department of pharmaceuticals (DoP), has already floated the tender seeking application for supply of medicines for the programme. What is the brand name given to these low cost generic medicines? Jan Ausadhi

3) How many Indians were in the Hurun Global Rich List of billionaires that was released on 3 February 2015? 97 Date: 05 Feb, 2015

1) Which country is on its way to become the first in the world to allow the creation of babies from three people after this countrys parliament passed a bill associated with this controversial subject on 3 February 2015? United Kingdom 2) Which country became the worlds top FDI destination during 2014 and thus replaced the United States from top place as disclosed by a latest report by United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD)? China 3) According to the latest data disclosed by market research firm Canalys, Budget smartphone maker Micromax overtook Korean behemoth Samsung to become the largest smartphone seller in the Indian market. The data pertaining to fourth quarter of 2014 suggest that Micromaxs share stood at 22% to Samsungs 20% in the smartphone segment. What is the significance of this data? This is the first time that an Indian company has taken the top spot in the highly competitive smartphone segment

Date: 06 Feb, 2015

1) Chinese e-commerce giant Alibabas online financial service company Ant Financial Services Group (Ant Financial) acquired 25% stake in which Indian mobile commerce firm on 5 February 2015? Paytm

2) The largest share sale by a private sector entity and the second largest fund-raising by selling shares in the secondary market in India took place on 5 February 2015 when a leading private bank raised Rs. 9,880 crore. Which bank is this? HDFC Bank

3) Which city on 5 February 2015 took the first step to become the first WiFi enabled metro city of India? Kolkata 4) Which NASA spacecraft sent new pictures of dwarf planet Pluto that were released by the agency on 4 February 2015? New Horizons

Date: 07 Feb, 2015

1) Who was selected for Jnanpith Award for 2014, which is the most prestigious literary honour in India? Bhalchandra Vanaji Nemade (Marathi litterateur) 2) Union Govt. on 6 February 2015 announced that four SAARC countries are in the process of signing a path-breaking Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) to provide seamless transit of passenger, personal and cargo vehicles among these countries. Which are these 4 countries? India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan

3) The Central Government will notify adoption of the proposed Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) in March 2015. Ind AS is the converged Indian version of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and will come into effect for the first time in 2016-17. What is the proposed criterion for companies which are to follow the Ind AS in the first year? Companies with net worth of over Rs. 500 crore

4) The Tunisian parliament on 5 February 2015 approved a unity government in the country which will be led by the ruling Nidaa Tounes party and will include its Islamist rivals. What is the significance of this development? It is an important development in countrys transition to full democracy following a 2011 uprising