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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 nation’s 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 macro-

economic 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 8% (Unchanged)

2. Reverse Repo 7% (Unchanged)

3. CRR 4% (Unchanged)

4. SLR 22% (Unchanged)

5. MSF 9% (Unchanged)

6. Bank Rate 9% (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 - American Depository Receipt

2. ATM - Automated Teller Machine

3. BOP Balance of Payments

4. CAD Capital Account Deficit

5. CRR Cash Reserve Ratio

6. CD Certificate of Deposit

7. CRAR Capital to Risk Weighted Asset Ratio

8. SLR Statutory Liquidity Ratio

9. CDR Corporate Debt Restructuring

10. ALM Asset Liability Management

11. CAR Cash Adequacy Ratio

12. IFSC Indian Financial System Code

13. KYC Know Your Customer

14. NEFT National Electronic Funds Transfer

15. LCR Liquidity Coverage Ratio

16. LAF Liquidity Adjustment Facility

17. NDTL Net Demand Time Liability

18. RRB Regional Rural Banks

19. SEBI Securities and Exchange Board of India

20. PIO Persons of Indian Origin

21. FRBMA Fiscal Responsibility and Budget

22. DTAA Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

23. TIEA Tax Information exchange Agreement

24. PPP Public Private Partnership & Purchasing Power parity

25. ASBA Application Supported by Blocked Amount

26. NBFC Non Banking Finance Companies

27. EEFC - Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency

28. RTGS Real Time Gross Settlement

29. MSF Marginal Standing Facility

30. CBS Core Banking Solution

31. FSLRC – Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission

32. NITI (Aayog) National Institution for Transforming India

33. CIBIL Credit Information Bureau Limited

34. SWIFT Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

35. GIRO Government Internal Revenue Order

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Important Committees in News:

Committee Objective

1. G.P. Mathur Committee 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 to interact with trade and industry on tax-related issues on a regular basis.

4. TSR Subramaniam Committee to review the processes, laws and Acts of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change

5. Pratyush Sinha committee: to assess compensation for coal blocks.

6. T.K. Vishwanathan committee to provide Bankruptcy code for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

7. H R Khan Committee to examine the un-claimed amount in PPF, Post Office and Savings Schemes.

8. Gopalakrishna Committee on Capacity Building in Banks and non-Banks

9. G N Bajpai Committee to review the investment guidelines for national pension system (NPS) schemes in private sector.

10. Sivaramakrishnan Committee to suggest the place to build the capital city of Andhra Pradesh

11. G. Padmanabhan Committee implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BPPS)

12. Nachiket Mor committee for small and payments bank

13. Nachiket Mor Committee to permits NBFCs to work as Business Correspondents of banks.

14. Justice Prabha Sridevan committee

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

India’s GDP Growth projected by different Org. for current fiscal i.e. 2014-15

Name of Org. GDP growth Projected at - % 1. RBI 5.5 % 2. World Bank 5.6% 3. IMF 5.6 % 4. ADB (Asian Develop. Bank) 5.5% 5. Fitch 5.6% 6. Moody’s 5.6% 7. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

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 Bhartiya”or 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 New Delhi

2. 8th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission meeting South Korea

3. UN climate summit 2014 Lima, Peru

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

Kathmandu (Nepal)

5. 19th SAARC Summit 2016 Islamabad, Pakistan

6. G20 Leaders Summit 2014 Brisbane, Queensland (Australia)

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

Cairns (Australia)

8. 15th G-20 Summit 2015 Turkey

9. 16th G-20 Summit 2016 China

10. NATO Summit 2014 Wales (Britain)

11. 3rd Nuclear security summit 2014 Hague, Netherland

12. 4th Nuclear security summit 2016 United States

13. 6th BRICS Summit 2014 Theme "Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions

Fortaleza, Brazil

14. 7th BRICS Summit 2015 Ufa, Russia

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

New Delhi, India

16. G-7 Summit 2014 Brussels

17. 3rd BIMSTEC Summit 2014 (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)

Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar)

18. 3rd BIMSTEC Summit 2014 (Energy Ministerial Meeting) Note: 4th BIMSTEC Summit 2015 – Bhutan BIMSTEC members – Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand

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 RRB’s 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 wholly-owned 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, India’s 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 country’s 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.

FDI Limits in Various Sectors are following: 1. Defence 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 20% 4. Private Sector Banks 74% 5. Pension Sector 49% 6. Multi Brand 51% 7. Single Brand 100% 8. Tourism 100% 9. Print Media 26% 10. Civial Aviation 49% 11. Pharmaceutical industry 100% 12. Education Industry 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. Event’s Chief Guest – Chief Guest of India’s 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 President’s 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 - Written/ Authored by - 1. The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years Pranab Mukherjee ( President of India) 2. “Born Again on the Mountain” Arunima Sinha 3. My Name is Abu Salem S Hussain Zaidi 4. Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 Sandeep Unnithan 5. Your Dreams Are Mine Now: She Showed him What Love” Ravinder Singh 6. “Next China-India War - World's First Water War – 2029” Sundarajan Padmanabhan

7. The Election That Changed India Rajdeep Sardesai 8. 'Playing it My Way' Note: Playing It My Way is the autobiography of former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Sachin Tendulkar & Boria Majumdar

9. Truth Always Prevails Sadruddin Hashwani 10. “Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar Dilip D’Souza 11. And Then One Day Naseeruddin Shah's autobiography 12. The Lives of Others Note: Novel was short listed for the prestigious Man Booker Prize 2014.

Neel Mukherjee

13. One Life is Not Enough” Kunwar Natwar Singh 14. “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” Note: Winner of Man Booker Award 2014

Richard Flanagan

15. “Hlaf Girlfriend” Chetan Bhagat 16. The Vijay Mallya Story K Giriprakash 17. God of Antarctica Yashwardhan Shukla 18. The Substance and the Shadow Note: The Substance and the Shadow, the biography of 91-year-old actor Dilip Kumar

Uday Tara Nayar

19. Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and other Truths PC Parakh 20. The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh

Dr. Sanjaya Baru

21. My Years with Rajiv and Sonia R.D.Pradhan 22. Not Just an Accountant” Vinod Rai

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Obituary

India

Person died Field associated with 1. K. Balachander South India filmmaker 2. Piratla Venkateswarlu Veteran Journalist 3. Grihanandan Singh Hockey Olympian 4. Nedunuri Krishnamurthy Veteran Carnatic vocalist Sangita Kalanidhi 5. V. R. Krishna Iyer Eminent jurist and former Supreme Court judge 6. Nand Chaturvedi Noted Hindi poet 7. GS Gangaram Laxman Taleka Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Asso. General Secretary 8. Narayanan Lakshmi Balakrishnan Malayalam film actor 9. Upendra Jethalal Trivedi Gujarati film actor 10. V R Gowarikar Former ISRO Chairman 11. Boobli George Verghese Noted journalist 12. Deven Varma Veteran actor-filmmaker 13. Jarbom Gamlin Former Arunachal Pradesh CM 14. SV Krishnamurthy veteran music critic 15. Veenapani Chawla acclaimed theatre personality 16. Tapan Raychaudhuri distinguished historian of modern India’s economic 17. Ravi Chopra director of famous TV show Mahabharata 18. Murli Deora Former Petroleum Minister 19. Sitara Devi Renowned Kathak dancer 20. Qimat Rai Gupta Havells India Limited chairman 21. Sadashiv Amrapurkar Veteran Bollywood actor 22. Pran Kumar Sharma Cartoonist

WORLD

Person died Field associated with 1. Luise Rainer First back-to-back Oscar winner American film actress 2. Geoff Pullar Former England cricketer 3. Phil Hughes Australian cricketer 4. Phyllis Dorothy James Crime novelist 5. Hillel Oscar Umpire and former captain of Israel's national cricket team;

died after being hit in the jaw by a ball 6. Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan 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.

7. Michael Sata Zambia President 8. Senzo Meyiwa South African footballer 9. Mohammad Ghouse Former International cricket umpire 10. Richard Attenborough Gandhi' filmmaker

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Person Resigned/ Retired

India

Person Field associated with 1. K. Radhakrishnan Retired as ISRO chief 2. Raghunath K. Shevgaonkar Director of the Indian Institute of Technology 3. Mahendra Singh Dhoni Retired from Test cricket 4. Terry Walsh Indian Hockey coach 5. Leela Samson Resigned as Sangeet Natak Akademi chairperson

World 1. Chuck Hagel US Defence Secretary resigned

Persons/ Personalities in News -

India

Person Why in News - 1. A.R. Rahman Nominated for Oscar Awards 2015 . He was nominated for the films

Million Dollar Arm, The Hundred-Foot Journey and Indian film Kochadaiiyaan.

2. Venu Srinivasan TVS chairman was conferred with Honorary Citizen of Busan, Korea 3. Madhu Kinnar (Transgender) Won Mayoral election from Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) Municipal Corporation.

She scripted history by becoming the first transgender to get elected as mayor in the state.

4. Pawan Chamling became longest serving Chief Minister of India

World

1. Larry Page ( CEO and co-founder of Google) named Business Person of the Year 2014 2. Rolene Strauss Miss World 2014 3. Barack Obama India’s 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 India’s People of the Year award 2014 conferred to - Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez and former Supreme

Court judge KS Radhakrishnan. 12. Queen’s 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 Children’s 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 World’s 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 Winner Work 1. Nobel Prize in Peace Kailash Satyarthi (India) & Malala Yousufzai

(Pakistan) For their struggle against the dominance of children & for the right of all children to education.

Note: i. Pakistan’s 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

India’s rank in different sector – India is world’s 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 world’s 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 world’s first twin and sibling to climb the highest peaks of the seven continents.

2. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has decided to prepare a Tea Atlas in India’s 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 Rank 1. Human Development Index 2014 135 (Norway on the top)

2. Global Environment Performance Index 2014 155 (Switzerland on the top) 3. Global Hunger Index Report 2014 55 (Mauritius on the top) 4. Intellectual property (IP) environment 2014 25 (US on the top) 5. Global Peace Index 2014 143 (Iceland top the list while Syria the most violent place) 6. World Press Freedom Index 2014 140 in the list of 180 countries 7. Global Innovation Index 2014 76 8. Global Competitiveness Index 2014 71 9. World Bank - Ease of Doing Business" 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. ISRO successfully launches GSLV Mark-III the largest rocket of India. 2. Russia launched the new generation navigation satellite GLONASS-K. 3. NASA’s Kepler mission discovers 1st Alien Planet ‘super-Earth’ 4. India successfully test-fires Agni-IV missile with a strike range of about 4,000 km, from a test range off the Odisha coast. 5. 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 NASA’s 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 India’s 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 Class & Type 1. INS Kolkata India’s largest indigenously built warship. 2. INS Vikrant India’s first aircraft carrier scrapped. 3. INS Arihant Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. 4. INS Vikramaditya Kiev-class aircraft carrier 5. INS Kamorta India’s first indigenously built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)

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Important Schemes launched by Govt. of India -

Name of Scheme Objective 1. Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana Note: The scheme replace the existing Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY).

Rural electrification scheme

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 Swachhata Ki Aur)

A clean India campaign around the country. to clean the streets, roads 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. World’s 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 Scan-

Cricket 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 India’s 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)

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 (Men’s) wins Gold medal in Asian Games 2014. India defeated Pakistan in the final. 4. India (Women’s) wins Bronze medal in Asian Games 2014. 5. Sardar Singh, captain of the men’s hockey team is the Indian contingent’s flag bearer at 17th Asian Games

Hockey World Cup venue

Venue Year

1. India (Men’s) 2018

2. England (Women’s) 2018

Note: Hockey World Cup 2014 – Men’s Title – Australia defeated Netherland. Hockey World Cup 2014 – Women’s 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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China Open 2014 Category Winner Runner-up Men’s Single Novak Djokovic Tomas Berdych (China) Women’s Single Maria Sharapova (Russia) Petra Kvitova

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 2014 Category Winner Runner-up Women’s Single Seren a Williams (US) Simona Halep (Romania) Doubles Title Sania Mirza & Cara

Black Su-Wei Hseih & Shuai Peng

US Open 2014 Category Winner Runner-up

Men’s Single Marin Cilic (Croatia) Kei Nishikori (Japan) Women’s Single Serena Williams Caroline Wozniazki (Denmark)

Men’s Doubles Mike and Bob Bryan Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez

Mixed Doubles Sania Mirza & Bruno Soares

Abigail Spears & Santiago Gonzalez

Wimbledon 2014

Category Winner Runner-up Men’s Single Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Roger Federer (Swiz) Women’s Single Petro Kvitova (Czech

Republic) 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 Men’s & 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.

Olympic Games Venue

2014 Sochi (Russia)

2016 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2018 Pyeongchang (South Korea)

2020 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 Asia’s Future. Note: 2018 Asian Games will be held in – Jakarta, Indonesia.

Asian Games 2014 -Medal Tally –

Country + Ranking Gold Silver Bronze Total 1. China 151 108 83 342 2. South Korea 79 71 84 234 3. Japan 47 76 77 200 4. Kazakahistan 28 23 33 84 8. India 11 10 36 57

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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www.pagalguy.com

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

Head office & Punch Line of Nationalized & Public Sectors Bank in India -

Bank Headquarter Punch Line

PNB (Punjab National Bank) New Delhi The name you can bank upon

Punjab and Sind Bank New Delhi Where service is a way of life

Oriental Bank of Commerce New Delhi Where every individual is committed

Bhartiya Mahila Bank New Delhi Empowering Women

Allahabad Bank Kolkata A Tradition of Trust

UCO Bank Kolkata Honours Your Trust United Bank of India Kolkata The Bank that begins with “U”

SBI Mumbai With you all the way, Pure Banking Nothing Else, The Nation’s banks on us

Union Bank of India Mumbai Good People to Bank with

Bank of India Mumbai Relationship beyond banking

Central Bank of India Mumbai Central To you Since 1911”

Dena Bank Mumbai Trusted Family Bank

IDBI Bank Mumbai Banking For All, “Aao Sochein Bada”

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www.pagalguy.com

State Bank of Mysore Bangalore Working for a better tomorrow

Canara Bank Bangalore Together We Can

Vijaya Bank Bangalore A friend you can bank on

Indian Bank Chennai Your Tech- Friendly Bank

Indian Overseas Bank Chennai Good people to grow with

Andhra Bank Hyderabad Where India Banks

State Bank of Hyderabad Hyderabad You can always bank on us.

Bank of Baroda Vadodara India’s International Bank

Syndicate Bank Manipal(Karnataka) Your faithful & friendly financial partner

Corporation Bank Mangalore A Premier Public Sector Bank

Bank of Maharashtra Pune One family one bank

International Organizations & their Headquarter

Organization Headquarter 1. United Nations Organization (UN) New York 2. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) New York 3. United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) New York 4. United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD)

Geneva, Switzerland

5. World Health Organization (WHO) Geneva, Switzerland 6. International Labour Organisation Geneva, Switzerland 7. World Trade Organisation Geneva, Switzerland 8. World Meteorological Organisation Geneva, Switzerland 9. World Intellectual Property Organisation Geneva, Switzerland 10. World Economic Forum Geneva, Switzerland 11. United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

Paris, France

12. Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)

Paris, France

13. United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)

Vienna, Austria

14. International Atomic Agency Vienna, Austria 15. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Vienna, Austria

16. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Washington DC 17. World Bank Washington DC 18. Amnesty International London, UK 19. International Maritime Organisation London, UK 20. Commonwealth of Nations London, UK 21. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Brussels, Belgium

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www.pagalguy.com

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 ….