GENERAL AWARENESS

Nehwal

for academic programs. It is situated in which city? Pune

f
which act? Right to Information

-fired the 290 km-range ………… supersonic anti-ship cruise missile

from the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata. BrahMos

meters

ister of Rural Development? M Venkaiah Naidu

bollywood actress as the brand ambassador

of maternal and child health campaign, Mamta Abhiyan? Madhuri Dixit

category of the best improved airport in Asia Pacific Region. Kolkata Airport
by defeating which team? Kings XI Punjab

-level forum Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths was
held in ………….Washington

economic impacts of tobacco consumption. What is the title of that video? The Price we pay

scribed the Okavango Delta in its World Heritage Site

List. In which country this delta is located? Botswana

ner
(SEC) from 65 to how many years? 68

anniversary in June 2014. 125th

of Sand Sculpting-2014 held in the Atlantic City of the US. Sudarsan Pattnaik

6-Red World snooker title at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt? Pankaj Advani

World Cup ? Jitu Rai

Girl is a Half-Formed Thing"? Eimear McBride

outstanding literary output and support for freedom of expression? Salman Rushdie

Borrowings (ECB) from overseas branches and subsidiaries of Indian

banks for refinance or repayment of the Rupee loans raised from domestic

banking system? RBI

Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet over the Arabian Sea off Goa. It is a ______ missile. air-to-air

icon for the Lok Sabha elections 2014? Amir Khan

-elected as Prime Minister of Hungary for the second

consecutive four year term? Viktor Orban

ustice of India at present? Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha

This was revealed by the recent data released by UN Comtrade in Global

Textiles as well as Apparel Exports. Second

-7 summit 2014 was held at Justus Lipsius building, Brussels.

Who hosted the summit for the first time? European Union

initiatives like the subsidised 'Amma' Canteens and 'Amma' Mineral Water 'Amma' Salt

athletes list? 22nd

-2014 was held

from 9 to 11 June 2014 in ________. Moscow

Madhya Pradesh on 16 June 2014. What is the name of this One Stop

Crisis Centre (OSCC)? Gauravi

 d for the most original

and influential researchers or institutes in the areas of Sustainable

Development, Biopharmaceuticals Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law? Tang Prize

Chinar Corps ? Lieutenant General Subrata Saha

-general UNESCO? Irina Bokova

-23 rocket was launched ? Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh

cultural Research (ICAR) has issued orders

prohibiting research and breeding of which animal ? Sheep

- Dr Raghunath Mashelkar

strength and is a tribute to the very essence of indomitable Air Force spirit. Kshitij-Se-Pare

and Cultural Landscapes will position itself at macro and micro levels. Mausam

-star admiral in US Navy? Michelle Howard

- Washington D.C

e of 65 -
Ramanarayanan

-Renowned poet Kedarnath Singh

-member of Manchester's Hindu Temple? Hari Dutt

Seth

achievement in increasing global rice production? Sanjaya Rajaram

 ambassador" by the World

Citizen Artists (WCA) to raise awareness about global issues through art? Prakash Bal Joshi

-Secretary-General and Executive

Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

followed by China and the US, according to a new study which quantifies

the growing alarm surrounding antibiotic -resistance. India

Conservative-led Government ahead of a general election next year. He is the

Foreign Secretary of which country? Britain

-winning writer and anti-apartheid activist

Nadine Gordimer passed away. South African

________between October 28 and November 9 this year Goa

desh because of its

immense potential? Vijayawada

of the newly constituted 100 billion US dollar development bank by the BRICS

nations in the 6th BRICS Summit? India

tate Government of Delhi decided to set up______ Mahila Suraksha Dals

(MSDs) across the national capital. 320

announced a cash support of Rs. 1,000 to each of them every month until they attain

18 years of age? Tamil Nadu

 -Africa Forum will be conducted? New Delhi

-highest number of people, living with HIV, in the world? India

Radhamohan Singh

Kohli

World Sports Academy? Rahul Dravid

ankings for fourth year? Switzerland

village, near Lucknow, on an awareness mission on ________. Diarrhea

nternational game.

He belongs to which country? Germany

following places? Glasgow, Scotland

Who is Kaptan Singh Solanki? Governor of Haryana

In the 50m Pistol event, _________has secured Gold whereas his compatriot

Gurpal Singh won the silver. Jitu Rai

______ was appointed as the horticulture ambassador of Maharashtra. Amitabh

Bachchan
 -17 Globemaster? Aircraft

Bikram Singh

Magsaysay Awards for year 2014? The Citizens Foundation

mon Magsaysay Awards were established? 1957

cently. He gave life to which

popular comic character(s)? Chacha Chaudhury and Sabu

agreement with a ____________ channel. German

ting was held in ______. New Delhi

magnitude 6.1

on Richter Scale? Yunnan

-Pacific Humpback Dolphin is Identified. What is the Scientific

name of this Dolphin? Sousa Chinensis

President of Liberia? Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples was observed across the

world on ………………….August 9

nt has formed a high level committee to conduct a detailed

survey of the industries using silica dust in the state? Uttarakhand

year in forming human pyramids during the popular 'Dahi Handi' festival?-18

-August 12

host the 2015 para-gliding World Cup?-Himachal Pradesh

of the season? Real Madrid

are conferred with which award by the President Pranab Mukherjee? Outstanding Parliamentary
Award

between …… India and China

ll

cricket. He belongs to which country? South Africa

Lisicki

ers" has been shortlisted for Man Booker Prize 2014.

Who is the author of this book? Neel Mukherjee

Games in men's discus throw competition? Vikas Gowda

India, Narendra Modi launched a web platform named as .......

MyGov.nic.in

across India. The day is celebrated in the honour of war heroes of Kargil every year. 15th

Pradesh Government decided to make which city as its ad hoc capital? Vijaywada

all-weather connectivity in the Valley? Four

ndation of two hydel power

projects in ...............Jammu and Kashmir

Chowdary

Union, in which region? Somalia

- Manmohan and Gursharan

Bill, 2014 to amend the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2000. The bill will treat minors

above the age of ............as adults. 16

High Court

India? Manipur

coal use in Beijing and five other districts by the end of …...2020

Indian woman mountaineer to scale Mount Everest, ..Bachendri Pal

-The Mystery of Sound' has been selected by the Limca Book of Records.
This show is related with which Indian channel? Doordarshan

- rickshaws are banned by which high court? Delhi High Court

-Brazil-South Africa)

Summit in 2015? India

al artist to stay at

Rashtrapati Bhavan under the 'In-Residence Scheme for Writers and Artists'. Jogen Chowdhary

The day is celebrated in the honour of war heroes of Kargil every year. 26th July

requirements with the ……….. Rolls Royce

conservation and developments of indigenous breeds of ………in a focused

and scientific manner. Cows

-tank launches……… programme for US-Indo ties India 2020

loan of $ 200 mn to fight Ebola? World Bank

2015 para -gliding World Cup. Himachal Pradesh

level, beating Vasek Pospisil? Roger Federer

bandit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi in________.2001

 M) is also known as ______ Aajeevika scheme

Bhat

Service

Commission (UPSC). She has replaced__________. Prof. D.P. Agrawal

_____ as the leader of the

Parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha. A.Navaneethakrishnan

th Olympic Games are to be held in ___________.Nanjing, China

Indian Cricket Team. Ravi Shastri

area of Koriya district? Chhattisgarh

Thomas

-temple' has been opened in __.London

- Dharamjaygarh

-Sipat 765kv inter-regional power transmission line in__________.Jharkhand

ted as the CRPF Special Director-General recently? Ramesh Chand

Tayal

Channel. He belongs to which country? Australia

e in 31 years in the one-day match

played at the Harare Sports Club? Zimbabwe

Olympic Games. He is a . Weightlifter

? Goa

It is a _________ based wrestling academy. Delhi

with homegrown e-retailing major __________ to

provide an online marketing platform to handloom weavers across the country. Flipkart

Medal and Concert. T. M. Krishna

Dairy

Bronze

ent award 2014 was presented to ………… in Boxing. G. Manoharan

is "Gods of Antarctica".

He is how many years old? 13

Karnataka

31stAug'14? Dubai

rojects in

Jamnagar, Gujarat? Reliance Industries

to be the world's oldest metal object. Israel

-origin Seema Malhotra has been appointed as shadow minister of UK.

She has replaced _________.Helen Jones

completely shut by 31st October'14? MSN messenger

-ocha has been elected as the new Prime Minister of

which country? Thailand

USA defeated …………..Serbia

-year agreement with MRF Pace Foundation.

Who is the director of this Foundation ? Glenn Mc Grath

of liquor and every packet of cigarette to promote public transport? Delhi government

2013-14? Punjabi University

-I missile was successfully test-fired by Strategic Force

Command. This has a strike range of ………………..700 km

gender? Bihar

-Submarine Warfare

Corvette..............INS Kamorta.

- Heena Sidhu.

ard.
wrestler

Squash Legend Hashim Khan who died recently belongs to which country? Pakistan

Indian Origin. Britain

rica
Sectors Bangladesh

be named as ............... Gevaot.

of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) of the country in ………… West Bengal

Banking & Finance

ovide interest free loan to cash-starved sugar mills- 4400 crore

rupees

used to open

a bank account.- Single documentary

- Special Investigation Team

Compliance Act (FATCA), a US law that targets tax non-compliance by US

taxpayers with foreign accounts.- USA

in states?- 3 months

- 20 points basis

Ministry

of Finance. Who is the head of this committee? Parthsarthi Shome

in India on humanitarian grounds for two years w.e.f. July 01, 2014 Afghanistan

will accelerate to ______ this financial year. 5.5 per cent

which two commodities under the purview of stock holding limits under the

Essential Commodities Act, 1955? Onion and Potato

Uri-II hydropower project built by NHPC at a cost of Rs. 2290 crore in_______. Jammu and
Kashmir

_____ to review the Methodology for Measurement of Poverty

presented its report to the Union Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh in the first

week of July 2014. C Rangrajan Committee

dy announced

setting up of _______ national investment and manufacturing zones (NIMZs). Sixteen

In the Union Budget 2014 how much fund has been allocated to National

Housing Banking Programme (NHBP)? Rs. 8000 crore

In the Economic Survey Report 2013-14 GDP growth is seen at 2014-15. 5.4 - 5.9%

Beti Padhao Yojana'

in the Union Budget 2014? Rs. 100 crores

ed up to which rank in terms of foreign money lying with swiss bank. 58th

cost of over Rs 12,500 crore? Nine

d the National

Industrial Classification -………. to National Industrial Classification………..1987 , 2008

documents to the ……………. Special Investigation Team

Rationalising the FDI/FPI definition. Who is the head of this committee? Arvind Mayaram

x is published by - HSBC

-wise advances in the Notes to

Accounts to the financial statements from financial year ………… onwards. 2014-15

of this Committee? Rajani Ranjan Rashmi

inquire into the incident of gas leakage in Bhilai Steel Plant. Who is the head

of this committee? KK Mehrotra

year 2014-15 that starts on 1 July 2014? Pakistan

h a view to achieve financial inclusion, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed

Non-Banking Finance Companies to operate as Business Correspondents.

Who is the head of this committee? Nachiket Mor

…………Talking ATM

President Pranab Mukherjee. It has been developed by which organization? NPCI

. Liquidity Coverage Ratio

government in the first half of the new financial year (FY 2015) at _________

per week. Rs. 35,000 crore

ate Ltd have got 'in-principle'

nod by the Reserve Bank of India to set up banks, from a field of 25 aspirants. IDFC

'Boutique Financing', the scheme is designed to offer working capital expenses as

well as term loan for boutique owners? SBI

centralised bills payment system in the country, primarily by setting up two

organisations - Bharat Bill Payment Services or BBPS and the Bharat Bill Payment

Operating Units or BBPOUs? GIRO Committee

-Discriminatory Market

Access (NDMA) to facilitate enhanced bilateral trade. Pakistan

defence related vehicles purchases. USD 46 million

and
………Myanmar

- UNCTAD

licencing list by Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry? 55%

n of Indian Micro, Small &

Medium Enterprises and National Centre for Design & Product Development ? Flipcart

Porducers (SFP's) between - NABARD & SFAC

 ys.................... launched Social Media Platform for the

Indian Railways. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gawda

- Uttrakhand

Disaster Recovery Project

Exemption Limit from Rs. 2 Lakh to - 2.5 Lakh

The UNESCO released a report that shows arround 58 million

childrens are still out of school who are in the age group of -6-11

East India Company issued an exclusive legal tender Gold Coins in the

honour of -Sachin Tendulkar

Development Bank has its headquarters in _________. Shanghai, China

minimum capital of ________. 100 crore rupees

with inset letter E, in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 bearing the signature of

Raghuram G Rajan, Governor. Rs. 20

diamonds by doubling the credit time period to_________. 180 days

B) has upgraded India's economic growth forecast to

________ in 2015-16 on hopes of speedy reform process. 6.3 %

of Rs 1,170 crore to the Rs. 5,200-crore Kochi Metro project? Canara Bank

capitalisation of Rs 5 lakh crore? Tata Consultancy Services

Rs. 5 to Rs. 40 lakhs, on how many banks in Deccan Chronicle Holdings case? 12

water, sanitation and hygiene campaign (WASH) in _________. Assam

Monetary Authority of Hong Kong for exchange of supervisory information. RBI

the period 2004-05 and 2012-13? Gujarat

rs as well as revenue and

was the first in the country to launch 4G services in 2012? Bharti Airtel

improvement of a thousand Gram Panchayats in the State. 1200 crore rupees

Multipurpose Project that will pave the way to start the stalled project. India and Nepal

Management Association (AIMA). He is ______. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

National Rural Mission on _______with an allocation of 100 crore rupees.PPP model

governor, K. C. Chakrabarty? Subhash Sheoratan Mundra

itiative Award-2014? BMB

head of the Expenditure Management Commission. Bimal Jalan

(DFC) from 27000 crore rupees to……………… 80000 crore rupees

Enterprises under Union Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises? Container
Corporation of India Limited

take in MCX has been sold to.........for Rs 459 crore. Kotak Mahindra

-led government to the

Rashtriya Gokul Mission? Rs. 500 crore

pecial public

prosecutor for the trial of coal allocation scam cases. R S Cheema

United Nations Board of Auditors for a six year term upto June 2020.

a? ShashiKant Sharma

GIRO-based Payment Systems. G. Padmanabhan

s is a …..based company set up in 2003.U.S

Switzerland The government allocated the total amount of 115000 crore rupees which includes a
provision of…… crore rupees for the implementation of National Food

Security Act. 88500

committee headed by former UGC chairman ……………… to review the present

status of Universities Grants Commission (UGC). Hari Gautam

Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd…………………… Hyderabad (Telangana)

registration of …………
Delhi-based non-banking financial companies (NBFC) as per a disclosure. Five

Goa from 28th October 2014 to 9th November 2014. 127th

e Human Development Index (HDI) remained unchanged at _____

in 2013, reflecting little improvement in the living standard of its people, as per a

United Nations Development Programme report. 135

ssistance of _______for

construction of four important surface communication projects in Jammu and

Kashmir while writing off the State's liability of Rs. 60 crore towards Food

Corporation of India. Rs. 8,000 crore

ity market regulator in India? Forward Markets

Commission

state in India? Uttar Pradesh

state in India? Sikkim

Lakshadweep

in India? Kerala

ten wind power producers in the world? 5th

-15 the Fiscal deficit target is retained at _______

of GDP for current fiscal. 4.1%

-15 how much fund has been allocated to 'Beti Bachao, Beti
Padhao Yojana'? Rs. 100 crore
 ion announce to

spend _____ for Clean India Campaign. 200 crore rupees

-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) announced to invest __________for

the production of Daman gas fields in the Arabian Sea. 5,219 crore rupees

ulti-currency International Debit Card ? SBI

igence Committee? R.N. Ravi

Film Festival? Court

ank for MSRP II. MSRP stands for-Mizoram State

Roads Project

groups of banks? UCO bank, Dena bank and OBC

crore

Pradesh

of M.D and CEO in private

sector banks. 70

Yojna Scheme? 1.5 crore

which country? Liechtenstein

won Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold? HS Prannoy

their collaboration to combat match-fixing and illegal betting. Interpol

Cash Withdrawal service for its customers? ICICI Bank

launched no-frills airport in how many cities? Five

a professor of ....... JNU

Rs. 15,000, for school toilets amount has been raised from Rs 35,000 to ...................... Rs. 54,000

identify obsolete laws. The Committee will be chaired by .................. Shri R. Ramanujam.

with a postage stamp by the US Post Service (USPS).AkkineniNageswara Rao

addressed the ............. NCERT Foundation Day celebrations at New Delhi. 54th

Nerendra Modi two antique statues of Hindu deities. The statues more .................

were allegedly stolen from temples in Tamil Nadu and their return was sought by India in
March.Nataraja and Ardhanariswara,

first all-female business process service centre. Tata Consultancy Services

and infrastructure sectors Germany

capacity in 2013. 1,700 MW

ost of Nagpur Metro Rail project is Rs. .................. Rs.8,680 crore,

-16 will be observed as …………………..Water Conservation Year

ster Nitin Gadkari launched ethanol-run environment-friendly

public buses in ……..Nagpur

107 Million for Second …………. State Roads Project. Mizoram

-International Seminar was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on

1 -2 September 2014 to discuss better ways to explore the resources of the -Arabian Sea.

s of operation in Sri Lanka? State Bank of India

................. is the head of this committee which is constituted to assess the

amount of Unclaimed Deposits in PPF accounts and Post Office Savings Schemes H R Khan

ment in PPF? Rs 500

the provisional results of the 6th Economic Census. Arunachal Pradesh

employees and Dearness Relief to pensioners as per the notification which is

effective from 1 July 2014. 7%

percent quota for disabled persons. 3

 ch-Bandhu Prakalpa project which is aimed

to boost the irrigation? West Bengal

for its conduct in share sale of National Mineral Development Corporation

(NMDC). Bombay Stock Exchange

FINANCIAL & BANKING AWARENESS

-----Megawatt of
power through solar energy by the year 2017. - 10,000

- Ajay Shriram

What does letter 'A' denote in the term 'PAN' issued by the Income Tax Department?-
Account

production of - Building Materials

n Railways on originating basis during the financial

year 2013-14 were Rs. ----- crore- 140485.02

----- million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during the

financial year 2013-14- 1053.54

ant Money Transfer (IMT) Scheme?- Bank of India

-14 after a gap of ----- years- Six

- State Bank of India

----- crore of revenue earnings from commodity-wise

freight traffic during 1st April, 2013 to 28th February, 2014- 84379.49

----- million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during 1st

April 2013 to 28th February 2014- 953.05

-13?- Russia

to 28th February 2014 were Rs. ------ crore- 126028.54

 ----- Crore upon Google for
failure to comply with the directions given by the Director General seeking information and
documents- 1

n Reform Commission (TARC)? -Parthasarathy

Shome

- ETF scheme is managed by - Goldman Sachs India

minimum of 9,000 white label ATMs in the next three years in rural India?- SREI Infrastructure
Finance Ltd

- Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China

increasing the exports by 212 per cent over the past five years, replacing France, according to a
report- fourth

-traded fund of central public sector enterprises,

to raise how much amount for its disinvestment plan?- Rs. 3,000 crore

financial and non-financial targets for 2014-15- Union Ministry of Mines

project in Madhya Pradesh- 660 MW unit

upcoming power project in which of the following states?- Odisha

26 crore in the April-February period

of this fiscal amid a slowing economy- 5.6 percent

access liquidity round-the-clock? - Axis Bank

eir massive USD 17-billion investment in the US have

collectively generated employment opportunities for approximately how many people?- 81000

-based school learning programme in collaboration with which

country's government to provide world-class education in the country?- Bhutan

the official data- 3%

 five months,
on improved production of electricity, coal and crude oil -2.5 per cent

-owned power equipment maker has secured Rs 125 crore

contract for setting up a 120 MW Hydro Electric Project in Uttarakhand?- BHEL

er ADB's report, India's GDP is poised to accelerate to __________ in 2014-15 on the

back of improved performance in industry and services- 5.5 per cent

to softening of prices of food items- 6.73 per cent

- 5th

-
stock transaction with a total equity value of- USD 3.2 billion

-14 fiscal, its lowest in four years, to

___million tonnes (MT), mainly impacted by a slower expansion of the domestic- 73.93

pected to recover from ______in 2013 to 5.4 percent

in 2014- 4.4 percent

contract for constructing the national games village? - Kerala

back of a more competitive exchange rate and many large investments going forward- 5.7
percent

r the year 2014-15?-

R. Chandrasekaran

-14 while imports dipped

by 8.11 per cent during the period- 3.98 per cent

and Cross), one

the UK's highezst civilian awards?- Ratan Tata

- 5.5

-50 days of employment per year to about -----

percent of all rural households making it the largest public works program in India's history. -25
 ----- MW of capacity addition during the 12th Plan, the Ministry of
Power is initiating several measures in the sector. -88,000

---- China-India Financial Dialogue was held in Beijing. –Sixth

Credit of USD ----- million for various projects.- 640

irperson of State Bank of India (SBI)? -

Arundhati Bhattacharya

- Bali

---- offshore bond program to strengthen India's capital markets and attract
greater foreign investment. -$1 billion

- Chairman, Competition Commission of India

2013? - Canara Bank

to hike dearness allowance to 90% from

80%.

-------------- have signed MoU to undertake a joint feasibility study of High Speed
Railway system on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. – Japan

-------- Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan. -1 lakh

crore

- P. Chidambaram

for an Official Development Assistance loan of Rs 4,700 crore for construction of ------------
Project. Mumbai Metro Line III

airline in India? -Tata group

-------------from the previous 5.91

million tones. -million tones

effect from- January 1, 2016

 -consumer goods RBI
governor Raghuram Rajan has been awarded the ----------Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial
Economics 2013. –Fifth

___________ to graduate to scheduled bank category. -Rs 750 crore

Investment in Manufacturing. -US

– Shanghai

ection for the country for 2013-14 to 5.5 percent

from its earlier estimate of- 5.7 percent

--------for the
Jharkhand Tribal Empowerment Livelihood Project. – IFAD

--------------- from 9.5 per cent to improve liquidity in the

system. -per cent

-Mart Stores Inc. for

operations in the Indian retail sector? -Bharati Enterprises

-fledged branch on the Pakistani side of the Wagah

border?-National Bank of Pakistan

child care leave for female staff members? -SEBI

-14) increased to _________. -Rs 238325

crore

according to a survey by Hay Group? -Tata Group

-Mumbai

measures to prevent economic offences among other things. -Finance Ministry

ity recently, announced its plans to set up a SEZ for the IT and IT-enabled service
industry? –Puducherry

LNG Terminal in Paradip Port Trust? –GAIL

 ional telecommunications services company entered into an agreement with
the Warid Group to acquire its Congo operations, recently? -Bharti Airtel

a prudent liquidity backstop in case of future global financial strains. –Six

Business report.-134th

ce
player?-Birla Sun Life Insurance

-Pesa, recently? -ICICI Bank

–Uninor

for this financial year to _______ of GDP from 4.1 per

cent earlier.-3.4per cent

gas network in__________. –Bihar

dy CII to facilitate cheaper credit access to

MSMEs, recently? -Canara Bank

-entry into India by opening a branch in Mumbai.

The bank was earlier operational in India from_________ . -1996 to 2008

Ministry has decided to pump in Rs 2,000 crore in which bank this fiscal? -State
Bank of India

-Hong
Kong

bility Stewardship' award,

recently? –Infosys

the signature of new governor Raghuram Rajan.- Rs 10

0 for the fiscal,

starting April 2014. -Rs 50

segment? -Yes Bank

fiscal to_______ . 4.7 per cent

-up with which bank,

recently? -Deutsche Bank

–iGate

Low Cost Solution”? - Minister of Railways, Mallikarjun Kharge

___________ from the date of investment by the pension fund, the Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority.- 3 years

-4.9 per cent

to grow to 2'2.5 times by ________. -2020

-made sonars would soon be exported to which country? Myanmar

-run OMCs to cover up

a fourth of their losses for selling diesel, kerosene and domestic LPG below cost in September
quarter. -Rs. 17,772 crore

Trade Fair 2013 at New Delhi, recently. -33rd

released by the TRAI, total Broadband sub scriber

base in India increased to ___________ at the end of July 2013. - 15.24million

____________ subscribers have submitted their requests to different service providers for
porting their mobile number. -100.20 million

- Tata Steel

Leadership Index
for the second time –Wipro

for deposits by NRI and overseas foreign currency borrowings by banks. -SD 25 billion
 2014 as the ___________ so as to support the farmers
achieve food security and eradicate global poverty, according to the FAO. -International Year of
Family Farming

f
their GDP, the ADB said.-12.7 percent

- payment from Rs.10

lakhs to __________ for both Central Excise and Service Tax payment with effect from 1st of
January, 2014.

Rs.1 lakh

ia's current account gap narrowed sharply to _______ in the July-September quarter of
2013-14.

USD 5.2 billion

business. -98th

risen only by _________ during the April-November

period of 2013-14 fiscal. - 13.18percent

Leadership Award". Who is he? -Agricultural Scientist

identified126 new projects to take up during the12th Plan period with

an estimated capacity of -----MT. -438.04

-12, NALCO has achieved sales turnover of Rs. ---- crore,

including the export earnings of Rs. 2569 crore. -6927

-to-software conglomerate? -Tata Group

the purview of stock holding limits under the Essential Commodities Act, ------. 1955

scientific deep drilling in the Koyna intra-plate seismic zone, in -----. Maharashtra

---- million tonnes of fish production, India is the second largest producer of fish in the
world. -8.6

---- US $ billion in the next 3 years, with the help

of Government support. -60
 ----- MW to its total capacity by the end of 2016-17. -14,000

----- crore of revenue earnings from commodity-wise

freight traffic during 1st April to 30th October 2013. -51188.72

----- million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic from 1st

April to 31st October 2013. -593.25

------ million under its USD 1

billion Global Rupee Bond Program. -161

--
--- crore during 2012-13. -1407

----- percent and above. -8

-----. 2030

-Arcelor Mittal

dia ranks ---- in terms of energy production but fourth in terms of consumption-
7th

Rs ---- crore under the NABARD Warehousing Scheme (NWS)- 1,046

Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for increasingthe

import duty on refined edible oils of vegetable origin from the existing level of 7.5 percent to ----
percent- 10

- Tokyo Interbank Offered

Rate

- R. Chandrashekar

Price Scheme along with ---- percent subsidy component with modifications- 10

ommittee on Economic Affairs has approved the implementation of the Rural

Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Low Income States of Assam,Bihar,Jharkhand and Uttar
Pradesh with World Bank assistance. The project is expected to directly benefit a rural
population of about ---- lakh persons- 78

Policy ----- for provisional Mega Power projects- 2009

 port Price
(MSP) for 2014-15 season for TD-5 grade of Jute at Rs. ---- per quintal for the entire country-
2400

---- Road Sector

Modernisation Project was signed at New Delhi- Rajasthan

----- is one of the largest investment in Kerala in the recent

years- Kochi

– Mumbai

– 1953

Chemicals and Petrochemicals sector in India constitutes about ----- of the domestic
industrial activity- 14%

------ crore of revenue earnings from commodity-wise

freight traffic during 1st April to 30th November 2013- 59069.73

Limited for increase in foreign investment from 49 percent to ----- percent- 62

- Sidharth Birla

approved the guidelines for providing financial assistance to which crop

based industries for payment of arrears?- Sugar

-December of the F.Y. 2013-14 is up by _____ at Rs.

4,81,914 crore as against Rs.4,29,023 crore in the same period last year- 12.33 percent

-year contract to supply over _________ of highly wear-resistant rail

tracks to a French rail operator- 2,00,000 tonnes

whopping USD 31.42 billion as the bilateral trade declined by __________in 2013- 1.5 percent

during 1st April to

31st December 2013 were Rs. 101665.95 crore. This registered an increase of - 13.34 per cent

-15,
recently?- World Bank

gas-fired thermal power project at Palatana in __________ will be

operational in June this year- Tripura
 -15, how many new trains including premium trains,
express trains, passenger trains, MEMU and DEMU will be produced?- Seventy Three

-December period of this fiscal-6.2

percent

equivalent to that owned by the bottom half of the world's population- 85

agreement for export of Ford cars through the Ennore port for a period of how many years?- 10
years

-15 in Railways has been projected at Rs- 1.6 lakh crore

Mehendipathar newline is getting completed by March 2014?- Meghalaya

ined unchanged at the fourth slot in 2013

with an output of- 81.2 million tones

sector growth to __________ in December, 2013 from 7.5 percent in the same month a year ago
- 2.1 percent

- 7th Pay Commission

period of the 12th Plan with total expenditure of - Rs. 899.29 crore

-bank entities, including

Tata Communications Payment Solutions and Muthoot Finance, to set up White Label ATMs in
the country- four

ve been provided credit at the end of

December 2013- 41 Lakh

without partisanship or acrimony as stated in the Budget 2014-15- Ministry of Finance

cated for food subsidy in the Budget 2014-15- Rs. 1,16,000 crore

and in rural areas to ----- million at the end of November, 2013- 363.50
 ittee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of M/s CGP India
Investment Limited for increase in foreign equity in M/s Vodafone India Limited from --------
percent to 100 percent- 64.38

evelopment of the first

phase of the second campus of the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute- Kolkata

widening of NH- 232

redit of US$ ---- million to Namibia for taking up

infrastructure projects- 100

Home Affairs to establish an Integrated Computer Aided Dispatch platform. The project involves
a total expenditure of Rs. ----- crore which includes an implementation cost of Rs. 204.25 crore-
321.69

National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology during the 12th Plan period. The
Mission will have a total outlay of Rs. ----- crore-13073.08

Park Scheme guidelines of infrastructure development for food processing. Expected annual
turnover of each park will be Rs. ----- crore- 500

----- National Meritorious

Performance Awards in Power Sector instituted by Ministry of Power, Govt. of India for the
years 2011-12 and 2012-13- Five

---- million tonnes per annum- 96

---
-- certification- 9001:2008

with a capacity of ---- MW- 47.6

----
crore at Gandikota in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, in December, 2012- 274

– Rice

----to 80000
MTs per month- 70000
 f India Anand Sharma, the
Commerce & Textile Industry Minister of Pakistan Khurram Dastgir Khan visited India from
16th to 18th January, 2014 to attend the ----- SAARC Business Leaders Conclave- 5th

highest in the country? – Punjab

----edition of Tex-Trends India -

2014 in Pragati Maidan- 4th

- 10,000

y has overtaken India to become the largest contributor of FDI to Nepal?-

China

---- MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro

Power Station has been awarded for `Silver Shield` for the year 2012-13, and `Bronze Shield` for
the year 2011-12-1500

- Germany

Environment and Forests for a National Mission for a Green India as a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme. Of the total expenditure of Rs. 13,000 crore envisaged in the 12th Plan, the plan outlay
is Rs. ----- crore- 2000

- Axis Bank

Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of M/s Glaxo

SmithKline Pvt Limited for acquisition of ----- percent of shares in the existing Indian subsidiary
company of the GSK Group in India by way of a voluntary open offer under SEBI (SAST
Regulations) in the pharmaceutical sector- 24.33

- Indonesia

Lakhisarai district of – Bihar

(PMI) is a venture of- HSBC

- Dinesh Sarraf

-15 that
shows an estimated plan expenditure of Rs. ------ crore and non-plan expenditure of Rs.
12,07,892 crore- 5,55,322
 ------ per cent in
merchandise exports during the current financial year- 6.3

from which country?-

Indonesia

------ crore has been provided for capital infusion in Public Sector Banks in
the Interim Budget 2014-15- 11,200

------ lakh crore of Agriculture

credit for the year 2014-15- 8

-14 will be contained at ------ per cent of GDP-

4.6

- CMD, NTPC

- 13%

-20 nations decided to work towards

lifting their collective GDP by more than 2 per cent over the next _____ years- five

___ in FY15-
5.5 per cent

facilitate investments and trade?- South Arabia

nder
the ministries of road and shipping- Rs 16057.45

project in which state?- Jharkhand

- 7.5 per cent

approved ____________ as the interim cost escalation for Bhutan's Punatshangchu

hydropower project- Rs 1,765 crore

high-end rental apartments sought by expats- 28th

lists individuals who have managed to grow an idea into a profitable business?- Seven
 - 3.67 per cent

GENERAL AWARENESS

Tripura Government Museum was established in -----. 1970

On which date, the International Day for Older Persons is observed? October 1

Sandeep Tulsi Yadav, Wrestler of Western Railway, created the history by winning Bronze
Medal at Senior World Wrestling Championship in ----- Kg. – 66

In which state 35th National Games will be held in Feb 2014? Kerala

As per the latest survey, which of the following is emerged as topmost global brand in the world?
Apple

Postal Index Number (PIN) or PIN Code is a 6 digit code of Post Office numbering used by India
Post. The PIN was introduced on August 15, ------. 1972

Who has won Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year? Saina Nehwal

Who has been conferred "Allard Prize for International Integrity"? -Anna Hazare

7th East Asian Summit was held in ----- on September 25-27. Bali

The "Mount Augustus" is in which country? -Australia

Which country has announced its withdrawal from Commonwealth of Nations? –Gambia

In October 2013, which state government, has decided to put ban on advertising of tobacco
products in the state? –Kerala

India and Tanzania agreed to Double Volume of Bilateral Trade in next ---- Years. -2

Who has been appointed as Brand Ambassador of National Tobacco Control Campaign? -Rahul
Dravid

How many scientists have been selected for Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and
Technology for the year 2013? – Eight

Which country has imposed ban on Skype, WhatsApp and Viber recently? – Pakistan

Name the Vietnam Independence hero who recently passed away? - Vo Nguyen Giap

The Ministry of Tourism launched "----- Days of the Incredible Indian Himalayas" campaign on
the World Tourism Day.- 777
As per the latest report by the French Institute of Demographic Studies, by which year India will
surpass China as the world's most populous country? – 2050

The State Trading Corporation of India Limited (STC) has achieved a trading profit of Rs. -----
crore during 2012-13. -119

Sania Mirza and -------- has won China Open Women's Double 2013 Tennis Title? -Cara Black

In October 2013, which country has started import of power from India? –Bangladesh

Which of the following is the smallest country in Africa continent? Seychelles

The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) aims to reform ___. -Higher Education

Who has won Korean Grand Prix 2013? - Sebastian Vettel

Mr. Alberto Vaquina is Prime Minister of- Mozambique

James Rothman, Randy Schekman and ---------- has won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine?
Thomas Suedhof

Globally, approximately ---- million people die each year as result of diseases caused by tobacco
consumption. -6

The Indian Air Force celebrated its 81st anniversary on ----- Oct 2013.- 08

The “Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo” is a friendship road connecting India and which country? –

Myanmar

The White Cane Day is celebrated across the world every year on the ----- of October. -15th

Who has become first elected Tamil Chief Minister of Sri Lanka? -C. V. Wigneswaran

Francois Englert and Peter Higgs, who have won 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics, belong to
Belgium and --------- respectively? –Britain

The United Nations has designated the first ----- of October every year as World Habitat Day. –
Monday

Who has won International Press Institute Award for excellence in Journalism? - Karan Thapar

The HRD Ministry will soon launch ---- DTH educational channels. – 50

The first mega Food Park in Uttar Pradesh would be set up in Jagdishpur of Amethi district. This
mega food park would be developed by__.- Aditya Birla Group
The second ---- of October has been declared as World Egg Day by the International Egg
Commission to help raise awareness about nutritional benefits of eggs. –Friday

Who has won China Open Men's Single Tennis Title 2013? -Novak Djokovic

Who has won 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature? -Alice Munro

Who has won European Union's "Sakharov Human Rights" Prize? -Malala Yousafzai

Indian Railways have carried ----- million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during the
first half of fiscal 2013. -511

Who will be conferred the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for the year 2012? -M S
Swaminathan

Who has been nominated by Govt. of India as Chairman of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute
of Asian Studies, Kolkata? -Sitaram Sharma

Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola won Miss Muslimah World 2013 title. She is from which country? -
Nigeria

Who has been honoured with the Pride of the Nation award? -John Abraham

Who has been awarded with Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield by President Pranab Mukherjee on
the occasion of Hindi Divas in Delhi? -NTPC

Which of the following countries is known as “Play Ground of Europe”? -Switzerland

Which film has bagged the Best Film Award at Ladakh International Film Festival? –OASS

In which state “Sipat Thermal Power Plant” has been inaugurated recently? Chhattisgarh

Mohammad Abdul Hamid is the President of- -Bangladesh

Who has been chosen for “Policy Leadership Award-2013” in Agriculture? Prakash Singh Badal

What is Dhruv? -Helicopter

Germany has committed financial and technical assistance to ----- for the Green Energy
Corridors. –India

Who is the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities? -Wajahat Habibullah

World Alzheimer's Day is observed on_____ September 21

The term of the India-Germany Joint Working Group on automobile sector has been further
extended by -----. -2 years
Which of the following has been separated by the “Luzon Strait”? -Taiwan and Philippines

Dr. Manmohan Singh dedicated the state-run NTPC's Rajiv Gandhi Sipat Super Thermal Power
Station in ---- to the nation. –Chhattisgarh

Who has been appointed as first Brand Ambassador for Border Security Force (BSF)? -Virat
Kohli

"Helina" is an upgraded version of which missile? -Nag

With which Sport the “Sultan Johor Cup” is related? -Hockey

"London Whale" Scandal is related to which foreign bank? -JP Morgan Chase

The ------ National Aviation University Bill, 2013 has received the assent of the President of
India. -Indira Gandhi

------------ and Malala Yousufzai were declared winners of this year's prestigious 'Clinton Global
Citizens Awards'.-Bunker Roy

India has offered to help ----- develop its renewable energy resources. -Cuba

Who has won 2013 Women's Table Tennis World Cup? -Liu Shiwen

Largest Solar Power Project in the World to be set up in ----- -Rajasthan

Which country is the largest producer of Greenhouse gases in the world? -China

UIDAI has a mandate of enrolling ---- crore residents for Aadhaar across the country by 2014. -
60

What is the name of Australia's most powerful super computer? –Raijin

As per the latest report, which of the following are the most advanced states in India? -Kerala
and Goa

General Secretary of the ----- and Rajya Sabha member Mohan Singh passed away. -Samajwadi
Party

Which country will host “NATO Summit-2014”? -Britain

The Salary of Chief Election Commissioner of India is equal to the salary of___ -Judge of
Supreme Court

Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone of MEMU Coach Factory near Rupaheli Station,
Bhilwara District, -------. -Rajasthan
G-4 Nations comprises Brazil, Germany, Japan and ................. –India

The Subroto Cup championship is being organised by Subroto Mukherjee Education Society
under the aegis of the Indian Air Force since -----. -1960

World Tourism Day is observed on _____. -September 27

India's Swaran Singh Virk is associated with which of the following sports? -Rowing

Who won the title of "Miss World 2013"? -Megan Young

In which state the state-run 'Amma Drinking Water' plant, has recently been inaugurated? -Tamil
Nadu

Which country has recently agreed to initiate steps to enhance Media cooperation with India? -
China

The Union Minister for Culture Chandresh Kumari Katoch unveiled the Brass Plate World
Heritage Plaque at which fort? -Chittaurgarh Fort

Who is the Union Minister of Labour & Employment? -Sis Ram Ola

Justice C Nagappan and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh were sworn in as judges of - Supreme Court

Which Indian State has been found to have maximum unemployment rate in the country? -
Sikkim

Who is the Principal Advisor to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation also popularly known as
'Metroman'? -E Sreedharan

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of ---------------- near Ajmer in
Rajasthan. -Kishangarh Airport

Which institution is the Nodal Agency to monitor, verify and enforce the genuineness of
products being sold as Khadi? - KVIC

Which state has recently started the implementation of the National Food Security Act on the
occasion of Gandhi Jayanti? -Rajasthan

The newly formed Telangana state will have how many districts of undivided Andhra Pradesh? -
10

Which country's' Government has recently honoured former Defence Minister V. K. Krishna
Menon posthumously at a ceremony? -Bangladesh

Which was the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India's prestigious IGMDP? -The
Prithvi-II
Which government department has signed an agreement with Wall Street Exchange, recently? -
India Post

The Ministry of Science & Technology has launched its new project of ----------- for the future
Inspire Awards. -E-MIAS

Who has become the first contestant of Indian heritage to win the Miss America pageant? -Nina
Davuluri

--------------- and Malala Yousufzai were declared winners of this year's prestigious 'Clinton
Global Citizens Awards'. -Bunker Roy

Who has been sworn in as Cambodian Prime Minister for another five-year term, recently? -Hun
Sen

Indira Talwani has been nominated to the key post of US District Court judge in- Massachusetts

Who has been sworn in as judge on the bench of the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the District of
Columbia Circuit? - Sri Srinivasan

The president of which country has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize? –Russia

Elio Di Rupa is Prime Minister of- -Belgium

The state-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Thermal Power Station is located in- -Chhattisgarh

The Raghuram Rajan panel report has ranked --------- and Kerala as the most advanced states. –
Goa

Who has retained the top spot on the Forbes list for the twentieth straight year? -Bill Gates

Which of the following cities in India has been named the world's second most honest city,
according to a survey of 16 cities worldwide? –Mumbai

Paddler Bhavina Hashmukhbhai Patel became the first Indian to win a _________ medal at the
2013 ITTF PTT Asian Table Tennis regional championships at Beijing. –Silver\

Kanwar Deep Singh has been elected as the President of the Indian Hockey Federation for a term
of how many years? –Four

India has launched its ambitious pension scheme, Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana, for
over 5 million overseas workers in which city? –Dubai

India has, recently, developed a new tactical surface-to-surface missile _______ with a range
between 60-170 km. –Pragati
The GOI has renamed the PDS to prevent Opposition parties from taking credit for implementing
the National Food Security Act. Mention the new name. -Indiramma Anna Yojana

India has introduced Pravasi Suraksha Yojana named after which politicians to provide insurance
cover and ensure the financial welfare of over five million overseas Indian workers? -Mahatma
Gandhi

The country's richest woman, Savitri Jindal, was inducted as a minister in the cabinet of which
state, recently?

-Haryana

India has signed ____ agreements with Peru including one on defence cooperation and another
on establishment of a Joint Commission. – Four

Which company had defeated Air India in the 48th Bombay Gold Cup All India Hockey final? -
Indian Oil Corporation

Which country announced that it will wind down its military mission in Afghanistan with the
withdrawal of most of its troops by the end of 2014? –Australia

Which country, recently, test-fired Hatf IX (Nasr) missile? -Pakistan

British Paralympic powerlifter Ali Jawad won ________ at the International Paralympic
Committee Asian Open Championships with a world-record lift. –Gold

Who will deliver this year's Penguin Lecture, which will feature some of the world's most
respected leaders, thinkers and writers over the years? -Amitabh Bachchan

India's first mission to which planet blasted off successfully completing the first stage of an 11-
month journey? –Mars

The ______ edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held in New Delhi from 7th to 9th of
January 2014.-12th

Which country became the first South Asian Country to have approved the commercial
cultivation of transgenic Bt brinjal? –Bangladesh

Microsoft recently developed Kinect Sign Language Translator that converts signs into spoken
and written language in collaboration with the researchers of which country? –China

Yuki Bhambri of _____ won the ATP men's singles title of Traralgon event in Australia. –India
India and which country signed an MoU for cooperation between Prasar Bharati and Radio and
Television Institute of that country?- Cuba

Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the BNP Paribas Masters Tennis tournament at _ -Paris

India recently signed a treaty with which country for transfer of sentenced prisoners languishing
in jails in the two countries? –Vietnam

Scientists discovered a new planet called Kepler 78b which has a similar mass and density to that
of which planet? –Earth

Srishti Rana of India was crowned ______________ in Busan, South Korea. -Miss Asia Pacific
World 2013

US President Barack Obama was ranked ________ in Forbes list of "The World's Most Powerful
People".-second

Who has been listed the world's third most powerful woman on Forbes' list of "The World's Most
Powerful People"? -Sonia Gandhi

Justice R. Banumathi was appointed as the Chief Justice of ______. -Jharkhand High Court

PM Manmohan Singh was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by the prestigious State Institute of
International Relations of which country? –Russia

Who has been awarded the Mother Teresa International Award by NGO The Harmony
Foundation for her efforts towards achieving social justice? -Sushmita Sen

Anjali Gopalan was awarded with Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur. The award was given by
which country? –France

Imomali Rakhmon has been re-elected the President of which country? –Tajikistan

Which country launched the Olympic torch into space, as part of the flame's journey ahead of the
Sochi Winter Olympics? –Russia

Indian Navy inducted the 4th generation advanced jet trainer aircraft ______ that has been built
by HAL. -Hawk 132

Who has been appointed as the goodwill ambassador for South Korea? -Shahrukh Khan

Manna Dey died, recently, in Bangalore. Who was he? -Singer

Carol Burnett of US was honoured with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Who is
she? –Comedian
Moscow hosted the 14th India-Russia Annual Summit. Who represented India in the Summit? -
Prime Minister of India

U N Security Council elected how many new non-permanent members in the 15-member
Council? –Five

Who has been conferred with the first Yash Chopra Memorial Award for her contribution to
cinema? -Lata Mangeshkar

_________ Indians have made to 2013 Fortune magazine's global list of top-50 women business
leaders. -Four

The International Hockey Federation has selected which country to host the men's World Cup in
2018? –India

Martha Dodray from Bihar has been honoured with a prestigious UN Foundation award for her
work in protecting children from which disease? -Polio

India and __________ signed the bilateral agreement for the promotion and development of
traditional systems of medicine. - Hungary

Who released a book on Indian painting written by Prof. B.N. Goswami in New Delhi, recently?
-Manmohan Singh

Which state lifted the Girls' title of the 54th Subroto Cup football tournament? –Manipur

Sarojini Varadappan died, recently, due to brief illness. Who was she? -Social Worker

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on _________. -17th October

Jairam Ramesh released the book 'Walking With Giants' a memoir written by former Finance
Secretary G. Ramachandran. Jairam Ramesh is ________. -Union Minister for Rural
Development

Who was named Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013? -Greg du Toit

Ajit Agarkar announced retirement. He used to play _______. –Cricket

World Food Day is celebrated on _________. -16 October

Eleanor Catton won the 2013 Man Booker prize for English fiction for which novel? -The
Luminaries

India has been ranked _______ in the Global Hunger Index this fiscal. 63rd

Justice M B Shah Commission has submitted its third and final report. The commission was set
up to report on ___________. -Illegal Mining
According to the World Prosperity Index 2013, which is the most prosperous country in the
world? –Norway

'Industry, Impartiality, Integrity' is the motto of which organization? –CBI

Rajiv Gandhi Aviation University will be setup in which district? -Rae Bareli

'Malabar' is bilateral naval field training exercise between India and _______. –US

Gabriela Isler won Miss Universe 2013. She is from _______. -Venezuela

The book title '1283' is about the career illustration of which football legend? –Pele

Parvinder Sohi Behuria, a Senior IRS officer was appointed as the Secretary General of
_____________. -National Human Rights Commission

Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Beema Yojna Health care scheme for BPL families was launched in
________.-Punjab

Iran signed a roadmap agreement to allow inspectors broader access to nuclear sites with which
organization?- IAEA

The World Science Day for Peace and Development is observed on _________. 10 November

Aditya Mehta is related to which sport? Snooker Who has been named world's most powerful
person by Forbes Magazine? -Vladimir Putin

__________ chief Lalu Prasad and JD(U) member Jagdish Sharma have been disqualified from
the Lok Sabha following their conviction in the fodder scam case. –RJD

A radio documentary in the Australian-Indian community has won a prestigious United Nations
Association of Australia media award. The documentary was about ____________. -Domestic
Violence

PM Manmohan Singh's wife, Gursharan Kaur, has become the first SPG protectee to have
women commandos in her immediate security cordon. Expand SPG. - Special Protection Group

The lower house of which country's parliament has approved a new legislation that toughens
punishment for terrorism and requires terrorists' relatives to pay for the damages caused in
attacks? –Russia

One of the immigration proposals of the UK, which envisaged subjecting visitors from six “high-
risk” Commonwealth countries to pay a surety of _________ for a visa to the U.K., has been
withdrawn, recently. -£3000

Which two countries has the lost of voting right in UNESCO? -US and Israel
The GOI has decided to commemorate the ________ Birth Anniversary of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru,
the first Prime Minister of independent India. -125th

Who recently said that 'International Law as we know derives from customary law and
agreements signed by sovereign States'? -Vice President, Hamid Ansari

A new study has found a 10 per cent increase in the number of HIV-infected cases in which
country? –Australia

Justice Ajit Prakash Shah has taken over as the new Chairman of the ------- Law Commission of
India. - 20th

Who became UNICEF's first brand ambassador for South Asia? -Sachin Tendulkar

The “Panch Prayag” is in the state of ___ - Uttarakhand

The cinema in North-East will complete ----years in 2015. -80

The National Tiger Conservation Authority has approved the fifth tiger reserve in Nagzira. In
which state is Nagzira located? –Maharashtra

Who inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Coir Board on November 25, 2013 at a
function at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi? -Pranab Mukherjee

In which state India's first Synthetic Rubber Plant was inaugurated, recently? –Haryana

National Cadet Corps (NCC) celebrated its ---- anniversary on 24 Nov 2013 with traditional
fervour.

65th

Who took oath as the new Chief Justice of Pakistan? -Tasadduq Hussain Jilani

Who is Lt Gen P S Bhalla? -DG, NCC

Which city will host the 2020 World Expo Trade Convention? –Dubai

Who is Prof P. J. Kurien? -Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha

Which nation has recently qualified World T20 Championship for the first time? –Nepal

The Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme has come into effect from ------
-. -10.5.2013
According to Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2013, which country is
least corrupt country in the world? -Denmark

Who has won LG People's Choice Award 2013? -M S Dhoni

Koyna is located in -----. –Maharashtra

Who has won UN Human Rights Prize 2013? -Malala Yousafzai

Who assumed charge as the Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals

and fertilizers? -Aradhana Johri

Paul Walker, who died recently, was a famous ----------------. –Actor

Government of Goa has increased the limit of film finance to Rs. ----------- lakh for the
promotion of regional cinema. -50

Which Pakistani cricket player has been inducted into cricket's Hall of Fame, recently? -Waqar
Younis

Which is India's first indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft? -Tejas

The Kaam Maango Abiyan was launched in Jharkhand in Chaibasa district recently by ------,
Chief Minister of Jharkhand. -Hemant Soren

In which city India's first heritage transport museum has been opened? – Gurgaon

The "Hezbollah" is an Islamic militant group and political party. In which country "Hezbollah" is
based? –Lebanon

With reference to Indian sports, in which city Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range is located? –Delhi

Who released a book entitled “Journalism Ethics and Responsiblities” edited by senior journalist
Seema Mustafa? -M. Hamid Ansari

Who has assigned additional charge of Director, National Police Academy? -T. K. Vinod Kumar

The Union Cabinet approved the proposal for extension of financial assistance to ----- Port Trust
(KoPT) to meet the dredging expenditure incurred by KoPT for maintenance of the
river/channel. –Kolkata

Which country will host the Under-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017? –India

What is the position of India in Global Corruption Perception Index 2013? -94th

With milk production peaking ---- million tonnes in 2012-13, India is the largest producer of the
milk in the world today. -132.43
Justice R. Banumathi took oath as the Chief Justice of which High Court? -Jharkhand

Who has been sworn in as the 6th President of Maldives? -Abdulla Yameen

Who took over the command of the Pakistan Army? -Raheel Sharif

Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani took oath as Pakistan's ---- Chief Justice. -21st

Who has taken over as India's next high commissioner to the UK? -Ranjan Mathai

Who was sworn in as Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh? -Raman Singh

The National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has been instituted by
the -----. -Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

Who was sworn in as Rajasthan's Chief Minister? -Vasundhara Raje

Who took over as the Director General of National Cadet Corps? -Aniruddha Chakravarty

Venezuela's ------ was crowned Miss Earth 2013. -Alyz Henrich

Who assumed charge as the Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and
fertilizer? -Rajiv Mehrishi

Who has bagged the 'Emerging Cricketer of the Year' trophy at the ICC Annual awards? -
Cheteshwar Pujara

Satya Prasad Roy Burman passed away in Kolkata. Who was he? -Founder of Khadim India Ltd

Vinay Apte died at the age of 62. Who was he? –Actor

Who is Akihito? -Emperor of Japan

Popular ------ film comedian Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam died. -Telugu

Who is C. S. Verma? -Chairman, SAIL

Which country will host the “Common Wealth Summit 2015”? -Malta

The ----- International Children Film Festival of India was inaugurated at Hyderabad. -18th

The "Yashsvini Health Insurance Scheme" is associated with which state? -Karnataka

Who is N. Kiran Kumar Reddy? -Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

Doris Lessing, who passed away recently, was a well known ____. –Author

The Government has decided to confer, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award on eminent
scientist ------ and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar. -Prof C. N. R. Rao
India's "Gaganjeet Bhullar" and "Anirban Lahiri" are associated with which sport/ event? –Golf

First Ever Joint India-Russia Air Force Exercise will be held in -----. -2014

Who has been named male “World Athlete of the Year 2013”? -Usain Bolt

Who will be awarded the "Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for
2013"? -Angela Merkel

The "ISON" is a ____. –Comet

Lionel Messi has been chosen for Golden Boot Trophy for third time. He is from which country?
-Argentina

One of the best known representatives of the 'New Wave Czech Cinema', Jiri Menzel received
the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ---- edition of IFFI. -44th

Which book has won the 2013 US National Book Award in fiction? -The Good Lord Bird

Who has been honoured with the first Centenary Award for the Indian Film Personality at the
44th International Film Festival of India? -Waheeda Rehman

Frederick Sanger, who passed away, recently, was a ___ -Biochemist

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated 3rd ------ International Competition
Conference on the 21st November, 2013 in a function at New Delhi. –BRICS

Which country hosted the 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference? -Poland

The "Thirumayam Fort" is located in which state? -Tamil Nadu

Magnus Carlsen is the new World Champion of Chess. He belongs to which country? –Norway

Who inaugurated an exhibition "The Mughals : Life, Art and Culture"? -M. Hamid Ansari

The "Dhanush" is a ---- -Missile

Who is author of the book “Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer”? -Cyrus Mistry

What does "T" stand for in TAPI, the proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by Asian
Development Bank? -Turkmenistan

The controversial 300-MW Lakhwar hydroelectric power project is related to which state? -
Uttarakhand

Who has been elected as new Chief Boxing Coach of India? -Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu

Volocopter, world's first green helicopter has been tested in which country, recently? -Germany
Who inaugurated an Art Exhibition 'Soul in Art” at 44th IFFI? -Manish Tewari

When is International Day of Persons with Disabilities observed? -3rd December

When is World AIDS Day observed? -1st December

Which month is observed as Diabetes Month world over? -November

In which state “Melghat” and “Tadoba-Andhari” Tiger Reserves are located? –Maharashtra

National Policy for Persons with Disabilities has been formulated in ----. -2005

The Competition Authorities of BRICS support the hosting of the Fourth BRICS ICC during -----
-. -2015

President Pranab Mukherjee released a postal stamp and 'First Day' cover on Indian Navy's
recently commissioned aircraft carrier ____________. INS Vikramaditya

Indian-American author __________ and filmmaker Mira Nair have been honoured for their
contributions to the global artistic community. -Salman Rushdie

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad announced that not a
single case of wild polio has been reported from any part of the country since the past ----- years.
– Two

Which country has become the 18th member of the euro zone? - Latvia

Ariel Sharon passed away at the age of 85. Who was he?-Former Prime Minister of Israel

Corey Anderson, who hit the fastest century in one-day international history recently, belongs to
which country?- New Zealand

Who is the new Air Force Chief of India? -Arup Raha

The ---- National Youth Festival was held in Ludhiana from the 12th-16th January, 2014.-18th

Every year on ---- January, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, is observed as the
National Youth Day- 12th

Which state has launched free CFL bulbs scheme for hut dwellers?- Tamil Nadu

Who has won the Chennai Open Tennis Trophy 2013?- Stanislas Wawrinka

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), with a proven track record of ---- successful
flights, has provided the country the crucial autonomy in 'access to space'.- 24

The Loser festival is the most important festival celebrated in – Ladakh

India's maiden moon exploration mission 'Chandrayaan-1' was launched in October- 2008

Who has won the Portugal's Highest Honor 'Symbol of Portugal' Award? - Cristiano Ronaldo

India's maiden mission to moon Chandrayaan-1 carried six scientific instruments from ---- and
Europe- USA

The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean to the - Mediterranean Sea

According to data for 2009, India stood ----- in terms of number of papers published- 11th

Football legend “Eusebio da Silva Ferreira” who passed away recently, belongs to which
country? – Portugal

In which state "Araku Valley" is located? - Andhra Pradesh

Who is Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck? - King of Bhutan

In which year Government of India constituted the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal? – 1990

The first meeting of the Mission Authority of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)
was held on ------- in New Delhi - 8th January, 2014

The Reunion Island is a small French island located in the - Indian Ocean

Who is Itsunori Onodera? - Defence Minister of Japan

The Prime Minister of which country was the chief guest at this year's Republic Day parade in
India? – Japan

Government of Kerala observes ---- annually as Vayanadinam or the Day of Reading with a
week-long series of activities at schools and public institutions- 19th June

Who has won the FIFA Ballon d' Or Award for 2013? - Cristiano Ronaldo

When is World Hindi Day observed every year? - January 10

Who is Abdulla Yameen?- President of Maldives

What is India's ranking in the recently released Nuclear Materials Security Index? - 23rd

Who has been appointed as Adviser, Inter State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs? -
Dr. Vinod Aggarwa

Who has been appointed the new Governor of Manipur?- Vinod Kumar Duggal

Who took additional charge of the Ministry of Environment & Forests?- Dr. M. Veerappa Moily
Who was sworn in as Bangladesh's Prime Minister?- Sheikh Hasina

----- poet Chinu Modi has been conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award for the year 2013-
Gujarati

Juanita Moore passed away at the age of 99. Who was she?- Actress

Vishwanath Ramachandra Bondre died at the age of 77 years. Who was he?- Cricketer

Renowned ---- actress Anjali Devi died- Telugu

In June ----, Chingus Sarai was declared as a 'State Protected Monument' by the Government of
Jammu and Kashmir.- 1984

Who took oath as the seventh Chief Minister of Delhi?- Arvind Kejriwal

Who is Shri Mallikarjun Kharge?- Minister of Railways

As per the National Family Health Survey latest data, which state has maximum cases of
malnutrition in the country? – Jharkhand

In the Budget speech on 28.2.2013, the Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had announced
that the Government will set-up a Fund called the Nirbhaya Fund and contribute Rs. ---- crore to
the Fund- 1000

Which country has won Junior Men's Hockey World Cup? – Germany

The Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Manish Tewari laid the Foundation Stone of Rural
Road under PMGSY at village Dhandra of – Ludhiana

“Michelle Bachelet” has been recently elected as President of – Chile

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) SABLA, India (2010)
is being implemented in ----- selected districts across the country- 205

According to Sample Registration System 2012 of Registrar General of India, Infant Mortality
Rate (IMR) is ---- per 1000 live births.- 42

Who is the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year? - Andy Murray

Indian Railways bagged highest ever ---- National Energy Conservation Awards for the Year
2013.- 22

What is the name of AK 47 assault rifle designer, who passed away recently?- Mikhail
Kalashnikov
Vernon Philander, who has been declared as World's No.1 Bowler in ICC Test Rankings,
belongs to which country?- South Africa

The Trilateral Tabletop Exercise (TTEX) 2013 is a maritime exercise between - India, Sri Lanka
and Maldives

The President of India Pranab Mukherjee administered the oath of office of the Chief
Information Commissioner to ------at the Rashtrapati Bhawan- Sushma Singh

Who has won the women's singles title at Senior National Badminton Championships?- P. V.
Sindhu

The President, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the School of Commerce and Economics of
Loyola College at – Chennai

G.S. Shivarudrappa, who passed away recently, was a distinguished poet of which language? –
Kannada

Ministry of Minority Affairs under its Minority Development Programme has approved projects
worth Rs. ----- crore- 1102.66

Zaheer Khan has become the 4th Indian bowler to take ---- wickets in test match- 300

What is Agni-3?- Missile

In context to India's defence structure “Agni Missile” is _____ ballistic missile- Surface-to-
Surface

In which country world's first artificial heart transplant was performed, recently? – France

Pran Chopra, who passed away recently, was a – Journalist

Who has won 34th National Archery Championship?- Deepika Kumari

Who has been appointed as Director General of National Security Guard? - J. N. Choudhury

The controversial Kishenganga river project is located in which state? - Jammu and Kashmir

Who has been appointed as Director General of Central Industrial Security Force?- Arvind
Ranjan

Who received C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for the year 2013?- Kapil Dev

University Grants Commission was established in – 1953

With which country India has signed deal for Super Hercules Aircraft, recently?- USA

The Centre has sanctioned Rs ----- crores to Maharashtra for improving rural road network under
the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) II- 488.59

In which state, “Sunburn”, an electronic dance music festival is organised every year?- Goa

Who has been appointed as the Special DG, Border Security Force?- Devendra Kumar Pathak

The United Nation has recently declared March 3rd as - World Wildlife Day

The Central Government has approved a proposal for ----- new projects for providing
comprehensive water supply to various areas of Chennai city- 10

The “Blue Mountain” one of the world's most expensive coffee, is grown in which country?-
Jamaica

The Central Vigilance Commission was set up in ----- on the recommendation of Santanam
Committee- 1964

South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) was formed in the year – 1984

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan is a flagship programme that has been launched with an
outlay of Rs. ----- crores under the XII Plan, ending 2017- 25000

TEJAS attained a significant milestone on 27th Dec 2013, by flying the ______ sortie this year-
500th

India, which ranks 11th amongst major shipbuilding countries in the world, has been re-elected
unopposed to the Council of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for ___________ years-
two

President Mamnoon Hussain conferred the Nishan-e-Imtiaz on new army chief Gen Raheel
Sharif and Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman Gen Rashad Mehmood. Mamnoon Hussain
is the President of – Pakistan

In India, agricultural land makes up over ----- per cent of the total geographical area- 43

According to the Lokpal & Lokayukta Act 2013, who is not a part of the selection committee for
choosing the Lokpal chairperson?- Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Who unveiled the Photographs of Presidents of Central Legislative Assembly and portraits of
former Speakers of Lok Sabha at Central Hall of Parliament House?- Pranab Mukherjee

In which year, DRDO was established to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies
and systems? – 1958
Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development was established in March ----- at
Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu as a registered body- 1993

Juthika Roy passed away recently. Who was she?- Bhajan Singer

Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the ------ Anniversary of the Advocates' Association of Western
India, Mumbai- 150th

Who has become the fastest batsman to score 11,000 test runs, recently? - Kumar Sangakkara

Recently, with which country India has signed agreements on “Green Energy Corridors”?-
Germany

President, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Kishinchand

Chellaram (K.C.) College at – Mumbai

In which state Singhbhum Elephant Reserve is located?- Jharkhand

Which has become the first rail system in the world to be awarded for energy efficiency?- Delhi
Metro

Who has been appointed as brand ambassador for Central Reserve Police Force? - M. C. Mary
Kom

Who has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman award for the year 2013?- Vishwanath
Tripathi

Competition Commission of India has imposed a penalty of Rs. ----- lakhs on Chemists and
Druggists Association, Ferozepur and its office bearers- 55.42

“Marry Barra” who has topped the Fortune list of “50 most powerful women in business” is
associated with which organisation?- General Motors

Who is Hifikepunye Pohamba?- President of Namibia

Who is Dr. Hage Geingob?- Prime Minister of Namibia

What is the full form of PKI?- Public Key Infrastructure

“Watson” is an artificially intelligent computer system capable of answering questions posed in

natural language, developed by – IBM

The Minister of Mines, Dinsha J. Patel, inaugurated the ----- Central Geological Programming
Board (CGPB) meeting- 53rd

President Pranab Mukherjee presented Bharat Ratna to Prof. CNR Rao and ------ at a Ceremony
held at Rashtrapati Bhavan- Sachin Tendulkar
Who have won the Women's Doubles title of the Australian Open 2014?- Sara Errani and Robert
Vinci

The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari presented the “---- Moorti Devi Award” to
Haraprasad Das, one of the most influential contemporary poet and thinker in Odia Literature at
a function- 26th

Who have won the Mixed Doubles title of the Australian Open 2014?- Kristina Mladenovic and
Daniel Nestor

Who have won the Men's Doubles title of the Australian Open 2014?- Lukasz Kubot and Robert
Lindstedt

Who has won the Men's Singles title of the Australian Open 2014?- Stanislas Wawrinka

Who has won the Women's Singles title of the Australian Open 2014?- Li Na

Currently, how many people die from cancer worldwide every year?- 7.6 million

By which year, premature cancer deaths are projected to increase to 6 million per year?- 2025

Who has taken over as the new chief of the National Security Guard?- J. N. Choudhury

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated ----- Indian Science Congress in Jammu-
100th

Who has been sworn in as Uttarakhand's eighth Chief Minister? - Harish Rawat

Who has won the 2014 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature?- Cyrus Mistry

Who has been conferred theSahitya Akademi Award for the year 2013 for "Dhuliyori Bharir
Sans" his book of poems? - Rabindra Sarkar

National Rail Museum of the Ministry of Railways, celebrated its ---- years of existence in New
Delhi- 37

Gerald D Berreman has died. Who was he?- Social Anthropologist

National Rail Museum was formally inaugurated on the 1st of February- 1977

Adhip Chaudhuri died in Vienna. Who was he?- Economist

As per Census 2011 data, the number of people living on rent in urban areas in the country are
approximately ---- million- 21.72
Who has received Rotary's highest award - “Award of Honour”?- Pranab Mukherjee

Which country has won the Hero Hockey World League 2014?- Netherland

Who inaugurated an exhibition entitled 'Everything is Inside' by lighting the ceremonial lamp?-
M. Hamid Ansari

Who has won the Hindu Prize for Best Fiction 2013?- Anees Slim

Who is Mr. Anupam Shah?- Chairman EEPC India

Who is Park Geun-Hye? - President of the Republic of Korea

Who is the author of the book “Sangharsh ke safar kanayak Mulayam” ?- Omveer Tomar

In which city, India's first Climate Change Theatre was opened, recently?- Kapurthala

Namdeo Dhasal who passed away recently, was a famous poet of which language?- Marathi

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh conferred the National Bravery Awards to -------- young
children this year on the eve of Republic Day- 25

The General assembly of the United Nations has declared the year 2016 as- International Year of
Pulses

Who is M.K. Narayanan?- Governor of West Bengal

Which organization has launched "No Lost Generation" project for Syrian children, recently?-
United Nations

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was set up by the National Investigation Agency Act-
2008

Recently, which state has rolled out "Jeevan Amrut Yojana"? – Maharashtra

Agni-I, II, III and Prithvi are in the arsenal of armed forces, giving them reach of over ----- km-
3000

The National Museum of India Cinema will open in – Mumbai

Who have won the Best Actor and Actress awards at 20th Screen Award?- Farhan Akhtar,
Deepika Padukone

Who released a book entitled “India's Political and Foreign Relations with the Gulf Region”
edited by Prof A. K. Pasha at a function?- M. Hamid Ansari

Akkineni Nageswara Rao who passed away recently, was a legendary actor of – Telugu
Planning Commission has allocated Rs ----- crore for implementation of Rajiv Awas Yojana
during the 12th Five Year Plan- 32230

Pranlal Patel passed away recently. Who was he?- Photographer

Aruna M. Bahuguna has been appointed as Director SVP, National Police Academy (NPA), -
Hyderabad

Vice President M. Hamid Ansari presented "Pandit Haridutt Sharma Award" to - Dr. M.
Veerappa Moily

Pete Seeger passed away recently. Who was he?- Folk Singer

TDRS Satellite is a - Communication Satellite

Who has been appointed as Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat?- H. C. Meena

Bombay Natural History Society has decided to set up Vulture Safe Zone in- Bundelkhand,
Madhya Pradesh

Child Sex Ratio in the 0-6 year age group declined steeply from 927 in 2001 to ----- in 2011- 919

The National Girl Child Day is celebrated on ----- January- 24th

Kathy Cross who became first woman to be appointed in ICC's umpiring panel, belongs to which
country?- New Zealand

Government increased health sector allocation by 335% to Rs ---- lakh crore in 12th Plan- 3

According to United Nation latest report, which country has by far the largest population of
illiterate adults in the world?- India

The National Urban Health Mission as a sub-mission of National Health Mission was approved
by the Cabinet on 1st May – 2013

The Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), was launched in June – 2011

Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) was launched in February- 2013

Australian Open 2014 was the ------ edition of the Australian Open-102nd

Which community was accorded minority status by the central government which will enable
them to avail of benefits in government schemes and programmes?- Jain

The Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dr M. Veerappa Moily launched the scheme for
sale of ______ LPG cylinders at BPCL petrol station in Defence Colony New Delhi- 5kg
The Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, has approved the launch of
Portability of LPG connections onwards across Oil Marketing Companies distributors covering
____ districts in the country- 480

Which state's Tourism has been awarded by the United Nations for creating innovative initiatives
for sustainable tourism?- Kerala

India signed an MoU with The Netherlands in the field of ___________ to strengthen bilateral
cooperations- health and medicine

India's first monorail service has been launched in – Mumbai

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gifted his copy of the commemorative stamp on the
completion of 200 years of Indian Museum to the Chief Minister of which state?- West Bengal
CM Mamata Banerjee

India and which other nation has decided to enhance cooperation in sectors such as
pharmaceuticals, infrastructure and health to boost trade and investment between the countries?-
Zimbabwe

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh released two commemorative postage stamps in
honour of Ghazal singer and musician- Jagjit Singh

Which has become the only state in the country to achieve more than 100 per cent sanitation in
rural and urban households, schools, sanitary complexes and Aanganwadi centres?- Sikkim

Who has been awarded the Rotary's highest award - “Award of Honour” in India, recently?
President

To catalyse creation of Rail infrastructure for overall national growth, State Governments of
Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and which other state have agreed to share
cost of several Rail projects in their respective areas?- Haryana

US President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American Shamina Singh to a key

administration post. She is a- Businesswoman

India has made a contribution of __________ to the Joint Office for Commonwealth Permanent
Missions to the United Nations- USD 100,000

Sushil Koirala was elected Prime Minister of _____, recently- Nepal

India has been ranked _________ in a global list that places countries on how well they perform
on high-priority environmental issues- 155th

Who has been declared the second richest person in British Midlands and one of the wealthiest in
the country, recently?- Lord Swaraj Paul
With Satya Nadella becoming CEO at software giant Microsoft, 10 Indian origin persons holding
top posts at global corporations manage businesses worth about - $350 billion

India has been ranked _______ in the list of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index
2014- 140th

Who is Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa?- King of Bahrain

Which movie has bagged the Best Picture Award at the 86th Oscar Awards 2014?- 12 Years A
Slave

Who is M. K. Narayanan?-Governor of West Bengal

Where is the headquarters of the “Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE)” located? - Vienna, Austria

Pranab Mukherjee laid the foundation stone of Berhampore Military Station at Nabagram in -
West Bengal

Which is India's first dedicated spacecraft for defence applications?- GSAT-7

Who launched a comprehensive web-portal on Anti Human Trafficking Portal?- R. P. N. Singh

“Chandi Prasad Bhatt”, who has been selected for the 2013 Gandhi Peace Prize is a pioneer of
the - Chipko Movement

India has become the ---- best in terms of growth amongst top 10 steel producing countries in the
world- Second

Who has been appointed as the Secretary General of the SAARC?- Arjun Bahadur Thapa

The creche facility is available under Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for Children of
Working Mothers for both organized and un-organized sectors. At present there are -----
functional crèches- 23,555

Horticulture production grew by more than ---- during the last decade in India- 8%

The “Gulabi Gang” is a group of women activists originally from which state?- Uttar Pradesh

What is INS Sumedha?- Offshore Patrol Vessel

At present, how many political parties in India have been recognized as National Parties?- 6

President, Pranab Mukherjee attended the ---- Convocation of Indian Maritime University at
Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai on February 22, 2014- 1st
Which was the venue of the Third BIMSTEC Summit held in March 2014?- Myanmar

The "Nalanda Project" is a programme of - Ministry of Minority Affairs

The National Mineral Awards Scheme was instituted in the yea- 1966

On which date Telangana will officially become India's 29th state?- June 2, 2014

The Union Government has recently launched the “Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme” for - Minority
Students

Who is David Johnston?- Governor General of Canada

Which team is the winner of 68th Santosh Trophy?- Mizoram

India's external debt is only ------ per cent of GDP- 21.2

According to the latest data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO), which state has emerged
as fastest growing state during 2012-13?- Bihar

In March 2014, the India-Pakistan International Trade Fair was organized at- Jalandhar

Which country will chair the next BIMSTEC Summit?- Nepal

Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim died on 9 March 2014 due to natural cause. Who was he?-
Vice President of Afghanistan

Who won the National Spelling Bee Competition in the US?- Kush Sharma

Which Indian writer has won the Windham Campbell Literature Prize 2014?- Pankaj Mishra

When is World Dentist Day observed?- 6 March

When is National Science Day observed?- 28 February

Who is Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud?- Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Saudi
Arabia

Who has been appointed as new Director General of Border Security Force?- D. K. Pathak

The World Longest ----- has been unveiled in Bedfordshire, UK- Aircraft

Sid Caesar died at 91 on 14 February 2014.Who was he? - TV comedian

Amar Kant passed away at the age of 88 in Uttar Pradesh. Who was he?- Writer

Pranab Mukherjee presented the International Gandhi Award for the year ----- to Dr. Vijaykumar
Vinayak Dongre and Prof. Guocheng Zhang- 2013
India's first electric zero-emission bus has been introduced at- Bangalore

Who unveiled the logo of the Copyright Office and launched the web portal with e-filing facility
for Copyright Registration in New Delhi? - Dr. M. M. Pallam Raju

“Paco de Lucia” who passed away recently, was a famous Guitarist who belongs to which
country?- Spain

Who has won the National Billiards Championship 2014?- Sourav Kothari

Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, India has an ambitious target of ___ MW of
solar capacity by 2022- 20,000

The Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project is related to which state?- Assam

While presenting the Interim Budget 2014-15, the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said
that India will become the third largest economy behind USA and China by- 2043

The Government has increased the food subsidy to Rs ------ crore for financial year 2014-15-
1,15,000

Recently, to which of the following languages Union Government has granted classical language
status?- Odia

In which state India's first Minority Cyber Village has been inaugurated, recently?- Gujarat

International Mother Language Day is observed on- February 21

Andhra Pradesh and ------ have been jointly given the National Tourism Award for
Comprehensive Development of Tourism- Madhya Pradesh

The “Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary” is located in which state?- Madhya Pradesh

“Venom GT” is - World's fastest car

Which country has topped in the medal tally of the recently concluded Sochi Winter Olympics?-
Russia

In which state "Bargi Dam" is located?- Madhya Pradesh

The “International Woolmark Prize” is related to which field?- Fashion Design

Prokash Karmakar who passed away recently, was a famous- Painter

Who has won the second edition of Hero Hockey India League?- Delhi Waveriders
Government has sanctioned Rs. ----- crore to the Nalanda University during its establishment
phase from 2010-11 to 2021-22- 2727.10

India and which other country has agreed to expand cooperation in the restoration and
digitisation of cinema archives?- Poland

Who has been appointed the new chairperson of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management-
Bangalore, recently?- Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

India and which other country has signed an Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement which will
enable both countries' film producers to utilize a platform for collaboration on various facets of
film making?- Canada

An ambitious __________ project to set up the first-ever Army patterned Research and Referral
hospital and an AIIMS-like college to render tertiary and specialised treatment to paramilitary
personnel and their families was introduced, recently- Rs 1,368 crore

Union Minister for Urban Development and the Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation, Dr GirijaVyas, laid the Foundation Stone for the Urban Institute of India. Name the
Minister of Urban Development- Kamal Nath

India has inked a defence cooperation pact with which country to take their strategic partnership
further in areas of security?- Saudi Arabia

Recently, how many new judges were sworn in as additional judges of the Bombay High Court?-
Six

The second meeting of India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments (HLTFI) was
held in which city recently?- Mumbai

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation announces the establishment of the R.
C. Bose Centre for Cryptology and Security in the Indian Statistical Institute in city?- Kolkata

The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports inaugurated the Sports Authority of India National
Cycling Academy. Who is the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports?- Jitendra Singh

Recently, India has been placed at _________ position out of 189 countries in a list prepared by
an international organisation that ranks nations on the number of women representatives in
parliament- 111th

Ahmedabad will be getting _______ for revamping of its police machinery with latest
technology under the Modernisation of Police Fund project- Rs 25 crore
The President of India presented the President's Standard to _______ Helicopter Unit and
Colours to No.4 Base Repair Depot of Indian Air Force at Kanpur- 112

Congress leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was sworn in as the Governor of
state, recently?- Kerala

Germany has conferred _________ Indians with its 'Cross of the Order of Merit' award for their
contribution in strengthening Indo-German relations over the past decades- three

India will collaborate with the four other BRICS countries in science and technology to generate
new knowledge and develop innovative products, services and processes. 'S' in BRICS stands
for- South Africa

Legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh's ancestral house, school and his village in Punjab
Province in Pakistan will be restored under a __________ project- Rs 80-million

How many Indian-origin men are among this year's prestigious Heinz Awards recipients in the
US?- Two

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid signed _______ pacts representing India at the third
BIMSTEC Summit covering areas such as cultural exchanges, permanent secretariat and early
weather warning- three

India's Tata Steel and which other public sector company have been named among the world's
most admired companies by Fortune magazine in a list topped by technology giant Apple?-
ONGC

According to a survey by Mercer, which city stood first in the best quality of living in the
world?- Vienna

Two Indian women have made it to the Forbes list of the world's billionaires that saw a record
number of women this year. Name them- Savitri Jindal and Indu Jain

World Health Day is celebrated on ----- April every year to mark the anniversary of the founding
of WHO in 1948- 7

April -----, 2014 was the birth centenary of late Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw- 3

Who took over as the Chief of Material of Indian Navy?- K. R. Nair

Actress ------ has been posthumously given a lifetime achievement award at the inaugural edition
of Filmfare Awards East- Suchitra Sen

Who has won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category?- Vijay Seshadri

Who is Dr. R.K. Tyagi?- HAL Chairman

Who won the Syed Mustaq Ali Cricket T20 Trophy?-Baroda

Who has been appointed as Director General, Border Security Force?- Devendra Kumar Pathak

Who won the Millennium Technology Prize 2014?- Stuart Parkin

Sangeet Natak Akademi was established in- 1953

The Head Office of the Unique Identification Authority of India is located in- New Delhi

When is National Safe Motherhood Day observed?- 11 April

In which state Ranthambore National Park is situated?- Rajasthan

Who won the Miss India 2014 title?- Koyal Rana

The National Maritime Day is celebrated on ---- of April every year since the year 1964-5th

Which country won the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2014 title?- Sri Lanka

Who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2013?- Gulzar

Which country won the 2014 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament?- Australia

Who won the World Twenty20 Player of the Tournament Award?- Mahela Jayawardene

Where is the Head Quarters of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) located?- Geneva

World Cup Soccer 2014 will be held in- Brazil

Who clinched the Miami Masters 2014 title?- Novak Djokovic

Where is National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) located?- Pune

The Nuclear Security Summit 2014 was held at – Netherlands

The ----- Arab League Summit was held in Kuwait on March 25, 2014- 25th

E.S.L. Narasimhan is the present Governor of - Andhra Pradesh

Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, V. K. Murthy died on 7 April 2014. Who was he?-
Cinematographer

Ashish Bose died in New Delhi on 7 April 2014.Who was he?- Demographer

Who won the Texas Open Squash tournament?- Nour El Sherbini

Mickey Rooney died in California at the age of 93. Who was he?- Actor
Who won the 34th London Marathon?- Wilson Kipsang

The 35th London Marathon will be held on- 26 April 2015

Who won third WTA title at the Family Circle Cup?- Andrea Petkovic

Who has been re-elected as Prime Minister of Hungary? - Viktor Orban

Marie-Lousie Coleiro Preca was sworn-in as President of – Malta

Viswanathan Anand is associated with which game?- Chess

Former ----- wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins has announced his retirement from cricket- New
Zealand

Which country celebrated the 100th birth anniversary of late Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz?-
Mexico

Who won the Singapore Open 2014?- Simon Santoso

Who has won the 23rd G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research for 2013?- Rajesh Gopakumar

Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council has completed ----- years of incorporation
on 20th March, 2014- 2

The “SVEEP” programme is associated with- Election Commission

Who has won the 2014 Templeton Prize?- Tomas Halik

Vice President M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled “The Political Economy of Energy and
Growth” edited by Najeeb Jung, the Lt Governor of ------ at a function- Delhi

In which state Kalisindh Super Thermal Power plant is located?- Rajasthan

India embarked on the programme to eradicate the nation of polio in -----, when the disease used
to cripple more than 50,000 children in the country every year- 1995

Who has been appointed as Additional Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court?- Lisa Gill

Who is the winner of the Life Time Achievement Award under 3rd National Photography
Awards?- Rajesh Bedi

Chakradhari Sharan Singh has been appointed as Additional Judge of the ------ High Court-
Patna

Who has been chosen for the Saraswati Samman 2013?- Govind Mishra
One ----- Aircraft of the IAF crashed 72 miles west of Gwalior airbase on 28 March 2014- C-
130J

Who has won the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize?- Shigeru Ban

Who addressed the Polio Free Conclave 2014 organised by the Rotary International?- Pranab
Mukherjee

President, Pranab Mukherjee presented one Padma Vibhushan, 12 Padma Bhushan and ------
Padma Shri awards at a Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan- 53

Which country started its first official census after 30 years?- China

Iron Ore Handling has commenced at ------ Port- Mormugao

When is World Autism Awareness Day celebrated?- April 2

Who has been chosen for Simon Dack Award?- Dr. Sumit Chugh

Who has won the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang (Malaysia) on 30 March 2014?- Lewis
Hamilton

Who has been appointed as the interim president of BCCI board by the Supreme Court?- Sunil
Gavaskar

Who has been appointed as the Secretary General of NATO?- Jens Stoltenberg

Around the globe World Water Day is being observed on 22nd March since- 1993

With which of the following countries India has signed a deal worth over Rs 2,600 crore to
procure 66,000 anti-tank shells to meet the shortfall of critical ammunition faced by its armoured
fleet including the latest T-90 tanks?- Russia

How many Indians has been appointed to Research Advisory Network (RAN) of the Global
Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG) to identify and prioritise web governance and
Internet policy-related issues?- two

Which ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airports Authority of
India (AAI) for the financial year 2014-15, which includes new parameters such as study on risk
management, development of disaster management plan and implementation of Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) tools?- Ministry of Civil Aviation

Union ------------------- minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao resigned from the union cabinet to
protest bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh- textiles
With an objective to study the stars and other celestial bodies in the space, Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) is developing ------------------, a smaller version of Hubble Space
Telescope- Astrosat

The government has appointed senior IFS officer A. Ajay Kumar as India's next Ambassador to -
---------, and Anumula Gitesh Sarma as next High Commissioner to- Iraq, Fiji

Which city has been put on the country's railway map with the first passenger train of about 400
commuters arriving at Naharlagun?- Itanagar

Delhi-based green NGO Chintan has won a ---------------- government's Human Rights Special
Mention Award for its commitment to human rights and environment- French

China has become the world's ________ biggest supplier in the major weapons' sector,
increasing the exports by 212 per cent over the past five years, replacing France, according to a
report- fourth

The government has launched an exchange-traded fund of central public sector enterprises, to
raise how much amount for its disinvestment plan?- Rs. 3,000 crore

National Aluminium Company Limited has signed an MoU with _________ regarding financial
and non-financial targets for 2014-15- Union Ministry of Mines

Reliance Power has commissioned the third __________of its Sasan ultra mega power project in
Madhya Pradesh- 660 MW unit

BHEL has bagged an order worth nearly Rs 3,000 crore for supply of steam generators for an
upcoming power project in which of the following states?- Odisha

Indirect tax collections grew by ________ to Rs 4,41,826 crore in the April-February period of
this fiscal amid a slowing economy- 5.6 percent

Which private sector bank has introduced its own card which is aimed at helping farmers access
liquidity round-the-clock?- Axis Bank

Indian companies through their massive USD 17-billion investment in the US have collectively
generated employment opportunities for approximately how many people?- 81000

Ericsson launched an Internet-based school learning programme in collaboration with which

country's government to provide world-class education in the country?- Bhutan

Foreign Direct Investment in India dipped by _______ to $22.03 billion in 2013, according to the
official data- 3%

The output of eight core sectors grew _______ in February, the fastest pace in five months, on
improved production of electricity, coal and crude oil- 2.5 per cent
Which state-owned power equipment maker has secured Rs 125 crore contract for setting up a
120 MW Hydro Electric Project in Uttarakhand?- BHEL

As per ADB's report, India's GDP is poised to accelerate to __________ in 2014-15 on the back
of improved performance in industry and services- 5.5 per cent

Retail inflation for industrial workers eased to a two year low of ________ in February due to
softening of prices of food items- 6.73 per cent

Suzlon Group has retained its _____ place among global wind turbine makers in 2013- 5th

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will fully acquire troubled Ranbaxy Laboratories, in an all-stock
transaction with a total equity value of- USD 3.2 billion

India's steel consumption grew by just 0.6% in 2013-14 fiscal, its lowest in four years, to
___million tonnes (MT), mainly impacted by a slower expansion of the domestic- 73.93

According to IMF India's growth is expected to recover from ______in 2013 to 5.4 percent in
2014- 4 percent

In which states Green technology solutions firm ACME has bagged a contract for constructing
the national games village?- Kerala

The World Bank projected an economic growth rate of ____in fiscal year 2015 for India on the
back of a more competitive exchange rate and many large investments going forward- 5.7
percent

Who has been appointed as the Chairman of Software industry body for the year 2014-15?- R.
Chandrasekaran

India's exports grew by ________to USD 312.35 billion in FY 2013-14 while imports dipped by
8.11 per cent during the period- 3.98 per cent

Who has been recently honoured by Queen Elizabeth with a GBE (Knight Grand Cross), oneof
the UK's highezst civilian awards?- Ratan Tata

Global rating agency Fitch pegged India's growth at ____per cent in the current fiscal- 5.5

India has provided an aid of --------------- for construction of a new school in central Nepal,
under the Nepal-India Economic Cooperation Programme- Rs 18.4 mn

Which neighbouring country of India has decided to hire students of an engineering institute for
a 10,000 megawatt hydel power project being built in the country in collaboration with India –
Bhutan
Kapurthala based Rail Coach Factory (RCF) manufactured ---------------- coaches last fiscal, the
highest ever in its history- 1,701

Railway Board has recently celebrated the ------------------ Railway Week Award function-2014-
59th

The --------------- will set up 81 new composite Border Outposts (BOPs) along the 856 km long
Indo-Bangla border in Tripura by 2017 in addition to the existing 245 BOPs- Ministry of Home
Affairs

-------------------- Governor ESL Narasimhan, has released a new book 'Heritage Hyderabad'
chronicling over 90 historic monuments of Hyderabad- Andhra Pradesh

India's leading industrialist Ratan Tata was conferred with a honorary degree of Doctor of
Business by which of the following country's university for his achievements as a visionary
entrepreneur and a societal leader?- Singapore

North Korea fired off _______medium-range ballistic missiles in violation of the UN Security
Council resolutions- two

_________ Indians and four persons of Indian origin have received the 2013 World of
Difference Awards' from US-based The International Alliance for Women for their work for
women's empowerment- Three

UAE has announced an aid package of ____________ for Syrian refugees in response to an
appeal from the UN- 220 million dirhams

India's leading industrialist Ratan Tata was conferred with a honorary degree of Doctor of
Business by which of the following country's university for his achievements as a visionary
entrepreneur and a societal leader?- Singapore

North Korea fired off _______medium-range ballistic missiles in violation of the UN Security
Council resolutions- two

_________ Indians and four persons of Indian origin have received the 2013 World of
Difference Awards' from US-based The International Alliance for Women for their work for
women's empowerment- Three

The UAE has announced an aid package of ____________ for Syrian refugees in response to an
appeal from the UN- 220 million dirhams

_________and Tata Power are among the world's most ethical companies, according to
American think tank Ethisphere Institute- Wipro
How many Indian-Americans feature in Forbes magazine's annual list of 100 best venture
investors with the “Midas” touch, who made savvy investments in start-ups and then sold off
their stakes to pocket nearly $95 billion in profits?- Eleven

India ranks _______ among the 132 countries on the Social Progress Index- 102

BANKING TERMS

Policy Rates of RBI

- 8%

-7%

-4%

-22%

-9%

- 9%

Banking & Financial News

erative Banks which were suspected of being used to route

illegal money. RBI didn’t disclose the names of these UCBs.

years for M.D and CEO in private sector banks.

-15 narrowed down to 1.7 percent due to fall in gold imports.

RBI didn’t set any particular time frame for it.

of Basel III Capital Regulations. The issued guidelines are to facilitate raising of non-equity
regulatory capital instruments by banks under Basel III framework. The guidelines are applicable
with immediate effect from 1 September 2014.

of production of urea.

smartphone users.
The application is user friendly and easy to operate.
 -run Oriental
Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Dena Bank. The audit was ordered following reports that some
Mumbai-based branches of the two banks OBC and Dena Bank had siphoned off 180 crore
rupees and 256 crore rupees respectively, from their fixed deposit customers.

handloom weavers to boost the sector.

for imposing GST on entities to 10 lakhs rupees from the proposed 25 lakhs rupees. This was

decided at the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST meet headed by
Chairman Abdul Rahim in New Delhi. Abdul Rahim is the Finance Minister of Jammu &
Kashmir.
ey
-launched Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana
for the benefit of citizens aged 60-year and above and provide financial security to them.
mposed a combined
penalty of more than 2500 crore rupees on 14 car companies he highest penalty of around 1346
crore rupees has been imposed on Tata Motors. Other companies on whom penalty was imposed
are • Maruti Suzuki - 471.14 crore rupees • Mahindra and Mahindra - 292.25 crore rupees •
Toyota Kirloskar Motors - 93.38 crore rupees • General Motors - 84.58 crore rupees • Honda
Cars India - 78.47 crore rupees • Skoda Auto India - 46.39 crore rupees • Ford India - 39.78 crore
rupees • Fiat India Automobiles - 29.98 crore rupees • BMW India - 20.41 crore rupees •
Mercedes-Benz India - 23.08 crore rupees • Hindustan Motors - 13.85 crore rupees •
Volkswagen India - 3.25 crore rupees • Nissan Motors - 1.63 crore rupees The major companies
on which the penalty has been imposed include Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and

Reserve Bank of India on 21 August 2014 released its annual report for 2013-14. In its report.
RBI suppressed the fear of drought stating that 'its way better than 2009' and the gaps in the
fiscal and current accounts are most likely to remain contained in 2014-15. The report covers (i)
the assessment of the macroeconomic performance during 2013-14 and the prospects for 2014-
15, and (ii) the working and operations of the Reserve Bank and its financial accounts for the
year 2013-
exporters with tenures of up
Mahila Bank (BMB) was included in the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Act, 1934. It was announced by RBI in a notification issued. Total number of scheduled
commercial banks in India now are 90.
India (RBI) made easy the gold import norms under the 20: 80
Scheme.Under the 20:80 Scheme, Star trading houses and premier trading houses, which are
registered as nominated agencies by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) now can
import gold.
of overseas branches of Indian banks, the Reserve Bank has permitted them to offer structured
financial and derivative products, a move that would help in improving their income.
-born Hinduja brothers, Srichand
and Gopichand Hinduja, have emerged as the richest men in Britain with a net wealth of 11.9
billion pounds (about $20 billion).

has decided that Indian companies will not be permitted to raise External Commercial
Borrowings from overseas branches or subsidiaries of Indian banks for refinance or repayment of
the Rupee loans raised from domestic banking system.

BHARAT BILL PAYMENT SYSTEM

study the Feasibility of Implementation of GIRO based Payment Systems (Chairman: Shri G.
Padmanabhan, Executive Director, RBI) (2013) had estimated that over 30,800 million bills
amounting to Rs.6223 billion are generated each year in the top 20 cities in the country. Though
various forms of payments are accepted, cash and cheque payments continue to be predominant,
particularly at the Billers’ Own Collection Point.

guidelines are being issued for implementation of the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) in the
country.

bill payment system in the country with a single brand image providing convenience of ‘anytime
anywhere’ bill payment to customers.

NEW BANKING LICENSE

-principle licences to infrastructure financier IDFC and micro lender

Bandhan. These entities will have to start operations within 18 months from the time they
secured the licences.

start of a cautious experiment for a sector dominated by lethargic state lenders, many of which
are reluctant to expand into rural areas or towns where banking penetration is low. No new
Indian bank has been formed since Yes Bank (YESB.NS) in 2004.

RuPay Payment Gateway

Corporation of India (NPCI).

multilateral system of payments in India

alternative to the MasterCard and Visa card schemes.

at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

in India.

Payments Banks and Small Banks

-up capital of Rs.100 crore for

those who wish to set up payments and small banks.

40 per cent.

per cent within three years from the date of commencement of business of the bank. This has to
be brought down to 30 per cent within 10 years, and further to 26 per cent within 12 years from
the date of commencement of business.

-bank pre-paid instrument issuers

(PPIs), non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), corporate BCs (business correspondents),
mobile telephone companies, super market chains, companies, real sector co-operatives and
public sector entities are eligible for setting up a payments bank.

under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

BITCOINS,

ncy created in 2009. It follows the ideas set out in a white paper by
the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, whose true identity has yet to be verified. Bitcoin offers the
promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and is operated by
a decentralized authority, unlike government issued currencies.
balances are kept on a public ledger, along with all Bitcoin transactions, that is verified by a
massive amount of computing power.

-based online payment system described by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008

and introduced as open-source software in 2009.

Insurance - Raised to 49% from 26% Print Media - 26%

Civil Aviation - 49% Public Sec. Banks - 20%

Private Sec. Banks - 74% Multi Brand - 51%

Single Brand - 100% Tourism - 100%

Agriculture- 100% Airlines/Aviation – 49%

Tourism- 100% Special Economic Zones- 100%

BRICS BANK The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS
Development Bank, is multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa) as an alternative to the existing US-dominated World
Bank and International Monetary Fund. The New Development Bank was agreed to by BRICS
leaders at the 5th BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa on 27 March 2013. On 15 July
2014, the first day of the 6th BRICS summit held in Fortaleza, Brazil, the group of emerging
economies signed the long-anticipated document to create the $100 billion BRICS Development
Bank and a reserve currency pool worth over another $100 billion.

Shanghai was selected as the headquarters after competition from New Delhi and Johannesburg.
An African regional center will be set up in Johannesburg. The first president will be from India,
the inaugural Chairman of the Board of directors will come from Brazil and the inaugural
chairman of the Board of Governors will be Russian. The bank will have starting capital of $50
billion, with capital increased to $100 billion over time. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa will initially contribute $10 billion each to bring the total to $50 billion. Each member
cannot increase its share of capital without all other 4 members agreeing. This was a primary
requirement of India. The bank will allow new members to join but the BRICS capital share
cannot fall below 55%.

BANKS TAGLINES Public Sector Banks in India State Bank Group

Pure banking nothing else; With you all the way

Allahabad Bank A tradition of trust

Andhra Bank Where India Banks

Bank of Baroda India’s international bank

Bank of India Relationships beyond banking

Bank of Maharashtra One family one bank

Canara Bank Together We Can

Central Bank of India Central to you since 1911

Corporation Bank Prosperity for All

Dena Bank Trusted Family Bank

IDBI Bank Banking for All

Indian Bank Your tech friendly bank

Indian Overseas Bank Good people to grow with

Oriental Bank of Commerce Where every individual is committed

Punjab National Bank A Name you can Bank Upon

Syndicate Bank Your faithful & friendly financial partner

UCO Bank Honours Your Trust

Union Bank of India Good People to Bank with

United Bank of India The Bank that begins with U

Vijaya Bank A Friend You can Bank Upon

Axis Bank Everything is the same except the name

Bank of Rajasthan Dare to dream

Catholic Syrian Bank Support all the way

Centurion Bank of Punjab To rejoice working, join us

City Union Bank Trust and Excellence since 1904

Dhanalakshmi Bank Tann. Mann. Dhan.

Federal Bank Your perfect banking partner

HDFC Bank We understand your world

ICICI Bank Hum hain na!!

IndusInd Bank We Make You Feel Richer

ING Vysya Bank Jiyo easy

Jammu & Kashmir Bank Serving to Empower

Karnataka Bank Your family bank across India

Karur Vysya Bank Smart way to bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank Lets make money simple

Laxmi Vilas Bank The Changing Face of Prosperity

Nainital Bank Banking with personal touch

Saraswat Bank Service to the Common Man!

South Indian Bank Experience Next Generation Banking

Yes Bank Experience our expertise

ABN-AMRO Bank Making More Possible

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Our Vision. Your Future.

Bank of Ceylon BOC-the Bank you can trust

BNP Paribas Bank The bank for a changing world

Citi Bank The Citi never sleeps

China Trust Commercial Bank We Are Family

Deutsche Bank A Passion to Perform

HSBC The world’s local bank

JPMorgan Chase Bank The right relationship is everything

Standard Chartered Bank Your Right Partner

Scotia Bank You’re richer than you think

Cabinet Ministers 2014 Cabinet Ministers

1. Rajnath Singh: Home Minster

2. Sushma waraj: External Affairs & Overseas Indian Affairs

3. Arun Jaitley: Finance Corporate Affairs & Defence

4. M. Venkaiah Naidu: Urban Development Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation &
Parliamentary Affairs

5. Nitin Jairam Gadkari: Road Transport and Highways Shipping, Rural Development,
Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Sanitation

6. D.V. Sadananda Gowda: Railways

7. Uma Bharati: Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

8. Dr. Najma A. Heptulla: Minority Affairs

09. Ramvilas Paswan: Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

10. Kalraj Mishra: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

11. Maneka Gandhi: Women and Child Development

12. Ananthkumar: Chemicals and Fertilizers

13. Ravi Shankar Prasad: Communications and Information Technology & Law and Justice

14. Ashok Gajapathi Raju: Civil Aviation

15. Anant Geete: Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

16. Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Food Processing Industries

17. Narendra Singh Tomar: Mines & Steel Labour and Employment

18. Jual Oram: Tribal Affairs

19. Radha Mohan Singh: Agriculture

20. Thaawar Chand Gehlot: Social Justice and Empowerment

21. Smriti Zubin Irani: Human Resource Development

22. Dr. Harsh Vardhan: Health and Family Welfare

Minister of States 1. General V.K. Singh: Development of North Eastern Region (Independent
Charge) & External Affairs Overseas Indian Affairs 2. Inderjit Singh Rao: Planning
(Independent Charge), Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge) &
Defence 3. Santosh Kumar Gangwar: Textiles (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation 4. Shripad Yesso Naik: Culture
(Independent Charge) & Tourism (Independent Charge) 5. Dharmendra Pradhan: Petroleum and
Natural Gas (Independent Charge) 6. Sarbananda Sonowal: Skill Development,
Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge) 7. Prakash Javadekar:
Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs 8. Piyush Goyal: Power (Independent Charge),
Coal (Independent Charge) & New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge) 9. Dr. Jitendra
Singh: Science and Technology (Independent Charge), Earth Sciences (Independent Charge),
Prime Minister Office Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Atomic Energy
Department of Space 10. Nirmala Sitharaman: Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge),
Finance Corporate Affairs 11. G.M. Siddeshwara: Civil Aviation 12. Manoj Sinha: Railways 13.
Nihalchand: Chemicals and Fertilizers 14. Upendra Kushwaha: Rural Development, Panchayati
Raj & Drinking Water and Sanitation 15. Radhakrishnan P: Heavy Industries and Public
Enterprises 16. Kiren Rijiju: Home Affairs 17. Krishan Pal: Road Transport and Highways
Shipping 18. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan: Agriculture & Food Processing Industries 19.
Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava: Tribal Affairs

20. Raosaheb Dadarao Danve: Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

21. Vishnu Deo Sai: Mines, Steel & Labour and Employment 22. Sudarshan Bhagat: Social
Justice and Empowerment Summits 6th BRICS summit It was hosted by Brazil, as the first host
country of the current five-year summit cycle. Host city was Fortaleza. Argentine President
Cristina Kirchner was a special guest of the summit. Date- 14 July 2014–16 July 2014 Core
BRICS members Brazil -Dilma Rousseff- President Russia -Vladimir Putin - President India -
Narendra Modi- Prime Minister China -Xi Jinping- President South Africa - Jacob Zuma-
President Business 20 (B20) Australia Summit Held in – Sydney On- 18 July Chaired by-
Richard Goyder, Managing Director and CEO of Wesfarmers. The business leaders of G20 met
in this summit. SAARC Monsoon Initiative Programme National Working Group Organised in –
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

The monsoon initiative is the part of Thimphu Statement on Climate Change adopted at the16th
SAARC summit in Thimphu in 2010. Held on – 20 June 2014 Organization for Security and Co-
operation (OSCE) – Japan Conference Held in – Tokyo Date- 17 June 2014 The two-day
Conference was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. ATOMEXPO-2014 Nuclear
Energy Forum Date- 9 to 11 June 2014 Held in – Moscow The first ATOMEXPO was held in
2009 and is an initiative of Russia’s State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom. 40th G-7
summit 2014 Held in- Brussels Date- 4 June 2014 – 5 June 2014 It was the first time that the EU
hosted a G7 summit. Originally, a G8 summit was scheduled to take place in Sochi (Russia) in
early June 2014 under a Russian presidency. Due to the Russian Federation's violation of
Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the G7 leaders decided to meet in Brussels on 4-5
June 2014 in the G7 format instead. BIMSTEC Summit 3rd BIMSTEC summit 2014: Nay Pyi
Taw (Myanmar) 4th BIMSTEC summit will be held in Nepal. 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers
Meeting Held In Nay Pyi Taw

The 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) was held on 8 August 2014 in Nay Pyi
Taw, Myanmar under the theme “Moving forward in Unity to a Peaceful and Prosperous
Community”.

India’s Ranking

1. Global Environment Performance Index 2014 – 155 2. Intellectual property (IP) environment
2014 – 25 (US ranked on the top followed by UK and France) 3. World Press Freedom Index
2014 ‐ 140 in the list of 180 countries 4. World's best countries for doing business 2014 – 134 5.
Global Peace Index 2014 – 143 6. Global Hunger Index 2013 ‐ 63 7. World Prosperity Index
2013 – 106. 8. Human Development Report 2014 – 135 9. Global Corruption Index 2014 – 94
10. Global Competitiveness Index 2014 ‐ 71

MOU signed by India with other Countries

sector. This group will meet on the sidelines of IFFI 2014 at Goa.

g of Bhutan, Prime Minister

of India Narendra Modi paid a State Visit to Bhutan from 15-16 June 2014.

Kholongchu Hydropower Project which is a Joint Venture project between the Indian and
Bhutanese PSUs, SJVNL and Druk Green Power Corporation. The construction of the Project
which is located in Trashiyangtse in Eastern Bhutan will commence later this year.
 ourt building which was
constructed with assistance from the Government of India amounting to Rs./Nu. 793.545 million.

restrictions on exports of following items:- Milk powder, Wheat, Edible oil, Pulses and Non-
basmati rice.

countries.

Narendra Modi announced the doubling of the Nehru-Wangchuck scholarship to Rs./Nu. 20

million per year.

section/ E-library in the National Library of Bhutan and in all 20 districts of Bhutan.

to their mutual security. They agreed to continue with their close coordination and cooperation
with each other on issues relating to their national interests, and not allow each other’s territory
to be used for interests inimical to the other.

India and Vietnam signed seven pacts to further strengthen their strategic partnership in key
sectors. These pacts included two agreements, a letter of intent and four memorandum of
understanding. Which are as follows-

1. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters

2. MoU on 100 million dollar Line of Credit for Defence Procurement

3. MoU between the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of India and the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the field of Animal
Health

4. MoU between National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad, Department of Animal

Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of India and
Directorate of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Government of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Cooperation in the Field of Setting up of Pangasius Breeding
and Farming in India
5. MoU between the Ministry of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports
of the Republic of India and the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth
Union of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Cooperation in Youth Affairs

6. Letter of Intent between ONGC Videsh Limited, India and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group
(PetroVietnam)

7. MoU between Jet Airways (India) and Vietnam Airlines Company Limited

efforts to develop the state as an IT hub and attract US investment. The agreement was signed as
a part of state's efforts to develop it an IT hub and attract US investment.

India and Nepal Signed 3 Agreements Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 August met Nepal
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala in Kathmandhu, the captital of Nepal. Later, three agreements
were signed between India and Nepal, in the presence of the two Prime Ministers. Under the first
agreement, India will provide a grant assistance worth NRs 69 million to supply iodated salt to
curb goitre and other diseases related with iodine deficiency. The second agreement was
regarding the amendment of Articles 17 and 18 of the Pancheswor Multiple Project. The third
agreement is about cooperation between Nepal Television and Doordarshan, the state-owned
television stations of both the countries.

India and Czech Republic Signed MoU On Technical Cooperation In Railways India and Czech
Republic on 19 August 2014 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on technical
cooperation in railway sector. This MoU was signed between the Union Ministry of Railways

and Czech Railways (Ceske Drahy) of the Czech Republic and Association of Czech Railway
Industry (ACRI) of the Czech Republic. MOU between India and Japan An mou was signed
related with Varanasi, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents in the Lok Sabha, will be
developed into a ‘smart city’ by using the experience of Kyoto, the ’smart city’ of Japan. MOU
between India and China

India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China on Opening a New
Route for Indian Pilgrimage (Kailash Mansarovar Yatra) to the Tibet Autonomous Region of the
People's Republic of China

Republic of India and the Government of People’s Republic of China on strengthening

cooperation in Railways
National Railway Administration of the Government of People’s Republic of China on
strengthening cooperation in Railways

Industry of the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Commerce of the
Government of the People’s Republic of China

enth Session of India-China Joint Economic Group

-Visual Co-production between The Ministry of Information and

Broadcasting of the Republic of India and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio,
Film and Television of The People's Republic of China

People’s Republic of China On mutual administrative assistance and co-operation in Customs

matters

an Space Research Organisation and China

National Space Administration on Cooperation in the Peaceful use of Space

and the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China on Strengthening the Exchange
and Cooperation between Cultural Institutions

Republic of India and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television
of The People's Republic of China

Union Budget 2014-15

lakh

Rs 1 lakh.

-occupied house raised to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.5

lakh.

launched
 -in period increased to 3
years

iption to EPS (Employee Pension Scheme) raised from Rs

6,500 to Rs 15,000

New projects

e opened in HP, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha and Rajasthan

Maharashtra and Poorvanchal in Uttar Pradesh

village level

t and Technology Mission for services in villages and schools, training

in IT skills proposed

een
Allahabad and Haldia; Rs 4,200 crore set aside for the purpose.

an initial outlay of Rs. 2142 crores.

of delivery of welfare services meant for women.

 l Institutes of Ageing to be set up at AIIMS, New Delhi and Madras Medical
College, Chennai.

Rail Budget 2014-15 Highlights

-Ahmedabad sector

-200 km/hr in 9 sectors

simultaneously

Railway University for both technical and non-technical

o specialized areas like high-speed, heavy haul operations, etc.,

ds of railway persons.

Ministries and Urban Bodies.

-of-the-art EMUs for Mumbai in two years.

ing existing IR network of

and hinterland.
 be introduced.

et-booking through mobile phones, post offices to be

popularised

-platform tickets at stations

m facility to be extended to all stations

-abled and senior citizens at major stations

b-urban coaches

years

-on-Wheels: Internet & workstation facilities on select trains

 -technical subjects

regated to separate terminals to make passenger traffic unhindered

-01 to 23 per cent in 2012-13

or 2014-15

-15 pegged at Rs. 149,176 crore.

Leader of other Countries , who visited India

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov visited China from 11 – 14 May 2014. During his four day visit,
Berdymukhamedov met China Prime Minister Li Keqiang in Beijing,

India from 8 – 9 June 2014. During his two day visit, he met Union External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi and discussed a wide range of issues related to trade, economy,
border and people to people exchanges.

Visited Brazil to attend the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil from 15 – 16 July 2014.

visited Nepal on 3-4 August 2014. During the visit, Narendra Modi met Nepal Prime Minister
Sushil Koirala in Kathmandhu, the captital of Nepal. The two leaders discussed various issues
including Nepal’s peace process and constitution-drafting process as well as economic issues.
After the talks, Modi and Koirala witnessed the signing of three agreements.

assuming charge. During Modi's tour, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to extensive
development cooperation and discussed ways to further enhance economic ties.

1. India and Bhutan reiterated their commitment to achieving the 10,000 MW target in
hydropower cooperation and not to allow their territories to be used for interests "inimical" to
each other.
2. Modi inaugurated one of India's assistance projects - the building of the Supreme Court of
Bhutan and laid foundation stone of the 600MW Kholongchu Hydro-electric project, a joint
venture between India and Bhutan. 3. Modi announced doubling of scholarships being provided
to Bhutanese students in India which will now be worth Rs 2 crore.

-17 September 2014.

President Pranab Mukherjee held bilateral talks with President Truong Tan Sang on 15
September 2014, who also hosted a state banquet. The Presidents jointly inaugurated the Center
for Indian Studies at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration.
Committees

sess unclaimed deposits in the PPF

accounts.

audit of NSEL and liquidate the assets of its defaulting borrowers in the over 5500 crore rupees
payments scam. V V Daga is a retired judge of Bombay High Court.

university. It said that out of 41 C category deemed universities only 10 universities are found to
be fit for being a university.

build the capital city of Andhra Pradesh.

identify obsolete laws.

Government decided to appoint former RBI governor Bimal Jalan as the head of
the Expenditure Management Commission.

four member committee to review the present status of UGC

Committee on Cost Records and Cost Audits.

tragedy. It will summit its report by 31 January 2015.

Ganga Flood Control Commission, Patna).

 iction of women in media.

India

-private partnership model to raise

coal output.

–for rationalization of foreign investment norms

–for giving clear definitions to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

and Foreign Institutional Investment (FII)

– To investigate the security transactions of the bank

– suggest measures to boost MSME exports.

– to evaluate aspects related to set up of Nalanda University

Mahapatra committee- for inclusion of Bhojpuri language in eighth schedule of

constitution

– for evaluation of corporate sector participation in Higher

Education.

– for poverty scale estimates in the country

– for inspection of illegal mining activities

– to examine taxation policies for I.T. sector

– implementation of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rule).

– for Financing Infrastructure sector

– 14 member task force on security issues

– Reconstruction of RRBs
New Appointments

National Commission for Women.

India.

Adil Zainulbhai as the Chairman of Quality

Council of India.

climate change

-elect of
IEA.

-origin Antara Haldar on 15 September 2014 became first non-European law lecturer
at Cambridge University.

–in as the Governor of Manipur at

the Raj Bhawan Durbar Hall in Imphal.

rendra Ambwani on 12 September 2014 elected as Chairman of the Advertising Standards

Council of India (ASCI).

Director in World Bank for a tenure of three years.

ndrakala Padia was on 5 September 2014 appointed as first women chairperson of Indian
Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS).

(CMD) of National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC).

President accepted resignation of Sheila Dikshit from her office.

d CJI.

(JIC) RN Ravi as Naga interlocutor.

senior IPS officer Ramesh Chand Tayal as DG of CRPF special

RN Ravi for appointment as new chief of JIC.

Minister of Turkey

-ocha elected as the Prime Minister of Thailand by junta-

picked National Legislative Assembly (NLA).

Taxes (CBDT).

Security Adviser (NSA)

government for three year

ok over as Chief of Army Staff on 31 July 2014. He

succeeded General Bikram Singh.

of the Chief of Staff Committee (COSC).

been appointed as the horticulture ambassador of

Maharashtra.

trial in coal blocks allocation scam.

engal on 24 July 2014.

Council of Historical Research (ICHR)

India’s largest oil firm.

Goodwill Ambassador.
 as Chairman of Coal India
Limited with immediate effect.

ACC headed by PM Narendra Modi approved the name

he Governor of Haryana by
President Pranab Mukhejee

Kerala was appointed as Public Accounts Commission Chairman.

blic Service Commission.

Deputy Speaker on 13 August 2014

Adviser.

n of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Mr. Nripendra Misra

was appointed as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Mr. Nripendra
Misra is a retired IAS officer.

-General of India. He will succeed

Goolam Essaji Vahanvati.

Vice President and Auditor General of the World Bank Group.

ted ESL Narasimhan as common

Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

-in as the new Chief Minister of Nagaland. His oath to the office and
secrecy was administered by Governor Ashwani Kumar in Kohima.

au Chief Mr. Rajiv Mathur (64) took over as the new Chief
Information Commissioner (CIC).

Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL).

 May 2014, appointed Mr. K Rajendra Kumar
as the new director general of police.

Minister of Gujarat heading a 21-member ministry on 22nd May 2014.

of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT). Justice Chauhan will succeed Justice NP
Singh.

ent as next Army

chief after General Bikram Singh retires on July 31st 2014.

-ever woman to head a UN

Peacekeeping Force. She was appointed as the Force Commander of UN Peacekeeping Force in
Cyprus (UNFICYP) on 12 May 2014 to mark its 50th anniversary in 2014.

two years.

Deaths

best known
as The Father of Malaysian hockey. Shah was the 34th ruler of the State of Perak

-time Formula One world champion passed away at his home in

Australia after a long illness. He was 88 years old.

ientist and Padma Bhushan recipient, N Srinivasan passed away due to

cardiac arrest on 18th May 2014.. He was 84 years old.

of 91. He received the Padma Bhushan award in 2010.

Janardhan Reddy, a sitting Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh, served as chief minister
from December, 1990 to October, 1992.

and film actor Chemancherry Narayanan Nair died on 25 August

2014 at Chengottukavu in Kozhikode, Kerala. He was 79.
 -winning British filmmaker and actor Richard Attenborough renowned for his
critically-acclaimed biopic on Mahatma Gandhi died in London.

was 82.

-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Amitava Nandy died on 15

August 2014 in Kolkata.

-renowned yoga guru Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar died on 20 August

2014. He died at the age of 96.

Karnataka. She was 84.

from undivided Madhya Pradesh, died.

-winning actor and comedian died at his home in Tiburon,

California. He was 63.

e 1968 Olympic javelin champion of Hungary, Angela Nemeth, died after a long illness.
She was 68.

t dropped atomic bomb in

Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 during the World War II died.

Bhojpur district

attack. She was 96. She was a recipient

Sangeet Natak Academy award in 2002.

due to a brain stroke.

residence in Kensington.
 -winning author, Nadine Gordimer died. She wrote several books,
of which two were banned by apartheid regime.

94.

to her association with it for several decades.

-President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze died after a long illness. He was toppled in
2005 after as a consequence of the bloodless Rose Revolution.

, Granville Austin died in

Washington DC. He died at the age of 87.

-day
battle with pneumonia.

t the age of 65.

Brazil.

charji who had equal grasp over English and

Sanskrit language died.

her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969.

South Kolkata at the age of 96.

Defence

-I missile was successfully test-fired by Strategic Force Command.

This has a strike range of 700 km and was tested from a test range at Odisha coast. This is a
surface to surface single stage missile.

o Agni-I missile weighs 12 tonnes and is approx 15 metre long. It can carry payloads up to 1000
kg and is already a part of Indian Army.

successfully intercepted the targets. The 700-kg all-weather missile Akash can carry a 60-kg
warhead at speeds of up to Mach 2.5.

Indian Navy (IN) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), is being conducted in the
Andaman Sea from 22 May to 28 May 14.

- 290 km range, surface to surface

INS Kamrota (P28) Namesake: Kamorta Islands Operator: Indian Navy Commissioned: 23
August 2014 Homeport: Visakhapatnam INS Kolkata- Operator- Indian Navy Commissioned on-
16 august 2014 Indo-Nepal Joint Military Training Exercise Concluded The militaries of India
and Nepal was jointly conducted a Combined Training Exercise, known as Surya Kiran-VII,
from 18 – 31 August 2014 near Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand Awards and Honours

his first Grand Slam title by winning US Open title. He defeated

10th seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York by 6-3 , 6-3, 6-3.

He was honoured for his great research that included climate change in the Himalayas.

Film Festival. This movie is written and directed by Indian writer Chaitanya Tamhane.
 World number one Serena Williams, a American professional player clinched her third
consecutive US Open trophy. She defeated Caroline Wozniazki of Denmark to reach this
milestone.

ina. He was
honoured for his excellent work and long term contribution to the translation of Chinese works.

to Major Mukund Varadarajan of 44th Battalion of the Rastriya Rifles (22 Rajput).

was named 2014 Winner of Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism on 22
August.

APJ Abdul Kalam has been awarded an honorary degree

by the University of Edinburgh.

Awards 2014 to 35 nursing personnel from across the country for their meritorious services at
Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.

given at the Asian Business Awards Midlands in Birmingham.

– India's Fight Against Rape won three awards at the

2014 New York Festivals International TV and Film Awards. This documentary film was
directed by Pria Somiah.

-American cardiologist Mitul Kadakia has been granted the 2014 Gregory Braden
Memorial Fellow of the Year Award by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and
Interventions Foundation.

conferred three Kirti Chakras and nine Shaurya Chakras to Armed Forces Personnel for
displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme devotion to duty at a solemn
ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

rankings on Thursday. Sandhu has 1228 rating points. Russian Alexey Alipov (1437) and Italian
Giovanni Pellielo (1298) are ahead of him in the list.

-based wrestling academy was chosen for the 2014

Rashtritya Khel Protsahan Puraskar (RKPP).
 mmaker and poet, was presented the 22nd Rajiv Gandhi National
Sadbhavana award.

International Political Science Association (IPSA).

-origin mathematician was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal

at the IMU International Congress of Mathematicians in Seoul.

Singh and Sharad Yadav in New Delhi.

ila Bank Ltd bagged the Core Banking System Initiative Award for the year
2014 at the Asian Banking and Finance - Retail Banking Awards 2014.

first Indian woman mountaineer to scale Mount Everest.

held in Astana, Kazakhstan.

with the prestigious Gandhi Peace prize for 2013.

-born Americans were honoured on the eve of US Independence Day on 4 July

2014 for their contributions to the US.

Honor.

Philadelphia, the largest city in the US State of Pennsylvania.

ndian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won the People's Choice prize at the World Cup of Sand
Sculpting-2014 held in the Atlantic City of the US.

the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honour.

literary output and support for freedom of expression.

 n
Elizabeth II.

-based
business association.

for his novel Theekkadal Katanhu Thirumadhuram.

category of the best improved airport in Asia Pacific Region.

JRD Tata Award 2013 by ASI.

handling 25-40 MPPA.

prestigious Harvard Medal.

-
2014.

versity.

-American chef Vikaram Sunderam won the prestigious James Beard Awards 2014.

estigative journalist Ahmet Sik won the 2014 UNESCO Guillermo Cano World
Press Freedom Prize.

remarkable vision and leadership in the IT sector.

activist, Ramesh Agrawal won the prestigious Goldman

Environmental Prize that is commonly called as the Green Nobel.
OSCAR AWARD 2014:

- 12 Years a Slave – Directed by Steve McQueen

- Matthew McConaughey for: Dallas Buyers Club

-Cate Blanchett for: Blue Jasmine

-Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity

- Jared Leto for: Dallas Buyers Club

- Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave

- The Great Beauty (Italy)

March 2, 2014.

61st National Film Awards:

– Director – Anand Gandhi

Malayalam movie 'Perariyathavar'

r Liars Dice

rting Actor: Saurabh Shukla, 'Jolly LLB'

went to Alka Sahania

– Hansal Mehta
 – Subhash Kapoor

of Film Liars Dice – Geetu Mohandas

15th IIFA Awards-

- Viacom 18 Motion Pictures & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra- BhaagMilkha

Bhaag

- Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

- Farhan Akhtar - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

- Deepika Padukone - Chennai Express

- Aditya Roy Kapoor - Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwani

- Divya Dutta - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

- Arshad Warsi - Jolly LLB

- Rishi Kapoor -D-Day

- Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari,Jeet Ganguly - Aashiqui 2

- Prasoon Joshi - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

- Mithoon - Song (Tum Hi Ho) - Aashiqui 2

- Arijit Singh – Song (Tum Hi Ho) - Aashiqui 2

- Shreya Ghoshal- Song (Sunn Raha Hai) – Aashiqui2

– Dhanush – Raanjhanaa

- Vani Kapoor - Shudh Desi Romance

- Drs. Kiran & Pallavi Patel

- Deepika Padukone

Contribution To International Cinema -John Travolta

 - Shatrughan Sinha

Winners at 59th Idea Filmfare Awards 2013

- Farhan Akhtar ( Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)

- Deepika Padukone (Ram-leela)

- Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

- Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)

- Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox)

- Dhanush (Raanjhanaa)

- Vaani Kapoor (Shuddh Desi Romance)

- The Lunchbox

- Rajkummar Rao ( Shahid)

- Shilpa Shukla (BA Pass)

- Chennai Express

- Tanuja

- Subhash Kapoor (Jolly LLB)

- Chetan Bhagat, Abhishek Kapoor, Supratik Sen and Pubali

Chaudhari (Kai Po Che!)

- Subhash Kapoor (Jolly LLB)

tor in Supporting Role (Male)- Nawazuddin Siddiqui (The Lunchbox)

- Supriya Pathak Kapur (Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-

leela)

- Prasoon Joshi - Zinda (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)

- Jeet Ganguly, Mithoon & Ankit Tiwari (Aashiqui 2)

- Siddharth Mahadevan

- Arijit Singh - Tum hi ho (Aashiqui 2)

 - Monali Thakur - Sawaar loon (Lootera)

- Samir and Arsh Tanna - Lahu muh lag gaya (Goliyon Ki

Raasleel Ram-leela)

- Hitesh Sonik (Kai Po Che)

- Thomas Struthers and Guru Bachchan (D Day)

ward- Kamaljit Negi (Madras Cafe)

- Aarif Sheikh ( D-Day)

- Acropolis Design (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)

- Bishwadeep Chatterjee and Nihar Ranjan Samar (Madras Cafe)

rd- Dolly Ahluwalia (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)

- Tata Elxis (Dhoom:3)

Sports News

basis of 2-year.

gnised Boxing India as the provisional

AIBA National Federation to represent the sport of boxing in India.

old. To grab his maiden

Gran Prix title, he defeated Firman Abdul Kholik 21-11, 22-20.

titles of the US Tennis Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

Nishikori of Japan in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

team of Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez, 6-1, 2-6, 11-9.

 -match ODI series played against England by 3-1. In the series, India won
second, third and fourth match.

Weightlifting Championships.

-day match played at the

Harare Sports Club.

China by winning a silver medal in 77 kg category.

history when he will compete for the 2015 season.

Football Federation Cup in August 2015.

was his second victory of the season and fifth of his career.

-1 at Lisbon to win their 10th UEFA Champions

League Football title. It is their first win since 2002.

team defeated defending champion Australia by 1-0.

he Women's Italian Tennis Open 2014 for

the third time. She defeated World No. 11 Sara Errani of Italy by 6-3, 6-0 in the final held in
Rome, Italy..

Masters titles.

land's Snooker Player Mark Selby won World Snooker Championship 2014 held in
Sheffield, England.

Tournament at Murshidabad district in West Bengal.

hul won first medal for India at 2nd Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing,
China by winning a silver medal in 77 kg category.
Hockey Madhya Pradesh.

ands will become the youngest Formula One (F1) driver in the F1
history when he will compete for the 2015 season.

Football Federation Cup in August 2015

he 5-match Pataudi Trophy test-series played against India by 3-1. England

achieved the feat after defeating India.

-3, 1-
6, 6-2. This was 80th career title for Federer.

team.

season by defeating Sevilla Football Club, 2-0 in Cardiff, Wales.

-rounder in ICC Test team rankings, while Indian

team slipped to fourth position in the rankings.

-match hockey series against Bangladesh, 3-0 in

Dhaka.

-time Olympian and former Hockey Captain Ajitpal Singh was selected as the
Chairman of the Dronacharya Award Selection Committee.

-m
Air Rifle event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Prix.

October 2014 to 9th November 2014.

partner Cara Black achieved a career-best rank of

number five in the world.
 -hander Petra Kvitova won the 2014 Wimbledon women singles title by defeating
Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0.

-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 to win his second

Men’s Wimbledon title. His first title was claimed in 2011.

category.

-Red World snooker title at Sharm el-

Sheikh in Egypt by defeating Kacper Flilpiak of Poland.

Marin of Spain in straight-game played at Sydney.

ounced the dates of 35th National Games. The games will be

held from 31 January to 14 February 2015 in Kerala.

-exile-President of BCCI, N Srinivasan has been appointed as the first Chairperson of

ICC for a period of two years from 2014 to 2016.

Dubai.

-0. The third and final ODI was abandoned due to

incessant rain in Mirpur, near Dhaka.

ld Cup title 2014 for second successive time.

ing KXIP by three

wickets in the final played at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Formula One.

minton.
 Sharapova won the Mutua Madrid Open Tennis title by defeating Romanian
Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the finals.

after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with a back injury.

England.

Arjuna Awards 2014

India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. Instituted in 1961, the award
carries a cash prize of INR 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll.

considered by the select panels of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators; Selection

Committees were headed by eminent sportspersons and consisted of former Olympians, Arjuna
Awardees, Dronacharya Awardees, Dhyan Chand Awardees, Sports
Journalists/Experts/Commentators and sports administrators. Selection Committee for Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards was headed by Shri Kapil Dev.

1. Mr. Abhishek Verma - Archery 2. Ms. Tintu Luka- Athletics 3. Mr. H.N. Girisha- Para-
Athletics 4. Mr. V. Diju- Badminton 5. Ms. Geetu Anna Jose- Basketball 6. Mr. Jai Bhagwan-
Boxing 7. Mr. R. Ashwin- Cricket 8. Mr. Anirban Lahiri- Golf 9. Ms. Mamta Pujari - Kabaddi
10. Mr. Saji Thomas- Rowing 11. Ms. Heena Sidhu- Shooting 12. Ms. Anaka Alankamony-
Squash 13. Mr. Tom Joseph- Volleyball 14. Ms. Renu Bala Chanu- Weightlifting 15. Mr. Sunil
Kumar Rana- Wrestling For Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2014, no sportsperson has been
recommended. The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially
organized function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2014 (National Sports Day). FIFA
World Cup

- Brazil

- 12 June – 13 July 2014 (32 days)

 - 32 (from 5 confederations)

- 12 (in 12 host cities)

- Germany (4th title)

-up- Argentina

- James Rodríguez(6 goals), Colombia

- Lionel Messi, Argentina

- Paul Pogba, France

- Manuel Neuer, Germany

- Lionel
Messi of Argentina • Golden Boot - James Rodriguez of Colombia • Golden Glove - Manuel
Neuer of Germany • Best Young Player - Paul Pogba of France • FIFA Fair Play Trophy -
Colombia

Commonwealth Games 2014

- Glasgow, Scotland

- “People, Place, Passion”

- 71 Commonwealth Teams

- 4,947

- 261 in 18 sports

- 23 July 2014

- 3 August 2014

- Elizabeth II

- Sir Chris Hoy

- Vijay Kumar
 - Seema Punia

- Celtic Park (opening ceremony) and Hampden Park (closing ceremony)

Winner of Gold (INDIA):

• Sanjita Khumukchan: women's 48 kg weightlifting

• Sukhen Dey: men's 56 kg weightlifting

• Abhinav Bindra: men's 10 metre air rifle shooting

• Apurvi Chandela: women's 10 metre air rifle shooting

• Rahi Sarnobat: women's 25 metre pistol shooting

• Satish Sivalingam: men's 77 kg weightlifting

• Jitu Rai: men's 50 metre pistol shooting

• Amit Kumar: men's freestyle 57 kg wrestling

• Vinesh Phogat: women's freestyle 48 kg wrestling

• Sushil Kumar: men's freestyle 74 kg wrestling

• Babita Kumari: women's freestyle 55 kg wrestling

• Yogeshwar Dutt: men's freestyle 65 kg wrestling

• Vikas Gowda: men's discus throw athletics

• Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa: women's doubles squash

• Parupalli Kashyap: men's singles badminton

Winner of Silver (INDIA):

• Mirabai Chanu Saikhom: women's 48 kg weightlifting

• Shushila Likmabam: women's 48 kg judo

• Navjot Chana: men's 60 kg judo

• Malaika Goel: women's 10 metre air pistol shooting

• Santoshi Matsa: women's 53 kg weightlifting

• Prakash Nanjappa: men's 10 metre air pistol shooting

• Ayonika Paul: women's 10 metre air rifle shooting

• Anisa Sayyed: women's 25 metre pistol shooting

• Shreyasi Singh: women's double trap shooting

• Ravi Katulu: men's 77 kg weightlifting

• Gurpal Singh: men's 50 metre pistol shooting

• Gagan Narang: men's 50 metre rifle prone shooting

• Vikas Thakur: men's 85 kg weightlifting

• Harpreet Singh: men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol shooting

• Sanjeev Rajput: men's 50 metre rifle 3 positions shooting

• Rajeev Tomar: men's freestyle 125 kg wrestling

• Lalita: women's freestyle 53 kg wrestling

• Bajrang: men's freestyle 61 kg wrestling

• Sakshi Malik: women's freestyle 58 kg wrestling

• Satywart Kadian: men's freestyle 97 kg wrestling

• Geetika Jakhar: women's freestyle 63 kg wrestling

• Seema Punia: women's discus throw athletics

• Achanta Sharath Kamal and Anthony Amalraj: men's doubles table tennis

• L Sarita Devi: women's 57-60 kg boxing

• L Devendro Singh: men's 49 kg boxing

• Mandeep Jangra: men's 69 kg boxing

• Rajinder Rahelu: men's heavyweight powerlifting

• Vijender Singh: men's 75 kg boxing

• India: men's hockey

• Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa: women's doubles badminton

Winner of Bronze (INDIA):

• Ganesh Mali: men's 56 kg weightlifting

• Kalpana Thoudam: women's 52 kg judo

• Swati Singh: women's 53 kg weightlifting

• Rajwinder Kaur: women's +78 kg judo

• Omkar Otari: men's 69 kg weightlifting

• Mohammed Asab: men's double trap shooting

• Punam Yadav: women's 63 kg weightlifting

• Manavjit Sandhu: men's trap shooting

• Gagan Narang: men's 50 metre rifle 3 positions shooting

• Lajja Gauswami: women's 50 metre rifle 3 positions shooting

• Chandrakant Mali: men's 94 kg weightlifting

• Navjot Kaur: women's freestyle 69 kg wrestling

• Dipa Karmakar: women's vault gymnastics artistic

• Pawan Kumar: men's freestyle 86 kg wrestling

• Pinki Jangra: women's 48-51 kg boxing

• Sakina Khatun: women's lightweight powerlifting

• P.V. Sindhu: women's singles badminton

• R.M.V. Gurusaidutt: men's singles badminton

• Arpinder Singh: men's triple jump athletics

Pro kabaddi league

format of the Indian Premier League.

league matches.

ink Panthers! They become first ever champions of the Star Sports Prokabaddi!
Jaipur beat U Mumba, 35-24 to walk away with the crown!

SEMI FINALS

[1] Held between Jaipur Pink Panthers and Patna Pirates: won by Jaipur Pink Panthers. [2] Held
between U Mumba and Bangluru Bulls: won by U Mumbai.

FINALS: Held between Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba. WINNERS - Jaipur Pink Panthers
TOP RAIDER: Anup Kumar (U Mumba) – 153 pts TOP DEFENDER: Manjit Chiller (Bangluru
Bulls) – 51 pts Asian Games

-sport event celebrated

in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 – October 4, 2014.

- Sardar Singh

Days Celebrated in different months

January January 1 --------- Global Family Day January 15 --------- Army Day January 23 ---------
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's birth anniversary January 26 --------- Republic Day January 26 --
------- International Customs day January 28 --------- Birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai
January 28 --------- Data Protection Day January 30 --------- World Leprosy Eradication Day

February February 4 --------- World Cancer Day February 5 --------- Kashmir Day February 6 ----
----- International Day against Female Genital Mutilation February 12 --------- Darwin Day
February 12 --------- World Day of the Sick February 14 --------- Valentine’s Day February 20 ---
------ World Day of Social Justice February 21 --------- International Mother Language Day
February 22 --------- World Scout Day
February 23 --------- World Peaces and Understanding Day

March March 4 --------- World Day of the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation March 8 ---------
International Womens' Day March 13 --------- World Kidney Day March 13 --------- World
Rotaract Day March 15 --------- World Consumer Rights Day March 20 --------- International
Day of the Francophonie March 20 --------- World Day of Theatre for Children and Young
People March 21 --------- World Sleep Day March 21 --------- World Forestry Day March 21 -----
---- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. March 22 --------- World
Water Day March 23 --------- World Meteorological Day March 24 --------- World TB Day
March 24 --------- International Day for Achievers March 27 --------- World Drama Day

April April 2 --------- World Austism Awareness Day April 7 --------- World Health Day April
17 --------- World Haemophilia Day April 18 --------- World heritage Day April 22 --------- Earth
Day April 23 --------- World Book and Copyright Day April 25 --------- World Malaria Day April
29 --------- International Dance Day

May May 1 --------- International Labour day May 3 --------- Press Freedom Day May 4 ---------
Coal Miners day May 8 --------- World Red Cross day May 9 --------- - Victory Day May 11 -----
---- National Technology Day May 12 --------- International Nurses day May 14 --------- World
Migratory day May 15 --------- International Day of the Family May 17 --------- World
Information Society Day May 21 --------- Anti-Terrorism Day May 31 --------- World No
Tobacco Day June June 4 --------- International day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
June 5 --------- World Environment Day June 7 --------- International Level Crossing Awareness
Day June 8 --------- World oceans Day June 12 --------- World Day against Child Labour June 14
--------- World Blood Donor day June 17 --------- World Day to Combat Desertification and
Drought June 20 --------- World Refugee Day June 23 --------- United Nations Public Service
Day June 23 --------- International widow's day June 26 --------- International Day against Drug
Abuse and IIlicit Trafficking June 27 --------- International Diabetes Day

July July 1 --------- National doctor's Day July 11 --------- World Population Day July 12 ---------
Malala Day July 18 --------- Nelson Mandela International Day July 28 --------- World Nature
Conservation day July 30 --------- International Day of Friendship August August 3 ---
------ Independence Day of Niger August 5 --------- Independence Day of Upper Volta August 9 -
-------- International day of the World's Indigenous People August 12 --------- International
Youth Day August 15 --------- Independence Day (India ) August 23 --------- Internatinal Day for
the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition August 29 --------- National Sports Day (
Birthday of Dhyan Chand )
September September 5 --------- Teacher's Day (Dr. Radhakrishnan's Birth Day) September 7 ----
----- Forgiveness Day September 8 --------- International Literacy Day September 14 ---------
Hindi day,World First Aid Day September 16 --------- World Ozone Day September 21 ---------
International Day of Peace, World Alzheimer's day September 25 --------- Social Justice Day
September 27 --------- World Tourism Day
October October 1 --------- International Day of Older Persons October 2 --------- International
day of Non-Violence October 3 --------- World Nature Day, World Habitat Day October 4 --------
- World Animal Day October 5 --------- World Teacher's Day October 8 --------- Indian Airforce
Day October 9 --------- World Post Day October 11 --------- International Girl Child Day October
12 --------- World Arthritis Day October 14 --------- World Standards Day October 15 ---------
World Students Day October 16 --------- World Food day October 17 --------- International Day
for the Eradication of Poverty October 20 --------- World Statistics Day October 24 ---------
United Nations Day October 31 --------- World Thrift Day
November November 1 --------- world vegan Day November 5 --------- World Radiography Day
November 9 --------- World Services Day November 14 --------- Children's Day ( Birth
Anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru ) November 16 --------- International Day for Endurance
November 17 --------- International students Day November 17 --------- National Journalism Day
November 18 --------- World Adult Day November 19 --------- World Citizen Day November 20
--------- Universal Children's Day November 21 --------- World Television Day November 21 ----
----- World Fisheries day November 25 --------- World Non-veg Day November 26 --------- Law
Day November 30 -------- Flag Day
December December 1 --------- World AIDS Day December 2 --------- World Computer Literacy
Day December 2 --------- International Day for the Abolition of Slavery December 3 ---------
International Day of People with Disability December 3 --------- World Conservation Day
December 4 --------- Navy Day December 7 --------- International Civil Aviation Day December
9 --------- The International Day Against Corruption December 10 --------- International Day of
Broadcasting December 10 --------- Human Rights Day December 11 --------- International
Mountain Day December 14 --------- World Energy Day December 18 --------- International
Migrants Day December 19 --------- Goa's Liberation Day December 20 --------- International
Human Solidarity Day December 29 --------- International Biodiversity Day Books and Authors

–
A Window to the Nation".

ust an Accountant” – Former CAG Vinod Rai

- Faraz Ahmad.

- Sriram Vedire

- late DP Yadav

an and Gursharan - Daman Singh

- Natwar Singh

- Neel Mukherji

- K Giriprakash
 - Sanjaya
Baru

onspirator? Coalgate and other Truths - PC Parakh

Life and Work.

Anirudh Bhattacharya.

– A Window to the Nation’ was released by Arunendra Kumar,

the Chairman of Railway Board.

- The best of national interest was released.

-an action agenda for reform- edited by Bibek Debroy, Ashley

Tellis & Reece Trevor.

Mumbai. The biography has been penned by Uday Tara Nayar.

- T V Paul

- Deepti Kapoor.

- Edward Klein

-table book titled “First Citizen: Pranab

Mukherjee” in Rashtrapati Bhavan that was released.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION & HEADQUARTERS:

- Geneva

gency Fund UNICEF - New York

 - Rome

- Vienna

- Washington

- Montreal

- Washington

- Washington

- Rome

- Geneva

itime Organization IMO - London

- Washington

- Geneva

- Paris

- Berne

- Geneva

– Geneva

- Abidjan (C te d’Ivoire)

- Teheran

– Manila

- Ouagadougou

- New York

Economy news
 ed All India
Radio's (AIR) free news SMS service in five Indian languages. These five languages are : Hindi,
Marathi, Sanskrit, Dogri and Nepali.

generation entrepreneurs. This fund will help first generation entrepreneurs to set up micro and
small enterprises in the state of Assam.

31 years old and works at Lotus News in Tamil Nadu.

Secretary of Goa State B. Vijayan, as per it now onwards Goa will be hosting International Film
Festival of India every year.

e to to ratify the National Judicial Appointments Commission

(NJAC) Bill 2014 and the name of the state is Rajasthan.

boost their sales online and It will help Snapdeal to leverage offline strength of Croma.

in August 2014. WPI data was released on 15th September 2014 from which this fact came out.
In August 2013 it was 6.99 percent.

distribution in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

revealed by the provisional results of the 6th Economic Census

-in-Centre (RVC) for smooth

transportation of perishable goods.

2014-2015. Total budget is of 6100 crore rupees which includes plan outlay of 2400 crore rupees
and non-plan outlay of 3700 crore rupees.

HMT watches is a HMT Limited's wholly owned subsidiary.

(BSF) with Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo Informatics (BISAG).
 Power Generation Park in Andhra
Pradesh with a cost of 300 crore rupees. It is expected to be completed by January 2015.

-Filing System of the Intellectual Property Office of

India (IPOI) was launched by Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

extend the quota benefit as eunuch and transgender were declared as backward class annexure II
category.

mic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by PM Narendra Modi

approved the disinvestment of the stake of CIL, ONGC and NHPC. This was done to garner a 43
thousand crore rupees.

portal of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This portal was launched to mark
the 100 days of Govt.

has identified five locations for development of no-frills airports in India, these are :

• Tezu (Arunachal Pradesh),

• Kishangarh (Rajasthan),

• Jharsuguda (Odisha),

• Hubli and

• Belgaum (Karnataka)

Francaise de Developpement (AFD) is extending a Line of Credit (LoC) of Euro 100 million to
M/s Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) to be utilized for financing
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency projects in India.

Policy, 2011.

settled in the state before 24 March 1971 should be treated as Indians.

 -crore
fine on reality giant DLF imposed by fair trade regulator in 2011 on a complaint that it had
imposed arbitrary and unfair conditions on buyers in some group housing projects in Gurgaon.

The plant will initially process five lakh litres per day with the capacity to double the production.

the world’s third largest oil consumer behind the US and China by 2025.

e Whistleblowers
Protection Bill 2011. With this assent, the Whistleblowers Bill, 2011 became Whistleblowers
Protection Act, 2011.

frogs. These acrobatic frogs were found by Indian biologists.

-crore Saradha chit fund scam. Court

asked CBI to investigate chit fund scam. The apex court asked the West Bengal government to
hand over all Saradha chit fund scam cases to CBI.

expressway project in Yemen. The Ministry of Public Works and Highways of Yemen confirmed
the construction of a 42 km, 2x3 lane dual carriageway projects between Doraigh and Noubat
Dokaim. The project is funded by Saudi Development Fund.

-fighting) events or bullock-

cart races. This ban is imposed across the country.

ne tripgator.com in partnership with Ministry of Tourism has been

launched. It has been created by IT firm WorthYourHolidays.

Association (RCA). Though an ad-hoc body was appointed to run the cricket affairs. This
suspension was done by BCCI after few hours when former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was
elected as President of RCA.

(PPA) which will be set up for the execution of the Polavaram irrigation project.

Abbreviations

- Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council

 —— Association of South East Asian Nations

——- International Federation of Trade Unions

——– Wrestling Federation of India

— – Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security

– Brazil, Russia, India, China And South Africa

– National Aeronautics and Space Administration

– All India Institute of Medical Sciences

– Cyber Regulation Advisory Council

– Foreign Investment Promotion Board

– National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development

—— Federation International de Football Association

—– Rajiv Gandhi International Airport

—– United Nations Environment Programme

—– Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant

—– Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

———- Asian Games Organisation Committee

———- Foreign Investment Promotion Board

—— United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

———- Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Q.1. Factors which influence the buyer behavior are-

(1) Personal factors (2) Social factors (3) Cultural factors

(4) Psychological factors (5) All of these

Q.2. In product concept, the profit is earned through —-

(1) Satisfaction of Consumer (2) Promotion

(3) Quality of product (4) 1 and 2

(5) None of these

Q.3. ‘Specialty product’ means ————

(1) News paper (2) Petrol (3) Car

(4) 2 and 3 (5) None of these

Q.4. Example of Departmental stores is/are ——-

(1) Big bazaar (2) General store (3) Show rooms

(4) 1 and 3 (5) None of these

Q.5. Sales and distribution is a part of ——

(1) Product (2) Price (3) Place (4) Promotion (5) All of these

Q.6. First step in buying process ————

(1) problem recognition (2) product purchase

(3) Post purchase behaviour (4) Buyer behaviour

(5) None of these

Q.7. SCM means ———-

(1) Supply chain marketing (2) Supply chain market

(3) Supply channel market (4) Supply channel manager

(5) Supply chain management

Q.8. Intangible features of a product is/are ——

(1) Value (2) taste (3) Smell (4) 2 and 3 (5) None of these

Q.9. Internet marketing comes into ————-

(1) Meta market (2) Market space (3) Market place (4) 2 and 3 (5) None of these

Q.10. Types of buyer behaviour is/are

(1) Complex behaviour (2) variety seeking behaviour

(3) Habitual buying behaviour (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.11. VCM stand for ————

(1) Variety channel marketing (2) Value channel management

(3) Value chain management (4) Variety chain management

(5) All of these

Q.12. Last stage in PLC is———-

(1) Growth (2) Peek (3) Decline (4) Introduction (5) Maturity

Q.13. DSR stand for ———-

(1) Daily sale report (2) Daily selling record

(3) Direct selling report (4) Direct sale record

(5) None of these

Q.14. Government universities come under ——

(1) Consumer market (2) Industrial market (3) Global market

(4) Non-profit market (5) All of these

Q.15. ‘A Guarantee company taking a responsibility’, is what kind of marketing ———

(1) Exchange concept (2) Product concept

(3) Accountable marketing (4) Re-active marketing

(5) Pro-active marketing

Q.16. Banks informing customers about loan taken by them is/are ———-

(1) Re-active marketing (2) Pro-active marketing

(3) Accountable marketing (4) Product marketing

(5) None of these

Q.17. Targeting strategies is/are ———

(1) Standardization (2) Focus (3) Differentiation

(4) All of these (5) 1 and 2

Q.18. Father of management is——-

(1) Philip Kotler (2) F.W. Taylor (3) Henry Fayol

(4) Mc-Garthy (5) None of these

Q.19. Marketing activity is associated with ———-

(1) Plant (2) Company (3) Factory

(4) Consumer (5) None of these

Q.20. Political parties come under which environment

(1) Micro environment (2) Macro environment

(3) Demographic environment (4) Single environment

(5) None of these

Q.21. Motivation is a ———

(1) Personal factor (2) Psychological factor (3) Social factor

(4) 1 and 2 (5) None of these

Q.22. Life Style comes under —————

(1) Psychological factor (2) Personal factor (3) Social factor

(4) Cultural factor (5) None of these

Q.23. Client means —————

(1) Consumer (2) Customer

(3) Professional Customer (4) Permanent Customer

(5) All of these

Q.24. If consumer wants to know about the services which are going to be delivered by the bank,
it is
called-

(1) Re-active marketing (2) Direct marketing

(3) Accountable marketing (4) 1 & 2

(5) None of these

Q.25. A van with company poster is/are -

(1) Advertisement (2) Publicity (3) Public relation

(4) 1 and 2 (5) None of these

Q.26. LPG stands for —————-

(1) Liquefied Petroleum Gas

(2) Liberalization, Privilege Government

(3) Liberalization Privatization Globalization

(4) Labour Party of Government

(5) None of these

Q.27. Internal marketing means

(1) Business (2) Intranet transaction (3) Bazaar

(4) C-Business (5) None of these

Q.28. Consumerism is /are ——-

(1) An Act (2) Movement (3) Reprisal Forum

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.29. A bank annual balance sheet in new paper is/are ———-

(1) Publicity (2) Public relation (3) Advertisement

(4) Promotion (5) None of these

Q.30. Competitors come under ————-

(1) Micro Environment (2) Macro Environment

(3) Social Environment (4) Political Environment

(5) None of these

Q.31. Niche market means ———-

(1) Large market (2) Very small market (3) Medium market

(4) Meta Market (5) None of these

Q.32. Product mix include ———

(1) Bar Coding (2) Packaging (3) M.R.P.

(4) 2 & 3 (5) All of these

Q.33. Bank use which kind of distribution ————

(1) Intensive distribution (2) Exclusive distribution

(3) Selective distribution (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.34. SCM flow means —————-

(1) Money flow (2) Goods Flow (3) Information flow

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.35. Public relation is/are ———-

(1) Press Conference (2) Article by Company in news paper

(3) Lobbying (4) 1 and 2

(5) All of these

Q.36. Marketing starts from ————-

(1) Production (2) Customer

(3) Need, Want & Demand (4) Promotion

(5) None of these

Q.37. Barter System is/are ——

(1) Product concept (2) Production concept

(3) Selling concept (4) Exchange concept

(5) None of these

Q.38. Relationship marketing is also known as ——-

(1) Direct marketing (2) Internet Marketing

(3) Win-Win marketing (4) Online marketing

(5) None of these

Q.39. Public relation is/are —————

(1) Direct sale agency (2) Direct selling agent

(3) Direct selling agencies (4) Direct sale agent

(5) None of these

Q.40. What is the first step in marketing process -?

(1) Controlling (2) Analyzing (3) Planning

(4) Setting Objectives (5) None of these

Q.41. Innovation means________

(1) Discovery (2) Product

(3) New thought with new concept (4) Making

(5) None of these

Q.42. Perception is a ————— factor.

(1) Personal (2) Social (3) Culture

(4) Psychological (5) None of these

Q.43. Last step in buying process_____

(1) Pre-purchase Behaviour

(2) Post Purchase Behaviour

(3) Purchase Decision

(4) 2 and 3

(5) None of these

Q.44. ISP stands for______

(1) Initial service Provide (2) International Service Provide

(3) Internet Service Project (4) Internet Social Project

(5) Internet Service Provider

Q.45. Variety seeking buying behaviour customers’ are__________

(1) Soft core loyal (2) Hard core loyal (3) Switchers

(4) Variety core loyal (5) None of these

Q.46. Cost plus pricing is also known as______

(1) Markup Pricing (2) Marginal Pricing

(3) Break even pricing (4) Promotional pricing

(5) None of these

Q.47. People, Process & Physical evidence are collectively called______

(1) Additional P’s (2) Augmented P’s (3) 3P’s

(4) Marketing P’s (5) None of these

Q.48. In which stage of Product life cycle, profit increase at an increasing rate____

(1) Maturity (2) Initial (3) Growth (4) Declining (5) None of these

Q.49. Railways adopt which kind of targeting strategies________

(1) Focus (2) Standardization (3) Marketing

(4) Differentiation (5) None of these

Q.50. Psychological factors include________

(1) Motivation (2) Learning (3) Beliefs (4) 1, 2 & 3 (5) None of these

Q.51. 7P’s have been given by______

(1) Mc Garthy (2) Phillip Kotler (3) F.W. Taylor

(4) Henry Fayol (5) None of these

Q.52. Hardcore loyal customers are display ________

(1) Dissonance (2) Complex behaviour

(3) Variety seeking behaviour (4) Shifting behaviour

(5) Habitual behaviour

Q.53. Personal selling comes under________

(1) Selling (2) Marketing (3) Advertisement

(4) Public relation (5) Sale and distribution

Q.54. Micro environment includes

(1) Technological (2) Suppliers (3) Customers

(4) 2 & 3 (5) None of these

Q.55. Counseling comes in________

(1) Publicity (2) Conversation (3) Public relation

(4) 2 and 3 (5) None of these

Q.56. Bank uses which of the following service channel

(1) Provider- Ultimate consumer (2) Provider- Agent- Ultimate consumer

(3) Provider- Wholesaler- Consumer (4) Provider- Wholesaler - Retailer- Consumer

(5) Producer- Retailer- Consumer

Q.57. In PLC, from which stage company earns maximum profit_______

(1) Growth (2) Peak (3) Diminishing (4) Initial (5) None of these

Q.58. Branding comes under

(1) Promotion mix (2) Product mix (3) Place mix

(4) Price mix (5) None of these

Q.59. First step in target market

(1) Segmentation (2) Targeting strategies (3) Planning

(4) 1 and 2 (5) None of these

Q.60. Marketing scope includes_________

(1) Services (2) Places (3) Events (4) Goods (5) All of these

Q.61. When the market is limited in size most of the market is aware of the product; buyers are
willing to

pay a high price; and potential competition is not eminent. In this situation the best strategy is:

(1) Rapid skimming (2) Slow skimming

(3)Rapid penetration (4) Slow penetration

(5) None of these

Q.62. Rapid penetration strategy consists of launching of product at a ____________.price and

spending____________..on promotion

(1) Low, heavily (2) Low, low (3) High, heavily (4) High, low (5) None of these

Q.63. When the market is large, the market is unaware of the product; most buyers are price
sensitive,

there is strong potential competition, and the company’s unit manufacturing cost falls with level
of

production. The best strategy is:

(1) Rapid skimming (2) Slow skimming (3) Rapid penetration

(4) Slow penetration (5) None of these

Q.64. Assume the market is large; highly aware of a new product; price sensitive and there is
some

potential competition. The best strategy will be:

(1) Rapid skimming (2) Slow skimming

(3) Rapid penetration (4) Slow penetration

(5) None of these

Q.65. Best stage to introduce new product is

(1) Introduction (2) Growth (3) Maturity (4) Decline (5) None of these

Q.66. Generally, the longest stage in product life cycle is .......stage.

(1) Introduction (2) Growth (3) Maturity (4) Decline (5) None of these

Q.67. Most products are in the....stage of product life cycle.

(1) Maturity (2) Decline (3) Introduction (4) Growth (5) None of these

Q.68. Managers try to stimulate sales by modifying product characteristics at maturity stage.
This is

done through_______

(1) Quality improvement (2) Feature improvement

(3) Style improvement (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.69. Style improvement aims at increasing the......of the product.

(1) Aesthetic appeal (2) Size (3) Accessories

(4) Durability (5) None of these

Q.70. During the market emergence stage, it is better for small firms to pursue a ....... strategy.

(1) Single niche (2) Multiple niches (3) Mass marketing

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.71. Market leader who engages in such practices as introducing new products, reducing costs
and

improving customer services is trying to ______________

(1) Improve quality of the product (2) Use pre-emptive defense

(3) Defend market charges (4) Use counter defense

(5) None of these

Q.72. A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or
consumption

that might satisfy____________

(1) Will (2) Wants or needs (3) Desire

(4) Demand (5) None of these

Q.73. A group of diverse, but related items that function in a compatible manner is
called__________

(1) Product style (2) Product mix

(3) Product system (4) Product variety

(5) None of these

Q.74. Nikon company sells a basic 35 mm camera along with an extensive set of lenses, filters
and other

accessories. It is an example of

(1) Product style (2) Product System (3) Product mix

(4) Product variety (5) None of these

Q.75. A Company’s product mix will have a

(1) Length (2) Width

(3) Depth and consistency (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.76. Which of the following is function of Marketing?

(1) Purchase (2) Sales (3) Storage

(4) Transport (5) All of the above

Q.77. Which of the following is secondary function of market?

(1) Production Policies (2) Standardizing and Grading

(3) Marketing Finance (4) Sales

(5) None of these

Q.78. Which of the following is not a socioeconomic criterion for market segmentation?

(1) Brand loyalty (2) Age (3) Income

(4) Size of family (5) Sex differentiation

Q.79. How many stages are there in product life cycle?

(1) Two (2) Three (3) Five

(4) Six (5) None of these

Q.80. Concept of ‘Super Market’ was introduced by —

(1) USA (2) China (3) Britain (4) France (5) India

Q.81. Which of the following is not a part of the core concept of marketing?

(1) Needs, wants and demand (2) Value, cost and satisfaction

(3) Transfers (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.82. Production concept holds that consumers will favour those products that are

(1) Widely available (2) Lower in cost (3) Both (1) and (2)

(4) Higher in Cost (5) None of these

Q.83. Which of the following is not a part of selling concept?

(1) Customers, if left alone, will ordinarily not buy

(2) Aggressive selling and promotional efforts

(3) Focus on the needs of the buyers

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.84. Marketing concept rests on

(1) Target market (2) Customers

(3) Co-ordinate marketing (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.85. Internal marketing is the task of successfully:

(1) Hiring the employees (2) training the employees

(3) Motivating the employees (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.86. In developing the marketing strategy for a business, all the following would be considered
except:

(1) Interest of top management (2) Industry position

(3) Objectives and opportunities (4) Skills and resources

(5) None of these

Q.87. In marketing, SBU stands for

(1) Strategic business unit (2) Self business unit

(3) State business undertaking (4) Small business unit

(5) None of these

Q.88. Which of the following is not a part of intensive growth?

(1) Product development (2) Market development

(3) Market penetration (4) Horizontal integration

(5) None of these

Q.89. An ideal business is .....in major opportunities and ......in major threats:

(1) Low, high (2) High, low (3) High, high

(4) Low, low (5) None of these

Q.90. Which of the following is a part of the micro environment?

(1) Economic (2) Social (3) Political

(4) Supplier (5) None of these

Q.91. Secondary data is collected through:

(1) Observation (2) Survey (3) Official record

(4) Experiment (5) None of these

Q.92. The best statistical tool is

(1) Correlation analysis (2) Simple regression analysis

(3) Multiple regression analysis (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.93. ____________...plays a major role in the adoption of new products:

(1) Personal products (2) Personal influence (3) Relatives

(4) Friends (5) None of these

Q.94. The number of different lines offered by a company is termed as:

(1) Length (2) Width (3) Depth (4) Breadth (5) None of these

Q.95. How many types of methods of communications are generally practiced in an

organization?

(1) Three (2) Four (3) Two

(4) Five (5) None of these

Q.96. The act of obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in return is
called as a

(n).....

(1) Transaction (2) Exchange (3) Relationship

(4) Value (5) None of these

Q.97. Of the following pricing strategies, _____________ is not ideal for new products.

(1) Market-skimming (2) Discriminatory Pricing

(3) Market-penetration (4) Promotional Pricing

(5) None of these

Q.98. Of the following characteristics _____________ is found only in some services like
banking and

not found in case of many services.

(1) Inseparability (2) Variability

(3) Client relationship (4) Perishability

(5) None of these

Q.99. Promotion is an exercise of maintaining contact with the consumer at different levels so as
to....

(1) Enhance customer relationship

(2) Lure the customer in to buying the products

(3) Prevent customer from being critical of the firm

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.100. The components of Marketing Information system does not include.....:

(1) Marketing Intelligence System

(2) Internal Records System

(3) Information technology System

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.101. What do you understand by the term relationship marketing?

(1) Selling to strangers

(2) Selling to relatives

(3) Selling on the basis of strong customer relationship

(4) Selling to family

(5) None of these

Q.102. SIP is similar to___

(1) Bank Deposit (2) Gold Bonds (3) Mutual Funds

(4) Credit Cards (5) None of these

Q.103. Cross selling for bank products may be____

(1) Internet marketing (2) Saving Account (3) Loans

(4) Debit cards (5) None of these

Q.104. SIP stands for–

(1) Small Investment Plan (2) Secret Investment Plan

(3) Saving in Post Office (4) Small Industries Plan

(5) None of these

Q.105. Bank Product penetration means

(1) Providing / selling different product to different customers.

(2) Selling banks product to maximum customers and in new markets.

(3) Selling product with quality

(4) Selling to staff people

(5) None of these

Q.106. Bank Sales man should be_

(1) Focused (2) Knowledgeable (3) Courteous (4) All of these (5) Fragile

Q.107. Bank comes in____ and it consist of ______ P’s.

(1) Service industry / 7 (2) Product industry / 6

(3) Marketing mix / 4 (4) Self dependent / 3

(5) None of these

Q.108. Bank uses which marketing method to increase brand Loyalty?

(1) Reactive Marketing (2) Pro-active Marketing

(3) Accountable Marketing (4) 1 and 2

(5) All of these

Q.109. ‘Niche Marketing’ can be used in banks for the products like_____

(1) Saving accounts (2) SIP

(3) Mutual funds (4) Industrial Loan (Small market segment)

(5) None of these

Q.110. ‘CSR’ means

(1) Collateral Security Reserve (2) Complete Solution Ratio

(3) Competition Success Review (4) Corporate Social Responsibility

(5) Casual Series Research

Q.111. Marketing concept emphasizes

(1) On Maximum production

(2) On staff

(3) Customer-orientation and Coordination of marketing activities

(4) Cost

(5) Purchase

Q.112. ‘SWOT’ stands for–

(1) Street wide oriented target

(2) Strength, weakness, opportunity and threat

(3) System wise organizational treatment

(4) 2 and 3

(5) None of these

Q.113. ATM can be placed–

(1) Near the bank (2) In the bank

(3) Within easy reach of the customer (4) Near the Main office

(5) None of these

Q.114. ‘Service channel includes’–

(1) 4 channel (2) 2 channel (3) 3 channel

(4) ‘0’ or maximum 1 channel (5) Infinite

Q.115. ‘Example of brand’ can be

(1) Coca Cola Pvt. Ltd. (2) PepsiCo

(3) Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (4) Maza

(5) All of these

Q.116. ‘Bank can use promotional tools’ to beat its competitors by–

(1) Advertisement (2) Direct Marketing (3) Public relation

(4) Only 1, 2 and 3 (5) Campaign

Q.117. A marketing plan is a

(1) Written document containing necessary actions to achieve marketing objective.

(2) Systematic budget plan for 1 year

(3) A secret plan for whole organization

(4) Design at a time when new product develops

(5) None of these

Q.118. The full form of ATM is–

(1) Automation Telling machine (2) Actual Telling machine

(3) Automated Teller machine (4) Artificial Total machine

(5) None of these

Q.119. Target Market means

(1) Creating product for special section of society

(2) Mass marketing

(3) Shooting on Target market

(4) Market analysis

(5) None of these

Q.120. DSA and DST stand for–

(1) Double system Accounting and Double System Tally.

(2) Direct Sales Agent and Direct Sales Team

(3) Decision System Analyst and Decision System Tool

(4) Direct Sales Authority and Director of Sales Team

(5) None of these

Q.121. Brand Loyalty can be created only when-

(1) A customer is totally satisfied with the services of bank

(2) He/she has any relative in the bank

(3) If bank sells product without charging money.

(4) Banks gives free gift

(5) None of these

Q.122. Tele-calling by bank employees is an example of–

(1) Personal Selling (2) Direct marketing

(3) Sales promotion (4) Advertisement marketing

(5) All of these

Q.123. Supply chain means–

(1) directly buying goods

(2) indirectly buying goods

(3) selling goods

(4) directly/ indirectly supplying goods to the customer

(5) None of these

Q.124. Banks are penetrating the rural areas now a days, this is the form of

(1) Market development (2) Product development

(3) Bank development (4) Physical development

(5) Globalization

Q.125. “Physical Evidence” in banks includes

(1) Interest of staff and managers

(2) Psychological thoughts

(3) Physically challenged employees

(4) Packaging, internet pages, Vouchers, Furniture, Uniform, Exterior Look

(5) None of these

Q.126. Relative market share means -

(1) Overall market Share

(2) Share market

(3) Market share in comparison to competitors

(4) Market for company

(5) None of these

Q.127. C.L.C stands for ——

(1) Customer life cycle (2) Customer like company

(3) Company like customers (4) 1 or 2

(5) None of these

Q.128. When all marketing’s tools are used to target, it is ———-

(1) Atomistic marketing (2) Strategic Marketing

(3) Accountable Marketing (4) Pro-active Marketing

(5) None of these

Q.129. First step in personal selling process ———

(1) Pre-approach (2) Prospecting (3) starting

(4) Approach (5) All of these

Q.130. Which of the following is an important function of personal selling?

(1) gathering order (2) taking order (3) Influencing order

(4) all of these (5) None of these

Q.131. ATM is which kind of store ———

(1) Convenience store (2) Department store (3)Specialty store

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.132. Which of the following is a characteristic of banking?

(1) Intangibility (2) Inseparability

(3) Client relationship (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.133. Passbook in bank is a ————-

(1) Product (2) Physical evidence (3) Service

(4) None of these (5) Both 1 and 2

Q.134. First step in marketing process——-

(1) Setting objectives (2) Planning (3) Controlling

(4) 1 and 2 (5) None of these

Q.135. Product displayed in film is a ———-

(1) Surrogate Advertising (2) Covert Advertising

(3) Hidden Advertising (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.136. MKIS stands for ———

(1) Marketing intelligence system (2) Marketing Information System

(3) Management Information System (4) Management Intelligence System

(5) All of these

Q.137. Market segmentation means —————-

(1) To divide the market (2) To divide the company

(3) To divide the customer (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.138. Which of the following is the product features —————-

(1) Tangibility (2) Exchange value

(3) Intangible feature (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.139. Which of the following is a part of micro environment?

(1) Competitors (2) Society (3) Technology

(4) Government (5) Legal environment

Q.140. Basic activities of VCM -

(1) Inbound (2) Outbound

(3) Marketing and sale (4) After sale service

(5) All of these

Q.141. Skimming Pricing Strategy is ————

(1) Initial price to high and increase after time

(2) Initial price is high and decreases after time

(3) Initial price is low and decreases after time

(4) Initial price is low and increases aftertime

(5) None of these

Q.142. In marketing, ‘market’ means ———

(1) Customers (2) Employee (3) Physical Market

(4) 1 and 3 (5) None of these

Q.143. Which is/are macro environment factors?

(1) Legal environment (2) Government (3) Political parties

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.144. Product, place, price are the 3 marketing mix. Which is the 4th?

(1) People (2) Process (3) Promotion

(4) None of these (5) both 1 and 2

Q.145. Which is the last stage of product life cycle?

(1) Maturity (2) Decline (3) Growth

(4) Introduction (5) None of these

Q.146. Factors affecting buyer behaviour-

(1) Social (2) Reference group (3) Personal

(4) Age (5) All of these

Q.147. Father of marketing ——-

(1) Philip Kotler (2) F.W.Taylor (3) Peter Drucker

(4) Adam Smith (5) None of these

Q.148. Personal selling means ———

(1) Face to face (2) Direct Marketing (3) Door to Door

(4) 1, 2 and 3 (5) None of these

Q.149. Digital marketing means ———

(1) E-mail canvassing (2) S.M.S alert (3) Video kiosk

(4) T.V. acts (5) All of these

Q.150. Selling starts from ————

(1) Need, want and Demand (2) Target Market

(3) After sale service (4) 2 and 3

(5) Production

Q.151. Which one of the following elements is not concerned with Marketing Mix?

(1) Product (2) Price (3) Place (4) Profit (5) None of these

Q.152. Product include_________

(1) Properties (2) Services (3) Idea (4) All of the above(5) None of these

Q.153. Trucks and Buses are__________

(1) Consumer goods (2) Industrial goods

(3) Convenience goods (4) (1) and (3)

(5) None of these

Q.154. The product is the bundle of__________that a customer buys.

(1) Conveniences (2) Features (3) Preferences

(4) Satisfaction (5) None of these

Q.155. ________is the costliest form of marketing.

(1) Personal selling (2) Advertising (3) Sales Promotion

(4) All the above (5) None of these

Q.156. _________are purchased and sold in the stock exchange.

(1) Dividends (2) Shares (3) Securities

(4) All the above (5) None of these

Q.157. Important decisions in the business are made by——————-

(1) Management (2) Administration (3) Organization

(4) Trade Unions (5) None of these

Q.158. In ‘Double-win’ strategy-

(1) Customer gets an additional benefit

(2) Customer gets price debate.

(3) Both customs and the sales person come out with sense of satisfaction

(4) Both 1 and 2

(5) None of these

Q.159. In consumer behavior, ‘Perception is a process through which

(1) a consumer makes ultimate purchasing

(2) a consumer is satisfied

(3) a consumer’s mind receives, organizes and interprets physical stimuli

(4) Both 1 and 3

(5) None of these

Q.160. Sales forecast implies

(1) an estimate of the maximum possible sales opportunities present in a particular market
segment

(2) an estimate of sales, in physical units, in a future period

(3) Both 1 and 2

(4) Neither 1 nor 2

(5) None of these

Q.161. Advertising for ………… is not allowed on T.V

(1) Liquor (2) Cigarettes (3) Both 1 and 2

(4) Neither 1 nor 2 (5) None of these

Q.162. A theory states that no matter how efficiently goods / services are produced, if they
cannot be

delivered to the customer in the quickest possible time, it is vain. This theory is called

(1) Quickest the best (2) Instant service (3) Service on time

(4) Timely effort (5) None of these

Q.163. Entrepreneurs find direct marketing, attractive because of

(1) Investment is low (2) It doesn’t required specialized skills

(3) Returns are quick (4) All of the above

(5) None of these

Q.164. Demonstration is an exercise to

(1) attractively pack and display the goods

(2) prove the characteristic of the product

(3) Both 1 and 2

(4) Neither 1 nor 2

(5) None of these

Q.165. Which among the following is not an example of Direct marketing?

(1) tele-marketing (2) sales on internet (3) mail order sale

(4) Retail stores (5) None of these

Q.166. In selling, ‘consumption’ is the ultimate goal of the salesman while a marketer -

(1) identify consumer needs price of the brand and the retail price of

(2) develop an appropriate product / service to attain customer satisfaction

(3) accomplish organizational goals through integrated marketing approach

(4) All of the above

(5) None of these

Q.167. In Banking services, market can be segmented on the basis of

(1) density (2) customers (3) Both 1 and 2

(4) Neither 1 nor 2 (5) None of these

Q.168. Which of the following is not a ‘Post testing’ Technique of advertisement?

(1) Sales test (2) Focus group (3) Enquiry test (4) Attitude test (5) None of these

Q.169. ‘Causal’ research is basically concerned with

(1) establishing cause and effect relationship

(2) arriving at a forecast or prediction of interest

(3) measuring and estimating the frequencies with which of things occur

(4) All of the above.

(5) None of these

Q.170. A method, in which Brand equity is measured by comparing difference between the retail
and

unbranded product in the same category is called:

(1) Brand goodwill method (2) Price premium method (3) Both 1 and 2

(4) Neither 1 nor 2 (5) None of these

Q.171. The markets are grouped into different types based on the geographical area, location of
marketplace,

product, nature of transaction, and volume of transaction:

In the above statement the following is not correct-

(1) Nature of transaction (2) Geographical area

(3) Location of marketplace (4) Volume of transaction

(5) None of these

Q.172. The following offering is not a service:

(1) Fixed deposit receipt (2) Postage stamp

(3) Insurance Policy (4) Gift coupon of a chain store

(5) None of these

Q.173. A product .... is a group of related products that function in a similar manner, are sold to
the same

customer groups, and marketed through the same type of outlets:

(1) Group (2) Line (3) Category (4) Market (5) None of these

Q.174. Goods that are typically bought by a consumer based on a comparison of suitability,
quality, price

and style are called....goods:

(1) Industrial (2) Specialty (3) Shopping (4) Convenience (5) None of these

Q.175. Of the following pricing methods, _____________ is not based on competitors pricing.

(1) English Auction (2) Sealed-Bid Auction

(3) Going-rate Pricing (4) Group Pricing

(5) None of these

Q.176. A......discount is offered by the seller to intermediary who performs functions like selling,
storing

and record keeping.

(1) Quantity (2) Trade (3) Cash (4) Seasonal (5) None of these

Q.177. With.......pricing, the products are priced below list price (or even below cost) for a
temporary

period to create buying urgency:

(1) Reference (2) By - product (3) Market penetration

(4) Promotional (5) None of these

Q.178. Marketing channel refers to....

(1) A physical channel for movement of goods in them from the seller to the buyer

(2) A set of firms who handle the physical movement of goods from one point to another
(3) Different departments of the producer firm which are associated in ensuring delivery of
goods

to the buyer

(4) A set of independent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service

available for use or consumption

(5) None of these

Q.179. Of the following characteristics __________ is found only in some services like banking
and not

found in case of many services.

(1) Inseparability (2) Variability

(3) Client relationship (4) Perish ability

(5) None of these

Q.180. Distribution channels carry out the following functions except.......

(1) Physical distribution (2) Fixing the price

(3) Matching the offer (4) Risk taking

(5) None of these

Q.181. The tools for communications with the customer are

(1) Promotion mix (2) Product and Price

(3) (1) and (2) (4) (1) and other three elements of marketing mix

(5) None of these

Q.182. Promotion seeks to influence the buyer in decision-making through....

(1) Persuasion (2) Compulsion (3) Reminding

(4) Information and reinforcement (5) None of these

Q.183. An advertisement is not for....

(1) Suggesting new uses of a product

(2) Telling about a new product

(3) Explaining how a product works

(4) Building brand preference

(5) None of these

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.184. Direct marketing does not cover....:

(1) Online marketing (2) Public relations (3) Personal selling

(4) Catalogue marketing (5) None of these

Q.185. Public relations element will not include....:

(1) A report on the bank appearing in a periodical

(2) A programme of Lata Mangeskar sponsored by the bank

(3) An eye camp for cataract surgery sponsored by the bank

(4) A presentation made to the employees of Utpadansheel Udyog Ltd.

(5) None of these

Q.186. Firms need to collect and analyze the data pertaining to marketing for....:

(1) Projecting their organization as knowledge oriented

(2) Enabling the top management to keep control over the sales force

(3) Taking the required steps for effective marketing of their products

(4) For utilizing their information technology capabilities

(5) None of these

Q.187. An effective MIS fulfills these.....:

(1) Analysis of quantitative information

(2) Coordination among functional and specialists executives

(3) Limited to current scenario

(4) Both (1) and (2)

(5) None of these

Q.188. The components of Marketing Information system do not include.....:

(1) Marketing Intelligence System (2) Internal Records System

(3) Information technology System (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.189. The ultimate users of the Marketing Information System are

(1) the customers of the firm (2) the competitors of the firm

(3) the decision markers in the firm (4) both (1) and (2)

(5) None of these

Q.190. Which of the following is not a part of the core concept of marketing?

(1) Needs, wants and demand (2) Value, cost and satisfaction

(3) Transfers (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.191. Marketing thinking starts with the fact of

(1) Human needs and wants (2) Basic functional area of business

(3) Earning profit (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.192. Demands are wants for specific products that are backed by

(1) Ability to buy (2) Willingness to buy (3) Both (1) and (2)

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.193. Marketing emerges when people decide to satisfy needs and wants through exchange.
Exchange

occurs through

(1) Self production (2) Coercion (3) Exchange

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.194. For exchange to take place, which condition (s) must be satisfied

(1) At least two parties

(2) All involved must have something that might be of value to the other party

(3) Each party is free to accept or reject the offer.

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.195. Marketing management includes

(1) Analyzing (2) Planning

(3) Implementing and control (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.196. Which of the following is not a part of marketing management?

(1) Planning (2) Analyzing (3) Raising funds

(4) Implementation and control (5) None of these

Q.197. Production concept holds that consumers will favour those products that are:

(1) Widely available (2) Lower in cost (3) Both (1) and (2)

(4) Higher in Cost (5) None of these

Q.198. Product concept holds that consumers will favour those products that offer:

(1) Quality (2) Performance

(3) Innovative features (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.199. Which is not a part of selling concept?

(1) Customers, if left alone, will ordinarily not buy

(2) Aggressive selling and promotional efforts

(3) Focus on the needs of the buyers

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.200. Producers of ‘unsought goods’ normally employ the.....concept:

(1) Production (2) Product (3) Selling

(4) Marketing (5) None of these

Q.201. ‘Self want company make rather than what market want. This is a ....concept.

(1) Product (2) Production (3) Selling

(4) Marketing (5) None of these

Q.202. Selling concept is best applicable to

(1) Insurance (2) Encyclopedias (3) Found raisers

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.203. The marketing concept holds that key to achieving organizational goals consist in

(1) Determining the need and wants of target market

(2) Delivering the desired satisfaction more effectively

(3) Effectively than competitors

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.204. Selling is pre occupied with the sellers need to convert his product into____________.,
marketing

with the idea of satisfying the needs of the ....:

(1) Cash, customer (2) Customer, cash (3) Sale, producers

(4) Finished goods, customer (5) None of these

Q.205. Marketing concept rests on

(1) Target market (2) Customers needs (3) Co-ordinate marketing

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.206. Which of the following is not a marketing concept?

(1) Meeting needs profitably (2) Have the customer, not the product

(3) Find wants and fill them (4) Producing efficiently

(5) None of these

Q.207. Which statement reflects the marketing philosophy in a better way

(1) Declining sales thus follow aggressive promotion policy

(2) Improve the quality of the product

(3) Motivating the sales force for increasing the sales volume

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.208. Internal marketing is the task of successfully

(1) Hiring the employees (2) Training the employees

(3) Motivating the employees (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.209. Which of the following reflects the best societal concept?

(1) High quality material (2) Low priced material

(3) Eco-friendly material (4) Non-destroyable material

(5) None of these

Q.210. Customer delivered value is the difference between

(1) Total customer value and total customer cost

(2) Sale price and cost price

(3) Value and price

(4) Total customer desire and total customer demand

(5) None of these

Q.211. Customer delivered value is maximized through

(1) Lowering the price

(2) Improving the quality of the product

(3) Lowering monetary cost

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.212. A survey which ask you to indicate the extent of satisfaction of a three point scale i.e.,
satisfied,

indifferent or dissatisfied is....method of measuring satisfaction

(1) Directly reported satisfaction (2) Problem analysis

(3) Derived satisfaction (4) Performance analysis

(5) None of these

Q.213. A survey which ask you how closely your music system lived up to your expectation
is....method

of measuring satisfaction

(1) Problem analysis (2) Directly reported satisfaction

(3) Derived satisfaction (4) Performance analysis

(5) None of these

Q.214. A survey which asks you to indicate any problems you had with your new music system
and give

your suggestion for improvement is.....method of measuring satisfaction.

(1) Derived satisfaction (2) Performance analysis

(3) Suggestion analysis (4) Problem analysis

(5) None of these

Q.215. Which of the following is not a primary activity in the value chain process?

(1) Procurement (2) Operations

(3) Marketing and Sales (4) Services

(5) None of these

Q.216. The task of creating strong customer loyalty is called

(1) Accountable marketing (2) Total quality marketing

(3) Relationship marketing (4) Direct marketing

(5) None of these

Q.217. The sales person sells the product but does not contact the customers again is an example
of

____________ marketing.

(1) Basic (2) Reactive (3) Accountable (4) Proactive (5) None of these

Q.218. The sales person sells the product and encourages the customer to call if he/she has any
complaint

or quarry is an example of ......marketing.

(1) Basic (2) Reactive (3) Proactive

(4) Accountable (5) None of these

Q.219. The company’s sales person phones the customer from time to time with suggestions
about

improved product use are helpful in new products is an example of:

(1) Basic marketing (2) Reactive marketing

(3) Proactive marketing (4) Accountable marketing

(5) None of these

Q.220. In developing the marketing strategy for a business, all the following would be
considered except

(1) Interest of top management (2) Industry position

(3) Objectives and opportunities (4) Skills and resources

(5) None of these

Q.221. Which of the following is very difficult to change?

(1) Company’s structure (2) Company’s policies

(3) Company’s culture (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.222. Who stated “What is our business? Who is the customer? What is value to the customer?
What

will our business be? What should our business be?

(1) Milton Kotler (2) Georg H. Brown (3) Philip Kotler

(4) Peter Drucker (5) None of these

Q.223. Which of the following is not an element of company’s mission?

(1) Current preference of the owners and management

(2) Market environment

(3) Distinctive competencies

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.224. In marketing, SBU stands for

(1) Strategic business unit (2) Self business unit

(3) State business undertaking (4) Small business unit

(5) None of these

Q.225. Which of the following in product oriented definition?

(1) We sell hope (2) We distribute information

(3) We make cosmetic (4) We supply energy

(5) None of these

MASTER IN MPARKETING
Q.226. Which of the following is market oriented definition?

(1) We make air conditioner (2) We supply energy

(3) We make copying equipment (4) We make movies

(5) None of these

Q.227. Which of the following is appropriate for strong cash cows if they are to continue to yield
a large

positive cash flow?

(1) Hold (2) Maintain (3) Harvest (4) Divest (5) None of these

Q.228. Intensive growth opportunities means

(1) To identify further opportunities to achieve growth within the company’s current business

(2) To identify opportunities to build or acquire business that is related to company’s current

business

(3) To identify opportunities to add attractive business that is unrelated to the company’s
business

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.229. Which of the following is a part of integrated growth?

(1) Forward integration (2) Backward integration

(3) Horizontal integration (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.230. Which of the following is not a part of the diversification growth?

(1) Horizontal diversification (2) Concentric diversification

(3) Conglomerate diversification (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.231. Tata group is engaged in different business activates like iron and steel, automobiles,
software,

telecommunication etc. It is a form of:

(1) Horizontal diversification (2) Forward diversification

(3) Conglomerate diversification (4) Backward diversification

(5) None of these

Q.232. If a company searches for new technologically unrelated products that appeal to its
current customers

is an example of ....... diversification strategy.

(1) Horizontal (2) Vertical (3) Concentric (4) Conglomerate (5) None of these

Q.233. If a company seeks new business that has no relationship to its current technology,
product or

market is a form of ____________diversification.

(1) Horizontal (2) Vertical (3) Concentric (4) Conglomerate (5) None of these

Q.234. An ideal business is .....in major opportunities and ......in major threats:

(1) Low, high (2) High, low (3) High, high (4) Low, low (5) None of these

Q.235. Speculative business is ....in opportunities and .....in threats.

(1) Low, low (2) Low, high (3) High, high (4) High, low (5) None of these

Q.236. Which of the following is/are value creation and delivery process developed by the
Japanese?

(1) Zero customer feedback time (2) Zero purchasing time (3) Zero defects

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.237. In marketing jargon, STP stands for

(1) Segment target position (2) Segment target plan

(3) Sales tax provision (4) Segment trade profit

(5) None of these

Q.238. Which of the following is a part of the micro environment?

(1) Economic (2) Social (3) Political

(4) Supplier (5) None of these

Q.239. Process of dividing the total market into smaller groups having homogeneity is called

(1) Segregation (2) Decomposition (3) Segmentation

(4) Division (5) None of these

Q.240. The element that is not a part of company’s product decision is

(1) Product features (2) Packaging (3) Branding

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.241. To determine its strengths and weaknesses, manager might ask customers all of the
following

except;

(1) Was the quality good?

(2) Was the price reasonable?

(3) Have you heard the company slogan?

(4) Was the delivery efficient?

(5) None of these

Q.242. The final step in marketing plan is

(1) Goals and objectives

(2) Preparing projected profit and loss accounts

(3) Control

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.243. Managers scan the environment through

(1) Undirected viewing (2) Conditioned viewing

(3) Formal and informal search (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.244. Primary data is generally collected through:

(1) Survey (2) Experiment (3) Observation

(4) Census report (5) None of these

Q.245. Secondary data is collected through:

(1) Observation (2) Survey (3) Official record

(4) Experiment (5) None of these

Q.246. Casual research is:

(1) Together primary data to shed light on the real nature of the problem

(2) To ascertain certain magnitudes

(3) To find out cause and effect relationship

(4) To explore the gravity of the situation

(5) None of these

Q.247. Generally the best research approach suited for descriptive research is:

(1) Observation (2) Survey (3) Cross sectional

(4) Experimental (5) None of these

Q.248. Generally speaking the best research approach for casual research is:

(1) Observation (2) Survey (3) Cross sectional

(4) Experimental (5) None of these

Q.249. Generally speaking the best research approach for exploratory research is:

(1) Observation (2) Survey (3) Cross sectional

(4) Experimental (5) None of these

Q.250. A study to determine if advertising expenses increases by 10 per cent, the sales will
increase by
x per cent. It is a form of:

(1) Exploratory (2) Descriptive (3) Casual

(4) All of these (5) None of these

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.251. In a marketing survey, the surveyor asks the questions; Do you like our product? Yes/No
It is a

form of:

(1) Dichotomous (2) Likert scale (3) Semantic differential

(4) Rating scale (5) None of these

Q.252. A statement with which the respondent shows the amount of agreement/disagreement is
a:

(1) Likert scale (2) Semantic differential (3) Rating scale

(4) Multiple choice (5) None of these

Q.253. A scale connecting two bio-polar words, where the respondent selects the point that
represents

his or her opinion is a:

(1) Likert scale (2) Semantic differential (3) Rating scale

(4) Multiple choice (5) None of these

Q.254. A scale that rates some attribute from poor to excellent is a:

(1) Likert scale (2) Semantic differential (3) Rating scale

(4) Multiple choice (5) None of these

Q.255. Which of the following is not a probability sampling?

(1) Simple random sampling (2) Stratified sampling (3) Quota sampling

(4) Area sampling (5) None of these

Q.256. Which of the following is not a non probability sampling?

(1) Convenience sampling (2) Quota sampling

(3) Judgment sampling (4) Cluster sampling (5) None of these

Q.257. When the population is divided into mutually exclusive groups and random samples are
drawn from

each group. It is called:

(1) Stratified sampling (2) Cluster sampling (3) Area sampling

(4) Multi-stage sampling (5) None of these

Q.258. When the population is divided into mutually exclusive groups such as blocks and the
researcher

draws a sample from the group or block is called:

(1) Area sampling (2) Cluster sampling (3) Both (1) and (2)

(4) Stratified sampling (5) None of these

Q.259. When time factor is most important, then the best contact method with the responder has

(1) Personal interviews (2) Mailed questionnaire

(3) Telephone interviewing (4) Schedule

(5) None of these

Q.260. The contact method, which minimizes the interview’s bias is a:

(1) Telephone interview (2) Mailed questionnaire

(3) Personal interview (4) Schedule

(5) None of these

Q.261. XYZ Co. wanted to know how their sales are influenced by price, advertising etc.

The best statistical tool is

(1) Correlation analysis (2) Simple regression analysis

(3) Multiple regression analysis (4) Discriminate analysis

(5) None of these

Q.262. When a company wants to distinguish its products into good quality and poor quality on
the basis
of various features of the product.

The best analysis is

(1) Regression analysis (2) Factor analysis

(3) Discriminate analysis (4) F-test

(5) None of these

Q.263. Find odd man out

(1) discriminated analysis (2) Mailed questionnaire, survey

(3) Conjoint analysis (4) Cluster analysis

(5) None of these

Q.264. A direction is sequence of events which have some momentum and disability is:

(1) Fad (2) Trend (3) Mega-trend

(4) Fashion (5) None of these

Q.265. Promotion in Marketing means-

(1) passing an examination

(2) elevation from one grade to another

(3) selling the products through various means

(4) selling the product in specific areas

(5) None of these

Q.266. Sources of Sales Leads are-

(1) Data Mining (2) Market Research

(3) Media Outlets (4) Promotional Programs

(5) All of these

Q.267. One of the methods for Market Monitoring is-

(1) to watch TV serials

(2) to discuss with other sales persons

(3) to monitor media outlets

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.268. Market Expansion means-

(1) hiring more staff (2) firing more staff

(3) buying more products (4) buying more companies

(5) None of these

Q.269. Effective marketing helps in-

(1) developing new products

(2) creating a competitive environment

(3) building demand for products

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.270. A Call in Marketing means-

(1) to phone the customers (2) to visit the customers

(3) to visit the marketing site (4) to call on prospective customers

(5) None of these

Q.271. Delivery Channel means-

(1) maternity wards

(2) handing over the products to the buyers

(3) places where products are made available to the buyers

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.272. One of the following is a target group for the marketing of Internet Banking.

(1) All the customers (2) All the educated customers

(3) All the computer educated customers (4) Only creditors

(5) All of these

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.273. Innovation means-

(1) Product Designing (2) New ideas (3) Impulse

(4) Both (1) and (2) (5) None of these

Q.274. One of the following is a target group for the marketing of educational loan.

(1) All the customers

(2) Students

(3) Only poor students

(4) Students having promising educational track record

(5) All of these

Q.275. Service after sale is not the function of-

(1) Marketing staff (2) Seller

(3) Director of the company (4) Employees of the company

(5) All of the above are wrong

Q.276. If done through …… …the rural marketing would be more effective.

(1) fairs (2) village fairs

(3) door to door campaign (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.277. Market Survey means-

(1) Market Research (2) Market Planning

(3) Marketing Strategies (4) Market Monitoring

(5) All of these

Q.278. ……can be done through digital Banking?

(1) Mobile phone (2) Internet (3) Telephone

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.279. A good seller should have the following quality/qualities?

(1) Devotion to the work (2) Submissive (3) Sympathy

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.280. The rural marketing is not required because-

(1) rural people do not understand marketing

(2) its not practical from the cost point of view

(3) it is sheer wastage of time

(4) All are wrong

(5) All are correct

Q.281. Planned-cost service means-

(1) Costly products

(2) Extra profit on the same cost

(3) Extra work by seller

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.282. Internet marketing means-

(1) Self-marketing (2) Core Groups monitoring

(3) Employees marketing (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.283. The aim of successful marketing is-

(1) to increase the sale (2) to increase the profit

(3) to increase the output of sellers (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.284. What are the main means of Consumer Protection–

(1) Government (2) Trade Union

(3) Consumer Association (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.285. Which activities are included in sales promotion?

(1) Reduction of the price organizing (2) Distribution of coupons

(3) organizing competitions (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.286. What is the main aim of marketing?

(1) satisfy the consumer (2) satisfy the seller

(3) satisfy the Government (4) satisfy the producer

(5) None of these

Q.287. High Price strategy is adopted, when–

(1) Brand is most popular

(2) A product is launched in the market and it has no competitor

(3) There are less consumers of the product

(4) All of above

(5) Only 1 and 2

Q.288. Marketing involves–

(1) Generation of demand (2) After sales services

(3) production of goods and services (4) All of above

(5) None of these

Q.289. The main objectives of advertisement are–

(1) To approach the remote areas (2) To make selling expensive

(3) To reduce the cost of protection (4) 1 and 2

(5) 1 and 3

Q.290. The money spent on advertising is considered as–

(1) Expense (2) Investment (3) Bad Debts

(4) Liability (5) None of these

Q.291. How many stages are there in the Product Life Cycle?

(1) 3 (2) 5

(3) 4 (4) 6

(5) Depends on the qualities of product

Q.292. In Banks, deposits from public are considered as–

(1) assets (2) resources (3) liabilities

(4) Cause of expenditure (5) None of these

Q.293. Promotion Mix consists–

(1) Advertisement (2) Personal selling (3) Sales promotion

(4) Publicity (5) All of the above

Q.294. The main aim of Packaging is–

(1) To make product attractive

(2) To make product distinctive

(3) To make product safe against storage and transportation

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.295. Which of the following is not a work of marketing?

(1) Grading (2) Packaging (3) Pricing

(4) Accounting (5) Standardization

Q.296. SMEs stands for–

(1) Skill for marketing Enterprises (2) Small and Medium Enterprises

(3) Small and Maximum Enterprises (4) Small and Marketing Enterprises

(5) None of these

Q.297. The decision regarding investment in Fixed Assets is known as–

(1) Capital Budgeting (2) Revenue Budgeting (3) Cash Budgeting

(4) Marketing Budgeting (5) Sales Budgeting

Q.298. Indirect trade is a medium by which goods are transferred–

(1) Through wholesaler (2) through retailer (3) through agents

(4) All of above (5) None of these

Q.299. Demand consists–

(1) Want or need (2) Willingness to spend

(3) Resources to purchase (4) Only 1 and 2

(5) All of these

Q.300. EPS stands far–

(1) Earnings per share (2) Expense per sale

(3) Employee per sale (4) Expense per share

(5) None of these

Q.301. Putting the goods of same characteristics in a specific category is known as–

(1) Branding (2) Standardization (3) Labeling (4) Packaging (5) Grading

Q.302. Elements of marketing mix are–

(1) Product mix (2) Price mix (3) Promotion mix

(4) Place mix (5) All of above

Q.303. Which of the following is the most basic marketing -mix tool?

(1) Promotion (2) Price (3) Product (4) Place (5) None of these

Q.304. What is the full form of PLC?

(1) Product Life Cycle (2) Product Labeling curve

(3) Promotion Life cycle (4) Product Learning curve

(5) None of these

Q.305. Which of the following are stakeholders of an organization?

(1) Customers (2) Employees (3) Suppliers

(4) All the above (5) Only 1 and 2

Q.306. Consumer is the ————— of market?

(1) King (2) Product (3) Creator (4) Capitalist (5) Socialist

Q.307. Sales promotion programme is/are: -

(1) Sales Promotion Plan

(2) Publicity of Sales Promotion Programme

(3) Budget of Sales Promotion

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.308. Which is not the product of a bank?

(1) Demat Account (2) Bank Building (3) Auto Loan

(4) used Car Loan (5) None of these

Q.309. Which of the following is not a tool used for collecting primary data?

(1) Observation research (2) Focus-group research (3) Surveys

(4) None of these (5) All of above

Q.310. What is the basic unit of exchange?

(1) Purchase (2) Sales (3) Transfer (4) Transaction (5) None of these

Q.311. Which of the following is not a base for market Segmentation?

(1) Education (2) Age (3) Raw Material

(4) Occupation of Consumer (5) Marital Status of Consumer.

Q.312. What is the full form of ESOP?

(1) Employee Service Option Projects (2) Employees Stock Option Plan

(3) Essential Security of Police (4) Efficient Services of Promises

(5) Effective Systems of Projects.

Q.313. The works of a wholesaler are -

(1) To Sell goods to retailer (2) To produce goods

(3) To utilize the goods (4) To bear risk

(5) All of these

Q.314. Which of the following is correct medium of distribution?

(1) Wholesaler, Manufacturer , Retailer, Consumer, Agent

(2) Manufacturer, Agent, Consumer.

(3) Manufacturer, Wholesaler, Retailer, Consumer.

(4) Manufacturer, Agent, Retailer, Wholesaler, Consumer

(5) All of these

Q.315. Which of the following is a form of sandwich advertising?

(1) Buses (2) Trans (3) Advocates (4) Commentary Boxes (5) Jokers

Q.316. ‘Date tree’ on edible oil packet represents-

(1) Sales strategy (2) Sales target (3) Brand mark

(4) Product Planning (5) All of these

Q.317. Which of the following is essential for sales agreement?

(1) Buyer

(2) Seller

(3) Transfer of ownership in Consideration of money.

(4) An agreement

(5) None of these

Q.318. Which of the following has maximum share in domestic savings in India?

(1) Deposits (2) Money

(3) Shares & Debentures (4) Fixed Assets

(5) Loans

Q.319. A direct marketing channel is also called as —————level channel.

(1) Three (2) Two (3) One (4) Zero (5) None of these

Q.320. Marketing management of an organization should be included -

(1) Analyzing (2) Planning

(3) Implementing & control (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.321. What is the most fundamental determinant of person’s want and behaviour called?

(1) Culture (2) Sub culture (3) Social class

(4) Only 1 and 2 (5) All 1,2 and 3

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.322. Which of the following can be measured?

(1) Advice (2) Class

(3) Methods of Marketing (4) Income

(5) Life Style

Q.323. Which of the following is Buyer-behaviour segmentation?

(1) Buying opportunities (2) Profit-desire (3) Brand Loyalty

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.324. SBU stands in marketing as—

(1) Sales Business unit (2) Small Business Unit

(3) Strategic Business Unit (4) State Business Unit

(5) None of these

Q.325. Which of the following is a medium of Marketing Communication?

(1) Marketing Research (2) Publicity (3) Sales Promotion

(4) Advertisement (5) All of these

Q.326. Which of the following is difficult to change?

(1) Structure of a Company (2) Policy of a Company

(3) Culture of a Company (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.327. The Company’s sales person phones the customer from time to time with suggestions
about

improved product use are helpful in new products is an example of:

(1) Basic marketing (2) Reactive marketing

(3) Proactive marketing (4) Accountable marketing

(5) None of these

Q.328. What is/are essential for marketing—

(1) Buyer and seller (2) Valuable product and good services
(3) Acceptance (4) Market

(5) All of these

Q.329. Which is included in International Trade?

(1) Sales (2) Advertisement

(3) Information of market (4) Development of Knowledge

(5) Import

Q.330. Which one is wrong in the following statements?

(1) The seller should understand the psychology of the consumer, is an essential element of a

successful sale.

(2) Selling is a mental process

(3) Selling is performed in the mind of consumer, not in the shop

(4) Articles are sold on merits, not on price

(5) All of these

Q.331. BEP stands for—

(1) Basis product evaluation (2) Break-Even Point

(3) Basis of Product (4) Exception of Business

(5) All of these

Q.332. Which is/are the factor of Retail marketing?

(1) Selling of products to consumer (2) Estimating Demand

(3) Credit Selling (4) None of these

(5) All of these

Q.333. Which of the following is Trademark name of product?

(1) Maruti-Suzuki-A star (2) Tata–India

(3) Union–Kisan Card (4) SBI – Golden Card

(5) All of these

Q.334. Which of the following is a capital product?

(1) Machinery (2) Milk or Tea (3) Sugar

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.335. Which of the following is the stage of product development process?

(1) Generation of Ideas (2) Screening of Ideas

(3) Business Analysis (4) Product Development

(5) All of these

Q.336. Test Marketing means—

(1) Test the product before the commercial production

(2) valuation

(3) vouching

(4) concept

(5) All of these

Q.337. What is the meaning of digital marketing?

(1) To sell with calculator

(2) Marketing of digital equipment

(3) Marketing through internet and telephone

(4) Export Finance

(5) None of these

Q.338. The markets are grouped into different types based on the geographical area, location of
marketplace,

product, nature of transaction, and volume of transaction:

In the above statement the following is not correct-

(1) Nature of transaction (2) Geographical area

(3) Location of marketplace (4) Volume of transaction

(5) None of these

Q.339. The following offering is not a service:

(1) Fixed deposit receipt (2) Postage stamp (3) Insurance Policy

(4) Gift coupon of a chain store (5) None of these

Q.340. Product concept holds that consumers will favour those products that offer:

(1) Quality (2) Performance

(3) Innovative features (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.341. Which is not a part of selling concept?

(1) Customers, if left alone, will ordinarily not buy

(2) Aggressive selling and promotional efforts

(3) Focus on the needs of the buyers

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.342. Which is not an element of company’s mission?

(1) Current preference of the owners and management

(2) Market environment

(3) Distinctive competencies

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.343. In marketing, SBU stands for:

(1) Strategic business unit (2) Self business unit

(3) State business undertaking (4) Small business unit

(5) None of these

Q.344. Which of the following in product oriented definition?

(1) We sell hope (2) We distribute information

(3) We make cosmetic (4) We supply energy

(5) None of these

Q.345. Which of the following is market oriented definition?

(1) We make air conditioner (2) We supply energy

(3) We make copying equipment (4) We make movies

(5) None of these

Q.346. Which of the following is appropriate for strong cash cows if they are to continue to yield
a large

positive cash flow?

(1) Hold (2) Maintain (3) Harvest (4) Divest (5) None of these

Q.347. Intensive growth opportunities means:

(1) To identify further opportunities to achieve growth within the company’s current business

(2) To identify opportunities to build or acquire business that is related to company’s current

business

(3) To identify opportunities to add attractive business that is unrelated to the company’s
business

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.348. Which of the following is a part of integrated growth?

(1) Forward integration (2) Backward integration

(3) Horizontal integration (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.349. Which of the following is not a part of the diversification growth?

(1) Horizontal diversification (2) Concentric diversification

(3) Conglomerate diversification (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.350. Tata group is engaged in different business activities like iron and steel, automobiles,
software,

telecommunication etc. It is a form of:

(1) Horizontal diversification (2) Forward diversification

(3) Conglomerate diversification (4) Backward diversification

(5) None of these

Q.351. A fad is:

(1) Unpredictable

(2) Short lived

(3) Without social, economic, political significance

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.352. A trend, according to futurist Faith Popcorn’ has:

(1) Longevity

(2) Observable across several market areas and consumer activities

(3) Consistent with other significant indicators

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.353. Within the rapidly changing global picture, the firm must monitor:

(1) Demographic variables (2) Technological (3) Political

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.354. Which of the following is not a determinant of purchasing power?

(1) Current income (2) Credit availability (3) Debt

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.355. Starting point for understanding the buyer is:

(1) stimulus (2) Psychology

(3) Stimulus response (4) Purchasing power

(5) None of these

Q.356. All the groups that have a direct (face to face) or indirect influence on the person’s
attitudes or

behavior is:

(1) Reference group (2) Aspirational group

(3) Disassociate group (4) Disadvantage group

(5) All of these

Q.357. Groups to which a person would like to belong is called:

(1) Reference of group (2) Disadvantage group

(3) Disassociate group (4) Aspirational group

(5) None of these

Q.358. Primary group includes:

(1) Family (2) Friend (3) Neighbors (4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.359. Which of the following slogan most closely reflects self actualization motive?

(1) Thanda mat lab: Coca-Cola (2) Yehi hai right choice baby: Pepsi

(3) Kar Lo Dunia Muthi Main: Reliance (4) We serve the nation: Army

(5) None of these

Q.360. Who stated the real psychological forces shaping peoples behaviour are largely
unconscious:

(1) Sigmund Freud (2) Abraham Maslow

(3) Frederick Herzberg (4) Eric Burne

(5) None of these

Q.361. Advertisement repetition creates.......rather than.......

(1) Brand familiarity, brand loyalty (2) Brand loyalty, brand convection

(3) Brand convection, brand familiarity (4) Brand familiarity, brand convection

(5) None of these

Q.362. Sales force usually has its greatest impact at the ____________.stage of new task buyer.

(1) Awareness (2) Interest (3) Trial (4) Adoption (5) None of these

Q.363. ____________ competitors offer new or other ways to satisfy the same needs:

(1) Latent (2) Hidden (3) Aggressive (4) Covert (5) None of these

Q.364. One way to find the competitive products is through:

(1) Elasticity of demand (2) Price elasticity of demand

(3) Cross elasticity of demand (4) Market elasticity of demand

(5) None of these

Q.365. A ____________.......competitive industry consists of many competitors able to

differentiate their

offers in whole or part. Many of the competitors focus or market segment where they can meet

customers need in a superior way and command a price premium.

(1) Perfect (2) Pure (3) Monopolistic

(4) Oligopoly (5) None of these

Q.366. There are more than 200 companies producing biscuits in a country. Some of them
heavily advertise

to psychologically differentiate their band in the minds of consumers. This is an example

of____________...:

(1) Pure competition (2) Monopolistic competition (3) Pure oligopoly

(4) Monopoly (5) None of these

Q.367. If TELCO starts fabricating bus and trucks bodies, then it is a:

(1) Horizontal integration (2) Backward integration

(3) Forward integration (4) Vertical integration

(5) None of these

Q.368. A competitor which reacts in unpredictable ways is a ____________.competitor:

(1) Tiger (2) Stochastic (3) Selective (4) Laid back (5) None of these

Q.369. If a house construction company surveyed a sample of respondents to determine, what

fraction

would be interested in buying house, the resulting percentage would define the.......market.

(1) Available (2) Existing (3) Potential (4) Actual (5) None of these

Q.370. the total volume that would be bought by a defined customer group in a defined
geographical area

in a defined time period, in a defined market environment under a defined market programme is:

(1) Company sales (2) Market supply (3) Market demand

(4) Market forecast (5) None of these

Q.371. The difference between market minimum and the market potential showed the overall:

(1) Market elastic of demand (2) Marketing sensitivity of demand

(3) Market income elasticity of demand (4) Market cross elasticity of demand

(5) None of these

Q.372. Beyond a certain level marketing expenditure does not help in stimulating further
demand. The

upper limit to market demand is:

(1) Market potential (2) Available market (3) Market scope

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.373. The seller produces several products that exhibit different features, styles, quantities,
sizes etc.

They are designed to offer variety to buyers, rather than to appeal to different market segment is:
(1) Mass marketing (2) Product variety marketing

(3) Target variety marketing (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.374. Maruti Udyog Ltd. (MUL) us providing to a particular segment variety of models like
standard 800,

800 Ex. Alto etc. This is an example of .......:

(1) Mass marketing (2) Customer marketing

(3) Product variety marketing (4) Target marketing

(5) None of these

Q.375. When the seller distinguishes the major market segment, targets one or more of these
segment

and develops products and marketing programme tailored to each segment is called:

(1) Mass marketing (2) Product variety marketing (3) Target marketing

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.376. Market ________________________are large identifiable groups within the market:

(1) Sub groups (2) Segments groups (3) Portions

(4) Offshoots (5) None of these

Q.377. The variables used to segment the market is/are:

(1) Purchasing power (2) Geographical location (3) Buying attitudes

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.378. Hindustan Lever Ltd. who is manufacturing variety of toilet soaps is probably segmenting
the

market on the basis of:

(1) Geographical location (2) Buying attitudes

(3) Income of the customers (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.379. Consumers who are loyal to two or three brands are called:

(1) Split loyal (2) Shifting loyal (3) Switchers

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.380. The requirement for effective segmentation should have all the following except:

(1) Measurable (2) Substantial (3) Accessible (4) Rationality (5) None of these

Q.381. The firm might ignore market segment differences and go after the whole market, with
one market

offer. It is called:

(1) Differentiated marketing (2) Undifferentiated marketing

(3) Cyber marketing (4) Direct marketing

(5) None of these

Q.382. An example of undifferentiated marketing is observable in:

(1) Hindustan Lever Limited (2) Maruti Udyog Limited

(3) Coco-Cola Company (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.383. When a firm operates in several market segments and designs different programmes for
each

segment. It is called:

(1) Cyber marketing (2) Direct marketing

(3) Undifferentiated marketing (4) Differentiated marketing

(5) None of these

Q.384. New products that create an entirely new market are called:

(1) New product line (2) Repositioning

(3) New to the world products (4) Additions to the existing product line

(5) None of these

Q.385. Existing products that are targeted to new markets or market segments are called:

(1) New product lines (2) Additions to existing product line

(3) Repositioning (4) Improvement in existing product line

(5) None of these

Q.386. The most sophisticated tool for managing the innovation process is the ____________.

(1) Check point (2) Stage gate system (3) Mill stone

(4) Key note (5) None of these

Q.387. The creative technique that begins with a very broad problem definition and eventually
works down

to a specific problem needing a solution is called:

(1) Brain storming (2) Morphological analysis (3) Synaptic

(4) Attribute listing (5) None of these

Q.388. Brain storming technique was developed by:

(1) Willing J.J. Gordan (2) Segment Fraud (3) Oliver Sheldon

(4) Alex Osborn (5) None of these

Q.389. The first idea pruning stage is called:

(1) Evaluating (2) Analysis (3) Screening (4) Generating (5) None of these

Q.390. Which of the following is the most expensive stage in the new product development
process?

(1) Concept testing (2) Product development (3) Market testing

(4) Commercialization (5) None of these

Q.391. Adopters of new products move brought the following five stages. Find their correct
sequence:

(1) Awareness, interest, evaluation, trial adoption

(2) Interest, awareness, trial, evaluation, adoption

(3) Trial awareness, interest, adoption, evaluation,

(4) Trial, interest, awareness, evaluation, adoption

(5) None of these

Q.392. People differ markedly in their readiness to try new product. The degree to which an
individual is

relatively earlier in adopting new ideas than the other members of his social system is called:

(1) Early adopters (2) Early majority (3) Innovators

(4) Laggards (5) None of these

Q.393. ____________...plays a major role in the adoption of new products:

(1) Personal products (2) Personal influence (3) Relatives

(4) Friends (5) None of these

Q.394. The parent concept theory of product life cycle is:

(1) Demand life cycle (2) Technology life cycle

(3) Demand/ Technology life cycle (4) Nature of product

(5) None of these

Q.395. The correct sequence in product life cycle is:

(1) Growth, introduction, maturity declined

(2) introduction, maturity, growth, decline

(3) Growth, maturity, introduction, decline

(4) Introduction, growth, maturity, decline

(5) None of these

Q.396. All of the following are stages in demand life cycle except:

(1) Accelerating growth (2) Maturity (3) Constant growth

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.397. Profits improve substantially during the ...stage of product life cycle:

(1) Introduction (2) Growth (3) Maturity (4) Decline (5) None of these

Q.398. Life cycle may take ____________of the following shapes:

(1) ‘S’ shaped (2) Cycle-recycle (3) Scalloped

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.399. Rapid skimming strategy consists of launching the new product at a .......price and a
.......promotion

level:

(1) Low, Low (2) Low, high (3) High, low (4) High, high (5) None of these

Q.400. Slow skimming strategy consists of launching the new product at a ____________.price
and

____________...promotion:

(1) High, low (2) Low, high (3) High, high (4) Low, low (5) None of these

Q.401. Market leader who engages in such practices as introducing new products reducing costs
and

improving customer services is trying to:

(1) Improve quality of the product (2) Use pre-emptive defense

(3) Defend market charges (4) Use counter defense

(5) None of these

Q.402. A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or
consumption

that might satisfy____________

(1) Will (2) Wants or needs (3) Desire

(4) Demand (5) None of these

Q.403. A group of diverse, but related items that function in a compatible manner is called:
(1) Product style (2) Product mix (3) Product system

(4) Product variety (5) None of these

Q.404. Nikon company sells a basic 35 mm camera along with an extensive set of lenses, filters
and other

accessories is an example of:

(1) Product style (2) Product System (3) Product mix

(4) Product variety (5) None of these

Q.405. A Company’s product mix will have a:

(1) Length (2) Width

(3) Depth and consistency (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.406. Which of the following is function of Marketing?

(1) Purchase (2) Sales (3) Storage (4) Transport (5) All of the above

Q.407. Which of the following is secondary function of market?

(1) Production Policies (2) Standardizing and Grading

(3) Marketing Finance (4) Sales

(5) None of these

Q.408. Which of the following is not a socioeconomic criterion for marketing segmentation?

(1) Brand loyalty (2) Age (3) Income

(4) Size of family (5)Sex differentiation

Q.409. How many stages are there of product life cycle?

(1) Two (2) Three (3) Five (4) Six (5) None of these

Q.410. Concept of ‘Super Market’ was introduced by —

(1) USA (2) China (3) Britain (4) France (5) India

Q.411. NABARD was established in —

(1) 1984 (2) 1987 (3) 1988 (4) 1982 (5) 1992

Q.412. When was ‘Consumer Protection Act’ passed?

(1) 1972 (2) 1986 (3) 1980 (4) 1976 (5) None of these

Q.413. Which of the following is function of ‘Good Packaging?

(1) Protection (2) Identification (3) Advertisement

(4) Convenience (5) All of the above

Q.414. Who is known as the father of ‘Scientific Management’?

(1) Henry Fayol (2) Fredric W.Taylor (3) A. Maslow

(4) Maxweber (5) None of these

Q.415. A direct marketing channel is also called as......level channel:

(1) Three (2) Two (3) One (4) Zero (5) None of these

Q.416. The basic unit of exchange is called:

(1) Purchase (2) Sale (3) Transfer (4) Transaction (5) None of these

Q.417. Which of the following is a part of the Macro Environment?

(1) Supplier (2) Intermediaries (3) Demography

(4) Competition (5) None of these

Q.418. Which department of a company is responsible for demand forecasting of sales:

(1) Production (2) Accounting (3) Finance (4) Marketing (5) None of these

Q.419. Marketing refers to-

(1) Developing a product and making people buy them

(2) Persuading consumers to buy the products

(3) Producing products and displaying them

(4) Understanding the needs of consumers and delivering them

(5) None of these

MASTER IN MPARKETING
Q.420. Presently which stage of ‘Human Resource Management’ is in process?

(1) Welfare stage (2) Developing stage (3) HRM phase I

(4) HRM phase II (5) None of these

Q.421. Which of the following is not an indirect method of Recruitment —

(1) News papers (2) Conventions and Seminars

(3) Trade publications (4) Radio

(5) None of these

Q.422. Who had given the 14 general principles of management?

(1) Max Weber (2) Mc Gregor (3) Henry Fayol

(4) W Taylor (5) None of these

Q.423. Who is known as the father of ‘Industrial Psychology’?

(1) Abraham Maslow (2) Mc Gregor (3) W. Taylor

(4) Hugo Muntserber (5) None of these

Q.424. “Need Hierarchy Theory” was propounded by —

(1) Abraham Maslow (2) Max Weber (3) W. Taylor

(4) William ford (5) None of these

Q.425. Which of the following is not a theory of Motivation?

(1) Carrot and Stick Approach (2) Interaction Theory

(3) Participative Theory (4) Pattern Concept

(5) None of these

Q.426. The following does not represent a market situation:

(1) A bank run dispensary located in its staff quarters

(2) A fund raising charity show for the members of an NGO

(3) A meditation camp of a religious organization conducted for its members

(4) A stall distributing kada prasad in a gurudwara

(5) None of these

Q.427. Out of the following,...is not an objective of pricing:

(1) Profit

(2) Stabilizing demand and sales of the product .

(3) Improvement in product quality

(4) Expansion of business

(5) None of these

Q.428. The functions of distribution channel do not include....:

(1) Gathering and providing market information

(2) Marketing research

(3) Assisting the consumer in understanding and using the goods

(4) Promoting the sales of goods

(5) None of these

Q.429. Computerized banking services have helped in working around the following
characteristics...:

(1) Perishability and client relation ship

(2) Inseparability and client relation ship

(3) Variability and perishability

(4) Inseparability and intangibility

(5) None of these

Q.430. Of the following intermediaries, ....are not found working for banks

(1) direct sales agents (2) Wholesalers

(3) Automobiles dealers (4) Merchant establishments

(5) None of these

Q.431. Which of the following is not part of the core concepts of marketing?

(1) Needs, wants and demand

(2) Value, cost and demand

(3) Exchange, transactions and relationship

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.432. A ‘market’ from a ‘marketing perspective’ is a:

(1) Group of buyers and sellers negotiating an exchange

(2) Group of consumers willing and able to engage in exchange

(3) Group of producers, whole sellers and retailers

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.433. The controlling force in an organization under marketing concept should be:

(1) Producer (2) Customer (3) Seller (4) Middleman (5) None of these

Q.434. Mature business is ....in opportunities and...in threats:

(1) Low, low (2) Low, high (3) High, low (4) High, high (5) None of these

Q.435. In marketing ‘VALS’ stands for:

(1) Values and life style (2) Values and luxuries

(3) Variation in life style (4) Vital aids for living standard

(5) None of these

Q.436. Companies need to know all of the following about their competitors except:

(1) What are their objectives (2) What are their strategies

(3) What are their legal advisors (4) What are their strengths and weaknesses

(5) None of these

Q.437. The available market is the set of customers who have:

(1) Interest (2) Income

(3) Access to a particular market offer (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.438. Soft-drink giant, Coca-Cola is a best example of:

(1) Mass marketing (2) Product variety marketing

(3) Cost of the product or service (4) Target marketing

(5) Customer- friendly marketing

Q.439. Consumes who shift from favouring one brand to another are termed as:

(1) Split loyal (2) Shifting loyal (3) Switchers (4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.440. Maruti Udyog Ltd. manufactures cars for every purse, purpose and personality. It is an
example of

(1) Cyber marketing (2) Direct marketing

(3) Undifferentiated marketing (4) Differentiated marketing

(5) None of these

Q.441. Manual typewriters are in the ..... stage of product life cycle:

(1) Introduction (2) Maturity (3) Growth

(4) Decline (5) None of these

Q.442. Marketing strategy(s) in the growth stage include all of the following except:

(1) Improve product quality and add new features

(2) Add new models and flanker products

(3) Enters new market segments

(4) Product awareness advertising

(5) None of these

Q.443. The life cycle stage characterized by falling price, increased advertising, decline profits
and industry

shake-up depicts ____________stage of product life cycle:

(1) Maturity (2) Growth (3) Decline (4) Introduction (5) None of these

Q.444. The most constructive mechanism for defending market share is:

(1) Through continuous innovations (2) Through vertical integration

(3) Through horizontal integration (4) Through diagonal integration

(5) None of these

Q.445. A group of products that are closely related because they perform a similar function, are
sold to the

same customer groups, are marketed through the same channels or make open particulars price

range is called:

(1) Product system (2) Product variety (3) Product mix (4) Product line (5) None of these

Q.446. When an individual feels deprivation of some basic satisfaction, it is termed as:

(1) Want (2) Need (3) Demand (4) Imagination (5) None of these

Q.447. Managers of production-oriented organizations concentrate on achieving:

(1) High production efficiency (2) Wide distribution coverage

(3) Both (1) and (2) (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.448. In marketing concept, the achievement of organizational goal is accomplished through:

(1) Increasing sales (2) Product innovation

(3) Customer satisfaction (4) Promotional mix

(5) None of these

Q.449. Successfully hiring, training and motivating able employees who want to serve the
customers well

is:
(1) Internal marketing (2) Relationship marketing

(3) Product marketing (4) Service marketing

(5) None of these

Q.450. Total customer value is:

(1) Price a customer pays for the product or service

(2) Bundle of benefits customer expects from a given product or service

(3) Cost of the product or service

(4) Marginal cost of the product or service

(5) None of these

Q.451. The sales person sells the product and encourages the customer to call if he/she has any
complaint

or quarry is an example of ......marketing:

(1) Basic (2) Reactive (3) Proactive (4) Accountable (5) None of these

Q.452. Which of the following is not a component of total quality marketing programme?

(1) Quality must be perceived by customers

(2) Quality necessary but may not be sufficient

(3) Quality can always be improved

(4) Quality drive can save a poor product

(5) None of these

Q.453. A company’s marketing environment consists of:

(1) Micro environment (2) Macro environment (3) Both (1) and (2)

(4) Segregation (5) None of these

Q.454. A troubled business is....in opportunities and...in threats

(1) Low, high (2) High, low (3) High, high

(4) Low, low (5) None of these

Q.455. Mass media usually has greatest impact at the ____________....state of new task buying.

(1) Awareness (2) Interest (3) Trial (4) Adoption (5) None of these

Q.456. A competitor who reacts only to certain types of attacks and not other is a
.......competitor:

(1) Tiger (2) Stochastic (3) Selective (4) Laid back (5) None of these

Q.457. When the seller engages in the mass production, mass distribution and mass promotion of
one

product for all buyers is called:

(1) Target marketing (2) Product marketing

(3) Popular marketing (4) Mass marketing

(5) None of these

Q.458. the major benefit of an undifferentiated marketing is:

(1) Cost economics (2) Less competition (3) Greater profit

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.459. Mobile phones in India are in the ....stage of product life cycle:

(1) Introduction (2) Growth (3) Maturity (4) Decline (5) None of these

Q.460. Slow penetration strategy consists of launching the new product at a ____________.price
and.....level

of promotion:

(1) High, low (2) Low, high (3) Low, low (4) High, high (5) None of these

Q.461. Promotional expenditures to sales ratio is generally high at .......stage of product life
cycle:

(1) Growth (2) Introduction (3) Maturity (4) Decline (5) None of these

Q.462. A ____________is a set of all products and items that a particular seller makes available
to a

buyer:

(1) Sales yield (2) Product yield (3) Sales mix (4) Product mix (5) None of these
Q.463. “Only Banking nothing Else” Advertisement title belongs to which Bank?

(1) Allahabad Bank (2) State Bank of India (3) Canara Bank

(4) Union Bank (5) None of these

Q.464. Which of the following is/are included in consumer Survey?

(1) Advertising Medium (2) Market Status (3) Total Cost

(4) Product’s colour (5) Survey of wants and desires of consumers.

Q.465. The advantages which are received to consumer by advertisement are–

(1) Receiving of good quality articles (2) Knowledgeable

(3) Less value (4) Saving of time of consumer

(5) All of these

Q.466. Which of the following is a suitable medium for advertising of cigarette in rural area?

(1) Sandwich man advertising (2) Glow sign Board

(3) Advertising through newspaper (4) Sky writing

(5) None of these

Q.467. Which of the following does not require payment?

(1) For Advertising (2) For commission and Discount (3) For publicity

(4) For Salary (5) For wages

Q.468. Which of the following can be considered as modern market?

(1) Seller’s market (2) Buyer’s market (3) Target market

(4) Under developed market (5) None of these

Q.469. Which of the following is not a step of purchase process?

(1) Selection of Supplier (2) Discovery of Supplier

(3) Planning (4) To make purchase order

(5) Description of need

Q.470. Which of the following is/are the factors that affect consumer behaviour?
(1) Cultural Factor (2) Psychological Factor

(3) Personal Factor (4) Finance Factor

(5) All of these

Q.471. The Full form of ROA in Banks is:

(1) Return of Assets (2) Rate of Allocation

(3) Return of Advances (4) Ratio of Assets

(5) Only 2 and 3

Q.472. Which of the terms is not associated with customer relationship marketing?

(1) Suspects (2) Prospects

(3) Disqualified Prospects (4) Productive Prospects

(5) None of these

Q.473. Usually, researchers start their research by collecting, which type of data?

(1) Primary Data (2) Secondary Data (3) Both of the two

(4) Neither of the two (5) None of these

Q.474. Which of the following is not a component of demographic environment?

(1) Population growth (2) Educational Level

(3) Existence of subcultures (4) Ethnic Markets

(5) None of these

Q.475. Society shapes our_______

(1) Beliefs (2) Values (3) Norms (4) Only 1 and 2 (5) All of these

Q.476. Which type of advertising is required to market products in the maturity stage?

(1) Persuasive advertising (2) Informative advertising

(3) Reminder advertising (4) Comparative advertising

(5) None of these

Q.477. Ethnic markets come under which environment?

(1) Socio-Economic (2) Demographic environment

(3) Political- Environment (4) Natural Environment

(5) None of these

Q.478. A Bank plans to gain competitive advantage by providing speedy services, this is an
example of

which type of differentiation?

(1) Service (2) Product (3) Idea

(4)Physical Evidence (5) None of these

Q.479. Which of the following statements about product Life Cycle is/are TRUE?

(A) Products have limited life.

(B) Products sale pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities

and problem to seller.

(C) Profit rise and fall at different stages of Product Life Cycle.

(D) Products require different marketing, financial, human resource strategies in each stage of

their life cycle.

(1) Only A is true (2) Only B and C are true (3) A, C, D are true

(4) All are true (5) None of these

Q.480. Consumers who shift from one brand to another are known as____

(1) Hard-core Loyal (2) Split Loyal (3) Shifting Loyal

(4) Switchers (5) None of these

Q.481. Which of the following is not an idea generation technique?

(1) Brain storming (2) Forced relationships

(3) Morphological Analysis (4) Cost Benefit Analysis

(5) None of these

Q.482. ‘Alpha’ and ‘Beta’ testing are usually used in-

(1) Consumer goods market testing (2) Business-goods market testing

(3) Controlled test marketing (4) Stimulated test marketing

(5) None of these

Q.483. What are the goods that the customer usually purchases frequently, immediately, and
with a

minimum effort called?

(1) Shopping Goods (2) Specialty Goods

(3) Convenience Goods (4) Unsought Goods

(5) None of these

Q.484. The total number of items in the product Mix is called_______

(1) Width of the product (2) Length of the product mix

(3) Depth of the product mix (4) Consistency of the product mix

(5) None of these

Q.485. Service contracts can also be called as_________

(1) Extended warrantees (2) Guarantees (3) Either 1 or 2

(4) Both 1 and 2 (5) None of these

Q.486. A Hotel offers a free sight-seeing package, which is inclusive in its boarding charges.
This offer can

come under which service feature?

(1) Primary Service feature (2) Secondary Service feature

(3) Either 1 or 2 (4) Both 1 and 2

(5) None of these

Q.487. “Factory Outlet” is an example of which type of retail store?

(1) Convenience stores (2) Discount stores (3) Off Price stores

(4) On Price Stores (5) None of these

Q.488. Which of the following is/are not sales promotion tool?

(1) Coupons (2) Contests (3) Premiums

(4) News Articles (5) None of these

Q.489. Selling Concept is best applicable to—

(1) Insurance (2) Encyclopedias (3) Found Raisers

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.490. Which is not a marketing concept?

(1) Meeting needs Profitably (2) Have the customer, not the product

(3) Find wants and Fill them (4) Producing efficiently

(5) None of these

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.491. Internal Marketing is the task of successfully—

(1) Hiring the employees (2) Training the employees

(3) Motivating the employees (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.492. Which of the following offering is not a service?

(1) Fixed deposit receipt (2) Postage Stamp

(3) Insurance policy (4) Gift coupons of a chain store

. (5) None of these

Q.493. The Act of obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in return is
called as a

(n)-

(1) Transaction (2) Exchange (3) Relationship

(4) Value (5) None of these

Q.494. Of the following Price Strategies ———— is not ideal for new products?

(1) market - skimming (2) Discriminatory Pricing

(3) Market - Penetration (4) Promotional Pricing

(5) None of these

Q.495. Marketing channel refers to _____

(1) A physical channel for movement of goods in them from the seller to the buyer.

(2) A set of firms who handle the physical movement of goods from one point to another.

(3) Different departments of the producer firm which are associated in ensuring delivery of
goods

to the buyer.

(4) A set of independent organizations involves in the process of making a product or services

available for use or consumption .

(5) None of these

Q.496. An advertisement is not for ______

(1) Suggesting new uses of a product (2) Telling about a new product

(3) Explaining how a product works (4) Building Brand preference

(5) None of these

Q.497. Direct marketing does not cover ______

(1) Online marketing (2) Public Relations (3) Personal selling

(4) Catalogue Marketing (5) None of these

Q.498. An Effective MIS fulfills these ________

(1) Analysis of quantitative information

(2) Co-ordinations among functional and specialist executives

(3) Limited to current scenario

(4) Both 1 and 2

(5) None of these

Q.499. Which of the following is kind of customer?

(1) Consumer customer (2) Industrial and Producer customers

(3) Re-Sale Customers (4) International Customers

(5) All of these

Q.500. Which of the following is related to Resale?

(1) Producers (2) Whole Sellers and retailers

(3) Customers (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.501. Which of the following are the parts of structure of Economy?

(1) Loan Liability (2) Rate of Capital formation

(3) Distribution of Income (4) Shape and Size of National Income

(5) None of these

Q.502. Which of the following Tax has replaced Sales Tax in India?

(1) Capital Tax (2) Product Tax

(3) VAT (Value Added Tax) (4) Service Tax

(5) Import Tax

Q.503. What is the full form of FEMA?

(1) Foreign Exchange Money Agency (2) Foreign Exchange Money Act

(3) Full Exchange Money Agency (4) Foreign Exchange Management Act

(5) None of these

Q.504. Which of the following is a financial Act?

(1) SEBI Act (2) Income Tax Act (3) Company Act

(4) Essential Commodity Act (5) None of these

Q.505. Which of the following is marketing Risk?

(1) Change in price level (2) Quality and purity of goods and services

(3) Obsolescence (4) Goods Technique

(5) All of these

Q.506. Who gave the concept of 4Ps of Marketing mix?

(1) Kotler and clark (2) Mackarthi (3) Hanson

(4) Bordan (5) None of these

Q.507. Which of the following is the aim of marketing mix?

(1) To complete effectively the objectives of marketing programmes of the organization by

fulfilling

the needs of consumers on minimum cost .

(2) maximum cost

(3) minimum sale

(4) Advertising

(5) None of these

Q.508. Which of the following is/are the elements of the old concept of marketing?

(1) Production (2) maximum sale and seller satisfaction

(3) maximum profit (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.509. Which of the following is related to concept of “Good Commodity and minimum cost”?

(1) Marketing concept (2) Social marketing concept

(3) Sale concept (4) product concept

(5) Production concept

Q.510. Which of the following is a base of marketing Budget?

(1) marketing mix (2) product planning (3) process (4) Controlling (5) storage

Q.511. Which of the following is related to the concept of “we are the partners of your profit”?

(1) Sale Price (2) Innovation (3) Advertisement

(4) marketing Concept (5) All of these

Q.512. Managers scan the environment through–

(1) Undirected view (2) Conditioned view

(3) Formal and Informal Search (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.513. Which is centre point of Banks in the economy?

(1) Present and Potential customer of Banks

(2) Staff

(3) Profit

(4) Deposits

(5) None of these

Q.514. Generally the best research approach for descriptive research is—

(1) Observation (2) Survey (3) Cross-section

(4) Experiment (5) None of these

Q.515. Which of the following is a centre point of all business activities?

(1) Marketing concept (2) Production and sales

(3) Profit concept (4) Sales concept

(5) None of these

Q.516. CRM stands for–

(1) Central Role Money (2) Customer Relationship

(3) Customer Rate Money (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.517. Which Bank followed high pressure selling of their product?

(1) ICICI Bank (2) State Bank of India (3) Bank of Baroda

(4) Bank of India (5) None of these

Q.518. Which of the following is plastic money?

(1) Rupee (2) Dollar

(3) Credit card and debit card (4) Bank draft

(5) None of these

Q.519. Which of the following in modern scenario, means “quick response to customer’s
problems”?

(1) Toll Free Phone (2) Consumer Protection Laws

(3) Govt. of India (4) Speed Post

(5) None of these

Q.520. Social Marketing is–

(1) Marketing of social assets

(2) A social product

(3) The design, implementation and control of programmes seeking increase the acceptability of

a social idea.

(4) Tool of social transaction

(5) All of these

Q.521. Which factor is responsible for development of marketing?

(1) Barter system (2) Production orientation

(3) Sales— Orientation (4) Marketing-orientation

(5) All of these

Q.522. External sales person sells the goods on—

(1) Sale literature (2) Price list (3) Catalogue

(4) Projector Model (5) All of these

Q.523. The sales person who generate the demand of newly brand goods is known as—

(1) Publisher sales person (2) Agent

(3) Pioneer sales person (4) Wholesaler

(5) None of these

Q.524. For which of the following PERT is used?

(1) For evaluation of programmes (2) For Advertising

(3) For Sale (4) For Exchange

(5) All of these

Q.525. Sales Promotion is a tri-party activity. Which are the 3 parts of this activity?

(i) Mediators in distribution channel (ii) Consumers (iii) Producers

(iv) Retailers (v) Sales person

(1) i, iv and v (2) i, ii and iv (3) i, iii and iv

(4) i, iii and v (5) i, ii and v

Q.526. Which of the following is not a tangible product?

(1) Television (2) Radio (3) Goodwill

(4) Mobile (5) None of these

Q.527. Issuing of Home Insurance Policy with Home Loan by Banks, is known as—

(1) A Policy (2) A Expenditure

(3) Source of Income (4) Production of structure

(5) Product innovation

Q.528. After Manufacturing ALTO Car, Maruti Co. manufactured ALTO-LX and ALTO-LXI,
this process is—

(1) Sales promotion (2) Product Line (3) Product Policy

(4) Product Simplification (5) None of these

Q.529. HNI stands for—

(1) Highly Neutral Individual (2) Highly Necessary Individual

(3) Highly Negative Individual (4) High Networth Individual

(5) All of these

Q.530. What is ATM?

(1) Branches of Banks (2) Counter with staff of Banks

(3) For Cash without staff (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.531. What is lead?

(1) Marketing staff of Bank (2) Regional Leader

(3) President of Bank (4) Targeted Customer

(5) None of these

Q.532. What is the acid test of a brand?

(1) Brand Promotion (2) Brand Awareness

(3) Brand Acceptability (4) Brand Equity

(5) Brand Loyalty

Q.533. Why is marketing research necessary?

(1) For additional Service Charges (2) For Implementing VAT

(3) For better Customer services (4) For effective sale

(5) There is no need of marketing research.

Q.534. What is true about a product?

(1) meets to an end (2) matures (3) grows slowly (4) takes birth (5) All of these

Q.535. “A product is a bundle of utilities”, who said this?

(1) Elderson (2) Peter F Drucker (3) Philip Kotler (4) Ruth (5) None of these

Q.536. On which factors today’s marketing depend?

(1) Planning (2) Pricing

(3) Correct distribution (4) Promotion

(5) All of these

Q.537. Which of the following does not need marketing?

(1) Sale of credit and Debit Card (2) Sale of Net Banking

(3) Sale of Corporate Loan (4) Sale of retail loan

(5) None of these

Q.538. “Good People to Bank with” advertisement title belongs to which Bank?

(1) Canara Bank (2) UCO Bank

(3) State Bank of India (4) Union Bank of India

(5) None of these

Q.539. What are elements of a good brand?

(1) Small and affectionate (2) Memorable (3) Easy to speak

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.540. The market of customers of gold and silver is known as _____

(1) Exchange market (2) Metal Market (3) Bullion market

(4) Capital market (5) None of these

Q.541. Who among the following said that “Marketing is human activity”?

(1) Victor (2) Philip Kotler (3) Payle (4) Hugi (5) None of these

Q.542. Which of the following is key to successful marketing?

(1) Execution of marketing planning

(2) Controlling of marketing mix

(3) Integration of marketing programmes

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.543. When time factor is most important then the best contact method with the respondent is
___

(1) Telephonic interview (2) Personal Interview (3) Mailed Interview

(4) Only 1 and 3 (5) None of these

Q.544. An incomplete story is presented to respondents and asked to complete it. It is a _______

(1) Thematic appreciation test

(2) Picture completion test

(3) Story Completion test

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.545. XYZ co. wanted to know how their sales are influenced by price, advertising etc, the best
statistical

tool is _____

(1) Correlation Analysis (2) Simple Regression Analysis

(3) Multiple regression Analysis (4) Calculus

(5) None of these

Q.546. Which is/are the evils of advertising?

(1) Advertising adds to the cost (2) Increases sales

(3) Price stability (4) Improve quality of life

(5) None of these

Q.547. Which of the following is/are the principle of effective advertising ?

(1) It must be creative (2) Prove your Products Value (3) Use Pictures

(4) Create interest (5) All of these

Q.548. What is hire purchase system?

(1) A contract of Sales (2) An agreement to sell (3) Method

(4) management tool (5) Consent

Q.549. Which is the very ancient form of sales organization?

(1) Call Sales

(2) Line type of sales organization

(3) Put Sell

(4) Research Sale

(5) All of these

Q.550. Which of the following is the Sources of Sales person recruitment?

(1) Advertisement (2) Planned Economy

(3) Developed Programme (4) Committee

(5) All of these

Q.551. Which of the following can be grouped under marketing fluctuation?

(1) Brick (2) Cement

(3) Mobile Technique (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.552. Which of the following is/are target customers?

(1) Structure

(2) Factors (3) Future Customers

(4) Suppliers and producers (5) None of these

Q.553. What are the 4C of Marketing Mix?

(i) Customer needs (ii) Cost of Customer

(iii) Convenience (iv) Communication

(v) Culture

(1) i, ii, iii and v (2) i, ii, iii and iv (3) i, iii, iv and v

(4) i, ii, iv and v (5) None of these

Q.554. “Marketing is a mixture of mixture” this statement is related to—

(1) Product Planning (2) Price Determination (3) Cost

(4) Saving (5) Marketing Mix

Q.555. “All business activities are marketing”. Who said this statement?

(1) Kandiff (2) Kotler (3) Hanson

(4) Alexander Harren (5) Peter F. Drucker

Q.556. Which of the following is the starting point of Marketing?

(1) Market (2) Production Place (3) Buyer’s house

(4) Seller’s house (5) All of these

Q.557. Which is/are the advantage of telephonic interview?

(1) Low cost per interview

(2) Convenient for those important person who are not easily reachable

(3) Ensure co-ordination which is generally not possible.

(4) All of these

(5) Only 1 and 2

Q.558. What is MIS stand for in financial organization specially Bank?

(1) Middle Income scheme

(2) Management Information system

(3) Marketing Information system

(4) Management of information science

(5) Only 2 and 3

Q.559. Which types of products are bought by final consumers for personal consumption?

(1) Specialty Products (2) Unsought Products

(3) Consumer Products (4) Shopping Products

(5) None of these

Q.560. Which of the following allows companies to enter new markets with minimal risk?

(1) Independent manufacturer (2) Licensing (3) Private Labeling

(4) Joint Venture (5) None of these

Q.561. From where does the majority (more than 55%) of new-product ideas come?

(1) Distributors and suppliers (2) Internal Sources

(3) Customers (4) Competitors

(5) All of these

Q.562. Which of the following is not an external factor that affects pricing?

(1) Market demand (2) Manufacturing cost

(3) Competitor’s prices (4) Economic conditions

(5) None of these

Q.563. Salim makes T-shirts for “Lifestyles” He does not sell the shirts under his our Salim
label. Instead,

he sells the shirts to “Lifestyles” and they use a store label . What is this type of branding called?

(1) Manufacturer’s Brand (2) Licensed Brand

(3) Co- Brand (4) Private Brand

(5) None of these

Q.564. Which of the following is/are main customers for a bank?

(1) Customer (2) Employees (3) Society

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.565. Who of the following are communication code maker in marketing of banking services?

(1) Customer (2) Advertisement (3) Computer (4) Banker (5) None of these

Q.566. Personal sale is _______method of communication?

(1) Direct (2) Hidden (3) Indirect (4) Implied (5) None of these

Q.567. Which of the following is more important in Banking services?

(1) Customer satisfaction (2) Customer service

(3) Both 1 and 2 (4) Either 1 or 2

(5) None of these

Q.568. For customer oriented companies, customer satisfaction is—

(1) Target (2) Marketing-tool

(3) Enterprise of Profit (4) Both 1 and 2

(5) All of these

Q.569. “For 80%” Business of any company only 20% customers can be responsible” this
principle is

given by—

(1) Pareto (2) Farnel (3) Taylor (4) P. Gyne Vell (5) Mackarthy

Q.570. What is included in integrative growth?

(1) Back wards Integration

(2) Forward Integration

(3) Horizontal Integration

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.571. What is Patent?

(1) An intangible asset (2) A legal right

(3) Base of discovery and development (4) monopoly right

(5) All of these

Q.572. What are the elements of an effective Package?

(1) Memorable (2) Interesting (3) Secure

(4) Attracting (5) All of these

Q.573. The consideration which we get by transferring the right of utilizing the Patent, this is
called -

(1) Fees (2) Brokerage (3) Royalty

(4) Commission (5) Octroi

Q.574. What is true about Patent Right?

(1) Cannot be transferred (2) Can be transferred

(3) utility meets to an end (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.575. What is the principle of selection of target marketing?

(1) Goods of an organization (2) Resources of organization

(3) Product differentiation (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.576. Market information means

(1) Knowledge of companies (2) Cross-country information

(3) Knowledge of related markets (4) Selling to existing customers

(5) None of these

Q.577. Relationship Selling means

(1) Preparing a list of relatives (2) Cross-selling

(3) Selling to relatives (4) Selling to strangers

(5) Tele marketing

Q.578. Qualities of a good Salesman are

(1) Patience and politeness (2) Empathy and Perseverance

(3) Steadfast and Committed (4) (1) and (2) both

(5) All (1), (2) and (3)

Q.579. A lead is useful for

(1) A marketing staff (2) A team leader

(3) Bank’s Chairman (4) An industry making lead products

(5) Not useful, as it is poisonous

Q.580. Market Research is needed-

(1) For extra service charges (2) For levy of VAT

(3) For good customer service (4) For effective selling

(5) There is no need for Market Research

Q.1. Innovation in marketing is same as —————

(1) Abbreviation (2) Communication (3) Creativity (4) Aspiration (5) Research Work

Q.2. Effective Selling Skills depends on —————

(1) Number of languages known to the DSA

(2) Data on marketing staff

(3) Information regarding IT market

(4) Knowledge of related markets

(5) Ability to talk fast

Q.3. A Direct Selling Agent (DSA) is required to be adept in-

(1) Surrogate marketing (2) Training skills

(3) Communication skills (4) Market Research

(5) OTC Marketing

Q.4. Leads can be best sourced from______

(1 ) Foreign customers (2) Yellow pages

(3) Dictionary (4) List of vendors

(5) Local supply chains

Q.5. Value added services means_____

(1) Low Cost products (2) High cost products

(3) At par services (4) Additional services for the same cost

(5) Giving discounts

Q.6. Post-sales activities include______

(1) Sales presentation (2) Customer Feedback

(3) Customer identification (4) Customer apathy

(5) Product design

Q.7. The target market for Debit Cards is_____

(1) All existing account-holders (2) All agriculturists

(3) All DSAs (4) All vendors

(5) All outsourced agents.

Q.8. The competitive position of a company can be improved by —————

(1) increasing the selling price (2) reducing the margin

(3) ignoring competitors (4) increasing the cost price

(5) understanding and fulfilling customers' needs

Q.9. A good Brand can be built up by way of —————

(1) Customer grievances (2) Break-down of IT support

(3) Old age (4) Large number of products

(5) Consistent offering of good services

Q.10. The 'USP' of a product denotes ———

(1) Usefulness of the product (2) Drawbacks of a product

(3) Main functions (4) Number of allied products available

(5) High selling features of a product

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 28-04-2013 Based On Memory

Q.1. Marketing has taken a prominent position during the last decade due to-

(1) Increased competition (2) Better literacy rate

(3) Foreign compulsions (4) Government instructions

(5) Reserve Bank of India Policy guidelines

Q.2. Marketing is definitely required when-

(1) Demand exceeds supply (2) Supply exceeds demand

(3) Supply equals demand (4) Staff is in excess

(5) There is monopoly

Q.3. The traditional Marketing style involves -

(1) Door-to-door campaigns (2) Sending e-mails ' (3) Tele-marketing

(4) SMS campaigns (5) Virtual marketing

Q.4. Telemarketing campaigns are resorted to -

(1) Avoid face-to-face interactions (2) Avoid 'buyer resistance'

(3) Reach a larger clientele (4) Increase cold calls

(5) Reduce profits

Q.5. The most essential quality of a good sales person is -

(1) Questioning skills (2) Good appearance

(3) Production skills (4) Good Communication skills

(5) Curiosity

Q.6. Direct Marketing means-

(1) Seminars and Conferences (2) Face-to-face selling

(3) Banners (4) Cold calls

(5) Sales presentations

Q.7. Selling process includes

(1) Publicity (2) Lead generation (3) Data collection

(4) Product Designing (5) Product Re-designing

Q.8. Web marketing involves -

(1) Selling websites (2) Door-to-door canvassing (3) E-mail chatting

(4) Browsing the Yellow Pages (5) Web advertisements

Q.9. Marketing strategies mean-

(1) Ideas for new employment (2) Techniques for mergers

(3) Methods to improve marketing activities (4) More hits per ATM

(5) Networking

Q.10. The first step in Marketing is

(1) Production work (2) Planning work

(3) Receiving feedback (4) Telephone calls

(5) Sending e-mails

Q.11. Good competition helps in -

(1) Better technology (2) More market share (3) Rise in profits

(4) Bigger branch network (5) Improved customer service

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 27-05-2012 Based On Memory

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.12. 'Push' marketing. style requires-

( 1) Collective effort

(2) Good pushing strength

(3) Lengthy talks

(4) Ability to identify the leads

(5) Aggressive marketing

Q.13. Communication skills in the case of a DSA means _

(1) Giving Lengthy speeches (2) Sending Good SMS messages

(3) Being Talkative

(4) Ability to convince the customer with the right choice of words

(5) Being Multi linguist

Q.14. Effective selling skills depend on-

(1) Good dress sense (2) Territory Allocation

(3) Sales Call Planning (4) Good eye-contact

(5) Past performance

Q.15. 'Buyer Resistance' means _

(1) Buyer's dislike for the product

(2) Fight between buyer and the seller

(3) Buyer's hesitation in buying the product

(4) Exchange of products

(5) Buyer retracting the sale

Q.16. Buyer Resistance can be overcomeby-

(1) Good friendship between buyer and seller

(2) Good after sales services

(3) Good arguments

(4) Good technology

(5) Persuasive communication

Q.17. 'Benchmark' means __

(1) Sales performance measurement (2) Marks given to sales persons

(3) Appraisal (4) Standard values for comparison

(5) Automation

Q.18. Innovation in marketing means-

(1) New technology (2) Globalisation

(3) Intense competition (4) New business models

(5) Internal marketing

Q.19. Marketing opportunities mean-

(1) Scope for marketing (2) Proper and effective training

(3) Market planning (4) Availability of sales outlets

(5) Market data

Q.20. The USP of a Current Account is-

(1) No restrictions on transactions (2) Low TDS

(3) High minimum balance (4) High interest payable

(5) No need for KYC norms fulfillment

Q.1. The target for a car loan is ———

(1) All persons owing a car (2) A family with more than 2 members

(3) Car designers (4) Car garages

(5) Car showrooms

Q.2. Standard marketing practices include ———

(1) Poaching (2) Unhealthy competition

(3) Lowering the selling price (4) Unhealthy discount

(5) Phishing
Q.3. Market Segmentation means dividing ——-

(1) The marketing teams into small groups (2) The employees as per their grades

(3) The products, as per their usage (4) The products, as per their cycles

(5) The market, as per the tastes and needs of different groups

Q.4. The process of discovering patterns and relationships using the available customer data to
reveal

what customers want and how they act is known as ——-

(1) Data Warehousing (2) Data Base (3) Data Mining

(4) Data Building (5) Data Matching

Q.5. Telemarketing means ——

(1) Internet Marketing (2) Selling telephones

(3) Door-to-door contacts (4) Sending and receiving SMS messages

(5) Marketing through telephone calls

Q.6. Motivating customers to buy upgraded products when they had intended to buy something
of

lower value is known as ——

(1) Cross Selling (2) Forward Selling (3) Marketing

(4) Channel Marketing (5) Up Selling

Q.7. The modern marketing concept asserts that marketing starts with the product idea and ends
with

——-

(1) Production of Quality Product (2) Advertisement Campaign

(3) Customer Satisfaction (4) Sale of the Product

(5) Exchange of Money

Q.8. A situation in which consumer purchases are unplanned is called ———

(1) Latent Demand (2) Impulse Buying

(3) Irregular Demand (4) Unwholesome Buying

(5) None of these

Q.9. One of the following is NOT required in a good sales person. Find the same ——-

(1) Sympathetic approach (2) Good communication skills

(3) Courteous nature (4) Persuasion skills

(5) Perseverance

Q.10. List of people who do not wish to receive telemarketing calls us ——

(1) Dare Not Call List (2) Do Not Call List

(3) Do Not Dial List (4) Do Never Call List

(5) None of these

STATE BANK OF INDIA

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.11. Marketing of goods experimentally in several carefully selected areas before releasing
them on a

wide scale is known as ——

(1) Sampling (2) Segmentation (3) Segregation

(4) Test Marketing (5) Grading

Q.12. Motivation in Marketing means ——-

(1) Inspiring sales persons to talk more (2) Inspiring sales persons to sell more

(3) Inspiring counter staff to talk more (4) Market Size

(5) Market Place

Q.13. Selling price of a product based on the buyer’s perceptions of value rather than on the
seller’s

cost is known as ———

(1) Break Even Pricing (2) Target Profit Pricing

(3) Cost Plus Pricing (4) Value Based Pricing

(5) None of these

Q.14. Which one of the following best describes the term ‘Negative Demand’?

(1) Consumers begin to buy a product less frequently

(2) Consumers do not at all buy a product

(3) Consumers are unaware or uninterested in a product

(4) Consumers purchase vary on a seasonal basis

(5) Consumers dislike a product and may even pay to avoid it

Q.15. Leads for canvassing Home Loan accounts can be obtained from ———

(1) Builders (2) Individuals building one’s house

(3) Audit Departments (4) Brick manufactures

(5) Cement suppliers

Q.16. Internet banking can be popularized by way of ——

(1) Reduced prices (2) Higher prices

(3) Wide Area Network (4) Better technology

(5) More ATMs

Q.17. Uncertain outcomes involving the market for goods and services, such as the possibility of
price

declines or increases, changes in consumer preferences, and /or changes in the nature of

competition is called ———-

(1) Market Scope (2) Market Risk

(3) Market Outlook (4) Market Outcome

(5) Market Design

Q.18. Good Competition helps in ——-

(1) Improved customer service (2) Reduced sales

(3) Improved brand image (4) More market share

(5) Better customer profile

Q.19. The systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data with respect to a particular
market is

known as ——

(1) Market Share (2) Market Segmentation

(3) Market Profile (4) Market Research

(5) Marketing Research

Q.20. The most common source for leads generation for any company is ——-

(1) House magazines (2) Audit guidelines (3) Yellow pages

(4) Dictionary (5) Vision documents

Q.1. Marketing is the function of

(1) Only Sales persons (2) Only counter staff

(3) Only qualified persons (4) Top Bosses

(5) A collective function of all staff

Q.2. The performance of a sales person depends on

(1) Ability and willingness of the sales person

(2) Incentives paid

(3) Size of the sales team

(4) Team leader’s attitude

(5) His aggressive nature

Q.3. Good marketing strategy envisages good and proper———

(1) Product distribution (2) Networking of branches

(3) High Pricing (4) Placement of counter staff

(5) Relationship management

Q.4. Service Marketing is resorted to in ———

(1) AIIMNCs (2) All production houses

(3) Industrial units (4) Insurance companies and banks

(5) Fish markets

Q.5. Customisation results in ———

(1) Customer exit (2) Customer retention

(3) Customer complaints (4) Better Balance Sheet figures

(5) Better technology

Q.6. The sole aim of marketing is to-

(1) Improve the Balance Sheet figures (2) Increase recruitment

(3) Increase profits (4) Increase production

(5) Increase branch network

Q.7. Aggressive Marketing is necessitated due to ———

(1) Globalisation (2) Increased competition

(3) Increased production (4) Increased job opportunities

(5) Increased staff

Q.8. The best promotional tool in any marketing is ———

(1) Pamphlets (2) Newsletters

(3) Word of mouth publicity (4) Regional Advertisements

(5) Viral marketing

Q.9. Market Information means ____.

(1) Knowledge level of DSAs (2) Information about marketing staff

(3) Information regarding Share market (4) Knowledge of related markets

(5) Latest knowledge about technology progress

Q.10. Efficient marketing style requires —

(1) Proper planning (2) Good debating skills

(3) Arrogant staff (4) Knowledge of many languages

(5) Ignorant customers

Q.11. The target group for SME loans is ———

(1) All SSIs (2) All College Professors (3) All students

(4) All Nurses (5) All salaried persons

Q.12. Market segmentation means grouping

(1) The sales teams (2) The customers as per their needs and taster

(3) Selling arrangements (4) The counter staff

(5) The back-office staff

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 03-06-2012 (IST SHIFT) Based On Memory

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.13. Target group means

(1) All employers (2) All sales persons (3) Intended buyer

(4) All industries (5) Call Centre persons

Q.14. SME means ______.

(1) Selling and Marketing Employees (2) Sales and Mergers of Entities

(3) Small and Micro Entities (4) Small and Medium Enterprises

(5) Sales Performance Measurement Program

Q.15. “USP” in marketing language means ———

(1) Uniform Selling Practices (2) Unique Sales Person

(3) Unique Selling Proposition (4) Unique Savings Plans

(5) Useful Sales Persons

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 03-06-2012 (IIND SHIFT) Based On Memory

Q.1. A Cold Call means —————

(1) A futile exercise (2) Calls made in cold countries

(3) Sales talk (4) Old product with new wrapping

(5) Calls made without prior appointment

Q.2. Delivery channels means —————

(1) Place from where the products are sold

(2) Courier service

(3) Distribution agencies

(4) Delivery time

(5) Offsite banking

Q.3. A Lead means —

(1) ATM usage (2) Product offering (3) Discount sales

(4) A likely buyer (5) A type of credit card

Q.4. Indirect marketing is the same as -————

(1) Onsite selling (2) Using a smart-phone (3) Viral marketing

(4) Advertisements (5) Online marketing

Q.5. Selling is ————

(1) Same as marketing (2) More than Marketing

(3) Offering discounts (4) A sub-function of marketing

(5) Nothing to do with marketing

Q.6. Market size also means

(1) Market planning (2) Market pricing (3) Market space

(4) Market distribution (5) Market channels

Q.7. To Close a Call means ——

(1) To look for new clients (2) Telemarketing

(3) To clinch the sales deal (4) Online marketing

(5) Indoor marketing

Q.8. Market share can be increased by increasing —————

(1) Raw material cost (2) The staff strength

(3) The sales (4) The sales staff

(5) Competition

Q.9. Benchmark means —————

(1) A Standard value for comparison (2) Basic products (3) Court cases

(4) Financial targets (5) Sales persons’targets

Q.10. A Call in marketing terms means

(1) A newly introduced product (2) Territory allocation for sales persons

(3) A Call Centre (4) A sales meeting

(5) To visit a Prospect

Q.11. Marketing of Services is adopted in ————

(1) Grocery stores (2) Garment trade (3) Medicine shops

(4) Fruit stalls (5) Hotels

Q.12. A fall in the market share implies —————

(1) Sales have gone up (2) Profit has gone up

(3) Prices are erratic (4) Competition has increased

(5) Business is wound up

Q.13. Mutual Fund business from existing bank customers can be mobilized by ———

(1) Online marketing (2) Gross-selling

(3) Telemarketing (4) Carpet bombing

(5) Road-shows

Q.14. “Load” means —————

(1) Log of wood

(2) Fee charged when one buys or sells the units of a fund

(3) Share price at the time of buying

(4) Stamp duty

(5) Fund value

Q.15. More number of conversions indicates ————— .

(1) More sales (2) More purchases (3) More staff

(4) More products (5) More technological progress

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 16-01-2011 (IST SHIFT) Based On Memory

Q.1. Direct Marketing means -

(1) Advertisements (2) Banners (3) Face-to-face selling

(4) Selling by all staff (5) Achieving targets

Q.2. Web marketing involves____

(1) Selling web cameras (2) Web advertisements

(3) e-mail chatting (4) Browsing the web

(5) Door-to-door canvassing

Q.3. The ultimate aim of Marketing is to provide ———

(1) More business to the Company (2) More profit (3) More Staff

(4) More Production (5) More products

Q.4. Selling process includes_________

(1) Publicity (2) Lead generation

(3) Cross-country contacts (4) Product Designing

(5) Product Re-designing

Q.5. Market share means ————

(1) Paid up capital

(2) Shares held by employees

(3) Share of business volume as compared to other companies

(4) Share price of the company quoted in the market

(5) Sensex

Q.6. Market share can be increased by ———

(1) increasing the number of sales persons

(2) increasing the sales volume

(3) increasing the products

(4) increasing production

(5) rewriting profits

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.7. Market segmentation means -

(1) Segmentation of sales teams (2) Territory distribution

(3) Selling arrangement (4) Division of target groups according to their needs

(5) Market share

Q.8. Target group of education loans is-

(1) All school children (2) All college student (3) All college

(4) All schools (5) All hospitals

Q.9. Referrals means -

(1) Sales persons (2) All customers

(3) A person recommended by someone (4) Making more calls to same buyers

(5) All buyers

Q.10. 'USP' in marketing means -

(1) Unique Selling Practices (2) Uniform Selling Practices

(3) United Sales Persons (4) Unique Selling Proposition

(5) Useful Sales Person

Q.11. In sales language conversion means -

(1) To designing new products (2) To change buyers into sellers

(3) To change seller into buyers (4) To change potential buyers into buyers

(5) Change of religion.

Q.12. Online marketing is most effective for the adertisement of ________.

(1) saving accounts (2) credit cards (3) home loans

(4) NRI funds (5) Business accounts.

Q.13. Cross - selling means _____.

(1) selling from city to city (2) selling with cross phase

(3) selling with crossed finger (4) methods of increasing products

(5) cold calling

Q.14. Marketing strategy means ______.

(1) Ideas for new employment

(2) old ideas of selling

(3) methods of improving marketing activities

(4) methods of improving products

(5) networking

Q.15. Target group means ________.

(1) all buyers (2) all sales persons (3) induced buyer

(4) all consumers (5) None of these

Q.16. What is the USP of saving account ?

(1) High rate of interest (2) Easy to operate (3) Risky transaction

(4) Expensive transaction (5) Delivery persons

Q.17. Which one of the following is not a target group for saving accounts ?

(1) salaried person (2) companies which run in loss

(3) doctors (4) government employees

(5) insurance agents

Q.18. Common target group for home loans is _______.

(1) current lenders (2) persons who do not have their own house

(3) persons who have one or more houses (4) builders

(5) None of these

Q.19. Digital marketing is equivalent to ________.

(1) online marketing (2) cold calling (3) web designing

(4) market assumption (5) None of these

Q.20. What is the full form of DSA.

(1) Delivery Staff Agency (2) Direct Selling Agent (3) Direct Supplier Agent

(4) Distribution & Supply Agency (5) Driving Sales Ahead

Q.1. A Safe Deposit Locker can be canvassed among —————

(1) All existing account holders (2) Persons below poverty line

(3) Students (4) Jewelers

(5) ATM cardholders

Q.2. Tele marketing means---------------

(1) Selling telephones (2) Sending SMS messages

(3) Chatting on the phone (4) Marketing through phone calls

(5) Marketing in person

Q.3. The USP of a Credit Card is —

(1) Cashless operations (2) Only for HNIs

(3) Only for men (4) Only for employed persons

(5) Transactions through cheque book

Q.4. EMI can be a marketing tool if —————

(1) EMI is increasing (2) It is very high

(3) It is very low (4) EMI has no impact on marketing

(5) EMI is a flat rate

Q.5. The USP of a Current Account is--------

(1) High Profitability (2) Liquidity

(3) Low Rate of Interest (4) Costly transactions

(5) Friendly features

Q.6. Bancassurance means------------

(1) Assurance of banks for quality service

(2) Assurance for sanction of loans

(3) Selling of insurance products by banks

(4) Selling credit cards

(5) Selling debit cards

Q.7. Good competition helps in---------------

(1) Improved sales (2) Improved customer service

(3) Improved brand image (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.8. Banks sell insurance for --------

(1) Increasing deposits (2) Increasing loans

(3) Increasing clients (4) Earning more profits

(5) Taking over Insurance companies

Q.9. A Debit Card can be issued to-------------

(1) Only Income Tax assessees (2) Only Professionals

(3) Only women (4) All farmers

(5) All Savings Account holders

Q.10. Mutual Funds investments can be effectively canvassed among —————

(1) Only salaried persons (2) Students availing Education loans

(3) HNI customers (4) Sunrise industries

(5) Poor farmers

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 16-01-2011 (IIND SHIFT) Based On Memory

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.11. Product Design is a function of ————

(1) Front office staff (2) Back office staff

(3) Management (4) Marketing and Research team

(5) Loan section

Q.12. The target group for Personal Loans is

(1) All Private Limited Companies (2) All Businessmen

(3) All Salaried persons (4) Minor children

(5) Newborn infants

Q.13. Advertisement is a type of-----

(1) Direct marketing (2) Service marketing

(3) Indirect marketing (4) Internet banking

(5) Internal marketing

Q.14. The sales process begins with-----

(1) Customer identification (2) Lead generation

(3) Sales presentation (4) Sales closure

(5) Sales meet

Q.15. Financial Planning is required when--------------

(1) One has no income (2) One is flushed with funds

(3) One has no expenses to incur (4) One is illiterate

(5) Income level is insufficient to meet the expenses

Q.16. ‘Value added services’ implies---------

(1) Additional knowledge of marketing staff

(2) Service beyond normal hours

(3) Service with extra facilities

(4) Marketing agencies

(5) Overtime work

Q.17. Optimum results in marketing is possible through —————

(1) Increased production (2) More number of products

(3) More sales persons (4) Motivated staff

(5) More ATMs

Q.18. Mutual Fund business from existing customers can be canvassed by

(1) Coercion (2) Cross-selling

(3) Internal marketing (4) Outdoor marketing

(5) Road-shows

Q.19. Marketing in banks has been necessitated due to —————

(1) Globalisation (2) Excess staff

(3) Nationalisation of banks (4) Complacency among the staff

(5) Poor customer service

Q.20. Market Research is necessary for ———

(1) Making proper marketing decisions (2) Choosing the right products

(3) Selecting the right sales persons (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.1. Marketing is the art of ——

(1) buying more (2) paying more (3) selling more

(4) talking more (5) only (1) & (2)

Q.2. Marketing of services is resorted in............

(1) manufacturing concerns (2) Insurance business (3) hotels

(4) Only (1) and(2) (5) Only (2) and (3)

Q.3. Marketing is a ——

(1) one day effort (2) team effort (3) one man effort

(4) All of these (5) None of these

Q.4. Service Marketing is the same as ——

(1) Transaction Marketing (2) Relationship Marketing

(3) Internal Marketing (4) Outdoor Marketing

(5) All of these

Q.5. Good marketing requires one of the following ——

(1) proper planning (2) good team work

(3) good communication skills (4) knowledge of products

(5) All of these

Q.6. Marketing in banks is a necessity today, due to — — —

(1) Liberalisation (2) Nationalisation (3) Fashion

(4) Urbanisation

(5) Marketing in banks is not necessary, as banking in India is more than 200 years old

Q.7. Marketing is influenced by -

(1) product demand (2) public taste (3) buyer behaviour

(4) brand image (5) All of these

Q.8. Market Share means —

(1) Share market (2) Share prices (3) IPOs

(4) Scope for marketing (5) Share of business among peers

Q.9. A ‘Lead’ in marketing jargon, means ——

(1) a metal (2) a leash (3) a likely consumer

(4) a team leader (5) None of these

Q.10. Good selling skills involve ——

(1) Patience (2) Perseverance (3) Empathy (4) Knowledge (5) All of these

Q.11. A true marketing mindset requires ——

(1) Control mindset (2) Command mindset (3) Passive mindset

(4) Active mindset (5) Inert mindset

Q.12. Innovation means ——

(1) Inspiration (2) Enthusiasm (3) Compensation (4) Creativity (5) All of these

Q.13. Internal marketing means ——

(1) Marketing to self (2) Marketing to family members

(3) Marketing to the staff members (4) Marketing inside India

(5) Marketing outside India

Q.14. Modern styles of marketing are ——

(1) telemarketing (2) web marketing (3) advertisements on the net

(4) e-mails (5) all of these

Q.15. 'Benchmark’ means __

(1) Benches for customers to sit (2) Benches for salesmen to sit

(3) Products displayed on a bench (4) Set standards

(5) All of the above

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 22-11-2009 (IST SHIFT) Based On Memory

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.1. The sequence of a sales process is __

(1) Lead generation, Call, Presentation & Sale

(2) Sale, Presentation, Lead generation & Call

(3) presentation, Lead generation, Sale & Call

(4) Lead Generation, Call, Sale & Presentation

(5) There is no sequence required

Q.2. ‘Value-added services’ means---------

(1) Better value at a premium (2) Costlier services

(3) Additional services (4) Better value at a discount

(5) At par services

Q.3. ‘Customisation’ means —

(1) Tailor-made products for each customer

(2) Customers selling goods

(3) Tailor-made products for each staff

(4) A selling process

(5) None of these

Q.4. Marketing survey is necessary for--------.

(1) To decide marketing strategies (2) To decide product strategies

(3) To decide cost determination strategies (4) All of the above

(5) None of these

Q.5. The target group for education loan is-------.

(1) All colleges (2) All parents

(3) Research Scholars (4) Brilliant students who wants to take higher education

(5) None of these

Q.6. Market segmenting is useful for-------.

(1) Preferential marketing (2) Targeting of existing customers

(3) Identifying prospects (4) Knowing customers' choice

(5) All of the above

Q.7. Target group for saving deposit account is--------.

(1) Infant (2) Students (3) Parents

(4) Businessman (5) All of the above

Q.8. Market segmentation can be done--------.

(1) By segmenting on the basis of age (2) By segmenting on the basis of income

(3) By segmenting geographically (4) All of the above

(5) None of these

Q.9. Target group for car loan is--------.

(1) All auto driver (2) All auto dealer (3) All car owners

(4) Any one who needs car (5) All of the above

Q.10. Market information means--------.

(1) Knowledge of industries (2) Knowledge of family

(3) Knowledge of similar traders (4) Knowledge of choice of customers

(5) All of the above

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 22-11-2009 (IIND SHIFT) Based On Memory

Q.11. Target group for agriculture loan is-------.

(1) Any farmer

(2) Agriculture labour

(3) Any person involved in agriculture or related activites

(4) Agriculture societies

(5) All of the above

Q.12. Target group for credit card is--------.

(1) Existing card holder (2) All graduates (3) All minors

(4) Taxable income persons (5) All of the above

Q.13. Target group means---------.

(1) Group of seller (2) Group of buyer (3) Group of products

(4) Group of persons for focussed selling (5) All of the above

Q.14. Delivery channels other than Bank counters are ———

(1) ATM’s (2) Internet Banking (3) Mobile Banking

(4) Tele banking (5) All of these

Q.15. Education Loans can be more effectively canvassed by__________

(1) Door-to-door campaigns (2) E-mail contacts (3) Diversification

(4) Tie-up with colleges (5) All of these

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 15-11-2009 Based On Memory

Q.1. “Relationship” in marketing means ————.

(1) Relation between salesperson

(2) Relation between buyer and seller

(3) Relation between company and consumer

(4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.2. Marketing of services is known as —

(1) Transaction marketing (2) Door-to-door marketing

(3) Relationship marketing (4) Internal marketing

(5) None of these

Q.3. Leads can be provided by

(1) Friends, and relatives (2) Websites (3) Directories

(4) Colleagues (5) All of these

Q.4. One of the following is not a sales activity. Find the same.

(1) Identifying leads (2) Making a call (3) Presentation

(4) Negotiation (5) After-sales service

Q.5. Selling is a function undertaken by ————— .

(1) All the sales persons (2) All the employees

(3) Entire organization (4) Outsourced agencies

(5) All of these

MASTER IN MPARKETING

Q.6. Find the correct statement ______

(1) Selling is same as marketing (2) Selling is more than marketing

(3) Selling is part of marketing (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.7. Marketing is a function undertaken by ————.

(1) All DSA’s (2) All front-officestaff

(3) Whole organization (4) All of these

(5) None of these

Q.8. Non-product selling means

(1) selling variety of products (2) selling only one product

(3) selling seasonal products (4) selling services

(5) All of these

Q.9. A vision statement is

(1) not required for established companies

(2) not required due to competion

(3) not required as no one understands them

(4) a long term inspiration

(5) None of these

Q.10. Effective Marketing requires ———— .

(1) proper pricing (2) customized products

(3) simple procedures (4) market research

(5) All of these

Q.11. Direct Marketing means —

(1) Face-to-face marketing (2) Melas

(3) Seminars (4) Indoor marketing

(5) All of these

Q.12. Indirect Marketing means —

(1) Marketing by non-sales persons (2) Market Survey

(3) Market Research (4) Advertisements

(5) All of these

Q.13. Marketing is - Find the wrong option ——— .

(1) an ancient concept (2) a modem need

(3) a continuous affair (4) a team effort

(5) a direct need for survival

Q.14. Customer’s Relationship with the Bank is influenced by ——

(1) Customers’attitudes (2) Attitudes of Bank staff

(3) Interest rates of the Bank (4) Attitudes of sales persons

(5) All of these

Q.15. Marketing is best suited in —

(1) Buyer’s market (2) Sellers market

(3) Internal marketing (4) Directmarketing

(5) None of these

ANSWERS

Q.1.(5)

Q.2.(3) In product concept the main focus is on

quality of product so profit earn by quality

of product.

Q.3.(4) Specialty product which customers

purchase from special shop like car &

petrol.

Q.4.(1) Big Bazaar is already divided into different

departments like cloths, electronics,

grocery etc.

Q.5.(3) In 4P’s sales and distribution come

under place heading.

Q.6.(1)
Q.7.(3)

Q.8.(4) Product having intangible attributes or

feature like taste and smell which can

feel only.

Q.9.(2) Market space concept of market related

to internet market.

Q.10.(4)

Q.11.(3)

Q.12.(3) Diminish is the last step because every

product having it decline at last.

Q.13.(1)

Q.14.(4) Government university work for nominal

social welfare or nominal profit, it comes

in non profit market.

Q.15.(3) Accountable marketing is that marketing

in which company or its employee take

the responsibility of product performance

market.

Q.16.(1) In Re-active, company call customer and

talk about the product performance which

it sale to customer previously.

Q.17.(4)

Q.18.(3)

Q.19.(2) Marketing is the activity done by the

company so, it comes under company.

Q.20.(2) Political parties comes under broad

environment in which company operate

so it come under macro environment.

Q.21.(2)

Q.22.(2)

Q.23.(4) Permanent Customer of any product or

service is called client.

Q.24.(5) The service which is going to serve by

the company or bank, marketing for such

things come under pro-active marketing

Q.25.(1) Van with company poster is come under

advertisement because it is paid form of

promotion.

Q.26.(3)

Q.27.(2) In internal marketing denotes the

intranet transaction like B to B & B to C.

Q.28.(2)

Q.29.(2)

Q.30.(1) Competitors are the related part of

business who come under micro

environment.

Q.31.(2) Niche market is a market which is having

small number of customer in it so it is a

very small market.

Q.32.(5)
Q.33.(4) These are the distribution strategies

which is depend on bank policy which it

adopt, any strategy can be adopt by

bank.

Q.34.(4) Supply chain management is a chain in

which three things were running or flow.

1- Money

2- Goods or Product

3- Information

Q.35.(5)

Q.36.(3) Marketing starts from to know the

customer need, want & demand.

Q.37.(4)

Q.38.(3)

Q.39.(2)

Q.40.(3) The first step in marketing process is to

setting the objectives because without

objective any work cannot be done so

as in marketing.

EXPLANATION

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EXP/MASTER IN MARKETING 130 Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd.

Q.41.(3) Innovation means to do something new

which not done something in past.

Q.42.(4) Perception means first sight thought

which are psychological factors.

Q.43.(2) Post purchase behaviour is last step in

buying process.

Q.44.(5)

Q.45.(3) These are those customers who do not

follow a single product.

Q.46.(1)

Q.47.(2) People, process & physical evidence

collective called augmented P’s.

Q.48.(3) In growth stage profit, increasing in

acceleration manner.

Q.49.(4) In differentiation strategies company

provides things according to different type

customer.

Q.50.(4) All the things are related to psychology.

Q.51.(5)

Q.52.(5) Habitual behaviour is the nature of

hardcore loyal they purchase same kind

product every time.

Q.53.(5) Sale distribution include personal selling.

Q.54.(4) These directly related to business do

they come under micro environment.

Q.55.(3)

Q.56.(1) Bank use direct channel which is

Provider–Ultimate customer
Q.57.(2) In peak stage company earns maximum

profit in PLC because sale is maximum

in this stage.

Q.58.(2) Branding is the part of product mix.

Q.59.(1) Target market start from or after

segmenting the market.

Q.60.(5) Marketing score include

–Service –Place

–Events –Goods

Because with help of all marketing

objective is complete.

Q.61.(2) Slow skimming is appropriate when

consumer awareness levels are high i.e.

the current demand is high, the high initial

price does not attract more competitors

to the market yet the high price

communicates the image of a superior

product.

Q.62.(1) Rapid penetration strategy involving Low

initial price & HEAVY spending on

promotion is useful when a company

wants to maximize its market share

assuming that the market is price

sensitive.

Q.63.(3) Rapid penetration strategy is best for a

highly price sensitive market, where a

low price stimulates market growth, also

with accumulated production experience

the cost of each unit decreases, favoring

setting of a low price.

Q.64.(4) Slow penetration is best because the

market size is large, this will help the

product find its own place in the market.

Since market is aware of the product

heavy production is not essential, also

the level of competition is not very

challenging.

Q.65.(3) Maturity is the best stage for a new

product because this stage normally

lasts longer than the previous stages,

also because of market saturation or

overcapacity in industry, customers

would be motivated to switch over to new

products.

Q.66.(3) Maturity stage lasts longer than the other

stages and can be divided into three,

distinct phases- Growth, Stable &

Decaying maturity.

Q.67.(1) Most products are in the maturity stage

because this stage normally last longer

with each product Scrambling to find to

own place in an overcrowded market

comprising a few giant forms & a large

number of specialized or “NICHER”

firms.

Q.68.(4) Quality important aims at increasing the

productsofFUNCTIONAL

PERFORMANCE, Feature improvement

aims at adding NEW FEATURES (Eg.

SIZE, WEIGHT, ACCESSORIES ETC.)

that expands the products’ performance,

safety & convenience.

131 EXP/MASTER IN MARKETING

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Style improvement aims at increasing

the products aesthetic appeal, trying to

give the product a unique market identity.

Q.69.(1) Aesthetic appeal relates to the exterior

beauty and look of a product; the strategy

is to give the product a UNIQUE

MARKET IDENTITY which helps to

distinguish it from others.

Q.70.(1) Single niche is better because a small

firm does not have the resources for

capturing and holding the mass market.

Q.71.(3) By defending market charges the market

leader keeps increasing its competitive

strength and value to customers so that

they face, the challenge of competitors

resolutely.

Q.72.(2) Because Needs are the BASIC human

requirements, needs became WANTS

when they are directed to specific objects

that might satisfy the needs.

Q.73.(3) For eg. a laptop would be compatible with

headsets, presentation projectors, MP3

players, cameras, mobile, handsets, etc.

Q.74.(2) All the accessories, although diverse are

related items that function in a

compatible manner.

Q.75.(4) The width refers to how many different

product lines the company covers, the

LENGTH refers to the total number of

items in the mix, the depth refers to how

many variants are offered of each product

in the line, the consistency refers to how

closely related the various product lines

are in end use, production requirements,

distribution channels etc.

Q.76.(5) All of these are the functions of

marketing; purchase of basic raw

consistency, storage, transport, & sales

for a profit of the goods manufactured.

Q.77.(3) Except marketing finance, all are primary

functions whereas marketing finance is

secondary function of marketing.

Q.78.(1) Brand loyalty is a psychographic factor;

consumer psychology plays a major role

in determining loyalty irrespective of

one’s Socioeconomic status.

Q.79.(4) The PLC of any product has Four Basic

Stages, Introduction, growth, Maturity,

Decline.

Q.80.(1) USA

Q.81.(3) Transfers is not the core part of the

marketing.

Q.82.(3) According to production concept

consumer will prefer both product which

widely available and with low cost.

Q.83.(3) In selling concept needs of buyer.

Q.84.(4) The given all the things related to

marketing concept.

Q.85.(4) Internal marketing includes all the things

in the internal marketing.

Q.86.(1) Interest of top management is having no

use in developing the marketing

strategies.

Q.87.(1) A strategic Business unit is a single

business or a collection of related

business that can be planned separately

from the rest of the company, to has to

own set of competitor, to manager is

responsible for strategy planning & profit

performance.

Q.88.(4)

Q.89.(2)

Q.90.(4)

Q.91.(3)

Q.92.(3) Multiple regression is the best tool

because it is used to know the effect of

several or different things.

Q.93.(2) Personal factors or influence play major

role in adoption of and new product.

Q.94.(2) Product width includes the product lines.

Q.95.(2)

Q.96.(2)

Q.97.(2)

Q.98.(3)

Q.99. (1) Q.100. (3) Q.101. (3)

Q.102. (3) Q.103. (3) Q.104. (5)

Q.105. (2) Q.106. (4) Q.107. (1)

Q.108. (5) Q.109. (4) Q.110. (4)

Q.111. (3) Q.112. (2) Q.113. (3)

Q.114. (4) Q.115. (4) Q.116. (4)

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EXP/MASTER IN MARKETING 132 Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd.

Q.117. (1) Q.118. (3) Q.119. (1)

Q.120. (2) Q.121. (1) Q.122. (2)

Q.123. (4) Q.124. (1) Q.125. (4)

Q.126.(3) Market share - It means how many

percentage of market is covered by a

company in comparison to its competitors

Q.127.(1) CLC = Customer life cycle

Q.128.(1) Idealistic-Marketing:- When all

marketing tools are used to catch or to

get customers or to target the customer.

Q.129.(2) Prospecting is the first stage in personal

selling, means to make a list of

prospective customers or to find

prospects.

Q.130.(4) All given points are the role of selling

which a seller has to perform.

Q.131.(3) ATM is a specialty store because, it

provide a special service from its store.

Q.132.(4) All given are the characteristics of a

service and banking is a kind of service.

Q.133.(5) Passbook in bank is a product as well

as a physical evidence because it

change cost to issue and it is tangible

evidence which is use for a service.

Q.134.(1) Setting objectives is a first step in

marketing process.

Q.135.(2) Covert Advertising - It is a form of

advertising in which product are display

in films and serials or T.V. shows.

Q.136.(2) MKIS = Marketing Information System

Q.137.(3) Market Segmentation means to divide the

customers on basis of several factors.

Q.138.(4) All written points on the features of a

product.

Q.139.(1) Micro Environment:- Those factors which

are micro environment like competitors.

Q.140.(5) All the written points are the basic

activities of the VCM.

Q.141.(2) In skimming pricing strategy the price of

product is initially high and decreases

after time.

Q.142.(1) In marketing market means the

customer of the company.

Q.143.(4) All the given points on the macro

environment factors.

Q.144.(3) Promotion is the 4th element of marketing

mix for product.

Q.145.(2) Decline is the last stage of product like

cycle.

Q.146.(5) All the given factors are the responsible

for affecting buyer behaviour.

Q.147.(1) “Philip Kotler” is the father of marketing.

Q.148.(4) The given points are related to personal

selling.

Q.149.(5) All the given points in the question are

the means of digital marketing

Q.150.(5) Selling starts from production.

Production - Promotion-Sale and

Distribution

- Profit through selling

Q.151. (4) Q.152. (4) Q.153. (2)

Q.154. (4) Q.155. (1) Q.156. (3)

Q.157. (2) Q.158. (2) Q.159. (3)

Q.160. (3) Q.161. (3) Q.162. (2)

Q.163. (4) Q.164. (2) Q.165. (4)

Q.166. (4) Q.167. (3) Q.168. (4)

Q.169. (1) Q.170. (2) Q.171. (3)

Q.172. (4) Q.173. (2)

Q.174. (3) Q.175. (4) Q.176. (2)

Q.177. (4) Q.178. (4)

Q.179. (3) Q.180. (2) Q.181. (4)

Q.182. (4) Q.183. (3)

Q.184. (2) Q.185. (4) Q.186. (3)

Q.187. (4) Q.188. (3) Q.189. (3)

Q.190. (3) Q.191. (1) Q.192. (3)

Q.193. (4) Q.194. (4) Q.195. (4)

Q.196. (3) Q.197. (3) Q.198. (4)

Q.199. (3) Q.200. (3) Q.201. (3)

Q.202. (4) Q.203. (4) Q.204. (1)

Q.205. (4) Q.206. (4) Q.207. (4)

Q.208. (4) Q.209. (3) Q.210. (1)

Q.211. (4) Q.212. (1) Q.213. (3)

Q.214. (4) Q.215. (1) Q.216. (3)

Q.217. (1) Q.218. (2) Q.219. (3)

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Q.220. (1) Q.221. (3) Q.222. (4)

Q.223. (5) Q.224. (1) Q.225. (3)

Q.226. (2) Q.227. (1) Q.228. (1)

Q.229. (4) Q.230. (5)

Q.231. (3) Q.232. (1) Q.233. (4)

Q.234. (2) Q.235. (3) Q.236. (4)

Q.237. (1) Q.238. (4) Q.239. (3)

Q.240. (5) Q.241. (3) Q.242. (3)

Q.243. (4) Q.244. (1) Q.245. (3)

Q.246. (3) Q.247. (2) Q.248. (4)

Q.249. (1) Q.250. (3) Q.251. (1)

Q.252. (1) Q.253. (2) Q.254. (3)

Q.255. (3) Q.256. (4) Q.257. (1)

Q.258. (3) Q.259. (3) Q.260. (2)

Q.261. (3) Q.262. (3) Q.263. (2)

Q.264. (2) Q.265. (3) Q.266. (5)

Q.267.(3)

Q.268.(5)

Q.269.(4)

Q.270.(4)

Q.271.(3)

Q.272.(3)

Q.273.(2)

Q.274.(2)

Q.275.(1)

Q.276.(2)

Q.277.(1)

Q.278.(1)

Q.279.(4)

Q.280.(4)

Q.281.(2)
Q.282.(5)

Q.283.(4)

Q.284.(4) Government, Trade Unions, Consumer

Association work for protection of

Consumer interests.

Q.285.(4) We promote sales by reducing price, by

distributing coupons, by ensuring

competitions.

Q.286.(1) Marketing concept is consumer oriented,

hence the main objective of marketing is

to satisfy the consumer.

Q.287.(5)

Q.288.(4) To discover the need of consumer, to

produce accordingly, to generate

demand, to sale, to provide after sale

services are the part of new concept of

marketing. So these are integrate to

marketing.

Q.289.(5) To approach the remote areas and to

reduce the cost of production are the

main objective of advertising.

Q.290.(2) Money spent on advertising is an

investment because in future this

expenditure increases sales and income

ultimately.
Q.291.(2) There are 5 stages of product life cycle,

they are–

(1) Introduction (2) Growth

(3) Maturity (4) Saturation

(5) Obsolescence

Q.292.(3) Money deposited by Public is a liability

because at the time of demand it is

returned to them.

Q.293.(5)

Q.294.(3) Packaging makes product safe against

storage and transporting.

Q.295.(4) In accounting, income and expenditure

are treated so that real financial position

of the organization can be gauged at a

particular time.

Q.296.(2) All are abbreviations.

Q.297.(1)

Q.298.(4)

Q.299.(5)

Q.300.(1)

Q.301.(5)

Q.302.(5) The elements of marketing mix are also

known as 4Ps of marketing.

Q.303.(3) All other tools of marketing-mix used after

the product generation

Q.304.(1)

Q.305.(4) All together form an organization

Q.306.(1)

Q.307.(4) All options together forms sales

promotion programme

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EXP/MASTER IN MARKETING 134 Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd.

Q.308.(2) Bank Building is an asset not product

Q.309.(4) All means given in the options are the

tool for collecting secondary data.

Q.310.(4)

Q.311.(3) Raw material decides the quality of

product not marketing segmentation

Q.312.(2) All are abbreviations

Q.313.(1)

Q.314.(3)

Q.315.(5)

Q.316.(3) Brand give special recognition to the

product.

Q.317.(5)

Q.318.(1) Deposits have largest share in domestic

savings

Q.319.(4) In direct marketing product is sold

directly to the end user or customer,

hence it is a zero base channel.

Q.320.(4)

Q.321.(1)

Q.322.(4)

Q.323.(4) All are the factors of Buying Behaviour

segmentation.

Q.324.(3) All are abbreviations

Q.325.(4)

Q.326.(3)

Q.327.(3)

Q.328.(5)

Q.329.(5) Import means to purchase from other

country. So it is a part of International

trade.

Q.330.(2) Sale is both mental and physical

process.

Q.331.(2) All are abbreviation and BEP is a point

at which a form earns no profit no loss,

so this is no profit no loss point.

Q.332.(5)

Q.333.(5) When brand is registered under trade and

merchandise marks, Act, 1958, it

becomes trademark. All the options are

examples of trade-mark.

Q.334.(1)

Q.335.(5)
Q.336.(1) Test Marketing means to test the product

in the market before commercial

production.

Q.337.(3)

Q.338.(3)

Q.339.(4) Service–It means customer service

customer service is the provision of a

service to a customer before, during &

after a service to a customer before,

during & after a purchase “Customer

service” is a series of countries designed

to enhance the level of customer

satisfaction.

(4) “gift coupon of a chain store” is the

method of sales promotion” not a service.

Value–It denotes money only.

Q.340.(4) Product concept–The producer

concentrates on “product quality”

performance, innovative feature, during

production.

Q.341.(2) Selling concept–In selling concept the

producer focuses on aggressive selling

through high promotional efforts. Selling

concept is applicable for products.

Like–Insurance, Encyclopedia, fund

raisers.

Q.342.(5)

Q.343.(1) SBU : “Strategic business unit” means

it is a single business of related business

that can be planned. Separately from the

rest of the company.

Q.344.(3) Product oriented definition will explain

about the product which the company is

making like “we make Cosmetic”, rest

of others are not defining the product they

are defining industry which they belong

to.

Q.345.(2) Market oriented definition define the

“market or industry” in which the

company is working like energy industry,

entertainment industry, FMCG industry.

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Q.346.(1)

Q.347.(1) Intensive growth–The company identify

opportunities to achieve further growth

with current business. They see whether

they can gain more market share with

its current product in current market

(market penetration), next is to find

develop new market. for current product

(Met development), next they see or

develop new products to its current

market. (product development strategy).

Q.348.(4) Vertical Integration–When the

company owns/hold all its suppliers and

downstream buyer.

Horizontal Integration–When a

company handles the different parts of

production process.

eg. Company is growing raw material,

own transport, marketing, retailing.

Forward Integration : When company

controls its distribution and retailers of

its own to sold its product.

Backward Integration–When the

company control/ produce some of its

products it is backward Integration.

eg. Car company may own/produced a

tire company.

Q.349.(5) Diversification growth–When a

company finds, highly attractive new

industry is called. Diversification growth.

(i) Concentric Diversification : When

the company seek new products that can

fit with existing product.

(ii) Horizontal Diversification : When

a company develop new product that are

unrelated with current product like

cassette manufacturing company also

producer cassette tray.

(iii) Conglomerate–The company see

new opportunities which have no relation

with its current product like Tata has

many business steel, truck, salt.

Q.350.(3)

Q.351.(2) A style is a basic & distinction mode of

expression appearing in a field of human

Endeavour. A style can last for

generation.

Fashion : A fashion is a commonly

accepted or popular style in a given field.

The length of fashion cycle is hard to

predict.

Fad : Fads are fashions that come quick

into public are adopted quickly, and it is

also decline very fast.

Trend–It is a direction or a sequence of

events which have some movement &

disability.

Q.352.(4)

Q.353.(4) To observe global picture, the company

has to see all. Age, income, family

members, Technological, Political

changes.

Q.354.(2)

Q.355.(3) Stimulus response : Which the

customer gives at the very first/ starting

time after using the product or seeing

the products.

Q.356.(5) Reference group : It consist of all the

groups that have a direct/indirect

influence on his (customer) attitudes.

Aspirations groups : They are the

groups to which a person would like to

belong.

Q.357.(4)

Q.358.(4) Primary group : Primary group consist

of people who interact or direct influence

the customer (family, friend, neighbors,

relatives) The customer to whom interact

mainly, continuously & informally.

Q.359.(4) In Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. Selfactualization

is the last stage or top moststage

which tells the human what he has

given to the society in the past. So 4th

answers reflect the best answer.

Q.360.(1) Freud’s Theory :Sigmund Freud

assumed that psychological forces.

Shaping people behaviour which is

largely “unconscious” (that a person

can’t fully understand).

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Q.361.(4) Brand familiarity : When the consumer

is aware about the product or brand after

repetition done by marketer.

Brand Loyalty–The consumer is

showing faith & interest towards product

& using it from a long time.

Q.362.(2) Awareness–When the consumer likes

to know about the product, and at a

present he is not known to the product.

Interest–When the consumer shows

their interest towards the product for

purchase.

Trial–When the consumer likes to

purchase the product for trial basis.

Adoption : When consumer likes to

adopt the same.

Q.363.(1)

Q.364.(3)

Q.365.(3) ( i ) Pure Monopoly: o n l y o n e

manufacture, charges high price, little or

no advertising.

(ii) Oligopoly– Small no. of large

produces having both highly different

product as well as standard product eg.

Oil & Steel.

(iii) Monopolistic– Many competitors,

try to different their product whole or in

part (Heavy advertise) market. segment

to provide superior value.

(iv) Pure comp :Many competitors.

competitor’s price will be the same. No

advertisement unless advertisement can

make psychological difference.

Q.366.(2)

Q.367.(3)

Q.368.(2)

Q.369.(3) Customer :The person who purchases

a product of a company.

Prospective /Potential Customer :The

people who have shown interest would

be the customer of the company in future.

Q.370.(3) Market demand :The total volume

bought by the customer in a defined

geographical and in a defined time period

and in a defined market environment and

defined market programme.

Q.371.(2)

Q.372.(1)

Q.373.(2) Product variety Marketing :Provide

several products of various styles

quantities, sizes. Offered variety to

buyers.

Mass Marketing :Offer products to

mass or number of people at large.

Target variety marketing : Offer variety

of products to only target group or

different target groups.

Q.374.(3)

Q.375.(3)

Q.376.(2) Market segment groups are those groups

for which the product is made or it is also

called target market (segmented group)

Q.377.(4) Segmentation :Dividing the whole

population into different sections on the

basis of purchasing power, geographical

location, buyer attitudes, demographical.

Q.378.(3) HUL producing variety of soaps of

different price (expensive & cheap) by

considering income factor of consumers

or purchasing power.

Q.379.(1) (i) Split Loyal: Using 2 or 3 brands from

a long time or showing their loyalty to

different brands from long time. eg. using

Red label, Taza, Tetley.

(ii) Shifting Loyal–Those consumer who

are using brands during the certain time

and then changes the brand. They are

shifting their loyalty after a certain period.

(iii) Switches–The people/buyers who

frequently Switches to the different

brands and not considered as loyal.

Q.380.(4) Rationality means based on some

reason or logic which is actually

prohibited in all. In marketing

segmentation also denies rationality.

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Q.381.(2) (1) Differentiated Marketing : Different

offer/ programmes/ deign/ price for

different target markets.

(2) Undifferentiated Market. : Similar

price to the all No, differentiation in the

market.

Q.382.(3) HUL : Produces different product to

different target market.

Maruti : Different models to different

buyers.

Coca Cola : Similar product to all.

Q.383.(4)

Q.384.(3) New Product Line :Entirely new product

Series like HUL manufactures cream,

soaps, tea. Suppose they start clothes

product line also, this is called “New

product Line”.

Repositioning : Positioning means

creating brand awareness in the eyes of

the customer & repositioning means

existing brand should be positioned in

the minds of new consumer.

Q.385.(3)

Q.386.(2)

Q.387.(3)

Q.388.(4)

Q.389.(4) Idea Pursing Stage :Idea Generation,

Idea screaming, Idea evaluating, analysis

Q.390.(4) Commercialization is the stage when

cost is high. The manufacturer has to

organize full manufacturing facility,

marketing facility, marketing

communication etc. While rest does not

so much expensive stage.

Q.391.(1)

Q.392.(3) Customers/people react differently for

different products.

(i) early adapters : The opinion leaders

who carefully search the new product that

might give them dramatic competitive

advantage.

(ii) Early majority : They adopt the

product when most of the advantage, is

also derived/ proves in the market & lot

of adoption is also takes place.

(iii) Innovators : They are ready to adopt/

try new product. They relatively earlier in

adopting new ideas.

(iv) Laggards : They are tradition bound

and resist the innovation until they find

suitable for them.

Q.393.(2) Personal influence plays a major role in

the adoption of new products. The family

members, relatives, friends, influences

the buyers.

Q.394.(3) The PLC : The product life cycle is

similar like human life cycle. It says the

change in demand & technology changes

at every stage of it & it has 4 stages.

Q.395.(4)

Q.396.(3)

Q.397.(2) (i) Introduction : Cost is high, slow sales

volume, No competition, high advertising,

No profit/ Little.

(ii) Growth : Reduced cost, sales

increases, competition begin, profit

substantially increases, price decrease.

(iii) Maturity : Cost low, increase

competition, high advertising cost, price

drops, sales down.

(iv) Decline : Sales decline, price

promotion, profit is less or negative.

Q.398.(4)

Q.399.(4) Rapid Skimming : The strategy where

product is new, the producer can set high

prices and can extract maximum profit

by high promotion & create awareness.

Q.400.(1) Slow Skimming : Product is new so

he fixes the price high but promote less

so that the profit derived from market is

slow because people aware about

product slowly.

Q.401.(3) By defending market charges the market

leader keeps increasing its competitive

strength and value to customers so that

they face, the challenge of competitors

resolutely.

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Q.402.(2) Because Needs are the BASIC human

requirements, needs became WANTS

when they are directed to specific objects

that might satisfy the needs.

Q.403.(3) For eg. a laptop would be compatible with

headsets, presentation projectors, MP3

players, cameras, mobile, handsets, etc.

Q.404.(2) All the accessories, although diverse are

related items that function in a

compatible manner.

Q.405.(4) The width refers to how many different

product lines the company covers, the

LENGTH refers to the total number of

items in the mix, the depth refers to how

many variants are offered of each product

in the line, the consistency refers to how

closely related the various product lines

are in end use, production requirements,

distribution channels etc.

Q.406.(5) All of these are the functions of

marketing; purchase of basic raw

consistency, storage, transport, & sales

for a profit of the goods manufactured.

Q.407.(3) Except marketing finance, all are primary

functions whereas marketing finance is

secondary function of marketing.

Q.408.(1) Brand loyalty is a psychographic factor;

consumer psychology plays a major role

in determining loyalty irrespective of

one’s Socioeconomic status.

Q.409.(4) The PLC of any product has Four Basic

Stages, Introduction, growth, Maturity,

Decline.

Q.410.(1) USA

Q.411.(4) 1982

Q.412.(2) 1986

Q.413.(5) Good packaging protects the contents,

the product & the contents their in are

identifiable because of good packaging,

is a means of advertising owing its

aesthetic appeal & increases ease of

handling by consumer.

Q.414.(2) Fredric Winslow Taylor is the father of

Scientific Management.

Q.415.(4) Since there is no intermediary in the

direct marketing channel it is called

ZERO LEVEL.

Q.416.(4) A transaction is an exchange or a trade

of values when an agreement is reached

between two parties; here both parties

receive something tangible during the

exchange, in case of transfer this does

not happen.

Q.417.(3) Demography is a micro environmental

factor, which is highly reliable, for the

short & intermediate run. The main

demographic force that marketers

monitor is population because people

make up markets.

Q.418.(4) The marketing department uses a three

stage procedure for demand forecasting

of sales, it prepares a macroeconomic

forecast first, followed by forecast first,

followed by a company sales forecast.

Q.419.(4) Marketing deals, with identifying &

meeting human & social needs; it

customize according to the needs of the

consumers where since it is consumer

oriented.Itaimsatcreating,

communicating & delivering value to

customers.

Q.420.(4) HRM Phase II

Q.421.(2) Conventions & Seminars are organized

for facilitation direct interaction between

the employer & prospective employee .

Q.422.(3) Henry Fayol

Q.423.(4) Hugo Muntseber.

Q.424.(1) Abraham Maslow give the five tiered

pyramidal need Hierarchy theory.

Q.425.(5) All the options are theories of motivation.

Q.426.(4)

Q.427.(4) Expansion of business is not an objective

of pricing because pricing objective of a

product is very much oriented to product

not for company expansion purpose.

Q.428.(2) Marketing research is task of marketing

department in the company.

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Q.429.(4) Inseparability and intangibility is the

option who are characteristics of the

services or bank services.

Q.430.(2)

Q.431.(5) All these are the core concept of

marketing.

Q.432.(2) Marketing starts from need want

Demand, and demand include

willingness to pay plus ability to pay for

the product.

Q.433.(2) In marketing consumer is the controlling

force because marketing done according.

to customer need want & demand.

Q.434.(1)

Q.435.(1) VAIS stand for values and life style.

Q.436.(3) Who are their legal advisors this is the

part which companies are not interested

to know about their competitors.

Q.437.(4) In a potential market customer have all

the things interest to purchase income

to purchase accessibility to market.

Q.438.(1) In mass marketing the seller engage in

the mass production, mass distribution

of one product for all buyers.

Q.439.(2) Soft-core loyal one of those customers

whose shift from favouring one to another

brand.

Q.440.(4) In differentiated marketing company

make product according to different

customer according to their standard.

Q.441.(4) Type writers are in decline stage of

product life cycle.

Q.442.(4) Product awareness advertising is not the

part of marketing strategy.

Q.443.(1) All the things were started in the maturity

stage to increase the profit and sale of

product.

Q.444.(1) To maintain the market share for a

product the continuous innovation is the

best unchaining.

Q.445.(4) The products in product line are same is

several things like shape, size, price,

function, cost etc.

Q.446.(2) When an individual feel deprivation some

basic satisfaction, it is need.

Q.447.(3) In production concept product is produce

maximum and distribute widely.

Q.448.(3) The main objective or achievement of

marketing is to satisfy the customer.

Q.449.(1) Under internal marketing the company

hiring, training and motivating their

employees to serve the customer with

efficiency.

Q.450.(2) Customer value means the benefits

expected by the customer from the

product against its cost.

Q.451.(2) In reactive marketing company and

customer talk about the product,

performance which is sell by the

company or purchase by the customer.

Q.452.(4)

Q.453.(3)

Q.454.(1)

Q.455.(1)

Q.456.(3)

Q.457.(4)

Q.458.(1)

Q.459.(2)

Q.460.(3)

Q.461.(2)

Q.462.(4)

Q.463.(2)

Q.464.(5) Only survey of wants and desires of

consumers is related to consumer

survey.

Q.465.(5)

Q.466.(1) In sandwich man advertising, joker, etc.

displays the product.

Q.467.(3) In publicity there is no need of payment.

It can be made by media, friends,

relatives etc.

Q.468.(2) In Modern Concept of marketing,

consumer is the king of market. So

Modern market can be considered as

buyers market.

Q.469.(3)

Q.470.(5) All factors given in the options.

affect the consumer behaviour.

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Q.471.(1) All are abbreviations

Q.472.(4)

Q.473.(2) Secondary Data can be collected easily,

so researchers starts their research by

collecting secondary data.

Q.474.(3)

Q.475.(5) Society shapes our beliefs, values,

norms. Hence option should be all of

these

Q.476.(3) Reminder advertising is essential at the

maturity stage of product life cycle.

Q.477.(2)

Q.478.(1)

Q.479.(4) All statements are true about product life

cycle.

Q.480.(3)

Q.481.(4) Cost Benefit Analysis is related to cost

accounting.

Q.482.(2)

Q.483.(3)

Q.484.(2)

Q.485.(1)

Q.486.(2)

Q.487.(3)

Q.488.(4) In news Article we do not promote sale.

Q.489.(4)

Q.490.(4)

Q.491.(4) All the tasks given are needed for

successful internal marketing.

Q.492.(4)

Q.493.(2)

Q.494.(2)

Q.495.(4)
Q.496.(3) An advertisement does not tell how a new

product works.

Q.497.(2)

Q.498.(4)

Q.499.(5)

Q.500.(2) Whole Sellers and Retailers purchase

goods for further sale.

Q.501.(5) All are the parts of structure of Economy,

Hence option is None of these.

Q.502.(3) VAT (Value Added Tax) has replaced

Sales Tax.

Q.503.(4) All are abbreviations.

Q.504.(4)

Q.505.(5)

Q.506.(2)

Q.507.(1)

Q.508.(4) Old concept of marketing is related to

product and seller while modern concept

is related to consumer.

Q.509.(5)

Q.510.(1) Marketing mix decides the marketing

Budget of an organization.

Q.511.(4)

Q.512.(4)

Q.513.(1)
Q.514.(2)

Q.515.(1) All business activities revolves around the

marketing so marketing concept is the

central point of all business activities.

Q.516.(2)

Q.517.(1) In last few years back ICICI Bank

adopted High-Pressure Selling of their

products, specially loan products.

Q.518.(3) Credit Card and Debit Card is Plastic

Money.

Q.519.(1)

Q.520.(3)

Q.521.(5) All factors together being development

of Marketing.

Q.522.(5)

Q.523.(3)

Q.524.(1) PERT is a technique used for evaluating

the programmes.

Q.525.(5) Mediators in distribution channel, sales

person and consumers are 3 parts of triparty

activity of sales promotion.

Q.526.(3) Tangible assets those assets which have

physical appearance like car, mobile,

radio etc. And those assets that have no

physical appearance are known is

intangible assets such as loan, goodwill,

patent, copyright, royalty etc.

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Q.527.(5)

Q.528.(2)

Q.529.(4)

Q.530.(3) Full form of ATM is “Automated Teller”

Machine.”

Q.531.(4)

Q.532.(5)

Q.533.(4) marketing research is necessary for

effective sale.

Q.534.(5) All options are true about product. So

on the above reason product life cycles

concept is developed.

Q.535.(1)

Q.536.(5)

Q.537.(2) Net Banking is a facility provided by

banks when technology has improved.

This is not a product, so there is no need

of marketing.

Q.538.(4)

Q.539.(4) All the qualities mentioned, should be in

a good brand.

Q.540.(3)

Q.541.(2)

Q.542.(2) marketing mix is the essence of

marketing, so it’s control is the key of

successful marketing.

Q.543.(1)

Q.544.(3)

Q.545.(3)

Q.546.(1)

Q.547.(5)

Q.548.(2)

Q.549.(2)

Q.550.(1)

Q.551.(3) Mobile technique changes frequently

hence it can be grouped under marketing

fluctuation.

Q.552.(3) Future customers are called Target

Customers.

Q.553.(2) Customer’s need, cost of customer,

convenience, communication formed 4C

of marketing mix.

Q.554.(5)

Q.555.(4)

Q.556.(1)
Q.557.(1)

Q.558.(5) All are abbreviations

Q.559.(3)

Q.560.(2)

Q.561.(2)

Q.562.(2) manufacturing cost is internal factor.

Q.563.(4)

Q.564.(4)

Q.565.(4)

Q.566.(1)

Q.567.(3)

Q.568.(4) For customer-oriented companies

customer satisfaction is target and

marketing tool.

Q.569.(1)

Q.570.(4)

Q.571.(5) All are the qualities of patent.

Q.572.(5) All are the elements of effective package.

Q.573.(3)

Q.574.(2)

Q.575.(4)

Q.576.(3) Knowledge of related markets

Q.577.(2) Cross-selling

Q.578.(5) All (1), (2) and (3)

Q.579.(1) A marketing staff

Q.580.(3) For good customer service

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EXP/MASTER IN MARKETING 142 Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd.

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 28-04-2013 Based On Memory

Q.1.(3)

Q.2.(4)

Q.3.(3)

Q.4.(2)

Q.5.(4)

Q.6. (2) CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Q.7.(1)

Q.8.(5)

Q.9.(5)

Q.10.(5)

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 27-05-2012 Based On Memory

Q.1.(1) Marketing is a critical business function

for attracting customers.

Q.2.(2) A business needs to markets its products

when the supply exceeds demand.

Q.3.(1) Traditional marketing involves door to door

campaigns.

Q.4.(3) Telemarketing is a method of direct

marketing in which a salesperson solicits

prospective customers to buy products

or services, either over the phone or

through a subsequent face to face or Web

conferencing.

Q.5.(4) A good salesperson must have good

communication skills.

Q.6.(2) Direct marketing allows businesses and

nonprofits organizations to communicate

straight to the Customer.

Q.7.(2) Lead generation means identifying the

prospective buyers and then approaching

them.

Q.8.(5) Web marketing is the marketing and

promotion of products or services over the

Internet.

Q.9.(3) methods to improve marketing activities.

Q.10.(2) Planning work

Q.11.(5)

Q.12.(1) In push marketing, the information is just

“pushed” toward the buyer by the seller

to make him aware of his products and

services.

Q.13.(4)

Q.14.(3) sales call planning

Q.15.(3) Buyer resistance occurs when the buyer

is not able to decide whether to buy the

product or not.

Q.16.(5) persuasive communication

Q.17.(4) Benchmarking is the process of

comparing one’s business processes and

performance metrics to industry bests or

best practices from other industries.

Q.18.(1) Innovation in marketing means developing

as well as adopting new technologies.

Q.19.(1)

Q.20.(1) USP stands for Unique selling proposition

here, which means an attraction or a

specific feature of a product or service

which renders it different from the others.

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 14-10-2012 Based On Memory

Q.1.(2) A family with more than 2 members

Q.2.(3) Lowering the selling price

Q.3.(5) Market segments allow companies to

create product differentiation strategies to

target them.

Q.4.(3)

Q.5.(5) Telemarketing is a method of direct

marketing in which a salesperson

approaches prospective customers to buy

products or services, either over the phone

or through a subsequent face to face or

Web conferencing.

Q.6.(5) Upselling is a sales technique whereby a

seller induces the customer to purchase

more expensive items.

Q.7.(3) The process of marketing ends with the

customer satisfaction.

Q.8.(2) An impulse purchase or impulse buying

is an unplanned decision to buy a product

or service, made just before a purchase.

Q.9.(4)

Q.10.(2) Do Not Call List

Q.11.(4) Test marketing is product development

stage where the product is exposed to a

EXPLANATION OF PREVIOUS PAPERS

carefully chosen sample of the population

for deciding if to reject it before its full

scale launch.

Q.12.(2)

Q.13.(4) Value based pricing sets prices primarily,

but not exclusively, on the value, perceived

or estimated, to the customer rather than

on the cost of the product or historical

prices.
Q.14.(2) Negative demand is situation where

consumers avoid a product or firm with

negative image or connotations, such as

those associated with unfair labor policies

or the practices that harm the

environment.

Q.15.(1)

Q.16.(1) Internet banking allows customers of a

financial institution to conduct financial

transactions on a secure website

operated by the institution.

Q.17.(2) Market risk is the risk of losses in

positions arising from movements in

market prices.

Q.18.(1) Improved Customer Services

Q.19.(5) Marketing research is the systematic

gathering, recording, and analysis of

qualitative and quantitative data about

issues relating to marketing products and

services.

Q.20.(3)

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 03-06-2012 (Ist Shift) Based On Memory

Q.1.(1) Marketing is the function of only Sales

persons.
Q.2.(1) Ability and willingness of the Sales

person.

Q.3.(1) Product Distribution

Q.4.(4) Service marketing refers to both business

to consumer (B2C) and business to

business (B2B) services which includes

marketingofserviceslike

telcommunications services, financial

services etc.

Q.5.(2) Customization leads to improved

customer retention.

Q.6.(3) Marketing aims at increasing profits.

Q.7.(2) Aggressive marketing-when a market

becomes very aggressive, the prices of

stocks can go up significantly which in

turn makes it more expensive for a trader

to become involved in the market by

buying stock.

Q.8.(3)

Q.9.(4) Market information system is a set of

procedures and practices employed in

gathering, analyzing, and assessing

information about a firm's market

environment comprising competitors,

customers, suppliers, distribution

intermediaries & sales personnel.

Q.10.(1)

Q.11.(1) SME loans/finance is the funding of small

and medium sized enterprises &

represents a major function of the general

business finance market-in which capital

for different types of firms are supplied,

acquired and priced

Q.12.(2) Market segmentation enables companies

to target different categories of consumers

who perceive the full value of certain

products/services differently.

Q.13.(3) It is a specific group of people within the

target market at which a product or the

marketing message of a product is aimed

at.

Q.14.(4) SME are companies where the

investment in plant and machinery does

not exceed Rs. 25 lakh.

Q.15.(3) USP is a concept stating that such

campaigns made unique propositions to

the customer and that this convinced

them to switch brands.

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 03-06-2012 (IInd Shift) Based On Memory

Q.1.(5) Cold calling is the marketing process of

approaching prospective customers or

clients typically via telephone who were

not expecting such an interaction.

Q.2.(1) Delivery channel/Distribution channel is

a path through which goods and services

flow in one direction (from vendor to the

consumer), and the payments generated

by them that flow in the opposite direction

(from consumer to the vendor).

Q.3.(4) All sales lead is the identification of a

person or entity that has the interest and

authority to purchase a product or service.

Q.4.(5) Advertisement is a form of communication

used to encourage or persuade an

audience to continue or take some new

action.

Q.5.(4) Selling is offering to exchange something

of value for something else.

Q.6.(3)

Q.7.(3)

Q.8.(3)

Q.9.(1) Bench marking is the process of

comparing one's business processes and

performance metrics to industry bests.

Q.10.(5)

Q.11.(5)

Q.12.(4)

Q.13.(1) Internet marketing or online marketing is

referred to as the marketing of products

or services over the internet.

Q.14.(2)

Q.15.(1) STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 16-01-2011 (Ist Shift) Based On Memory

Q.1.(3) Direct marketing is a channel of

advertising that allows business and nonprofits

to communicate straight to the

customer with advertising techniques

such as mobile messaging, email.etc.

Q.2.(2) Web marketing also known as internet

marketing is the marketing of products

or services over the internet.

Q.3.(1) More business to the company.

Q.4.(2) Lead generation

Q.5.(3) Market share is the percentage of an

industry or market's total sales that is

earned by a particular company over a

specified time period.

Q.6.(2) Increasing the sales volume

Q.7.(4) Market segmentation enables companies

to target different categories of consumers

who perceive the full value of certain

products and services differently from one

another.

Q.8.(2)

Q.9.(3) Referral selling is acquiring new

customers who are suggested or referred

to by existing customers. Referral selling

is the basis of all direct selling.

Q.10.(1) Unique selling proposition is a concept

that gives real or perceived benefit of a

good or service that differentiates it from

the competing brands and gives its buyer

a logical reason to prefer it over other

brands. USP is often a critical component

of a promotional theme around which an

advertising campaign is built.

Q.11.(4) converting prospective customers into

purchasers

Q.12.(3)

Q.13.(4) Cross selling is the act of selling among

or between established clients, markets,

traders etc.

Q.14.(3) Marketing strategy is a process that can

allow an organization to concentrate its

limited resources on the greatest

opportunities to increase sales.

Q.15.(1) all purchasers

Q.16.(2)

Q.17.(2)

Q.18.(2)

Q.19.(1) Digital marketing is similar to online

marketing.

Q.20.(2) Direct selling Agent.

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 16-01-2011 (IInd Shift) Based On Memory

Q.1.(1) Safe Deposit locker can be canvassed

among all existing account holders.

Q.2.(4) Telemarketing is a method of direct

marketing in which a salesperson

requests prospective customers to buy

products or services through phone calls

or web conferencing.

Q.3.(1) Cashless operations

Q.4.(3) It is very low

Q.5.(2) Liquidity

Q.6.(3) Bancassurance is used to describe the

partnership or relationship between a

bank and an insurance company uses the

bank sales channel in order to sell

insurance products.

Q.7.(4)

Q.8.(1) increasing deposits.

Q.9.(5)

Q.10.(1) Mutual funds investments can be

effectively canvassed among only

salaried persons.

Q.11.(2) Product Design is the process of creating

a new product to be sold by a business

to its customers.

Q.12.(3)

Q.13.(1) Advertisement is a form of communication

used to encourage or persuade an

audience to continue some actions. It is

a notice or announcement in a public

medium promoting a product, service.

Q.14.(1) Q.15.(2)

Q.16.(3) Value added services refers to advanced

and/or additional services offered to

increase their revenue or make their

offering more competitive.

Q.17.(4)

Q.18.(2) Cross selling

Q.19.(1) Globalization is growth to a global or

worldwide scale.
Q.20.(4) Market Research is any organized effort

to gather information about market or

customers.

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 22-11-2009 (Ist Shift) Based On Memory

Q.1.(3) Q.2.(4) Q.3.(2) Q.4.(2) Q.5.(5) Q.6.(1)

Q.7.(5) Q.8.(5) Q.9.(3) Q.10.(5) Q.11.(4) Q.12.(4)

Q.13.(3) Q.14.(5) Q.15.(4)

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 22-11-2009 (IInd Shift) Based On Memory

Q.1.(1) Q.2.(3) Q.3.(1) Q.4.(4) Q.5.(4) Q.6.(2)

Q.7.(3) Q.8.(4) Q.9.(4) Q.10.(4) Q.11.(3) Q.12.(4)

Q.13.(2) Q.14.(5) Q.15.(4)

STATE BANK OF INDIA

HELD ON 15-11-2009 Based On Memory

Q.1.(2) Q.2.(3) Q.3.(4) Q.4.(1) Q.5.(1)

Q.6.(3) Q.7.(3) Q.8.(4) Q.9.(4) Q.10.(5)

Q.11.(5) Q.12.(4) Q.13.(1) Q.14.(2) Q.15.(1)

INDIAN BANKING
The first bank of limited liability managed by Indians was Oudh Commercial Bank founded in
1881. Punjab National Bank was established in 1894 .

Swadeshi movement, which began in 1906, encouraged the formation of a number of

commercial banks. Banking crisis during 1913 -1917 and failure of 588 banks in various States
during the decade ended 1949 underlined the need for regulating and controlling commercial
banks.

The Banking Companies Act was passed in February1949, which was subsequently amended to
read as Banking Regulation Act, 1949.This Act provided the legal framework for regulation of
the banking system by RBI. The largest bank - Imperial Bank of India - was taken over by the
RBI in 1955 and rechristened as State Bank of India, followed by inclusion of its 7 Associate
Banks in1959. At present SBI has five associate banks.

With a view to bring commercial banks into the mainstream of economic development with
definite social obligations and objectives, the Government issued an ordinance on 19 July 1969
acquiring ownership and control of 14 major banks in the country. Six more commercial banks
were nationalised from 15 April 1980.

Meaning of Bank

Bank is a lawful organisation, which accepts deposits that can be withdrawn on demand. It also
lends money to individuals and business houses that need it.

Role of Banking

Banks provide funds for business as well as personal needs of individuals. They play a
significant role in the economy of a nation. Let us know about the role of banking.

s available for productive

use.

for various business activities.

currency.

-term purposes.

-export transactions.

-scale industries and

self-employed people as well as to large business houses which lead to balanced economic
development in the country.
of consumer durable goods, houses, automobiles, etc.

TYPES OF BANKS

There are various types of banks which operate in our country to meet the financial requirements
of different categories of people engaged in agriculture, business, profession, etc. On the basis of
functions, the banking institutions in India may be divided into the following types:

1. Central Bank (RBI, in India)

2. Commercial Banks 2

3. Development Banks (IFCI, SFCs)

4. Co-operative Banks

Co-operative Banks

-operative Banks

5. Specialised Banks (EXIM Bank, SIDBI, NABARD)

Central Bank

A bank which is entrusted with the functions of guiding and regulating the banking system of a
country is known as its Central bank. Such a bank does not deal with the general public. It acts
essentially as Government‟s banker, maintain deposit accounts of all other banks and advances
money to other banks, when needed. The Central Bank provides guidance to other banks
whenever they face any problem. It is therefore known as the banker‟s bank. The Reserve Bank
of India is the central bank of our country. The Central Bank maintains record of Government
revenue and expenditure under various heads. It also advises the Government on monetary and
credit policies and decides on the interest rates for bank deposits and bank loans. In addition,
foreign exchange rates are also determined by the central bank. Another important function of
the Central Bank is the issuance of currency notes, regulating their circulation in the country by
different methods. No other bank than the Central Bank can issue currency.

COMMERCIAL BANKS
Commercial Banks are banking institutions that accept deposits and grant short-term loans and
advances to their customers. In addition to giving short-term loans, commercial banks also give
medium-term and long-term loan to business enterprises. Now-a-days some of the commercial
banks are also providing housing loan on a long-term basis to individuals. There are also many
other functions of commercial banks, which are discussed later in this lesson.

Types of Commercial banks:

Commercial banks are of three types i.e., Public sector banks, Private sector banks and Foreign
banks.

These are banks where majority stake is held by the Government of India or Reserve Bank of
India. Examples of public sector banks are: State Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Bank of
Baroda and Dena Bank, etc.

In case of private sector banks majority of share capital of the bank is held by private individuals.
These banks are registered as companies with limited liability. For example: The ICICI Bank,
Axis Bank, Federal Bank etc.

These banks are registered and have their headquarters in a foreign country but operate their
branches in our country. Some of the foreign banks operating in our country are Hong Kong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Citibank, American Express Bank, Standard &
Chartered Bank, Grindlay‟s Bank, etc. The number of foreign banks operating in our country has
increased since the financial sector reforms of 1991. According to a report by RBI there are 47
Foreign Banks branches in India as on March 31, 2013.

Business often requires medium and long-term capital for purchase of machinery and equipment,
for using latest technology, or for expansion and modernization. Such financial assistance is
provided by Development Banks. They also undertake other development measures like
subscribing to the shares and debentures issued by companies, in case of under subscription of
the issue by the public. Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) and State Financial
Corporations (SFCs) are examples of development banks in India.

-operative Banks

People who come together to jointly serve their common interest often form a co-operative
society under the Co-operative Societies Act. When a co-operative society engages itself in
banking business it is called a Co-operative Bank. The society has to obtain a licence from the
Reserve Bank of India before starting banking business. Any co-operative bank as a society has
to function under the overall supervision of the Registrar, Co-operative Societies of the State. As
regards banking business, the society must follow the guidelines set issued by the ReserveBank
of India.

NATIONAL BANK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (NABARD)

INTRODUCTION

NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for
promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries,
handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic
activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure
prosperity of rural areas. In discharging its role as a facilitator for rural prosperity NABARD is
entrusted with Providing refinance to lending institutions in rural areas Bringing about or
promoting institutional development and Evaluating, monitoring and inspecting the client banks
Besides this pivotal role, NABARD also:

Acts as a coordinator in the operations of rural credit institutions

Extends assistance to the government, the Reserve Bank of India and other organizations in
matters relating to rural development

Offers training and research facilities for banks, cooperatives and organizations working in the
field of rural development

Helps the state governments in reaching their targets of providing assistance to eligible
institutions in agriculture and rural development

Acts as regulator for cooperative banks and RRBs

Some of the milestones in NABARD's activities are:

District Rural Industries Project (DRIP) has generated employment for 23.34 lakh persons with
10.95 lakh units in 105 districts.

It was setup with an initial capital of Rs. 100 crore, which is in henced to 4,000 crore in 2013
fully subscribed by the Government of India and RBI. 4

SUBSIDIARIES OF NABARD

Nab cons : NABARD Consultancy Services (Nabcons) is a wholly owned subsidiary promoted
by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and is engaged in
providing consultancy in all spheres of agriculture, rural development and allied areas. Nabcons
leverages on the core competence of the NABARD in the areas of agricultural and rural
development, especially multidisciplinary projects, banking, institutional development,
infrastructure, training, etc., internalized for more than two decades.

The Company is registered under the Company's Act, 1956, with an authorized capital of Rs 250
million (US $5.75 million) and paid up capital of Rs 50 million (US $1.15 million).

In tune with NABARD's mission to bring about rural prosperity, Nabcons has more than just
commercial interest in the assignments it undertakes.

NABARD Financial Services Limited, [NABFINS] is a subsidiary of National Bank for

Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with equity participation from NABARD,
Government of Karnataka, Canara Bank of India, Dhanalakshmi Bank and Federal Bank. It is a
non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the Reserve Bank of India and shall operate throughout
India. The main objectives of the Company are to provide financial services in two broad areas
of agriculture and microfinance. NABFINS provides credit and other facilities for promotion,
expansion, commercialization and modernization of agriculture and allied activities. NBFINS
shall engage in the business of providing micro finance sections of the society for securing their
prosperity in both rural and urban areas.

NABARD, which is the world renowned apex development bank of our country and pioneered
the world's largest microfinance movement, while promoting NABFINS has envisaged that
NABFINS shall evolve into a model Microfinance Institution to set standards of governance
among the MFIs, operate with exemplary levels of transparency and operate at reasonable/
moderate rates of interest.

Agri Business Finance (AP) Limited (ABFL) was incorporated under Companies Act., 1956 on
17 February 1997. It is a state specific financial institution registered as Non Banking Finance
Company. ABFL was promoted with equity participation from National Bank for Agriculture
and Rural Development (NABARD), Andhra Bank, Canara Bank, Govt of Andhra Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, State Cooperative Bank and few Industrial Houses/individuals from the State. It
operates in the state of Andhra Pradesh with its registered office at Hyderabad. It is whole owned
subsidiary of NABARD.

ABFL was incorporated with the objective of providing credit and to offer facilities for
promotion, expansion, commercialization and modernization of enterprises engaged in
Agriculture and allied activities. The organization is specifically catering to the long-term
investment needs of Agriculture and allied activities since its inception from 1997.

BANKERS INSTITUTE OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (BIRD)

Established in 1983, at Lucknow, is an autonomous institute promoted and funded by NABARD.

BIRD was established primarily to cater to the training needs of RRB personnel. The Institute,
has, since 1st April 1992, been catering to the training and information needs of rural bankers
through its topical training programs/seminars . The Institute's mandate also includes Research
and Consultancy in the related areas

FUNCTIONS OF COMMERCIAL BANKS

The functions of commercial banks are of two types.

(A) Primary functions; and 5 (B) Secondary functions.

The primary functions of a commercial bank includes:

ACCEPTING DEPOSITS

The most important activity of a commercial bank is to mobilise deposits from the public. People
who have surplus income and savings find it convenient to deposit the amounts with banks.
Depending upon the nature of deposits, funds deposited with bank also earn interest. Thus,
deposits with the bank grow alongwith the interest earned. If the rate of interest is higher, public
feels motivated to deposit more funds with the bank. There is also safety of funds deposited with
the bank.

The second important function of a commercial bank is to grant loans and advances. Such loans
and advances are given to members of the public and to the business community at a higher rate
of interest than allowed by banks on various deposit accounts. The rate of interest charged on
loans and advances varies according to the purpose and period of loan and also the mode of
repayment.

A loan is granted for a specific time period. Generally commercial banks provide short-term
loans. But term loans, i.e., loans for more than a year may also be granted. The borrower may be
given the entire amount in lump sum or in instalments. Loans are generally granted against the
security of certain assets. A loan is normally repaid in instalments. However, it may also be
repaid in lump sum.
An advance is a credit facility provided by the bank to its customers. It differs from loan in the
sense that loans may be granted for longer period, but advances are normally granted for a short
period of time. Further the purpose of granting advances is to meet the day-to-day requirements
of business. The rate of interest charged on advances varies from bank to bank. Interest is
charged only on the amount withdrawn and not on the sanctioned amount.

Banks grant short-term financial assistance by way of cash credit, overdraft and bill discounting.

Cash credit is an arrangement whereby the bank allows the borrower to draw amount upto a
specified limit. The amount is credited to the account of the customer. The customer can
withdraw this amount as and when he requires. Interest is charged on the amount actually
withdrawn. Cash Credit is granted as per terms and conditions agreed with the customers.

Overdraft is also a credit facility granted by bank. A customer who has a current account with the
bank is allowed to withdraw more than the amount of credit balance in his account. It is a
temporary arrangement. Overdraft facility with a specified limit may be allowed either on the
security of assets, or on personal security, or both. 6

Banks provide short-term finance by discounting bills, that is, making payment of the amount
before the due date of the bills after deducting a certain rate of discount. The party gets the funds
without waiting for the date of maturity of the bills. In case any bill is dishonoured on the due
date, the bank can recover the amount from the customer.

In addition to the primary functions of accepting deposits and lending money, banks perform a
number of other functions, which are called secondary functions. These are as follows:

ellers cheque, etc.

deposit vaults or lockers.

the bank through cheque, pay order and demand draft.

machinery, vehicles etc.

NON BANKING FINANCIAL COMPANIES (NBFC)

A Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company a) registered under the Companies

Act. 1956, b) its principal business is lending, investments in various types of
shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit
business, and c) its principal business is receiving deposits under any scheme or arrangement in
one lump sum or in installments. However, a Non-Banking Financial Company does not include
any institution whose principal business is agricultural activity, industrial activity, trading
activity or sale/purchase/construction of immovable property. (Section 45 I (c) of the RBI Act,
1934) . One key aspect to be kept in view is that the financial activity of loans/advances as stated
in 45 I ( c) , should be for activity other than its own. In the absence of this provision, all
companies would have been NBFCs.

NBFCs whose asset size is of Rs.100 cr or more as per last audited balance sheet are considered
as systemically important NBFCs. The rationale for such classification is that the activities of
such NBFCs will have a bearing on the financial stability in our country.

The Reserve Bank of India regulates and supervises Non-Banking Financial Companies which
are into the business of (i) lending (ii) acquisition of shares, stocks, bonds, etc., or (iii) financial
leasing or hire purchase. The Reserve Bank also regulates companies whose principal business is
to accept deposits. (Section 45I (c) of the RBI Act, 1934)

The Reserve Bank has been given the powers under the RBI Act 1934 to register, lay down
policy, issue directions, inspect, regulate, supervise and exercise surveillance over NBFCs that
meet the 50-50 criteria of principal business. The Reserve Bank can penalize NBFCs for
violating the provisions of the RBI Act or the directions or orders issued by RBI under RBI Act.
The penal action can also result in RBI cancelling the Certificate of Registration issued to the
NBFC, or prohibiting them from accepting deposits and alienating their assets or filing a winding
up petition. 7

SOCIAL BANKING IN INDIA LEAD BANK SCHEME

To bring about all round development of the rural areas of the country a committee of Mr.
Gardgil and Mr. FF Nariman recommended in 1969 that the reponsiblity of fiancial development
of different districts of the country may be given to various big banks. Accordingly after
consulting the public sector banks operating in the country the Reserve Bank of India assigned
different districts to different public sector banks. The bank that was assigned the reponsibility to
carry out allround financial development of a district, in co-ordination with the district
government authorities became the lead bank for the district. To carry out the development the
lead bank cordinates with the district authorities through the District Level Cordination
Committee (DLCC) prepares an annual plan and implements the same through the banks
operating in the district. It also collects and analyses statistical data of development taking place
in the district.

While all the lead banks in the country are public sector banks, the lead bank of one district in
Rajasthan viz. Mewar is ICICI Bank.

REGIONAL RURAL BANKS

The M.Narisaman committee in 1975 after studying the impact of the Lead Bank Scheme
recommended the establishment of rural banks in each district that may be dedicated to rural
development. The first Gramin Banks started functioning on 2nd October 1975 under an
ordinance and subsquently the Regional Rural Banks Act was passed in 1976. The management
of Regional Rural banks was with a public sector bank generally the lead bank of the district.
The Regional Rural Bank operates within a given geographical area. The Capital for these banks
was contributed by the Central Government (50%), the Sponsor Bank (35%) and the State
Government (15%). Initially around 186 Gramin Bank established all over India but now in
keeping with the government directive to merge the gramin banks there were 57 gramin banks as
on November 2013.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Financial inclusion is delivery of banking services at an affordable cost to the vast sections of
disadvantaged and low income groups. Unrestrained access to public goods and services is the
„sine qua non‟ (an essential condition) of an open and efficient society. As banking services are
in the nature of public good, it is essential that availability of banking and payment services to
the entire population without discrimination is the prime objective of the public policy.

The former United Nations Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan on December 29th 2003, while
addressing Unesco highlighted that 84% of the world population were not financially included.
In 2004 a committe headed by Shri. Haroon Rashid Khan studied the functioning of gramin
banks and found that 67% of the Indian population were not financially included. This matter
was highlighted in the Reserve Bank of India term policy paper of 2005-2006 and banks were
asked to take up financial inclusion for the country. The government of India has initiated a
movement called Swabhiman for financial inclusion and had targeted all villages with population
of 2000 or above by March 2012 and villages with population of 1000 or above by March 2015.

As result to the campaign, States or Union territories like Punducherry, Himanchal Pradesh and
Kerala have announced 100% financial inclusion in all the districts. RBI‟s vision for 2020 is to
open nearly 600 million new customers accounts and service them through a variety of channels
by leveraging on IT.

The financial institutions have taken the following steps to bring in financial inclusion-

1. Publicity- Wide pulicity of the utility of financial service are being done to apprise the rural
foik are the important of banks.

2.

2. Basic Saving Bank Deposit Accounts-These accounts are opened on relaxed KYC norms and
need not have any balance in them. These accounts were formerly called No frill accounts but
were renominated as basic saving bank deposit account by the RBI in September 2012. The main
features of the account are

i. The „Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account‟ should be considered a normal banking service
available to all. 8 ii. This account shall not have the requirement of any minimum balance.

iii. The services available in the account will include deposit and withdrawal of cash at bank
branch as welt as ATMs; receipt/credit of money through electronic payment channels or by
means of deposit/collection of cheques drawn by Central/State Government agencies and
departments;

iv. While there will be no limit on the number of deposits that can be made in a month, account
holders will be allowed a maximum of four withdrawals in a month, including ATM
withdrawals; and-

v. Facility of ATM card or ATM-cum-Debit Card;

• The above facilities are to be provided without any charges. Further, no charges will be levied
for non-operation/activation of in‟pperative „Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account‟.

• Banks are free to evolve other requirements including pricing structure for additional value-
added services beyond the stipulated basic minimum services on reasonable and transparent basis
and applied in a non-discriminatory manner.

• The „Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account‟ is subject to RBI instructions on Know Your
Customer (KYC) / Anti-Money Laundering (AMI) for opening of bank accounts issued from
time to time. If such account is opened on the basis of simplified KYC norms, the account would
additionally be treated as a „Small Account‟ and would be subject to conditions stipulated for
such accounts.
• Holders of „Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account‟ will not be eligible for opening any other
savings bank deposit account in that bank. If a customer has any other existing savings bank
deposit account in that bank, he/ she will be required to close it within 30 days from the date of
opening a „ Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account‟.

• The existing basic banking „no-frills‟ accounts should be converted to „Basic Savings Bank
Deposit Account‟.

3. Kisan Credit Card- The banks are providing credit cards to the farmers having land on basis of
the annual produce of their land. They amount avialable in the credit card (appropriately named
Kisan Credit Card) can be drawn by the farmer any time as per his needs and has to be repaid
after reaping the crop in the next croping season. Interest as applicable to agriculture loan are
charged on loans given from Kisan Credit Cards. These cards are normally valid for five years.

4. General Purpose Credit Card-Small consumption loans are given to landless people through
general purpose credit card having limits upto Rs. 15,000 and carrying an interest rate of 4%.
This loan can be used by the beneficiaries for opening small bussiness.

5. Bussiness Correspondents- As banks were unable to open branches immediately in all villages
they addopted the Bussiness Correspondent model from Jan 2006. In this model persons living
near the respective villages who may be educated are used as bank‟s commission agents to
provide door step banking to the villagers. These persons could be retired employees of banks,
post offices, Railways,Armed forces etc. are could even be NGOs or SHGs. They carry with
them a hand held computer and through the use of Electronic Smart Card allow withdrawal upto
Rs. 10,000 from Saving Bank Accounts or Kisan Credit Cards. They can also open deposit
accounts and deposit money in the accounts. The Bussiness Correspondents goes back to his
base bank every day updates his computer, submits the relevant accounts.

6. Electronic Banking- To facility financial inclusion banks are also adopting Electronic Banking
through the use of biometric Atms and mobile banking.

7. Ultra Small Branches- In villages serviced by the bussiness correspondent, an officer of the
base branch visits the village once in a week and attends to the banking functions that could not
be carried out by the bussiness correspondent. He also accepts small loan applications and
sanctions them on the spot.
Financial Inclusion Index

On June 25th, 2013 CRISIL, India‟s leading credit rating and reasearch company launched an
index to measure the status of finacial inclusion in India. The Index-Inclusix is one of its kind
tool to 9 measure the extent of inclusion in India right down to each of the 632 districts. CRISIL
Inclusix is on scale of 0 to 100 and includes parameters of basic banking services-branch
penetration, deposit penetration and credit penetration into one metric. The all India CRISIL
Inclusix score is 40%.

Micro finance and Micro Credit

Micro credit is giving a small loan to a person. How ever if the person is trained for the project
for which he is taking the loan and financial untilization and then given the loan it is called
Micro Finance.

Micro Finance = Micro Credit + Financial and Project Literacy

Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI)

These Institutes have been established by the Government of India in almost all districts of the
country. These Institutes train the rural youth for agriculture and non-agricultural activities is
through residential training of 6 to 10 days. All the expenses of these Institute are brone by the
Government of India while it is generally manned by officers of the lead bank. The youth trained
by these Institutes are given credit by the banks and this will amount to Micro Finance.

Financial Literacy and Counselling Centre (FLCC)

A working group under Shri. C.P. Swarnkar was constituted on 10th May 2007 to examine the
procedures and processes of disbursement of agricultural loans. This group found that rural
people were quiet ignorant of the types of agricultural credit facilities available to them. The
group recommended the formation of Financial Literacy and Counselling Centre (FLCC) at
different rural locations to help the farmers obtain credit facilities easily. These centres are
generally manned by retired officers of the banks who are well versed with rural landing.

PRIORITY SECTOR CREDIT

The National Credit Council in July 1968 and the Reserve Bank of India informal study group on
statastics relating to advances to priority sector in 1971, recommended that some part of the total
credit given by banks should be set a side for priority sector. In terms of the directive of Reserve
Bank of India domestic commercial banks, urban cooperative banks and foreign banks with 20 or
more branches have to provide 40% of their addjusted net bank credit every year to the priority
sector. Out of this 18% have to be set aside to agriculture credit. Foreign banks with less than 20
branches have to provide 32% of their credit to the priority sector.

Description of the Categories under priority sector

1. Agriculture 1.1. Direct Agriculture

Loans to individual farmers [including SHGs or (JLGs),] engaged in Agriculture and Allied
Activities. Loans to others [corporates, partnership firms and institutions] for Agriculture and
Allied Activities (dairy, fishery, piggery, poultry, bee-keeping, etc.) up to an limit of Rs. 2 crore
per borrower (these loans above Rs.2 cr are indirect agriculture loans) for :

(i) Short-term crop loans. This will include traditional/non-traditional plantations, horticulture
and allied activities,

(ii) Medium & long-term loans for purchase of agricultural ifnple-ments and machinery, loans
for irrigation and other developmental activities at farm and development loans for allied
activities),

(iii) Loans for pre-harvest and post-harvest activities viz.spraying, weeding, harvesting, sorting,
gracjjng and transporting of their own farm produce.

(iv) Loans to farmers up to Rs. 50 lakh against pledge / hypothecation of agrl produce (including
warehouse receipts) for a period up to 12 months. Such loans to others are indirect agriculture
loans,

(v) Loans to small/marginal farmers for purchase of land for agr.

(vi) Loans to distressed farmers indebted to non-institutional lenders, against appropriate

collateral,

(vii) Export credit for exporting their own farm produce. 10 1.2. Indirect agriculture

1. Loans to corporates, partnership firms and institutions engaged in Agriculture and Allied
Activities more than Rs.2 crore Loans upto Rs.5 crore to Producer Companies set up exclusively
by only small and marginal farmers for agricultural/allied activities.

2. Other indirect agriculture loans

(i) Loans up to Rs.5 crore per borrower to dealers / sellers of fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, cattle
feed, poultry feed, agricultural implements and other inputs.

(ii) Loans for setting up of Agriclinics and Agribusiness Centres.

(iii) Loans to Custom Service Units to maintain a fleet of tractors, bulldozers, well-boring
equipment, threshers, combines, etc., and undertake farm work for farmers on contract basis.

(iv) Loans for construction/running of storage facilities” (warehouse, market yards, godowns and
silos), including cold storage units to store agriculture produce/products, irrespective of location.

Loan to MSE storage unit will be classified under loans to MSE.

2. Micro and small enterprises include:

(a) Manufacturing Enterprises (Investment in P&M): Micro max Rs.25 lac. Small Enterprises -
Above Rs.25 lac up to Rs. 5 cr.

(b) Service Sector Enterprises: Micro Enterprises - Max Rs. 10 lakh. Small Enterprises - Above
10 lakh up to Rs. 2 crore.

(a) Direct Finance

1. Need based loans to Manufacturing Enterprises and loans up to Rs.5 cr to service enterprises.

2. Food/agro processing if units satisfy investment criteria.

3. Export credit to MSE units for export by them.

4. All loans to Khadi and Village Industries Sector will be classified under sub-target of 60 % for
micro enterprises within MSE sector.

(b) Indirect Finance -

(i) Loans to persons assisting decentralised sector in supply of inputs & marketing of outputs of
artisans, village cottage industries.

(ii) Loans to producers in the decentralised sector viz. artisans, village and cottage industries.

3. Education: Loans to individuals including vocational courses max Rs.10 lakh for studies in
India and Rs. 20 lakh abroad.

4. Micro Credit: Provision of credit and other financial services and products of amounts up to
Rs.50,000.

5. Housing

(i) Loans up to Rs. 25 lakh irrespective of location, to individuals for purchase / construction of a
dwelling unit per family, excluding loans sanctioned by banks to their own employees,

(ii) Loans for repairs to damaged dwelling units up to Rs. 2 lakh in rural and semi-urban areas
and up to Rs. 5 lakh in urban and metropolitan areas.

(iii) Loan to a governmental agency for construction of dwelling units or for slum clearance and
rehabilitation of slum dwellers subject to a ceiling of loan component of Rs. 5 lakh per dwelling
unit,

(iv) Loan to a non-governmental agency approved by NHB for refinance for construction /
reconstruction of dwelling units or for slum clearance and rehabilitation of slum dwellers, subject
to a ceiling of loan component of Rs. 10 lakh per dwelling unit.
6. Others

1. Loans up to Rs. 50,000 provided directly by banks to individuals;

2. Loans to distressed persons [other than farmers] max Rs. 50,000 per borrower to prepay their
debt to non-institutional lenders.

3. Loans to SHGs / JLGs for agricultural and allied activities. Other loans to SHGs / JLGs up to
Rs. 50,000 to be part of Micro Credit.

4. Loans sanctioned to State Sponsored Organisations for SC/ST for purchase and supply of
inputs to and / or the marketing of the outputs of the beneficiaries of these organisations. 11
Weaker Sections: 10% of total credit to this section(a) Small and marginal farmers; (b) Artisans,
village and cottage industries where individual credit limits do not exceed Rs. 50,000/-; (c)
SC/ST and women; (d) Education loans to persons having monthly income not exceeding
Rs.5000 (e) Loans to Self Help Groups; (f) Loans to distressed farmers indebted to non-
institutional lenders; (g) Loans to distressed persons other than farmers not exceeding
Rs.50,000/- per borrower to prepay their debt to non-institutional lenders; (h) Persons from
minority communities as may be notified by Govt. of India.

Common guidelines for priority sector loans

Banks should comply with the following common guidelines for all categories of advances under
the priority sector.

1. Service charges : IMo loan related and adhoc service charges/ inspection charges should be
levied on loans up to Rs. 25,000/-.

2. Receipt, Sanction/Rejection/Disbursement Register: A register/ electronic record should be

maintained by the bank, wherein the date of receipt, sanction/rejection/disbursement with
reasons thereof, etc., should be recorded. The register/electronic record should be made available
to all inspecting agencies.

Small and Marginal Farmers: Farmers with landholding of up to 1 hectare are considered as
Marginal Farmers. Farmers with a land-holding of more than 1 hectare but less than 2 hectares
are considered as Small Farmers. For the purpose of priority sector loans „small and marginal
farmers‟ include landless agricultural labourers, tenant farmers, oral lessees and share-croppers,
whose share of landholding is within above limits prescribed for “Small and Marginal Farmer”.

INTEREST SUBVENTION SCHEME

In pursuance of announcement in Budget 2012-13, Govt. of India was to provide interest
subvention of 2 % p.a. to Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in case of short-term production credit up
to Rs.3 lakh during the year 2012-13. This amount will be calculated on the crop loan amount
from the date of disbursement/drawal up to the date of actual repayment or up to the fixed due
date, whichever is earlier, subject to a maximum period of one year. The subvention is available
on the condition that banks make available at ground level at 7% p.a. rate of interest.

Additional subsidy: Govt. will also provide additional interest subvention of 3% p.a. to PSBs in
respect of those prompt paying farmers who repay their short-term production credit within one
year of disbursement/drawal of such loans for a maximum amount of Rs.3 lakh availed of by
them during the yeaf from the date of disbursement of the crop loan up to the actual date of
repayment or up to the fixed due date, whichever is earlier, subject to a max period of one year
from the date of disbursement. The additional subvention will be available only if the effective
rate of interest is 4 % p.a. This benefit would not accrue if repayment is after one year of availing
the loans. The benefits of interest subvention will also be available to small and marginal farmers
having Kisan Credit Card for a further period of up to 6 months post harvest, on the same rate as
available to crop loan against negotiable warehouse receipt for keeping their produce in
warehouses. Claims in respect of 2% interest subvention and 3% additional interest subvention
may be submitted respectively to RBI.

KHASRA, KHATUNI, KISAN BHAI

Khasra, Khatuni and Kisan Bhai are documents that establish the ownership and produce of farm
land. While Khasra in-corporates the plotwise/seasonwise produce the Khatauni is the discription
of plotwise ownership details. The Khasra and Khatuani are now being issued in the form of a
consolidated booklet called the Kisan Bhai.

CROP LOAN

The crop loan is provided to meet all expenses involved in raising a particular crop including
various agronomic practices.

Eligibility:- 12 Farmers cultivating owned/Registered leased lands hare croppers.

Quantum of loan:-

As per the scale of finance fixed by the Technical Committee of each district. [Depending on
merits of each case, branches may sanction crop Loans 35% more than the scale of finance fixed
by district technical committee. In other cases where scale of finance is not specified, the branch
- will work out the credit requirements of the farmer.

Where loan limit is fixed based on scale of finance approved by Technical Committee,
irrespective of loan amount - Nil
For others: [where scale of finance is not approved]

Up‟oRs. 1,00,000/— Nil

Rate of Interest:-Above Rs. 1,00,000/ 10% to 15%

Repayment:- Repayment period will be less than one year for all crops except in the case oi long
duration crops such as Sugarcane [Pineapple, Banana etc where if will be 12-18 months.

Security:- Up to Rs, 1,00,000/- DPN. Hypothecation of assets created and crops. Over Rs.
1,00,000.‟‟ DPN, Hypothecation of assets created and crops, mongage of land &/or third party
guarantee.

Insurance:- All eligible crops will be covered iiiic‟er National Agriculture Insurance Scheme/
Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana.

RBI & MONETARY POLICY

The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of
the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

The Central Office of the Reserve Bank was initially established in Calcutta but was permanently
moved to Mumbai in 1937. The Central Office is where the Governor sits and where policies are
formulated. Though originally privately owned, since nationalisation in 1949, the Reserve Bank
is fully owned by the Government of India.

MAIN FUNCTIONS

Monetary Authority

sectors.

REGULATOR AND SUPERVISOR OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM

financial system functions.

cost-effective banking services to the public.

MANAGER OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Management Act, 1999.

 ment and
maintenance of foreign exchange market in India.

ISSUER OF CURRENCY

good quality.

Developmental role

Functions

governments; also acts as their banker.

Monetary policy

Monetary policy refers to the use of instruments under the control of the central bank to regulate
the availability, cost and use of money and credit.

The goal: achieving specific economic objectives, such as low and stable inflation and promoting
growth.

The main objectives of Monetary Policy in India are:

he economy to support
economic growth

DIRECT INSTRUMENTS

The share of net demand and time liabilities that banks must maintain as cash balance with the
Reserve Bank.
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) is a term used in the regulation of banking in India. It is the
amount which a bank has to maintain in the form of cash, gold or approved securities balance in
current account with other commercial bank. The quantum is specified as some percentage of the
total demand and time liabilities of a bank. This percentage is fixed by the Reserve Bank of
India. Presently the SLR is 23%.

The 23% is the minimum SLR (the statutory requirements to park their money in government
bonds)limit the RBI can fix at present.

The move comes ahead of the credit review by the Apex Bank, slated for January 31st.

The objectives of SLR are 1) to restrict the expansion of bank credit 2) to augment the
investment of the banks in Government securities and 3) to ensure solvency of banks.

A reduction of SLR rates looks eminent to support the credit growth in india

Indian banks' holdings of government securities (G-Sec) are now close to the statutory minimum
banks are required to hold to comply with existing regulation. When measured in rupees, such
holdings decreased for the first time in a little less than 40 years (since the nationalisation of
banks in 1969) in 2005-06.

While the recent credit boom is a key driver of the decline in banks' portfolios of G-Sec, other
factors have played an important role recently. These include (i) interest rate increases; and (ii)
changes in the prudential regulation of banks' investments in G-Sec. Most G-Sec held by banks
are long-term fixed-rate bonds, which are sensitive to changes in interest rates. Increasing
interest rates have eroded banks' income from trading in G-Sec.

Sector-specific refinance facilities (e.g., against lending to export sector) provided to banks. 14
INDIRECT INSTRUMENTS

Consists of daily infusion or absorption of liquidity on a repurchase basis, through repo (liquidity
injection) and reverse repo (liquidity absorption) auction operations, using government securities
as collateral.

Outright sales/purchases of government securities, in addition to LAF, as a tool to determine the

level of liquidity over the medium term.
This instrument for monetary management was introduced in 2004. Liquidity of a more enduring
nature arising from large capital flows is absorbed through sale of short-dated government
securities and treasury bills. The mobilised cash is held in a separate government account with
the Reserve Bank.

o/Reverse Repo Rate

These rates under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) determine the corridor for short-term
money market interest rates. In turn, this is expected to trigger movement in other segments of
the financial market and the real economy.

On Oct 08, 2013, RBI decided to conduct auctions for Term Repos of 7-day and 14-day tenor,
for a notified amount, through variable rate auction mechanism. The details are as under:

• Term Repo under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) for 14 days and 7 days tenors will
be introduced for banks (scheduled commercial banks other than RRBs) in addition to the
existing daily LAF (repo and reverse repo) and MSF.

• Term repo auctions will be conducted on CBS (E-KUBER) platform through electronic bidding
as is done in the case of OMO auctions.

• The total amount of liquidity injected through term repos would be limited to 0.50% of NDTL
of the banking system.

• The 14 day term repo would be conducted every reporting Friday and the 7 day term repo
would be conducted on every non-reporting Friday.

• In case the notified amount for the 14-day term repo is not fully subscribed, a 7-day term repo
would be conducted on the following Friday for the remaining un-subscribed amount. In case of
full subscription in 14-day term repo, there will be no 7 day term repo auction on following
Friday.

• Banks would be required to place their bids with the term repo rate that they are willing to pay
to RBI, for the tenor of the repo expressed in percentage terms up to two decimal places.

• Once the bidding time is over, all the bids would be arranged in descending order of the term
repo rates quoted and the cut-off rate would be arrived at the rate corresponding to the notified
amount of the auction. Successful bidders would be those, who have placed their bids at or above
the cut-off rate.

• No bids would be accepted at or below prevailing Repo Rate under LAF.

• On the day prior to the auction, RBI will announce the amount to be auctioned under term repo
along with its tenor. The minimum bid amount for the auction would be Rs.1 cr and multiples
thereof.

• The reversal of term repo would take place at the „start of day‟ on the day of completion of the
term.

• The eligible collateral for term repo will remain the same as daily LAF repo and MSF i.e. for
Central Government Securities on 10% discount and State Government Securities 20% discount.

• All other terms and conditions as applicable to LAF operations will also be made applicable to
term repo, mutatis mutandis. These conditions will, however, be subject to review on a periodic
basis. 15

BANK RATE

It is the rate at which the Reserve Bank is ready to buy or rediscount bills of exchange or other
commercial papers. It also signals the medium-term stance of monetary policy.

National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)

National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is a nation-wide payment system facilitating one-to-
one funds transfer. Under this Scheme, individuals, firms and corporates can electronically
transfer funds from any bank branch to any individual, firm or corporate having an account with
any other bank branch in the country participating in the Scheme.

For being part of the NEFT funds transfer network, a bank branch has to be NEFT- enabled.

Individuals, firms or corporates maintaining accounts with a bank branch can transfer funds
using NEFT. Even such individuals who do not have a bank account (walk-in customers) can
also deposit cash at the NEFT-enabled branches with instructions to transfer funds using NEFT.
However, such cash remittances will be restricted to a maximum of Rs.50,000/- per transaction.
Such customers have to furnish full details including complete address, telephone number, etc.
NEFT, thus, facilitates originators or remitters to initiate funds transfer transactions even without
having a bank account.

Individuals, firms or corporates maintaining accounts with a bank branch can receive funds
through the NEFT system. It is, therefore, necessary for the beneficiary to have an account with
the NEFT enabled destination bank branch in the country.

The NEFT system also facilitates one-way cross-border transfer of funds from India to Nepal.
This is known as the Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility Scheme. A remitter can transfer funds from
any of the NEFT-enabled branches to Nepal, irrespective of whether the beneficiary in Nepal
maintains an account with a bank branch in Nepal or not.
There is no limit - either minimum or maximum - on the amount of funds that could be
transferred using NEFT. However, maximum amount per transaction is limited to Rs.50,000/- for
cash-based remittances and remittances to Nepal.

There is no restriction of centres or of any geographical area within the country. The NEFT
system takes advantage of the core banking system in banks. Accordingly, the settlement of
funds between originating and receiving banks takes places centrally at Mumbai, whereas the
branches participating in NEFT can be located anywhere across the length and breadth of the
country.

Presently, NEFT operates in hourly batches - there are twelve settlements from 8 am to 7 pm on
week days (Monday through Friday) and six settlements from 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays.

REAL TIME GROSS SETTLEMENT (RTGS) SYSTEM

The acronym 'RTGS' stands for Real Time Gross Settlement, which can be defined as the
continuous (real-time) settlement of funds transfers individually on an order by order basis
(without netting). 'Real Time' means the processing of instructions at the time they are received
rather than at some later time.'Gross Settlement' means the settlement of funds transfer
instructions occurs individually (on an instruction by instruction basis). Considering that the
funds settlement takes place in the books of the Reserve Bank of India, the payments are final
and irrevocable. RBI has operationalized a new ISO 20022 complaint RTGS system october 19-
2-2013.

The RTGS system is primarily meant for large value transactions. The minimum amount to be
remitted through RTGS is Rs.2 lakh. There is no upper ceiling for RTGS transactions.

Under normal circumstances the beneficiary branches are expected to receive the funds in real
time as soon as funds are transferred by the remitting bank. The beneficiary bank has to credit
the beneficiary's account within two hours of receiving the funds transfer message.

The remitting bank receives a message from the Reserve Bank that money has been credited to
the receiving bank. Based on this the remitting bank can advise the remitting customer that
money has been delivered to the receiving bank.

It is expected that the receiving bank will credit the account of the beneficiary instantly. If the
money cannot be credited for any reason, the receiving bank would have to return the money to
the 16 remitting bank within 2 hours. Once the money is received back by the remitting bank, the
original debit entry in the customer's account is reversed.

The RTGS service window for customer's transactions is available from 9.00 hours to 16.30
hours on week days and from 9.00 hours to 13.30 hours on Saturdays for settlement at the RBI
end. However, the timings that the banks follow may vary depending on the customer timings of
the bank branches.
With a view to rationalize the service charges levied by banks for offering funds transfer through
RTGS system, a broad framework has been mandated as under:

Free, no charge to be levied.

Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh - not exceeding Rs. 30 per transaction

Above Rs. 5 lakh - not exceeding Rs. 55 per transaction

DeMat Account

A DeMat account is one that allows you to buy, sell as well as transact without the need of any
paperwork. DeMat accounts are very safe, convenient and secure.

What is a DeMat Account?

DeMat is nothing but a dematerialized account. If one has to save money or make cheque
payments, then he/she needs to open a bank account. Similarly, one needs to open a DeMat
account if he/she wants to buy or sell stocks. Thus, DeMat account is similar to a bank account
wherein the actual money is being replaced by shares. In order to open a DeMat account, one
needs to approach the Depository Participants [DPs].

In India, a DeMat account is a type of banking account that dematerializes paper-based physical
stock shares. The DeMat account is used to avoid holding of physical shares: the shares are
bought as well as sold through a stock broker. In this case, the advantage is that one does not
need any physical evidence for possessing these shares. All the things are taken care of by the
DPs.

This account is very popular in India. Physically only 500 shares can be traded as per the
provision given by SEBI. From April 2006, it has become mandatory for any person holding a
DeMat account to possess a Permanent Account Number (PAN).

MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY - SCHEME

As announced in the Monetary Policy for the year 2011-12, a new Marginal Standing Facility
(MSF) is being introduced with effect from May 9, 2011.

The Scheme will be operationalized on the lines of the existing Liquidity Adjustment Facility -
Repo Scheme (LAF - Repo). The salient features of the Scheme are as under:
All Scheduled Commercial Banks having Current Account and SGL Account with Reserve
Bank, Mumbai will be eligible to participate in the MSF Scheme.

Under the facility, the eligible entities can avail overnight, up to one per cent of their respective
Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) outstanding at the end of the second preceding
fortnight. But for the intervening holidays, the MSF facility will be for one day except on Fridays
when the facility will be for three days or more, maturing on the following working day. In the
event, the banks' SLR holdings fall below the statutory requirement up to one per cent of their
NDTL, banks will not have the obligation to seek a specific waiver for default in SLR
compliance arising out of use of this facility in terms of notification issued under sub section
(2A) of Section 24 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

ility will be available on all working days in Mumbai, excluding

Saturdays between 3.30 P.M. and 4.30 P.M.

The rate of interest on amount availed under this facility will be 100 basis points above the LAF
repo rate, or as decided by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

The Reserve Bank will reserve the right to accept or reject partially or fully, the request for funds
under this facility.

nically in the Negotiated Dealing System (NDS).

Eligible members facing genuine system problem on any specific day, may submit physical
requests in sealed cover in the box provided in the Mumbai Office, Reserve Bank of India, to the
Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Securities Section, Public Accounts Department (PAD),
Mumbai Office by 4.30 P.M.

However, as far as possible only one request should be submitted by an applicant.

-in-Custody" repo, similar to LAF - Repo.

required quantum of securities and credited to Bank's RC SGL Account. Accordingly, the
applicant's current account will be credited with the MSF application amount. The transactions
will be reversed in the second leg. In case the second leg falls on a holiday, the reversal date will
be the next working day.

erve Bank and counter parties which would involve

operation of the RC SGL Account would not require separate SGL forms.

Reserve Bank. Accrued interest as on the date of transaction will be ignored for the purpose of
pricing of securities.

Requests will be received for a minimum amount of Rs. One crore and in multiples of Rs. One
crore thereafter.

MSF will be undertaken in all SLR-eligible transferable Government of India (GoI) dated
Securities/Treasury Bills and State Development Loans (SDL).

A margin of five per cent will be applied in respect of GoI dated securities and Treasury Bills. In
respect of SDLs, a margin of 10 per cent will be applied. Thus, the amount of securities offered
on acceptance of a request for Rs.100 will be Rs.105 (face value) of GoI dated securities and
Treasury Bills or Rs.110 (face value) of SDLs.

The settlement of all applications received under the MSF Scheme will take place on the same

held in Repo SGL Account

The extant instructions issued by the Department of Banking Operations and Development
(DBOD) of the Reserve Bank will apply on the securities offered by scheduled commercial
banks for MSF operations.

BASEL COMMITTEE

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision provides a forum for regular cooperation on
banking supervisory matters. Its objective is to enhance understanding of key supervisory issues
and improve the quality of banking supervision worldwide. It seeks to do so by exchanging
information on national supervisory issues, approaches and techniques, with a view to promoting
common understanding. The Committee‟s Secretariat is located at the Bank for International
Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland.
NEED FOR SUCH NORMS

The first accord by the name .Basel Accord I. was established in 1988 and was implemented by
1992. It was the very first attempt to introduce the concept of minimum standards of capital
adequacy. Then the second accord by the name Basel Accord II was established in 1999 with a
final directive in 2003 for implementation by 2006 as Basel II Norms. Unfortunately, India could
not fully implement this but, is now gearing up under the guidance from the Reserve Bank of
India to implement it from 1 April, 2009.

Basel II Norms have been introduced to overcome the drawbacks of Basel I Accord. For Indian
Banks, its the need of the hour to buckle-up and practice banking business at par with global
standards and make the banking system in India more reliable, transparent and safe. These
Norms are necessary since India is and will witness increased capital flows from foreign
countries and there is increasing cross-border economic & financial transactions.

FEATURES OF BASEL II NORMS

Basel II Norms are considered as the reformed & refined form of Basel I Accord. The Basel II
Norms primarily stress on 3 factors, viz. Capital Adequacy, Supervisory Review and Market
discipline. The Basel Committee calls these factors as the Three Pillars to manage risks.

Pillar I: Capital Adequacy Requirements

Under the Basel II Norms, banks should maintain a minimum capital adequacy requirement of
8% of risk assets. For India, the Reserve Bank of India has mandated maintaining of 9%
minimum capital adequacy requirement. This requirement is popularly called as Capital
Adequacy Ratio (CAR) or Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR).

Pillar II: Supervisory Review

Banks majorly encounter with 3 Risks, viz. Credit, Operational & Market Risks. Basel II Norms
under this Pillar wants to ensure that not only banks have adequate capital to support all the risks,
but also to encourage them to develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring
and managing their risks. The process has four key principles:

quacy in relation to their

risk profile and a strategy for monitoring their capital levels.

strategies, as well as their ability to monitor and ensure their compliance with regulatory capital
ratios.

should have the ability to require banks to hold capital in excess of the minimum. 19
 an early stage to prevent capital from falling below
minimum level and should require rapid remedial action if capital is not mentioned or restored.

Pillar III: Market Discipline:

Market discipline imposes banks to conduct their banking business in a safe, sound and effective
manner. Mandatory disclosure requirements on capital, risk exposure (semiannually or more
frequently, if appropriate) are required to be made so that market participants can assess a bank‟s
capital adequacy. Qualitative disclosures such as risk management objectives and policies,
definitions etc. may be also published.

BASEL III

The Reserve Bank released, guidelines outlining proposed implementation of Basel III capital
regulation in India. These guidelines are in response to the comprehensive reform package
entitled “Basel III: A global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and banking systems”
of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) issued in December 2010.

The major highlights of the draft guidelines are:

Minimum Capital Requirements

-weighted assets
(RWAs);

Capital Conservation Buffer

minimum Capital Adequacy ratio for banks will be 11.5% after full application of the capital
conservation buffer by 31 March 2018.

Transitional Arrangements

oposed that the implementation period of minimum capital requirements and

deductions from Common Equity will begin from January 1, 2013 and be fully implemented as
on March 31, 2018.

between March 31,

2014 and March 31, 2018.

feedback received on these guidelines.

 ed-out
during the period beginning from January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2022.

Enhancing Risk Coverage

Current Exposure Method, banks will be required to compute an additional credit value
adjustments (CVA) risk capital charge.

Leverage Ratio

during which banks would be expected to strive to operate at a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of
5%. The leverage ratio requirement will be finalized taking into account the final proposal of the
Basel Committee.

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised banks to follow „KYC guidelines‟, wherein
certain personal information of the account-opening prospect or the customer is obtained. The
objective of doing so is to enable the Bank to have positive identification of its customers. This is
also in the interest of customers to safeguard their hard earned money.

The KYC guidelines of RBI mandate banks to collect three proofs from their customers. They
are-

What is KYC? 20 Know Your Customer - KYC enables banks to know/ understand their
customers and their financial dealings to be able to serve them better

Who is a customer of the Bank?

For the purpose of KYC Policy, a Customer is defined as:

Bank;

ccount is maintained (i.e. the beneficial owner);

Brokers, Chartered Accountants, Solicitors, etc. as permitted under the law, and
 th a financial transaction, which can pose significant
reputation or other risks to the Bank, say, a wire transfer or issue of a high value demand draft as
a single transaction

CAMEL RATING OF BANKS

CAMEL model of rating was first developed in the 1970s by the 3 federal banking supervisors of
the U.S (the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the OCC) as part of the Regulators‟ “Uniform
Financial Institutions Rating System”, to provide a convenient summary of bank condition at the
tirfie of its on-site examination.

The banks were judged on 5 different components under the acronym C-A-M-E-L: Capital
adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings and Liquidity. The banks received a score of
„1‟ through „5‟ for each component of CAMEL and a final CAMEL rating representing the
composite total of the component CAMEL scores as a measure of the bank‟s overall condition.
The system of CAMEL was revised in 1996, when agencies added an additional parameter „S‟
for assessing “sensitivity to market risk”, thus making it „CAMELS‟ that is in vogue today.

In india the Padhmanabhan Committee (1996) recommended the application of CAMEL

RATING for compliance of norms by Indian Banks. Thus CAMELS means

C- Capital Adequacy

A- Asset Quality

M- Management Quality

E- Earnings

L- Liquidity

S- Sensivity to Market Risk

RBI plans to change system in order to make the process more forward-looking. Indian financial
sector would be evaluated under a dynamic risk-based mechanism, an aspect the present
CAMELS rating system lacked. RBI proposes to replace CAMELS with INROADS (Indian
Risk-Oriented and Dynamic Rating System) from the next round of annual financial inspection.

MONEY

Money is a thing that is usually accepted as payment for goods and services as well as for the
repayment of debts.

Types of Money

-
Commodity money value is derived from the commodity out of which it is made. The
commodity itself represents money and the money is the commodity. For instance, commodities
that have been used as mediums of exchange include gold, silver, copper, salt, peppercorns, rice,
large stones, etc.

Representative Money includes token coins, or any other physical tokens like certificates, that
can be reliably exchanged for a fixed amount/quantity of a commodity like gold or silver.

Fiat money, also known as fiat currency is the money whose value is not derived from any
intrinsic value or any guarantee that it can be converted into valuable commodity (like gold).
Instead, it derives value only based on government order (fiat).

Commercial bank money or the demand deposits are claims against financial institutions which
can be used for purchasing goods and services. 21 Narrow and Broad Money

Money supply, like money demand, is a stock variable. The total stock of money in circulation
among the public at a particular point of time is called money supply. RBI publishes figures for
four alternative measures of money supply, viz. M1, M2, M3 and M4.

They are defined as follows -

M1 = CU + DD

M2 = M1 + Savings deposits with Post Office savings banks

M3 = M1 + Net time deposits of commercial banks

M4 = M3 + Total deposits with Post Office savings organisations (excluding National Savings
Certificates)

where, CU is currency (notes plus coins) held by the public and DD is net demand deposits held
by commercial banks. The word „net‟ implies that only deposits of the public held by the banks
are to be included in money supply.

The interbank deposits, which a commercial bank holds in other commercial banks, are not to be
regarded as part of money supply.

M1 and M2 are known as narrow money. M3 and M4 are known as broad money.These
gradations are in decreasing order of liquidity. M1 is most liquid and easiest for transactions
whereas M4 is least liquid of all. M3 is the most commonly used measure of money supply. It is
also known as aggregate monetary resources.

ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002

Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Indian Law was passed in 2002, to prevent money-
laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from money-laundering. The main
objective of this act are to prevent money-laundering as well as to provide for confiscation of
property either derived from or involved in, money-laundering.

Salient Features

Punishment for Money-laundering : The act prescribes that any person found guilty of money-
laundering shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment from three years to seven years. He
could also be liable to fine of upto Rs. 5 lakh.

Powers of Attachment of Tainted : Property Appropriate authorities, appointed by the

Government of India, can provisionally attach property believed to be „proceeds of crime‟ for 90
days. Such an order is required to be confirmed by an independent adjudicating authority.

Adjudicating Authority : It is the authority appointed by the Central Government. It decides

whether any of the property attached or seized is involved in money-laundering.

Appellate Tribunal : It is the body appointed by Government of India. It has given the power to
hear appeals against the orders of the adjudicating authority and any other authority under the
act. Orders of the tribunal can be appealed in appropriate High Court (for that jurisdiction) and
finally to the Supreme Court.

Special Courts : The trial for the offences mentioned in the act are conducted by a special court,
also called „PMLA Court‟. The Central Government (in consultation with the Chief Justice of
the High Court), designates a Session Court as Special Court Any appeal against order passed by
PMLA court can directly be filed in the High Court (for that jurisdiction).

Burden of Proof : A person, who is accused of having committed the offence of money-
laundering, has to prove that alleged proceeds of crime are in fact lawful property. 22 Money
laundering occurs in three stages

: refers to the creation of a complex network of transactions which attempts to

obscure the link between the initial entry point and the end of the laundry cycle
SWIFT

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (“SWIFT”) operates a

worldwide financial messaging network which exchanges messages between banks and other
financial institutions. SWIFT also markets software and services to financial institutions, much
of it for use on the SWIFT Net Network, and ISO 9362 bank identifier codes (BICs) are
popularly known as “SWIFT codes”.

The majority of international interbank messages use the SWIFT network. As of September
2010, SWIFT linked more than 9,000 financial institutions in 209 countries and territories, who
were exchanging an average of over 15 million messages per day. SWIFT transports financial
messages in a highly secure way, but does not hold accounts for its members and does not
perform any form of clearing or settlement.

SWIFT does not facilitate funds transfer, rather, it sends payment orders, which must be settled
via correspondent accounts that the institutions have with each other. Each financial institution,
to exchange banking transactions, must have a banking relationship by either being a bank or
affiliating itself with one (or more) so as to enjoy those particular business features.

INFLATION

DEFINITION

Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services. It
is measured as an annual percentage increase. As inflation rises, every rupee you own buys a
smaller percentage of a good or service.

The value of a rupee does not stay constant when there is inflation. The value of a rupee is
observed in terms of purchasing power, which is the real, tangible goods that money can buy.
When inflation goes up, there is a decline in the purchasing power of money. For example, if the
inflation rate is 2% annually, then theoretically a Re 1 pack of gum will cost Rs 1.02 in a year.
After inflation, your money can‟t buy the same amount of goods it could beforehand.

DiFference between WPI and CPI

WPI and CPIs differ in terms of their weighting pattern. First, food has a larger weight in CPI
ranging from 46 per cent in CPI-IW to 69 per cent in CPI-AL whereas it has a weight of only 27
per cent in WPI. The CPIs are, therefore, more sensitive to changes in prices of food items.
Second, the fuel group has a much higher weight in the WPI (14.2 percent) than the CPIs (5.5 to
8.4 per cent). As a result, movement in international crude prices has a greater bearing on WPI
than on the CPIs. Third, services are not covered under WPI while they are, to different degrees,
covered under CPIs. Consequently, service price inflation has a greater influence on CPIs. In
general, revision of base in every 5 years is an accepted principle in major developed and
emerging countries.
NEW WPI SERIES

Following the recommendation of the Working Group for Revision of Wholesale Price Index
under the Chairmanship of Prof. Abhijit Sen, the base year has been revised to 2004-05 from
September 2010. The proposed basket of manufactured products in the new series covers
significantly a higher number of commodities and integrates items from both organised and un-
organised manufacturing sectors. The revised WPI basket, however, does not include services
prices. An Expert Group (Chairman: Prof. C. P. Chandrasekhar) is looking into process of
developing a service price index. In 23 order to enhance the representativeness of WPI index, it
is important to expand the coverage to include services. The new WPI series aimes at capturing
the price movement in a more realistic way in keeping with the times. The basic difference
between the two series is that the new WPI index with 2004-05 as the base year has a total of 676
items instead of 435 items under the old series which had 1993-94 as the base year. Among the
241 items added to the basket for better reflection of the inflationary spiral are consumer items -
essentially used by the middle-class - such as ice-cream, mineral water, readymade food,
refrigerators, VCDs, dish antennas, microwave ovens, washing machines, computers and
computer stationery and gold as well as silver.

Under the primary article group, there are 102 items in the new series against 98 in the old index
although the number of items in the fuel and power category remains unchanged at 19. A
substantial increase is in the number of manufactured products that have been included in the
index - 555 items as compared to 318 items in the basket under the old series.

PRODUCER PRICE INDEX

India revised the WPI, but still don‟t have a Producer Price Index (PPI). The PPI covers price
changes faced by the producers on primary, intermediate and finished goods and services ready
for the market. The primary difference between the WPI and the PPI is, in addition to the
coverage, that the WPI reflects changes in the average cost of production including mark-ups and
taxes, while the PPI measures price changes of transacted goods at the gate excluding taxes. The
purpose of the PPI is to provide a measure of prices received by producers of commodities. The
PPI usually covers the industrial (manufacturing) sector as well as public utilities (electricity, gas
and communications).

NEW CONSUMER PRICE INDEX

At the retail level, CPI is meant to reflect the cost of living conditions and is computed on the
basis of the changes in the level of retail prices of selected goods and services on which
consumers spend the major part of their income. Therefore, a broad based CPI for the country as
a whole, including both services and manufacturing products, has greater relevance for monetary
policy formulation.In India, however, data on CPI relates to different segments of the population
rather than the entire population. With a view to addressing this issue, the Reserve Bank had
taken the initiative and prepared an approach paper on CPI (Urban) and CPI (Rural).
Subsequently, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) has taken up the work for generating
data on CPI (Urban) and CPI (Rural). The new CPIs once complied will go a long way in filling
a major data gap in price statistics.

MONEY MARKET IN INDIA

The money market is the market in which short term funds are borrowed and lent. The lending
money market institutions are -

Private sector organizations

-corporate entities.

Large numbers of instruments that are traded in the money market are issued by Government of
India, State governments and other statutory bodies. Instruments that are issued by the
Development Financial Institutions [DFI] and banks carry the highest credit ratings amongst
non-government issuers mainly due to their connection with the Indian Government. 24
INSTRUMENTS OF MONEY MARKET

- Call or notice money is an amount borrowed or lent on demand for a very short
period. If the period is greater than one day and up to 14 days it is called Notice money;
otherwise the amount is known as Call money. No collateral security is needed to cover these
transactions.

The call market enables the banks and institutions to even out their day-to-day deficits and
surpluses of money. Co-operative banks, commercial banks and primary dealers are allowed to
borrow and lend in this market for adjusting their cash reserve requirements.

This is a completely inter-bank market. Interest rates are market determined. In view of the short
tenure of these transactions, both borrowers and lenders are required to have current accounts
with Reserve Bank of India.

- These are the lowest risk category instruments for the short term. RBI issues
treasury bills [T-bills] at a prefixed day and for a fixed amount. There are 3 types of treasury
bills.

-91-day T-bill: maturity is in 91 days, it is auctioned on every Friday of every week and the
notified amount for auction is Rs. 100 crores.
-182-day T-bill: maturity is in 182 days, it is auctioned on every alternate Wednesday, which is
not a reporting week and the notified amount for auction is Rs. 100 crores.

-364-day T-bill: maturity is 64 days, it is auctioned on every alternate Wednesday which is a

reporting week and the notified amount for the auction is Rs. 500 crores.

- After treasury bills, the next lowest risk category investment option
is Certificate of Deposit (CD) issued by banks and Financial Institutions (FI). Allowed in 1989,
CDs were one of RBI‟s measures to deregulate the cost of funds for banks and FIs. A CD is a
negotiable promissory note, secure and short term, of up to a year, in nature.

A CD is issued at a discount to the face value, the discount rate being negotiated between the
issuer and the investor. Although RBI allows CDs up to one-year maturity, the maturity most
quoted in the market is for 90 days.

s - Commercial papers [CPs] are negotiable short-term unsecured

promissory notes with fixed maturities, issued by well-rated organizations. These are generally
sold on discount basis. Organizations can issue CPs either directly or through banks or merchant
banks [called as dealers]. These instruments are normally issued in the multiples of five crores
for 30/45/60/90/120/180/270/364 days.

-Corporate Deposits - An Inter-Corporate Deposit or ICD is an unsecured loan extended

by one corporate to another. Existing mainly as a refuge for low rated corporate, this market
allows funds surplus corporate to lend to other corporate.

A better rated corporate can borrow from the banking system and lend in this market. As the cost
of funds for a corporate is much higher than a bank, the rates in this market are higher than those
in other markets. ICDs are unsecured, and therefore the risk inherent is high. The ICD market is
not well organized with very little information available about transaction details.

ady Forward Contracts - These are transactions in which two parties agree to sell and
repurchase the same security. Under such an agreement the seller sells specified securities with
an agreement to repurchase the same at a mutually decided future date and price. Similarly, the
buyer purchases the securities with an agreement to resell the same to the seller on an agreed
date in future at a predetermined price.

Such a transaction is called Repo when viewed from the prospective of the buyer of securities
that is the party acquiring fund. It is called reverse repo when viewed from the prospective of
supplier of funds.

- Bills of exchange are negotiable instruments drawn by the seller or

drawer of the goods on the buyer or drawee of the good for the value of the goods delivered.
These bills are called trade bills. These trade bills are called commercial bills when they are
accepted by commercial banks. If the bill is payable at a future date and the seller needs money
during the currency of the bill then the seller may approach the bank for discounting the bill.

- This is an instrument with cash flows derived from the cash flow
of another underlying instrument or loan. The issuer is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which
only 25 receives money, from a multitude of, may be several hundreds or thousands, underlying
loans and passes the money to the holders of the PTCs. This process is called securitization.

Legally speaking PTCs are promissory notes and hence tradable freely with no stamp duty
payable on transfer. Most PTCs have 2-3 year maturity because the issuance stamp duty rate
makes shorter duration PTCs unviable.

- These are securities issued by the Government of India and

State Governments. The date of maturity is specified in the securities therefore they are known as
dated securities. The Government borrows funds through the issue of long term dated securities,
the lowest risk category instruments in the economy. They are issued through auctions conducted
by RBI, where RBI decides the coupon or discount rate based on the response received. Most of
these securities are issued as fixed interest bearing securities, although the government
sometimes issues zero coupon instruments and floating rate securities.

MONEY MARKET CONCEPTS

It is a broader concept than paid up capital.

(promoters). It is that part, invested by the promoters. Therefore, an issued capital may or may
not be a paid up capital.

mount of share capital fixed in the Memorandum of an

Association and the Articles of the Association of a company as required by the Company‟s act.
They are also known as nominal capital.

idity from the system and

even to out call money rates a system of announcing calendar of Repos auctions on a monthly
basis was introduced with effect from January 13,1997.

9,1997.
The repo rate and the period of repo is announced by the RBI in the evening of the previous day.

terms of the NAV values and Net Sales. NAV is the indicator of the investment performance and
it indicates the amount each unit holder will get per unit on redemption or winding up of mutual
fund. Net Sales given by the difference between the total sales and total repurchases of the units
of a fund.

e Note : It adopts a reference rate of interest which reflects the market rate of
interest. The interest rate of FRN then in certain percentage points over the reference rate or
benchmark rate.

-Invest: Under this scheme a provision of special payment system for investors in the
primary market. Stockinvest is a non-negotiable bank instrument and its validity is for four
months from the date of the issue.

-Cupon Bonds: It is issued at a discount to face value. No interest is paid during the
period of the bond. But at the time of maturity full payment or bullet payment of the face value
would be done.

-Discount Bonds: It was first introduced by IDBI in June 1994 followed by ICICI. It is
similar to zero-coupon bonds with longer maturity.

connected with the processing. The certificates are issued in bulk.

of the company and the project.

Dabba Trading, a modified form of CFTS. It is based on bucketing system. It is an illegal

practice where a stockbroker executes a customer‟s trade without taking it to a stock exchange
with the hope of earning profit in future. The Dabba trader keeps record in a separate book. The
trades to be settled on Friday.

SEBI has conducted raids on large scale on dabba trading and investigations are on. These
trading have intensified the speculative nature of the market. Therefore, despite the fact that
market has a 26 cash market with T + 1 rolling settlement and derivatives market with four types
of options and futures products, a huge amount of illegal mode is also adopted in the transactions
of stock market.

NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS

Definition of Negotiable Instrument

According to section 13 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, a negotiable instrument means
“promissory note, bill of exchange, or cheque, payable either to order or to bearer”.

Types of Negotiable Instruments

According to the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 there are just three types of negotiable
instruments i.e., promissory note, bill of exchange and cheque. However many other documents
are also recognized as negotiable instruments on the basis of custom and usage, like hundis,
treasury bills, share warrants, etc., provided they possess the features of negotiability. In the
following sections, we shall study about Promissory Notes (popularly called pronotes), Bills of
Exchange (popularly called bills), Cheques and Hundis (a popular indigenous document
prevalent in India), in detail.

Promissory Note

Suppose you take a loan of Rupees Five Thousand from your friend Ramesh. You can make a
document stating that you will pay the money to Ramesh or the bearer on demand. Or you can
mention in the document that you would like to pay the amount after three months. This
document, once signed by you, duly stamped and handed over to Ramesh, becomes a negotiable
instrument. Now Ramesh can personally present it before you for payment or give this document
to some other person to collect money on his behalf. He can endorse it in somebody else‟s name
who in turn can endorse it further till the final payment is made by you to whosoever presents it
before you. This type of a document is called a Promissory Note.

Bill of Exchange

Suppose Rajiv has given a loan of Rupees Ten Thousand to Sameer, which Sameer has to return.
Now, Rajiv also has to give some money to Tarun. In this case, Rajiv can make a document
directing Sameer to make payment up to Rupees Ten Thousand to Tarun on demand or after
expiry of a specified period. This document is called a Bill of Exchange, which can be
transferred to some other person‟s name by Tarun.

Section 5 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 defines a bill of exchange as „an instrument in
writing containing an unconditional order, signed by the maker, directing a certain person to pay
a certain sum of money only to or to the order of a certain person, or to the bearer of the
instrument‟.

Cheques

Cheque is a very common form of negotiable instrument. If you have a savings bank account or
current account in a bank, you can issue a cheque in your own name or in favour of others,
thereby directing the bank to pay the specified amount to the person named in the cheque.

Therefore, a cheque may be regarded as a bill of exchange; the only difference is that the bank is
always the drawee in case of a cheque.

The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 defines a cheque as a bill of exchange drawn on a
specified banker and not expressed to be payable otherwise than on demand. Actually, a cheque
is an order by the account holder of the bank directing his banker to pay on demand, the
specified amount, to or to the order of the person named therein or to the bearer.

Types of Cheque

the bank. The holder of an open cheque can do the following:

cheques. This risk can be avoided by issuing another types of cheque called „Crossed cheque‟.
The payment of such cheque is not made over the counter at the bank. It is only credited to the
bank 27 account of the payee. A cheque can be crossed by drawing two transverse parallel lines
across the cheque, with or without the writing „Account payee‟ or „Not Negotiable‟.

ny person who presents it for payment at the

bank counter is called „Bearer cheque‟. A bearer cheque can be transferred by mere delivery and
requires no endorsement.

cheque the word „bearer‟ may be cut out or cancelled and the word „order‟ may be written. The
payee can transfer an order cheque to someone else by signing his or her name on the back of it.

Hundis

A Hundi is a negotiable instrument by usage. It is often in the form of a bill of exchange drawn
in any local language in accordance with the custom of the place. Some times it can also be in
the form of a promissory note. A hundi is the oldest known instrument used for the purpose of
transfer of money without its actual physical movement. The provisions of the Negotiable
Instruments Act shall apply to hundis only when there is no customary rule known to the people.

INDIA’S FOREIGN TRADE

Each country has to keep economic transaction with other countries of the world and India also
has a healthy trade relationship with several countries. Foreign trade brings into play the
commercial transaction of payment and receipt for goods and services sent (export) or received
(import). The difference between these two creates the concept of Balance of Payment and
Balance of Trade.
According to Benham,“Balance of Payments of a country is a record of the monetary
transactions over a period with rest of the world.”

Ordinarily, a country has to deal with other countries in respect of three items, namely;

(i) Visible items, which include all types of physical goods exported and imported.

(ii) Invisible items, which include all those services, whose export and import are not visible.

(iii) Capital transfer, which are concerned with capital receipts and capital payments.

Each country has to workout a balance in respect of its dealings, in all the above three items with
other countries of the world in a given period. Such a balance may assume any one of the three
positions

(i) balanced (ii) negative (unfavourable) (iii) positive (favourable)

Balance of Trade (BoT)

When the difference in the value of imports and exports of only physical goods or visible items,
is taken into account, it is called Balance of Trade or Net Exports.

Balance of trade may be

(i) Surplus or Favourable In this situation, exports are greater than imports,

(ii) Deficit or Unfavourable In this situation, imports are greater than exports,

(iii) Equilibrium in Balance of Trade In this situation, total value of goods exported is equal to
the total value of goods imported by a country.

Balance of Payments (BoP)

When the difference in the value of imports and exports of all the three items i.e., visible,
invisible and capital transfers, is taken into account, it is called Balance of Payments (BoP).
Balance of Payments (BoP) is thus an overall record of all economic transactions of a country in
a given period, with rest of the world.

Balance of Payments (BoP) account broadly comprises of the following components (i) Current
account transaction and (ii) Capital account transaction.

Current account transactions: These are the transactions relating to inflows and outflows of forex
of a routine transactions such as exports of goods and services, remittances received from non-
resident Indians, foreign tourists visiting India and bringing forex into India and outflows in the
form 28 of imports of goods and services, remittances by expatriates to their home countries,
expenses of resident Indians travelling abroad. These inflows and outflows never match. When
the outflows exceed the inflows, a country has current account deficit.

Components of Current Account

Current account records the following transactions

(i) Export and import of goods (or of visible items).

(ii) Export and import of services (or of invisible items),

(iii) Uniliteral transfers from one country to the other.

7n the context of current account BoP, following are some important observations

• All exports (of goods and services), are recorded ;as positive (+) items as these result in the
flow of foreign exchange into the country.

• All imports (of goods and services), are recorded as negative (-) items as these cause the vflow
ofjforeign exchange out of the country.

• Balance occuring o/fcaccount of export and import of goods is regarded as balance‟of visible
trade.

• Balance occuring on account of export and import of services is recorded as balance of

invisible trade.

• Receipts of uniliteral transfers are recorded as positive items.

• Payments of uniliteral transfers are recorded as negative items.

• Net value of the three balances

(a) balance of visible trade,

(b) balance of invisible trade,

(c) balance of uniliteral transfers is recorded as balance on current account.

• Current Account Balance = Balance of Visible Trade + Balance of Invisible Trade + Balance of
Uniliteral Transfers

Capital account transactions : These are the transactions that lead to change in asset or liability
position of residents of a country, outside their own country. These are longer-term flows in the
form of borrowings (ECB), investments (FDI), assistance by India to other countries or to India
by other countries etc. The difference between outflows & inflows is either the capital account
surplus or capital account deficit. If there is current account deficit, it will be covered by the
capital account surplus. But if the capital account surplus is not enough to cover the current
account deficit, the country will have to use the forex reserves leading to reduction in forex
reserves.

Components of Capital Account

Following are the principal forms of capital account transactions

1.Foreign Investment : It has two sub-components

(i) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) referring to the purchase of assets in the rest of the world,
which allows control over that assets.

Example Purchase of a firm by TATA in the rest of the world.

(ii) Portfolio Investment referring to purchase of an asset in the rest of the world, without any
control over that asset. Portfolio investment into India also consists of Foreign Institutional
Investment (FIl).

Example Purchase of some shares of a company by TATA in the rest of the world.

2. Loans : It has two sub-components

(i) Commercial Borrowings referring to borrowing by a country (including government and the
private sector), from the international money market. This involves market rate of interest
without considerations of any concession,

(ii) Borrowings as External Assistance referring to borrowing by a country with considerations

of assistance. It involves lower rate of interest compared to that prevailing in the open market.

3. Banking Capital Transactions : referring to transactions of external financial assets and

liabilities of Commercial Banks and Cooperative Banks operating as authorised dealers in
foreign exchange. These transactions include NRI deposits. 29 4. Reserve Account : The official
reserve account records the change in stock of reserve assets (also known as foreign exchange
reserves) at the country‟s monetary authority.

5. Net Errors and Omissions : This is the last component of the Balance of Payments and
principally exists to correct any possible errors made in accounting for the three other accounts.
They are often referred to as „balancing items‟.

• All capital transactions causing flow of foreign exchange into the country are recorded as
positive items in the capital account of BoP.

Example Loans from rest of the world, foreign direct investment or portfolio investment by the
non-residents in our country.
• All capital transactions causing flow of foreign exchange out of the country are recorded as
negative items in the capital account of BoP.

• While FDI and portfolio investments are non-debt creating capital transactions, borrowings are
debt-creating capital transactions.

SIGNIFICANCE OF CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT

CAD measures the dependence of an economy on the capital inflows from abroad, to cover its
current requirements. If dependence high, it can create problem, because the inflow of long term
capital is uncertain and there is obligation to service the long term capital in the form of interest
payments, dividend payments and return of principal amount, in case it is borrowing and not the
investment. ;

The dependency level is judged on the basis of CAD as percentage to gross domestic product of
a country (and not by amount of CAD). In case of India, it is around 4.8% currently which is
significantly higher than about 1.3% in 2007-08. There area no. of causes for higher demand
foreign currency including import of oil and gold while the supply could not keep pack due to
declining exports.

In normal circumstances, the increasing CAD would have been funded by inflow of foreign
capital in the form of FDI and/or FII, but due to various reasons including policy paralysis,
political uncertainty, sliding industrial output and a weakening economy, that did not happen.

This demand-supply mismatch of foreign currencies particularly of US dollars, is the basic

reason of US currency becoming more expensive.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - It refers to direct investment in the productive capacities of a
country by someone from outside the country. Such an investment can be in the form of setting
up a new plant or through purchase of shares of a company, where the shareholding gives the
foreign entity control over the business of the company. IMF defines control in such a case as,
holding 10 % or more of ordinary shares or voting power in an incorporated firm. A foreign
company can set up its business in India in two ways, by setting up a company under the
Companies Act or by setting up an unincorporated entity like liaison office, project office or
branch office.

Two concepts associated with FDI are Greenfield and Brownfield investment

Greenfield Investment It‟s a form of foreign direct investment, where a parent company starts a
new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up.

Brownfield Investment It happens, when a company or government entity purchases or leases

existing production facilities to launch a new production activity.
Foreign Institutional Investment (Fll) These are investments by entities from outside the country
into the financial assets like debts and shares of companies from a different country, in which
they are incorporated. FIIs are required to register with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of
India) and any foreign individual wanting to invest into India has to co^pie through one of these
FIIs.

Participatory Notes (P-Notes) These are financial instruments used by investors or hedge funds
that are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to invest in Indian
securities. Indian-based brokerages buy India-based securities and then issue participatory notes
to foreign investors. Any dividends or capital gains collected from the underlying securities go
back to the investors. 30

Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) These are equity instruments issued in international markets
like London, Luxembourg etc. Indian companies use GDRs to raise capital from abroad. GDRs
are designated in dollars, euros etc.

American Depository Receipts (ADRs) These are the equity instruments issued to American
retail and institutional investors. They are listed in New York, either on Nasdaq or New York
Stock Exchange.

Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) These are similar to ADR/GDR. They are used by non-Indian
companies in the Indian stock markets for issuing equity to Indian investors.

INDIA’S FDI POLICY

To encourage FDI inflows, India has continued to be fine-tuned and progressively liberalised,
allowing FDI in more and more industries under the automatic route. In the year 2000,
government allowed FDI up to 100% on the automatic route for most activities; a small negative
list was notified, where either the automatic route was not available or there were limits on FDI.
Since then, the policy has been gradually simplified and rationalised and more sectors have been
opened up for foreign investment.

FDI is prohibited under the government route as well as the automatic route in the following
sectors, where FDI is not allowed

1. Atomic Energy

2. Lottery Business

3. Gambling and Betting

4. Business of Chit Fund

5. Nidhi Companies
6. Agricultural (excluding floriculture, horticulture, development 01 seeds, animal husbandry,
pisciculture and cultivation of vegetables, mushrooms, etc under controlled conditions and
services related to Agro and Allied Sectors) and plantatioi activities (other than tea plantations).

7. Housing and Real Estate business (except development > townships, construction of
residential/commercial premises. roads or bridges to the extent specified in Notification No.
FEMA 136/2005-RB dated July 19, 2005).

8. Trading in Transferable Development Rights (TDRs).

9. Manufacture of cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes.

Approval Mechanism Under FDI Policy

There are two routes for FDI to enter into India.

AUTOMATIC ROUTE

In most sectors, FDI is permitted on the automatic route. FDI in such sectors does not require
any prior approval and only requires notification of RBI.

Government Approval Route

Limited activities are required to prior government approval. Proposals of FDI are considered by
FIPB. (Foreign Investment Promotion Board), now functioning under the Department of
Economic 31 Affairs and decisions are conveyed in most cases within 6 to 8 weeks of receipt of
complete application.

Sector Specific Limits of FDI into India

Sector Limit Route

Defence 49% FIPB*

Banking (Private) Sector 74% Automatic

Insurance 49% Automatic

Single Brand Retail 100% Automatic

Multi Brand Retail 51% FIPB

Telecom 49% Automatic

Civil Aviation 49% Automatic

Note :
* Higher investment may be considered in state of the art technology production by Cabinet
Committee on Security (CCS)

FOREIGN INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS [FII]

[FII] that invest in the Indian capital markets. These flows are large in magnitude and have a
great impact on capital market and the exchange rate.

However, there is also the danger that if FIIs pull out, the stock markets could crash which in
turn can adversely impact the economy. This danger is not only on account of the impact of share
prices but also because of the impact on exchange rate, which can adversely affect foreign trade
and consequently the price level in the country.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FDI AND FII

In order to remove the ambiguity that prevails on what is Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and
what is Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) the Finance Minister in his budget speech of 2013
clarified as under--

“I propose to follow the international practice and lay down a broad principle that where an
investor has a stake of 10% or less in a company, it will be treated as FII and, where an investor
has a stake of more than 10%, it will be treated as FDI. A committee will be constituted to
examine the application of the principle and to work out the details expeditiously.

• FIIs will be allowed to participate in the exchange traded currency derivative segment to the
extent of their rupee exposure in India.

• FIIs will also be permitted to use there investment in corporate bonds and Government
securities as collateral to meet their margin requirements.

QUANTITATIVE EASING & ITS TAPERING

Following the 2008 crisis, the US Fed resorted to bond-buying as a means of boosting the
economy. When the Fed buys up bonds, it amounts to releasing more money into the markets
that leads to reducing interest rates. This is called „quantitative easing‟ measure or QE.

This made borrowing in the US cheaper and hence incentivized borrowers to invest (in housing
or in their businesses). In June 2013, Fed chief signalled that the QE process might be tapered off
which 32

would imply that interest rates in the US will climb again. That could lead to investors investing
in US and pulling out their investment from emerging markets, including India.

CAPITAL MARKET IN INDIA

A capital market is a market for securities (debt or equity), where business enterprises
(companies) and governments can raise long-term funds. It is defined as a market in which
money is provided for periods longer than a year,as the raising of short-term funds takes place on
other markets (e.g., the money market). The capital market includes the stock market (equity
securities) and the bond market (debt).

The capital market has 3 components - the equity market, the debt market, and the derivative
market. It consists of all those connected with issuing and trading in equity shares and also
medium and long term debt instruments, namely, bonds and debentures. It is well accepted that
tenures less than one year are considered as short term; while tenures more than one year and up
to three years may be taken as medium term while more than three years can be considered as
long term.

Both equity and debt market have 2 segments - the primary market dealing with new issues of
equity and debt instruments and the secondary market which facilitates trading in equity and debt
instruments thereby imparting liquidity to the instruments and making it possible for people with
different liquidity preferences to participate in the market.

The capital market operations are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India
[SEBI].

SEBI [SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA]

ESTABLISHMENT OF SEBI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India was established on April 12, 1992 in accordance
with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.

PREAMBLE

The Preamble of the Securities and Exchange Board of India describes the basic functions of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India as "…..to protect the interests of investors in securities
and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto"

Primary Market

The primary market is that part of the capital market that deals with the issuance of new
securities. Companies, governments or public sector institutions can obtain funding through the
sale of a new stock or bond issue. This is typically done through a syndicate of securities dealers.

Secondary Market

The secondary market, also known as the aftermarket, is the financial market where previously
issued securities and financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options and futures are bought
and sold.The term “secondary market” is also used to refer to the market for any used goods or
assets, or an alternative use for an existing product or asset where the customer base is the
second market (for example, corn has been traditionally used primarily for food production and
feedstock but a “second” or “third” market has developed for use in ethanol production).

Sensex

Sensex is an index based on shares traded on the BSE. The Sensex and Nifty are the barometers
of the Indian markets. The indices are composite in nature in that they cover a large segment of
industries. 33 Commodity Market

Commodity markets are markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. These raw
commodities are traded on regulated commodities exchanges, in which they are bought and sold
in standardized contracts.

Bull Market

A bull market is associated with increasing investor confidence, and increased investing in
anticipation of future price increases (capital gains). A bullish trend in the stock market often
begins before the general economy shows clear signs of recovery.

Bear Market

A bear market is a general decline in the stock market over a period of time. It is a transition
from high investor optimism to widespread investor fear and pessimism.

Blue Chip (Stock Market)

According to the New York Stock Exchange, a blue chip is stock in a corporation with a national
reputation for quality, reliability and the ability to operate profitably in good times and bad. The
most popular index which follows US blue chips is the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 blue-chip stocks that are generally the
leaders in their industry. It has been a widely followed indicator of the stock market since
October 1, 1928.

RIGHTS ISSUE

A rights issue is basically when a company offers existing shareholders a right to purchase
additional shares of the company at a given price, which is at a discount to the prevailing market
price of the stock, to make the offer enticing for the shareholder and to ensure that the rights
offer is fully subscribed to.

PREFERENCE SHARES
Preference shares are those shares which are given preference as regards to payment of dividend
and repayment of capital. Preference shareholders are given preference over equity shareholders
as in the case of winding up of the company, their capital is paid back first and then the equity
shareholders are paid. Preference shareholders cannot exercise their voting rights on all the
matters. They can vote only on the matters affecting their own interest.

DEBENTURES

A debenture is a document which either creates a debt or acknowledges it. Debenture issued by a
company is in the form of a certificate acknowledging indebtedness. The debentures are issued
under the Company's Common Seal. Debentures are one of a series issued to a number of
lenders. The date of repayment is specified in the debentures. Debentures are issued against a
charge on the assets of the Company. Debentures holders have no right to vote at the meetings of
the companies. 34

MUTUAL FUND

A mutual fund is a professionally managed type of collective investment scheme that pools
money from many investors to buy stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or
other securities.

CROSS SELLING

Cross-selling stands for being able to offer to the existing bank customers, some additional
banking products, with a view to expand banking business, reduce the per customer cost of
operations and provide more satisfaction and value to the customer. For instance, when a bank is
in a position to sell to a deposit customer (say saving bank or term deposit), a loan product such
as housing loan, credit card, personal loan or vice-versa, this would result into additional
business and lead to low per customer cost and higher per customer earning.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and
management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies
and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a
new field or new location, without creating a subsidiary, other child entity or using a joint
venture. The distinction between a "merger" and an "acquisition" has become increasingly
blurred in various respects (particularly in terms of the ultimate economic outcome), although it
has not completely disappeared in all situations.

JOINT VENTURE

A Joint Venture (JV) is a cooperative enterprises entered into by two or more business entities.
Sometimes the joint venture creates a separate corporation, limited liability company, or
partnership. In other cases, the individual entities retain their individuality and they operate
under a joint venture agreement. In any case, the parties in the JV share in the management,
profits, and losses, according to a joint venture agreement (contract).

AMALGAMATION

Amalgamation is a restructuring phenomenon in which two or more companies are liquidated

and a new company is formed to acquire business. In simpler terms, it means that a new
company is formed that buys the business of minimum two companies.

PUBLIC FINANCE

„Budget System‟ was introduced in India on 7th April, 1860. James Wilson the first Indian
Finance Member delivered the budget speech expounding the Indian financial policy as an
integral whole for the first time.

The financial year for the Union and the State Governments in India is from April to March.
Each financial year is, therefore, spread over two calendar years. The period of financial year as
from April to March was introduced in India from 1867. Prior to that, the financial year in India
used to commence on 1st May and ended on 30th April (L.K. Jha Committee‟s Report of the
Committee On Change in Financial Year).

Although the Indian Constitution does not mention the term „Budget‟, it provides that the
President shall in respect of every financial year cause to be laid before both the Houses of
Parliament, the House of People (Lok Sabha) and the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), a
statement of the 35 estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government for that year. This
statement known as the „Annual Financial Statement‟ is the main fiscal or budgetary document
of the Government.

Budget has been described in Article-112 of the Indian Constitution as Annual Financial
Statement.

Article-110 describes Money Bill

CONCEPTS OF BUDGET

On the budget day, the finance minister tables 14 documents. Of these, the main and most
important document is the Annual Financial Statement.

ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT:

Article 112 of the constitution requires the government to present to the Parliament a statement
of estimated receipts and expenditure in respect of every financial year, April 1 to March 31.
This statement is the annual financial statement. The annual financial statement is usually a
white 10-page document. It is divided into three parts, Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund
and Public Account. For each of these funds, the government has to present a statement of
receipts and expenditure.

CONSOLIDATED FUND:

This is the most important of all the government funds. All revenues raised by the government,
money borrowed and receipts from loans given by the government flow into the consolidated
fund of India. All government expenditure is made from this fund, except for exceptional items
met from the Contingency Fund or the Public Account. Importantly, no money can be withdrawn
from this fund without Parliament‟s approval.

CONTINGENCY FUND:

As the name suggests, any urgent or unforeseen expenditure is met from this fund. The Rs 500-
crore fund is at the disposal of the President. Any expenditure incurred from this fund requires a
subsequent approval from Parliament and the amount withdrawn is returned to the fund from the
consolidated fund.

PUBLIC ACCOUNT:

This fund is to account for flows for those transactions where the government is merely acting as
a banker, for instance, provident funds, small savings and so on. These funds do not belong to
the government. They have to be paid back at some time to their rightful owners. Because of this
nature of the fund, expenditures from it are not required to be approved by Parliament.

REVENUE DEFICIT:

The excess of disbursements over receipts on revenue account is called revenue deficit. This is
an important control indicator. All expenditure on revenue account should ideally be met from
receipts on revenue account; the revenue deficit should be zero. When revenue disbursement
exceeds receipts, the government would have to borrow. Such borrowing is considered
regressive as it is for consumption and not for creating assets. It results in a greater proportion of
revenue receipts going towards interest payment and eventually, a debt trap. The FRBM Act,
which we will take up later, requires the government to reduce fiscal deficit to zero by 2008-09.

RECEIPTS in the capital account of the consolidated fund are grouped under three broad heads -
public debt, recoveries of loans and advances, and miscellaneous receipts.

FISCAL DEFICIT:

When the government‟s non-borrowed receipts (revenue receipts plus loan repayments received
by the government plus miscellaneous capital receipts, primarily disinvestment proceeds) fall
short of its entire expenditure, it has to borrow money from the public to meet the shortfall. The
excess of total expenditure over total non-borrowed receipts is called the fiscal deficit. 36
PRIMARY DEFICIT:
The revenue expenditure includes interest payments on government‟s earlier borrowings. The
primary deficit is the fiscal deficit less interest payments. A shrinking primary deficit would
indicate progress towards fiscal health.

The Budget document also mentions the deficit as a percentage of the GDP.

HIGHLIGHTS OF UNION BUDGET 2013-14

THE ECONOMY AND THE CHALLENGES

• Getting back to potential growth rate of 8% is the challenge facing the country.

• Slowdown in Indian economy has to be seen in the context of global economic growth from
3.9% in 2011 to 3.2% in 2012.

• Of the large countries of the world only China and Indonesia growing faster than India in 2012-
13. In 2013-14, only China projected to grow faster than India.

• llth Plan period had average growth rate of 8 percent, highest during any Plan period.

THE PLAN AND BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS

• Budget for 2013-14 to have one overarching goal of creating opportunities for our youth to
acquire education and skills that will get them jobs or self-employment.

SC, ST, Women and Children

• Rs. 97,134 crore allocated for programmes relating to women and Rs. 77,236 crore allocated
for programmes relating to children.

Health and Education

• Rs. 37,330 crore allocated to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

• New National Health Mission to get an allocation of Rs. 21,239 cr.

• Allocation of Rs. 65,867 cr to Ministry” of Human Resource Development, an increase of 17%

over the RE of the current year.

• Rs. 27,258 crore provided for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA).

• An increase of 25.6% over RE of the current year for investments in Rashtriya Madhyamik
Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). - I

• Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDM) to be provided Rs. 13,215 crore.

Rural Development
• Allocation of Rs. 80,194 crore in 2Q13-14 for Ministry of Rural Development (an increase of
46for over RE 2012-13).(MGNREGS will get Rs.33,000 crore, PMGSY‟toill get Rs.21,700
crore, and IAY will get Rs.15,184 crore.)

AGRICULTURE

• Rs. 27,049 crore allocated to Ministry of Agriculture (increase of 22% over the RE of current
year).

Agricultural Credit

• For 2013-14, target of agricultural credit kept at Rs. 7 lakh crore. 37 • Interest subvention
scheme for short-term crop loans to be continued scheme extended for crop loan is borrowed
from private sector scheduled commercial banks.

Green Revolution

• Bringing green revolution to eastern India a remarkable success. Rs. 1,000 crore allocated in
2013-14.

• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and National Food Security Mission provided Rs. 9,954 crore
and Rs. 2,250 crore respectively.

• Allocation for integrated watershed programme increased from Rs. 3,050 crore in 2012-13
(BE) to Rs. 5,387 crore.

Farmer Producer Organizations

• Matching equity grants to registered Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) upto a maximum of
Rs. 10 lakhs per FPO to enable them to leverage working capital from financial institutions.

• Credit Guarantee Fund to be created in the Small Farmers‟Agri Business Corporation with an
initial corpus of Rs. 100 crore.

Food Security

• Additional provision of Rs. 10000 cr for National Food Security Act.

INVESTMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND INDUSTRY

• Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDF) to be encourged,

• Infrastructure tax-free bond of Rs. 50,000 crore in 2013-14,

• Raising corpus of 19th tranche Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to Rs. 20,000
crore and
• Rs. 5,000 crore to NABARD to finance construction for warehousing.

Cabinet Committee on Investment

• The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) has been set up. Decisions have been taken in
respect of a number of gas, power and coal projects.

New Investment

• Companies investing Rs. 100 crore or more in plant and machinery during the period 1.4.2013
to 31.3.2015 will be entitled to deduct an investment allowance of 15% of the investment.

Savings

• Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme to be liberalised (by raising the income ceiling from
Rs.10 lac to Rs.12 lac).

• Additional deduction of interest upto Rs. 1 lakh for a person taking first home loan upto Rs. 25
lakh during period 1.4.2013 to 31.3.2014

• In consultation with RBI, instruments protecting savings from inflation to be introduced.

Industrial Corridors

• Plans for 7 new cities have been finalised and work on 2 new smart industrial cities at Dholera,
Gujarat and Shendra Bidkin, Maharashtra will start duing 2013-14

Ports

• Two new major ports will be established in Sagar, West Bengal and in Andhra Pradesh to add
100 million tonnes of capacity. 38

• A new outer harbour to be developed in the VOC port at Thoothukkudi, Tamil Nadu through
PPP at an estimated cost of Rs. 7,500 crore.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

• Benefits or preferences enjoyed by MSME to continue upto 3 years after they grow out of this
category.

• Refinancing capacity of SIDBI raised to Rs. 10,000 crore.

• Another sum of Rs. 100 crore provided to India Microfinance Equity Fund.

• A corpus of Rs. 500 crore to SIDBI to set up a Credit Guarantee Fund for factoring.

Textiles
• Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) to continue in 12th Plan with an investment
target of Rs. 1,51,000 crore.

• A new scheme called the Integrated Processing Development Scheme will be implemented in
the 12th Plan to address the environmental concerns of the textile industry.

• Working capital and term loans at a concessional interest of 6% to handloom sector.

FINANCIAL SECTOR

• A standing Council of Experts to be constituted in the Ministry of Finance to analyse the

international competitiveness of the Indian financial sector.

Banking

• Compliance of public sector banks with Basel III regulations to be ensured. Rs. 14,000 crore
provided in BE 2013-14 for infusing capital.

• All branches of public sector banks to have ATM by 31.3.2014.

• Proposal to set up India‟s first Women‟s Bank as a public sector bank. Provision of Rs. 1,000
crore as initial capital.

• Rs. 6,000 crore to Rural Housing Fund in 2013-14.

• National Housing Bank to set up Urban Housing Fund. Rs. 2,000 crore to be provided to the
fund in 2013-14.

Insurance

• A multi-pronged approach to increase the penetration of insurance, both life and general, in the
country.

• An office of at least one public sector general insurance company in towns with population of
10,000 or more.

• Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to be extended to other categories such as rickshaw, auto-
rickshaw and taxi drivers, sanitation workers, rag pickers and mine workers.

Capital Market

• Designated depository participants, authorised by SEBI, may register different classes of

portfolio investors, subject to compliance with KYC guidelines.

• SEBI will simplify the procedures and prescribe uniform registration and other norms for entry
for foreign portfolio investors.
• Rule that, where an investor has a stake of 10% or less in a company, it will be treated as FII
and, where an investor has a stake of more than 10%, it will be treated as FDI will be laid.

• FIIs will be permitted to participate in the exchange traded currency derivative segment to the
extent of their Indian rupee exposure in India.

• FIIs will also be permitted to use their investment in corporate bonds and Govt. securities as
collateral to meet their margin requirements. 39 • Small and medium enterprises, to be permitted
to list on the SME exchange without being required to make an initial public offer.

Defence

• Allocation for Defence increased to Rs. 2,03,672 crore including Rs. 86,741 crore for capital
expenditure.

Broadcasting

• All cities having a population of more than 1,00,000 will be covered by private FM radio
services.

Post Offices

• An ambitious IT driven project to modernise the postal network at a cost of Rs. 4,909 crore.
Post offices to become part of the core banking solution aYidjq£fe?real time banking services.

Three promises: (made to woman, youth and poor)

• We stand in solidarity with our girl children and women. A fund -”Nirbhaya Fund”- to be setup
with Government contribution of Rs. 1,000 crore.

• Youth to be motivated to voluntarily join skill development programmes. National Skill

Development Corporation to set the curriculum and standards for training in different skills. Rs.
1000 crore set apart for this scheme.

• To the poor of India direct benefit transfer scheme will be rolled out throughout the country
during the term of the UFA Government with the motive “Aapka paisa aapke haath”.

Fiscal discipline:

• By 2016-17 fiscal deficit to be brought down to 3%, revenue deficit to 1.5% and effective
revenue deficit to zero%.

TAX PROPOSALS

• Tax Administration Reforms Commission to be set up.

• In short term need to reclaim peak of 11.9% of tax GDP ratio achieved in 2007-08.
DIRECTTAXES

• No case to revise either theslabs or the ratesof Personal Income Tax. Even a moderate increase
in the threshold exemption will put hundreds of thousands of Tax Payers outside Tax Net.

• However, relief for Tax Payers in the first bracket of Rs.2 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs. A tax credit of
Rs. 2000 to every person with total income upto Rs.5 lakhs.

• Surcharge of 10% on persons (other than companies) whose taxable income exceed Rs. 1 crore
to augment revenues.

• Increase surcharge from 5 to 10% on domestic companies whose taxable income exceed Rs, 10
crore.

• In case of foreign companies who pay a higher rate of corporate tax, surcharge to increase from
2 to 5%, if the taxabale income exceeds Rs. 10 crore.

• In all other cases such as dividend distribution tax or tax on distributed income, current
surcharge increased from 5 to 10%.

• Additional surcharges to be in force for only one year.

• Education cess to continue at 3%. 40 • Permissible premium rate increased from 10% to 15% of
the sum assured by relaxing eligibility conditions of life insurance policies for persons suffering
from disability and certain ailments.

• Contributions made to schemes of Central and State Governments similar to Central

Government Health Scheme, eligible for section SOD of the Income tax Act.

• Donations made to National Children Fund eligible for 100% i deduction.

• Investment allowance at the rate of 15% to manufacturing companies that invest more than Rs.
100 crore in plant and‟ machinery during the period 1.4.2013 to 31.3.2015.

• Concessional rate of tax of 15% on dividend received by an Indian company from its foreign
subsidiary proposed to continue for one more year. ,

• TDS at the rate of 1% on the value of the transfer of immovable properties where consideration
exceeds Rs. 50 lakhs. Agricultural land to be exempted.

• A final withholding tax at the rate of 20% on profits distributed by unlisted companies to
shareholders through buyback of shares.

• Proposal to increase the rate of tax on payments by way of royalty and fees for technical
services to non-residents from 10% to 25%.
• Reductions made in rates of Securities Transaction Tax in respect of certain transaction (Equity
futures - from 0.017% to 0.01%, MF/ETF redemptions at fund counters - from 0.25% to 0.001%,
MF/ETF purchase/sale at exchanges - from 0.1% to 0.001%, on the seller).

• Proposal to introduce Commodity Transaction Tax (LI i) in a limited way (at 0.01%).
Agricultural commodities will be exempted.

• Modified provisions of GAAR will come into effect from 1.4.2016.

Indirect Taxes

• No change in the normal rates of 12% for excise duty and service tax.

• No change in the peak rate of basic customs duty of 10% for non-agricultural products.

• Duty free gold limit increased to Rs. 50,000 in case of male passenger and Rs. 1,00,000 in case
of a female passenger subject to conditions.

Service Tax

• Out of nearly 17 lakh registered assesses under Service Tax only 7 lakhs file returns regularly.
A onetime scheme called „Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme‟ proposed to be
introduced, j Defaulter may avail of the scheme on condition that he files truthful declaration of
Service Tax dues since 1st October 2007.

• Tax proposals on Direct Taxes side estimated to yield to Rs. 13,300 crore and on the Indirect
Tax side Rs.4,700 crore.

Good and Services Tax

• A sum of Rs. 9,000 crore towards the first instalment of the balance of CST compensation
provided in the budget.

NATIONAL INCOME

DEFINITION

Annual income of a family is the sum total of income it receives from various sources during a
year. It is on this basis that the economic position of a family is determined. Factors of
production like land, labour and capital are owned by Households and they generate income in
the form of rent, wages, interest and profit respectively. An economy is divided mainly into three
sectors - Agricultural sector, Industrial sector and Service sector. Therefore, when we calculate
the annual income of a nation, naturally we have to take into account the income from various
sectors. These sectors produce innumerable items of goods and services ranging from ball pins
41 to space shuttles during a year. The sum total of these goods and services is the gross
production of the country. When we express the value of these goods and services in terms of
money, we get national income. Gross National Product and Net National Product help us to
understand economic progress.

J.M.Keynes, a famous economist defined national income as follows. “National Income is the
money value of all goods and services produced in a country during a year”

While family income reflects the economic position of households, national income shows the
economic position of a nation. The basic objective of an economy is to achieve economic
progress. This is achieved by coordinating natural resources, human resources, capital,
technology etc. National income will help to assess and compare the progress achieved by a
country over a period of time.

GDP = Money value of total goods and services + Income from abroad

Income Method

Factors of production together produce output and income. The income received by the factors of
production during a year can be obtained by adding rent to land, wages to labour, interest to
capital and profit to organisations. This will be equal to the income of the nation. In other words,
total income is equal to the reward given to various factors of production. By adding the money
sent by the Indian citizens from abroad to the income of the various factors of production, we get
the gross national income.

GDP = Rent + Wage + Interest +Profit + Income from abroad

This method will help us to know the contributions made by different agents like landlords,
labourers, capitalists and organizers to national income.

EXPENDITURE METHOD

National income can also be calculated by adding up the expenditure incurred for goods and
services. Government as well as private individuals spend money for consumption and
production purposes. The sum total of expenditure incurred in a country during a year will be
equal to national income.

GDP = Individual Expenditure + Government Expenditure

This method will help us to identify the expenditure incurred by different agents.

Any one of the above methods can be used for calculating national income.

Production method = Income method = Expenditure method

SOME MACROECONOMIC IDENTITIES

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Gross Domestic Product measures the aggregate production of final goods and services taking
place within the domestic economy during a year.

GDP Value of all services produced within the country + value of all goods produced within the
country.

-Khalifa?

King of Bahrain

• Which movie has bagged the Best Picture Award at the 86th Oscar Awards 2014?

12 Years A Slave

• Where is the headquarters of the “Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE)” located?

Vienna, Austria

• Pranab Mukherjee laid the foundation stone of Berhampore Military Station at Nabagram in –

West Bengal

• Which is India's first dedicated spacecraft for defence applications?

GSAT-7

• Who launched a comprehensive web-portal on Anti Human Trafficking Portal?

R. P. N. Singh

• “Chandi Prasad Bhatt”, who has been selected for the 2013 Gandhi Peace Prize is a pioneer of
the ____.

Chipko Movement

• India has become the ---- best in terms of growth amongst top 10 steel producing countries in
the world.

Second

• Who has been appointed as the Secretary General of the SAARC?

Arjun Bahadur Thapa

• The creche facility is available under Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for Children of
Working Mothers for both organized and un-organized sectors. At present there are -----
functional creches.

23,555

• Horticulture production grew by more than ---- during the last decade in India.

8%

• The “Gulabi Gang” is a group of women activists originally from which state?

Uttar Pradesh

• What is INS Sumedha?

Offshore Patrol Vessel

• At present, how many political parties in India have been recognized as National Parties?

• President, Pranab Mukherjee attended the ---- Convocation of Indian Maritime University at
Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai on February 22, 2014.

1st

• Which was the venue of the Third BIMSTEC Summit held in March 2014?

Myanmar

• The "Nalanda Project" is a programme of ___

Ministry of Minority Affairs

• The National Mineral Awards Scheme was instituted in the year -----.

1966

• On which date Telangana will officially become India's 29th state?

June 2, 2014

• The Union Government has recently launched the “Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme” for ____

Minority Students

• Who is David Johnston?

Governor General of Canada

• Which team is the winner of 68th Santosh Trophy?

Mizoram

• India's external debt is only ------ per cent of GDP.

21.2

• According to the latest data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO), which state has
emerged as fastest growing state during 2012-13?

Bihar

• In March 2014, the India-Pakistan International Trade Fair was organized at _

Jalandhar

• Which country will chair the next BIMSTEC Summit?

Nepal

• Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim died on 9 March 2014 due to natural cause. Who was he?

Vice President of Afghanistan

• Who won the National Spelling Bee Competition in the US?

Kush Sharma

• Which Indian writer has won the Windham Campbell Literature Prize 2014?

Pankaj Mishra

• When is World Dentist Day observed?

6 March

• When is National Science Day observed?

28 February

• Who is Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud?

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Saudi Arabia

• Who has been appointed as new Director General of Border Security Force?
D. K. Pathak

• The World Longest ----- has been unveiled in Bedfordshire, UK.

Aircraft

• Sid Caesar died at 91 on 14 February 2014.Who was he?

TV comedian

• Amar Kant passed away at the age of 88 in Uttar Pradesh. Who was he?

Writer

• Pranab Mukherjee presented the International Gandhi Award for the year ----- to Dr.
Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre and Prof. Guocheng Zhang.

2013

• India's first electric zero-emission bus has been introduced at ______

Bangalore

• Who unveiled the logo of the Copyright Office and launched the web portal with e-filing
facility for Copyright Registration in New Delhi?

Dr. M. M. Pallam Raju

• “Paco de Lucia” who passed away recently, was a famous Guitarist who belongs to which
country?

Spain

• Who has won the National Billiards Championship 2014?

Sourav Kothari

• Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, India has an ambitious target of ___ MW
of solar capacity by 2022.

20,000

• The Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project is related to which state?

Assam

• While presenting the Interim Budget 2014-15, the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said
that India will become the third largest economy behind USA and China by -----.
2043

• The Government has increased the food subsidy to Rs ------ crore for financial year 2014-15.

1,15,000

• Recently, to which of the following languages Union Government has granted classical
language status?

Odia

• In which state India's first Minority Cyber Village has been inaugurated, recently?

Gujarat

• International Mother Language Day is observed on ___

February 21

• Andhra Pradesh and ------ have been jointly given the National Tourism Award for
Comprehensive Development of Tourism.

Madhya Pradesh

• The “Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary” is located in which state?

Madhya Pradesh

• “Venom GT” is ____

World's fastest car

• Which country has topped in the medal tally of the recently concluded Sochi Winter Olympics?

Russia

• In which state "Bargi Dam" is located?

Madhya Pradesh

• The “International Woolmark Prize” is related to which field?

Fashion Design

• Prokash Karmakar who passed away recently, was a famous___

Painter

• Who has won the second edition of Hero Hockey India League?
Delhi Waveriders

• Government has sanctioned Rs. ----- crore to the Nalanda University during its establishment
phase from 2010-11 to 2021-22. 2727.10

• India and which other country has agreed to expand cooperation in the restoration and
digitisation of cinema archives?

Poland

• Who has been appointed the new chairperson of the prestigious Indian Institute of
Management-Bangalore, recently?

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

• India and which other country has signed an Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement which
will enable both countries' film producers to utilize a platform for collaboration on various facets
of film making?

Canada

• An ambitious __________ project to set up the first-ever Army patterned Research and
Referral hospital and an AIIMS-like college to render tertiary and specialised treatment to
paramilitary personnel and their families was introduced, recently.

Rs 1,368 crore

• Union Minister for Urban Development and the Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation, Dr GirijaVyas, laid the Foundation Stone for the Urban Institute of India. Name the
Minister of Urban Development.

Kamal Nath

• India has inked a defence cooperation pact with which country to take their strategic
partnership further in areas of security?

Saudi Arabia

• Recently, how many new judges were sworn in as additional judges of the Bombay High
Court?

Six

• The second meeting of India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments (HLTFI) was
held in which city recently?

Mumbai
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation announces the establishment of the
R. C. Bose Centre for Cryptology and Security in the Indian Statistical Institute in city?

Kolkata

• The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports inaugurated the Sports Authority of India National
Cycling Academy. Who is the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports?

Jitendra Singh

• Recently, India has been placed at _________ position out of 189 countries in a list prepared by
an international organisation that ranks nations on the number of women representatives in
parliament.

111th

• Ahmedabad will be getting _______ for revamping of its police machinery with latest
technology under the Modernisation of Police Fund project.

Rs 25 crore

• The President of India presented the President's Standard to _______ Helicopter Unit and
Colours to No.4 Base Repair Depot of Indian Air Force at Kanpur.

112

• Germany has conferred _________ Indians with its 'Cross of the Order of Merit' award for their
contribution in strengthening Indo-German relations over the past decades.

three

• India will collaborate with the four other BRICS countries in science and technology to
generate new knowledge and develop innovative products, services and processes. 'S' in BRICS
stands for ___

South Africa

• Legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh's ancestral house, school and his village in Punjab
Province in Pakistan will be restored under a __________ project.

Rs 80-million

• How many Indian-origin men are among this year's prestigious Heinz Awards recipients in the
US?

Two
• External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid signed _______ pacts representing India at the third
BIMSTEC Summit covering areas such as cultural exchanges, permanent secretariat and early
weather warning.

three

• India's Tata Steel and which other public sector company have been named among the world's
most admired companies by Fortune magazine in a list topped by technology giant Apple?

ONGC

• According to a survey by Mercer, which city stood first in the best quality of living in the
world?

Vienna

• Two Indian women have made it to the Forbes list of the world's billionaires that saw a record
number of women this year. Name them.

Savitri Jindal and Indu Jain

• World Health Day is celebrated on ----- April every year to mark the anniversary of the
founding of WHO in 1948.

• April -----, 2014 was the birth centenary of late Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw.

• Who took over as the Chief of Material of Indian Navy?

K. R. Nair

• Actress ------ has been posthumously given a lifetime achievement award at the inaugural
edition of Filmfare Awards East.

Suchitra Sen

• Who has won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category?

Vijay Seshadri

• Who is Dr. R.K. Tyagi?

HAL Chairman

• Who won the Syed Mustaq Ali Cricket T20 Trophy?

Baroda

• Who has been appointed as Director General, Border Security Force?

Devendra Kumar Pathak

• Who won the Millennium Technology Prize 2014?

Stuart Parkin

• Sangeet Natak Akademi was established in ------.

1953

• The Head Office of the Unique Identification Authority of India is located in ------

New Delhi

• When is National Safe Motherhood Day observed?

11 pril

• In which state Ranthambore National Park is situated?

Rajasthan

• Who won the Miss India 2014 title?

Koyal Rana

• The National Maritime Day is celebrated on ---- of April every year since the year 1964.

5th

• Which country won the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2014 title?

Sri Lanka

• Who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2013?

Gulzar

• Which country won the 2014 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament?

Australia

• Who won the World Twenty20 Player of the Tournament Award?

Mahela Jayawardene
• Where is the Head Quarters of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) located?

Geneva

• World Cup Soccer 2014 will be held in -----.

Brazil

• Who clinched the Miami Masters 2014 title?

Novak Djokovic

• Where is National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) located?

Pune

• The Nuclear Security Summit 2014 was held at -------.

Netherlands

• The ----- Arab League Summit was held in Kuwait on March 25, 2014.

25th

• Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, V. K. Murthy died on 7 April 2014. Who was he?

Cinematographer

• Ashish Bose died in New Delhi on 7 April 2014.Who was he?

Demographer

• Who won the Texas Open Squash tournament?

Nour El Sherbini

• Mickey Rooney died in California at the age of 93. Who was he?

Actor

• Who won the 34th London Marathon?

Wilson Kipsang

• The 35th London Marathon will be held on -----.

26 April 2015

• Who won third WTA title at the Family Circle Cup?

Andrea Petkovic

• Who has been re-elected as Prime Minister of Hungary?

Viktor Orban

• Marie-Lousie Coleiro Preca was sworn-in as President of -----.

Malta

• Viswanathan Anand is associated with which game?

Chess

• Former ----- wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins has announced his retirement from cricket.

New Zealand

• Which country celebrated the 100th birth anniversary of late Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz?

Mexico

• Who won the Singapore Open 2014?

Simon Santoso

• Who has won the 23rd G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research for 2013?

Rajesh Gopakumar

• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council has completed ----- years of incorporation
on 20th March, 2014.

• The “SVEEP” programme is associated with ____

Election Commission

• Who has won the 2014 Templeton Prize?

Tomas Halik

• In which state Kalisindh Super Thermal Power plant is located?

Rajasthan

• India embarked on the programme to eradicate the nation of polio in -----, when the disease
used to cripple more than 50,000 children in the country every year.
1995

• Who has been appointed as Additional Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court?

Lisa Gill

• Who is the winner of the Life Time Achievement Award under 3rd National Photography
Awards?

Rajesh Bedi

• Chakradhari Sharan Singh has been appointed as Additional Judge of the ------ High Court.

Patna

• Who has been chosen for the Saraswati Samman 2013?

Govind Mishra

• One ----- Aircraft of the IAF crashed 72 miles west of Gwalior airbase on 28 March 2014.

C-130J

• Who has won the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize?

Shigeru Ban

• Who addressed the Polio Free Conclave 2014 organised by the Rotary International?

Pranab Mukherjee

• President, Pranab Mukherjee presented one Padma Vibhushan, 12 Padma Bhushan and ------
Padma Shri awards at a Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

53

• Which country started its first official census after 30 years?

China

• Iron Ore Handling has commenced at ------ Port.

Mormugao

• When is World Autism Awareness Day celebrated? April 2

• Who has been chosen for Simon Dack Award?

Dr. Sumit Chugh

• Who has won the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang (Malaysia) on 30 March 2014?

Lewis Hamilton

• Who has been appointed as the interim president of BCCI board by the Supreme Court?

Sunil Gavaskar

• Who has been appointed as the Secretary General of NATO?

Jens Stoltenberg

• Around the globe World Water Day is being observed on 22nd March since -----.

1993

• With which of the following countries India has signed a deal worth over Rs 2,600 crore to
procure 66,000 anti-tank shells to meet the shortfall of critical ammunition faced by its armoured
fleet including the latest T-90 tanks?

Russia

• How many Indians has been appointed to Research Advisory Network (RAN) of the Global
Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG) to identify and prioritise web governance and
Internet policy-related issues?

two

• Which ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airports Authority of
India (AAI) for the financial year 2014-15, which includes new parameters such as study on risk
management, development of disaster management plan and implementation of Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) tools?

Ministry of Civil Aviation

• Union ------------------- minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao resigned from the union cabinet to
protest bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

textiles

• With an objective to study the stars and other celestial bodies in the space, Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) is developing ------------------, a smaller version of Hubble Space
Telescope.

Astrosat
• The government has appointed senior IFS officer A. Ajay Kumar as India's next Ambassador to
----------, and Anumula Gitesh Sarma as next High Commissioner to----.

Iraq, Fiji

• Which city has been put on the country's railway map with the first passenger train of about
400 commuters arriving at Naharlagun?

Itanagar

• Delhi-based green NGO Chintan has won a ---------------- government's Human Rights Special
Mention Award for its commitment to human rights and environment.

French

• China has become the world's ________ biggest supplier in the major weapons' sector,
increasing the exports by 212 per cent over the past five years, replacing France, according to a
report.

fourth

• The government has launched an exchange-traded fund of central public sector enterprises, to
raise how much amount for its disinvestment plan?

Rs. 3,000 crore

• National Aluminium Company Limited has signed an MoU with _________ regarding
financial and non-financial targets for 2014-15.

Union Ministry of Mines

• Reliance Power has commissioned the third __________of its Sasan ultra mega power project
in Madhya Pradesh.

660 MW unit

• BHEL has bagged an order worth nearly Rs 3,000 crore for supply of steam generators for an
upcoming power project in which of the following states?

Odisha

• Indirect tax collections grew by ________ to Rs 4,41,826 crore in the April-February period of
this fiscal amid a slowing economy.

5.6 percent
• Which private sector bank has introduced its own card which is aimed at helping farmers
access liquidity round-the-clock?

Axis Bank

• Indian companies through their massive USD 17-billion investment in the US have collectively
generated employment opportunities for approximately how many people?

81000

• Ericsson launched an Internet-based school learning programme in collaboration with which

country's government to provide world-class education in the country?

Bhutan

• Foreign Direct Investment in India dipped by _______ to $22.03 billion in 2013, according to
the official data.

3%

• The output of eight core sectors grew _______ in February, the fastest pace in five months, on
improved production of electricity, coal and crude oil.

2.5 per cent

• Which state-owned power equipment maker has secured Rs 125 crore contract for setting up a
120 MW Hydro Electric Project in Uttarakhand?

BHEL

• As per ADB's report, India's GDP is poised to accelerate to __________ in 2014-15 on the back
of improved performance in industry and services.

5.5 per cent

• Retail inflation for industrial workers eased to a two year low of ________ in February due to
softening of prices of food items.

6.73 per cent

• Suzlon Group has retained its _____ place among global wind turbine makers in 2013.

5th

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will fully acquire troubled Ranbaxy Laboratories, in an all-stock
transaction with a total equity value of________.
USD 3.2 billion

• India's steel consumption grew by just 0.6% in 2013-14 fiscal, its lowest in four years, to
___million tonnes (MT), mainly impacted by a slower expansion of the domestic

73.93

• According to IMF India's growth is expected to recover from ______in 2013 to 5.4 percent in
2014. 4.4 percent

• In which states Green technology solutions firm ACME has bagged a contract for constructing
the national games village?

Kerala

• The World Bank projected an economic growth rate of ____in fiscal year 2015 for India on the
back of a more competitive exchange rate and many large investments going forward.

5.7 percent

• Who has been appointed as the Chairman of Software industry body for the year 2014-15?

R. Chandrasekaran

• India's exports grew by ________to USD 312.35 billion in FY 2013-14 while imports dipped
by 8.11 per cent during the period

3.98 per cent

• Who has been recently honoured by Queen Elizabeth with a GBE (Knight Grand Cross), oneof
the UK's highezst civilian awards?

Ratan Tata

• Global rating agency Fitch pegged India's growth at ____per cent in the current fiscal.

5.5

• India has provided an aid of --------------- for construction of a new school in central Nepal,
under the Nepal-India Economic Cooperation Programme.

Rs 18.4 mn

• Which neighbouring country of India has decided to hire students of an engineering institute for
a 10,000 megawatt hydel power project being built in the country in collaboration with India.
Bhutan

• Kapurthala based Rail Coach Factory (RCF) manufactured ---------------- coaches last fiscal, the
highest ever in its history.

1,701

• Railway Board has recently celebrated the ------------------ Railway Week Award function-
2014.

59th

• The --------------- will set up 81 new composite Border Outposts (BOPs) along the 856 km long
Indo-Bangla border in Tripura by 2017 in addition to the existing 245 BOPs.

Ministry of Home Affairs

• India's leading industrialist Ratan Tata was conferred with a honorary degree of Doctor of
Business by which of the following country's university for his achievements as a visionary
entrepreneur and a societal leader?

Singapore

• North Korea fired off _______medium-range ballistic missiles in violation of the UN Security
Council resolutions.

two

• _________ Indians and four persons of Indian origin have received the 2013 World of
Difference Awards' from US-based The International Alliance for Women for their work for
women's empowerment.

Three

• UAE has announced an aid package of ____________ for Syrian refugees in response to an
appeal from the UN.

220 million dirhams

• India's leading industrialist Ratan Tata was conferred with a honorary degree of Doctor of
Business by which of the following country's university for his achievements as a visionary
entrepreneur and a societal leader?

Singapore

• North Korea fired off _______medium-range ballistic missiles in violation of the UN Security
Council resolutions.
two

• _________ Indians and four persons of Indian origin have received the 2013 World of
Difference Awards' from US-based The International Alliance for Women for their work for
women's empowerment.

Three

• The UAE has announced an aid package of ____________ for Syrian refugees in response to
an appeal from the UN.

220 million dirhams

• _________and Tata Power are among the world's most ethical companies, according to
American think tank Ethisphere Institute.

Wipro

• How many Indian-Americans feature in Forbes magazine's annual list of 100 best venture
investors with the “Midas” touch, who made savvy investments in start-ups and then sold off
their stakes to pocket nearly $95 billion in profits?

Eleven

• India ranks _______ among the 132 countries on the Social Progress Index.

102

----- billion dollars.

45

Grant Flower

-Fi in Gurgaon Rapid Metro Rail for six months?

MTS

11th May

---- May 2014.

10-11
 ----- N. Janardhana Reddy passed away.

Andhra Pradesh

Qatar

M. Hamid Ansari

Indira Talwani

---- released a book, titled 'India Junction A Window to the

Nation'.

Arunendra Kumar

---- launched online database of World War-I.

UK

Dalbir Singh

Maria Sharapova

12th May

----- of May.

8th

---- percent of votes.

62.2

----, is observed as the World Malaria Day.

25
South Sudan

Mitul Kadakia

-III (Ghaznavi)?

Ballistic Missile

to ____

Norway

pointed as the national coach of the national team of Pakistan?

Waqar Younis

Kerala

Military

----- won World Snooker Championship 2014.

England

awards 2013-14?

John Travolta

Tennis Player

Martin Kilzan

Bengali Theatre
 -President of ----- Juan Carlos Varela won the presidential election.

Panama

Economist

Copyright

Ahmet Sik

Australia

---- won the WTA Portugal Open 2014 Women's doubles title.

Cara Black

Missile

-2014?

78

Shooting

Himachal Pradesh

Actor

California

an Award' in Canada?
N R Narayana Murthy

-----.

111

-officio
Secretary to the Government of India?

Ashwin B. Pandya

has been appointed as the dean of University of California Berkeley, School of Law?

Sujit Choudhry

18th April

---- Chief of Naval Staff of Independent India.

22nd

-2014” multilateral military

exercise?

China

Squash

Odisha

is Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo?

Deputy Chief of General Staff (Operations), China

Training Exercise scheduled to be held in ----- 2014 in India.

November

lanet in our solar system is called the Upside Down planet?

Venus
World Bank

----- Airport will soon become a zero-diversionary airport.

Delhi

-2014?

Lewis Hamilton

Rajendra Mal Lodha

terms

of leveraging information and communication technologies (ICT)?

Finland

-elected as Prime Minister of which country?

Hungary

Hockey

---- per cent in India.

20

------.

2005

Awards?

Rama Leela

Ramesh Agarwal
Football

-2014?

Chitra Magimairaj

inception since --.

1853

---- National Film Awards function was held on 3rd May at Vigyan Bhawan.

61st

-----, the veteran film lyricist,

director,

screen writer, producer and poet.

Gulzar

s is located in ___

Northern Pacific Ocean

ASEAN & East

Asia summit?

Suresh K Reddy

ateral treaty
of the ______

Council of Europe

----.

3rd

Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with Transparency International India (TII) for implementing Integrity
Pact?
Ircon International Limited

S B P Sinha

r India's maiden inter-planetary mission to Mars "Mangalyaan"

to reach the

Mars orbit.

September 24, 2014

of creating an ultra-flexible tactile skin for robotics and prosthetics in UK?

Dr Ravinder Dahiya

Stem cell transplant

the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Foundation?

Mitul Kadakia

and Social Change in India” co-edited by Ashok K. Pankaj and -----------------.

Ajit K. Pandey

-officio Secretary

to the Govt. of India?

V. K. Gupta

of the UK Writers' Forum?

Nikhil Chandwani
Order of Merit), for her significant contribution to strengthening of economic,

cultural and commercial links between France and India?

Priya Paul

Barack Obama has announced his intent to appoint how many Indian-

Americans to his 14-member advisory commission on Asian Americans and Pacific

Islanders (AAPIs)?

three

-General Ban Ki-moon?

Anthony Lake

Delivery (ASD) at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Department

of Treasury in US?

Jawahar Kaliani

------------------ and Ranjana Paintal have been honoured by the White House and the

Department of Health & Human Services along with nine others for their work to

educate about the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Manjusha P Kulkarni

• Yuva Vani service was started from All India Radio Jammu in ----- with a view to encourage
the young talent and provide an outlet for youth broadcasters and youth artists.

1973 & Kashmir

• Air cargo represents about ----- of the airline industries’ revenue.

10%

• About ---- of the value of goods traded internationally, is transported by air.

35%

• Who is Ed Fast?
Canadian Minister for International Trade

• Who is Naveen Patnaik?

Chief Minister of Odisha

• AIIMS New Delhi was founded in -----.

1956

• Who is Oomen Chandy?

Chief Minister of Kerala

• Which is generally known as United Nations refugee agency?

UNHCR

• M. Venkaiah Naidu holds consultations with stakeholders to fulfil the goal of

• ’Affordable housing for all by -----’

2022

• Who is Major General Vestop Namgyel?

Ambassador of Bhutan

• Who has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Posts?

Kavery Banerjee

• Mamnoon Hussain is the President of __.

• Pakistan

• Gopinath Munde passed away in a road accident. Who was he?

Union Minister for Rural Development

• Which is the correct full form of TLS?

Transport Layer Security

• Who is Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah?

Special Envoy of the Sultan of Oman

• The "Mount Gorichen" is one of the highest peaks of ____.

Arunachal Pradesh

• Who is J. Jayalalithaa?

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

• India and ---- will enhance Bilateral Cooperation in the Field of Films, TV Serials & New-Age
Media.

China

• World Environment Day was founded by the UN in -----.

1972

• Who has won the ’Ceat International Cricketer of the Year’ award?

Virat Kohli

• India’s largest electricity-generating plant is located at ___

Kudankulam

• Uma Bharti was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha from ----- constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Jhansi

• In which year India hosted Asian Games for the first time?

1951

• In which state is Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary located?

Madhya Pradesh

• Poorna Malavath created a record of the youngest female ever in the world to reach the world’s
highest peak, at the age of ----- years and 11 months, on May 25th, 2014.

13

• Who is Ajay S Shriram? President, CII

• Who is Dasho Kunzang Wangdi?

Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan

• Who have won the Men’s Doubles title of the French Open 2014?

Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin

• Who has won the Men’s Singles title of the French Open 2014?

Rafael Nadal

• Who has won the Women’s Singles title of the French Open 2014?

Maria Sharapova

• What is INS Sahyadri?

Multi Role Frigate

• Who have won the Women’s Doubles title of the French Open 2014?

Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai

• Anandiben Patel was sworn as the ---- Chief Minister of Gujarat.

15th

• Telangana came into existence as the ---- state of India.

29th

• Who is Jacob G. Zuma?

President of South Africa

• Russi Mody passed away in Kolkata. Who was he?

Industrialist

• Which country has won the South Asian Basketball Association Championship-2014?

India

• Every year Anti-Terrorism Day is observed throughout the country on ---- May.

21st

• Which treaty is associated with establishment of European Union?

Maastricht Treaty

• The "World Telecommunication and Information Society Day" is observed on _____.

May 17

• The "Maitree" is a name of joint combat exercise between India and ___
Thailand

• The 16th General Elections saw participation of ----- political parties.

464

• Which country has won the 2014-Uber Cup Tournament?

China

• Ahn Dai-Hee" has been named as new Prime Minister of ____.

South Korea

• Madhav Mantri, who passed away recently, was India’s oldest ___.

Cricketer

• The 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia was held in -----.

Philippines

• Vice President M. Hamid Ansari presented the ’Lakshmipat Singhania-IIM ----National

Leadership Awards-2012’ at a function.

Lucknow

• The famous archaeological monument "Rani ki Vav" is located in ___.

Gujarat

• Narendra Modi assumed office as the ---- Prime Minister of India.

15th

• Which country has won the AFC Women’s Asian Football Cup 2014?

Japan

• Who has assumed office as a Minister of Minority Affairs?

Dr. Najma Heptulla

• Footballer "Cristiano Ronaldo”, belongs to which country?

Portugal

• Who assumed charge of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution?
Ramvilas Paswan

• Maya Angelou, who passed away recently, was a famous ___.

Poet

• Who assumed charge of the Ministry of Law & Justice?

Ravi Shankar Prasad

• Who has been appointed as the Attorney General of India?

Mukul Rohatgi

• Who took over as the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries?

Harsimrat Kaur Badal

• The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship or Red Shirts, is a pro-democracy
movement in ___. Thailand

• One ---- Aircraft of the IAF crashed about 10 Kms short of Awantipur Airbase on 27 May
2014.

MiG-21

• Who has been appointed as National Security Advisor?

Ajit Doval

• Who took over as the Union Minster of Social Justice & Empowerment?

Thaawar Chand Gehlot

• Who is the Chairman of the Special Investigation Team (SIT)?

M B Shah

• Who took over as the Union Minister for Agriculture?

Radha Mohan Singh

• Who took over as new Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation?

Uma Bharti

• The Eurasian Economic Union or Eurasian Union is an economic union founded by the leaders
of ____.
Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus

• The Tin Bigha corridor is a strip of land between India and ___.

Bangladesh

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi vacated the Vadodara Parliamentary seat, retaining the ----- Lok
Sabha seat.

Varanasi

• India and ----- to further strengthen cooperation in education sector.

Israel

• The MINUSMA is a name of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in ___.

Mali

• Recently, in which country world’s highest cablecar system has been inaugurated?

Bolivia

• International Biodiversity Day is celebrated across the globe on ---- May every year.

22nd

Rahul and Varun Gandhi who have won from neighbouring -------------- and --------------
constituencies in Uttar Pradesh from Congress and BJP respectively took oath as members of the
16th Lok Sabha.

Amethi, Sultanpur

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently released commemorative postage stampson the ----
--------- and hoped that the international event becomes a ”bridge for connecting nations”.

2014 FIFA World Cup

• What is the name of the Indain scientist who has been unanimously elected as member of the
UN’s Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS)?

Rasik Ravindra

• Sonipat-based Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) has been ranked ----------------- in a survey
conducted by India Today-Nielsen for top emerging law colleges in the country this year.

fifth
• In order to promote collaborative research in the areas of ---------------- and railway
engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (IIT-R) has inked an agreement with the
University of Southampton based in UK.

aviation

• Which University has conferred an honorary degree on the Former President of India

APJ Abdul Kalam recently?

University of Edinburgh

• Who has been appointed as the dean of the business school of the Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology?

Jitendra Vir Singh

• Who has been awarded the Fulbright-Nehru fellowship for Academic and Professional
Experience to teach immunonutrition and functional foods in medical institutions across India?

Anil Kulkarni

• Who has been appointed as member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council for helping in
collection of several millions for the Obama campaign in both 2008 and 2012 presidential
election campaigns?

Shefali Razdan Duggal

• Which Indian batsman has been rated second behind British Formula One racer Lewis
Hamilton in the list of most marketable athletes by the UK magazine, ’SportsPro’?

Virat Kohli

• Which Indian actor is the lone Indian celebrity to make it to a list of the top ten wealthiest
Hollywood and Bollywood personalities by beating stars like Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp?

Shahrukh Khan

• A poor cotton farmer’s son from Maharasthra’s Vidarbha region has been named in the Forbes
list of top 40 CEOs in Middle-East countries. What is the name of the person?

Deepak Lote

• FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi is the world’s most valuable footballer. To which country does
he belong?

Argentina
• What is the name of rising Spanish football star who has emerged as the most popular young
football star on Google?

Jese Rodriguez

• Which Indian cricketer is the only Indian sportsman to figure on Forbes’ list of world’s 100
highest paid athletes?

M.S. Dhoni

Environment and Forests for a National Mission for a Green India as a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme. Of the total expenditure of Rs. 13,000 crore envisaged in the 12th Plan, the plan outlay
is Rs. ----- crore.

2000

• Which bank is the first Indian private sector bank to set up a branch in China?

Axis Bank

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of M/s Glaxo
SmithKline Pvt Limited for acquisition of ----- percent of shares in the existing Indian subsidiary
company of the GSK Group in India by way of a voluntary open offer under SEBI (SAST
Regulations) in the pharmaceutical sector.

24.33

• At present, India imports largest amount of coal from __

Indonesia

• NTPC will develop a 1320 MW (2 X 660 MW) Thermal Power Project at Kajra in Lakhisarai
district of ------.

Bihar

• The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is a venture of ___

HSBC

• Who has been appointed as next CMD of ONGC?

Dinesh Sarraf
• The Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram presented the Interim Budget 2014-15 that
shows an estimated plan expenditure of Rs. ------ crore and non-plan expenditure of Rs.
12,07,892 crore.

5,55,322

• The Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram has indicated a growth rate of ------ per cent in
merchandise exports during the current financial year.

6.3

• The coal for the Mundra Thermal Power Station is imported primarily from which country?

Indonesia

• An amount of Rs ------ crore has been provided for capital infusion in Public Sector Banks in
the Interim Budget 2014-15.

11,200

• The Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has set a target of Rs ------ lakh crore of Agriculture
credit for the year 2014-15.

• The fiscal deficit for the financial year 2013-14 will be contained at ------ per cent of GDP.

4.6

• Who is Arup Roy Chaudhary?

CMD, NTPC

• India's gold demand rose by ________ to 975 tonnes compared to 2012.

13%

• The Finance ministers and central bank governors of G-20 nations decided to work towards
lifting their collective GDP by more than 2 per cent over the next _____ years.

five

• International rating agency Moody's said it expects growth to pick up to only ___ in FY15.

5.5 per cent

• India's and _______'s country's companies signed four agreements to jointly promote and
facilitate investments and trade?

South Arabia

• The government has cleared seven infrastructure projects worth ______ crore that fall under the
ministries of road and shipping.

Rs 16057.45

• BHEL has bagged a contract worth Rs. 7,900 crore related to 1,980 MW thermal power project
in which state?

Jharkhand

• China targeted a modest ________ GDP growth in 2014.

7.5 per cent

• India has approved ____________ as the interim cost escalation for Bhutan's Punatshangchu
hydropower project.

Rs 1,765 crore

• Mumbai has slipped to _______ position in the list of world's most expensive locations for
high-end rental apartments sought by expats.

28th

• How many women have made it to the Fortune India's first '40 Under 40' compilation that lists
individuals who have managed to grow an idea into a profitable business?

Seven

• India's exports declined _________ to USD 25.68 billion in February 2014.

3.67 per cent

• Who has been elected as the President of CII?

Ajay Shriram

• What does letter 'A' denote in the term 'PAN' issued by the Income Tax Department?

Account

• Lafarge and Holcim announced plans for a merger. These two firms are specialized in
production of ______.
Building Materials

• The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during the financial
year 2013-14 were Rs. ----- crore.

140485.02

• Indian Railways have carried ----- million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during the
financial year 2013-14.

1053.54

• Which bank launched Instant Money Transfer (IMT) Scheme?

Bank of India

• India became net steel exporter in 2013-14 after a gap of ----- years.

Six • Which bank launched its Twitter handle account?

State Bank of India

• The Railways have generated Rs. ----- crore of revenue earnings from commodity-wise freight
traffic during 1st April, 2013 to 28th February, 2014.

84379.49

• Indian Railways have carried ----- million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during 1st
April 2013 to 28th February 2014.

953.05

• Which country is the largest supplier of arms to India in 2009-13?

Russia

• The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during 1st April 2013 to
28th February 2014 were Rs. ------ crore.

126028.54

• The Competition Commission of India has imposed a fine of Rs. ----- Crore upon Google for
failure to comply with the directions given by the Director General seeking information and
documents.

• Who is the Chairman of Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC)?

Parthasarathy Shome

• The CPSE - ETF scheme is managed by ___

Goldman Sachs India

SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd

• Which is the largest bank in the world in terms of market capitalization?

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

• China has become the world's ________ biggest supplier in the major weapons' sector,
increasing the exports by 212 per cent over the past five years, replacing France, according to a
report.

fourth

• The government has launched an exchange-traded fund of central public sector enterprises, to
raise how much amount for its disinvestment plan?

Rs. 3,000 crore

• National Aluminium Company Limited has signed an MoU with __________ regarding
financial and non-financial targets for 2014-15.

Union Ministry of Mines

• Reliance Power has commissioned the third __________of its Sasan ultra mega power project
in Madhya Pradesh.

660 MW unit

• BHEL has bagged an order worth nearly Rs 3,000 crore for supply of steam generators for an
upcoming power project in which of the following states?

Odisha

• Indirect tax collections grew by ________ to Rs 4,41,826 crore in the April-February period of
this fiscal amid a slowing economy.

5.6 percent

• Which private sector bank has introduced its own card which is aimed at helping farmers
access liquidity round-the-clock?
Axis Bank

• Indian companies through their massive USD 17-billion investment in the US have collectively
generated employment opportunities for pproximately how many people?

81000

• Ericsson launched an Internet-based school learning programme in collaboration with which

country's government to provide world-class education in the country?

Bhutan

• Foreign Direct Investment in India dipped by_______ to $22.03 billion in 2013, according to
the official data.

3%

• The output of eight core sectors grew _______ in February, the fastest pace in five months, on
improved production of electricity, coal and crude oil.

2.5 per cent

• Which of the following state-owned power equipment maker has secured Rs 125 crore contract
for setting up a 120 MW Hydro Electric Project in Uttarakhand?

BHEL

• As per ADB's report, India's GDP is poised to accelerate to __________ in 2014-15 on the back
of improved performance in industry and services.

5.5 per cent

• Retail inflation for industrial workers eased to a two year low of ________ in February due to
softening of prices of food items.

6.73 per cent

• Suzlon Group has retained its _____ place among global wind turbine makers in 2013.

5th

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will fully acquire troubled Ranbaxy Laboratories, in an all-stock
transaction with a total equity value of________.

USD 3.2 billion

• India's steel consumption grew by just 0.6% in 2013-14 fiscal, its lowest in four years, to
___million tonnes (MT), mainly impacted by a slower expansion of the domestic

73.93

• According to IMF India's growth is expected to recover from ______in 2013 to 5.4 percent in
2014.

4.4 percent

• In which of the following states Green technology solutions firm ACME has bagged a contract
for constructing the national games village?

Kerala

• The World Bank projected an economic growth rate of in fiscal year 2015 for India on the back
of a more competitive exchange rate and many large investments going forward.

5.7 percent

• Who has been appointed as the Chairman of Software industry body for the year 2014-15?

R. Chandrasekaran

• India's exports grew by ________to USD 312.35 billion in FY 2013-14 while imports dipped
by 8.11 per cent during the period

3.98 per cent

• Who has been recently honoured by Queen Elizabeth with a GBE (Knight Grand Cross), oneof
the UK's highezst civilian awards? Ratan Tata

• Global rating agency Fitch pegged India's growth at ____per cent in the current fiscal.

5.5

• Retail inflation in March inched up to --------- per cent from 8.03 in February.

8.31

• Which bank has launched a financing scheme 'boutique financing', for women fashion boutique
owners ?

SBI

• Anand Mahindra, Banmali Agrawala and ----------- have been appointed directors of US India
Business Council.
Ellen Lord

• Who is chairman of the Board of Directors of Doha Bank.

Sheikh Fahad Bin Mohamed Bin Jabor Al Thani

• Which company has signed an agreement with Japanese major Mitsubishi Corporation to form
a single IT services unit ?

TCS

• Cadbury India will change its name to ----------.

Mondelez India Foods Limited.

• Novartis will acquire GlaxoSmithKline plc's (GSK) cancer drugs portfolio for ---------.

USD 16 billion.

• India, is the world's ------------ largest steel maker.

fourth

• The World Bank has sanctioned a loan of USD 1,100 million for construction of -------- long
double line between Mughalsarai-Bhaupur section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor project.

393 km

• Which US software giant company has completed the acquisition of Nokia's mobile handset
business?

Microsoft

• Engineering and construction firm Larsen and Toubro has received a -------------- order from
Qatar Railways Company.

USD 740 million

• The International Monetary Fund has approved a USD 17 billion aid deal for ----------

Ukraine.

• The government has appointed ----------- as a member of the Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority (PFRDA).

R V Verma
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the services sector declined ------------- per cent to $2.18
billion during April-February of 2013-14.

54

• Indian economy is expected to clock ----------- per cent GDP growth in 2014-15, according to a
Citigroup report.

5.6

• Which pharmaceutical company has got approval of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for
merger of its two subsidiaries?

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals

• The world economy is projected to grow ------- per cent this year, according to OECD.

3.4

• Which Bank has directed banks not to levy any penalty on individual borrowers for

pre-paying floating loans?

Reserve Bank of India

• How many nations including Switzerland and India, have agreed upon automatic exchange

of information on tax matters?

47

• Which company has entered into a strategic engagement with DNB Bank ASA.

HCL Technologies

• Which company is at the top of 54 Indian companies in Forbes' annual list of the world's

• 2000 largest and most powerful public companies?

Reliance Industries

• Which government has approved the proposed coal development project of Indian major

Adani Group in the Galilee Basin ?

Queensland

• Cargo handling by the major of ports of the country registered about ------------ per cent growth
in the first month of the current financial year.
9

• Which Group has won the International Business of the Year award 2014 at the Asian

Business Awards?

Caparo

• The Asian Development Bank and the ------- have pledged to provide USD 3.5 million

to Nepal for the welfare of women and children in the country.

UK

• Which company expects the metal's consumption in India to grow by about 5% to 75 million

tonne in 2014-15?

Tata Steel

• Which Indian Pharmaceutical company will acquire 14.6 per cent stake in US-based Chase
Pharmaceuticals Corporation Inc for $1.5 million?

Cipla Ltd.

• Jordan and Saudi Arabia has signed ---------- grant agreements.

$232 million

• Sony Music Entertainment has bought 26 per cent stake in which company for an undisclosed
sum?

Infibeam Digital Entertainment (P) Ltd

• State-run NTPC has cancelled a Rs 210-crore contract with which company due to alleged

"poor performance"?

Punj Lloyd

• India will become the world's third largest oil consumer by -----, according to the US

Energy Information Administration.

2025

• Who is Chairman of Indian Bank Association?

K. R. Kamath
• The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during April 2014

were Rs. 12064.46 crore compared to Rs. ----- crore during the same period last year.

11010.98

• Indian Railways have carried ---- million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during

April 2014.

88.80

• Which Stock Exchange will shut its operations after it failed to adhere to several new

regulatory requirements?

Madras Stock Exchange

• According to latest World Bank report which of the following are the world's most

expensive economies?

Switzerland and Norway

• In the “CAMELS” bank-rating system, the word A stands for ___.

Asset Quality

• Who has been appointed as President and CEO of Nokia Corporation?

Rajeev Suri

• Public Sector ----- Shipyard Limited, under the Ministry of Shipping, has been graded

as “Excellent” for the year 2013-14 for corporate governance among the Central Public

Sector Undertakings.

Cochin

• The Indian Railways have generated Rs. ------ crore of revenue earnings from commodity

-wise freight traffic during financial year 2013-14.

93468.84

• Which organisation gives “Crystal Awards” to integrate cultural leaders into its meetings?

World Economic Forum

• At a macro-economic level it is estimated by various agencies that road accidents in India

accord for a loss of almost ----- GDP every year, in addition to the personal trauma.

2%

• The country with highest per-capita milk availability in the world is ___

New Zealand

• A new economic term GIRO is being reporting in newspapers recently, what does GIRO stands
for?

Government Internal Revenue Order

• The “Yandex” is a one of the largest search engine company operating in ______

Russia

• In 2013, the Indian Media and Entertainment industry registered a growth of 11.8 per cent

over 2012 and did a gross business of around Rs. ----- crore.

92,000

• Who has been appointed as India’s Governor on the Board of Governors of the Asian
Development Bank?

Arun Jaitley

• Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) Association presented a cheque of Rs. ---- lakhs to the
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his office for the rehabilitation and reconstruction work
in the State of Uttarakhand.

10

• M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister of Urban Development presented cheque of Rs. ----- cr to
the Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister as surplus from New Moti Bagh Project in New Delhi.

330.61

• The ”Street Art Project” is a cultural initiative of __

Google

• The present cumulative installed capacity of biomass based power plants is about ------ MW in
India.
4700

• Indian Railways have carried ----- million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during 1st
April- 31st May 2014.

180.63

• India Signed Credit Agreement worth US $ ---- Million with World Bank for Maharashtra
Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program.

165

• British telecom major Vodafone’s South African subsidiary Vodacom has reached an
agreement to buy Neotel. Neotel is controlled by which Indian company?

Tata Communications

• Which Indian Software Solution provider firm has bagged a multi-year IT infrastructure deal
from specialty glass and ceramics maker Corning?

Wipro Technologies

• Which Indian company has bagged a deal estimated to be around $500 million (around Rs
3,000 crore) from beverage giant PepsiCo for offering infrastructure management services?

HCLTechnologies

• Global foods and beverages major PepsiCo will source cashew from small farmers of which
state under its new partnership with the Clinton Foundation?

Maharashtra

• What is the name of the project which has been started by Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt
Ltd (HCCBPL) and Jain Irrigation to scale up their initiative for mango production, targeting
involvement of 25,000 farmers?

Project Unnati

• ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of the state-owned explorer Oil and Natural Gas
Corp (ONGC), has signed a deal with which Russian company to jointly explore hydrocarbons in
the offshore Arctic?

Rosneft

• Who has been conferred on prestigious Cross of the Order of Merit by Germany for his
contribution towards Indo-German relations?
Deepak Parekh

• According to the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a measure of factory

production, India’s manufacturing sector growth inched up slightly in May. Which of the
following institutions releases the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)?

HSBC

• Which Indian Pharmaceutical Company has opened a new manufacturing facility in

Switzerland for supply of clinical trial material?

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals

• Which country was on the top among emerging markets in the manufacturing and services
sector in May according to the HSBC Emerging Markets Index (EMI)?

India

• Which industrialist has been honoured by Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations

(FADA) with Life Time Contribution Award?

Ratan Tata

• Auto components maker Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd (SMIL) has inked a 50:50
joint venture pact with Magneti Marelli Spa to enter the automotive shock absorbers segment in
the Indian market. Magneti Marelli Spa is a company from which country?

Italy

• Who among the following has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Governors at the
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) recently?

Pawan Goenka

• The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during 1st April 2014 to
31st May 2014 has registered an increase of-------------------.

8.14 per cent

• Which department of Central Govt. has been given an ISO certificate, a global recognition for
quality management, recently?

Department of Personnel & Training

• Internet search provider Google has entered into an agreement to buy which satellite maker
company for USD 500 million in cash?
Skybox

• Credit Agreement for World Bank DPL Loan of US$ 100 million for promoting Inclusive
Growth and Sustainable Development has been signed between the Government of India, the
World Bank and the Government of ------------------- .

Himachal Pradesh

• Who has been named as the new chief executive officer of the nation’s second-largest software
services exporter firm Infosys?

Vikas Sikka

• Who has been appointed as Executive Chairman of Tata Quality Management Services
(TQMS)?

S Padmanabhan
JAN - 2014

RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

‗Udaan‘ in Jammu and Kashmir in co-ordination with NSDC (National Skill Development
Corporation) and the Government of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

Note: R.K. Dubey is the Chairman & Managing Director, Canara Bank.

-long campaign for the delivery of agriculture

credit and financial inclusion initiatives at all its branches.

ian Overseas Bank today launched

‗Connect Card‘, a new ATM cum Debit card in association with VISA that can be used for e-
commerce across five lakh merchant outlets.

approvals from the US authorities.

month at any bank ATM, including their own bank.

l has
suggested setting up of specialised banks to cater to low income households to ensure that all
citizens have bank accounts by 2016.

Note: The panel, headed by banker Nachiket Mor, was set up by Raghuram Rajan on the day of
taking over as the RBI Governor, to suggest steps for promoting financial inclusion.

-women bank, signed an agreement with Institute

of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for financing students pursuing chartered accountancy.

8: The RBI-appointed committee on financial inclusion has recommended that the central
bank should set up specialised banks called Payments Bank to provide payment services and
deposit products to small businesses and low-income households.

Reserve Bank of India has allowed Non-Banking Financial Companies, NBFCs to

lend up to 75 per cent of the value of gold.

amount of the bilateral swap arrangement (BSA) between the two countries to USD 50 billion.
Note: The agreement was signed by BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan and has become effective as of 10th January 2014.

reduced refinance rate for

banks and other lending agencies by 0.20 per cent to promote rural credit and rural infrastructure.

could give a missed call at his bank to know his account balance.

Basel III compliant Tier II Bonds aggregating Rs 2,000 crore.

ampaign for micro

enterprises from January 17 to March 31.

-out of credit
cards to customers of India‘s first women-focused commercial bank.

ded to conduct Open Market Operations (OMO) by

purchasing four government securities for an aggregate amount of Rs 10,000 crore on January 22

India has re-allocated his portfolios among the remaining three Deputy Governors — K.C.
Chakrabarty, H.R. Khan and Urjit Patel.

governance of bank boards and make recommendations.

Note: Headed by former Axis Bank CEO PJ Nayak, the panel will review the RBI's regulatory
guidelines on ownership of banks and representation in their boards, among other things.

inflation target.

restructuring norms by non-banking financial companies, NBFCs.

channel on popular video sharing website Youtube and said it will also be launching its handle
on the micro-blogging site Twitter soon.
 Ltd has received the Reserve Bank of India‘s final authorisation of the
White Label ATM licence.

key policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 8 per cent in a bid to curb inflation, a move that may translate
into higher EMIs and push up the cost of borrowing for corporates.

key policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 8 per cent in a bid to curb inflation, a move that may translate
into higher EMIs and push up the cost of borrowing for corporates.

-14 in
absence of pick-up in manufacturing sector, but likely to recover to 5.5 per cent in the next
financial year.

potential of Rs 12726.83 crore in the state focus paper (SFP) for the year 2014-15 in Uttarakhand
under the priority sector.

-limit for foreign investment in

government securities, to USD 10 billion by long-term investors.

made by banks to charge their customers for using ATM services.

prompt steps for recovery or sale of unviable accounts.

NATION THIS MONTH

its Rs 3,600 crore deal with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland for

supply of 12 VVIP choppers to the Air Force in view of charges that kickbacks to the tune of Rs
360 crore were paid in it.

Note: The decision to scrap the 2010 deal was taken nearly a year after reports surfaced that two
top officials of the company had allegedly paid bribes to bag the contract.

International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFOK) from January 27 to February 3, 2014 at

Thrissur.
Note: The theme of the sixth ITFOK is based on gender, transition and spectatorship which have
contemporary resonance.

-level feedback
and gauge people‘s pulse and aspirations.

elections starting mid-April and spread it over at least five phases till early May.

ian Navy's area of operation.

Note: INS Vikramaditya (R33) is a Project which entered into service with the Indian Navy in
2013. The ship has been renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a legendary 1st century BC
emperor of Ujjain, India.

Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan has said the Jain community will be added
to the list of national minority communities.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014 which was held in New Delhi.

Note: This year's theme is "Engaging Diaspora: Connecting Across Generations.

and the Government of Maharashtra in partnership with CII between February 9 and 13.

across the country to create awareness among the people.

Note: The theme of this year‘s Road Safety week is ―When on road, always say Pehle Aap”

ress has appointed Union Minister Sachin Pilot as the new Chief of
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee.

India‘s largest pet event, from January 17-19.

an 15: The 66th Army Day was observed on 15 January 2014.

 Jan 19: India test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile with a range of
4000 kilometers from Wheeler Island in Dhamra of Odisha Coast.

Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana in the National Capital Region, NCR.

Garuda Vasudha of Geological Survey of India from the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL),
Bangalore.

2013 to children from various parts of the country in New Delhi.

Note: The awardees include nine girls. Five children were awarded posthumously. The award
winning children took part of Republic Day Parade at Rajpath

Department of Posts will roll out its own ATMs, with the first of them set to be functional on
February 5 across three cities.

-Inspector of the Andhra Pradesh‘s counter-Maoist force, K Prasad Babu, was

posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award of the country, as
India celebrated its 65th Republic Day.

Empowerment Minister Kumari Selja from the Council of Ministers, with immediate effect.

Supreme Court has refused to review its verdict on criminalising gay sex. The
Apex Court took up petitions filed by the Centre and rights activists seeking review of its earlier
verdict declaring gay sex an offence.

-awaited country‘s first monorail is all set to roll out in Mumbai from Feb 2.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

General of India (CAG) can audit the accounts of private telecom operators under the relevant
provisions of the law.

Securities Clearing Corporation, Indian Clearing Corporation and MCX-SX Clearing

Corporation.

unched nation‘s first comprehensive adolescent health programme,

which will include a sharp focus on adolescents' sexual health.

launch an adult education scheme for Muslims above the age of 15 years.

-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II

missile, which has a strike range of 350 kms and is capable of carrying warheads of upto 1000
kgs, from a test range in Odisha.

Jan 8: World Bank will provide $500 million loan for water supply and sanitation projects in
the rural areas of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

existing pharma firms.

-run telecom firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)

and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to get refunds of a total Rs 112.6 billion by
returning their 4G radio spectrum.

-lateral funding agency World Bank will provide $250 million loan to construct
disaster resilient houses and roads in disaster-hit Uttarakhand.

-II which is an indigenous rover and lander using GSLV will be launched
by 2016 or 2017.

Note: Chandrayaan-I, India's first mission to Moon, was launched successfully on October 22,
2008 from Sriharikota.

case of polio was reported, a major public health

success for a country that until recently accounted for most of the world‘s cases.

directed the government departments not to insist on seeking their address if a post box number
is being provided to them for communication.
deposits to 8.75 percent for 2013-14.

Delhi government withdrew the Foreign Domestic Investment (FDI) in Multibrand

Retail thus becoming the first to do so.

-term plan which

is compliant with new IRDA guidelines.

15: The World Bank has projected India‘s economy will grow over 6 per cent in 2014-15
and 7.1 per cent by 2016-17 as global demand recovers and domestic investment increases.

Note: In China, growth is estimated to stay flat in 2014 at 7.7 per cent, slowing to 7.5 per cent for
the next two years

-delayed $ 12 billion Posco steel project in Odisha is set to be operational in

the next few weeks and granting of mining concession to the South Korean firm was in an
advanced stage of processing.

National Urban Health Mission in Bangalore.

-Mart registered a new entity called Wal-Mart India Private

Ltd in India to enter the lucrative multi-brand market in India. Wal-Mart India Private Ltd was
registered as a new entity with Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

status by the central government.

Punjab.

Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd to help accelerate infrastructure growth through increased
private sector investment.

sector by raising its share of GDP to 25 per cent from 16 per cent, Commerce and Industry
Minister Anand Sharma said.

launched by Vice President Hamid Ansari in Delhi.

 ower-than-expected rate of 5.3 per cent this
year, according to a United Nations report which said the country's slowdown may have
bottomed out.

February 2014.

28: Leading stock exchange BSE has said live trading in new interest rate futures (IRF), in
long tenure 10-year government bonds, will begin on its platform on 20th January.

Development Corporation Limited (NAWADCO) that is a new Central Public Sector Enterprise
in New Delhi.

orandum
of understanding for the setting up of a rail coach factory at Kolar in Karnataka.

spectrum.

INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING

INDIA

Wangchuck visited New Delhi for five days.

-hye who will be on a visit from Jan 15th, will hold delegation
level talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and discuss bilateral, regional and global
issues during the visit.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, who will be chief guest at this year's Republic day Parade,
arrived here on a three-day official trip to India.

MoUs/ AGREEMENTS SIGNED THIS MONTH

fosys
recently creating ripples in the corporate circles, has joined the Aam Admi Party.
joined the Aam Admi Party.

ly patrol and conduct surveillance to

strengthen mariti me security in the Indian Ocean Region.

Representative to the United Nations, joined BJP.

udi Arabia hope to sign an agreement on labour cooperation on domestic

workers‘ recruitment soon.

-Attari border for trade 24X7.

ion in a range of key sectors

including trade, investment and defence.

major world powers comes into effect.

third Indo-French satellite designed for

climate change studies.

(MoU) with Digital Green.

ade and economic

co-operation. Both the countries have urged the public and private sectors to build strong
partnerships in different fields.

up the World‘s largest 4000 MW ultra solar power project in Rajasthan.

avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on
income.

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

-permanent
member of the international body.

Note: Chile previously sat on the UNSC from 1952-1953, 1961-1962, 1996-1997 and 2003-
2004.
 e ruling Awami League led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has
been voted back to power.

extension of operations for the International Space Station for an additional four years to 2024.

the row created by imposition of restrictions by China in the East China Sea and other areas.

against hackers and accidental loss has opened in London.

government's efforts to improve access to credit for micro, small and medium enterprises.

-mapping spacecraft has discovered a new potentially hazardous

asteroid, 43 million kilometres from Earth.

oin the World Trade Organization (WTO) within the next

three months.

-starved Pakistan is looking at buying electricity from India, with Prime

Minister Nawaz Sharif approving such a deal.

currency, Bitcoin. A system for processing the payments is already operational.

itish start-up DeepMind Technologies – an artificial

intelligence company.

place across the country.

.S. Navy officer as the

Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), the federal body embroiled in a row over its
spying programme.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

Bank.
public sector Bharat Electronics Ltd.

– Vizag Steel
Plant, assumed charge as the company‘s CMD.

Note: A.P Choudhury retired from the post.

National Sharia Court which hears cases under the Islamic legislation.

has been appointed as the Special DG, Border Security

Force.

-fledged General Manager of

South Western Railway

from the post of honorary professor of the National University of Juridical Sciences, a student of
which had made allegations of sexual harassment against him.

Chief Executive Officer in Manoj Vaish.

from December 31, 2013.

— Tata
Sustainability Group with the responsibility of driving group level initiatives in the sustainability
space, and guiding Tata Sons and the group companies on sustainability and CSR initiatives.

-Screen Media, formerly known as SET India , said that it has promoted its Chief
Operation Officer N P Singh to the position of Chief Executive Officer from immediate effect.

Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal to take up pending applications.

ister of Bangladesh
for the third time along with a 48-member cabinet.
Gopalakrishnan as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Commerce.

advisor to the central bank for a period of three months after he retires.

-elected president of the Badminton Association of

India (BAI) as he remained the only candidate for the coveted post at the end of the filing of the
nominations.

EO Garry Kenneth Toomey, who joined the airline

barely seven months ago, has resigned.

Note: She is the first woman in Afghanistan to be appointed as police chief of an entire district.

final guidelines of spectrum trading and auction of CDMA radio waves.

Dairy Development
Board (NDDB), replacing Amrita Patel who has been holding the post since 1998.

Assembly.

-origin academician Rakesh Khurana has been appointed dean of the

prestigious Harvard College and will take over his new role in July.

-run Airports
Authority of India.

Security in the Cabinet Secretariat.

Beverages Limited.

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) by the Union Government. The post was vacant for over a
year after the retirement of S Hajara.
resignation letter to the Governor Aziz Qureshi.

Note: Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat is all set to become Bahuguna‘s successor
in the state.

Home Department and plans to explore a career in politics.

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES THIS MONTH

-Indian Institute of Chemical

Technology has been honoured with the best scientist award of Science-Tech Foundation (STF),
Bangalore, for 2013.

atma Gandhi's grand-daughter Ela Gandhi, Australian senator of Indian origin

Lisa Maria Singh and Ramkrishna Mission in Fiji were among the 13 recipients of Pravasi
Bharatiya Samman Award conferred in New Delhi.

ch Association under the Ministry of Petroleum

and Natural Gas has selected Andhra Pradesh for the award of best performing State amongst the
big states for the oil and gas conservation programmes.

or the best dramatic film, the annual

Hollywood award show's top prize. It has been directed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen.

Note: 'American Hustle' won the Golden Globe award for the best comedy or musical film.
'American Hustle‘ has been directed by David O Russell and stars Christian Bale and Amy
Adams. Leonardo DiCaprio has won the Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy or musical for
'The Wolf of Wall Street.

al
Award of 2012 and 2013 to two eminent Bengali poets, namely Nirendranath Chakraborty and
Sankha Ghosh, respectively.

2012/2013 season.

player in the world for 2013.

 -based writer Anees Salim won The Hindu Prize for Best Fiction 2013 for his
second novel, Vanity Bagh for consistent writing and humour and imagination.

of Letters (D.Litt) degree by the prestigious Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU),
Shibpur, for his great contribution to Indian cricket.

government in Chennai.

Note: Yushi is the first foreign scholar to receive Thiruvalluvar award.

winner of the $50,000 DSC prize for

South Asian literature for his book ―Chronicles of a Corpse Bearer‖.

Le Meridien in Coimbatore.

-born scientist and Stanford University Emeritus Professor Arogya

Swami Joseph Paulraj has been awarded the prestigious 2014 Marconi Society Prize.

initiatives for sustainable tourism, the first time India has ever won the recognition.

and Paresh Rawal, sportspersons Yuvraj Singh, P. Gopichand and Dipika Pallikal are among the
personalities who have been awarded the Padma awards ahead of the Republic Day.

Prize for Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge.

Richard Quest the 2013 UNWTO Award for Lifetime

Achievement.

-turned-actress Queen Latifah won the 2014 Matrix Award.

umpires' panel when she was named as an Associate and Affiliate International official following
the annual review and selection process.

the 2014 Ramanujan Mathematics Award in Rajkot.

 dent Pranab Mukherjee will confer cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and eminent
scientist Prof C N R Rao with Bharat Ratna on February 4 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

the three Services at the Republic Day parade this year while the CRPF contingent bagged the
honours in the paramilitary and auxiliary forces category.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

o Jan 5: India skipper Vijay Zol (100) and Sanju Samson (100) scored contrasting centuries as
India colts posted a comprehensive 40-run win over arch-rivals Pakistan to clinch the Under-19
Asia Cup title in Sharjah. o Jan 6: India hold on to their second spot even as a
resurgent Australia leap frogged to third in the latest ICC Test rankings after whitewashing
England 5-0 in the Ashes series o Jan 6: Young shuttler Aditya Joshi from Madhya Pradesh has
become the first male junior badminton player from India to be ranked top in the world.
o Jan 7: The 75th Senior National Table Tennis Championship was held in Patna.
o Jan 8: Indian Skipper MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina launched the 7 Premier League in Dubai.
o Jan 8: FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be
held in June or July because of the Gulf country‘s summer heat.
o Jan 10: The inaugural Hockey World League Final tournament was held at the Major Dhyan
Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. o Jan 10: The 3rd Lusofonia Games is scheduled in Goa
from 18th to 29th January 2014. Note: Lusofonia Games 2014 begins Hosted by Goa this year.
o Jan 11: Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani teammate Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi today ended as
runners up in the Sydney International Tennis tournament.
o Jan 11: The Government of India set the new guidelines for National Sports Awards under
which players and coaches accused of doping will not be considered for Arjuna and Dornacharya
Awards. o Jan 12: Youngsters Sanil Shetty and Ankita Das were
crowned men's and women's singles champion respectively at the 75th Senior National Table
Tennis Championships in Patna o Jan 14: Anju Bobby
George has given India their first world athletics title although nine years after the event was
held in Monaco.
o Jan 14: Vijay Zol of Maharastra was selected as the Captain of India to lead the Under-19
Cricket World Cup by the All-India Junior Selection Committee.
o Jan 16: Jimmy Walker of the US won the Sony Open golf tournament held in Hawaii.
o Jan 16: World and European champion Spain remains No. 1 in an unchanged top 25 in the
FIFA world rankings after a month in which only 18 international friendlies were played.
o Jan 17: Former world champion cyclist Alessandro Ballan was banned for two years for blood
doping. o Jan 18: Germany‘s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt clinched the overall luge
World Cup doubles championship. o Jan 19: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar will
mentor 11 emerging players, including Parveez Rasool and Unmukt Chand, as part of an
initiative by sports apparel giant Adidas. o
Jan 19: Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson won the coveted Allan Border medal at an
event in Sydney. o Jan 20: The Netherlands won Hockey World League Final beating New
Zealand 7-2 in New Delhi. o Jan 21: India continued to hold its number
two spot behind South Africa in the latest ICC Cricket Test rankings issued in Dubai.
o Jan 22: Tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi launched the International Premier Tennis League in
Melbourne, Australia.
o Jan 23: Saina Nehwal slipped to No.9 in the latest Badminton World Federation rankings
released. o Jan 23: The 12th edition of the three-day National Inter-
District Athletics meet will be held from April 25 this year at Haridwar.
o Jan 23: As per a study, Spain's Real Madrid retained the title of the world's richest soccer club
in the past year thanks to sponsorship and TV deals robust enough to endure a season without a
major trophy. o Jan 25: Li Na made it third time lucky in
the Australian Open final to become the oldest woman to clinch the title in the Open era.
o Jan 25: Australia has appointed Shane Warne as a specialist spin consultant on 23 January
2014 to support Darren Lehmann ahead of Australian campaign in World Twenty20 to be played
in Bangladesh. o Jan 25: Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka
claimed his first Grand Slam title in dramatic fashion when he upset injury-troubled world
number one Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final.
o Jan 25: MS Dhoni became the first captain to be involved in four tied One Day International
matches. o Jan 25: Ela Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi
was honoured with Amadelkufa in South Africa. o Jan 29: The International Cricket
Council, ICC Board has strongly backed the principles related to future structure, governance
and financial models of the apex cricket body of the world.
o Jan 31: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the fourth fastest batsman to complete
8,000 runs in one-day cricket during the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand in Wellington.

o Jan 31: Veteran Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene has become the sixth-highest run-
scorer in the history of Test cricket with his unbeaten double-century on the third day of the first
Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

EULOGIES THIS MONTH

Vishwanath Ramachandra Bondre died.

coma for eight years after he had a stroke at the height of his power, died.
died in Vienna, Virginia.

health facility in the city died in Kolkata.

away in Hyderabad.

Thatcher has been voted the most successful post-war British Prime Minister by lawmakers in a
survey in which Winston Churchill came a distant fourth.

fortnight after its pan-

classic films ‘Sholay’ 3D is release
India has been ranked below its two nuclear-armed neighbours – Pakistan and China – in the list
of countries with a weak nuclear material security in the world, according to a US-based think-
tank. Note: India was so ranked as per the 2014 Nuclear Threat Initiative‘s Nuclear Materials
Security Index was released, recently.

fields. Note: The list of 450 young achievers includes 23 men and women who are of Indian-
origin.

most disciplined traffic in a survey conducted by ICICI Lombard.

-based Google had earlier this week made a formal presentation to the Election
Commission proposing a tie-up with it for voter facilitation services ahead of the Lok Sabha
elections. The Election Commission in its meeting held deliberated on the issue and decided not
to go ahead.

entered into the Limca Book of Records as longest rail platform in the world. Note: Before the
platform number one of Gorakhpur, the platform of Kharagpur railway station of West Bengal
had the distinction of being world‘s largest platform with length of 1072.5 meters.

rape victim of December 2012, Nirbhaya.

maiden commercial voyage from Southampton to New York in 2017.

India included Hong Kong and Macau in the sensitive list of

in Indian publishing with a $1 million book contract, has cracked it even bigger this time with an
American producer purchasing the rights to ―The Immortals Of Meluha.‖
-like machines also vend
other products such as chocolates and soft drinks. But Amul has gone a step further: it will now
22: Odisha’s Chilika lagoon, hotspot for biodiversity, has been named ‘destination flyways’ by
United Nations World Tourism Organization following its inclusion in a list of eight such sites
worldwide. Jan 24:
The Railways has decided to earmark berth no. 71 in coach S-1 in all the trains having security

took home the first of the major awards at the 56th Grammys beating the likes of Kendrick
Lamar, Jay Z, Kanye West and Drake.
vironmental Performance Index 2014 was released. As per the Index, India
was ranked 155 out of 178 countries with an index score of 31.23 points in its efforts to address
environmental challenges.

has ranked at the bottom of the list of 25 countries in terms of its intellectual property (IP)
environment.

best company to work for by Fortune Magazine.

y far the largest population of illiterate adults – 287 million or 37 percent
of the global total, said a report released.

Note: As per the data released by Reuters on 30 January 2014, India imported 3.86 million
barrels-per-
major Samsung is India‘s most trusted brand followed by Sony of Japan and the homegrown
salt-to-steel multinational Tata, says a study report released.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

 countants of India

-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

-field Infrared Survey Explorer

lopment Board

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH

About Agusta Westland

• AgustaWestland NV is a British-Italian multinational helicopter design and manufacturing

company, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica.

• It was formed in July 2000 when Finmeccanica and GKN merged their respective helicopter
subsidiaries (Agusta and Westland Helicopters) to form AgustaWestland, with each holding a
50% share.

• Finmeccanica acquired GKN’s stake in AgustaWestland in 2004.

The issue

• In early 2013, an Indian parliamentary investigation began into allegations of bribery and
corruption involving several senior officials and helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland
surrounding the purchase of a new fleet of helicopters.

• The scandal has been referred to as the Chopper scam, or Choppergate by elements of the
media and popular press.

• Several Indian politicians and military officials have been accused of accepting bribes from
AgustaWestland in order to win the INR36 billion (US$580 million) Indian contract for the
supply of 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters.

• These helicopters are intended to perform VVIP duties for the President of India and other
important state officials.

• Ahmed Patel political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi is alleged by Italian
prosecutors to have received kickbacks from the deal.

• India signed a contract to purchase 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters in February 2010

for the Communication Squadron of Indian Air Force, to carry the president, PM and other
VVIPs.

• India cancelled the 3,600 crore deal with Augusta Westland deal in Jan,2014.

• The decision to annul the 2010 deal, being probed by CBI for irregularities, came after a
meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister AK Antony in New
Delhi.

• The government cancelled the contract “on grounds of breach of the Pre-contract Integrity Pact
and the agreement by AWIL (AgustaWestland International Ltd)”.
• The contract was frozen in February,2013 after allegations surfaced that Rs 360 crore was paid
as bribe.

AADMI PARTY

• It is an Indian political party, formally launched on 26 November 2012.

• It came into existence following differences between the activists Arvind Kejriwal and Anna
Hazare regarding whether or not to pproached the popular India Against Corruption movement
that had been demanding a Jan Lokpal Bill since 2011.

• In March 2013 it was registered as a political party by the Election Commission of India.

• As of November 2013, the AAP is proposing to introduce four primary policies: Jan Lokpal
legislation, Right to Reject, Right to Recall, Political decentralization.

• The 2013 Delhi state assembly elections were the party’s first electoral contest.

• The Election Commission approved the symbol of a “broom” for use by the AAP in that
campaign.

• AAP emerged as the second-largest party in Delhi winning 28 of the 70 Assembly seats.

• The party has said that it intends to contest over 300 seats in the Indian general election, 2014,
including all those in Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

• INS Vikramaditya (R33) is a Project 11430 modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier which entered
into service with the Indian Navy in 2013.

• The ship has been renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a legendary 1st century BC emperor of
Ujjain, India.

• Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet and
Russian Navies before being decommissioned in 1996.

PRAVASI BHARTIYA DIVAS

• The 12th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, the flagship event of this Ministry
will be held from 7-9 January, 2014 at Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi.

• It seeks to connect persons of India origin and non-resident Indians across generations.
• This year‘s theme is ―Engaging Diaspora: Connecting Across Generations‖.

• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9 January every year to mark the contribution
of Overseas Indian community in the development of India.

• Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa to India on 9 January 1915 and that‘s the reason
that the day has been chosen to celebrate the day. He has been termed as the greatest Pravasi of
India, who led the freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.

• This year, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari highlighted the aim of
creation of Ministry of Overseas Indians.

• General elections were held in Bangladesh on 5 January 2014, in accordance with the
constitutional requirement that the election must take place within the 90-day period before the
expiration of the term of the Jatiyo Sangshad on 24 January 2014.

• The elections were controversial, with almost all major opposition parties boycotting and 154
of the total 300 seats being uncontested. Around 21 people were killed on polling day.

• The Awami League was assured of victory, with its candidates declared victors in 127 of the
154 uncontested seats by default.

• As a result of violence and the opposition boycott voter turnout was 22%.

• Premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League emerged as the strongest party, bagging 232 seats in
the 300-seat Parliament, according to the Election Commission.

• Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as prime minister of Bangladesh for the third
time along with a 48-member cabinet.

• The cabinet includes 29 ministers, 17 state ministers and two deputy ministers.

• President Abdul Hamid administered the oaths of office and secrecy to the 66-year-old Hasina.

• Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be generated through complex computer software systems
with solutions shared on a network, although the process is complex and such ‘mining’ can be
done only on very powerful servers.
• Hardly three years into existence, bitcoin has already become the world’s most expensive
currency and its per unit value soared past USD 1,000 level or about Rs 63,000 recently,
although the prices have now slipped below Rs 50,000 level.

• Bitcoin came into existence in 2009 and the current number of bitcoin units generated so far
stands at about 12 million. However, only a small number of bitcoins are being used for real
commercial and retail purposes and a majority of transactions are happening for speculative
investments.

• The world‘s first Bitcoin storage service that insures deposits of the digital currency against
hackers and accidental loss has opened in London.

• The new Bitcoin storage service offering insurance in U.K., named Elliptic Vault, uses ―deep
cold storage‖ techniques to secure the digital currency.

• Although, the digital currency is gaining popularity, concerns about its security are on the rise.
Online wallets used to store Bitcoins have been subject to a number of cyber-attacks and some
users have also suffered from accidental loss.

• Bitcoin keys are encrypted and stored offline. There are multiple copies, protected by layers of
cryptographic and physical security.

• In India, a number of Bitcoin operators have suspended their business following the recent
warning by the country‘s central bank against use of such virtual currencies due to potential
money laundering and cyber security risks.

• However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is yet to come out with a clear regulatory
framework for Bitcoins.

• Bitcoin came into existence in 2009. It has become the world‘s most expensive currency and its
per unit value soared past $1,200 level or about Rs. 63,000 in November 2013.

• An Arunachal Pradesh youth, studying in a college here, was allegedly thrashed by some
shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar area of south Delhi when he retaliated after they made fun of his
hairstyle, which led to his death.

• Nido Tanian was the son of Nido Pavitra, Parliamentary Secretary in Health and Family
Welfare Department.

• Tanian‘s relatives claimed that he had an altercation with some shopkeepers on Wednesday
after they made fun of his hairstyle, following which they allegedly thrashed him.

• Delhi is once again in the news for wrong reasons.

• However, this time rape has been replaced by another R word–‗racism‘.

• Undoubtedly, what happened is quite unfortunate and the way in which Nido Tania was
allegedly beaten by rods and sticks sounds horrific.

• How can you call someone ‘Chinki’ only because he or she has got Mongoloid features? How
can you call someone ‗Chinese‘ only because the language he speaks is accented? How can you
make fun of someone‘s way of dressing and hairstyle only because it‘s absolutely
unconventional to you?

• The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced that it was adding the Indian Rupee to the basket of
currencies to be circulated in the country.

• This it did in view of the growing trade and investment ties between India and Zimbabwe.

• In addition to the Botswana Pula, British Sterling Pound, Euro, South African Rand and United
States Dollar, the central bank also added the Australian Dollar (AUD), Chinese Yuan (CYN),
Indian Rupee (INR) and Japanese Yen.

• The addition of four Asian currencies to the multi-currency system, brings to nine the
international currencies circulating in the country.

• Zimbabwe abandoned the use of its own currency in 2009 after world record inflation levels
precipitated an economic collapse under the Zanu PF government.

• The 59th Filmfare Awards are being held to honor the best films of 2013 from the Hindi-
language film industry.

• The nominations were announced on January 13, 2014.

• The ceremony that was held on January 24, 2014 (telecasted on January 26, 2014) was hosted
by actors Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

• The nominees for the 59th Filmfare Awards were announced on January 13, 2014.

• Legendary athlete Milkha Singh’s biopic ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ was the big winner at the 59th
annual Filmfare awards.
• The inspiring film bagged maximum awards including Best film, best director award for
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and the Best actor award for the multi-talented Farhan Akhtar who
literally transformed himself to play Milkha Singh on the big screen.

• 2013 belonged to Deepika Padukone and there were no two opinions on who would take the
best actress trophy home. Padukone won it for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Goliyon Ki Rasleela
Ram leela’.

• The soulful music of ‘Aashiqui 2’ was adjudged as the best as it fetched its composers Jeet
Ganguly, Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari the Best Music award.

• Tanuja was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

-2005 NOTES

• Why are we talking about currency notes? A: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it will start
withdrawing all currency notes printed before 2005 from April 1, 2014.

• Why did RBI suddenly decide on removing the old notes? A: This is not a sudden move. For
the last several years, whenever a pre-2005 note came to a bank, it was sent to the RBI for
disposal. This is the central bank’s first step to suck out the notes from the general public.

• How to identify pre-2005 notes? A: All notes printed since 2005 have the year of printing in the
middle of the bottom strip on the reverse side (the side that doesn’t have the Gandhiji pic).

• Will all notes before 2005 stop being money after April 1? A: No. The notes will remain legal
tender and will be valid for all monetary transactions till RBI or the government decides
otherwise and announces it.

• Why rush to change the notes? A: There is no rush, but as responsible citizens it’s your duty to
change the pre-2005 notes. The step is being taken to weed out fake notes from the system, and
also curtail the flow of black money. Moreover, some day the RBI may declassify these notes as
legal tender.

• Why are the notes being recalled? A: Since 2005, the government has printed notes with much
better security features. The circulation of the old notes with fewer safety features was defeating
the purpose of the new notes. Most fake notes being pumped in were copies of pre-2005 notes.

• Where are these pre-2005 notes? A: There could be some if you have cash saved up for years or
if you have received a large cash component as part of any deal. You could be getting them in
your daily transactions too.
• How can the notes be changed? A: You can walk into any bank branch and change these notes
over the counter. Soon, RBI will come out with a detailed procedure that banks have to follow.

• Is there a limit on the number of old notes that can be exchanged? A: The RBI has not set any
limits. The usual ones in dealing with cash- like the PAN for any cash transaction of above Rs
50,000- will apply. Any transaction above Rs 10 lakh is reported to the Financial Intelligence
Unit (FIU) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. If you have 20-30 notes or even
more, they can be changed over the counter.

• How long can we exchange the old notes? A: The drive starts from April 1. But, you can
exchange these notes even now. Deposit these notes into your account at bank branches or
through the ATM and they will be automatically replaced.

• Are any documents needed for exchanging the notes?

A: If you are a customer of the bank you have pproached, you only need to identify yourself to
exchange the notes. Since July 1, you need to provide proof of identity and residence if you are
not an account holder of the bank you have pproached and want to exchange more than 10 notes
of Rs 500 or Rs 1000 denomination. The RBI will soon come out with a detailed procedure.

• What if any of the notes you want to exchange turns out to be fake? A: Banks will follow RBI
guidelines. It says if there are five or more fake notes in one transaction, an FIR has to be lodged.

• Is there any need to worry or panic? A: If you are a law-abiding citizen, you need not worry.
Just exchange whatever few old notes you may have and make sure you do not get any during
your transactions. Those who deal in large cash transactions, particularly in properties, and have
major cash stashes may face some difficulty.

• Bharatiya Mahila Bank is an Indian financial services banking company based in New Delhi,
India.

• India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the system on 19 November 2013 on the
occasion of the 94th birth anniversary of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

• Although initially reported as a bank exclusively for women, the bank will allow deposits to
flow from everyone, but lending will be predominantly for women.

• In India, only 26% of women have an account with a formal financial institution, compared
with 46% of men.
• That means an account in either a bank, a credit union, a co-operative, post office or a
microfinance institution, according to a study by the World Bank.

• The bank will also place emphasis on funding for skills developments to help in economic
activity. Moreover, the products will be designed in a manner to give a slight concession on loan
rates to women.

• The bank shall also aim to inspire people with entrepreneurial skills and, in conjunction with
NGOs, plans to locally mobilize women to train them in vocations like toy-making or driving
tractors or mobile repairs, according to Usha Ananthasubramanian.

• The Bank’s initial capital consists of Rs 1,000 crores.

• The government plans to have 25 branches of the said bank by the end of March 2014 and 500
branches by 4th year of operation (2017).

• US-based FIS Global, in partnership with Wipro is leading the race for a Rs 1,000-crore
contract to provide IT systems at the country‘s first women-focussed bank, it is reliably learnt.

FEB-2014

RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

rs, FIIs
investment limit in the Power Grid Corporation to 30 per cent of its paid up capital.

-bank entities,
including Tata Communications Payment Solutions and Muthoot Finance, to set up White Label
ATMs (WLAs) in the country.

Note: The other two non-bank entities to which the Reserve Bank has issued the certificate for
setting up and operating the White Label ATMs are Prizm Payment Services and Vakrangee Ltd.

greater adoption of mobile banking in the country, a Reserve Bank of India panel
has recommended that all mobile network operators (MNOs) load single mobile banking
application on all new SIMs (subscriber identification modules), which use encrypted SMS
(short messaging service) for transaction processing.

interest rate that can be charged by a microfinance company to its borrowers.

 -day
nation-wide strike to press for wage revision.

able to withdraw cash from an

automated teller machine (ATM) with the use of mobile technology.

Note: The Nachiket Mor Committee suggests the creation of Payment Banks as a step towards
this goal.

itted to import gold in excess of

their entitlements in the first or second lot under the 80:20 scheme, the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) declared.

in Lahore and Karachi, but these branches have not been approved by the competent authority.

-women bank, tied with New India

Assurance to launch health insurance products for women account holders of the bank.

5: The Bimal Jalan panel which was scrutinising applications for new bank licences has
submited its report to the Reserve Bank of India.

Note: The report contains names of entities eligible for bank licences. It was not immediately
known how many applicants have been shortlisted by the high-level advisory panel.

core banking solution has been completed at all the Regional Rural Banks.

ch on wheels‘ in Odisha as part its financial inclusion

plan to provide banking services in remote villages in the state which are devoid of banking
facilities.

savings bank ATM at the Head Post Office in Thyagaraya Nagar, Chennai.

NATION THIS MONTH

from a third country through India.

 provide buyer's credit of 100 million dollars to Namibia for
infrastructure projects.

Agreement with India to bring trade and investment ties to the forefront.

-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe a number of

Commonwealth Games related projects that were implemented during the reign of Sheila
Dikshit.

troduced in Parliament.

Like us on- https://www.facebook.com/Emahendras

tickets get confirmed before journey.

in public health – ‗the victory over polio‘.

Note: The country has now completed three years without any polio, one of the key pre-
requisites for polio-free certification, amidst a very sensitive surveillance system for poliovirus.

Consul General in Kolkata, Fabrice Etienne was on a fact-finding mission

to explore opportunities for investment in mineral-rich Jharkhand.

connectivity in five states in the country.

Delhi Assembly amidst stiff protests from BJP and Congress members triggering an uproar and
forcing adjournment of the House.

Governor Najeeb Jung has recommended for President's rule in his report
submitted to the President on the follow up action in the wake of resignation of the Aam Aadmi
Party Government.

i after resigning from

the Delhi Cabinet.

-India relations began with the joint inauguration of the

Afghan National Agricultural Science and Technology University.

peration in the restoration and digitization

of film archives.
animation after President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal.

Lok Sabha passed the controversial bill that seeks to create a Telangana state by dividing Andhra
Pradesh.

ancestral house, school and his village in

Punjab Province in Pakistan will be restored under a Rs 80-million project.

the Supreme Court commuted their death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of 11
years delay in deciding their mercy plea by the Centre.

E.S.L. Narasimhan.

al, who had created a storm by splashing pepper

spray in Lok Sabha, is no longer a member of the House with Speaker Meira Kumar accepting
his resignation.

rd edition of Brand Summit of Confederation of Indian Industry will be held on

March 4.

public sector banks on March 5.

assed by Union Legislature on 21 February 2014.

-day Global Ayurveda Festival will be held from 20th February in Kerala to
highlight the state's emergence as the global destination in which Mauritius President Rajkeswar
Puryaag will be the chief guest.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have agreed to organize Nepal-India Economic Summit
every year alternatively in the two countries.

ingh, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated Indira Paryavaran Bhawan

on Jorbagh Road, New Delhi.
Roy for his failure to appear before it in connection with the case in which his two companies
have been directed to refund Rs 20,000 crore to investors.

decided to expand ties in diverse sectors including health, audio-visual co-production and skill
development.

s 1,000 minimum monthly pension

under a scheme of retirement fund body EPFO that would immediately benefit 28 lakh
pensioners.

employees and 30 lakh pensioners.

b 28: Andhra Pradesh, which is being split to create Telangana, will be put under President's
Rule and the Assembly placed under suspended animation.

on reactors 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu.

first electric zero-emission bus in the city.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

d the elite group of nations when the Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF)
was commissioned into the Indian Navy at INS Hansa in Panaji.

Note: This is the third such facility in the world, after the United States and Ukraine.

approval for the foreign direct investment in multi-brand

retailing. The approval was given earlier by the previous Congress state government led by
former Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot.

al launched the GI
Cloud to utilize the benefits of cloud computing in the country.

and State Government Corporations in the country.

leared the draft of the much talked-about Jan Lokpal bill which
provides for covering all public servants — from chief minister to Group D employees — and
seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of corruption.
 today set up a committee to suggest suitable remedial measures to
address concerns regarding security of people from North East.

Note: The six-member panel is to be headed by M P Bezbaruah.

ent is now planning to usher in a

Direct-To-Home (DTH) scheme to plug leakages and handover pensions, work wages and other
entitlements directly to beneficiaries across the country.

erative Price
(FRP) for sugarcane by 10 rupees per quintal for 2014-15 marketing season (October -
September).

to the growth rate of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13, with good performance of the farm sector.

crore to Karnataka under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund.

-month low of 5.05 per cent in January, on

decline in the rate of price rise in food articles, mainly vegetables.

governance norms in a meeting held in New Delhi.

Note: The new corporate governance norms would become applicable for all listed companies
with effect from 1 October 2014.

Nirbhaya Fund for the safety and empowerment of women.

eb 18: Global rating agency Moody's said India's interim budget is in line with the policy
assumptions that underpin the government's Baa3 rating with a stable outlook.

rity
Cyber Village in Chandoli in Alwar district of Rajasthan.

highways.
of Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, in early 2011, has received approval from the
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs as a Centrally-sponsored scheme.

seems to have ended, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan has
said.

the state of the Indian

economy and projected that India‘s economic growth for 2014-15 will be 5.4 percent.

Liability Group (JLG) to provide institutional credit to small farmers like share croppers, oral
lessees and agricultural labourers.

-Wallet
Scheme to make payment process fast and to reduce transaction failures due to bank payment
related problems.

to only 5.5 per cent in FY‘15.

the brand ambassador of the Gujarat State Election Commission.

Lakhisarai Bijlee Company Private Limited (LBCPL) to develop a 1320 MW (2 X 660 MW)
Thermal Power Project at Kajra in Lakhisarai district of Bihar.

the workdays under its ambitious rural employment guarantee programme MNREGA from 100
to 150 days a year.

ce initiative called M-Pesa will be launched in south

India in March-April.

-MW Solar Power Plant of India Welspun Solar MP Project was

launched at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh.

Note: It is also the Asia's Largest Solar Power Plant. Like us on-
https://www.facebook.com/Emahendras
INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING
INDIA

hein was on an official visit to India from 1

to 9 February 2014.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar.

halifa is paying a state visit to India from

February 18-20, during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on
bilateral, regional and global issues.

Delhi
to discuss bilateral, regional and other issues of mutual interest.

MoUs/ AGREEMENTS SIGNED THIS MONTH

during the visit of the German President.

India and Canada have signed three MoUs for cooperation in health sector, audio-
visual co-production and skill development.

hydrocarbon.

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

Feb 5: North and South Korea agreed to hold a reunion later this month for families
separated by the 1950-53 Korean War -- the first such event for more than three years.
-origin hedge fund portfolio manager Mathew Martoma has been convicted for
his role in the $275 million insider trading scheme, the most lucrative in U.S. history, which
involved sharing of secret information on testing of a potential breakthrough Alzheimer‘s drug.

and suspended the Governing board with immediate effect.

-origin Mathew Martoma, convicted for his role in the most lucrative insider
trading scheme in US history involving $275 million, will be sentenced in June and could face
about 20 years in prison.
12: South Africa's postal service has issued a commemorative stamp with a portrait of Nelson
Mandela on the 24th anniversary of his release from prison during white minority rule.
-level talks since the end of the brutal
Chinese civil war in 1949 on 11 February 2014.

to fire, even under 1,000 degrees Celsius temperature.

-4 Director Generals for UN Affairs met in New Delhi.
Note: During the meet, the four G-4 nations namely Brazil, Germany, India and Japan also
conducted an Outreach Seminar on UNSC Reform on 12 February 2014.
l growth by 2 percent, or over USD 2
trillion, over five years, and agreed to work on automatic tax information flow and IMF reforms -
- 27:
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé launched the Zero Discrimination Day with a major
event in Beijing, China. APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH
-year history, had
taken over the reins of the US central bank. Note: She succeeds Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose
second four-year term
Harish Rawat will be the new Chief Minister of Uttrarakhand.

Note: She replaces Hun Kim, who is now Deputy Director General of ADB's South Asia
Department in Manila.

resigned from the Cabinet

Poonam Khetrapal Singh took charge as the Regional Director of World Health Organisation
(WHO) South-East Asia Region on 1 February 2014.
rnet Giant
Microsoft in Washington. Note: He will earn $4.8 million in the current financial year.
-general
(DG) of the WWF International. Note: His new role as the DG will start on 1 May 2014.

in Sweden today for championing education rights for girls.

Council from July onwards for a period of two years.

ome the next prime
minister of Nepal with the support of the CPN-UML, ending months of political gridlock
following last year's elections.
 hairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT). Note: The appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
He succeeded Chairperson Sudha Sharma who was scheduled to retire on 28 February 2014.
Punjab and
Sind Bank (PSB) on 6 February 2014. Note: He will succeed D.P.Singh.

Communications (RCom).

Note: Vinod Sawhny will succeed Gurdeep Singh.

over as the new chairperson of Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), a self-
regulatory body for non-news channels.

resigned.

Note: The statement released by the Italian presidential palace stated that the Italy‘s President,
Giorgio Napolitano accepted the resignation.

minister and immediately outlined an ambitious reform plan, promising "energy, enthusiasm and
commitment" to revitalise the eurozone's third largest economy.

Maria, who was the head of the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad was appointed as Mumbai
Police Commissioner.

-Bangalore (IIM-B) has appointed Kiran Mazumdar-

Shaw as the Chairperson of its board of governors.

mer National Security Agency contractor, was elected as the

new Rector of the University of Glasgow.

Note: He will replace Charles Kennedy.

will be the new Oil Secretary.

Note: He will replace Vivek Rae who is retiring on February 28.

Bhargava has resigned.

g Director
of Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on deputation for three years.

-backed government led by Prime

Minister Hazem El-Beblawi resigned after a Cabinet meeting.

the country.

for the Feb. 26 fire of a Russian-made Kilo-class submarine, INS Sindhuratna. The government
accepted the resignation with immediate effect.

Natural Gas Corporation.

Note: Dinesh Sarraf will replace Sudhir Vasudeva who will be due to retire on 28 February 2014.

Note: He is a former member of Hosni Mubarak's political party.

t has approved Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the country's new Prime

Minister.

Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, who retired the same day. AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES THIS
MONTH

Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, was conferred on legendary
cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist Prof C N R Rao.

Note: CNR Rao became the third scientist and Sachin Tendulkar, the first sportsman, to get the
country's highest civilian award.
meritorious performance in 2013-14.Nathpa Hydro power Station consecutively third time
received the award.

-Americans here have honoured US Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley for

his work for the community, particularly his efforts in getting the FBI to track hate crimes
against Sikhs and Hindus.

Samman for the year 2013.

for 2013 on Amul, the milk brand marketed by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation.

by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for Excellence in Financial Reporting
for the year 2012-13.

Note: Akshaya Patra is the first NGO to receive the Hall of Fame.

year 2012-13 on 10 February 2014.

e Rotary's highest award for his leadership in the

country's victory over polio.

Limited has been conferred with the ‗Youth Achievers Award‘ at the sixth Global Marketing
and Social Media award ceremony

nominees for the 'ESPNcricinfo@20 Cricketer of the Generation' award.

took home two of the biggest

awards of the night but it was Alfonso Cuaron's 'Gravity' that dominated the BAFTA, winning
six of the 11 honours it was nominated for.

rd
by the Children‘s jury in Generation Kplus section at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

Note: The film has been directed by Avinash Arun. In the entire history in Berlinale, Killa is the
third Marathi film to be selected and is the first Indian film to win this award.
, the "Medal of Distinction" for her unwavering commitment to the country.

-born scientist, won the Protein Science Young Investigator

Award for 2014 at Cambridge.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

o Feb 2: : Karnataka defeated Maharashtra by seven wickets to lift the Ranji Trophy for cricket

o Feb 2: Rafael Nadal remains top of the men‘s ATP tennis rankings.

o Feb 2: Serena Williams retains her commanding advantage at the top of the WTA women‘s
tennis rankings.

o Feb 2: Virat Kohli slipped a rung but was still the best-placed Indian batsman at fourth in the
latest ICC Twenty20 rankings.

o Feb 8: Retired batting icon Sachin Tendulkar will be seen in cricketing gears once again when
he leads the MCC team against Shane Warne-led Rest of the World side at the Lord's in a one-
day game on July 5 to mark the bicentenary celebrations of the historic club.

o Feb 9: Kumar Sangakkara, the cricketer of Sri Lankan national team became the second person
in the history of Cricket to score a triple century and a century in the same test match.

o Feb 10: In a major embarrassment to BCCI president N. Srinivasan and raising questions over
the status of Chennai Super Kings, his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan‘s role in CSK as the
team official and his involvement in betting during the IPL matches stands proved.

o Feb 10: Fifteen-year-old Russian figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya has become the youngest
athlete in the world to win a Gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

o Feb 10: Abhinav Bindra, the Indian shooter won his third gold-medal in the Inter-Shoot Tri-
series Shooting in the Air Pistol event.

Note: With this, he became the first person to win three gold medals in the event that is being
held at the Hague, Netherlands.

o Feb 11: A ban on India's Olympic Association (IOA) has been lifted, allowing the country to
return to the Olympic fold.
o Feb 13: Karnataka beat Rest of India by an innings and 222 runs in the Irani Trophy on the
penultimate day at M.Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore.

o Feb 17: India has defeated Scotland by five wickets in the ICC Under 19 cricket World Cup in
Dubai.

o Feb 18: India have retained their second position in the ICC Test team rankings following a
draw in the second and final Test against New Zealand, which won the series 1-Nil.

o Feb 18: Peng Shuai of China was ranked World Number 1 in the latest Women‘s Tennis
Association (WTA) Doubles ranking.

o Feb 18: Li Na of China was ranked World Number 2 in the latest Women‘s Tennis Association
(WTA) singles ranking.

o Feb 19: Tina Maze skied through rain and snow to win Olympic gold, and then swam through
slush to celebrate.

o Feb 21: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been ruled out of the upcoming Asia Cup
cricket tournament due to a side-strain injury that he suffered during the second Test in New
Zealand, paving the way for Virat Kohli to lead the side.

o Feb 21: Badminton teen sensation P V Sindhu improved one more place to close the gap with
ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal in the latest world ranking released in Kuala Lumpur.

o Note: Sindhu reached the ninth spot, to stay just one place behind Saina, who remained static at
the seventh spot.

o Feb 23: Delhi Waveriders beat Jaypee Punjab Warriors to emerge as the champions in Hockey
India League at Ranchi.

o Feb 24: India's top singles star Somdev Devvarman lifted his third ATP Challenge Tennis title
beating top seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

o Feb 24: Asia cup, biggest cricketing event in the sub-continent, Asia Cup, is scheduled to kick-
start from February 25.

Note: India have won the Asia Cup five times, more than any other country, whereas Sri Lanka
are at the second spot with four trophies under their belt and Pakistan are the defending
champions.

o Feb 27: Skipper Virat Kohli smashed a magnificent 136 and shared a 213-run partnership with
Ajinkya Rahane (73) to lead India to a comfortable six-wicket win over hosts Bangladesh in the
Asia Cup, in Fatullah
EULOGIES THIS MONTH

her residence at Riatsamthiah.

-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York
apartment.

rokash Karmakar, an eminent painter died following age-related illness.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

— with more than 1.2 billion users worldwide — is celebrating its 10th
birthday amidst challenges of keeping its original base of young users with new innovative social
networks coming to the fore.

sanitation in rural and urban households, schools, sanitary complexes and Aanganwadi centres.

IL) announced that it has stopped the production of

the iconic car brand Maruti 800 that had been carrier for millions of middle class Indian families.
The company in its announcement claimed the production was the car was stopped in 18 January
2014.

b 11: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina are among the six capped
Indian players named in the Mudgal Panel report.

Index 2014, whereas China and Pakistan were placed at 175th and 158th position respectively.
Note: Pakistan remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.

with HIV/AIDS will face strict punishment of imprisonment up to two years and a maximum
fine of Rs one lakh, according to a proposed legislation.

report on digital governance was released by Accenture.

-to-eat therapeutic food (TF-RTE) products and

handed over associated scientific findings and technology to an industry partner, a step that could
benefit the millions of children afflicted with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) - the most
dangerous level of malnutrition.

Economics, Inclusive Governance at the Indian Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road in New Delhi.

Palisades, California, USA.

impetus to scholarships in the language.

that the jewel may sport a nine-digit alpha numeric unique identity number (UIN).

IN as a component of
hallmark to ensure traceability of such certified articles in a bid to protect consumers from being
cheated.

19 billion dollars in a cash and stock deal, the largest acquisition by the Mark Zuckerberg-led
firm so far that will give it a stronghold in the market for messaging.

-new title in Hindi ‗Do Bael

– Munshi Premchand Ki Kahaaniyan‘, based on the work of the legend Munshi Premchand.

Before Parliament written by Vijay Darda.

can now be "visited"

online with a 360-degree panoramic view, thanks to a novel initiative.

named it after Prof. Valiathan who had been instrumental in launching the orchid breeding
programme at JNTBGRI during his tenure as Executive Vice-President, Kerala State Council for
Science, Technology and Environment.

Guinness Book of World Records for measuring the blood pressure of over 8,000 people in a
matter of just eight hours.

case of fraud involving crores of rupees in a scheme meant for family members of the employees
of the state-run airline.

-year multi-million dollar

contract from the Britain-based leading integrated support services firm Carillion Plc.

he Vice President of India released a commemorative postage stamp

in the honour of Maulana Hasrat Mohani in New Delhi.

Note: Mohani was a freedom fighter and an eminent poet.

depreciation and fall in rentals amid political instability over Telangana, according to global
realty consultant DTZ.

ectric car e2o in Thimphu, Bhutan.

non-bailable warrant issued by the Supreme Court for his failure to appear before it in a case of
non-refund of Rs 20,000 crore to investors.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

 ies Corporation

-Corruption Bureau

-To-Home

Advised Price

-PIN: Mobile Personal Identification Number

Survey of India
IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH

1: Indian Coast Guard Day

nt Valentine's Day

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH

• In order to redress the imbalance and issues of risks costs for providing better access to
financial services to small businesses and low income households, the Reserve Bank Committee
has suggested the setting up of specialised banks.

• These banks would cater to low income households while ensuring that all citizens have bank
accounts by 2016, according to an RBI discussion paper on Banking Structure in India.

• The paper also discusses the need for differentiated banks as a way to increase the size and
strength of the banking sector relative to the needs of the real economy.

• RBI in September 2013 had set up a Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for
Small Business and Low Income Households, under the Chairmanship of Nachiket Mor,
Member on the Reserve Bank‘s Central Board of Directors.

• Members of the panel include Prakash Bakshi, former chairman of National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development, and Bharat Doshi, chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra
Financial Services Ltd.

• The panel advocated setting up of 'Payments Banks' to "provide payment services and deposit
products to small businesses and low-income households" with a maximum balance of Rs 50,000
per customer.

• These banks can be set up with minimum capital requirement of Rs 50 crore, one-tenth of the
Rs 500 crore required for full-service bank.

• These are ATM‘s which are not owned by banks but by private ATM service providers.
Customers from any bank can deposit or withdraw money from such ATMs. They will provide
ATM services to customers of all banks.

• White Label ATM or White Label Automated Teller Machines or WLAs in India will be
owned and operated by Non Bank entities. From such White Label ATM customer from any
bank will be able to withdraw money, but will need to pay a fee for the services. These white
label automated teller machines (ATMs) will not display logo of any particular bank and are
likely to be located in non-traditional places.
• In India only Banks are allowed to set up ATMs. Although between 2008 - 2011, there has
been 30% growth in number of ATMs and by the beginning of 2012, we have about 87,000
ATMs in India, yet the penetration of ATMs in Tier III and Tier IV cities has been low and
downtime of such ATMs has been high. Thus, RBI is feeling that there is a need to expand ATM
network, which can be done by only with the help of private operators.

• Indian gold loan company, Muthoot Finance Ltd became the first and only Non-Banking
Finance Company (NBFC) to have obtained license for setting-up WLAs in India. The Muthoot
Group launched its first White-Label ATM at its corporate office in New Delhi and has plans to
invest Rs 300 crore in the next three years. The rollout will be mainly in tier-3 and tier-4 cities.

• Recently, the Reserve Bank of India has permitted four non-bank entities to set up white label
ATMs in India. The RBI has issued Certificate of Authorisation to Tata Communications
Payment Solutions Ltd., Prizm Payment Services Pvt. Ltd., Muthoot Finance Ltd., and
Vakrangee Ltd. for setting up and operating white label ATMs.

What is FDI?

• Foreign direct investment is a direct investment into production or business in a country by an

individual or company of another country, either by buying a company in the target country or
by expanding operations of an existing business in that country.

• Foreign direct investment is in contrast to portfolio investment which is a passive investment in

the securities of another country such as stocks and bonds.

• FDI is a direct investment into production or business in a country by an individual or company

of another country, either by buying a company in the target country or by expanding operations
of an existing business in that country.

• A foreign direct investor (someone who makes a foreign direct investment) can be a
government body, a company, or an individual. China has much foreign direct investment in it
from other countries.

Types of FDI

• Horizontal FDI arises when a firm duplicates its home country-based activities at the same
value chain stage in a host country through FDI
• Platform FDI Foreign direct investment from a source country into a destination country for the
purpose of exporting to a third country.

• Vertical FDI takes place when a firm through FDI moves upstream or downstream in different
value chains i.e., when firms perform value-adding activities stage by stage in a vertical fashion
in a host country.

Methods of FDI The foreign direct investor may acquire voting power of an enterprise in an
economy through any of the following methods:

• by incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary or company anywhere

• by acquiring shares in an associated enterprise

• through a merger or an acquisition of an unrelated enterprise

• participating in an equity joint venture with another investor or enterprise

Recent Changes in FDI Tabular representations of the key changes proposed under the FDI
Limits are as follows: Sector/Activity Before the proposal After the proposal

% of FDI /Equity Entry Route % of FDI / Equity Entry Route

Defense Sector 26% Government Route No Change Higher limits of foreign

investment in "stateof-the-art" manufacturing would be considered by the CCS

Insurance Sector 26% Automatic Route 49% Automatic Route

Telecom Services 74% Automatic up to 49% Government route beyond 49% and up to
74% 100% Automatic up to 49% Government route beyond 49% and up to 100%

Tea Plantation 100% Government Route 100% Automatic up to 49% Government

route beyond 49% and up to 100%

MARCH – 2014

RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

opening its fourth branch in the country in New Delhi.

enterprises) and to micro enterprises from the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME) for 2012-13.

ed national award for excellence in lending to micro

enterprises for 2012-2013, for the consecutive second year.

-2005 banknotes to 1st January, 2015.

Note: The Reserve Bank has further clarified that the public can continue to freely use these
notes for any transaction. RBI has said that people can unhesitatingly receive these notes in
payment, as all such notes continue to remain legal tender.

hand out new bank licences in a few

weeks.

-run banks may set up only 14,855 ATMs by December, leaving an uphill task
of installing close to 20,000 more cash dispensing machines by March-end to achieve the target
of at least one onsite ATM in every branch.

rupees to 5 lakh rupees per transaction with immediate effect. It also increased the number of
transaction handled by exchange houses.

16: Federal Bank launched its Namma Metro Transit-cum-Debit Card in partnership
with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.

business of French lender Societe Generale in a deal worth $220 million, boosting its access to
the region‘s super rich.

ahead of completion of his term.

3,650 crore rupees for education and awareness of depositors. The apex bank has announced the
Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme for the purpose.

22: The Reserve Bank came out with final guidelines for the non-banking finance
companies (NBFCs) with regard to the early detection and recovery of bad loans.

Note: The guidelines will be effective from 1st April.

 (RBI) issued notice to banks to take measures to
counter the threat expected to arise from discontinuation of Windows XP from 8 April 2014.

Note: Microsoft the maker of the Windows XP operating system will be withdrawing support for
the operating system from 8 April 2014. Microsoft introduced Windows XP in October 2001.

2014. The divestment resulted into generation of 5500 crore rupees.

d be given a free copy of their credit profile as it would help in

promoting financial discipline among loan seekers, an RBI report says.

months earlier, has opened a new branch in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

investment in Inflation Indexed National Saving Securities - Cumulative (IINSS-C) from Rs 5

lakh to Rs 10 lakh per annum for eligible individual investors and from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh
per annum for institutions such as HUFs, Charitable Trusts, Education Endowments and similar
institutions which are not pro-profit in nature.

Facebook and Twitter.

eased stand-alone primary dealers' exposure ceiling to a qualified central counter party by
keeping the limit outside the existing 25 percent of net-owned funds.

Bangalore.

h 29: India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose by $1.34 billion to $298.63 billion
for the week ended March 21, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.

to meet the minimum capital requirements, Fitch Ratings said in a report.

Governor K C Chakrabarty and PNB Chairman K R Kamath is believed to be top in the

reckoning.
NATION THIS MONTH

Aesthete in New Delhi.

excise between India and Nepal is on at Saljhandi in

Rupandehi district.

-level meeting on
maritime security cooperation in New Delhi.

-meter (700-foot) high Krishna temple, reputedly the

world's tallest, will be laid in Vrindavan.

presented the Stree Shakti Puraskar to six persons for their distinguished services for the
upliftment of women.

Note: The awards are named after six legendary women of India, Rani Lakshmibai, Rani
Rudramma Devi, Kannagi, Rani Gaidinliu Zaliang, Rani Ahilyabai Holkar and Mata Jijabai.

-sheet in a Delhi Court against

Hyderabad-based Nava Bharat Power Pvt Ltd and two of its directors in a coal block allocation
scam.

for Small Development Project

for the country‘s the 11th Five Year Plan.

December 16, 2012 gangrape case.

held in New Delhi from 5 March

2014 to 11 March 2014.

the upcoming Lok Sabha elections fall in Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency.

-Import Bank of India has, at the behest of the Government of India,

extended a Line of Credit of $89.90 million to the Government of Republic of Congo, for
development of transportation system in the Republic of Congo.
 assessment of stocks of hilsa fish in Bay
of Bengal.

fraud charges after her fresh indictment by US prosecutors who accused her of ―illegally‖
underpaying and ―exploiting‖ her domestic maid.

week aimed at raising the speed of Indian trains and improving heavy haul operations and rail
stock.

orce formally inducted Russia-made MI-17 V5 series helicopters,

known for their manoeuvring and weight-carrying capacity, at its Jamnagar base in Gujarat.

Ranchi, Jharkhand.

-320 as it landed in Chennai after

flying in from Toulouse headquarters of the European aircraft manufacturer.

hdraw all orders,

which make the Aadhaar card mandatory for availing any service.

the pattern of core banking services to its five crore subscribers from October this year.

alias Monu, one of the most wanted terrorists blamed for a number of terror attacks, has been
arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

: Jammu and Kashmir became the first state in the country to declare all election
booths in the coming Lok Sabha polls as no smoking zones.

against ponzi schemes, illegal deposit schemes and assess call data records in securities-related
offences, besides others.

-essential lights to raise awareness about environmental

challenges from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time.

The Directorate of revenue Intelligence has seized a record over 2.4 lakh kg of
ozone-depleting restricted refrigeration gas ‗R-22‘, which was being smuggled into the country.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

 community in the central list of Other
Backward Class (OBC‘s) in nine states, a move that is expected to benefit about nine crore
people from the community.

Organisation (EPFO) to become a member of a stock exchange although its trustees oppose
parking even a part of its over Rs five lakh crore corpus in equities.

bedded All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar to the people of Odisha.

a view to electronically tracking medical care facilities provided to them and also to have a
systematised database in place.

of your waitlisted ticket as the railways will now send booking status messages to passengers on
mobile phones, if the tickets get confirmed before the journey.

Note: Internationally Child Protection Day is observed on 19 November every year. It was
launched by the Women‘s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) in 2000.

'Sehat Card' being issued to each minority student enrolled in institutions aided by the Maulana
Azad Education Foundation.

by post offices by up to 0.2 per cent.

Note: The rates apply to post office saving schemes and the return on 1-2 years deposits has been
hiked by 20 basis points from 8.2 percent to 8.4 percent.

Swasthya Suraksha Yojna for women.

Note: The Scheme aims to bring services closer for those living in rural areas and unauthorized
colonies.
fiscal on higher agriculture output and pick up in the manufacturing activities, Prime Minister‘s
Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) chairman C Rangarajan said.

-month low of 4.68 per cent in

February this year, from 5.05 per cent in January, as prices of kitchen staples like onions and
potatoes eased.

ndard & Poor‘s said an increasing focus by India Inc on

lowering debt is likely to improve their credit profiles.

―economic freedom‖.

Note: The index on ―economic freedom‖ takes into account governance, growth, citizens‘
rights, and labour and business regulations.

-paid/remittance provider with the

m-Pesa platform, has started a pan-India inter-bank money transfer service by joining hands with
the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) of NPCI.

workdays under its flagship rural employment guarantee programme MNREGA from 100 to 150
for tribals, a move that will benefit 14 lakh families.

Note: The Union Cabinet decision will come into effect from April this year.

-15 as industrial output will

recover to expand at 3.3 per cent.

-owned power equipment maker Bhel has secured Rs 125 crore contract for
setting up a 120 MW Hydro Electric Project in Bhel.

INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING

INDIA

ndian Army chief, Gen. Bikram Singh, arrived in Nepal on a two-day official
visit at the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart, Gen. Gurav Sumsher Rana.

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

 - a global network of cube
satellites broadcasting Internet data to all the people on the planet - for free.

accelerate secession from Ukraine and unanimously backed a law that declared the territory to be
part of the Russian Federation.
ia has declared Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, Nusra Front, ISIL and
Yemen‘s Houthis as terrorist organizations.
-bound Malaysian Airlines plane that went missing with 239 people on
board, including five Indians crashed into the sea off Vietnam‘s southern Phu Quoc Island,
Vietnamese media reported.

inspired people in Pakistan, where a party has been launched with the same name. Note: A group
led by Arslan-ul-Mulk, a rights activist from Gujranwala, has registered Aam Admi Party (AAP)
with the Election Commission of Pakistan.

2014 to help the country deliver much-needed economic reforms.

Bedfordshire, Britain in the first week of March. Note: The aircraft looks like a giant blimp and

14: The United States has lifted a ban that prevented the oil giant BP from winning new
government contracts. Note: The ban was imposed as a penalty for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil
spill, the worst in US history. The ban has been lifted after the firm agreed to a set of safety,
operations and compliance requirements. As part of the agreement, BP will also drop its lawsuit
against the US Environmental Protection Agency.
March 15: Rajeev Suri, the head of Nokia's telecoms network equipment division, is likely to
become the Finnish group's next chief executive following the sale of its handset business to
Microsoft.

have suspended Russia‘s participation in the club amid tensions over Ukraine and Russia‘s
incursion into Crimea.

a sovereign state. This signing of the decree has paved a way for absorption of Crimea into
Russia.
oration filed a law-suit on 16 of the world‘s
largest banks. The regulator accused the banks for allegedly manipulating the Libor interest rate.
Note: This Banks that has been sued includes Barclays Plc, HSBC, Citigroup and Royal Bank of
Scotland, UBS and British Bankers Association (BBA) and others.

in the Russian Federation in Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.

 is not providing visa-on-arrival to Indian visitors although Indian
visitors with a visa for a third country like Singapore or Thailand are allowed entry into
Malaysia,

year on 21st of March at the international level in order to increase the public awareness among
communities about the values, significance and contributions of the forests to balance the life
cycle on the earth.

from March 25 to 26.

Yatsenyuk, have signed several chapters of a landmark agreement meant to boost political ties
between the two sides.

(2014) that condemns the illegal (illicit) export of Libyan crude oils. The Security Council also

24: Malala Yousafzai and Misbah-ul-Haq along with 103 others were conferred with the
Pakistan‘s Civil Awards during a ceremony to observe the Pakistan Day.
egins in Kuwait city.

G8 over its annexation of Crimea and threatened to impose far-reaching sanctions if Moscow

The Third Nuclear Security Summit was held in The Hague, Netherlands from 24 to 25 March
2014. -
brother Moqren (69) as the next heir to the throne. This step has paved a way for Moqren to
become a future king of the world‘s largest exporter of crude oil.

third time the country is hosting the event since the establishment of eight-member regional
gr March
31: A 10 day long World Telecommunications Development Conference has begun at the Dubai
el's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been found
guilty in a bribery trial in a case which forced him to resign in 2008. Olmert was convicted in the
Holyland affair in which bribes were paid and received to speed up a luxury property
development. APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH
Chandra assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural
Gas. Note: He succeeds Vivek Rae, who demitted office on superannuation.

Police. Note: He succeeds Rizwan Ahmad, who retired recently.

president of Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP president Rajnath Singh made the appointment.
government at the Centre, Justice KT
Thomas has quit as the head of the Lokpal Committee Search Panel.
-term Chief Minister of Delhi, was appointed

appointed Priyadarshi Mohapatra as Managing Director for its India and SAARC operations.

Society for 2014-

appointed as the first woman director (commercial) of Navratna Public Sector Unit (PSU)
National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO).

Corridor Development Corporation, will take charge as Secretary, Department of Industrial

Policy and Promotion.
13: Canara Bank, which has long been reeling under piling non-performing assets or bad loans,
appointed cricketer Shikhar Dhawan as its brand ambassador.

Exchange.
HSC), the global technology and operations centre for Tesco, has appointed Glen Attewell as
Chief Executive Officer. Note: He succeeds Sandeep Dhar, who spent over five years as

Sanjay Kirloskar, CMD of Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, have been elected Chairman and Deputy
Chairman, respectively, of Confederation of Indian Industry, Western Region.

Uday Sareen as Deputy CEO, Head of Wholesale Banking and Strategy with effect from April 1,
2014.
21: Aditi Khanna was unanimously elected as the first women President of Indian Journalists‘
Association (IJA) in London.
appointed as the new Revenue Secretary and will succeed Sumit Bose, who retires on March 31.

Britannia Industries with effect from March 31. She will be succeeded by Varun Berry, in line
with the succession plan put in place by the company last year. AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD
TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH
1: Eminent Gandhian and environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt has been selected for
-bearer
for the movement to end acid attacks in India, was honoured in the US with the prestigious
International Women of Courage Award.
sts at this
year's International News Media Association, INMA awards.

Bhaskar and Dainik Jagaran were namedfinalists in three categories. Other Indian publications
that made it to the finalist entries were The Hindu, Navbharat Times and The Hindustan Times.
-American scientist Anil Jain developed the first 3D model of a human
fingerprint called Phantom. The development could boost the accuracy of fingerprint-matching
systems and improve security technology.

Literature Prize 2014 in

non-fiction category.

Note: Pankaj Mishra is an Indian essayist, memoirist, travel writer and novelist.

announced by the John Templeton Foundation and under the award he will receive 1.1 million
Euro.

-year deal from Volvo Cars. the company did not

mention the value of this outsourcing deal or the duration of this deal, it said that has been
engaged with Volvo since 2010 and as a part of this deal,

-ki-Vav located in Patan, Gujarat and the Great Himalayan

National Park (GHNP) in Himachal Pradesh for UNESCO‘s World Heritage Site Status for
2014.

er Flows) won
the audience choice award in North Carolina film festival.

-Water ―Water for Life‖

Best Practices Award for their sustainable practices of water resources.

rnalist Shubhranshu Choudhary, who launched a unique grassroots

communication platform in 2004 in Chhattisgarh called CGNet Swara to give voice to millions
of tribals, was awarded a prestigious award for digital activism at the Barbican in London

22: Three officers, including an IAF officer who died while saving Uttarakhand flood
victims, a naval officer who non-stop sailed around the world and an Army Major who killed
three terrorists, were awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime gallantry award.

scientific research for the year 2013.

employer in Europe for the second consecutive year by the Top Employers Institute.

named as one of five golfers nominated for Asian Tour‘s ‗Player of the Decade‘ award.
 a, the renowned Hindi author will receive Sarawasti Samman for the
year 2013 for his book ‗Dhool Paudho Par‘ published in 2008.

at the NRI of the Year awards in Mumbai.

-country South-East Asia region received formal certificates to

mark a health milestone – being polio-free.

the award for his creative and inexpensive designs for disaster relief shelters.

-origin MBA student at the University of Cambridge, Gopal Rao, has

won accolades from British Foreign Secretary William Hague after winning a Twitter
competition which asked a question regarding UK's foreign policy.

award in the debt, equity and multi-asset category.

nt personalities
at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

o March 2: Rashid Khan of India claimed a play-off victory over Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman
at the SAIL-SBI Open with a birdie on the first extra hole at the Delhi Golf Course (DGC) in
New Delhi.

o March 2: South Africa lift the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2014.

Note: They defeated Pakistan by six wickets at Dubai.

o March 2: Roger Federer won singles title of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship by
defeating Tomas Berdych in the final.

o March 5: Graeme Smith, the South African cricket team Captain announced that he will retire
from international cricket at the end of the test match against Australia at Newlands. Smith is the
longest serving captain for South Africa in international cricket.

o March 7: Tamil Nadu men and Railways women won the XXVII (twenty seventh) Federation
Cup Volleyball titles in the finals at Kizhakkambalam, Ernakulam in Kerala.
o March 8: India managed to hold to their second position in the Reliance ICC T20I Team
Rankings.

o March 9: Sri Lanka regained the Asia Cup trophy with a comfortable five-wicket victory over
defending champions Pakistan.

o March 9: Mizoram won the 68th senior National football championship of Santosh Trophy by
defeating Railways 3-0 in the final match played at Kanchenjungha Stadium in Siliguri, West
Bengal.

o March 9: Virat Kohli has reclaimed the No.1 position in the latest ICC rankings for One-Day
International (ODI) batsmen released at the conclusion of the Asia Cup which was won by Sri
Lanka.

o March 10: Australian all-rounder Shane Watson will captain Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming
Indian Premier League.

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o March 11: Ace paddler Sharath Kamal will lead the 10-member Indian contingent including
five women in the World Table Tennis championships to be held in Tokyo from April 28 to May
5.

o March 11: Vishnu Prasad and Gaurav Gill got tremendous applause at the FMSCI (Federation
of Motor Sports Club of India) 2013 awards function.

Note: The former was named the Motorsport Person of the Year, the latter became the first
Indian to win the APRC title.

o March 11: Chain Singh and Heena Sidhu claimed gold medals in the seventh Asian Air Gun
Championship in Kuwait City.

o March 11: Pooja Ghatkar asserted the Indian supremacy against tough Chinese competition by
clinching the gold in women‘s air rifle in the seventh Asian air gun championship in Kuwait
City.

o March 13: Sachin Tendulkar is among the three greats to have emerged as the leading
contenders for ESPNcricinfo‘s Cricketer of the Generation award; even as the Indian‘s long-time
fierce rival from the West Indies Brian Lara missed out on a place in the final three.

o March 13: The Committee recommended a ban of six months on Sarvanjit Singh and Karamjit
Singh, players for Punjab & Sind Bank and Gurpreet Singh, player Air India with effect from
April 1, 2014 from all Hockey India and Hockey India sanctioned tournaments.
o March 15: Iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been voted the Cricketer of the Generation by
a 50-member jury of current and former cricketers and journalists, beating the likes of spin
legend Shane Warne and all-rounder par excellence Jacques Kallis.

o March 16: The world‘s number two Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer to win the BNP
Paribas Open Final in Indian Wells ATP Tennis Masters in California.

o March 19: Karnataka won the Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy 2013-14 by defeating Railways by
four wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

o March 20: The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on April 16, with
Abu Dhabi hosting the opening match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and 2012
winners Kolkata Knight Riders.

o March 20: India‘s ace men‘s shuttler Parupalli Kashyap has jumped a rung to the 24th spot in
the latest Badminton World Federation rankings

o March 23: Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) shocked defending Champions Haryana
4-0 to clinch the 4th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship (Division A) in
Bhopal

o March 27: In a big setback BCCI President N Srinivasan, the Supreme Court proposed his
replacement by Sunil Gavaskar and suspension of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) along with
Rajasthan Royals (RR) from IPL 7 till the pendency of case of betting and spot fixing scandal
before it.

o March 27: Olympian and former India captain Jude Felix was appointed coach of the National
men‘s hockey team.

o March 28: The Supreme Court handed over the reins of BCCI to former player Sunil Gavaskar
during IPL 7 and did not bar Srinivasan-promoted Chennai Superkings (CSK) and Rajasthan
Royals (RR) from participating in the tournament.

o March 28: West Zone won the cricket's Deodhar Trophy 2014. They lifted the trophy after
defeating North Zone in the Day-Night final at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket
Stadium in Visakhapatnam by a margin of 133 runs.

o March 29: World number two air pistol shooter Heena Sidhu continued her impressive form as
she clinched a silver medal at the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA, the feat taking her
closer to the numero uno spot in her event.

o March 29: Darren Sammy's twin sixes in the final over sealed a six-wicket win for the West
Indies against Australia in the ICC World Twenty20 match.

o March 30: Novak Djokovic won his fourth career title at the Miami Masters.
o March 31: Britain's Lewis Hamilton won the Malaysian Grand Prix with a pole-to-flag victory
ahead of Nico Rosberg

EULOGIES THIS MONTH

arch 1: Former Bharatiya Janata Party president Bangaru Laxman died in Hyderabad after
a prolonged illness.

passed away after an illness.

film director Eduardo Coutinho was killed in an attack at his Rio

de Janeiro home

-related
ailments.

decades and owned the National Football League‘s Detroit Lions, has died at the age of 88.

ge of 92 in
New Jersey.

-
president of the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association, passed away.

rial
Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. He died at the age of 71 due to prostate cancer.

the Iraq war, died.

sident and leader of Sierra Leone died.

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Singh was best known for his trenchant secularism, his humour, and an abiding love for poetry.

attack.
 stellar performances in
films like ‗Hum Dono‘, ‗Ittefaq‘ and ‗Gumnaam‘, passed away.

-realistic wave in
Malayalam cinema during the 1950s through his path breaking movie Newspaper Boy, has
passed away at a hospital in kerala.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

fastest growing State with its Gross State Domestic Product growing at 15.05 per cent during
2012-13. It is the only State to clock a double-digit growth rate.

Note: According to the CSO data, Gujarat ranked 6th with growth rate at 7.96 per cent, behind
Bihar and Madhya Pradesh with 9.89 per cent, Goa 8.47 per cent, Kerala 8.24 per cent and
Odisha 8.09 per cent. The all-India growth rate in 2012-13 was 4.47 per cent.

2013-14.

Corporation to the Central Secretariat metro station and taken on a tour of the station. Note: They
were shown important components of the metro system, like the station control and technical
rooms, as part of its ―Know Your Metro‖ campaign.

-week 90-round gruelling battle, a 13-year-old Indian American student

Kush Sharma finally broke a tie in a local county contest to go to the National Spelling Bee
competition.

bring the other two devices — X+ and XL — in the Indian market in the next 60 days.

f hiring plans for the next

three months and sectors such as aviation, IT & ITeS and retail are likely to see an increase in
payrolls.

provide insurance cover to car loan customers.

 -year-old crisis in the
war-torn country, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said while releasing a new report on the
prevailing situation in the country.

lot of silver coins bearing retired cricket great Sachin Tendulkar's face
embossed on them along with the number of Tests (200) he had played was launched by
Valuemart Gold & Jewels, in association with Diamond India in Mumbai.

ged a multi-year deal from Volvo Cars.

and Internet provider Ono for 7.2 billion euros (USD 10 billion).

-poverty
charity Oxfam has ranked Hinduja brothers as third richest family in Britain.

apon
systems is three times more than Pakistan and China.

redBus.in and Travelboutique has acquired 51 per cent stake in online bus tracking and analytics
platform YourBus.com for an undisclosed amount.

TV show 'Satyamev Jayate', Aamir Khan, as its national icon next week.

ons in Leadership', a biography

that encapsulates former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri's life.

and payment service M-Pesa partnering with private sector ICICI Bank.

25: Royal Mail in Britain issued a postage stamp of Noor Inayat Khan, World War II
heroine of Indian origin, on 25 March 2014.

Note: She fought fascism and died in the Dachau concentration camp.

angrape case, Indian Ordinance

factory launched a light-weight revolver ―Nirbheek‖, designed especially for women to defend
themselves from assault.

-Ban and Oakley

sunglasses, to bring a high fashion sensibility to its high-tech wearable computer, Google glass.
Hour to be observed March 29.

virtual reality technology firm Oculus

VR for 2 billion dollar. As per the analyst, virtual reality technology could be a new way for
people to communicate, learn or be entertained.

sing the credit &

debit card giant of conspiring with banks to fix fees that merchants pay for accepting payments
through Visa cards.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

General of Police

-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

tment of Health Research

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ndia

-C: Inflation Indexed National Saving Securities - Cumulative

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH

mens‘ Day/ International Literacy Day

Day/ International Day for the Elimination of

Racial Discrimination
 - Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave
Trade

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH

• Best Film: 12 Years a Slave

• Best Actor in a Leading Role: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

• Best Actress in a Leading Role: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

• Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

• Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)

• Best Animated Feature: Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)

• Best Cinematography: Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)

• Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)

• Best Directing: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)

• Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom (Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen, Caitrin
Rogers)

• Best Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life (Malcolm Clarke,
Nicholas Reed)

• Best Film Editing: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger)

• Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (Italy)

• Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club (Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews)

• Best Original Score: Gravity (Steven Price)

• Best Original Song: Let It Go - Frozen

• Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn)
• Best Animated Short Film: Mr. Hublot (Laurent Witz, Alexandre Espigares)

• Best Live Action Short Film: Helium (Anders Walter, Kim Magnusson)

• Best Sound Editing: Gravity (Glenn Freemantle)

• Best Sound Mixing: Gravity (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro)

• Best Visual Effects: Gravity (Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould)

• Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)

• Best Original Screenplay: Her (Spike Jonze)

Background

• On 6 June 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok.

• It was given the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic
Cooperation).

• Myanmar attended the inaugural June Meeting as an observer and joined the organization as a
full member at a Special Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok on 22 December 1997, upon
which the name of the grouping was changed to BIMST-EC.

• Nepal was granted observer status by the second Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka in December
1998. Subsequently, full membership has been granted to Nepal and Bhutan in 2003.

• In the first Summit on 31 July 2004, leaders of the group agreed that the name of the grouping
should be known as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation

Priority Sectors

• BIMSTEC has Fourteen priority sectors cover all areas of cooperation. Six priority sectors of
cooperation were identified at the 2nd Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka on 19 November 1998.
They include the followings:

• Trade and Investment, led by Bangladesh

• Transport and Communication, led by India

• Energy, led by Myanmar

• Tourism, led by India

• Technology, led by Sri Lanka

• Fisheries, led by Thailand

Third Summit The Third BIMSTEC summit was attended by the heads from six countries and
Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Thailand, namely

• Prime Minister of India

• Prime Minister of Bangladesh

• Prime Minister of Nepal

• President of Sri Lanka

• Prime Minister of Bhutan

• President of Myanmar

During the summit, enhancing regional cooperation in energy sector, the Third BIMSTEC
Energy Ministerial Meeting will be held in Nepal in 2014 and also the Fourth BIMSTEC Energy
Ministerial Meeting will be held in 2015 in Bhutan. Highlights of this year’s Summit The
following three pacts were signed

• Memorandum of Association on the Establishment of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat.

• Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of the BIMSTEC Cultural Industries

Commission (BCIC) and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory (BCIO).

• Memorandum of Association among BIMSTEC Member Countries Concerning Establishment

of a BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate.

• The Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) is a world summit, aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism
around the globe.
• The first summit was held in Washington, D.C. on April 12–13, 2010.

• The second summit was in Seoul, Korea in 2012.

• The third summit was held in The Hague, the Netherlands on March 24–25, 2014.

2014 Summit The 2014 summit in March 2014 in The Hague, the Netherlands, charted the
accomplishments of the past two years, identifying which of the objectives set out in the
Washington Work Plan and the Seoul Communiqué have not been met and proposing ways to
achieve them. The intention of host country, the Netherlands, was to focus on the following
achievable and visible goals:[1]

• Optimal security for and, if at all possible, a reduction in the use of highly enriched uranium
and plutonium.

• Ratification of the amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material by

more countries to ensure that the amendment enters into force as soon as possible.

• More frequent reviews of state security structures by IAEA advisory missions.

• National registration and protection of highly radioactive sources (e.g. medical equipment).

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• Greater role for industry in nuclear security, to enhance the security culture and existing
regulations.

• States should provide information to their own people and the international community to
demonstrate that they are taking appropriate measures to maintain the security of their nuclear
material and facilities. These confidence-building measures will increase trust in the international
protection system.

• Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF).

• The event is held worldwide annually encouraging individuals, communities, households and
businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last
Saturday in March, as a symbol for their commitment to the planet.

• It was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007.

• Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide.

• Today, Earth Hour engages a massive mainstream community on a broad range of

environmental issues.

• The one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement.

• Earth Hour 2014 was on Saturday, March 29, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm in a location's local
time.

• Earth Hour 2015 will be on Saturday, March 28, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. during
participants' local time.

I Will If You Will

• "I Will If You Will" (IWIYW) is an Earth Hour campaign to encourage positive action for the
environment.

• The actions required are up to the individual or group.

• They could be big or small and it might be a simple lifestyle change or perhaps something that
leads to political change.

• The campaign intends for people to become the inspiration to their friends, family, colleagues
and communities by sharing what they‘re willing to do to protect the planet.

• Challenges can be created or accepted on Earth Hour's YouTube channel.

Organisations that support Earth Hour

• Earth Hour is supported around the world by Woodland, CBRE, the National Hockey League,
FIFA, UEFA, Manchester United, Hilton Hotels, Girl Scouts of the USA, World Organisation of
the Scouts Movement, UNESCO, UN Environment Programme, the International Trade Union
Confederation, HSBC, World Association of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Philips, Ikea, The
Body Shop, ING Vysya Bank, SASKEN and more.

APRIL 2014
RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

April 1: First Bi-monthly monetary policy statement 204-15 announced by RBI,all rates remains
unchanged.

April 2: The Reserve Bank capped the ways and means advances limit for the central
government in the first half of the new financial year (FY 2015) at Rs 35,000 crore per week.

April 2: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its first bi-monthly monetary policy statement for
2014-15 directed banks not to impose financial penalty on the consumers in case of non-
maintenance of minimum balance in their saving accounts.

April 2 : RBI adopts new CPI as key measure of inflation.

April 3: According to the notification issued by the Government of India,Shri Gandhi has been
appointed Deputy Governor for a period of three years.

April 3: IDFC and Bandhan Financial Services Private Ltd have got ‗in-principle‘ nod by the
Reserve Bank of India to set up banks, from a field of 25 aspirants.

April 4: Qatar based Doha Bank announced on 3 April 2014 that it will be opening its first
branch at Nariman Point in Mumbai in India. The branch in Mumbai will be opened as a full-
fledged bank in May 2014.

April 4: After launching accounts on Facebook and Youtube, the country‘s largest lender SBI
took one more step on the social media front by launching a twitter handle. The Twitter handle
for SBI is TheOfficialSBI.

April 11: SBI is going more social by Twitter now, SBI is already having Facebook and youtube
accounts. Now this banking gaint has launched its twitter account. It was launched on 11th April
2014.

April 14: HDFC Bank sets Guinness record in blood collection

April 15: State Bank of India launched Tablet (Tab) Banking service for opening Savings Bank
accounts and giving in-principle housing loan approval at the customer‘s doorstep.

April 16: The country‘s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a financing
scheme for women fashion boutique owners. ‗Boutique Financing‘, the scheme is designed to
offer working capital expenses as well as term loan for boutique owners.

April 16: The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on 15 April 2014 issued Final standards
for measuring and controlling large exposures of banks to customers. These standards will take
effect from 1 January 2019.
April 24: The panel known as GIRO (Government Internal Revenue Order) Advisory Group or
GAG, headed by IIT Bombay professor Umesh Bellur, was set up last October and was looking
into GIRO-based electronic system. It is a centralised process that allows payments for utility
bills, educational fees and insurance premium by just visiting the bank branch.

April 24: GIRO committee set up by Reserve Bank of India has suggested a mechanism for
centralised bills payment system in the country, primarily by setting up two organisations -
Bharat Bill Payment Services or BBPS and the Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units or
BBPOUs.

April 25: Now, RBI to solely decide which loan is an NPA:Gujarat High court

April 25: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prescribed uniform accounting standards for asset
reconstruction companies(ARCs) for acquiring non-performing loans, recognising revenue and
management fees to ensure common treatment for firms.

April 26: State Bank of India (SBI) has signed an MoU with Enable India, a non-profit
organisation, to train persons with disabilities towards economic independence.

April 30: The deadline for switching to new format bank cheques under the Cheque Truncation
System (CTS) ended on 30 April 2014. Now, transactions with cheques that have Magnetic Ink
Character Recognition (MICR) and not CTS technology will be likely to take four days or more
from the date of deposit to credit the amount. Banks will now clear non-CTS cheques on
Mondays and Fridays only.

NATION THIS MONTH

April 1: Mr P Naik (The Chief Electoral Officer) launched SMS based service named "Polling at
your Fingertips" in Shillong, Meghalaya.

April 3: Election Commission has selected Amir Khan as its national icon for the Lok Sabha
elections 2014.

April 4 : Candidates with assets of over Rs 5 crore without a PAN card are set to come under the
scanner of Tax department and Election Commission, which have prepared a list of 'red flags' to
weed out suspected tax-evaders from the poll fray. April 7 : 7th April 2014 was a great day for
the capital of Arunachal Pradesh - Itanagar, which got its first passenger train. Train was having
total 10 passengers and two goods compartments with a diesel engine.

April 10: A new online security threat which can impact online safety of internet users has been
identified and is named as "Heartbleed". This threat can result into compromising of confidential
information.

April 10: Shompens tribe of Andaman & Nicobar islands for the first time casted their votes in
Great Nicobar on 10 April 2014. Shompens - one of the stone-age tribes - casted the votes for the
Lok Sabha constituency of Bay Islands for Lok Sabaha election 2014. Shompens are one of the
six tribes that inhabit the forest in the southern-most tip of the country.

April 10: Piramal Enterprises announced on 10th April 2014 to sold its equity stake to Vodafone
India for 8900 crore rupees. The deal values Vodafone India at Rs 1960 per share.

April 11: "The Accidental Prime Minister: the making and unmaking of Manmohan Singh", a
memoir authored by Sanjaya Baru was released on 11th April 2014.

April 14: The Supreme Court created the "third gender" status for hijras or transgenders.

April 15: Breaking the male bastion in the five decade-old Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the
government has approved recruitment of young women as ‗combat officers‘ in the second
largest border guarding force.

April 15: Election Commission of India (ECI) on 15 April 2014 launched the Election VIsitors
Programme (EVP) 2014. The EVP 2014 was launched as a part of South-South Cooperation
initiative of the ECI in partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

April 16: The Supreme Court today held that a woman employee of central government can get
uninterrupted leave for two years for child care, which also includes needs like examination and
sickness.

April 16: Government of India (GOI) extended the Tourist Visa-on-Arrival Scheme to the
citizens of the South Korea with effect from 15th April 2014, As Earlier PM of India Manmohan
Singh had conveyed this assurance to South Korean President Madame Park Geun-hye during
her visit in January 2014.

April 17: On 17th April 2014, Supreme Court of India ruled out that the national auditor, the
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is empowered to audit the revenues of private telecom
companies.

April 27: On 27th April 2014, India successfully test-fired an anti-ballistic missile named as
Prithvi

Defence Vehicle (PDV). It was tested at Wheeler Island in Balasore district of Odisha.

April 29: The Supreme Court has ruled that rape victims' statement be directly recorded by a
judicial magistrate instead of police officials to cut short protracted proceedings.

April 29: On 29th April 2015, President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee gave his approval for
the dissolution of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and a fresh proclamation of central rule in the
state. This nod of the President came after the Union Cabinet on 25 April 2014 recommended
dissolution of the Assembly of Andhra Pradesh and extension of the President‘s rule there
beyond 30 April 2014.
April 30: According to World Bank Report released on 29th April 2014, India has displaced
Japan to become the world's third biggest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

Note: US is on top with 17.1%, China is on second number with 14.9% then India is on third
number with 6.4%. India has replaced Japan to be on number 3.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

April 1: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India was forecasted to rise to 5.5 percent in 2014-15.
This was revealed by the Asian Development Outlook 2014.

Note: The report was released by the Asian Development Bank. The rise in the GDP was due to
improvement in the performance of the Industry and services.

April 1: Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs notified rules for ten more chapters in the new
Companies Act, 2013. The new Companies Act, 2013 that was passed by the Parliament in
August 2013 came into effect on 1 April 2014.

April 1: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its first Bi-monthly Monetary Policy statement 2014-15
announced on 1 April 2014, has kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 8.0%.

April 2: RBI in consultation with Union Government capped the Ways and Means Advances
(WMA) limits for the first half of the new financial year 2014-15 (April 2014-Sep 2014) at
35000 crore rupees.

Note: The interest rate on WMA/overdraft will be based on

a) WMA: Repo Rate

b) Overdraft: Two percent above the Repo Rate

April 2: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its first bi-monthly monetary policy statement for
2014-15 directed banks not to impose financial penalty on the consumers in case of non-
maintenance of minimum balance in their saving accounts.

April 2: The Reserve Bank of India adopted the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as the key measure
of Inflation. It was adopted in the first bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2014-15.

April 3: According to the ADB Outlook 2014, developing Asia is expected to extend its steady
growth from 6.1 percent in 2013 to 6.2 percent in 2014 and 6.4 percent in 2015.

April 3: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted in-principle approvals to IDFC Ltd and
Bandhan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd to start new banks in India.

April 4: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had revamped its committee on
disclosures and accounting standards
Note: This committee advices SEBI on matters related to disclosure requirements and accounting
practices for various market participants.

April 4: Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) notified rules on providing insurance cover
for public deposits. The rules called Regulations for Acceptance of Deposits by Companies was
notified under section 73(2) (d) of the Companies Act 2013.

April 5: India was ranked 102 out of 132 countries on the Social Progress Index (SPI) published
by the US-based non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative

April 6: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its release has also forecasted that the Indian
economy would recover from 4.4 percent growth in 2013 to 5.4 percent in 2014.

April 11: The World Bank projected that the economic growth rate of India for the fiscal year
2014-2015 will be 5.7 percent.

April 14: India became net steel exporter in 2013-14 after a gap of six years. Total steel exports
by India during the last fiscal year stood at 5.59 million tonnes (MT), as against imports of 5.44
MT according to Joint Plant Committee (JPC), a unit of the Union Steel Ministry.

April 14: World Trade Organisation (WTO) projected that the world trade will grow by 4.7
percent in 2014. It also projected that the growth in 2015 will slightly be faster at 5.3 percent,
which is 20 year average growth rate.

April 15: The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued Final standards for measuring
and controlling large exposures of banks to customers. These standards will take effect from 1
January 2019.

April 16: Inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) reached a 3-month high of 5.7% in
March 2014. This hike was driven up by increases in prices of food items and fuel costs.

April 17: Capital market regulator of India, the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
issued detailed corporate governance norms for listed companies.

Note: The norms have been launched for stricter disclosures and protection of investor rights,
including equitable treatment for minority and foreign shareholders.

April 17: Union Government of India decided to continue the export subsidy of 3300 rupees per
tonne on raw sugar shipments for April - May 2014 period.

April 19: Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd (IFFCO), India's leading fertiliser
cooperative, got permission from the Quebec Provincial Government to set up a 1.6 billion US
dollar Urea plant. Quebec province, Canada's largest, is located in the east-central region of the
country.
April 23: Government Internal Revenue Order (GIRO) Advisory Group (GAG) under the
chairmanship of Prof. Umesh Bellur has submitted its report to Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

April 23: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued uniform accounting standards for Asset
Reconstruction Companies (ARCs). The norms were issued with regard to acquiring non-
performing loans, recognising revenue and management fees to ensure common treatment for
firms.

April 25: The Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) decided to allow the use of Portable
Electronic Devices (PEDs) including cellphones during flights. DGCA amended CAR Section 5
Series X Part I relating to air safety.

April 26: The High Court of Gujarat restored the power of the Reserve Bank of India to decide
the period after which the bad loan can be called as a non-performing asset (NPA).

April 29: The 28-member European Union (EU) imposed a temporary ban on import of
Alphonso mangoes and four vegetables from India. The ban will come into effect from 1 May
2014.

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

April 1: On 1st April 2014, President of World Bank Mr Jim Yong Kim announced at the
Council on Foreign Relations in Washington that the bank would nearly double its lending
capacity to boost support for middle countries like India, Brazil, China, Mexico and Indonesia. It
is part of efforts of World Bank to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030.

April 1: Japan announced a Rs 15,000-crore official development assistance ( ODA) loan for five
projects in India, including expansion of Delhi Metro and works related to wind and solar
energy. Japan and India signed the ODA loan agreement for five projects totalling more than Rs
15,000 crore.

April 1: NATO condemning the annexation as illegal on 1 April 2014 suspended all cooperation
with Russia over the Crimea crisis.

Also, Russian energy firm Gazprom announced an increase of the price it charges Ukraine for
gas from 1 April 2014.

April 2: A new law Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Act was approved by
Singapore Government on 1 April 2014. The law gives the Singapore police and authorities
power to maintain public order and calm in Little India. The law will be effective for a year in
the Little India.
April 2: Energy musn't be used as a weapon, Washington's top diplomat said today as the EU and
US vowed to help Ukraine overcome energy shortages after a painful Moscow gas-price hike.

April 3: Dhaka today agreed to provide transit facility for a 6,000-megawatt Indian power
transmission line while parts of the quantum could be used by Bangladesh.

April 3: On 2nd April 2014 Iran and Japan signed MoU on for bilateral cooperation on
environmental issues at Tokyo by Masoumeh Ebtekar of Iran who is Vice-President and Head of
Department of Environment of Iran government and Nobuteru Ishihara of Japan Head of
International Cooperation Agency.This is most anticipated MoU between these two countries.

April 4: South Korea on 4 April 2014 developed a ballistic missile capable of striking most of
North Korea. The missile was launched from a test site in Taean, a coastal town southwest of
Seoul.

April 5: Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) notified rules on providing insurance cover
for public deposits. The rules called Regulations for Acceptance of Deposits by Companies was
notified under section 73(2) (d) of the Companies Act 2013.

April 5: Out of 132 countries India ranked 102 on the Social Progress Index (SPI). This was
published by the US-based non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative.

April 6: US President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American Sunil Sabharwal to a key
administration post as US Alternate Executive Director at IMF.

April 13: Swiss made airplane named as SOLAR IMPULSE 2 was unveiled to the world at
Switzerland's Payerne Air Force Base. The solar plane will circumnavigate the world in March
2015.

April 14: On 14th April 2014 Google bought Titan Aerospace. Titan Aerospace is a maker of
high altitude solar powered drones. Google has acquired Titan aerospace in a bid to bring
internet access around the globe, mainly for remotest areas of the world.

April 16: A robotic submarine Bluefin 21 was deployed on 14th April 2014 to solve the mystery
of the lost Malaysian plane MH370. It was deployed as as of now the batteries of Black Box of
plane would have expired to send any signals. Bluefin 21 was launched from the Australian navy
ship Ocean shield and would go under Indian Ocean.

April 17: Astronomers announced that they have discovered an Earth-size planet which was
named Kepler-186f.

April 23: Palestinian factions Hamas, Fatah sign reconciliation agreement to end their
differences and to form a Palestinian Unity Government in Gaza Strip.
April 28: On 28th April 2014, Slovakia and Ukraine signed a Framework Interconnection
Agreement on gas supply, which will allow supply of gas from from Central Europe to Ukraine
via Slovakia. This deal was signed in Bratislava.

April 29: A Southern California mite Paratarsotomus macropalpis set a new record as world's
fastest land animal. Cheetah was the last record holder. The findings were presented during the
Experimental Biology 2014 meeting in California.

April 29: The 28-member European Union has temporarily banned the import of Alphonso
mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India from May 1, sparking protests from
the Indian community, lawmakers and traders.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

April 1: President Francois Hollande on 31 March 2014 appointed Interior Minister Manuel
Valls as next prime minister of France. Manuel Carlos Valls is a Spanish-born French Socialist
Party politician. He was the Mayor of Évry from 2001 to 2012 and a Member of the National
Assembly since 2002.

April 2: Karim Massimov, the Chief of Staff of Kazakhstan was named as the new Prime
Minister of the country by the President, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

April 2: Government has appointed senior IPS officer D K Pathak as the new Director General of
the country's largest border guarding force BSF.

April 3: R Gandhi appointed as Deputy Governor of RBI

April 4: Marie-Lousie Coleiro Preca was sworn-in as the President of Malta in Valletta, Malta.

April 7: Ravi Chauhan on 7 April 2014 was appointed as Managing Director for SAP India. He
will take the charge immediately. He will report directly to Adaire Fox-Martin, President of SAP
Asia Pacific Japan.

April 8: Viktor Orban was re-elected as Prime Minister of Hungary for the second consecutive
four-year term.

April 10: Ratan Tata appointed board member of China-backed Boao Forum

April 11: Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha will take over as the next Chief Justice of India from
present incumbent Justice P Sathasivam who retires later this month.

April 11: President of India on 11 April 2014 approved the name of Justice G Rohini (58) for
appointment as the Next Chief Justice of Delhi High Court.
April 17: Admiral Robin K Dhowan (PVSM AVSM YSM ADC) on 17th April 2014 took over
as the 22nd Chief of Indian Navy.

April 17: National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) Limited will have a full time
Chairman after two years, as name of Mr. Narendra Kothari has been cleared by the
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

April 15: Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has been designated as the new finance
secretary.

April 23: Suresh Kumar Reddy appointed as the First ambassador to ASEAN and East Asia
Summit. This was done by The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) .

April 29: Rajeev Suri appointed as President and CEO of Nokia Corporation.

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

April 1: Indian-American cardiologist Dr Sumeet Chugh has been named as one of the recipients
of a prestigious Simon Dack Award from the American College of Cardiology.

April 3: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has received the honour of the most efficient
Navaratna award and also has notched-up the highest ever turnover of Rs 15,180 crores for the
FY 2013-14.

April 5: Indian Cricket Captain MS Dhoni has won United Kingdom‘s 2014 Asian award for
outstanding achievement in sports.

April 6: Delhi girl , Koyal Rana is crowned fbb Femina Miss India World 2014.

April 6: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have been named among top 5 in the list of 100 influential Asians
topped by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

April 8: Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian American novelist Jhumpa Lahiri‘s ―Lowland‖ has been
shortlisted for this year‘s Baileys Prize, the UK‘s only annual book award for fiction written by a
woman.

April 9: British scientist Prof Stuart Parkin has won the 2014 Millennium technology prize worth
€1m (£824,400) for research that has led to a phenomenal increase in the storage capacity of
digital devices and heralded the era of cloud computing.

April 11: Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group which is one of the largest
employers in Britain, has been honoured by Queen Elizabeth with a GBE (Knight Grand Cross),
one of the UK‘s highest civilian awards.
April 12: Veteran poet and film lyricist Gulzar has been chosen for the coveted Dadasaheb
Phalke Award for 2013, the ministry of information and broadcasting announced .

Note: He is the 45th winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

April 12: President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2013 at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan .

April 15: India-born poet Vijay Seshadri has won the prestigious 2014 Pulitzer Prize in the
poetry category for his witty and philosophical collection of poems.

April 17: The 61st National Film Awards for 2013 was announced in New Delhi on 16 April
2014 by the Directorate of Film Festivals. Ship of Theseus directed by Anand Gandhi was
selected as the Best feature film.

April 20: The prestigious M S Subbulakshmi Award went to renowned musician from
Karnataka, Mathangi Sathyamurthy. She will receive a cash award of `10,001 and a plaque.

April 22: Hollywood star John Travolta will receive a special honour at the upcoming
International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards to be held in the US. Mr. Travolta will attend
the 15th IIFA awards, which will be held from April 23 to 26 in Tampa Bay, Florida.

April 27: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag wins nine technical awards at IIFA 2014

April 28: Goldman Prize for environmental activist Ramesh Agrawal

April 29: Infosys Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy was today presented with the 2014
"Canada India Foundation Chanchalani Global Indian Award" here for his remarkable vision and
leadership in the IT sector.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

April 2: Viswanathan Anand ranked World number 3 in the rating list released by FIDE. Anand
with the Victory at the Candidates Tournament held in Russia in March 2014 has moved five
places ahead from 8 to 3 with 2785 Elo points.

April 5: International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) imposed a transfer ban at both
national and international level on Barcelona.

April 7: Iwao Hakamada, the Japanese boxer was awarded with an honorary championship belt
by World Boxing Council (WBC).
April 8: Heena Sindhu, the Indian shooter clinched the World‘s Number One spot in 10 meters
air pistol event. By achieving this fete, she became the first Indian pistol shooter to be ranked at
the top position in the list.

April 9: The 151st edition of the Wisden Cricketers‘ Almanack published carries a picture of
Sachin Tendulkar on its cover page

April 11: Gareth Hopkins the former New Zealand wicketkeeper announced his retirement from
cricket. He announced his retirement after a career spanning over 17 years.

April 15: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) established a Sport Integrity Unit to
investigate the cases related to fraud in sports. Betting and Match fixing are the most common
cases of sports fraud.

April 16: Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey. They defeated Barcelona 2-1 in the final played at
Mestalla in Valencia, Spain.

April 19: Hockey India appointed former senior coach Harendra Singh as the coach of the junior
men's team. Harendra will join the training camp of the team.

April 21: Bengaluru FC Club won the I-League Football title in their debut season. Bengaluru
FC Club defeated Dempo Sports Club 4-2 in the league match held at Shillong.

April 21: Benfica won the 33rd Portuguese Football league title after four years. Benfica won the
tittle by defeating the Olhanense by 2-0. Benfica won its first domestic title in 2009-10.

April 22: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) launched the AIFF Academy Certification in
New Delhi. This certification has been launched with an aim to set a standard of youth
development in the country, through certification model. This initiative of IAFF is the first of its
kind in India.

April 22: Chitra Magimairaj of India won the World Women‘s Senior Snooker Championship at
Leeds, Britain. She played the final match against Alena Asmolava of Belarus.

April 22: The adidas has started a weekly series of online documentary-style films titled Brazuca
around the World to excite football fans as the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil gets closer.

April 23: Meb Keflezighi became the first US male athlete to win the Boston Marathon in three
decades (since 1983).

April 24: Indian Squash Player Saurav Ghosal won Dato Alex Lee Award 2013. He was selected
for the award by the Asian Squash Federation (ASF) for being the Outstanding Asian Men's
Player of the Year 2013.
April 26: Grand Master Adhiban won silver medal at the Asian Continental Chess Championship
held in Sharjah. With this silver he got an entry in the World Chess Cup 2015 that will be held at
Baku, Azerbaijan.

April 27: Paralympic swimmer Sharath Gayakwad won two Bronze and one Silver at the IDM
Berlin

2014.

April 28: The United Nations (UN) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) signed an
agreement to use the power of sports to promote peace and economic development. The
agreement strengthens the collaboration between UN and International Olympic Committee.

April 28: Indian Golfer Anirban Lahiri was ranked 67 in World Golf Ranking. Lahiri jumped 35
places from his last standing of 102.

April 29: Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan striker of Liverpool was named as the Professional
Footballers‘ Association Player of the Year at an award ceremony in London. Suarez is the first
non-European to be awarded with the prize.

April 30: Wimbledon announced an increase of 10.8 percent (to 25 million Pound) in the total
prize amount for 2014 Wimbledon. It is an increase of 2.4 million Pound over 2013.

EULOGIES THIS MONTH

April 1: Born in Chicago, Illinois, Walter "King" Fleming was an American jazz pianist and
bandleader. He died at the age of 91.

April 2: Mary Lou Petty, an American Olympic swimmer died at the age of 98

April 4: Anja Niedringhaus, a German-born photojournalist who shared a Pulitzer Prize for
coverage of the Iraq War, was shot dead by a policeman while on assignment in Afghanistan.
She was 48.

April 5: Kumba Yala, the philosophy teacher turned president who ruled Guinea-Bissau from
2000 to 2003 and was instantly recognisable by his red bobble hat, died aged 61

April 6: American film actor and entertainer, Mickey Rooney died in California at the age of 93.

April 7: A Dutch priest Frans Van der Lugt was shot dead in Homs by a gunman. He was 70.

April 8: Ashish Bose, veteran demographer died in New Delhi due to illness.

April 9: Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, V K Murthy died at his residence in Shankarapuram. He
was 91.
April 11: Novelist Sue Townsend died after a short illness. She was 68.

April 11: Nandu Bhende was an Indian musician and actor. He dies because of heart attact. He
was 58.

April 17: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Nobel laureate in literature died at the age of 87 in
Mexico.

April 19: Veteran pro-democratic Journalist of Myanmar Win Tin on 19 April 2014 died due to
his respiratory problems. He was 85.

April 19: , Indian journalist K. K. Abdul Rahiman died at the at of 87.

April 20: Canadian author Alistair MacLeod on 20 April 2014 died due to a heart stroke. He was
77. He was best known for his short story collections and novel No Great Mischief.

April 20: The unsung hero of the NASA‘s Apollo Program John C. Houbolt died after the
complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 95.

April 21: Kevin Sharp, the country musician and a survivor of the well-publicized battle with
cancer died at the age of 43.

April 23: Former American middleweight boxer, Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter died at his home in
Toronto, Canada following a battle with prostate cancer. He was 76.

April 24: Arturo Licata, the World‘s oldest man died in Italy at the age of 111. He was awarded
the Guinness World Records title of oldest living man on 28 February 2014 at the age of 111
years and 302 days.

April 29: English actor Bob Hoskins who worked in films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mona
Lisa, and Hook died at the age of 71 due to pneumonia.

April 30: Indian theatre personality and artist Khaled Choudhury died at the age of 94.

April 30: Famous British actor Chris Harris died at the age of 71 due to cancer.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

April 3: Statue of Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw was unveiled at the Manekshaw Centre,
Delhi Cantt. A book titled Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw – The Man and His Times was also
released to mark 100 th Birth Anniversary of Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw.

April 9: Ernesto Gainza of UAE set a new Guinness record for skydiving using the world's
smallest parachute.
April 15: Indian Railways launched a portal,RAILSAVER with an aim to improve energy
efficiency in Indian Railways. This initiative in form of RAILSAVER will facilitate railways in
saving energy upto 15 percent by the year 2020, through improved energy efficiency measures as
laid down in Railway‘s vision document.

April 17: Archie Andrews the famous comic book character that has ruled the market of comics
for past 73 years is set to die in this summer issue of July 2014.

Note: Archie for the first time was introduced in Pep Comics 1941. The comic has seen live-
action television specials and a cartoon show, and has found a new audience in the glitter of
Bollywood.

April 17: A new robot called Borewell Robot was developed by M.Manigandan to rescue kids
who fall into borewells. M.Manigandan is a Madurai-based social worker.

April 20: HDFC Bank's blood donation drive sets Guinness World Record in a single day

April 21: Stanislas Wawrinka beats Roger Federer to clinch Monte Carlo Masters title.

April 21: India's First Double-decker Flyover Opens in Mumbai.

April 22: Shaik Abdul Hameed won the 2014 Thailand Tour title of Asian Bowling Federation

April 23: Indian railways information and technology arm, Centre for Railway Information
Systems (CRIS) launched a new mobile application. This application can be used for various
enquiries including train running status.

April 24: Gautam Sharma appointed as India MD by Japanese foods firm Nissin

April 24: Suresh Kumar Reddy appointed as the First ambassador to ASEAN

April 25: Indian-South Africa "academic bridge" launched.

April 25: Portable Electronic Device including cellphones allowed during Flights by DGCA

April 27: US President Barack Obama nominated three Indian-Americans to the 14-member
advisory commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs)

Note: The Indian-Americans include US Air Force officer Lieutenant Colonel, Ravi Chaudhary
Prominent community leader Shekar Narasimhan Popular film and television actor Maulik
Pancholy
April 27: John XXIII and John Paul II were declared as saints of the Roman Catholic Church by
Pope Francis. This declaration of the two predecessors was made before hundreds of people in St
Peter's Square in Vatican City.

April 28: Ukranian Government announced to build a arch over Chernobyl to protect its citizens
from radioactive dust. The arch is being built to mark the 28th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster.

April 28: A Southern California mite Paratarsotomus macropalpis set a new record as world's
fastest land animal. Cheetah was the last record holder. The findings were presented during the
Experimental Biology 2014 meeting in California.

April 29: According to World Bank Report released India has displaced Japan to become the
world's third biggest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

Note: US is on top with 17.1%, China is on second number with 14.9% then India is on third
number with 6.4%.

April 29: Ramesh Agrawal from India wins top environment award - Goldman Environmental
Prize 2014.

April 29: Slovakia and Ukraine signed Framework Interconnection Agreement on gas supply.

April 30: India displaces Japan to become third-largest world economy

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

-Engage-Achieve-Dream

y Receipt
 ervices Delivery

-resident (Banks)

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH

April 5: National Maritime Day

April 6: Dandi Satyagraha Diwas

April 7: World Health Day

April 12: World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day

April 10-16: Railway Week

April 14-20: Fire Brigade Week

April 17: World Hemophilia Day

April 18: World Heritage Day

April 21: National Civil Service Day

April 22: World Earth Day

April 23: World Book and Copyright Day

April 26: World Intellectual Property Day

April 29: International Dance Day

April 30: Anti-Child Labour Day

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH - 61ST NATIONAL FILM AWARDS

The 61st National Film Awards for the year 2013 in the Feature Film category, Non-Feature
Film category and Best Writing on Cinema were announced on 16-April-2014 at a press
conference held at the National Media Centre.

• BEST FEATURE FILM: Ship of Theseus (English-Hindi)

• INDIRA GANDHI AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT FILM OF A DIRECTOR : Fandry (Marathi)

• BEST POPULAR FILM PROVIDING WHOLESOME ENTERTAINMENT: Bhaag Milkha

Bhaag (Hindi)

• NARGIS DUTT AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM ON NATIONAL INTEGRATION:

Thalaimuraigal(Tamil)

• BEST FILM ON SOCIAL ISSUES: Tuhya Dharma Koncha (Marathi)

• BEST CHILDREN’S FILM: Kaphal (Hindi)

• Best Cinematography: Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)

• BEST DIRECTION: Director- Hansal Mehta (Film-Shahid )

• BEST ACTOR: Raj Kumar (Film-Shahid) & Suraj Venjaramoodu (Film-Perariyathavar)

• BEST ACTRESS: Geetanjali Thapa (Film-Liar‘s Dice (Hindi) )

• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Saurabh Shukla (Film-Jolly LLB (Hindi) )

• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amruta Subhash (Film-Astu (Marathi) & Aida El-Kashef
(Film-Ship of Theseus (English-Hindi)

• BEST CHILD ARTIST: Somnath Avghade (Film- Fandry) & Sadhana (Film- Thanga
Meengal)

• BEST MALE PLAYBACK SINGER: Rupankar (Film- Jaatishwar(Bengali))

• BEST FEMALE PLAYBACK SINGER: Bela Shende (Film- Tuhya Dharma Koncha
(Marathi))

• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Rajeev Ravi (Film- Liar‘s Dice (Hindi))

• BEST NON FEATURE FILM: Rangbhoomi (Hindi)

• BEST ENVIRONMENT FILM INCLUDING AGRICULTURE: Foresting Life (Hindi,

Assamese)

• BEST FILM ON SOCIAL ISSUES: Gulabi Gang (Hindi, Bundelkhandi)

2014 ICC World Twenty20 The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was the fifth ICC World
Twenty20competition, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament, that took place in
Bangladesh from 16 March to 6 April 2014, which was won by Sri Lanka.

It was played in three cities — Dhaka,Chittagong and Sylhet.

For the first time, the tournament featured 16 teams.

The International Cricket Council announced Bangladesh as host in 2010.

It was the second consecutive time that an Asian country is hosting this event, as Sri Lanka
hosted the previous tournament in 2012.

Sri Lanka won the tournament, defeating India by 6 wickets in the final at Mirpur.

History

When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB needed another one day competition to
fill its place. Cricketing authorities were looking to boost the game's popularity with the younger
generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship.

It was intended to deliver fast paced, exciting cricket accessible to thousands of fans who were
put off by the longer versions of the game. Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the ECB,
proposed a 20 over per innings game to county chairmen in 2001 and they voted 11–7 in favour
of adopting the new format.

The ICC World Twenty20 (also referred to as the ICC World T20or the World Twenty20) is the
international championship ofTwenty20 cricket. Organised by cricket's governing body, the
International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament consists of 12 teams, comprising all ten ICC
full members and two other ICC members chosen through the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.
The event is generally held every two years, and all matches are accorded Twenty20
International status. The 2014 event will be a host to 16 nations. See the full list below.

The inaugural event, the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, was staged in South Africa. Pakistan were
originally selected to host it. It ran from 11–24 September 2007. The tournament was won by
India, who became the first World T20 Champions after defeating Pakistan by 5 runs in the final
at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

Earth Day 2014: Green Cities

Earth Day 2014 focused on green cities, mobilizing a millions of people to create a sustainable,
healthy environment by greening communities worldwide.

Over the next two years, with a focus on Earth Day 2014, the Green Cities campaign mobilized a
global movement to accelerate this transition.

Every year on April 22, over a billion people in 190 countries take action for Earth Day. From
San Francisco to San Juan, Beijing to Brussels, Moscow to Marrakesh, people plant trees, clean
up their communities, contact their elected officials, and more—all on behalf of the environment.

Earth Day 2014 focused on the unique environmental challenges of our time. As the world‘s
population migrates to cities, and as the bleak reality of climate change becomes increasingly
clear, the need to create sustainable communities is more important than ever. Earth Day 2014
seek to do just that through its global theme: Green Cities.

With smart investments in sustainable technology, forward-thinking public policy, and an

educated and active public, we can transform our cities and forge a sustainable future. Nothing is
more powerful than the collective action of a billion people.

Earth Day Network (EDN) The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million
Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern
environmental movement. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act,
Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed.
Growing out of the first Earth Day, Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners
in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than 1
billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic
observance in the world. Earth Day India India has emerged as a decisive environmental, social,
economic and political power. Building on the success of its 40th Anniversary Earth Day
campaign, Earth Day Network launched a permanent India Program in 2010. Earth Day
Network‘s India Program, headquartered in Kolkata, is engaging partners to build and enhance
the region‘s civic mobilization and leadership in the environmental movement. Projects in India
focus on:
Environmental Education

Women and the Green Economy (WAGE)

Capacity Building and Training

Earth Day in India

MAY 2014

RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

May 1 The deadline for switching to new format bank cheques under the cheque truncation
system (CTS) ended on 30th April 2014.Transactions with cheques that have magnetic ink
character recognition (MICR) and not CTS technology will from 1 may 2014 be delayed, with
banks likely to take four days or more from the date of deposit to credit the amount.

May 6 The Reserve Bank of India allowed minors above the age of 10 to open and operate
savings bank accounts independently.This was to promote the objective of financial inclusion
and to bring uniformity among banks in opening and operating minors’ accounts.

May 7 The RBI has asked banks not to impose penalties on customers who don’t maintain a
minimum balance in any dormant account as part of a consumer protection initiative.

The RBI gave relief to borrowers as it directed banks not to levy any penalty on individual
borrowers for pre-payment of floating loans.

Floating loan products include housing, corporate, vehicle and personal loans. Some banks are
charging pre-payment penalty of up to 2% of the outstanding loans.

May 9 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 9 May 2014 barred Indian companies from raising the
External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) from overseas branches and subsidiaries of Indian
banks for refinance or repayment of the Rupee loans raised from domestic banking system. The
notification of the central bank for changes in the ECB policy comes into force with immediate
effect.

May 12 Easing norms for functioning of overseas branches of Indian banks, the Reserve Bank
has permitted them to offer structured financial and derivative products, a move that would help
in improving their income.

However, these products like Exchange Traded Funds and bond derivatives are not permitted in
the domestic market.
May 13 The RBI panel, headed by Ex-Chairman of Axis Bank, P. J. Nayak, said to dilute the
government stake in public sector banks to below 50 % as the 26 public sector banks (PSBs)
suffer due to several ‘externally imposed constraints’ like dual regulation by the RBI and the
Finance Ministry, and external vigilance by agencies such as the CVC and CAG, among others.

May 15 Raghuram Rajan, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that
plastic currency notes will be launched in 2015 after field trials.

May 17 The committee to review Governance of Boards of Banks in India on 13 May 2014
submitted its report to Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The committee was constituted under the
chairmanship of P. J. Nayak. He is a former Chairman and CEO of Axis Bank.

May 21 Bharatiya Mahila Bank included in second schedule to RBI Act, 1934

May 21 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made easy the gold import norms under the 20: 80
Scheme.

May 22 RBI extends loan tenure for exporters to 10 years. The Reserve Bank of India allowed
banks to provide loans to exporters with tenures of up to 10 years.

May 25 In 2014, Foreign Exchange Reserves increased by 15.5 billion US dollar - RBI

NATION THIS MONTH

May 1 The Union Cabinet on 1 May 2014 approved the proposal for setting up of the Polavaram
Project Authority (PPA). It will be set up for the execution of the Polavaram irrigation project.

May 7 Supreme Court of India banned use of bulls for Jallikattu (bull-fighting) events or
bullock-cart races. This ban is imposed across the country. As court's verdict said that even bulls
have rights against torture and hoped that the parliament would elevate the rights of animals to
that of constitutional rights.

May 9 Supreme Court of India ordered CBI inquiry into multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.
Court asked CBI to investigate chit fund scam. The apex court asked the West Bengal
government to hand over all Saradha chit fund scam cases to CBI. It also said that the CBI
willinvestigate all cases against 44 chit fund companies in Odisha.

May 9 Chairman of Railway Board Mr. Arunendra Kumar released a book entitled "India
Junction – A Window to the Nation".

May 12 The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Whistleblowers
Protection Bill 2011. With this assent, the Whistleblowers Bill, 2011 became Whistleblowers
Protection Act, 2011. Whistleblowers Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 11th December 2011 and
in Rajya Sabha it was passed on 21st February 2014.
May 14 The Odisha government has signed an agreement with the TiE Silicon Valley as part of
its efforts to develop the state as an IT hub and attract US investment.

May 14 The Union Home Ministry extended the ban on LTTE for five years. Earlier ban was
imposed on LTTE in May 2012.

May 14 Asia's biggest milk brand Amul announced to set up a dairy processing plant in
Varanasi. The plant will initially process five lakh litres per day with the capacity to double the
production.

May 16 Political party BJP has shown a landslide victory in Loksabha Elections by Winning 282
seats out of total 543 seats in India. It has been emerged as strongest party as other main Party
INC was able to get only 44 seats.

May 16 The Supreme Court of India appointed three-member panel headed by Justice (retd)
Mukul Mudgal to further probe the IPL spot fixing scandal involving Narayanswamy Srinivasan
and 12 others. Other two members of the probing panel are additional Solicitor General L
Nageshwar Rao and advocate Niloy Dutta.

May 18 President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee dissolved the 15th Lok Sabha. President
dissolved the Lok Sabha on the advice of outgoing Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh who resigned on 17 May 2014.

May 19 The Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) on 19th May 2014, upheld a Rs. 630-
crore fine on reality giant DLF imposed by fair trade regulator in 2011 on a complaint that it had
imposed arbitrary and unfair conditions on buyers in some group housing projects in Gurgaon.

May 21 21st May 2014 was observed as Anti-Terrorism Day throughout the country. May 24
Malavath Poorna of Andhra became youngest woman to climb Mount Everest.

May 26 Narendra Modi took oath as 15th Prime Minister of India, with 24 Cabinet and 21
Ministers of State.

May 27 The Union Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi constituted Special Investigating
Team (SIT) on Black Money. The decision was taken to comply with the Supreme Court
Judgement on Black Money. SIT will be headed by Former judge of Supreme Court Justice MB
Shah and Justice Arijit Pasayat will be its Vice Chairman.

May 28 PM Mr. Narendra Modi created a new Ministry of Skill development and
Entrepreneurship. It was created recognizing the importance of skill development in India.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

May 1 India became third largest economy in 2011: World Bank

May 4 Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), a newly created class for overseas investors, will be
able to invest up to $81 billion (close to Rs 4 lakh crore) in government and corporate debt
securities in India.

May 6 Surging Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) have rendered public sector banks such as State
of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Canara Bank unfit to take deposits from non-
government Provident Funds (PF). As per the current rules governing investments by PFs, non-
government Provident Funds (PF) are barred from being deposited in a commercial bank in case
the NPAs of that bankexceed 2% of net advances.

May 8 RuPay, India’s indigenous card payment network launched by President Pranab
Mukherjee is developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

May 8 The market regulator SEBI exempted Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways from making an
open offer in the Jet deal. In its decision, the market regulator termed that purchase of 24% stake
of Jet Airways by Etihad Airways doesn't amount to a change in ownership in Jet Airways. Thus
it doesn't need to conduct a tender offer for shares in the domestic carrier.

The Jet-Etihad deal is the biggest merger and acquisition deal in India’s aviation sector.

May 10 El Nino effect may shrink India’s GDP by 1.75%: Assocham

May 13 India will overtake Japan to become the world’s third largest oil consumer behind the
US and China by 2025, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

May 16 As per the Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base year 2004-
05 for the month of March 2014 released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of the Ministry
of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the industrial production remained
negative for the second consecutive month, shrinking 0.5% in March 2014 due to poor
performance in manufacturing, especially capital goods. Union Government of India on 30 May
2014 signed a credit agreement of 24 million US dollar with World Bank for additional financing
for Uttarakhand Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (URWSSP).

May 19 The GDP rate of India is likely to accelerate to 6.8 per cent over the next two years as
per a report published by Morgan Stanley.

May 21 India’s current account deficit (CAD) is likely to narrow to 2.3 per cent of GDP this
fiscal as the new Government is expected to focus on exports and reduce its dependence on
imports, as per the report of Citigroup.

May 22 Foreign direct investment into India grew 8 per cent year-on-year to $24.3 billion in
2013-14, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) data. In 2012-
13, FDI totalled $22.4 billion.
May 25 Foreign investments into the Indian economy are expected to more than double, with
inflows from both foreign direct investment and foreign institutional investors set to surge above
$60 billion in the current financial year compared with $29 billion in fiscal 2013-14, an
Assocham study.

May 26 India’s current account deficit fell sharply to $1.2 billion, or to a mere 0.2 per cent of
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in the fourth quarter of 2013-14. CAD was pegged at $18.1
billion, or at 3.6 per cent of GDP, in the same quarter of the pervious fiscal.

May 27 India's CAD to rise to 2.6% of GDP in FY15: Goldman

May 27 Special Investigation Team is set up to unearth black money chaired by Justice MB
Shah.

May 27 The country’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves fell by $2.26 billion to $ 312.65 billion.

May 30 Union Government of India on 30 May 2014 signed a credit agreement of 165 million
US dollar with World Bank for Maharashtra Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme
(MRWSSP).

May 30 The Union Government of India on 30 May 2014 signed a credit agreement of 121.20
million US dollar from the World Bank for the Uttarakhand Decentralized Watershed
Development Project (UDWDP).

May 30 Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on 30 May 2014 released the Provisional and
Quarterly Estimate of National Income for the financial year 2013-14. It pegged Indian
economy’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate at 4.7 percent in 2013-14.

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

May 1 The world's highest tunnel for high-speed trains in northwest China became operational at
an altitude of 3,607.4 metres. With altitudes of up to 3,607.4 metres, the tunnel passes through
the Qilian Mountains with two sections and a bridge. The 16.3-km-long was completely linked
up, operationalising the line linking Gansu Province and Xinjiang provinces.

May 6 Indian construction major, Punj Llyod won a 211 million US dollar expressway project in
Yemen. The Ministry of Public Works and Highways of Yemen confirmed the construction of a
42 km, 2x3 lane dual carriageway projects between Doraigh and Noubat Dokaim. The project is
funded by Saudi Development Fund.

May 9 World’s first Electric E-Fan Aircraft Completes its Maiden Flight in Bordeaux, France.
Toulouse-based Airbus made it.
May 10 India-born Hinduja brothers, Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja, have emerged as the
richest men in Britain with a net wealth of 11.9 billion pounds (about $20 billion). Their current
fortune is up by 1.3 billion pounds during last year to make them on first spot.

May 12 British museum - Imperial War Museum launched online archive of World War-I
stories.

May 12 Major General Kristin Lund of Norway became the first-ever woman to head a UN
Peacekeeping Force. She was appointed as the Force Commander of UN Peacekeeping Force in
Cyprus (UNFICYP) on 12 May 2014 to mark its 50th anniversary in 2014.

May 13 Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sentenced to six years in prison on charges
of bribery by a court in Tel Aviv.

May 14 Actor filmmaker Kamal Haasan led the Indian delegation at the 67th Cannes
International Film Festival inaugurated in Cannes, France on 14 May 2014. The Festival will be
held from 14 to 25 May 2014.Kamal Haasan is chairman of Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Media and Entertainment Committee-South.

May 20 General Prayuth Chan-ocha, Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Army, declared to

impose martial law in Thailand.

May 21 WADA added two noble gases Xenon (Xe) and Argon (Ar) in the list of banned
substances list. Xenon and Argon gases were banned after claims that athletes can use it through
inhalation to enhance their performance, illegally.

May 22 The 2014 edition of the "SIMBEX 14" series of annual bilateral naval exercises between
the Indian Navy (IN) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), is being conducted in the
Andaman Sea from 22 May to 28 May 14.

May 22 As per Ministry of New and Renewable Energy release , The Agence Francaise de
Developpement (AFD) is extending a Line of Credit (LoC) of Euro 100 million to M/s Indian
Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) to be utilized for financing Renewable
Energy and Energy Efficiency projects in India.

May 22 The Agence Francaise de Developement (AFD) extended Line of Credit (LoC) of 100
million euro to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA). The line of credit
was offered by AFD for utilizing the financing of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
projects in India. It was extended for a tenure of 15 years and without any guarantee from
Government of India.

May 22 China on 21 May 2014 signed a 30-year deal to buy Russian natural gas worth 400
billion US dollars in a financial year. The deal was signed during the Russian President Vladimir
Putin visit to China.
May 25 Russia and China on 22 May 2014 exercised their veto power against a draft resolution
which was intended to refer the Syrian civil war to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The
resolution was double vetoed by the Russia and China for the fourth time.

May 27 Mauritius on 27 May 2014 decided to provide automatic tax information exchange to
India. The decision was announced by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam after
his meeting with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

May 29 Google launched a service for Europeans named right to be forgotten. Through the
service, Europeans can request the web pages to remove links that contains material related to
their personal lives.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

May 4 Panamanian Vice-President Juan Carlos Varela won the presidential election. He will be
assuming office from 1st July 2014.

(Panama is situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America.)

May 5 On 5th May 2014, Prime minister of Slovenia, Alenka Bratusek handed in her resignation
to parliament after losing the battle for the leadership of the Positive Slovenia party more than a
week ago. Now the President will appoint a new prime minister within 30 days.

(Alenka Bratusek was the first women Prime Minister of Slovenia, she assumed the post of PM
on 23rd March 2013.)

May 13 Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag's name was cleared by government as next
Army Chief after General Bikram Singh retires on July 31st 2014.

May 14 Justice BS Chauhan, the Judge of the Supreme Court of India was appointed as the
Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT). Justice Chauhan will succeed
Justice NP Singh.

May 13 UN Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi submitted his resignation to UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon in New York. He will relinquish the office on 31th May 2014.

May 16 Mr. Ashwin B. Pandya, has been appointed as the Chairman of Central Water
Commission & Ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India.

May 17 Prime Minister of India Shri Manmohan Singh submitted his resignation to the President
of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee. Manmohan Singh is the third longest serving Prime Minister of
India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. His resignation was accepted by the President.
May 17 After the poor performance of ruling party JD(U) of Bihar, Bihar's Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar has submitted his resignation to Governor D Y Patil.

May 18 Veteran Congress leader Mr. Nabam Tuki sworn-in as the eighth Chief Minister of
Arunachal Pradesh for the second consecutive term.

May 19 PMEAC Chairman Chakravarthi Rangarajan resigned. He sent his resignation to the
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

May20 Mr. Jitan Ram Manjhi was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Bihar in place of Nitish
Kumar.

May 21 Mr. Pawan Chamling was sworn in as Sikkim Chief Minister for the record fifth
consecutive time.

May 21 Mr. Naveen Patnaik was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Odisha for fourth consecutive
term. Mr. Naveen Patnaik is president of The Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

May 21 Anandiben sworn-in as first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat

May 25 TR Zeliang sworn-in as new Chief Minister of Nagaland

May 26 Ahmed Maitiq sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Libya

May 28 Former TRAI chief Nripendra Misra appointed as Principal Secretary to PM Narendra
Modi

May 29 Mukul Rohatgi appointed as new Attorney-General of India

May 29 World Bank Group Appoints Hiroshi Naka as Vice President and Auditor General of
World Bank

May 29 President appointed Narasimhan as common Governor of Telangana and Andhra

Pradesh

May 30 Former IB chief Ajit Doval appointed as new National Security Adviser

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

May 1 President of India and the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces of India Pranab
Mukherjee conferred one Kirti Chakra and twelve Shaurya Chakras to Forces Personnel for
displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme devotion to duty at a solemn
ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Two of the Shaurya Chakra was given posthumously.
May 4 2014 UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize won by Turkish journalist
Ahmet Sik. Ahmet Sik is an investigative journalist. He received the award worth of 25000 US
dollars by the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova in Paris on 2nd May 2014.

May 9 Indian-American cardiologist Mitul Kadakia has been granted the 2014 Gregory Braden
Memorial Fellow of the Year Award by the Society for

Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Foundation.

May 9 Caparo Group bagged the International Business of the Year award 2014. This award was
given at the Asian Business Awards Midlands in Birmingham. Caparo Group was founded by
NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul. May 9 A documentary film, Silent
Screams – India's Fight Against Rape won three awards at the 2014 New York Festivals
International TV and Film Awards. This documentary film was directed by Pria Somiah.
May 12 the President of India Mr. Pranab Mukherjee conferred National Florence Nighangle
Awards 2014 to 35 nursing personnel from across the country for their meritorious services at
Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.The award is conferred every year on 12 May as the world on
this day observes International Nurse's Day.
May 19 The former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has been awarded an honorary
degree by the University of Edinburgh.
May 25 Film Winter Sleep honoured with Palme d'Or Award at 67th Cannes Film Festival
May 29 Vishwanath Tripathi received Vyas Samman 2013
SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH
May 1 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games are to be held from 16th to 28th August 2014 in
Nanjing, China. The games are international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers.
The subsequent Winter Youth Olympics will be held in 2016 in Lillehammer, Norway.
May 1 Facebook has launched FB Newswire, with the aim to make it easier for journalists and
newsrooms to find, share and embed newsworthy content from the popular social networking
website in their work. The FB Newswire is a Facebook
page of hand-selected and journalist-verified news stories from across Facebook's platform.
May 1 Trap Shooter Manavjit Sandhu ranked at third spot in ISSF World Ranking.
May 3 India's Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black clinched their first WTA title
of the season beating Eva Hrdinova and Valeria Solovyeva in the women doubles final of the
Portugal Open tennis. May 4 Martin Kilzan won
the Munich ATP tournament to claim second title of his career. Martin Kilzan defeated Fabio
Fognini by 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Martin Kilzan is from Slovakia
May 4 Indian Cricket Player Virat Kohli has reclaimed the No. 1 position in the latest ICC Player
Rankings for ODI batsmen. May 6 England's Snooker Player Mark Selby won World Snooker
Championship 2014 held in Sheffield, England. Mark Selby defeated Ronnie O Sullivan with 18-
14. By this win he earned his first World Title and also became World No. 1 Rank holder in
Snooker.
May 8 Waqar Younis, who is former fast bowler of Pakistan, has been appointed national coach
for two years. Waqar Younis will be joining his new role in June 2014.
May 10 Rafel Nadal and former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova have bagged 2014 Mutua Madrid
Masters titles. Rafael Nadal defeated his final opponent Japanese Kei Nishikori, while Maria
Sharapova defeated her opponent Simona Halep. May 15 AIBA
approved a new body Boxing India, as the provisional National federation to represent the India.
May 15 Former Zimbabwe batsman Grant Flower was named as the batting coach of Pakistan
cricket team for two years. May 18 Serena Williams of US won the Women's Italian Tennis
Open 2014 for the third time. She defeated World No. 11 Sara Errani of Italy by 6-3, 6-0 in the
final held in Rome, Italy.
Among men Novak Djokovic of Sebia won the men's Italian Tennis Open 2014. He defeated
Rafael Nadal of Spain by 4-6, 6-3 and 6-3 in the final.
May 22 The Italian Open 2014 was held in Rome Italy from 11 May 2014 to 18 May 2014. It is
red clay tennis tournament after French Tournament. It is also known as Rome Masters or
Italians Championships. May 24 Japan bagged
AFC Women's Asian Football Cup 2014
May 24 Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid by 4-1 at Lisbon to win their 10th UEFA
Champions League Football title. It is their first win since 2002.
May 25 China won Uber Cup 2014 of badminton. China team defeated the Japan team 3-1 in the
final held at Siri Fort Complex in New Delhi.
May 29 Nico Rosberg of Germany, Mercedes driver won Monaco Grand Prix of Formula One.
DEFENCE NEWS THIS MONTH
May 4 First indigenously developed air-to-air missile Astra successfully test fired from a Sukhoi-
30MKI fighter jet over the Arabian Sea off Goa. Astra is India's first Beyond Visual Range
(BVR) Air-to-Air missile which is designed and developed indigenously by the DRDO.
May 8 Pakistan successfully test-fired Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile. Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile is
a short range surface-to-surface Ballistic Missile. It is also capable of carrying nuclear and
conventional weapons up to 290 kilometers. May 25 Indian Air Force (IAF)
conducted the tests of Supersonic Akash air defence missiles which successfully intercepted the
targets.
EULOGIES THIS MONTH
May 3 Nobel Laureate economist Gary Becker passed away at age of 93 due to illness in
Chicago on 3rd May 2014. He was professor of economics and sociology at the University of
Chicago.

May 4 tennis player Elena Baltacha passed away due to liver cancer. She was 30 years old. She
was also Former British No 1 tennis player.

May 9 Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Janardhan Reddy passed away at the age of 80.
N Janardhan Reddy, a sitting Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh, served as chief
minister from December, 1990 to October, 1992.
May 16 Russi Mody, Former Chairman and Managing Director of Tata Steel passed away in
Kolkata on 16th May 2014, He was 96 years old.

May 18 Veteran nuclear scientist and Padma Bhushan recipient, N Srinivasan passed away due
to cardiac arrest on 18th May 2014.He was 84 years old.

May 19 Sir Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula One world champion passed away at his home
in Australia after a long illness. He was 88 years old. He was also known as Black Jack.

May 29 Father of Malaysian hockey Sultan Azlan Shah passed away at 86

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

May 1 The Supreme Court of India reconstituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to monitor
the probe into the black money case. To provide guidance and direction to the SIT in
investigation of all cases of black money in the country and abroad, the Court appointed retired
judge MB Shah as its Chairman and retired Judge Arijit Pasayat as the Vice Chairman.

May 1 The frequency of clearance of cheque was reduced from three sessions in a week to two
days (Mondays and Fridays only) in Chennai.

Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started the process of migration to CTS cheques in New
Delhi and Chennai from 24 September 2011.

May 2 Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati was ranked at the 87th position among the top
100 world universities – under 50 years of age – published by London-based Times Higher
Education (THE) magazine.

May 2 Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India conferred Gallantry Awards on 55 personnel for
their distinguished service and bravery. The awards were presented during a ceremony held at
Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

May 3 World Press Freedom Day was observed on 3 May 2014 across the world. The theme of
2014 year is: Media Freedom for a Better Future: Shaping the post-2015 Development Agenda.

May 4 The Constitutional Bench Supreme Court of India held that prior sanction is not required
from the government to probe the senior bureaucrats on corruption charges. The decision also
included officers above the rank of Joint Secretary. In its direction the apex court said that there
cannot be any discrimination at times when it comes to prosecuting a Criminal Act.

May 5 Delhi Government launched Travel planning Portal Tripigator.com in Partnership with
Incredible India.
Note: Three IITians Mukul Garg, Piyush Grover and Karteek Narumanchi have come together to
help the Incredible India site of the tourism ministry through their own tripigator.com.

Tripigator.com is a travel planning engine. The website was selected as the official travel planner
by the Ministry of Tourism and will also be available on Incredible India website.

May 5 A book entitled A Stamp is Born authored by C. R. Pakrashi was released by Vice
President of India, M Hamid Ansari. The book gives a graphic account of history and evolution
of postage stamps.

May 6 Scientists have engineered a bacterium whose genetic material includes an added pair of
DNA letters or bases that is not found in the nature. Cells of this unique bacterium can replicate
the unnatural DNA bases more or less normally for as long as the molecular building blocks are
supplied to it.

May 8 The Chief Justice of India Rajender Mal Lodha constituted a new bench to hear the
Sahara case The new bench comprises of Justice TS Thakur and Justice AK Sikri.

May 9 Caparo Group won the International Business of the Year award 2014 at the Asian
Business Awards Midlands in Birmingham.

May 10 Scientists of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California have
reproduced the processes that occur in the atmosphere of the red giant star and lead to the
formation of planet-forming interstellar dust. The complete work was performed on Earth itself
and the information of reproduction of the process was notified by NASA in its release of 7 May
2014.

May 11 Maria Sharapova of Russia won the Mutua Madrid Open Tennis title. To win her 1st
Madrid Open title, Sharapova defeated the Romanian Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the finals.

May 12 Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India gave his assent to the Whistleblowers
Protection Bill 2011. With this assent, the Whistleblowers Bill, 2011 became Whistleblowers
Protection Act, 2011. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 11 December 2011 and by Rajya
Sabha on 21 February 2014.

May 14 Six workers injured after hot water spill from a valve at Kudankulam Nuclear Power
Plant.

May 15 Grant Flower, the former Zimbabwe batsman was named as the batting coach of
Pakistan cricket team for two years. He will join the Pakistan side on 1 August 2014 just before

the Sri Lanka series of the team.

May 15 Shah Rukh Khan became the first Indian to feature on the cover page of the business
magazine Forbes Middle East.
May 17 Sistema Shyam Teleservices in the second week of May 2014 launched a messaging app
for low-end CDMA devices called MBuddy.
May 18 The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) added two noble gases Xenon (Xe) and
Argon (Ar) in the list of banned/prohibited substances list.
May 19 Meghalaya High Court in its historic judgement in Shillong said that the nationals of
Bangladesh, who settled in the state before 24 March 1971 should be treated as Indians. The
Court also ordered that they should be enrolled in the voters list.

May 20 Rajiv Mathur, 64, the former Intelligence Bureau Chief took over as the new Chief
Information Commissioner (CIC). His oath to the office was administered by Pranab Mukherjee,
the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. May 21 One of the monuments in
Gujarat Rani ki Vav (The Queen's Stepwell) will be digitally recreated in Scotland, United
Kingdom under the project called The Scottish Ten.
May 21 K. Rajendra Kumar was appointed as new Director General of Police of Jammu and
Kashmir. He succeeded Ashok Prasad.
May 22 US President Barack Obama announced to keep 9800 troops in Afghanistan till the end
of 2016. The announcement was made in Washington. The final withdrawal of US combat forces
should be in December 2014 but US extended it for two years to withdraw the troops from
Afghanistan fully.
May 22 After 25 years, Olive Ridley Conservation Programme was resumed in Tamil Nadu by
Wildlife wing of the Forest Department. Department has set up a hatchery at Besant Nagar.
May 23 Japanese national, Hiroshi Naka was appointed as the Vice President and Auditor
General of World Bank. May 24 Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won Monaco Grand
Prix of Formula One. This was his second victory of the season and fifth of his career.
May 25 Malavath Poorna, a 13-years and 11-month old girl of Andhra Pradesh became the
youngest woman to climb the Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.
May 26 The 8th European Parliamentary Election 2014 was held from 22 May 2014 to 25 May
2014. The turnout in the elections averaged 43.1 percent, a shade higher than the 2009 turnout at
43 percent. May 26 PM Narendra Modi created
a new Ministry of Skill development and Entrepreneurship. It was created recognizing the
importance of skill development in India.
May 27 Exhibition on 100 years of World War I started at the German Historical Museum,
Berlin. The exhibition will run until the end of 2014.
May 27 Sachin Tendulkar was selected as the goodwill ambassador of 35th National Games that
is scheduled to be held in Kerala from January-February 2015. The games will be held in seven
cities of the state.
May 28 Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced to buy a majority stake of about 78 percent
in Network18 Media and Investments for 4000 crore rupees.
May 28 UN secretary General Ban Ki-moon awarded the prestigious Dag Hammarskjold medal
to the eight Indian soldiers, who lost their lives in peacekeeping operations in 2013. They were
awarded along with the other 98 UN peacekeepers who lost their lives during service in 2013.
May 28 Supersonic Akash air defence missiles successfully intercepted the targets. Indian Air
Force (IAF) conducted the tests and it will be the first service to induct the Akash missiles in
their inventory. May 29 The Vice President
of India Shri Hamid Ansari presented the Malti Devi Gyan Peeth Puraskar-2014. The award was
given to fifteen outstanding teachers from girls higher secondary schools in Punjab.
May 29 The US Air Force deployed two Global Hawks on Misawa airbase in Northern Japan.
Global Hawk is an advanced long-distance surveillance drones
May 29 Two Indian-Americans Sriram J Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe jointly won the prestigious
Scripps National Spelling Bee. This was for the first time since 1962 that Scripps National
Spelling Bee ended in a tie. May 30 Union
Government of India signed a credit agreement of 165 million US dollar with World Bank for
Maharashtra Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (MRWSSP).
May 30 Union Government of India signed a credit agreement of 24 million US dollar with
World Bank for additional financing for Uttarakhand Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project
(URWSSP). May 30 Jamil Mahuad, the
former President of Ecuador was sentenced for 12 years in jail for embezzlement by a court of
Ecuador. The court rule for the exiled ex-President come two-days after Interpol issued an
international warrant for his arrest.
May 31 The private space travel firm Space X unveiled its new manned Dragon V2 Capsule to
take astronauts into Low-Earth orbit and beyond. SpaceX stands for Short for Space Exploration
Technologies Corp. May 31 Central Statistical
Organisation (CSO) released the Provisional and Quarterly Estimate of National Income for the
financial year 2013-14. It pegged Indian economy’s Gross Domestic Growth (GDP) growth rate
at 4.7 percent in 2013-14. ABBREVIATION IN NEWS
DICGC : Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation OLTAS : On‐line Tax
Accounting System is used for Direct Taxes TIN : Tax Information Network IMPS : Interbank
Mobile Payment Service BSBDA : Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account FCNR(B) : Foreign
Currency Non Resident Bank TARC : Tax Administration Reform Commission ITEs : Intra‐
Group Transactions and Exposures LCR : Liquidity Coverage Ratio NSFR : Net Stable Funding
Ratio REER : Real Effective Exchange Rate LRMT : Liquidity Risk Monitoring Tools CBS :
Core Banking Solution DEAF : Depositor Education and Awareness Fund CRAR : Capital to
Risk‐weighted Assets Ratio ECB : External Commercial Borrowings SWIFT : Society for
Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication FSLRC : Financial Sector Legislative
Reforms Commission MIBOR : Mumbai Inter Bank Offer Rate
LIBOR : London Inter Bank Offer Rate LAF : Liquidity Adjustment Facility GIRO :
Government Internal Revenue Order EEFC : Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency FRBMA :
Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act ALM : Asset Liability Management AMFI :
Association of Mutual Fund in India TIEA : Tax Information Exchange Agreement CAR : Cash
Adequacy Ratio CCEA : Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs CECA : Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement CEPA : Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
DTAA : Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement ECBs : External Commercial Borrowings
EEFC : Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency EFSF : European Financial Stability Facility
FEMA : Foreign Exchange Management Act FII : Foreign Institutional Investor FINO :
Financial Inclusion Network Operation FIPB : Foreign Investment Promotion board FSLRC :
Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission FTA : Free trade agreement

GAAR : General anti avoidance rule GSLV : Geo‐Synchronous Launch Vehicle MSF : Marginal
Standing Facility NBFC : Non Banking Finance Companies NCTC : National Counter Terrorism
Centre NEFT : National Electronic Funds Transfer NSG : Nuclear Suppliers Group PPP : Public
Private Partnership & Purchasing Power parity PSLV : Polar Satellite Launch vehicle RTGS :
Real Time Gross Settlement SLR : Statutory Liquidity Ratio TAPI : Turkmenistan‐Afghanistan‐
Pakistan‐India QFI : Qualified Foreign Investors VVPAT : Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail
TIEA : Tax Information Exchange Agreement IMPORTANT DAYS May 1 : International
Labour Day/Maharashtra Day May 3 : World Press Freedom Day/International Energy May 8 :
World Red Cross Day/World Thalessemia Day May 9 : Victory Day May 11 : World
Technology Day May 12 : International Nurses Day May 13 : National Solidarity Day May 14 :
World Migratory Day May 17 : World Telecommunication Day May 21 : Anti Terrorism Day
May 24 : Common Wealth Day May 29 : Mount Everest Day May 31 : Anti Tobacco Day

JUNE 2014

RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

June 3: Reserve Bank of India kept key rates unchanged. While the repo rate was maintained at
8% and reverse repo rate at 7%, the SLR was cut by 50 basis points.

June 9: KYC norms for opening bank account have been eased by RBI. Now single documentary
proof of address can be used to open a bank account.

June 17: RBI has tightened the money laundering rules for money transfer companies and has
empowered their designated directors to penalise offerders who failed to comply with the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

June 18: RBI has directed banks to disclose sector-wise advances in the Notes to Accounts to the
financial statements from financial year 2014-15 onwards

June 23: RBI directed all banks and financial institutions to provide information and documents
to the Special Investigation Team. Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the chairmanship of
former Justice M.B. Shah was constituted by the Union government.

June 23: Moving to a time-defined process, the RBI fixed schedules for various regulatory
approvals, including grant of private bank licence, and also released a citizens' charter for its
various services like clearing of transactions.
June 24: Moving to a time-defined process, the RBI fixed schedules for various regulatory
approvals, including grant of private bank licence.

June 24: RBI has permitted the NBFCs to act as BCs of banks with an aim of spreading financial
inclusion. NBFCs-ND is only eligible to act as banks‟ BCs.

June 27: RBI in the context of shadow banking, has said that the country's top ten corporate
outdo the top ten banks in treasury income.

June 29: India and the US have agreed to implement Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act
(FATCA), a US law that targets tax non-compliance by US taxpayers with foreign accounts.

NATION THIS MONTH

June 2: Prime Minister of India abolished existing nine Empowered Group of Ministers and
twenty-one Group of Ministers to empower the Ministers and Departments.

June 2: Telangana became the 29th State of India with Hyderabad as its capital.

June 3: At least 18 Indian pilgrims were killed when the overloaded bus rolled about 100 meters
before plunging into a river in western Nepal

June 4: West Bengal and Maharashtra governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding on

victim of trafficking under which they will identify and repatriate victims of trafficking.

June 5: Central Information Commission ruled that the private schools come under the
provisions of Right to Information (RTI) Act.

June 6: Sumitra Mahajan was unanimously elected as Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha. She
replaced Meira Kumar and became the second women presiding officer of the Lok Sabha.

June 6: The Indian Army launched the Army Veterans Grievance Handling (AVGH) Portal. It is
internet based web portal. It will facilitate the large fraternity of veterans and their dependents to
take up their grievances with the concerned agencies.

June 7: Kudankulam becomes India's first nuclear power plant to generate 1,000 MW.

June 8: First metro service is inaugurated in Mumbai.

June 8: 25 engineering students from Hyderabad were washed away in Beas River near Pandoh
Dam in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.

June 9: India successfully test-fired the 290 km-range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise
missile from the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in
Karnataka.
June 9: Project Seabird Phase II in Karwar, Karnataka got environment clearance by the Union
Ministry of Environment and Forests.

June 10: Union MoRTH & Union MoHFW signed a MoU to provide HIV preventive services to
transport sector workers

June 11: Kerala Legislative Assembly passed resolution seeking centre‟s mediation and
presidential reference to Supreme Court on Mullaperiyar dam issue.

June 12: Union Govt gives permission to increase the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam by 17
meters.

June 12: UPSC has declared the final result of the Civil Services Examination 2013.Jaipur's
Gaurav Agrawal has got the first rank in the exam.

June 12: AirAsia Airlines commenced its operations in India as domestic airline service.

June 13: A gas leak following an explosion at a steel plant in Bhilai, Chattisgarh left at least five
people dead.

June 13: India became a member of select group of 17 countries who are permanent signatories
of Washington Accord.

June 14: Narendra Modi dedicated India‟s largest warship INS Vikramaditya to the nation.

June 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his two day visit in Bhutan.

June 16: India‟s first One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) named Gauravi was launched in Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh .

June 17: Governor of Uttar Pradesh BL Joshi resigned from his post.

June 18: Union Cabinet appointed Ex-Chief Justice of India (CJI) R C Lahoti as arbitrator in
Vodafone tax disputes case.

June 19: Union Cabinet approved constitution of a Supervisory Committee on the Mullaperiyar
Dam to look into the issues of safety and restoration of the dam.

June 20: Government has reconstituted 6 Cabinet Committees of which 4 will be headed by
Narendra Modi and remaining two by Rajnath Singh.

June 20: Railway Ministry hikes the rail passenger fares by 14.2 percent and freight rates by 6.5
percent, which will be implemented from June 25.

June 24: Project Mausam: Maritime Routes and Cultural Landscapes presented by Secretary of
Culture, Ravindra Singh at 38th session of World Heritage Committee.
June 25: Home Ministry rejected MEA proposal to grant visa-on-arrival facility to Bangladeshi
nationals and visa- free entry to people under age 18 and over 65.

June 26: Union Cabinet has approved an in principle MoU between India and China to set up
industrial parks in the country.

June 27: Union Government gave a deadline of three months to States to implement the National
Food Security Act.

June 28: 11 people have died and around 20 are still feared trapped under the debris of an 11-
storey under-construction building that collapsed near Chennai.

June 29: Annual Ratha Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath began in Puri.

June 30: India has launched five foreign satellites from four countries on board PSLV-C23
rocket which placed them in orbit from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

June 2: India became the 2nd largest exporter of global textiles after China.

June 3: IICA & Grant Thornton India signed MoU to develop capacity of Indian companies to
implement the CSR Rules laid in Section 135 of Companies Act 2013.

June 4: The Services sector in India expanded for the first time in 11 months. This was revealed
by the HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index.

June 9: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) reduced the rate
of interest by 20 basis points (bps).

June 10: GEP report of World Bank has revised down the economic growth forecast of
developing world in 2014 to 4.8 percent from 5.3 percent.

June 15: The Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) headed by Parthasarathi Shome
submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Finance.

June 16: To facilitate easier finance to SMEs, an Online Finance Facilitation Centre was launced
by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

June 16: SEBI issued new norms for public issuance of debt securities.

June 17: Uma Bharti, the Union Water Resources Minister launched a nationwide tree plantation
drive and public awareness programme to save rivers.

June 21: Union Finance Ministry accepted the recommendations of Arvind Mayaram Committee
on Rationalising the FDI/FPI definition. Arvind Mayaram is the Union Finance Secretary.
June 23: Government has decided to provide interest-free loan of 4400 crore rupees to cash-
starved sugar mills.

June 24: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released its World
Investment Report 2014. The Report reveals an encouraging trend: after a decline in 2012, global
foreign direct investment flows rose by 9 per cent in 2013, with growth expected to continue in
the years to come.

June 24: World Bank released a report on power sector reforms in India. The report titled More
Power to India: The Challenge of Distribution was released in New Delhi.

June 25: The Union Government granted Navratna status to Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and
National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC).

June 26: Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry delicensed manufacturing of defence items.
Almost 55 percent of the defence items have been removed from the compulsory licensing list.

June 27: Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry upgraded the National Industrial
Classification -1987 (NIC-1987) to National Industrial Classification-2008 (NIC-2008).

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

June 1: Last US prisoner of war in Afghanistan Bowe Berghadi was freed in swap deal with
Taliban. He was freed in exchange of five detainees who was held at the U. S. military –
detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

June 2: The Palestinian National Unity Government of Hamas and Fatah was sworn-in by the
Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas.

June 3: Israel announced a series of resolutions against the new Palestinian Unity government.

June 3: US President Barack Obama has US Security plan of 1 billion US dollar for Eastern
Europe amid an East-West showdown over Ukraine.

June 4: Pakistan has increased its defence budget by 11 percent for fiscal year 2014-15 that starts
on 1 July 2014.

June 4: Russia lifted arm embargo on Pakistan.

June 4: President Bashar al-Assad of Syria won the Presidential election for the third time for
seven-year term.

June 5: Queen of Britain announced to introduce a new legislation bill Recall of Member of
Parliament (M.P.) Bill.
June 5: Pope Francis has replaced an all Italian board of Financial Information Authority which
is Vatican's financial watchdog agency.

June 6: Canada‟s Quebec became first province of the country to adopt legislation Right-to-Die.
It allows doctor-assisted death to terminally ill patients.

June 6: Lithuania to become 19th country to adopt Euro as currency from 1 January 2015.

June 7: UN General Assembly announced an award in honour of Nelson Mandela.

June 7: India and China decided to inject new momentum in their economic ties with both
countries pushing for exploring untapped opportunities.

June 8: Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayta Samiti (BMVSS) will provide Jaipur Foot to 1000
amputees in Afghanistan free of cost.

June 8: Pope Francis hosted Mideast prayer in Vatican City with the president of Israel and the
Palestinian Authority.

June 9: Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez was crowned as Miss USA 2014.

June 10: Britain published the world's first Modern Slavery Bill.

June 10: Reuven Ruby Rivlin was elected as 10th president of Israel.

June 10: Iraqi Prime Minister announced state of emergency in Iraq after jihadist militants
captured second largest city in the country, Mosul

June 11: Russia agreed on the Indian Nuclear Liability Law and paved a way for signing a
contract for unit 3 & 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.

June 12: Sam Kahamba Kutesa was elected as the president of United Nations General
Assembly.

June 15: Juan Manuel Santos was re-elected as the President of Colombia.

June 16: Russia cut off all gas supplies to Ukraine over the due payment.

June 17: Militants captured Iraq's largest oil refinery Baiji refinery.

June 18: Peace and Security Council of African Union has restored the membership of Egypt
into the apex body of African nations.

June 18: WHO said that since outbreak of Ebola virus 337 people have died in West Africa.
Guinea is the worst affected country.

June 18: Sri Lankan parliament voted against the UNHRC investigation.
June 22: Hong Kong voters casted their votes for democracy in an unofficial referendum.

June 25: North Korean leader, Kim Jong replaced his defence minister Jang Jong-Nam with
General General Hyon Yong-Chol.

June 26: Jean-Claude Juncker was named as the next president of the European Commission.

June 29: Sri Lanka and Seychelles has signed 6 agreements of bilateral importance in presence of
Mahinda Rajapaksa and James Michael in Victoria.

INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING

INDIA

June 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 June 2014- 16 June 2014 made his first official
visit to Bhutan.

June 26: Union External Affairs Sushma Swaraj concluded her three-day maiden visit to
Bangladesh.

June 19: Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry O Rogozin was on a two-day visit to India.
During this visit he met with Narendra Modi and Sushma Swaraj.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

June 1: Chandrashekhar Rao was sworn-in as the First Chief Minister of Telengana.

June 1: Former left wing rebel leader Salvador Sanchez Ceren was sworn-in as the President of
El Salvador.

June 2: R. Kavery Banerjee was appointed as the Secretary of Department of Posts by

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. She succeeds P Gopinath.

June 3: US President Obama appointed Indian-American Shefali Duggal as the member of the
US Holocaust Memorial Council.

June 5 : Jordan Prince, Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein was nominated as UN high commissioner for
human rights.

June 5: Sanjay Kapoor was appointed as Micromax Chairman.

June 6: Madhya Pradesh Government appointed Madhuri Dixit as the brand ambassador of
maternal and child health campaign, Mamta Abhiyan.

June 7: Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar was appointed as the Solicitor General of India.

June 8: Former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was sworn-in as the President of Egypt in Cairo.
June 9: PK Mishra was appointed as the additional Principal Secretary of Prime Minister. He is a
retired IAS officer of 1972 batch of Gujarat cadre.

June 9: Petro Poroshenko was sworn-in as the President of Ukraine in Kiev.

June 11: Vishal Sikka was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Infosys.

June 12: Indian scientist Rasik Ravindra was elected as member of UN‟s body focused on
oceans and law of the sea by securing support of all 111 members.

June 12: Lt. Gen Amit Sharma was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces
Command

June 14: Shaktikanta Das was appointed as the new Revenue Secretary.

June 16: Jordan‟s Prince, Zeid al-Hussein has been appointed as the next human rights chief.
With this he became first Muslim and Arab to hold the post.

June 17: Shashidhar Reddy, the Vice Chairman of NDMA along with five other members
resigned from their posts. NDMA is headed by the PM.

June 17: BL Joshi, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh resigned from his post.

June 17: Shashidhar Reddy, the Vice Chairman of NDMA along with five other members
resigned from their posts. NDMA is headed by the PM.

June 18: Chhattisgarh Governor, Shekhar Dutt tendered his resignation to the President of India
amid pressure of NDA government.

June 18: Rajeev Topno was appointed as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The ACC headed by PM Narendra Modi approved the name.

June 20: Kodela Siva Prasada Rao elected as the first Assembly speaker of Andhra Pradesh after
bifurcation.

June 23: N. Srinivasan has been appointed as the chief of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association for
the 14th Consecutive year.

June 25: Additional secretary A.K. Dubey was appointed as Chairman of Coal India Limited
with immediate effect.

June 26: Jean-Claude Juncker was named as the next president of the European Commission.

June 26: North Korean leader, Kim Jong replaced his defence minister Jang Jong-Nam with
General General Hyon Yong-Chol.
June 26: The in-exile-President of BCCI, N Srinivasan has been appointed as the first
Chairperson of ICC for a period of two years from 2014 to 2016.

June 30: MK Narayanan tendered his resignation to President, few days after being questioned
by the CBI as a witness in VVIP chopper deal.

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

June 4: The Asian Women of Achievement Awards 2014 were presented in London. The award
ceremony marked 15 years of celebrating Britain‟s remarkable Asian women across business,
the arts, media, sports and social and humanitarian work.

June 4: Kamal Nath, Congress party was sworn-in as the pro tem Speaker of 16th Lok Sabha.

June 4: Irish author Eimear McBride won the 2014 Bailey's Women's Prize for for her first novel
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing.

June 9: V. Somasundaram member (ANS)(Airports Authority of India) was conferred the

prestigious Bharat Ratna JRD Tata Award 2013 by ASI.

June 10: Kolkata Airport won Airport Service Quality Award by Airport Council International in
the category of the best improved airport in Asia Pacific Region.

June 13: Malayalam writer C Radhakrishnan selected for the prestigious Moortidevi Award for
2013 for his novel Theekkadal Katanhu Thirumadhuram.

June 13: Lord Swraj Paul has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by a UK-
based business association.

June 14: Indian origin physicist Tejinder Virdee was honoured knighthood Bachelor by Queen
Elizabeth II.

June 18: Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram has been named winner of World Food Prize 2014. The prize
recognizes individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality,
quantity or availability of food in the world.

June 18: Tang Prize Foundation announced the inaugural Tang Prize. The prize is given in 4
categories of sustainable development, sinology, Biopharmaceuticals Science and The Rule of
Law.

June 19: Slaman Rushdie has been named as the winner of 2014 Pen Pinter Prize for his
outstanding literary output and support for freedom of expression.
June 20: Kedarnath Singh, a noted Hindi poet has been chosen for the Jnanpith award for 2013.
He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honour.

June 25: France announced to honour Shahrukh Khan with Officer of the Legion of Honour for
his contribution to Cinema.

June 27: Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won the People's Choice prize at the World Cup of
Sand Sculpting-2014 held in the Atlantic City of the US.

June 30: Malala Yousafzai won the 2014 Liberty Medal from National Constitution Centre in
Philadelphia, the largest city in the US State of Pennsylvania.

June 30: Indian cueist, Pankaj Advani won his maiden IBSF 6-Red World snooker title at Sharm
el-Sheikh in Egypt by defeating Kacper Flilpiak of Poland.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

June 2: The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the seventh edition of Indian Premier League
2014 by defeating Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by three wickets in the final played at Chinnaswamy
Stadium, Bangalore. This is the second title triumph for KKR after their maiden win back in
2012.

June 3: Wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar won Gold and Silver respectively at the
International wrestling tournament held in Sassari city of Italy.

June 4: Hashim Amla was appointed as new test captain of South African cricket team. Amla is
the successor of Graeme Smith who retired in March 2014 after serving the test side of South
African cricket for more than a decade.

June 5: India slipped to third position in the ICC ODI team rankings released in Dubai. India is
ranked after Australia (No. 1) and Sri Lanka (No. 2). Sri Lankan cricket team eclipsed India with
its 3-2 win over England in the latest ODI series.

June 8: Rafael Nadal (rank no. 1) of Spain won the French Open title 2014 for the ninth time. He
is the first man to win five French Open titles in a row. He won against Novak Djokovic (rank
no. 2) of Yugoslavia with 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, and 6-4 in the final.

June 8: Maria Sharapova won her second French Open title in three years at Roland Garros,
defeating Romania's Simona Halep (6-4, 6-7 (5/7),6-4 in a gripping final, the first to go the full
distance in Paris in 13 years and the second longest on record.

June 9: Arpinder Singh of Punjab smashed the national record in men's triple jump with a
stupendous jump of 17.17 Metres to win gold and qualify for the Glasgow Commonwealth
Games on the concluding day of the 54th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in
Lucknow.

June 9: Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian cricket captain, joined the Mudgal Committee on IPL
spot-fixing as an expert on cricketing affairs.

June 10: Touching a new high, India's tennis ace Sania Mirza became world number six in
doubles.

June 10: Daniel Ricciardo won the Canadian Grand Prix, breaking the Mercedes stranglehold on
the Formula One circuit.

June 11: Jitu Rai of India won Silver Medal in men‟s 10-meter air pistol event at the ISSF World
Cup Shooting in Munich. In the finals, Jitu scored 199.4 after aggregating 583 in the
qualification stage.

June 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi released commemorative postage stamps on the 2014
FIFA World Cup. The FIFA World Cup is being played in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014
with the slogan All In One Rhytm.

June 13: Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the lone Indian sportsman to
figure in Forbes‟ list of world‟s 100 highest paid athletes.

June 14: Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
During his career, he had played eight Tests and 37 ODIs for India between 1999 and 2007.
Also, Kartik had taken 644 wickets from 203 matches.

June 14: Netherlands won the 2014 edition of Women‟s Hockey World Cup held in The Hague,
Netherlands. It defeated Australia 2-0 in the final. This is Netherlands seventh title. It previously
won the titles in 1974, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1990 and 2006.

June 15: Australia won the 2014 edition of Men‟s Hockey World Cup for second successive
time. Australia won against the Netherlands with 6-1 in the final held at Kyocera Stadium in The
Hague, Netherlands.

June 16: Neymar hit two goals including a bitterly contested penalty to guide Brazil to a 3-1
victory over Croatia in the opening match of the World Cup.

June 17: India won 12 medals overall to finish 5th in final medal tally at the 16th Asian Junior
Athletics Championship held in Taipei City, China .

June 18: Indian cricket team won the three One Day International (ODI) series against
Bangladesh 2-0.
June 19: Former Captain of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful was banned for eight years by the
disciplinary panel set up by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

June 20: Magnus Carlsen, the world number one chess player bagged the FIDE World Rapid
Chess Championship title in Dubai. To win the Gold medal, he scored 11 of 15 points.

June 20: India bagged its second title at the Tri-Nation squash doubles tournament in Kuala
Lumpur when Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa emerged winners in the women's doubles
final.

June 21: Formula One champion Michael Schumacher was transferred from a French hospital to
a facility in Switzerland after emerging from a coma following his devastating ski accident in
December.

June 23: AB de Villiers, the South African cricketer, eclipsed Virat Kohli as the number One
batsman in the ICC ODI batsman ranking. With this, de Villiers became the top ranking batsman
in both Test and One day ICC rankings.

June 24: Jitu Rai became the first Indian to win three medals in successive ISSF Shooting World
Cup.

June 24: N. Srinivasan, the BCCI‟s president-in-exile was unanimously elected as the chief of
the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) for the 14th consecutive year.

June 25: Eight-time Olympic champion, India find itself in a lowly ninth position among men‟s
teams in the recently-released FIH World Hockey Rankings.

The Indians, with 1458 rating points, occupy the ninth spot by virtue of their disappointing ninth
place finish in the World Cup held at The Hague, Netherlands earlier this month

June 26: Narayanaswami Srinivasan was formally appointed as the first Chairman of the
International Cricket Council (ICC) for a period of two years from 2014 to 2016.

June 27: 35th National Games dates were announced at the Members‟ Lounge of the Kerala
Legislative Assembly complex, Thiruvananthapuram by Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The
games will be held at 32 different venues across seven districts of Kerala from 31 January to 14
February 2015.

June 29: Pankaj Advani, the Indian cueist won his maiden IBSF 6-Red World snooker title at
Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. To win the title, he defeated Kacper Flilpiak of Poland in a game that
lasted for an hour.

June 30: Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton ace, won 750000 US dollar Australian Open Super
Series by defeating Carolina Marin of Spain in straight-game 21-18, 21-11 in final played at
Sydney.
EULOGIES THIS MONTH

June 1: Stephen Gaskin died at the age of 79. He was an, American counterculture figure, peace
activist and commune founder.

June 2: Anjan Das died at the age of 62. He was an Indian National Film Award winning
filmmaker (Faltu). He died of liver cance

June 3: Union Rural Development Minister, Gopinath Munde of BJP died in a road accident in
Delhi.

Note: Munde was sworn-in as the Cabinet Minister for Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and
Sanitation and Rural Development.

June 4: Chester Nez, the last of the World War II Navajo code talkers died at the age of 93. He
died at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Note: He was one of the 29 Navajos who created an unbreakable code that was never broken by
any one.

June 5: Christopher Burger died at the age of 78. He was a South African cricket player.

June 7: Norman Willis, the former Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary died at the
age of 81.

Note: He was the person, who led TUC during the most difficult years in the trade union
movenment‟s history. The movement saw challenges of the miners' strike and Mrs Thatcher's
onslaught on trade unionism..

June 8: Former Brazilian striker, Fernando Lucio da Costa died in a helicopter crash in central
Brazil at the age of 36.

June 9: Harris Blake died at the age of 84. He was an American politician, member of the North
Carolina Senate (2003–2013).

June 11: Gary Gilmour, a former all-round cricketer of Australia died at the age of 62 after
battling with health problems for many years.

June 12: Khagen Mahanta died at the age of 71. He was an Indian folk singer. He died because
of cardiac ailment.
June 13: Shanti Patel died at the age of 93. She was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and
trade unionist.

June 14: José Gómez Lucas died at the age of 70. He was a Spanish Olympic cyclist.

June 18: Lasse Kühler died at the age of 75. He was a Swedish entertainer and dancer.

June 22: Ramanarayanan,Tamil film director and producer died in Singapore at the age of 65. He
has directed 125 films and holds the world record of directing the maximum number of movies
in nine different langugaes.

June 26: American football player Bob Mischak, died at the age of 81.

June 29: Dermot Healy died at the age of 66. He was an Irish poet, novelist and playwright.

June 30: Former Haitian president Leslie Francois Manigat died at the age of 83. He was elected
as the President of Haiti in January 1988 but was overthrown by General Henri Namphy in June
1988.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

June 2: The United Nations honoured 106 peacekeepers, including eight Indian soldiers, who lost
their lives in peacekeeping operations.

June 3: The US President Barack Obama proposed a 1 billion US dollar (about 730 million
Euros) US security plan for Eastern Europe to finance extra US troop and military deployments
to new allies in Eastern Europe.

June 4: Jammu and Kashmir government announced the enhancement of the retirement age of
government employees from 58 to 60 years. The cabinet also raised the upper age limit for
youths to obtain government jobs from 37 to 40 years.

June 5: President Bashar al-Assad of Syria won the Presidential election for the third time. The
Presidential Election result was announced by the Parliament Speaker Jihad .

June 7: Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in first week of June 2014 launched a new
four-minute video titled, The Price We Pay. The video was launched to highlight the health and
economic impacts of tobacco consumption.

June 8: Kawa Music Group of Jaipur, Rajasthan is set to perform during the XX Commonwealth
Games (CWG) 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. The CWG 2014 will be held from 23 July to 3
August 2014.
The entire group of band has been invited by the Scottish Art Council to perform during the
Games.

June 12: The three day Leh Festival began in Leh region of Jammu & Kashmir. It is also known
as Ladakh Singhey Khabab Spring Festival. It is organized by the Tourism Department of
Jammu and Kashmir.

June 17: Pratishtha Khanna (India Born )honoured with Champions of Change 2014 at the White
House.There are 10 more local champions of Change who honored at the White House for there
extra ordinary leadership in their following communities.

June 18: An 1856 British Guiana 1-cent postage stamp was sold for record 9.5 million US dollar
to become the world‟s most valuable stamp.

The auction was held by the Sotheby in New York. It was for the fourth time that the 1856
Magenta stamp broke the auction record for a single stamp in its long history.

June 19: Taiwanese poet, Yu Hsi translated 1330 couplets of Tirukkural (one of the collection of
sangam literature) and the poems of poet Subramanya Bharathi in Mandarin, Chinese language.
Bharathidasan‟s poems will be translated.

June 20: The India successfully test and fired Supersonic Akash Missile at low altitude at the
Balasore district Odisha from an Integrated Test Range (ITR).After so many validation trails of
Supersonic Akash Missile ,now it is ready to get include in the Indian army.

June 22: Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC)
become Navratna company now,The status has been granted by Union government of India.

June 23: UK firm East India Company issued an exclusive legal tender gold coins in honour of
Sachin Tendulkar. The company will issue limited 210 gold coins. Each gold coin weighing 200
grams will be worth 12000 pound sterling.

Note: The rare coin was issued in honour of Sachin's remarkable career spanning 24 years.

June 24: A.K. Dubey appointed as new Chairman of Coal India Limited with the immediate
effect.

June 25: Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express derailed near Chhapra in Bihar in which four people
were killed and eight were injured. The accident took place between Golden Ganj and Chhapra
Kachari Stations on Sonpur-Chhapra section.
June 25: A high-level forum Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths
was held in Washington. The forum was organised by US Agency for International Development
(USAID) and the Governments of India and Ethiopia in collaboration with UNICEF, the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners.

June 26: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
released a report, recently. The report released that around 58 million children aged 6 to 11 are
still out of school.

June 27: 15 people were killed and 20 injured in a blast in Gas Authority of India Limited
(GAIL) pipeline at Nagaram Village in Andhra Pradesh. The 18-inch pipeline of GAIL, in which
blast happened, carries gas from state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) gas field in
the East Godavari district to Lanco's Kondapalli power plant near Vijayawada in Andhra
Pradesh.

June 30: The annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival) began on 29 June 2014 at Puri
of Odisha. More than 10 lakh devotees from India and abroad descended to the pilgrim town of
Puri for glimpse of the presiding deities of the 12th century shrine of Lord Jagannath.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

External Commercial Borrowin

Mumbai Inter‐ ‐

A: Double

IPB:

Geo‐
Banking Fi ‐Terrorism Centre

Turkmenistan‐Afghanistan‐Pakistan‐
'Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail'
ren

-
Aga
3rd Sunday: Father‟s Day SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH GLOBAL PEACE INDEX
2014 The Global Peace Index (GPI) is the world‟s leading measure of national peacefulness.
Now in its eighth year, it ranks 162 nations according to their „absence of violence‟. The GPI is
developed by IEP under the guidance of an international panel of independent experts with data
collated and calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). It is composed of 22
indicators, ranging from a nation‟s level of military expenditure to its relations with
neighbouring countries and the percentage of prison population The last year's fall in global
peace was mostly attributable to drops in four of the 22 indicators used to put together the index:

conflict The 2014 Global Peace Index shows that the world has become less peaceful; since
2008. 111 countries have deteriorated in levels of peace, while only 52 have improved.

ll made the biggest improvements in peace since last year.

A common characteristic in all these countries is the ongoing improvement in political stability

Sudan experienced the largest fall on the Global Peace Index and dropping 16 places

2103) it was 141. 2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup is the 20th FIFA World
Cup, a tournament for the men's football world championship, which is currently taking place in
Brazil. It began on 12 June, with a group stage, and is scheduled to conclude on 13 July with the
final. It is the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the first being in 1950.

National teams of thirty-two countries arrived in Brazil to play a total of 64 matches across
twelve of its biggest cities, which are using special goal-line technology for the first time ever in
a World Cup tournament. The winner of the previous tournament held in South Africa, was
Spain. The 2014 World Cup is expected to be the most expensive in history. The Brazilian
government expect costs of $14 billion, while FIFA will spend $2 billion on staging the finals.
The bill for building and renovating stadia is likely to be around $3.6 billion, including five new
venues built especially for the matches. FIFA are aiming to sell 3,334,524 match tickets, of
which 1.1 million will go on sale to the general public and the rest going to corporate sponsors,
VIPs and FIFA personnel and team staff. Official Trophy Logo - The distinctive trophy logo in
the Brazilian flag colours of green and yellow is nicknamed „Inspiration‟ and was created by
designers with the marketing agency Africa, based in the host country. The design was based on
a photograph of three victorious hands lifting the World Cup trophy to show Brazil‟s warm-
hearted welcome to the world. Official Slogan - FIFA‟s official slogan for the tournament, which
will appear along with the Inspiration logo on branded products like signage, souvenirs and
tickets, will be “All in One Rhythm” (Portuguese: “Juntos num só ritmo“). Official Mascot - The
official mascot is an armadillo by the name of Fuleco. He belongs to a uniquely Brazilian
subspecies of the creatures known as the „tatu-bola„. Fuleco‟s name comes from the Portuguese
words “futebol” (football) and “ecologia” (ecology), a way of combining the popularity of the
sport in Brazil with the vital need to protect the nation‟s unique wildlife and ecosystems. Official
Ball - The official ball of the 2014 World Cup will be the Adidas Brazuca. The name was
selected by a public vote that received responses from more than 1 million Brazilian football
fans. (Read: The Adidas Brazuca comes into the hands of the World Cup stars!) Official Song -
On 24 January 2014, FIFA and Sony Music announced that the official song for the tournament
will be “We Are One (Ole Ola)” by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte. A customized
version of the song “Dare (La La La)” by Shakira, who provided the official song of the 2010
tournament, will be used as a secondary theme song. Main Sponsors - Some of the main sponsors
of the 2014, FIFA World Cup are Adidas, Coca – Cola, Emirates, Sony, Budweiser, Mac
Donalds, VISA and Johnson & Johnson.

2014 INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE Background Indian Premier League (IPL) is a Twenty20
cricket tournament where different franchise teams participate for the title. The tournament
started in 2008 and from then it usually takes place every year in the months of April – June.
Until 2012, the Indian Premier League was sponsored by DLF after they paid $50 million for the
five-year sponsorship. Pepsi took over the contract for the 2013 IPL after paying close to $72
million for the 5-year contract. In 2008, Sony paid $1 billion for the broadcasting rights over a
ten-year period. The IPL is watched across the world and in 2010 made history by becoming the
n of the Indian Premier

teams this season, one fewer than in 2013 after the withdrawal of the Pune Warriors India.

matches were held in the UAE at three different stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah with
the tournament returned to India on 2 May.

JULY 2014

RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

July 5: The Reserve Bank of India relaxed norms for overseas investment by Indian corporates
by raising their borrowing limit.

July 6: Bank of Maharashtra was conferred ―Best Bank – Public Sector‖ award in BFSI
Awards: 2014 by World HRD Congress in recognition of its performance in Banking category.
July 7: Exim Bank has extended USD 46 million line of credit to Mauritius for financing goods
and defence related vehicles purchases.

July 8: The World Bank Group (WBG) has granted GNRC, which was formerly known as
Guwahati Neurological Research Centre a grant of $150,000.

July 9: The Reserve Bank of India is in the process of deciding if banks can charge a fee for
using automated teller machines (ATMs) to withdraw money outside the home bank ATM
network.

July 10: Canara Bank opened its seventh overseas branch in New York, USA.

July 13: A major fire has raged the State Bank of India building at Parrys Corner in Chennai.

July 14: To support farmers who organise themselves under producer organisations, the National
Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is considering setting up a wholly-
owned non-banking finance company (NBFC).

July 15: Fitch Ratings has assigned Bank of Baroda's $250 million senior unsecured notes due
July 2019 a final rating of 'BBB-'. 'BBB' ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are
currently low. Like us on- https://www.facebook.com/Emahendras

July 17: Software giant Microsoft could be announcing the biggest round of job cuts in five
years.

July 18: The Reserve Bank will shortly issue new Rs. 20 denomination banknotes in the
Mahatma Gandhi series-2005 with inset letter E. These banknotes would bear the year of
printing '2014' on the reverse side of the currency.

July 18: Account holders of State Bank of India will soon be able to get mobile-based,
personalised information on the farm sector developments at a nominal cost.

July 19: India will hold the Presidency of the USD 100 billion BRICS development bank for the
first six years.

July 20: Kolkata-headquartered UCO Bank has set up an e-lobby with four self-operated
machines for cash deposit, withdrawal, cheque deposit and pass book printing in the Supreme
Court complex.

July 20: Corporation Bank will open 200 ‗Corp Excel‘ branches by the end of December 2015.

July 21: As a debate continues on alleged black money of Indians in Swiss banks, the authorities
in Switzerland have come across a significant quantum of fake Indian rupee notes in their
country — the third highest for any foreign currency after Euro and the US dollar.
July 21: Canara Bank signed an agreement with the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd on 20th July for a loan
of Rs.1,170 crore to the Rs. 5,200-crore Kochi Metro project.

July 23: The RBI has set out a framework for identifying and dealing with large banks, termed
domestic systemically important banks or D-SIBs.

July 24: Canara Bank will open over 1,250 branches and over 3,700 ATMs in the next two years.

July 24: State Bank of India leads public sector banks in number customer complaints received
by the Banking Ombudsman during the year 2013-14.

July 25: India plans to propose the setting up of a South Asian Development Bank for financing
infrastructure development in the region at a meeting of trade ministers from SAARC countries
in Bhutan in the week of July.

July 26: ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank, has launched ‗ProCircle‘, a special -
privilege programme for the US-based users of its online money transfer tracking service
Money2India (M2I).

July 27: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has imposed Rs. 5 lakh
penalty on Sahara India Life Insurance Company Ltd for not fulfilling social sector obligations.

July 27: Even though Wipro has lagged behind Infosys, which posted 2 per cent revenue growth,
the company has done a better job in retaining its employees.

July 28: Canara Bank launched a new set of technology-enabled products such as mobile wallet,
easyCash and P-serve.

July 28: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slapped a monetary penalty, ranging from Rs. 5 to
Rs. 40 lakhs, on 12 banks including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Canara Bank and
IDBI Bank, in the case relating to the loan and current accounts of the troubled Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Ltd for violations of its instructions/directions/guidelines. The central bank
has imposed the maximum penalty of Rs. 40 lakh on ICICI Bank; followed by Rs. 15 lakh each
on Axis Bank and IDBI Bank.

July 28: Authorised dealers/ full-fledged money changers selling pre-paid foreign currency cards
for travel purposes have to comply with the same rigorous standards of due diligence and Know-
Your-Customer (KYC) norms.

July 29: Federal Bank has launched a woman-only car loan scheme called ‗she car.‘

July 29: Reliance Power Ltd, an Anil Ambani Group firm, has acquired the entire hydro power
portfolio of Jaiprakash Power Ventures for an estimated Rs. 15,000 crore.
July 30: LifeCell, India‘s largest umbilical cord blood stem cell bank, is setting up a public stem
cell bank at a cost of Rs. 30 crore.

July 30: Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, will address the Reserve Bank of India board here on
August 9 amid expectations that the central bank will complement government actions by
reducing the rates to boost growth.

July 31: In a controversial move, HSBC Bank has closed a number of ―risky‖ accounts
belonging to Muslim groups and individuals in the UK.

July 31: Prime Minister will launch the government's campaign for financial inclusion to ensure
banking service to 7.5 crore households in the country.

July 31: HDFC Bank has launched its ‗secure banking‘ in Kerala aimed at creating customer
awareness about safe banking practices.

NATION THIS MONTH

July 4: The Government has decided to introduce four new vaccines as part of India‘s Universal
Immunization Programme (UIP). Vaccines against rotavirus, rubella and polio (injectable) will
collectively expedite India‘s progress on meeting the Millennium Development Goal 4 targets to
reduce child mortality by two-thirds by the year 2015 and meet global polio eradication targets.

July 4: Union Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu suggested a 25-point charter for urban planning and
management to ensure planned urbanisation, assured amenities and decent urban life.

July 5: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, dedicated to the nation, the Shri Mata Vaishno
Devi Katra Udhampur railway line. The Prime Minister flagged off the first train to Udhampur,
from Katra Railway Station,

July 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the 240 MW Uri-II hydropower
project built by NHPC at a cost of Rs. 2290 crore in Jammu and Kashmir.

July 6: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by National Bank of Agriculture and
Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC). The
MoU was signed by Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Chairman, NABARD and Shri Pravesh
Sharma, MD, SFAC.

July 8: Senior officials from India and Nepal met to discuss bilateral security concerns and
defence cooperation, including the supply of military equipment to Nepalese army.

Note: The two-day ‗Nepal-India Bilateral Consultative Group Meeting on Security Issues‘
started during which the two sides discussed matters relating to security concerns of both sides
and future security cooperation between them.
July 9: India test-fired an advanced version of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile from the Odisha coast.

July 9: Union Railway Minister D. V. Sadananda Gowda presented his maiden Railway Budget
in Parliament. Alongwith no new increase in passenger fares and freight charges the budget has
proposed Bullet train in Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector, Diamond quadrilateral for high speed trains
and plan to hike speed of trains to 160-200 km/hr in 9 sectors among other announcements.

July 9:The government pushed through the ‗National Institute of Design Bill, 2013‘ in the Rajya
Sabha on the first day of the budget session of Parliament. The BJP-led NDA government, which
is a minority in the Upper House, managed to pass the Bill with help from the Congress.

July 10: The much-awaited verdict on the dispute regarding the delimitation of the maritime
boundary between India and Bangladesh was delivered, with a United Nations tribunal awarding
Bangladesh 19,467 sq. km of the 25,602 sq. km sea area of the Bay of Bengal.

July 11: Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission will be launched to deliver integrated project
based infrastructure in the rural areas.

July 11: A Financial Inclusion Mission will be launched from Independence Day this year as a
time bound programme to provide all households in the country with banking services. This was
announced by the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2014-
15 in Lok Sabha.

July 11: Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) is being re-introduced to encourage people, who may have
banked and unbanked savings to invest in this instrument.

July 11: The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced the launch of a national Multi-Skill
programme called Skill India in his maiden Budget speech. The facility of Electronic Travel
Authorisation (e-Visa) shall be introduced in a phased manner at nine airports in India and an
amount of Rs. 200 crores has been allocated for the erection of Statue of Unity, as announced by
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his maiden Budget speech.

July 12: A controversial Bill that paves the way for the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh by
merging some villages and mandals of Telangana with Seemandhra was approved in the Lok
Sabha , amid stiff opposition from the TRS, BJD and some other parties.

July 12: Amul has inked an agreement with the Indian Olympic Association to sponsor the
Indian contingent for the upcoming Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games
to be held later this year in South Korea.

July 13: The Finance Ministry has clarified that no final decision has been taken on
implementation of General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR). This clarification came in the wake
of reply given by the Government in Lok Sabha saying that GAAR will be introduced from April
1, 2015. It may be noted that the previous government deferred introduction of GAAR for two
years, that is, till March 31, 2015.

July 15: China invited India for the first time to attend the APEC summit that it will be hosting
this year as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.

July 16: The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation was earlier implementing 51 schemes for
development of agriculture and welfare of farmers in the country.

July 17: The BRICS Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first multilateral engagement,
agreed to an understanding that the five member nations will have equal shareholding in the
proposed USD 50 billion BRICS Development Bank presidency of which is likely to go to India
first.

July 18: Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd (ECGC) has signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) on Co-operation with the Export Credit Insurance Agencies (ECA) of
BRICS countries in Fortaleza, Brazil.

July 18: India will host the next summit of IBSA (India, Brazil South Africa) in New Delhi next
year.

July 19: India has been the worst performer among BRICS nation in an annual index which
measures innovation in various countries.

July 20: Rio Tinto, the world‘s largest merchant miner with more than two-third share of the
globe‘s iron ore business, and having a significant presence in other minerals and commodities,
is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s business-friendly approach to help revive its
stalled projects in India.

July 21: The Justice M. B. Shah Commission on illegal mining has recommended that iron and
manganese ore miners of Jharkhand be asked to disgorge Rs.14,403 crore and Rs. 138 crore,
respectively, for environmental violations.

July 21: India has been the worst performer in the 2014 Global Innovation Index (GII) which has
slipped 10 places compared to last year to reach at 76th place.

July 22: India‘s demand that food procurement subsidies at the World Trade Organization be
considered permissible is now being backed by the entire G-33 group of developing countries
that has expressed the same view in a fresh proposal.

July 23: India has the sixth highest prevalence of child marriage in the world with one in every
three child bride living in India, a United Nations report said.

July 26: India‘s ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI) remained unchanged at 135 in
2013, reflecting little improvement in the living standard of its people.
July 27: Kudankulam nuclear power project‘s second 1,000 MW unit is expected to be
commissioned shortly. The power project, located in Tamil Nadu, has two units of 1,000 MW
generation capacity each.

July 28: Mobile connections in India will grow to 815 million in 2014, an 8 per cent increase
from 755 million connections in 2013, according to a study by Gartner. The mobile services
market in India will remain almost at the same level as 2013 at $19.2 billion in 2014.

July 28: India‘s own version of Madame Tussauds museum was inaugurated by President Pranab
Mukherjee.

July 28: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched MyGov, a platform that empowers the
citizens of India to contribute towards Surajya.

July 29: Shipping Ministry has proposed to incorporate a new company to undertake rail projects
at all Government ports.

July 30: A top American think-tank has launched a programme, ‗India- 2020‘, which will
examine short and long:term policy priorities for every aspect of the India-US strategic
partnership with a focus on concrete recommendations that can be achieved by the year 2020.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

July 4: Telangana may present its maiden budget in August 2014, and the new State may start off
with a small revenue surplus. The size of the maiden budget of new Telangana State is likely to
be pegged at Rs. 70,000 crore. The Plan size would be in the neighbourhood of Rs. 20,000 crore,
while the Non-Plan component could be Rs. 50,000 crore.

July 4: The encouraging response for 5kg LPG cylinders has prompted Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Ltd to look at introducing 3kg and 2kg cylinders in the market.

Note: George Paul, Executive Director (LPG), BPCL, said that a move in this regard was taken
following the good customer feedback received by the company after launching the 5 kg cylinder
in various cities including the metros.

July 4: The Government will initiate measures to turnaround the highways sector in two years
time by garnering funds to the tune of Rs. 1 lakh crore in a year, Road Transport and Highways.

July 5: Official government statistics indicate that there has been a turnaround in India‘s Public
Distribution System (PDS). The share of households consuming PDS rice has nearly doubled
over seven years and those consuming PDS wheat has more than tripled over the same period.

July 5: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved 300 million US dollars loan to Assam.
The loan will help Assam in its drive to eliminate power sector inefficiencies that are hurting its
consumers, its world-famous tea industry, and its environment.
July 8: Widening its probe into the money laundering probe in the Rs.3,600 crore VVIP chopper
deal, the Enforcement Directorate will send judicial requests to about six countries seeking
information on bank accounts and transactions to detect the trail of alleged kickbacks money.

July 8: The benchmark BSE Sensex crossed the 26,000:mark for the first time and the NSE Nifty
soared to hit yet another high of 7,787.95 in opening trade on the back of strong inflow of
foreign funds ahead of the Budget.

July 8: India is set to become the third largest economy in the world by 2030, according to latest
estimates by a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report.

July 9: Uma Bharti, the Union Water Resources Minister launched a nationwide tree plantation
drive and public awareness programme to save rivers.

July 9: Indian Railways will borrow less at Rs. 11,790 crore from market through its two
companies IRFC and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd for capital expenditure during 2014-15. The
estimated market borrowing by these two companies during current fiscal were pegged at Rs.
13,800 crore from markets, as per the interim Railway Budget for 2014-15 tabled in February.

July 10: The Government has announced setting up of 16 National Investment and
Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) to boost economic growth. Under the National Manufacturing
Policy, the Government has proposed setting up of NIMZs. The policy aims at enhancing the
share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent within a decade and creating 100 million jobs.

July 10: According to the Economic Survey, driven by a seven per cent rise in consumption and
high utilisation ratio, steel production in India grew at a compound annual growth rate of 7.9 per
cent in the past five years.

July 10: GDP is expected to grow in the range of 5.4-5.9 per cent in 2014-15. There are
downward risks to the economy arising from poor monsoon, external environment and poor
investment climate, states the Economic Survey 2014 tabled in the Lok Sabha.

July 10: The government‘s pre-budget Economic Survey has suggested payment of subsidy in
cash for those below poverty line through technologies like biometric identification, observing
that such support lead to distorted resource allocation which hamper changes in prices.

July 12: The value of India targeted mergers and acquisitions (M&A) rose 46.8 per cent to $17.1
billion in the first half of 2014 from $11.6 billion posted during the same period a year ago.

July 12: Sugar production for the 2014-15 season starting October is projected to be 4 per cent
higher at 25.3 million tonnes, according to preliminary estimates by the Indian Sugar Mills
Association (ISMA), the apex industry body. For the current 2013-14 season ending September,
the production was pegged at around 24.3 million tonnes.
July 12: After growing at an average annual rate of just over 6 per cent from 1980 to 2010,
India‘s economy is now the 10th biggest in the world in terms of gross domestic product,
according to the World Bank.

However, its growth has slowed in recent years, with an expansion of 4.7 per cent in 2013-2014,
up from 4.5 per cent the previous year, the slowest pace in the previous decade.

July 13: West Bengal Government has obtained firm investment commitment worth Rs. 3,200
crore.

July 14: The Centre is considering expanding its India Inclusive Innovation Fund corpus and
mandate, aimed at promoting grassroot level innovations to deliver social and economic returns.

July 14: Lutyens' Delhi is set to get a facelift with the demolition and reconstruction of 516
Government bungalows. The project would cost Rs 3,000 crore and would be implemented in
phases over the next 20-30 years.

July 15: During 12th Plan, outlay for Rs. 2200 crore has been provisioned for National Ganga
River Basin Authority (NGRBA), which has been entrusted with the work of controlling
pollution in the river Ganga.

July 15: OCL India Ltd, the flagship associate company of Dalmia Cement Bharat Ltd,
announced the commissioning of its 2 million tonne per annum and Rs. 615 crore cement unit in
West Midnapore of West Bengal.

July 16: The Government has slapped an additional penalty of $579 million on Reliance
Industries for producing less than targeted natural gas from its KG-D6 block.

July 17: One third of the extreme poor global population reside in India which has also recorded
the highest number of under:five deaths in the world, the latest UN Millennium Development
Goals report revealed.

July 17: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled against the US in a case filed by India
over imposition of high import duties on Indian steel products.

July 18: Exports of merchandise continued to rise steadily for the third straight month with
shipments in June 2014 posting a 10.22 per cent rise at $26.47 billion compared to last June.

July 20: Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has upgraded India‘s economic growth
forecast to 6.3 per cent in 2015-16 on hopes of speedy reform process.

July 21: Realty player Logix Group launched its Rs. 1000 crore new project – Logix City Centre
— in Noida.
July 22: Reliance Industries posted a 13.7 per cent jump in its first quarter net profit to almost
USD 1 billion, the highest quarterly profit by a private firm.

July 22: German automaker Volkswagen has rolled out the 400,000th car from the
manufacturing facility in Pune.

July 23: Pension fund regulator PFRDA has framed regulation for two key operative arms : NPS
Trust and Pension Fund managers-for expansion and deepening of the sector.

July 24: The Directorate of Enforcement has attached properties worth Rs. 186.11 crore
belonging to two promoters and directors of Nava Bharat Power Projects in the coal scam related
case and has alleged they had a windfall gain of Rs. 200 crore.

July 24: In a crackdown on an unauthorised money pooling scheme promising high returns, Sebi
has barred Sai Prasad Corporation and its directors from raising funds from public and from
launching any new investment plans.

July 26: Tata Consultancy Services has become the first Indian company to command a market
capitalisation of Rs. 5 lakh crore after its share price hit an all-time high.

July26: The Union Cabinet has okayed introduction of the Bill for raising FDI in insurance and
empowering SEBI to act against illegal deposit and ponzi schemes. The Government will
introduce both these Bills during the ongoing session of Parliament.

July 27: Visakhapatnam is one of the three strategic reserve caverns being created by Indian
Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. The other two – at Mangalore (1.5 million tonnes) and Padur
(2.5 million tones).

July 28: A study of loan performance in the three-year period (2010 to 2013) of rising interest
rates, suggests the loans that faced over 2 per cent hike in rates were 50 per cent more delinquent
than the average during the same period.

July 29: India‘s sovereign credit rating is expected to remain stable over the next 12—month
period, brokerage firm Morgan Stanley said.

July 29: A recent study report prepared by Assocham‘s Economic Research Bureau has showed
that Gujarat topped in new investments attracted by the power sector during the period 2004-05
and 2012-13.

July 29: Raising the investment limit for foreign institutional investors (FIIs) from $20 billion to
$25 billion is credit positive for the Government of India (GoI).

July 30: GVK Power & Infrastructure Limited expects to commence coal production from its
captive GVK Coal (Tokisud) Company to facilitate supply to the 540 MW Goindwal Sahib
thermal power plant in Punjab.
July 30: India‘s outward investments had increased from $1 billion in 2001-02 to $30.9 billion in
2011-12.

July 31: According to Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), India will be an importer
of iron ore in the 2014-15 fiscal.

July 31: A day after Flipkart announced fresh funding of a billion dollars, Amazon has said that
it will invest an additional $2 billion in India.

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

July 5: Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, a onetime aide to British Prime
Minister David Cameron, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for participating in a
conspiracy to hack the phones of celebrities, politicians and crime victims.

July 5: Four-party meet held in Berlin agreed on a series of step to resume the ceasefire in
eastern Ukraine. The four party meet was held between Foreign Ministers of Russia, Ukraine,
Germany and France.

July 6: China – South Korea bilateral summit was held in Seoul. The summit was held between
South Korean President Park Geun:hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was held during the
Chinese President Xi‘s first visit to South Korea since he became the President in 2013.

July 6: Japan ended the 60 years of pacifism giving Army the option to exercise force. The
resolution towards this was adopted by Japanese Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shizo Abe.

The Cabinet resolution laid down certain scopes or minimum degree under which Japan can
exercise force.

July 6: China‘s President Xi Jinping will this year become the first Chinese head of state to visit
Sri Lanka in three decades, underlining Beijing‘s renewed push to deepen its strategic and
economic presence in the neighbourhood and in the Indian Ocean.

July 13: Bangladesh has banned official marriages between its nationals and Myanmar‘s Muslim
Rohingya refugees as they wed and use the marriage certificate for getting citizenship and
Bangladeshi passports.

July 13: The US is calling for Asian nations to freeze new construction and establishment of
outposts in the disputed South China Sea to lower the risk of a conflict.

July 16: Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said that the US central bank will continue to
keep interest rates at historic lows. The Fed will keep rates at between 0 to 0.25 per cent.
July 19: Shocked by the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane over war-torn eastern Ukraine
near the Russian border, the White House called for ―a full, credible and unimpeded
international investigation‖ into the tragic incident that killed nearly 300 people on board.

July 20: Bolivia has become the first nation to legalise child labour from age 10.

July 20: Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), the apex body of miners in that country, is ready
to offer Indian companies help in the area of sustainable mining.

July 21: The shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17 by pro-Russian separatists in
Ukraine threatened to derail the meeting of trade ministers of the G-20 Group of advanced and
emerging economies.

July 21: The Philippines has removed restrictions on foreign ownership of banks in the country
under a new law that allows 100-per-cent foreign control.

July 22: President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines presided over the opening ceremony of the
world's largest indoor stadium, Philippine Arena.

July 23: The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for an
international investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight (MH17) in eastern
Ukraine and demanded that armed groups allow investigators ―full and unrestricted‖ access to
the crash site.

July 26: Algerian civil aviation lost contact with a plane carrying 110 passengers after its take-
off from Burkina Faso.

July 26: The Bahrain Economic Development Board has come out with a new visa policy that
enables Indian residents to apply for electronic visas from October this year.

July 29: The Australian Government has given environmental approval to Adani Mining‘s

July 30: More than 200 flights were cancelled in China owing to busy airspace on the first day of
the Chinese military‘s live fire exercises in the East China Sea, prompting aviation authorities to
declare a red alert.

July 31: The European Union has for the first time slapped comprehensive economic sanctions
against Russia and banned the export of military goods and sensitive technologies in the energy
sector for its ―failure‖ to de-escalate the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING

INDIA
July 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Brazil for attending the five-nation summit of
BRICS nations on July 14 and 15 which is expected to finalise the setting up of a development
bank and seek reforms of the United Nations and international financial organisations.

July 21: A four-member delegation from Pakistan will visit India to study the Sabarmati
Riverfront Development Project (SRDP), one of the major developmental initiatives of India‘s
Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat.

July 31: US Secretary of State John Kerry heading a high-powered delegation, is visiting India to
co-chair the fifth annual India-US Strategic Dialogue with External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj in New Delhi during his three-day official visit.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

July 5: Swamy Goud of Telangana Rashtriya Samiti party was elected as Chairman of the 40-
member Telangana Legislative Council.

July 5: Ram Naresh Yadav was sworn-in as Governor of Chhattisgarh at Raj Bhawan. He
succeeded Shekhar Dutt.

July 5: Michelle Howard has been appointed as the first female four-star admiral in US Navy.

July 6: Bharat Vir Wanchoo, the Governor of Goa resigned.

July 6: R. Chandrasekhar appointed as President of Nasscom. He will succeed Som Mittal.

July 8: Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk sworn in as the Pakistan‘s new chief justice. He succeeded
Tassaduq Hussain Jillani

July 9: President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Margaret Alva, Governor of Rajasthan, to
discharge the functions of the Governor of Goa,until the new appointment of governor of Goa is
made.

July 9: Emma Watson, the British Actress was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for UN
Women and for empowerment of young women and also as an advocate for UN Women‘s
campaign in promoting gender equality.

July 9: Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Rohington F Nariman were
appointed as Supreme Court judges. The three judges were administered the oath of office by
Chief Justice of India, R M Lodha.

July 10: Amit Shah has been appointed as the new president of BJP in Lok Sabha elections.
July 14: Rashtrapati Bhawan has announced that President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed new
Governors for five States. BJP veteran leader Ram Naik has been chosen as the Governor of
Uttar Pradesh. O.P Kohli, Balramji Das Tandon and Keshari Nath Tripathi have been designated
as new Governors of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal respectively. Padmanabha
Balakrishna Acharya has been appointed as Nagaland Governor.

July 15 : The Government has appointed 1980 batch IAS officer Shankar Aggarwal as Secretary
in the Ministry of Urban Development. The Uttar Pradesh cadre officer, Aggarwal was
previously the Secretary, Union Ministry of Women & Child Development.

July 16: UK defence secretary Philip Hammond has been appointed as the new foreign secretary
of UK.

July 23: Ace tennis player Sania Mirza has been appointed as the brand ambassador of
Telangana Government.

July 23: Graft-tainted Madhya Pradesh IAS couple Arvind Joshi and Tinu Joshi have been
terminated from service. The couple were already under suspension since February 2010, after
an income-tax raid on their house, which led to detection of wealth in excess of Rs 350 crore and
recovery of Rs. three crore in cash.

July 26: The Supreme Court appointed senior advocate R. S. Cheema as Special Public
Prosecutor for the coal blocks allocation trial.

July 27: AS Durga Prasad, Cost and Management Accountant (CMA), has been elected as
President for the Institute of Cost Accountants of India for the year 2014-15.

July 27: Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul sworn as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court by Tamil
Nadu Governor K Rosaiah at the Raj Bhavan.

July 27: Ukraine‘s Prime Minister has resigned after his governing coalition collapsed, plunging
the former Soviet state into political limbo as it struggles to quell a deadly rebellion in the east.

July 28: Senior IRS officer K V Chowdary is tipped to be the new Chairman of the Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex authority of the Income Tax department from August 1.
He will succeed Chairman RK Tewari.

July 30: India Infoline Finance Ltd (IIFL), an NBFC subsidiary of India Infoline has appointed
Rajashree Nambiar as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Prior to joining IIFL, Nambiar was
General Manager Retail Banking Products, India and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.

July 31: IAF chief, Arup Raha, has taken over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee,
from incumbent Gen Bikram Singh who is retiring on 31st July. The Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs
Committee is the senior-most military officer in the country.
AWARDS/ HONOURS/ WORLD TITLES/ NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

July 1: President Pranab Mukherjee presented Sant Kabir Awards to L Subadani Devi of
Manipur and Gour C Basak of West Bengal and Shilp Guru Awards to Ghulam Mehdi Joo of
Jammu and Kashmir, Shabbir Hasan of Rajasthan, MM Mahapatra of Odisha, Babu Ram Yadav
of Uttar Pradesh.

July 1: Shah Rukh Khan was conferred with top French civilian award Knight of the Legion of
Honor.

July 1: Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani education advocate won Liberty medal for the
year 2014 for her continued demonstration of courage and resilience in the face of adversity and
for serving as a powerful voice for those who have been denied their basic human rights and
liberties.

July 13: Aniket Bajpai and Chitraang Murdia won gold medals in 45th International Physics
Olympiad (IPHO2014) held in Astana, Kazakhstan from 13 July to 21 July 2014 at the
Nazarbayev University whereas Bure Vidya Sagar Nadin, Srikakulam Gurukirat Singh Bajwa,
Hoshiarpur and Rupanshu Ganvir secured silver medals.

July 15 : The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the Gandhi Peace Prize for the
year 2013 to Shri Chandi Prasad Bhatt at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Gandhi Peace
Prize was instituted by the Government of India in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth
anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

July 18 : Kerala based magician Samraz has been selected for the Merlin Award of the
International Magicians Society New York.

July 19 : Nalco has been awarded the gold award in Premier Trading House category in the first
Eastern Region Export Excellence Award 2012:13 by the Federation of Indian Export
Organizations. Its exports stood at Rs. 3,380.93 crore. Tata Steel got the silver award in the
category with its Rs. 1,997.90:crore exports earnings.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

July 6: Parvez Rasool first from J&K team to be selected in Indian cricket team.

July 7: Novak Djokovic has won his second men's singles title at Wimbledon after an epic five-
set final against Roger Federer.

July 8: Australia leads the latest ICC test rankings followed by South Africa, England with India
in the fourth place.
July 8: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has achieved a career-best rank of number five in the world
as the new WTA Doubles.

July 8: Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj on Monday announced the launch of Champions
Tennis League (CTL) in India with an aim of taking the sport to new levels of awareness and
popularity in the country.

July 9: Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj has launched The Champions Tennis League (CTL)
with a pan India tennis tournament featuring IPL style playoffs between six franchisees.

July 9: Djokovic‘s Wimbledon victory returned him to the top of the latest world rankings
followed by Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer.

July 10: Sim Bhullar has become the first player of Indian origin to be a part of the National
Basketball Association (NBA) after he signed a summer contract with the Sacramento Kings, a
professional basketball team in the US.

July 10: Indian students with a passion for sports have now access to scholarships that will fund
their study in New Zealand for sports-related programmes as declared by Steven Joyce, New
Zealand Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment.

July 13: Germany wrote a new chapter in the history of international football as they became the
first European team to lift the World Cup in South America, clinching a hard-fought 1-0 win
over Argentina in the final, their triumph coming on the back of steely resolve and blood on the
pitch.

July 13: In FIFA World Cup, the winning country Germany was awarded with $35 million and
Argentina the first runner up was awarded with $25 million.

July 13: Former Sri Lanka Skipper Mahela Jayawardene has announced his retirement from Test
Cricket.

July 16: The third oldest football tournament in the world, Durand Cup, will be held in Goa
between October 28 and November 9 this year. A host of top clubs and military football teams
will participate in the tournament. Durand Cup was first held in the year 1888.

July 18: Real Madrid and Barcelona are champions at making money and are named as the
world's two richest sports franchises.

July 18: The ambitious High Performance Program of Hockey India (HI) is all set to go live from
next month with the launch of its website, a one of a kind interactive platform for coaches and
players of the country.
July 22: Bhubaneswar Kumar of India on the fourth day of the second Test against England here
knock to 52 runs while playing a test series became the first batsman in the world, who scored
three half-centuries batting at number nine.

July 24 : Hero MotoCorp, a two wheeler manufacturer, has signed a three year deal to be the title
sponsor of the Indian Super League, the initial franchise based football league in the country.
With this sponsorship, the new football league, promoted by IMG-Reliance and Star India,
would be called the `Hero Indian Super League'.

July 25: Sikh players from India were asked to remove their turbans at an international basketball
match, top U.S. lawmakers have launched a campaign asking International Basketball Federation
(FIBA) to review the discriminatory policy.
July 26: Sukhen Dey and K Sanjita Chanu stole the limelight by clinching a gold medal each in
weightlifting, as India launched its campaign in the 20th Commonwealth Games with a flourish,
winning seven medals in all on the opening day of the competitions here.
July 26: European 400-metre hurdles champion Rhys Williams is out of the Commonwealth
Games after becoming the second Welsh athlete suspended for a doping offense this month.
July 30: Pistol King‘ Jitu Rai kept his reputation intact by clinching the gold medal before Gagan
Narang and Gurpal Singh claimed a silver each to continue the shooters‘ heroics while young
Vikas Thakur overcame pain to bag silver in weightlifting on the fifth day of competitions in the
20th Commonwealth Games. July 31:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar turned out to be the world cricket‘s bowler for the month of July.
EULOGIES THIS MONTH
July 1: Former Haitian president Leslie François Manigat died at the age of 83.
July 6: Louis Zamperini, a 1936 US Olympic distance runner and World War II veteran, died at
the age of 97 due to pneumonia.
July 8: Alfredo Di Stefano, the legend of Real Madrid Football Club died at the age of 88 at the
General Universatario Gregorio Maranon Hospital in Madrid.
July 8: Eduard Shevardnadze, the ex-President of Georgia died at 86.
July 9: Granville Austin of Washington died at the age of 87. He was a renowned scholar of the
Indian constitution and constitutional assembly debates.
July 11: Veteran Actress Zohra Sehgal died at the age of 102. She was called as the grand old
lady of Bollywood due to her association with it for several decades.
July 16: Lorin Maazel, the American conductor of classical music, violinist and composer died
on 13 July 2014 at his home in Castleton, Virginia. He was 84.

July 17: South African Nobel Prize-winning author, Nadine Gordimer died.
July 20: Veteran Journalist Sundaram Sankaran died.
July 21: Retired US astronaut Henry ―Hank‖ Hartsfield Jr, who flew on three shuttle missions
including as commander of the Discovery‘s maiden flight, died after an illness at age 80
July 22: Madhukar Singh, an eminent Hindi litterateur died at his residence in village Dharahara
of Bhojpur district. July 22: Classical singer Sushilarani Patel died due to heart attack. She
was 96. She was a recipient Sangeet Natak Academy award in 2002.
July 22 : American actor James Garner died at the age of 86 in Los Angeles.
July 30: Bangladeshi freedom fighter UK Ching died at the age of 86. The Bir Bikram awardee
died due to a brain stroke. MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
THIS MONTH
July 6 : NASA and Boeing have inked a $2.8 billion deal to develop a giant rocket which is set to
be the largest and most powerful ever built, paving the way for manned missions to Mars.
Boeing has finalised a contract with NASA to develop the core stage of the Space Launch
System (SLS), the most powerful rocket ever built.
July 6: The Supreme Court (SC) of India on 4 July 2014 directed Haryana Government to stop
all illegal mining and stone crushing activities in Aravali Hills region. In its direction, SC gave
two weeks time to stop the process otherwise it will face Contempt of Court proceedings.
July 8: Typhoon Neoguri in the Northwest Pacific is expected to reach super typhoon (super
cyclone) status and it negotiates the east China coast and races towards southern Japan.
July 8 : NASA has fitted a 17-tonne telescope with an effective diameter of eight feet on a
modified Boeing 747 jetliner that the US space agency is using as a flying observatory to study
stars. July 9: CBI will soon
record the statement of former Director, Intelligence Bureau and Governor of Andhra Pradesh E.
S. L. Narasimhan as witness in connection with allegations of bribery in purchase of 12 VVIP
helicopters from Ango-Italian firm AgustaWestland.
July 9: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi will be placed in London‘s Parliament Square alongside
other famous statesmen, including his political adversary Winston Churchill.
July 11: Government is committed to endeavour to have housing for all by 2022 by extending
additional tax incentive on home loans to encourage people, especially the young, to own houses.
It has proposed to set up a Mission on Low Cost Affordable Housing to be anchored in the
National Housing Bank. July
12: A controversial Bill that paves the way for the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh by
merging some villages and mandals of Telangana with Seemandhra had been approved.
July 12: Andhra Pradesh will have an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) soon. This was announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
in his Union Budget Proposals for 2014-15. July 12: Delhi has become the
world‘s second most populous city in 2014 after Tokyo.
July 13: India‘s Mars spacecraft is scheduled for a rendezvous with the red planet as it is rapidly
coasting towards its target. Mars Orbiter Spacecraft has travelled 525 million km on its
heliocentric arc. July 13: With an aim towards
making unemployed women self-reliant, the New Delhi Municipal Council has launched a unit
where they will be given training to prepare quality food products and then sell it through a tiffin
service. The project was implemented with the setting up of a canteen, ‗Urja‘.
July 14: Etihad Airways, UAE‘s flagship carrier, has announced expansion of its first flight
operations to northeast India with the launch of a daily service between Abu Dhabi and Kolkata.
July 15: As part of efforts to ensure a cleaner and greener environment, the Gujarat Government
will soon introduce a pilot project to run ‗electric buses‘ for public transport between the state
capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. July 15: The private spacecraft
Cygnus was launched from a space pad in the US state of Virginia, carrying provisions for the
orbiting space station crew and other freight. Cygnus, which launched from NASA‘s Wallops
Flight Facility in Virginia, made its second trip to the space station.
July 16: Babak Parviz the developer behind Google Glass and other technologies has left Google
to work for the online retailer Amazon
July 17: Heavy metal! NASA‘s Mars rover Curiosity has discovered its first meteorite on the
Red Planet — a huge shiny, lumpy rock made mostly of iron. The rock is an iron meteorite
called ―Lebanon‖, similar in shape and lustre to iron meteorites found on Mars by the previous
generation of rovers.
July 18: Rendering world-class facilities with the coming age amusement parks, five theme parks
from India featured in the top 25 list in Asia. The theme parks that have featured in the list are
Wonderla Amusement Park, Bangalore, which was at number seven on the list, Ramoji Film
City Hyderabad at number 10, Wonderla Amusement Park Kochi, at number 13, Science City
Kolkata at number 14 and Essel World Mumbai at number 20.
July 18: A Gujarat-based organisation will organise an international trade show here in a bid to
attract investors to the Saurashtra-Kutch region. "Saurashtra Vyapar Udyog Mahamandal
(SVUM) will organise the show from November 5 to November 10 and it will be attended by
delegates from nearly 65 countries. The president of SVUM is Parag Tejura.
July 19: Finland-based smartphone company, Jolla, has signed an agreement with Snapdeal.com,
India's largest e-commerce marketplace, to launch its handsets in the country. Jolla runs on
independent operating system Sailfish. July 22: Air Asia India, the domestic arm of
Malaysian airline AirAsia, added Kochi to its network with the launch of a daily flight service
from Bangalore.
July 22: German automaker Volkswagen has rolled out the 400,000th car from the
manufacturing facility in Pune. The car is a Polo Highline for the domestic market equipped with
the new 1.5-litre TDI engine. July 23: Bihar
government, has terminated services of 1137 fixed pay teachers in schools as they had acquired
the job on the basis of fake and invalid documents and initiated action against those responsible
for their appointment. July 23: As per United Natios Report, India has the
sixth highest prevalence of child marriage in the world with one in every three child bride living
in India.
July 24: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, released a biography of Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel in Braille. This has been prepared by Dr. A. Saibaba Goud, for the benefit of the visually
challenged. Dr. Goud also runs the Devnar School for the Blind, in Hyderabad.

July 26: India‘s own version of Madame Tussauds museum was inaugurated by President Pranab
Mukherjee, with fibre—glass statues of former Presidents and eye—catching gifts received by
them from abroad on display. July 29: IIT Kharagpur
will soon introduce a new ―credit-based system‖ which would allow students the flexibility to
complete a four-year B Tech course in three-and-a-half years.
ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH COSC: Chief of Staff Committee CCEA: Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs CSF: Commonwealth Shooting Federation NCDEX: National
Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd DFC: Dedicated Freight Corridor JE: Japanese
Encephalitis CMSA: Chief Minister's Social Assistance OECD: Organisation for Economic
Co:operation and Development IPHO: International Physics Olympiad DAE: Department of
Atomic Energy UNSC: United Nations Security Council ICHR: Indian Council of Historical
Research PMNRF: Prime Minister's National Relief Fund IAEA: International Atomic Energy
Agency IWGSC: International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium DERC: Delhi Electricity
Regulatory Commission NCRDBD: National Centre for Research & Development in Bulk Drugs
NBA: National Basketball Association GAGAN: GPS Aided Augmented Navigation system
OCO 2: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 STCRC: Short Term Cooperative Rural Credit NGRBA:
National Ganga River Basin Authority IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH July 1: Doctor‘s
Day July 4: Independence Day of U.S. July 5: (first Saturday of July): International Day of
Cooperatives July 6: World Zoonoses Day July 11: World Population Day July 12: Malala Day
July 18: Nelson Mandela International Day July 26: Kargil Vijay Diwas July 26: International
Gaucher Day July 28: World Hepatitis Day July 29: International Tiger Day July 30: World Day
against Trafficking in Persons July 30: International Day of Friendship
SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH 5th Godrej Expert Sahyadri Cine Awards 2014 CEO,
Prasar Bharati, Jawahar Sircar was the Chief Guest at the 5th edition of the Cine Awards
ceremony, organized by DD Sahyadri TV channel of Doordarshan Kendra, Mumbai. It was
sponsored by Godrej expert. Commonwealth Games 2014 The Glasgow Commonwealth Games
2014, 20th in the series, got off at the Celtic Park in Glasgow in Scotland from 23 July 2014 to 3
August 2014. It is the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland with around 4,950 athletes
from 71 different nations and territories competing in 18 different sports, although the country
previously hosted the 1970 and 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. 6th BRICS Summit
The 6th BRICS summit is the sixth annual diplomatic meeting of the BRICS, a grouping of
major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It is
hosted by Brazil, as the first host country of the current five-year summit cycle, the host city is
Fortaleza. Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was a special guest of the summit. 7th BRICS
Summit will be held in Russian city of Ufa in 2015. Most importantly, the New Development
Bank was officially inaugurated. Member Represented by Title Brazil Dilma Rousseff President
Russia Vladimir Putin President India Narendra Modi Prime Minister China Xi Jinping President
South Africa Jacob Zuma President 2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the
20th FIFA World Cup. Germany won the tournament, defeating runners-up Argentina 1–0 in the
final. Brazil was officially elected as host nation unopposed on 30 October 2007. Top scorer(s)
(Colombia) James Rodríguez (6 goals) Best player (Argentina) Lionel Messi Best young player
(France) Paul Pogba Best goalkeeper (Germany) Manuel Neuer During the 2014 FIFA World
Cup, the FIFA Fan Fest in the host cities received 5 million people, and the country received 1
million guests from 202 countries.

AUGUST 2014
RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH
August 1: Betting big on the government‘s reforms agenda, overseas investors have poured in
more than USD 5 billion in the Indian market so far this month taking the total inflow to over
USD 25 billion since January 2014.
August 1: The soon-to-be-turned private bank IDFC will be headed by its current Executive
Chairman Rajiv Lall. Subject to RBI approval, Rajiv Lall will be the Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer of IDFC Bank, which is expected to be formed by October 2015.
August 1: Large public companies can now appoint an individual as the Chairperson as well as
Managing Director or chief executive officer at the same time. Note: This dispensation will be
available for public companies with a paid-up capital of Rs. 100 crore or more and an annual
turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more, the corporate affairs ministry has said.
August 1: The Federal Reserve is cutting its monthly purchases of Government-linked bonds to
$25 billion, down from the $35 billion level set at the central bank‘s last meeting in June.
August 1: Drugmaker Cipla has entered into a commercial collaboration with BioQuiddity Inc
for BioQuiddity‘s OneDose ReadyfusOR anaesthetic applications for post-surgical pain
management. Note: The agreement covers the European Union and other countries in the region,
Cipla said.
August 2: SBI Caps (the investment banking arm of State Bank of India) has been asked by the
Finance Ministry to undertake a study on the merger and recapitalisation of banks
August 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case of alleged bribery against the
Chairman & Managing Director of Syndicate Bank Sudhir Kumar Jain.
August 8: Vidyo, Inc., a visual communications solutions provider has been selected by IndusInd
Bank, one of the fastest growing new-generation private sector banks in India for Video Branch,
a mobile and desktop-based banking service being deployed across the country.
August 9: The Reserve Bank of India has said that the proposed Bharat Bill Payment System
(BBPS) will function as a tiered structure for operating the country‘s bill payment system. It will
have a single brand image providing convenience of ‗anytime anywhere‘ payment to customers.
August 11: The RBI said that it will transfer the surplus amount of Rs. 52,679 crore to the
Government. The year before, the central bank said that it had transferred Rs. 33,010 crore to the
Government. August
16: Coca-Cola has announced it will pay $2.15 billion for a 16.7 per cent stake in Monster
Beverage, cementing a distribution-based link between the two that had added significantly to
Coke‘s profits. August
20: Google confirmed it has bought the startup behind a Jetpac mobile application that creates
insightful travel guides by analyzing pictures from social networks such as Instagram.Financial
terms of the deal were not disclosed. August 22: Five Indian
companies, including Hindustan Unilever and Tata Consultancy Services, are among Forbes‘ list
of the world‘s 100 most innovative companies that investors think are most likely to ―generate
big, new growth ideas‖. August 22: People can now deposit
up to Rs 1.5 lakh annually in their Public Provident Fund (PPF) with the government notifying
changes in the popular savings scheme. The government has issued a notification raising the
limit from annual PPF deposit limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh in pursuance of the
announcement made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
August 22: Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) with asset size of Rs. 100 crore and
above have been forbidden to give more than 50 per cent of the value of shares pledged with
them (capping the loan to value ratio at 50 per cent). This would be applicable only to loans of
Rs. 5 lakh and above.This has been done to minimise volatility in the market.
August 22: To provide a ―one-stop virtual shop‖ for all social welfare spending needs of
companies, the Government plans to have a corporate social responsibility portal along with data
analytics platform.
August 30: The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance is bringing out the
twentieth issue of the annual publication ‗India‘s External Debt: A Status Report 2013-14‘. The
Report presents a detailed analysis of India‘s external debt position at end-March 2014, based on
the data released by the Reserve Bank of India on June 30, 2014.
August 30: State-owned United Bank of India (UBI) has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court
against Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) shortly after Calcutta High Court division bench‘s judgement
was delivered.
NATION THIS MONTH
August 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the United Nations General
Assembly on September 27, giving his first global speech to an audience of nearly 200 world
leaders and foreign ministers at the annual gathering of the world body‘s policymaking organ.
August 3: The board of directors of India‘s largest milk federation, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation (GCMMF), has unanimously elected Jethabhai Patel, a cooperative leader
from North Gujarat as the new Chairman. GCMMF sells milk products under the ‗Amul‘ brand.
August 3: The Modi Government will give a decisive push to make the Ganga-Hooghly
waterway navigable for freight movement by tying up for a World Bank loan that could be as
much as $1 billion.
August 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and the
three agreements signed between the two sides. This includes the 6.90 crore Nepali Rupees
agreement to overcome the deficiency of iodine and to supply iodized salt to Nepal. August 4:
Inspired by Gujarat government, the Centre has urged all the states to provide 33 per cent
reservation for women in their police forces to effectively deal with cases of sexual violence and
crime against women August 4:
The Union Defence Ministry allowed armed forces to do business related to essential
requirements with the Rolls Royce. August 4: Union Ministry of HRD has set up Hari Gautam
Committee to review the status of UGC. August 4:
100 years of the outbreak of First World War (WW-1) was observed across the globe on 4
August 2014. August 5: Shri Jogen Chowdhary to be the first artist
in-residence in Rashtrapati Bhavan. August
6: According to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Government of India has to
establish the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in the Successor State of
Andhra Pradesh within a period of 10 years. August
7: Union Minister for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram said that the Union
Government in the current financial year 2014-15, has introduced Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna
(VKY) as Central Sector Scheme with an allocation of Rs. 100 crore with special focus on the
qualitative and sustainable employment for tribal families; bridging infrastructure gaps with
focus on quality; improving the quality of education and health and improving the quality of life
in tribal areas. August 7: India and Bhutan agree to
strengthen the strategic cooperation in the field of Agriculture & allied sectors between the two
countries.
August 8: The Tamil Nadu Government has introduced the Tamil Nadu Entry into Public Places
(Removal of restriction of dress) Act, 2014, seeking to remove the ban on wearing dhoti and
other traditional Indian attire imposed by recreational clubs and others. The Bill provides for
cancellation of licence and punishment of one year imprisonment for any violation of the
legislation. August 9: The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath
Singh launched the Web application of Delhi Police for issuing Police Clearance Certificate
(PCC) to the people of Delhi who require the PCC for emigration, employment etc
August 9: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has announced a series of integrated
drinking water schemes and also proposed a ‗Tamil Nadu Innovative Initiative‘ to promote
innovation in the State.
August 10: 12th India-ASEAN meeting was held in Naypyitaw (Myanmar).
August 10: The second and final report of justice MB Shah Commission of inquiry into illegal
mining in Orissa has strongly recommended the Centre to order a CBI probe against 14 mining
leaseholders including Aditya Birla-owned Essel Mining because of the involvement of state and
Central government officials in the matter.
August 10: The Ministry of Rural Development launched its flagship Shyama Prasad Mukherji
Rurban Mission, which is aimed at providing urban amenities in rural areas.
August 13: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone for Leh-Kargil-Srinagar
transmission system. He also dedicated the 45 MW Nimoo Bazgo Hydroelectric Project to the
nation.
August 13: India successfully conducted trials of its indigenously developed surface-to-air
‗Akash‘ missile, which has a strike range of 25 kms, as part of a user trial by the Air Force from
the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.
August 16: The Lok Sabha passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill and
Constitution (121st Amendment) Bill meant to replace the collegium system with a commission,
where the executive too would have a say in selection of judges to the higher judiciary.
August 17: The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation of a Port- Based Multi-
product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at
Sheva, Navi Mumbai.
August 17: The Hon‘ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, commissioned INS
Kolkata into the Indian Navy. August 17: Andhra Pradesh
Government decided to make Vijayawada its ad hoc capital. Vijayawada will be an ad hoc
capital until the needed infrastructure and other projects for the new capital are completed.
August 17: India ranked fifth amongst top ten wind power producers in the world by adding
1,700 MW capacity in 2013, a report said. ―China was the leading wind power producer by
adding 16,100 MW capacity in 2013, followed by USA, Germany and Spain,‖ Renewables 2014
Global Status Report said.
August 18: In a function at Solapur, the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation 765 kV Solapur -
Raichur transmission lines, and four laning of Pune - Solapur section of NH-9.
August 19: Assuring financial independence to the poorest of the poor, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi launched the ‗Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana‘ to provide bank accounts along with a
debit card and an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh to all. August 20:
The CBI arrested Rakesh Kumar, CEO of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), three
days after it arrested two persons associated with the board and seized from them Rs 70,000
which was to be paid to Kumar allegedly as a bribe to clear a regional movie.
August 20: A sessions court in Manipur ordered the immediate release of civil rights activist
Irom Sharmila, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike demanding repeal of the Armed
Forces Special Powers Act for the past 13 years.
August 21- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, dedicated the 1000MW ( 2X500 MW) stage I of
Mouda Super Thermal Power Project to the nation in Mouda in Nagpur district of Maharashtra.
August 21: A Hindu temple, claimed to be the world‘s first ‗eco-temple‘ featuring solar panels
and a rainwater harvesting system, has been opened in northwest London in the UK. The ornate
20 million pounds Shree Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Kingsbury combines traditional Indian
architecture and carvings with ―green‖ technology.
August 21: The year 2015-2016 will be observed as water conservation year. A public movement
will launched throughout the country for this purpose and at least one official of the Union Water
Resources Ministry will be present in every district of the country during this period.
August 22: The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar inaugurated
the 13th International ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU-ROBOCON) on 24th August,
2014. ABU-ROBOCON 2014 is being organized by Doordarshan at the Badminton Hall,
Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune from 22-26th August, 2014.
August 23: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar opened the first edition
of northeast film festival in the capital and said the government is committed to mainstream new
initiatives in the region.
August 24: The first indigenously built stealth anti-submarine warfare corvette ‗INS Kamorta‘
was commissioned by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley at the Naval dockyard, Vishakapatnam.
August 26: With the aim to bolster ties between the Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Air
Force (RFAF), Ex Avia Indra-2014 commenced at Astrakhan region, near the Caspian Sea in
Russia. The Exercise will go on till 05 September 2014. August
26: Ministry of Textiles announced that Ministry through DC (Handlooms) has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Flipkart India Pvt. Ltd. to provide online marketing
platform to handloom weavers to boost the handloom sector, empower the weavers and boost
manufacturing in the country.
August 26: India and Vietnam agreed to deepen cooperation in defence and oil sectors among
others as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties
with the strategically-important country.
August 27: The Union Minister for Tourism Shri Shripad Naik launched the Comprehensive
Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI) for Accommodation, Tour Operators and Beaches,
Backwaters, Lakes & Rivers Sectors.
August 28: Prime Minister has approved the constitution of a Committee to carry out a review to
identify obsolete laws. The Committee will be chaired by Shri R. Ramanujam, Secretary PMO.
Shri V.K. Bhasin, former Secretary, Legislative Department, will be its other member.
August 28: The Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology and Law &
Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad chaired a conference of IT Ministers and IT Secretaries of
States / UTs to discuss the ‗Digital India‘ programme.
August 29: The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has signed Memorandum of
Understanding for two more pilot projects for Cashless Treatment Road Accident Victims – one
on Vadodara-Mumbai stretch of NH-8 and the other on Ranchi-Rargaon-Mahulia (Jamshedpur)
stretch of NH-33.

August 30: A Credit Agreement for World Bank (IDA) assistance of US$ 107 million for Second
Mizoram State Roads Project (MSRP II) has been signed between the Government of India and
the World Bank.

August 30: Beginning September 1, 2014 the doors of 20 Central Government Health Scheme
(CGHS) wellness centres in Delhi will be thrown open to senior citizens from among the public
for free consultation. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, unveiled a pilot project with
wide ramifications for the future of public health care.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

August 8: The Tata Group has retained its place as the country‘s most valuable brand at USD 21
billion, while the total worth of top-100 Indian brands now stands at USD 92.6 billion.

August 9: The growth of asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) in India will moderate to 30 per
cent in the next 12 months, according to credit rating agency Crisil.

August 10: The Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) organised the second All India Cotton
Conference on August 12 and 13 at The Residency in Coimbtore. The theme of the conference is
‗Indian Cotton Scenario in the current context 2014-15‘.
August 10: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers‘ Associations of India (Credai) has
decided to work towards the theme Homes For All by 2022. The meeting of the apex body
representing private real estate developers in the country that was held during August 6-8 laid
special thrust on the mission of pucca housing for all by 2022.

August 10: Expanding the scope of the work of Prime Minister‘s Rural Development Fellows
(PMRDFs), the rural development ministry has asked states to involve the fellows in the crucial
exercise of the process of preparing the labour budget for MGNREGA for 2015-16 in 2,500
backward blocks across the nation.

August 11: To help attract greater foreign and domestic investments into real estate and
infrastructure, markets regulator Sebi has cleared final guidelines for creation and listing of
business trusts for these key sectors.

August 12: Keen to restore investor confidence, the finance ministry is likely to whittle down the
scope of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAARs) so that genuine tax planning isn‘t
impacted by these dreaded rules.

August 12: The Ken-Betwa Link Project, benefiting Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, has
been taken up for the implementation. The estimated cost of the Phase-I and Phase-II of the Ken-
Betwa Link project is Rs.9393 Crore (2008 price level) and Rs.2283 Crore (2012-13 price level)
respectively.

August 12: As per the original provisions under the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Act, 2005
and Rules, 2006, exemption from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) in the case of SEZ Developers
and Units as also the exemption from Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) for SEZ Developers
were granted.

August 16: Reserve Bank will issue Rs 1,000 new bank notes under the Mahatma Gandhi Series-
2005 with the rupee mark 'R' in inset.

August 16: Rapid financial inclusion envisaged by the Government under the ‗Jan Dhan Yojana‘
will lead to a decline in the usage of cash in India in line with developed countries, according to
State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya.

August 19: India and Singapore decided to scale up ties in key areas of investment and trade
which has witnessed a huge surge from $4.2 billion to about $19.4 billion in the last one decade.

August 20: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s call to corporate houses to join the cause
of rural sanitation, software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Bharti Foundation, the
development arm of Bharti Enterprises, announced that they will both earmark Rs. 100 crore
each to be spent on building toilets in rural India.
August 22: The Ministry of Environment and Forests has given environment clearance to Cairn
India to raise crude oil production from its prolific Rajasthan block by 50 per cent to 300,000
barrels per day.

August 22: Falling prices of crude oil, thermal coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are huge
positive for India as energy imports account for 36 per cent of its total imports last fiscal,
research firm Crisil Research said.

August 22: Construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said it has bagged new orders worth Rs
1,283 crore in water infrastructure and renewable energy sectors in the country in July and
August. The orders were bagged by Water and Renewable Energy business segment of L&T
Construction.

August 23: In order to comply with the insurance regulator‘s norm on dematerialisation —
digitisation — of life insurance policies, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) tied up with all five
insurance repositories.

August 26: The government will spend Rs 20,000 crore to provide mobile connectivity in 55,000
villages, which are still untouched by wireless telephony, in the next five years, Telecom
Secretary Rakesh Garg said.

August 27: Tata Value Homes has partnered with e-commerce major Snapdeal to sell houses
through the online marketplace model. Home buyers can now register with the e-commerce
portal and look for options from 1,000 apartments spread across seven cities — Mumbai,
Talegaon, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata — for a booking amount of Rs
30,000.

August 28: Rating agency Moody‘s expects the GDP to grow at 5.1 per cent in the first quarter
(April-June) of current fiscal, better than 4.7 per cent clocked a year ago.

August 29: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police filed 10 first
information reports (FIRs) against several officials of state-run banks and individuals for an
alleged fixed deposit fraud of more than Rs 1,000 crore.

August 29: The retirement fund body also has also fixed the minimum monthly pension for
EPFO schemes at Rs. 1,000. This move will immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners who get less
than this amount at present. Mr Jaitley in the Budget had allocated Rs. 250 crore in the current
financial year for this purpose.

August 29: Odisha government launched Rs. 3,200 crore economic corridor between Jagdalpur
and Rourkela.
August 30: While probing manipulators in the capital markets space, some officials at regulator
SEBI have got a specific job that they do very seriously — that is reading media reports to get
leads on possible irregularities.

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

August 1: The U.S. House approved a lawsuit against President Barack Obama over alleged
abuse of executive power.

August 1: The President of Sierra Leone has declared a public health emergency as the Ebola
crisis deepens across West Africa.

August 9: China successfully launched a remote-sensing satellite, Yaogan XX to carry out

scientific experiments and provide early alerts about natural disasters.

August 11: The 18th BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) ministerial meeting on
climate change, which concluded in New Delhi.

August 16: China has inaugurated its second railway line in Tibet, built at a cost of $2.16 billion,
close to Indian border in Sikkim, enhancing mobility of its military in the remote and strategic
Himalayan region.

August 20: PriceWaterhouseCoopers will pay $25 million and face a two-year suspension from
consulting for new bank clients under an agreement with New York regulators following an
investigation that showed the company improperly altered a report about Bank of Tokyo
Mitsubishi laundering money.

August 21: The first Director General levels talks between Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB),
India and Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), Sri Lanka was held at New Delhi.

August 23: An Indian-origin student, who scored a perfect five in his main subjects with 100 per
cent marks across the board, is being hailed as the brightest student in Britain. Asanish
Kalyanasundaram achieved the highest possible grades in maths, physics, chemistry, biology and
critical thinking as part of the five main subjects required at A Levels in Britain.

August 28: The three-day talks between India and Pakistan here over designs of Kishan Ganga
Dam and four other hydroelectric power projects at the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers
respectively has ended inconclusively.

August 29: The US government has designated a Lahore based money exchange firm Asma
Money Exchanges and its owner Muhammad Iqbal as global terrorists for ―providing financial
support to Lashkar-e-Toiba‖.

August 30: The Ambassador of Israel to India Mr. Daniel Carmon called on the Union Home
Minister Shri Rajnath. The two sides have Agreement on Homeland and Public Security,
Agreement on Protection of Classified Materials & Information and Mutual Legal Assistance
Treaty in Criminal Matters in the field of bilateral cooperation.

August 30: Libya‘s toothless interim government, led by prime minister Abdullah al-Thani,
announced it had tendered its resignation to the elected parliament, days after a rival Islamist
administration was created. The interim government, operating in the east of the country to avoid
the Islamist militias which have a strong presence in Tripoli.

INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING

INDIA

August 1: US Secretary of State, John Kerry, called on Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, at the
latter's North Block office. Kerry, who arrived in India for an official visit, has already pressed
New Delhi to drop its opposition to global trade reforms.

August 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi sailed on a visit to the Himalayan nation. During the
two-day visit to Nepal, Modi holded talks with his counterpart Sushil Koirala and meet with
other political leaders.

August 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Japan amid "great expectations" that the five-
day trip will open new vistas in bilateral ties and Strategic and Global Partnership to a higher
level.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

August 3: Former UN peacekeeper in Congo Sudesh Kumar, has been handed over the command
of the inspector general's office of BSF Meghalaya Frontier.

August 8: Arvind Gupta, former Indian Foreign Service officer, was appointed as Deputy
National Security Adviser (NSA).

August 8: YES Bank has appointed retired IAS officer Radha Singh as Non-Executive
Chairperson of the board of the bank.

August 7: Justice Dr Manjula Chellur sworn in as the first woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High
Court — the oldest high court in the country.

August 9: IDFC appointed Ravi Shankar as the head of the proposed bank‘s financial inclusion
and rural business initiative.

August 11: Syria‘s state-run news agency is reporting that President Bashar Assad has
reappointed premier Wael al-Halqi to form a new government.
August 14: AIADMK leader M.Thnbidura unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the Lok
Sabha. He is the first leader to hold the post for a second time. Earlier in 1985, also has the
distinction of being elevated to the post.

August 16: S.M. Swathi, General Manager of Corporation Bank, has been appointed as
Executive Director of Bharatiya Mahila Bank. She had assumed office on August 14.

August 17: Rajni Razdan became the new Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission
(UPSC). She was appointed as Chairperson of UPSC by the President Pranab Mukherjee in
accordance with the Article 316 (1) of the Constitution.

August 19: Former captain Mahela Jayawardene was given a fairytale sendoff in his last test
match as Sri Lanka eased to a 105-run victory that completed a 2-0 series sweep over Pakistan.

August 26: Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey , now has been
elected as the President of the Republic of Turkey.

August 26: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls presented his government‘s resignation.

August 26: Thailand's army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a military coup
three months ago, became the country's prime minister, the first serving army officer to assume
the top office in 22 years.

August 27: UPA appointed Governor Sheila Dikshit resigned.

August 27: Modern-era ‗Don‘ Shah Rukh Khan has become the first Indian actor to be roped in
as Ambassador of Interpol‘s initiative ‗Turn Back Crime‘ campaign, aimed at promoting greater
awareness on how to prevent crime. The ‗Turn Back Crime‘ campaign is aimed at raising public
awareness that organised crime is often involved in seemingly unrelated crimes.

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

August 4: Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd. bagged the Core Banking System Initiative Award for the
year 2014 at the Asian Banking and Finance - Retail Banking Awards 2014.

August 4: The 2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awards Awardees are Hu Shuli, Saur Marlina
Manurung, Omara Khan Masoudi from Afghanistan, The Citizens Foundation (A Non
Governmental Organization) from Pakistan, Wang Canfa from China, Randy Halasan from the
Philippines

August 8: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, CMD of Bandhan, has received the ‗Entrepreneur of the
Year‘ award from the All India Management Association (AIMA).
August 13: Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons Ltd, has been conferred the 18th MMA
Amalgamations Business Leadership Award at a function in Chennai.

August 14: Two Indian-origin academicians have won global prizes in the field of mathematics
with one of them being awarded the Fields Medal — known as the ‗Nobel Prize of
mathematics‘. Manjul Bhargava won the Fields Medal, while Subhash Khot won the Rolf
Nevanlinna Prize, awarded by the International Mathematical Union, at the International
Congress of Mathematicians 2014 held in Seoul.

August 14: The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented Outstanding
Parliamentarian Awards to Shri Arun Jaitley, Dr. Karan Singh and Shri Sharad Yadav for the
years 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively at a function organized by the Indian Parliamentary
Group.

August 21: Indian-origin South African academic Leila Patel has been named the African
country‘s one of the top women researcher in the annual Women in Science Awards hosted by
the Ministry of Science and Technology.

August 23: Seven books of stories, six of poetry, one of novel, one of essays and eight writers for
their total contribution to children literature have won the Bal Sahitya Puraskar this year.

August 27: Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution has announced the annual awards and commendation certificates for the nineteenth
prestigious Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the year 2012. The Best of All Award has
been won by Rail Wheel factory (Ministry of Railways), Bangalore.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

August 2: In a huge jolt to Indian men hockey team‘s chances in the Commonwealth Games,
captain Sardar Singh has been suspended for the semi-final match against New Zealand
following his second dangerous offence of the tournament.

August 4: Woman discus thrower Seema Punia, who won a silver for India at the 20th
Commonwealth Games, was the flag-bearer for the country during its closing ceremony.

August 4: Lauding the performance of Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, who won the
squash doubles gold at the Commonwealth Games, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
announced a cash award of Rs.50 lakh each to the winnersJuly 8 : Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza
has achieved a career-best rank of number five in the world as the new WTA Doubles.

August 5: In Commonwealth Games 2014 India finished at fifth-place with 64 medals, including
15 yellow metals.
August 17: Jammu and Kashmir to host Football Federation Cup in August 2015.

August 18: World number three tennis player, Roger Federer of Switzerland won Cincinnati
Tennis Open, also called Western & Southern Open. He defeated David Ferrer of Spain 6-3, 1-6,
6-2 in the final played in Cincinnati, US. This was sixth Cincinnati title for 33-year-old Federer
and was the first Masters title for Federer since 2012.

August 18: England won the 5-match Pataudi Trophy test-series played against India by 3-1.
England achieved the feat after defeating India in the fifth and final Test at The Oval by an
innings and 244 runs.

August 20: Ravi Shastri has been appointed Director of the India cricket team for the ODI series
against England.

August 21: Hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya, representing ONGC, secured his berth for the Asian
Games by equaling his own national record in the 110m hurdles on the concluding day of the
Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championships at Netaji Subhas National Institute of
Sports, Patiala.

August 23: Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic‘s early goal secured a 1-0 win over Real
Madrid and a 2-1 aggregate success to clinch the Spanish Super Cup and gain some revenge for
last season‘s Champions League final defeat.

August 25: The President of India Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 6th Edition of Kamada
Kinkar Mukherjee Rural

Football Tournament at Raghunathganj in Murshidabad district, West Bengal.

August 26: In the doubles, Leander Paes continues to be India's top-ranked player at number 12,
a loss of one position. In the women's rankings, Sania Mirza maintained her top-five rank as she
was unchanged at number 5. August
28: Roger Federer has not won a Grand Slam title this year but the 17-time Grand Slam
champion topped Forbes magazine‘s list of the 10 top tennis money-makers announced.
August 28: Indian women cricket captain Mithali Raj has retained the top spot in the latest
International Cricket Council (ICC) women‘s rankings for batters.
August 30: Mobile handset maker HTC Mobiles announced that it has become an official
sponsor for Kings XI Punjab, one of the eight cricket teams of Indian Premier League (IPL).
EULOGIES THIS MONTH
August 1: Dick Wagner, the famous rock guitarist of Alice Cooper died due to respiratory failure
at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Centre in Arizona. He was 71.
August 3: Noted educationist, scholar and author Som Ranchan died at a hospital after a brief
illness. He was 82 years old.
August 7: Shri Pran Kumar Sharma, a versatile cartoonist who brought smiles to the faces of
people through his cartoons of Chacha Chowdhary and Sabu passed away at the age of 75.
August 9: Chairman of Saraswat Co-operative Bank and former Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha Member
Eknath Keshav Thakur passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 73.
August 12: Goalkeeping great Vladimir Beara of Croatia died in city Split of Croatia on 11
August 2014. He died after a series of strokes over the past year. He was 85.
August 13: Oscar Winning veteran actor Robin Williams, 63, was found dead, Police has said.
The apparent cause of the death was suicide, authorities said.
August 13: Member of India‘s first Lok Sabha Reshamlal Jangde died due to age-related
ailments at a local hospital. He was 89. August 13: US actress Lauren Bacall, 89,
died of a stroke at her home in New York, according to multiple reports.
August 13: Eduardo Campos, the Brazilian presidential candidate, died after his private jet
crashed in São Paulo, Brazil. He was 49. August 23: Jnanpith award winning litterateur UR
Ananthamurthy has passed away in a Bangalore hospital. He was 81.
August 26: Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film
career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90.
August 28: Famed violinist Kumar Dinesh passed away. Ailing for the last one month, the 86-
year-old violinist from the Chhotanagpur Raj Gharana passed away at a hospital in Delhi.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH
August 1: Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) will be a part of the Mars 2020 rover
mission that was announced by NASA on 31 July 2014. MOXIE will be used by NASA to
produce oxygen on MARS from the Martian atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
August 2: India continues to host the largest number of child labourers in the world, with more
than half of Delhi‘s working children forced to work for over eight hours a day without a single
day‘s rest.

Note: This was found in a survey done and released in New Delhi by child rights non-
government organisation Child Rights and You (CRY) in partnership with Philips.

August 3: Facebook launched an app, that will give users in Zambia free access to its social
network as well as other critical internet sites, in a boost to its plan to to extend web access to the
4.25 billion people who lack it.

August 3: In a powerful blast in a Metal factory in Kunshan city in eastern China had killed 65
people, and injured more than 100.

August 6: The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled ―21st
Century South Asia‖ written by Prof. Sanghmitra Sarkar.

August 8: Horse-racing clubs in India have been declared to be ―shops‖ by the Supreme Court.

August 8: Government is committed to endeavour to have housing for all by 2022 by extending
additional tax incentive on home loans to encourage people, especially the young, to own houses.
It has proposed to set up a Mission on Low Cost Affordable Housing to be anchored in the
National Housing Bank.
August 8: An Indian couple in Singapore has invented a first-of-its-kind robot to make chappatis
which raked in about 5 million Singapore dollars in pre-sale orders from the US. Rishi Israni and
his wife Pranoti, took six years to develop the robot, Rotimatic, which can produce about one
baked chapati per minute.

August 9: Philips India has roped in Alia Bhatt as its brand ambassador for its beauty business
which includes a range of hair and depilation devices.

August 9: Global food prices hit a six-month low in July led mainly by sharp declines in grains,
oilseeds and dairy, which balanced out rising meat and firm sugar prices, the United Nations
food agency said.

August 11: The 44-day-long Amarnath Yatra to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir
Himalayas ended, with nearly four lakh pilgrims paying obeisance to the ice-Shivlingam this
year.

August 11: Territorial disputes in the South China Sea dominated the meetings of the East Asia
Summit (EAS) as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) at the 47th ASEAN Foreign
Ministers meetings in Nay Pyi Taw.

August 12: The Government will close a chink in the country‘s preparedness against cyber
attacks and spying by making it mandatory for all telecom equipment to be tested in India from
next year.

August 12: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct chemical conservation of the
Mumbai's World Heritage monument, the Gateway of India. The 90-year-old monument was
completed in 1924 to commemorate the visit of Britain‘s King George V and Queen Mary to
India in 1911.

August 13: The UN has named three experts as members of an independent inquiry commission
that will probe possible human rights violations and war crimes committed, particularly in the
Gaza Strip, during the recent conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

August 13: In the last three years, the US has taken over Russia as the largest supplier of weapon
systems to India.

August 13: Japanese scientists claim to have developed the world‘s fastest camera — a photo-
device with a frame interval of 4.4 trillion frames per second.

August 13: Scientists have developed a novel molecule that can cause cancer cells to self-
destruct by ferrying sodium and chloride ions into the tumour cells. The advance could lead to
new anticancer drugs while also benefiting patients with cystic fibrosis.
August 16: According to EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, the European Union has
plans to buy up stocks of fruit and vegetables hit by a Russian ban on the bloc‘s agricultural
products.

August 17: India called-off the Foreign Secretary-level bilateral talks with Pakistan. The decision
was taken by the Union government after Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit invited
Kashmiri separatist Hurriyat leaders in Delhi for a meet.

August 19: Chinese troops are reported to have entered 25 to 30 km deep into Indian territory in
Burtse area in Ladakh where they had pitched their tents last year that had led to a tense three-
week standoff.

August 20: China has successfully launched the most advanced high-definition Earth observation
satellite Gaofen-2 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China‘s Shanxi Province,
which could clearly show small objects with clarity in colour.

August 23: The government has set up a four-member panel of secretaries from different
ministries to work out a new gas pricing mechanism.

August 24: An Indian, who has invented a machine that can be used to make cheap sanitary pads,
hopes that the device would be available in 70 developing countries by next year.

August 25: The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first Indian Institute
of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) of the country at Shibpur, Howrah, West
Bengal.

August 26: Air Marshal HB Rajaram, Air Officer-in-charge Administration, Air HQs flagged in
the ‗all women cycle expedition‘ team on their successful completion of the mission ‗Kshitij-
Se-Pare‘.

August 27: The government has planned 20 new advanced cancer treatment facilities across the
country (one in each state) over the next few years to meet the rising burden of the disease. For
Madhya Pradesh, the Centre has planned a new State Cancer Institute (SCI), along with two
Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCC).

August 30: Notwithstanding a better gender balance in the southern part of the country, child
marriage has been found to be on the rise in Kerala in recent years, according to UNICEF.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

REER: Real Effective Exchange Rate NEER: Nominal Effective Exchange Rate LIBOR:
London Inter Bank Offer Rate MIBOR: Mumbai Inter Bank Offer Rate EFT: Electronic Fund
Transfer NEFT: National Electronic Funds Transfer RTGS: Real Time Gross Settlement ATM:
Automated Teller Machine CBS: Core Banking Solution NEFT: National Electronic Fund
Transfer CAR: Capital Adequacy Ratio NPA: Non-Performing Asset IMPS: Inter-bank Mobile
Payment Service BCBS: Basel Committee on Banking Supervision RSI: Relative Strength Index
IFSC: Indian Financial System Code MSME: Micro Small and Medium Enterprises LIBOR:
London Inter Bank Offered Rate LIBID: London Inter Bank Bid Rate ECGC: Export Credit
Guarantee Corporation of India SWIFT: Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication STRIPS: Separate Trading for Registered Interest & Principal Securities
CIBIL: Credit Information Bureau of India Limited CRISIL: Credit Rating Information Services
of India Limited AMFI: Association of Mutual Funds of India FCCB: Foreign Currency
Convertible Bond CAC: Capital Account Convertibility IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH 5
SEPTEMBER: Teacher’s Day (Birth Day of S. Radha krishnan) 8 SEPTEMBER: World
Literacy Day 14 SEPTEMBER: World Fraternity and Apology Day 14 SEPTEMBER: Hindi
Diwas ( Day) 15 SEPTEMBER: Engineer’s Day 16 SEPTEMBER: World Ozone Day 20
SEPTEMBER: Railway Police Force (RPF) Foundation Day 21 SEPTEMBER: Alzheimer’s Day
24 SEPTEMBER: World Deaf Day and World Heart Day 27 SEPTEMBER: World Tourism
Day SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2014 The
Commonwealth Games 2014 or the XX Commonwealth Games as it is officially known took
place in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom from July 23 to August 3, 2014. It is the largest
multi-sport event ever held in Scotland with around 4,950 athletes from 71 different nations and
territories competing in 18 different sports, although the country previously hosted the 1970 and
1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. There are total 17 sports. This is the 20th edition of
the Commonwealth Games. MOTTO: The motto of Commonwealth Games 2014 is People,
Place, Passion. LOGO: Keeping three factors time, data and measurement in mind, Marque
Creative designed the official logo. The rings in the logo are proportioned to represent the 20th
Commonwealth Games, across 17 sports, over 11 days in 1 city. MASCOT: Clyde, a cheeky wee
thistle is the mascot of Commonwealth Games 2014. England finished top of the medal table for
the first time since the 1986 Commonwealth Games, also held in Scotland. MEDAL TALLY:
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 England 58 59 57 174 2 Australia 49 42 46 137 3
Canada 32 16 34 82 4 Scotland 19 15 19 53

5 India 15 30 19 64

INDIA IN THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: India who had finished second in the 2010
Commonwealth Games with an overall tally of 101 medals (38 gold, 27 silver & 36 bronze
medals), managed only 64 medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games – with the medals tally
comprising 15 gold, 30 silver and 19 bronze. India kept occupying fifth spot on the medals table.
On closing ceremony, the Indian contingent‘s flag bearer was Seema Punia, who won Silver in
women's discus throw. While, the torch bearer in the opening ceremony was ace shooter Vijay
Kumar, the 2012 London Olympics Silver medalist. Dipa Karmakar scripts history, wins first
gymnastic medal for India at Commonwealth Games. She bagged a bronze in the vault event. 15
INDIANS WHO WON GOLD AT 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES, GLASGOW •
Yogeshwar Dutt: Men's wrestling, 65 kg freestyle • Babita Kumari: Women's wrestling, 55 kg
freestyle • Sushil Kumar: Men's wrestling, 75kg • Amit Kumar: Men's wrestling, 57kg • Vinesh
Phogat: Women's wrestling, 48kg • Satish Sivalingam: Men's weightlifting, 77 kg (broke the
Commonwealth Games record for the snatch with a mark of 149kg) • Vikas Gowda: Men's
discus throw (first person to win a gold medal for India in 56 years in Men's Athletics after
Milkha Singh in 1958) • Jitu Rai: Men's shooting, 50 m Pistol • Rahi Sarnobat: Women's
shooting, 25 m Pistol • Apurvi Chandela: Women's shooting, 10 m Air Rifle • Abhinav Bindra:
Men's 10m Air Rifle • K. Sanjita Chanu: Women's weightlifting 48 kg category (wins India‘s
first Gold medal at 2014 Commonwealth Games). • Sukhen Dey: Men's weightlifting 56 kg
category • Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa: Women's squash

• Parupalli Kashyap: Men's Badminton (became first Indian man in 32 years to win badminton
gold at the Games).

The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia in 2018. Ramon
Magsaysay Award 2014 The list of Awardees for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for
year 2014 has been announced. THE AWARDEES ARE: 1. Hu Shuli: An investigative
journalist from China whose work was instrumental in the dismissal of corrupt officials. She is
the founder and former editor of Caijing a business magazine widely-known for its
groundbreaking investigative reporting that has made a significant impact on China. 2. Saur
Marlina Manurung: The Award recognizes her outstanding efforts to protect and improve the
lives of Indonesia‘s forest people, and her kinetic leadership of volunteers in SOKOLA‘s
customized educationprogram. 3. Omara Khan Masoudi: The award has been conferred upon
him in recognition of his courage, labor, and leadership in preserving Afghan cultural heritage.
At great risk to his life, the deputy director of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul led
his colleagues in moving some of the museum‘s most precious objects to safety during the
Taliban‘s attack on his country‘s cultural treasures in the 1990s. 4. The Citizens Foundation from
Pakistan: It is an NGO in Pakistan founded by six business leaders. It built 1,000 schools over
hundreds of cities and towns in the country which is home to the world‘s second highest number
of children who are out of school. 5. Wang Canfa: He is a Chinese Professor who founded the
Center forLegal Assistance to Pollution Victims, which has provided free legal services to
thousands of people and imparted environmental law training to lawyers and others. 6. Randy
Halasan: The award is in recognition of his extraordinary leadership and service to the
indigenous Matigsalug tribe. He made huge efforts in teaching the children of the Matigsalug
tribe in one of the remotest mountain villages in Mindanao, Philippines. RAMON
MAGSAYSAY AWARD: The Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia‘s highest honor and is also
regarded as the region‘s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It commemorates the leadership example
of the third Philippine president after whom the award is named. The award is conferred every
year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same altruistic and philanthropic
service that dominated the life of the late and highly respected Filipino leader. PRADHAN
MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his government's mega scheme 'Jan Dhan Yojana',
declaring that it was aimed at eradicating financial untouchability by providing bank accounts to
the poor. On the inaugural day, a record 1.5 crore bank accounts were opened across the country,
the largest such exercise on a single day possibly anywhere in the world.Like us on-
https://www.facebook.com/Emahendras

Unveiling the scheme within 100 days of forming the new government, Modi said, it will cover
7.5 crore people by January 26, 2015. FIVE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE PM JAN
-balance bank

who open accounts by January 26, 2015 over and above the Rs1 lakh accident, they will be given

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a person can transfer funds, check balance

banking for the poor would be available through National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) for
which all banks and mobile companies have come together. EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE (EVD)
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal
illness in humans. Four West African countries Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea are
struggling with the worst Ebola outbreak in history, one that has begun to spread to other nations.

virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through
human-to-
ensive supportive care. No
licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or animals.

SEPTEMBER 2014

RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

September 1: State Bank of India (SBI) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)
signed a dual-currency loan agreement to set up an export credit line.

Note: The loan is co-financed with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd (BTMU) amounting
to 13.5 billion Japanese Yen ($135 million) and $21 million approximately.

September 1: Financial sector giant Nippon Life said it will partner Anil Ambani-led Reliance
Group for a proposed Reliance Bank and launched two India-focussed funds for Japanese
investors.

Note: The two funds will direct investments by Japanese retail investors into Indian equity and
bond markets.
September 2: RBI has issued amendments to Basel 3 norms. It has allowed banks to issue
additional Tier 1 capital instruments. The RBI said that banks must have a provision of Point of
Non-Viability (PONV) for every non-equity instrument.

September 2: United Bank of India declared debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines and its owner Vijay
Mallya as wilful defaulters.

Note: What is a Wilful Default?

A wilful default occurs when either a borrower has not repaid when he can do so, or when
sanctioned funds have been used for other purposes or when the borrower disposes off the assets
assured for availing of the loan without the bank’s knowledge.

September 3: Axis Bank which is India's third largest private bank has been featured in Forbes
Asia's FAB 50 list of 2014.

Note: This is the fourth time that Axis Bank has been featured and is amongst the only two banks
in this renowned list.

September 3: The RBI has issued directions to The Choundeshwari Sahakari Bank Ltd. of
Kolhapur, Maharashtra that will require the bank to seek prior approval for its banking business.

September 9: The Reserve Bank of India will adopt a common recruitment system from next
year to tap talent for its core functions.

September 9: The Reserve Bank of India decided to fix the maximum age for Managing
Directors and Chief Executive Officers in private sector banks at 70.

September 13: State Bank of India, SBI, celebrated 150 years of its operations in Sri Lanka

September 19: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed to segregate the post of Chairman and
Managing Director (CMD) of Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks.

Note: i. At present, the post of CMD in PSU banks is vested with one person only. ii. The only
exception among the PSU banks is State Bank of India where the top position is commanded by
the chairman and there are four managing directors with clearly defined executive roles.

September 20: With the objective of addressing sanitation related health concerns, the Urban
Development Ministry and the Bill & Milinda Gates Foundation have agreed on a partnership to
promote user friendly toilets to ensure universal sanitation in the country.

September 21: Coca-Cola India has launched its zero sugar soft drink — Coca-Cola Zero — in
line with its strategy to make India its fifth largest market by 2020.
September 23: Google India announced to launch a nationwide contest to develop a mobile app
for Prime Minister’s office (PMO). The contest will be held in collaboration with the citizen
engagement platform of the government, MyGoV.

September 24: Private sector bank ICICI Bank launched a savings account for minors above 10
years of age with the name “ Smart star”.

September 26: Global rating agency Moody 2014 released a report titled Indian Banks Could
Need 26-37 billion US dollar in External Capital for Basel III Compliance.

September 26: RBI released Gopalakrishna Committee report on Capacity Building in banks and
non-banks. The committee has recommended a 360-degree feedback for a transparent and
comprehensive performance assessment exercise, one that ensures adequate performance
differentiation between employees.

September 26: State Bank of India (SBI) and Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of
India (ICICI) allowed kids to operate bank accounts independently.

SBI had launched new accounts Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan for kids. Now, ICICI Bank has
launched Smart Stars account and Federal Bank Limited has Young Champ Account for minors.

September 27: State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender announced that it has
signed a Line of Credit (LoC) of 500 million dollar with Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea
Eximbank).

September 28: Seeking to expand Asian operations, Qatar-based Doha Bank will acquire the
Indian operations of the HSBC Bank Oman.

September 29: RBI announced fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement and keept key
rates unchanged.

September 29: The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, relaxed Know Your Customer, KYC norms by
allowing self-certification of documents for opening bank accounts. RBI has reduced the
liquidity provided under the export credit refinance (ECR) facility from 32 per cent of eligible
export credit outstanding to 15 per cent with effect from October 10.

September 30: The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, relaxed Know Your Customer, KYC norms by
allowing self-certification of documents for opening bank accounts.

NATION THIS MONTH

September 1: India will get USD 35 bn from Japan over the next five years for developmental
projects, including building of smart cities and next generation infrastructure
September 2: Congress has secured chairmanship of five Parliamentary Standing Committees
after failing to get the Leader of the Opposition post in the Lok Sabha.

Note: Its members M. Veerappa Moily, Shashi Tharoor and P. Bhattacharya will now head the
important committees on Finance, External Affairs and Home respectively.

September 2: India has slipped to 71st position, in an annual global competitiveness list, where
Switzerland remains on top.

September 3: India’s largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS said the
tenure of its Chief Executive Officer and MD N. Chandrasekaran has been extended by five
years to October 2019.

September 3: The government has set-up a seven-member, H.R. Khan Committee to examine the
un-claimed amount in PPF, Post Office and Savings Schemes.

September 4: Karnataka became the first State in the country to launch a Health Adalat.

September 4: The new capital of Andhra Pradesh will be located in the Vijayawada region.

Hyderabad will serve as the shared capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for another 10
years until 2024.

September 4: The Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R.K. Dhowan dedicated INS Sumitra, one of the
biggest surveillance ship of the Indian Naval Force at Chennai.

September 4: Indo-Nepal 14-day long joint military exercise Surya Kiran-VII concluded at
Pithoragarh. The exercise was seventh in the series.

September 5: The emergency management services provider GVK EMRI has signed a
memorandum of understanding with National Trauma Research Institute, Australia to improve
emergency trauma care services in the country.

September 8: The Government has constituted a four-member high-level committee under the
Chairmanship of former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian to review various environment
laws in order to bring them in line with current requirements.

September 9: The Union Cabinet gave its approval for implementing a comprehensive Telecom
Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region. The proposal entails an estimated cost of over
Rs. 5,336 crore.

September 12: India successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear-capable surface-to-

surface Agni-I missile from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. It has a striking range of 700 to
1250 km.
September 12: The Supreme Court ruled 3 percent quota for disabled persons in all government
jobs.

September 14: India and Vietnam inked seven pacts, including one to enhance cooperation in the
strategic oil sector, as they called for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

September 15: Government of Kerala will host a Global Agro meet and an exhibition on hi-tech
agriculture and food processing at Kochi on 6th and 7th of November.

September 15: Scientist Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, former director general of the CSIR has
been named the chair of an expert panel to recommend best technologies for Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's "Swachh Bharat" national sanitation campaign.

September 16: Goa Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar launched ‘clean Goa Beautiful Goa”
campaign on Miramar Beach Panaji.

Note: Dustbins will be placed at every 100 meters interval; garbage will be collected from all
beaches where it will be segregated into different parts such as bio degradable and non bio-
degradable.

September 16: Public service broadcaster Doordarshan is celebrated its 55 years. Doordarshan
made a modest beginning in India on 15th September 1959.

September 17: Union Human Resource Development Ministry announced to fund Swachh
Vidyalaya campaign.

September 19: The government launched an electronic toll collection (ETC) programme in the
country under the brand name "FASTag".

Note: The ministry has roped in ICICI bank and Axis bank for the purpose.

September 19: The first Industrial Park under the Memorandum of Understanding signed
between India and China will be set up in Vadodara district.

September 20: A 28-year-old Indian architect has been named “young leader of tomorrow”
byTime magazine for his pioneering work in designing affordable flood-proof houses for slum
dwellers.

September 21: Government has sanctioned 2717 crore rupees for a period of 10 years to develop
the Nalanda University.

September 21: The Uttar Pradesh government decided to open Nirbhaya Centers in all districts of
the state. These Nirbhaya Centers will provide prompt help to the victims of crime against
women and also facilitate lodging of FIRs.
September 22: Hindi film 'Liar's Dice', a road drama starring Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin
Siddiqui in lead roles, has been selected as India's official entry to the best foreign film category
at the Oscar 2015 awards.

September 23: The 13th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the world's largest annual
gathering of the Indian diaspora, will be held in Gujarat capital Gandhinagar in January next year
to mark 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa.

September 23: Search giant Google launched a new social campaign in association with
Bollywood actor-director Farhan Akhtar’s initiative MARD, to increase internet literacy among
women in the country.

September 24: India created space history by successfully placing its low-cost Mars spacecraft in
orbit around the Red Planet in its very first attempt, catapulting the country into an elite club of
three nations.

September 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his pet “Make in India” campaign to put
India prominently on the global manufacturing map and, in turn, facilitate the inflow of new
technology and capital, while creating millions of jobs.

September 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the international community, the Southern
University System of Louisiana in United States has decided to confer an honorary doctorate
degree for his work in the field of inclusive growth.

September 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved 12 million dollars assistance to
United Nations to fight Ebola virus in Africa.

September 25: Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells Amul
brand of milk products ranked 15th among the top dairy organisations in the world in the
International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) – a global dairy knowledge organization.

September 26: Union Government Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban and
rural poor. The Yojana aims at alleviating urban and rural poverty through enhancement of
livelihood opportunities through skill development and other means.

September 28: Nation remembered Shaeed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh on his 107th birth anniversary.

September 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to
visit India with a trade mission.

September 29: The Bombay High Court directed the Union Government to strictly implement
the ban on manufacture of national flags made from plastic.

September 30: Government will soon launch Universal Health Assurance Mission to provide
affordable health services to people. Under the mission about 50 essential drugs with a
diagnostic package and 30 AYUSH drugs will be made available to all citizens at government
hospitals and health centers across the country.

September 30: The 10th edition of annual Indo-US joint military exercise is on at Ranikhet in
Uttarakhand. It is focused on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in
mountainous terrain in United Nations peace keeping scenario.

September 30: The Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government signed the Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) agreement with Google India for Digital AP project.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

September 3: India sliped to 62nd spot in effective stock market regulation ranking.

Note: The country, last year, stood at the 27th spot for effective regulation and supervision of
securities exchanges.

September 4: Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up India’s first of its kind Coral Garden in Gujarat.

September 9: Global business leaders and politicians have gathered in the northern Chinese city
of Tianjin for a meeting of the World Economic Forum. The Chinese Premier Li Kequiang will
open the event.

September 11: Rays Power Experts announced to set up 50 mw Solar Power Generation Park in
Andhra Pradesh. The total cost of the project is 300 crore ruppes and it will be completed by
January 2015.

September 12: Retail inflation moderated slightly to 7.8 per cent in August from 7.96 per cent in
July on the softening of the prices of vegetables and fuels.

September 15: India has welcomed the successful renegotiation of the stalled Tata Housing
development project in Maldives.

September 16: India's export growth slipped to 2.35 percent at 26.95 billion dollars in August,
pushing up trade deficit to 10.83 billion dollars.

September 17: Hero MotoCorp Limited has entered into an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh
Government for setting up a greenfield two-wheeler manufacturing plant in Chittoor district.
Hero is expected to invest about Rs. 1,600 crore on the project.

September 17: NTPC Limited, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited and Solar Energy
Corporation of India Limited signed agreement with Andhra Pradesh for setting up of large solar
power generation parks of about 1000 MW each. NTPC will invest Rs 7,000 cr in these parks.
September 19: Mukesh Ambani held on to his position as the richest man in India with a fortune
of Rs. 1.65 lakh crore, up 37 per cent from last year.

September 19: Microsoft Corp acquired the Swedish video game company Mojang for 2.5 billion
US dollars.

September 20: Microsoft Corp acquired the Swedish video game company Mojang for 2.5 billion
US dollars.

September 20: Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp acquired healthcare IT services provider
TriZetto Corp for 2.7 billion US dollars.

September 21: Pension regulator PFRDA has set up an expert committee under chairmanship of
former SEBI chief G.N. Bajpai to review the investment guidelines for national pension system
(NPS) schemes in private sector.

September 22: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's initial public offering now ranks as the world's
biggest in history at $25 billion, after the e-commerce giant and some of its shareholders sold
additional shares.

Note: Jack Ma founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

September 23: Punjab, Maharashtra, Bihar and Odisha are the only four states amid top 20 major
states in India that have seen a surge in employment generated by the CPSEs while rest of the
states have recorded a fall ranging between 3-22 per cent.

September 24: Adani Mining took a step closer to the development of Australian$2.2 billion
($1.94 billion) coal mining project in Australia after the federal government approved
construction of a rail haulage line.

September 25: Revising India’s GDP upwards by 0.3 per cent to 6.3 per cent in 2015, Asian
Development Bank (ADB) has said the economy shows a new promise of turnaround after the
election brought a stable government in May.

September 26: As negotiations with states on GST enter a critical stage, the Centre is looking
forward to implementation of the new indirect tax regime from 1st April 2016.

September 27: Emami biotech acquired Vanaspati brand Rasoi. Emami biotech is the edible oil
and bio-diesel arm of the Emami Group of Companies. The deal is estimated to be worth around
20 crore rupees.

September 27: The Forbes India magazine releasedThe 100 Richest Indian List 2014 on 25
September 2014. According to the Forbes India List, the Top 10 Richest people of India:
1. Mukesh Ambani; 2. Dilip Shanghvi; 3. Azim Premji; 4. Pallonji Mistry; 5. Lakshmi Mittal; 6.
Hinduja brothers; 7. Shiv Nadar; 8. Godrej family; 9. Kumar Birla; 10. Sunil Mittal

September 28: Finance Ministry has appointed a 15-member committee under the Chairmanship
of ICICI Bank Chairman K V Kamath to examine the financial architecture for Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.

September 29: ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC), has signed an agreement with Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) for
cooperation in the Latin American nation.

September 29: Delhi Metro has been ranked second among 18 international Metro systems in
terms of overall customer satisfaction in an online customer survey.

September 29: President’s rule has been in poll-bound Maharashtra after Chief Minister
Prithviraj Chavan resigned following the break-up of 15-year-old Congress-NCP alliance in the
state.

September 30: The Finance Ministry has appointed a 15-member committee under the
Chairmanship of ICICI Bank Chairman K.V. Kamath to examine the financial architecture for
the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.

September 30: Hydrocarbon behemoth Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) will
contribute Rs. 20.75 crore for the beautification and cleanliness of the Taj Mahal.

September 30: Auto Portal Cardekho acquired Gaadi.com. Cardekho is expected to have paid 11
million US dollar for Gaadi.com.

GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

September 1: A two-day international seminar on 'Blue Economy' begins in Dhaka to discuss

better ways to explore the resources of the Bay of Bengal.

Sept 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the TCS Japan Technology and Culture
Academy in Japan. The TCS Japan Technology and Culture Academy is a Joint Venture of Tata
Consultancy Services and Mitsubishi Corporation and the aim of establishing this academy is to
enhance the technological and cultural knowledge between Indian and Japanese IT professionals.

September 2: Israel on announced to take over West Bank land. The area will be named as
Gevaot. The land portion is located south of Bethlehem.

September 3: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott launched the 'New Colombo Plan' at the
Mumbai University during his two-day India visit.
Note: The New Colombo Plan is a concept of collective inter-governmental efforts to strengthen
the economic and social development of member countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

September 5: India and Australia inked three more pacts, which are as follows: i. MOU on
cooperation in Sport ii. Renewal of MOU on cooperation in the field of Water Resources
Management iii. MoU on Cooperation in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

September 6: Wales hosted the largest gathering of international leaders ever to take place in
Britain at the NATO summit on 4 to 5 September 2014.

Sept 6: India and Australia signed a pact on civil nuclear energy deal. This inking of the pact on
civil nuclear energy deal has opened decks for the sale of Australian uranium to India.

Sept 6: China – North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit 2014 was held in Wales,
UK from 4 to 5 September 2014. This was the first summit held in the United Kingdom since
Margaret Thatcher welcomed NATO leaders to London in 1990.

September 6: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the first ever India
Investment meet in Bahrain capital Manama.

September 6: India and Germany agreed to prepare a roadmap for cooperation in skill
development, solid waste management and cleaning of rivers when Foreign Minister of Germany
Frank Walter Steinmeier visited India.

September 9: International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Interpol (International Police agency)
have increased their collaboration to combat match-fixing and illegal betting.

September 9: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged 50 million US dollars to
support emergency efforts to contain West Africa's Ebola epidemic.

September 16: Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived amidst tight security at the
Chennai airport to attend the audio launch of Vikram-starrer “I”.

September 16: The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on
16 September 2014. The theme for 2014 is Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On.

September 16: The G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial meet was held at Melbourne,
Australia.

September 19: It has been a tradition with visiting Chinese leaders to meet the family of Dr.
Dwarkanath Kotnis and President Xi Jinping followed it by meeting the sister of the famed
physician and recalling “the fine representative who gave his precious life in China”.

September 21: Nepal sought technical cooperation from India for extending Provident Fund (PF)
in organised and unorganised sectors in that country.
September 22: International Film Festival India 2014 will be held at Goa.

September 26: The G-4 Foreign Ministers of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan met in New York
on the margins of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to exchange views
on Security Council reform.

September 26: UN Climate Change Summit 2014 was held at UN headquarters in New York on
23 September 2014 to put the planet on course towards reversing global warming.

September 27: The US government will pay more than $500 million to the Native American
Navajo tribe in the US southwest, ending decades-old disputes over use of their land, officials
said.

September 28: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was named one of the top "gay icons"
of the last thirty years in recognition of his work for gay rights.

September 28: Pakistan test fired the Hatf IX -short range surface-to-surface missile.

September 28: Sri Lanka has won the backing of 22 nations in its battle against the UN's war
crimes probe into the country's human rights record during its brutal civil war.

September 29: UN High Commissioner for Refugees has said that the number of people seeking
refugee status in developed nations has gone up by 24 percent in the first half of 2014.

September 30: Volcano Mount Ontake in Japan erupted on 27 September 2014 killing more than
30 people and injuring as many people.

INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING

INDIA

September 8: Sushma Swaraj, the Union Minister of External Affairs and Minister for Overseas
Indian Affairs visited Bahrain. A range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest
were discussed during the meet with the leaders.

September 18: The President Pranab Mukherjee was on a visit to Vietnam from 14 to 17
September 2014.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

September 4: Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu appointed as the 42nd Chief

Justice of India.

September 4: Former Chief Justice of India, Palaniswamy Sathasivam was appointed as the new
Governor of Kerala
September 5: Ravindra Nath assumed the charge of Chairman and Managing director (CMD) of
National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC). He succeeded H P Kumar.

September 6: Chandrakala Padia was appointed as first women chairperson of Indian Institute of
Advanced Study (IIAS).She succeeded the former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

September 11: Senior IAS officer Subhash Chandra Garg was appointed as the Executive
Director (ED) of World Bank.

September 13: Narendra Ambwani on 12 September 2014 elected as Chairman of the

Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). He succeeded Partha Rakshit.

September 16: Meghalaya Governor, Dr. Krishan Kant Paul was sworn–in as the Governor of
Manipur.

September 17: The International Economic Association (IEA) appointed Kaushik Basu as
president-elect of the association beginning September 2014.

September 17: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was appointed as United Nations Messenger of Peace
with a special focus on climate change.

September 18: Lalitha Kumaramangalam was appointed as chairperson of National Commission

for Women (NCW).

September 19: US President Barack Obama nominated Indian-American Richard Rahul Verma
as the next US Ambassador to India.

September 23: Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar was appointed as the new head of the
Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He will replace Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam.

September 23: Hardeep Singh Puri was appointed as Secretary General of Independent
Commission on Multilateralism (ICM)

September 25: India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma was appointed as the new
president of the News Broadcasting Association (NBA) for the year 2014-2015.

September 25: Suresh Prabhu was appointed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sherpa for the
Group of 20 annual Summit 2014.

September 29: The Bangladesh government appointed Syed Muazzem Ali as the new
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India.

September 29: Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was sworn in as president of Afghanistan.

September 29: O. Panneerselvam is appointed as new chief minister of Tamil Nadu. He replace
J. Jayalalithaa.
AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

September 3: Vinod Mehta, eminent journalist and Editorial Chairman of Outlook group, was
selected for G K Reddy Memorial Award 2014. The award was announced by the TSR
Foundation on 2 September 2014 and the award will be presented in New Delhi in December
2014.

September 3: Mrunalinidevi Puar, Chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University was conferred

with the Best Manager award at the Oxford Summit of Leaders (Science and Education) in UK.

September 9: Dr. Kamal Bawa, an Indian Scientist won the MIDORI Prize in Biodiversity 2014.

September 10: Court, an Indian movie written and directed by Indian writer Chaitanya Tamhane
won the Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis award for a Debut Feature at the 71st Venice
Film Festival. The film that is a multilingual courtroom drama, won the award for its striking
narrative style.

September 10: The World Health Organisation (WHO) honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste
with South East Asia Regional Award for Excellence in Public Health. The newly instituted
awards were presented to Saima Hossain of Bangladesh and National Malaria Control
Programme of Timor-Leste in Dhaka.
September 16: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) CMD Madhusudan was one of the
awardees who was honoured with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for the Best
Hindi Implementation in the organisation.
September 24: Govind Mishra, the renowned Hindi author was given the Saraswati Samman in
New Delhi for his novel Dhool Paudhon Par that was published in 2008.
September 24: Hindi-language feature film Liar's Dice was selected for India’s official entry in
the 2015 Oscars Awards. The film is directed by Geethu Mohandas.
September 26: Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden and Alan Rusbridger, editor
of The Guardian won Right Livelihood Award. The Right Livelihood Award is also known as
Alternative Nobel prize of Sweden.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

September 1: Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland set world record in the womens hammer throw at the
Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) Berlin Athletics meet at Berlin's Olympic stadium in
Germany.

September 1: In Cricket, hosts Zimbabwe defeated Australia by 3 wickets in the fourth match of
the tri-nation series. This is was Zimbabwe's first victory over Australia in 31 years.
September 2: Jaipur Pink Panther (JPP) owned by Abhisek Bachchan won the inaugural title of
the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League by defeating U Mumba at the NSCI Stadium in Mumbai.

September 2: Carolina Marin became the first Spaniard to win World Badminton Championship
titles by defeating world number one Li Xuerui of China.

September 2: China’s Chen Long won the men’s singles titles of the World Badminton
Championships.

September 3: World champion India have been confirmed as the number-one ranked side in the
Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings following Zimbabwe’s three wickets victory over Australia in
a triangular series match in Harare.

September 3: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will send pace bowlers to the
MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai for training. Both signed a five-year agreement in this regard.

September 3: India defeated England by 9 wickets in the penultimate ODI at Birmingham last
night, to claim the 5-match series.

September 4: Kei Nishikori became the first man from Japan to reach the U.S. Open semifinals
in 96 years, outlasting third-seeded Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.

Note: The last Japanese semifinalist at the U.S. Open was Ichiya Kumagae in 1918.

September 5: Ritu Rani will lead a 16-member Indian women's hockey team in the Asian Games.

September 5: India's Sania Mirza and her Brazilian teammate Bruno Soares have lifted the
Mixed Doubles trophy of the US Open by defeating the American-Mexican team of Abigail
Spears and Santiago Gonzalez.

September 5: Indian Army's Lt Colonel Sudhakar Jayant completed a hat trick of titles after
clinching the gold medal for the third time at the IWF World Masters Weightlifting
Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.

September 7: World number one Serena Williams on 7 September 2014 won her third
consecutive US Open trophy.

September 9: Croatia's Marin Cilic has won Men's Singles title at the US Open Tennis. Cilic
defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan.

September 9: The International Cricket Council, ICC, suspended Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan's off
spin bowler, for illegal action.

September 12: Chitresh Tatha, 12, is the youngest sailor to represent India at the 2014 Asian
Games.
September 16: Sabine Lisicki won her first WTA title in three years by defeating Karolina
Pliskova 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the Hong Kong Open.

September 16: USA won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 by defeating Serbia. The World Cup
was held at Madrid, Spain.

September 17: Young Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy clinched the maiden title of his career after
winning the Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold after defeating local favourite Firman Abdul
Kholik in the finals played at Palembang, Indonesia.

September 17: Meghalaya's Edward Mawthoh has bagged a bronze medal at the World
Kickboxing Championships 2014 held in Italy.

September 18: AIBA Executive Committee Bureau formally recognised Boxing India as the
provisional AIBA National Federation to represent the sport of boxing in India.

September 19: India slipped eights places to be ranked 158th in the latest FIFA rankings headed
by World Champions Germany.

September 19: 17th Asian Games begins at the coastal city of Incheon in South Korea.

In the athletes march past, Indian hockey captain Sardar Singh led the country's contingent.
Nepal led the march past.

September 20: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) executive board approved Indonesia as
hosts for the 2018 Asian Games which faces a growing battle to find venues because of the cost.

September 21: Li Na, a two-time Grand Slam champion from China who took tennis in Asia to a
new level, has retired due to recurring knee injuries.

September 22: New York-listed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), along with Ten Sports
channel, will invest a little over $100 million ( Rs 600 crore) in the Indian sporting related
entertainment market, according to sources.

September 22: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black have
bagged the women's doubles title at the WTA Toray Pacific Open tournament.

September 23: Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai clinched a historic gold in the 50m Pistol and Shweta
Chaudhry gave India first medal by clinching bronze in the Women 10m Air Pistol Finals.

September 23: Hockey India (HI) inducted Hockey Village India (HVI) as an Academy Member
to reach out to underprivileged children who are keen to make a career in the sport.

Note: At present, Hockey India has 26 permanent Members, 23 associate Members, one Member
through State Olympic Associations, eight Academy Members and one Hoc-Key Member.
September 23: Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian to enter the Asian Games final, beating
2006 champion Ong Beng Hee.

September 24: The IPTL, brainchild of Mahesh Bhupathi, announced that Swiss great Roger
Federer will replace Rafael Nadal in the Indian team for the new tennis league as the Spaniard
has pulled out due to injury.

Note: i. The league will kick off on November 28 in Manila and conclude in Dubai on December
13.

ii. The Delhi leg will be played from December 6-8 at Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium.

September 24: Shooter Abhinav Bindra broke his Asian Games jinx by clinching his first
individual medal — a bronze — in the men’s 10m air rifle and then said it could be his last major
international competition as he has decided to become a hobby shooter from now on.

September 24: International Cricket Council has announced that ICC World Cricket League,
WCL Division 3 will be held in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur from 23rd to 30th October.

September 24: On 5th day of Incheon Asian Games, India has bagged a Bronze in Rowing. This
was India's 10th Bronze of the Incheon Games.

September 25: Marvan Atapattu's appointment as Sri Lanka's first full-time local coach in 15
years has been confirmed by Sri Lanka Cricket, following a six-week vetting process, and his
three-month tenure as interim coach.

September 25: Indian rowers were the star performers, bagging two bronze medals, while the
unheralded women shooters added another bronze as India maintained their 15th position in the
overall standings with a tally of 15 in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon.

September 26: Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh of Australia were selected as
Bradman Honouree 2014.

September 27: The working committee of the BCCI retained former India all-rounder Ravi
Shastri as the Director of the Indian cricket team till the ICC World Cup next year.

September 27: Creating a landmark in the history of Indian sports, India beat hosts and World
champions South Korea in the men's compound archery team final at the Gyeyang Asiad
Archery Field for the country's second gold of 17th Asian Games.

September 28: Indian Men's Squash team scripts history as they won the first ever Gold medal in
the Asiad. They defeated Malayasin Team 2-Nil to fetch the gold. This was fourth medal from
squash in this Asian Games.
September 29: Yogeshwar Dutt ended India’s 28-year-old wait for a wrestling gold medal in the
Asian Games by emerging champion in the men’s freestyle 65kg category at the Dowon
Gymnasium in Incheon.

September 29: Khushbir Kaur became the first Indian woman to win a medal in race walking in
the Asian Games as she clinched silver in 20km event on the second day of the athletics
competition.

September 29: Indian pair of Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare settled for a bronze after
losing their women’s doubles semifinal to Chinese Taipei’s Chin Wei Chan and Su Wei Hsiehin
in the Asian Games, in Incheon.

September 30: India's Seema Poonia grabbed gold in the women's discus throw event. This is
India's fifth gold. Seema threw 61.03 meters to bag the gold.

September 30: Veteran Indian star Leander Paes has lifted the ATP Malaysian Open title with
new partner Marcin Matkowski.

September 30: Europe has retained Golf's Ryder Cup, easily defeating the United States for its
eighth victory in the last 10 times in the biennial event.

EULOGIES THIS MONTH

September 1: Renowned Telugu filmmaker Sattiraju Lakshminarayana nicknamed Bapu died in

Chennai. He passed away due to a cardiology-related ailment. He was 80.
September 2: Former foreign secretary and a member of the Indian Foreign Service AP
Venkateshwaran died at 84. September 3: Former
Attorney General of India Goolam Essaji Vahanvati died of a heart attack in Mumbai at 65.He
was the first Muslim to become India's Attorney General.
September 5: Legendary US comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers died at 81.
September 9: A former NASA chief scientist Dr. Noel W due to brain tumor at 78.
He was involved in the scientific exploration of the moon for the Apollo program and later
oversaw projects such as the Mars Surveyor Program.
September 11: Actor Richard Kiel who played steel-toothed villain role in two James Bond films
died at 74. September 12: Freedom fighter and veteran
journalist Jitendra Chandra Paul died.
September 15: Educationist Kireet Joshi died. He was a former education adviser to the Union
government in 1976. September 15: Yoshiko Yamaguchi, the film
actress of Japan died due to heart failure. She was 94. She was known as Rikoran and Shirley
Yamaguchi in the US.
September 19: Dr. Shakeel Auj, a liberal religious scholar and professor and a dean of Islamic
Studies at Karachi University was shot dead. September 20: Music Maestro Mandolin player
Uppalapu Srinivas died.
September 23: The veteran cricket historian and statistician Anandji Dossa died.
September 30: Former International cricket umpire Mohammad Ghouse died.
September 30: Bibi Prakash Kaur, the last surviving real sister of martyr Bhagat Singh died.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH
September 1: India will have Asia's first Ballistic Research Centre which will help it in achieving
self-reliance in testing of armored vehicles. The research centre will soon be functioning at
Gujarat Forensic Science University, GFSU, in Gandhinagar.
September 2: The revived Nalanda University on 1 September 2014 started its first session with
15 students in its makeshift campus at the Buddhist pilgrim town of Rajgir, about 100 km from
Patna.
Note: Nalanda University Vice-Chancellor - Gopa Sabharwal Chairman of the Governing Body
of the university - Economist Amartya Sen September 2: Japan agreed to work with India in
developing a treatment for the sickle cell anaemia.
September 3: A study by KPMG-FICCI says India ranks among the top three medical tourism
destinations in Asia. September 3: The Indian Green Building
Council announced three rating systems to cover schools, metro rail projects and new buildings.
September 4: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched India's first National Anti-Tuberculosis
Drug Resistance Survey in New Delhi. September 8: The country's first wholesale centre
(mandi) for trading in fruit and vegetables outside the jurisdiction of an Agriculture Produce
Marketing Committee (APMC) is coming up at Alipur in north Delhi.
September 9: H. Devaraj Committee reported that most of the deemed universities are not fit for
being a university. September 9: Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory,
which provides services to various companies for testing of armour panels and bullet-proof
jackets, is likely to soon tie-up with a US-based firm to share best practices in the field of
ballistic testing. September 15: Naseeruddin Shah's autobiography
"And Then One Day", released recently. Shah started writing about his life in 2002. September
17: Researchers at the University of Missouri (US)have created a long-lasting and more efficient
nuclear battery that could be used as a source of reliable energy in automobiles and space flight.

September 18: Former Director General of Police of Assam, Sanker Baruah committed suicide,
he shot himself down with his. His suicide came after CBI raided his residence during the course
of investigation of multi-crore Saradha chit fund case.

September 19: Scotland has rejected independence and decided to stay with United Kingdom.
September 20: NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft began orbiting Mars on a mission to study how the
Red Planet’s climate changed over time from warm and wet to cold and dry.
September 23: Alliance Air, the wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the North East Council for flight operations in the North East.
September 27: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was convicted under prevention of
corruption act by a special court in Bangalore. She has been given a jail term of 4 years by the
bangalore special court and slapped a fine of 100 crores.
September 29: World Heart Day was observed on 29th September.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

CCEA : Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

PMJDY: Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana

ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

MCA: Model Concession Agreement

MEDA: Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer

CSF : Commonwealth Shooting Federation

NCDEX : National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd.

CMSA : Chief Minister's Social Assistance

OECD : Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

SMAP: Soil Moisture Active Passive

UNSC : United Nations Security Council

ICHR : Indian Council of Historical Research

DERC : Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission

NCRDBD : National Centre for Research & Development in Bulk Drugs

NBA : National Basketball Association

NGRBA : National Ganga River Basin Authority

RRTS: Regional Rapid Transit System

ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

IPDS: Integrated Processing Development Scheme

SNIF: Special National Investment Fund

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH

5 September: Teacher’s Day (Birth Day of S. Radhakrishnan)

8 September: World Literacy Day

14 September: World Fraternity and Apology Day

14 September: Hindi Diwas ( Day)

15 September: Engineer’s Day

16 September: World Ozone Day

20 September: Railway Police Force (RPF) Foundation Day

21 September: Alzheimer’s Day

24 September: World Deaf Day and World Heart Day

27 September: World Tourism Day

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH Asian Games 2014

The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the XVII Asiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated
in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 – October 4, 2014, with 439 events in 36 sports and
disciplines featured in the Games. Next Asian Games 2018 will be held in–Jakarta, Indonesia.
Vietnam had originally been picked to host the 18th Games in 2019, but withdrew blaming
fallout from an economic crisis. Indonesia immediately became favourites to host the 2018 Asian
Games. BACKGROUND

The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a Pancontinental multi-sport event held every four
years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games
Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the
1982 Games they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the breakup
of the Asian Games Federation. The Games are recognized by the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic
Games.

Incheon was awarded the right on April 17, 2007, defeating Delhi, India to host the Games.
Incheon was the third city in South Korea after Seoul (1986) and Busan (2002) to host the Asian
Games. Slogan Unveiled on September 16, 2010, "Diversity Shines Here" is the official slogan
of the Games. It represents and highlights the significance of Asia’s wonderful diversity in
history, cultures, and religions. Theme The theme of the 2014AsianGames is Meet Asia’s Future.
Mascot

The Official Mascot of the Asian Games 2014 is the Harbour Seal Siblings - Barame, Chumuro
and Vichuon means wind, dance and light in Korean language. They were chosen above the
famous landmark in South Korea because of they will act as the peace messengers between
South and North Korea.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS China set a new Asian Games record with 416 medals including
199 gold medals. They have been defending table toppers for the eighth consecutive time with
China leading the final medal tally with South Korea (232) and Japan (216) were placed third in
the medal table. Events The number of events in the Asian Games 2014 is 439 in 36 sports and
disciplines. They are Aquatics (Diving, Swimming, Synchronized swimming, Water polo),
Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball (Baseball, Softball), Basketball, Bowling, Boxing,
Canoeing, Sprint, Slalom, Cricket, Cycling (BMX, Mountain bike, Road, Track), Equestrian
(Dressage, Eventing, Jumping), Fencing, Field hockey, Football, Golf, Gymnastics (Artistic,
Rhythmic, Trampoline), Handball, Judo, Kabaddi, Karate, Modern pentathlon, Rowing, Rugby
sevens, Sailing, Sepaktakraw, Shooting, Squash, Table tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis (Tennis, Soft
tennis), Triathlon, Volleyball (Beach volleyball, Volleyball), Weightlifting, Wrestling, Wushu.
In addition, eight non-Olympic sports will be featured: baseball, ten-pin bowling, cricket,
kabaddi, karate, sepak takraw, squash and wushu. Medal Tally

China led the medal table for the ninth consecutive time. Cambodia won their first Asian Games
gold medal in taekwondo.37 NOCs won at least a one medal and 28 NOCs won at least one gold
medal. 8 NOCs failed to win any medal at the Games. India finished at 8th position in the 2014
Asian Games with 57 medals tally comprising 11 gold, 10 silver and 36 bronze. Kosuke Hagino
of Japan (Swimmer) is announced as the most valuable player. Hammer thrower Manju Bala's
medal was upgraded from bronze to silver after a Chinese competitor Zhang Wenxiu who
finished ahead of her was caught for doping. Like us on- https://www.facebook.com/Emahendras

Zhang Wenxiu is the sixth athlete to be kicked out of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea
for doping and the second gold medal-winner after Malaysia's wushu champion Tai Cheau Xuen.
Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 China (CHN) 151 108 83 342

2 South Korea (KOR) 79 71 84 234

3 Japan (JPN) 47 76 77 200

4 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 28 23 33 84

5 Iran (IRI) 21 18 18 57

6 Thailand (THA) 12 7 28 47

7 North Korea (PRK) 11 11 14 36

8 India (IND) 11 10 36 57
9 Chinese Taipei (TPE) 10 18 23 51

10 Qatar (QAT) 10 0 4 14

Total 439 439 576 1454

OCT 2014

RBI/BANKING/ECONOMY NEWS

- Union Cabinet approved proposal to amend Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

policy in construction and real estate sectors.

- India-Saudi agreed to cooperate in areas of strategic reserves, petrochemical

conservation, refineries and energy efficiency programmes. The areas include strategic reserves,
petrochemical conservation, research and development, refineries and energy efficiency
programmes.

- Telecom giant SoftBank announced to make an investment of 10 billion US

dollars in India's IT and Communications sector in coming years. SoftBank is aiming at telecom
space and e-commerce sector in India.

- The Union Finance Ministry scrapped the current selection process for the posts
of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) and Executive Director (ED) of Public Sector
Banks (PSBs).

- The Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) on 28 October 2014 announced to set up a Free
Trade and Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) on 100 acres, adjacent to its premises.

- The Union Finance Ministry on 27 October 2014 cancelled the current selection
process for the posts of CMD and Executive Director (ED) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs)

- World Bank report titled, India Development Update that claims India's GDP to
grow by 5.6 percent in Current Fiscal Year.

- The Union Government launched a dedicated website for Pradhan Mantri Jan-
Dhan Yojana available both in English and Hindi versions. The website, www.pmjdy.gov.inwas
launched by Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), GS Sandhu in New Delhi.

- RBI signed a pact with the Central Bank of Kenya for Supervisory Cooperation
and Exchange of Supervisory Information.

- Union Government for the first time decided to import potatoes to augment
domestic availability and check rising prices of the kitchen staple.
 - India's exports increased 2.73 percent in September 2014 worth of 28.90 billion
US dollar from 28.13 billion US dollar in September2014.

- Switzerland agreed to examine Indian requests for banking information on a

priority basis and provide requested details in a time-bound manner.

- Union Finance Ministry on 14 October 2014 approved 25 FDI proposals with

total investment of 1546 crore rupees.

- Union Finance Minister on 12 October 2014 gave the green signal for the much
awaited reforms in the monetary policy framework.

- Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation or retail inflation of September 2014 stood
at 6.46 percent as compared to the 7.3 percent in August 2014.

- JP Morgan on 10 October 2014 cut its India GDP growth projection for 2014-15
to 5.1 percent from 5.3 percent.

- Data released by Railway Ministry said that during April to September 2014,
Railways revenue earnings have gone up by over 12 percent.

- Shipping Corporation of India Limited launched India Myanmar Service (IMS)

Container service. The service will link South and East India to Myanmar via Chennai,
Krishnapatnam, Yangoon, Colombo port rotation.

- The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in first week of

October 2014 approved 33 defence proposals. Of these 33 proposals, 19 are related to the foreign
direct investment that aims to boost the manufacturing in defence sector.

- The Reserve Bank of India released fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy

Statement. Policy rates were kept unchanged in this announcement.

NATIONAL NEWS

- Union Government on 30 October 2014 announced to amend the Lokpal and

Lokayuktas Act, 2013 and to include the Leader of Opposition.

- Supreme Court of India said that a minority government can be formed in Delhi
with outside support of a political outfit.

- Union Government announced compensation of 5 lakh rupees for kin of 3325

people who were killed during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
 - Union Government submitted a list of 627 Indians holding black money abroad
in a sealed cover.

- Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 28 October 2014 launched Vanbandhu

Kalyan Yojana (VKY) for welfare of Tribal people. The scheme was launched on pilot basis in
one block each of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana,
Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

- Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 28 October 2014 announced

TB-Mission 2020 to eliminate Tuberculosis (TB) from India. The announcement was made at
WHO's Global TB Symposium titled Moving out of the box

to end global TB epidemic: with post-2015 strategy while addressing the 45th Union World
- Supreme Court on 28 October
2014 rapped the Union Government and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung over delay in
Delhi Government formation.
- The Union Government on 27 October 2014 disclosed names of black money
account holders in an affidavit to Supreme Court. The affidavit was filed after the union
government was attacked by political rivals that it was cautious of revealing names.
- Union Defence Ministry on 25 October 2014 cleared the deal worth 8000 crore
- Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs
(MCA) on 24 October 2014 announced that donations to the Swach Bharat Kosh and the Clean
Ganga Fund are now part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) spends by India Inc.
- Union government de-regulated the price of diesel and hiked in domestically
produced natural gas. This is the first reduction in diesel rates from 2009. The diesel price was
reduced by 2 rupees a litre to 30.86 rupees in January 2009.After the deregulation of diesel, the
rates of diesel will bring down rates by 3.37 rupees per litre.
- The union cabinet approved an inter-governmental Memorandum of
Understanding with Iran to upgrade the Chabahar port Phase-I.
- Union Government on 19 October 2014 decided to re-launch the modified
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme in an effective manner. The implementation of DBT will
be made on a mission mode between 10 November 2014 and 1 January 2015 in 54 districts.
- The Union Government on 19 October 2014 started a three-day training
programme for Ebola caregivers in Delhi. - Union Government on
18 October 2014 launched Jammu Kashmir Arogya Gram Yojna in Jammu and Kashmir. The
scheme aims to encourage farmers in J&K to cultivate scientifically tested and commercially
beneficial aromatic and medicinal plan - The Union Cabinet chaired
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 18 October 2014 approved the Ahmedabad Metro Rail
Project Phase-1.
- Union Home Ministry on 17 October 2014 drafted a new counter-Naxal
dOctoberrine. In the drafted law, the ministry clearly demarcated the role of the state police and
central paramilitary forces (CPMFs) in anti-Maoist operations.
 - Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Union Ministry of
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on 16 October 2014 amended the selection procedure
for the post of Chief of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
- Union government on 16 October 2014 launched Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev
- Union Ministry of S&T
launched a Joint Indo-Canadian Science Programme Focusing on Clean Water Technologies on
15 October 2014. India and Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding
the joint cooperation in areas of science and technologies between the two countries.
- The Union Ministry of H&FW on 14 October 2014 banned the import of
tober- Union Ministry of
Science & Technology launched The Maithreyi International Visiting Professorship.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)
on the birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan on 11 October 2014.
- Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) on 10 October 2014 constituted
17-member Committee to decongest roads of New Delhi.
- Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on 10 October 2014 launched the
National Mental Health Policy of India. It was the first ever Mental Health Policy of India which
was launched on the occasion of first ever National Mental Health Day organised by the Union
government.
ared on the basis of the recommendations
made by the Policy Group on Mental Health constituted by the Union Government in April 2011.
- The Post Sachar Evaluation Committee headed by Prof. Amitabh Kundu
submitted its final report to the Union Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptullah on 9
October 2014.
- The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) on 9 October 2014
constituted a special management team to facilitate and fast track investment proposals from
Japan. The team was named as Japan Plus.
- Union Government on 8 October 2014 decided to sell LED bulbs to households at
10 rupees against the market price of 400 rupees. In this regard, Union Power Ministry launched
a business model enabling the sale of LED bulbs to households at 10 rupees against the market
price of 400 rupees.
- Union Government launched Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) at Pashmina
- The Union Government
on 7 October 2014 launched a website attendance.gov.in. The move is aimed at increasing
transparency and accountability. The government launched the attendance system as part of its
- Union Ministry of Culture on 6
October 2014 launched year-long birth centenary celebrations of Ghazal singer Begum Akhtar
whose original name was Akhtar Bai Faizabadi.
- Union Petroleum Ministry on 3 October 2014 set up a Panel headed by
B.N.Talukar to inquire into the reasons for delay in developing gas discoveries in ONGC's
Krishna Godavari basin KG-D5 block.
- Union Government launched Swachhta Udyami Yojana – Swachhta Se
Sampannta ki Aur of National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation. The
scheme was launched by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Sudarshan
Bhagat on 2 October 2014.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 October 2014 launched Swachh Bharat
(Clean India) campaign in New Delhi. The Swachh Bharat campaign was launched on the
occasion of 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and is aimed at making India clean by
2019, i.e. 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
- Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy signed an MoU on 1 October
2014 for setting first-ever Offshore Wind Power Project in India along the Gujarat coast.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
- Seven Indian sailors who were held in captivity by the Somali pirates off the
coast of Somalia for four years were released in Harardhere.
- President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaore on 31 October 2014 announced to
resign following violent protests over his attempt to extend his 27-year rule.
- China in October 2014 overtook the US to become the world’s largest economy
- Deeper integration for peace and
prosperity was chosen as the theme for the upcoming 18th SAARC Summit to be held in
Kathmandu on 30 October 2014.
- India voted against the provisions of UN draft resolution asking all those
countries that have not joined the NPT to accede to it as non-nuclear weapon states.
- Protestors on 30 October 2014 set ablaze Parliament of Burkina Faso against
- Sweden on 30 October 2014 became

October- Bangladesh fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party chief Matiur Rahman Nizami was on
29 October 2014 sentenced to death by Bangladesh war crimes tribunal.
- India on 29 October 2014 was re-elected to United Nations Economic and Social
Council (ECOSO
October- World Bank on 29 October 2014 released the Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond
Efficiency Report. - Taiwan banned its
government officials from higher studies in mainland China for national security reasons.
- The General Assembly of Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) on
29 October 2014 elected Election Commission of India (ECI) as Chair of the organisation for the
next two years.
- World Economic Forum (WEF) on 28 October 2014 released the Global Gender
Gap Report 2014. The 2014 report provides Gender Gap scores for 142 countries compared to
136 countries included in 2013 report. In the Report, India with a score of 0.646 has been ranked
114. In 2013, India was ranked 101 out of 136 countries.
- India and Vietnam on 28 October 2014 signed seven Memoranda of
Understandings (MoUs) in New Delhi. The MoUs were signed during the visit of Vietnamese
PM Nguyen Tan Dung in India.
- India on 28 October 2014 announced to modernise defence forces of Vietnam.
During the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of India
Narendr
October- Brazilian incumbent President Dilma Rousseff was re-elected for her second four-year
term on 26 October 2014. She belongs to the center-left Workers’ Party and her second term will

October- A former mushroom and poultry farmer Leah Kalanguka was crowned as Miss Uganda
2014 on 26 October 2014. Leah Kalanguka topped the contest by beating 19 other finalists after
the competition that was designed to promote agriculture in the east African nation.
- India along with 20 other countries on 23 October 2014 signed an agreement to
become the founding member of the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
- India and Nepal on 21 October 2014 signed a Power Trade Agreement (PTA)
that allows exchange of electricity between the two countries. The agreement opened up new
vistas of cooperation between India and Nepal in power sector.
- India on 21 October 2014 was re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights
Council (UNHRC) for the period of 2015 to 2017. India was re-elected after it received the
highest, 162 votes in the Asia Pacific group in the election that was held in the UN General
Assembly in New York.
- India and China have agreed to step up engagements between their militaries by
setting up hotlines between the Army headquarters. The two sides have also agreed to establish
new border meeting posts to address incidents of incursions like the one in Ladakh area that
occurred in September 2014.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 20 October 2014 declared Nigeria as
Ebola free country. It was declared Ebola free after no new cases were reported within the 42 day
period stipulated by the WHO for a country to be declared Ebola free. The last reported case in
Nigeria was confirmed on 8 September 2014.
- Joko Widodo on 20 October 2014 was sworn in as seventh president of
- Minister of Economy,
Trade and Industry of Japan Yuko Obuchi on 20 October 2014 resigned from her position.
- Parliament of Australia on 19 October 2014 lifted ban on facial coverings
- UNSC urged the
international community to step up their support for the Iraqi government in intensifying their
battle against ISIS fighters.
- Egypt on 18 October 2014 signed contracts with six international firms to carry
- Nigeria on 17
October 2014 sealed a deal with the militant group Boko Haram to free the girls. The Chief of
Defence Staff of Nigeria Alex Badeh announced the truce. However, Boko Haram has not made
any public statement. -17 October- India
and China have agreed to step up engagements between their militaries by setting up hotlines
between the Army headquarters. The two sides have also agreed to establish new border meeting
posts to address incidents of incursions like the one in Ladakh area that occurred in September
2014.
- Venezuela, Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand and Spain on 16 October 2014 were
elected as non-permanent members of United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
- India and United Kingdom (UK) signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on Culture Cooperation over next five years on 15 October 2014. The MoU was signed
by the Minister of State for Culture Shripad Naik and Sajid Javed, Secretary, Department of
Culture, Media and Sport of United Kingdom.
- India and Norway on 14 October 2014 signed 13 agreements to promote
bilateral relations. These include agreement between Defence sector of two countries and an
agreement on exemption of visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and official passports.
- India on 12 October 2014 pledged 4 million US dollar aid for reconstruction of
Gaza Strip that was destroyed during the Palestine and Israel conflict which started in June 2014.
The decision was announced by Sandeep Kumar, Joint Secretary of West Asia and North Africa,
Ministry of External Affairs of India.
- India and the UK government launched UK-India Financial Partnership to
strengthen Links Between the Financial Services Industries.
- ATSB released Flight Path Analysis Update on lost Malaysian plane MH370
revealing that it spiralled into Southern Indian Ocean after its fuel ran out.
- World Bank (WB) group on 9 October 2014 launched Global Infrastructure
Facility (GIF) in partnership with private institutional investors.
- An Italian court in Busto Arsizio on 9 October 2014 acquitted Giuseppe Orsi and
Bruno Spagnolini of corruption charges in the 3600 crore rupees VVIP chopper deal with India.
- China on 8 October 2014 announced that it will launch a new constellation of
marine surveillance satellites by 2019. The satellites will monitor ships, oil rigs and marine
disasters. It aimed to amidst a string of raging maritime disputes with its neighbours.
- World Bank on 6 October 2014 released South Asia Economic Focus report.
According to the report, the region’s economy will expand by 6 percent in 2015 and by 6.4
percent in 2016 as compared to 5.4 percent in 2014, potentially making it the second fastest
growing region in the world after East Asia and the Pacific.
- The Mauritian parliament was dissolved on 6 October 2014 to pave the way for
elections that could lead to changes in the country's constitution. The parliament was dissolved
as the ruling Labour party wants to split powers between the president (now a largely ceremonial
position) and the Prime Minister and this split requires certain changes in the Constitution.
- Britain and Ireland on 6 October 2014 inked a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on new joint Visa cooperation. The agreement was signed at the Irish Embassy in London
by UK home secretary Theresa May and Irish Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.
- Pakistan recorded the highest number of polio cases in 14 years. This was
revealed by the data of polio cases released by the National Institute of Health of Pakistan on 3
October 2014. Days
- Rashtriya Ekta Diwas was observed on 31 October to commemorate the 139th
birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
- International Internet Day was observed globally on 29 October 2014 to mark
the anniversary of the first usage of the Internet to send a message electronically in 1969.
- Infantry Day was observed across the India on 27 October 2014 to pay homage
- World Day for
Audiovisual Heritage was observed across the world on 27 October 2014.
- World Polio Day observed across the world was observed to create awareness
- International Stammering Awareness
Day (ISAD) was observed on 22 October 2014. The day was observed to raise public awareness
about the people who have the speech disorder of stuttering, which is also known as stammering.
- The Police Commemoration Day was observed in New Delhi on 21 October
2014 with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh as chief quest.
- Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders (GIDD) Prevention Day observed across the
ctober- International Day
for the Eradication of Poverty observed across the world to promote people’s awareness on the
need to eradicate poverty worldwide.
- World Food Day was observed across the world on 16 October 2014.
- Global Handwashing Day observed across the world on 15 October 2014 with
- International
Day of the Girl Child observed with the theme Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle
- World Post Day was observed globally on 9 October to create
awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives.
- The Indian Air Force (IAF) was celebrated 82nd Air Force Day in New Delhi.
- -
World Animal Day was observed on 4 October across the world. It is observed to pay tribute to
- 24th International Day
of Older Persons (IDOP) 2014 was observed across the world on 1 October 2014. The theme was
- National Voluntary Blood

October- Malala Yousafzai, Indira Ranamagar and John Wood won the 2014 World’s Children
- Sir
Nicholas Winton was honoured Czech Republic’s Order of the White Lion at the age of 105 by
- Ashwika Kapur became first Indian
woman to win Wildscreen Panda Award in Best Newcomer category for her film, Sirocco - how
- Indian-American student Sahil Doshi won the 2014
Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for his innovative design of an eco-friendly
- Malala Yousafzai was conferred with the 2014 Liberty Medal at the
 - Congolese gynecologist Denis
Mukwege Mukengere on 21 October 2014 won the prestigious Sakharov human rights prize.
- Nobel Prizes 2014 was announced by the Nobel Assembly from 6 October to 13
- The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes for the year 2014 was
17 October- Nobel Prizes 2014 was announced by the Nobel
- The RBI governor Dr. Raghuram
Rajan was conferred with Euromoney’s Central Bank Governor of the Year Award 2014 in
- Indian-origin Singaporean poet and writer KTM Iqbal will be

October- Indian scientist Dr Sanjaya Rajaram on 16 October 2014 received the World Food Prize
ober- Richard Flanagan won Man Booker Prize for his wartime novel The
Narrow Road to the Deep North. The prize was presented to him by The Duchess of Cornwall.
- Noted lyricist Sameer was honoured with the National Kishore Kumar Award
for 2012- -
French economist Jean Tirole on 13 October 2014 won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Economics.
- All India National Unity Council on 11 October 2014 honoured poet-diplomat
Abhay K with Asia- - Malala Yousafzai and Kailash
- French economist
October- French
historical author Patrick Modiano on 9 October 2014 won the 2014 Nobel Prize for literature.
- Eric Betzig, Stefan W Hell and William E. Moerner on 8 October 2014 won the
- Anoop Jain on 8 October 2014 won 2014
Waislitz Global Citizen Award.

- Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was bestowed an honorary

knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.

- The President of India presented the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award 2014 to
Dr Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai.

- Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura on 7 October 2014 won the
2014 Nobel Prize for Physics.

- The Nobel Assembly on 6 October 2014 decided to award the 2014 Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine to John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser.

- Saiyid Hamid was conferred with Sir Ross Masood Lifetime Achievement Award
2014.

- Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan on 4 October 2014 received Global Diversity
Award 2014 at the Britain’s House of Commons.
SPORTS

- Pankaj Advani won IBSF World Billiards Championship in Bangalore.

- Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh entered Bradman Hall of Fame at a gala
dinner held at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground.

- Serena Williams of the US won the Singles title of BNP Paribas WTA Finals
Singapore 2014.

- Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won Venetian Macau Open. This was his second
title of the year fifth career win on the Asian Tour.

- Sania Mirza and Cara Black won the doubles title at the BNP Paribas WTA
Finals after defeating defending champions Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-1, 6-0.

- Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad on 26 October 2014 broke the 28-year old

record of P T Usha of winning the most medals at a multi-discipline event by an Indian.

- AIBA provisionally suspended Indian boxer Laishram Sarita Devi for protesting
against a controversial verdict, at 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

24 October- Pankaj Advani won the World Billiards Point Format Championship by
defeating Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist, 6-2 at Leeds, United Kingdom.

- Terry Walsh, the chief coach of Indian men’s hockey team resigned from his
post because of a pay dispute with the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

- BCCI decided to initiate legal proceedings against WICB and suspend all
bilateral tours for abrupt cancellation of their tour to India.

- Indian batsman Virat Kohli on 19 October 2014 claimed number two slot in the
International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings.

- India on 19 October 2014 successfully defended its Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC)
Under-21 Hockey title at Taman Daya Hockey Stadium, Johor Bohru, Malaysia. In the finals,
Indian team defeated Great Britain, 2-1.

- India won the 5 match ODI series of Cricket against West Indies, 2-1, after the
Caribbean team pulled out from the remainder of India tour.

- Barcelona Football Club player Luis Suarez received the European Golden Boot
Award on 16 October 2014.

- Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment on 13 October 2014

announced that a multi-sport Paralympic Games will be held in India in February 2015.
 - MC Mary Kom was chosen as Most Valuable Player of India’s Incheon Asian
Games campaign by contingent sponsors Samsung India.

- Indian shuttler, Ajay Jayaram won Dutch Open Grand Prix badminton
tournament by defeating Indonesia’s Ihsan Maulana Mustofa.

- British Formula One (F1) driver Lewis Hamilton on 12 October 2014 won the
inaugural Russian Grand Prix of Formula One.

- Lewis Hamilton won inaugural Russian Grand Prix.

- RCA removed former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi as its President after a
no—confidence resolution against Lalit Modi was passed in Jaipur.

- India will host first leg of Asia Cup Archery Tournament in Delhi in January
2015.

October- Roger Federer won his maiden ATP Shanghai Masters trophy by defeating
Gilles Simon, 7-6, 7-6.

- Government Girls Senior Secondary (GGSS) School of Hisar, Haryana on 10

October 2014 won the Under-17 title of the 55th Subroto Cup football tournament.

- The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 10 October 2014 awarded the global
broadcast agreement rights for ICC Events from 2015 to 2023 to Star India.

- International Cricket Council (ICC) banned the Zimbabwe bowler Prosper Utseya
and Bangladeshi bowler Sohag Gazi from bowling in international cricket.

- Rourkela Steel Plant felicitated hockey player Birendra Lakra who was a part of
the triumphant India team that defeated Pakistan in Asian Games.

October- Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the co-owner of the Indian Super League
franchise Chennaiyin FC.

- USA Swimming suspended Michael Phelps from all competition for six months
for violating the organization's code of conduct.

- CSK won CLT20 2014 title of Cricket by defeating KKR by 8 wickets in the final
match played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

- 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 was held in Incheon, South Korea from 19
September to 4 October 2014.
BOOKS/AUTHORS

- The novel “Half Girlfriend” authored by Chetan Bhagat was released on 1

October 2014.

- Biography of Allama Muhammad Iqbal was released in October 2014.

- President Pranab Mukhejee received first copy of book “Tulsi Smriti Granth on
Acharya Tulsi”. The book was formally released by Dr. Karan Singh.

- The book on Rajesh Khanna “Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh
Khanna” was released on 15 October 2014.

- “Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar” authored by Dilip D’Souza was released.
The book is a close scrutiny of Tendulkar’s last Test played at the Wankhede.

- Novel of Australian author Richard Flanagan, “The Narrow Road to the Deep
North” won the 2014 Booker Prize.

10 October- International edition of Encyclopedia of Hinduism by India Heritage Research

Foundation was released in New Delhi on 10 October 2014. The encyclopedia was released by
Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari. It consists of 11-volumes and approximately 7000 entries.

- A book titled “A Man and A Motorcycle, How Hamid Karzai Came to Power”
written by Bette Dam was launched recently. Bette Dam is a Dutch journalist.

- Authors of “Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace” says that
Pakistani spy agency ISI have close ties with terror groups.

- A book titled “Syntheism – Creating God in The Internet Age” authored by

Alexander Bard was released.

APPOINTMENTS

- Abhinav Bindra, ace shooter and the country’s only individual Olympic Gold
medalist, has been elected as the Chairman of International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF)
Athletes Committee.

- The BJP leader, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the 27th Chief Minister of
Maharashtra on 31 October.

- Vice President of Zambia Guy Scott was appointed as acting President by the
Zambia government.
 - Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar on 28 October 2014 was elected Vice-
President (VP) of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) in Macau.

- Surya Prakash was appointed as the Chairman of Prasar Bharti Board for a term
of three years.

- Sandeep Saxena was appointed as new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Tamil
Nadu on 27 October 2014.

- The former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on 26 October 2014 was designated
as the head of Future Earth Engagement Committee.

- Indian-American Anita M Singh on 21 October 2014 was appointed as Chief of

Staff and Counselor in the National Security Division (NSD) of the US Justice Department.

- Vanita Gupta Indian-American attorney appointed temporary head of

Department of Justice’s civil rights division.

- Union Urban Development Ministry appointed PSN Rao as the new Chairman
of the Delhi Urban Art Commission. He succeeds Raj Rewal.

- ACC approved appointed of Rajiv Mehrishi as the Secretary, Department of

Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance in place of Arvind Mayaram.

- US-based economist Arvind Subramanian appointed as Chief Economic Advisor

in the Union Finance Ministry for a period of three years on contract basis.

- Gautham Roy on 14 October 2014 was appointed as the new Managing Director
of CPCL.

- Khaled Bahah was appointed as Prime Minister of Yemen.

- Aamir Khan on 9 October 2014 was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for
UNICEF in South Asia.

- Kalpana Morparia on 9 October 2014 was appointed as first woman director of

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).

- Georgetown University appointed Pratima Dharm, as the first Hindu chaplain to

serve the religious needs of its Hindu students.

- Rahul Keshav Patwardhan was appointed as next chief executive officer (CEO)
of NIIT. Rahul Keshav Patwardhan will be taking charge at this position from 1st April 2015.

- Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on 1 October 2014 approved the

appointment of Cramer Ball as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jet Airways.
 - President Pranab Mukherjee authorised Vigilance Commissioner Rajiv to act as
CVC.

RESIGNATIONS

- Chief Executive Officer of ING Vysya Bank Shailendra Bhandari on 28 October

2014 resigned from his post.

- Sudhir Maheshwari on 28 October 2014 announced to resign from

ArcelorMittal.

- Sham Lal Sharma resigned as Minister for Public Health Engineering and Flood
Control in Jammu & Kashmir.

- Leela Samson tendered her resignation as the Chairperson of Sangeet Natak

Akademi, which has been accepted by Union Ministry for Culture.

DEATHS

- Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Galway Kinnell died in Vermon. He was 87.

- Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Galway Kinnell died on 29 October 2014 in

Vermont after battling leukaemia.

- Newly elected BJP legislator Govind M Rathod died on 27 October 2014

following a massive heart attack.

- South Africa's football captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa died after being
shot at his girlfriend’s house in Vosloorus, south of Johannesburg.

- Freedom fighter Jagdish Sharan Pande died after prolonged illness in Almora,
Uttarakhand. He was 95.

- Chief Executive officer (CEO) of Total Christophe de Margerie on 21 October

2014 died in Moscow plane crash.

- Iconic fashion designer Oscar de la Renta died on 20 October 2014 at Kent,

Connecticut.

- British actress and presenter Lynda Bellingham on 19 October 2014 died in

London because of colon Cancer.
 - Well-known Telugu writer and former radio artiste Turaga Janaki Rani died on
15 October 2014.

- American actress Elizabeth Pena died on 14 October 2014 in Los Angeles

following a brief illness.

- Lok Sabha MP Kapil Krishna Thakur died on 13 October 2014 in Kolkata

following a lung failure.

- Veteran journalist Madhav Vittal Kamath died on 9 October 2014 following a

cardiac arrest.

- Russian Stage actor Yuri Lyubimov died in Moscow, Russia.

- German author Siegfried Lenz died on 7 October 2014.

- SIS militants beheaded British aid worker, Alan Henning. In the video, the group
claimes that his death is retaliation for UK strikes against the group.

SUMMITS/CONFERANCES

-30 October- Fourth International Counter-Piracy Conference was held in Dubai from 29 –
30 October 2014.

- Cairo International conference was held to raise the fund for reconstruction of
Gaza Strip.

VISITS

-14 October- President Pranab Mukherjee visited Norway. He became the first Indian head
of state to visit Norway and first president to cross the Arctic Circle. He was invited for a
ceremonial reception at the Royal Palace in Oslo and held talks with King Harald V. During his
visit, he held meeting with top Norwegian political leaders and signed 13 agreements to reaffirm
India's long-standing friendly ties with Norway.

- Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of social site Facebook arrived in New Delhi on a
two day visit to take help of India in connecting people of the world.

ABBREVIATIONS

- Model Concession Agreement

 - Soil Moisture Active Passive

– North Atlantic Treaty Organization

– Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

– Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

– National Council of Education Research and Training

- Association of South East Asian Nations

- International Federation of Trade Unions

- Wrestling Federation of India

- Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security

- Direct Benefit Transfer

- National Institute of Information Technology

port Credit Guarantee Corporation of India

it Rating Information Services of India Limited

SPECIAL FEATURES THIS MONTH

On 19th October 2014, Assembly Polls results were declared for Maharashtra (288 seats) and
Haryana (90 seats).

Ruling Party at centre, BJP got majority in Haryana by winning 47 seats out of 90 seats and was
also emerged as largest party in Maharashtra by winning 122 seats out of 288 seats. Following
are stats :

Haryana :

• BJP - 47

• INLD - 19

• INC - 15

• IND - 5

• HJC(BL) - 2

• Others - 2

Maharashtra :

• BJP - 122

• SHS - 63

• INC - 42

• NCP - 41

• MNS - 1

• Others – 19

The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the XVII Asiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated
in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 – October 4, 2014, with 439 events in 36 sports and
disciplines featured in the Games.

Incheon was awarded the right on April 17, 2007, defeating Delhi, India to host the Games.
Incheon was the third city in South Korea after Seoul (1986) and Busan (2002) to host the Asian
Games.
The final medal tally was led by China, followed by South Korea and Japan. 14 World and 27
Asian records were broken during the Games. Japanese swimmer Kosuke Hagino was
announced as the most valuable player (MVP) of the Games. Though there were several
controversies, the Games were deemed generally successful with its low price tag and with the
rising standard of competition amongst the Asian nations.

India finished eighth on the tally by winning 11 Golds, 9 Silver and 37 Bronze (Total 57).

China won 151 Gold, 109 Silver and 83 Bronze medals (Total 343). Host city Incheon,
South Korea

Motto Diversity Shines Here

Nations participating 45

Athletes participating 9,501 (5,823 men, 3,678 women)

Events 439 in 36 sports

Opening ceremony September 19

Closing ceremony October 4

Officially opened by President Park Geun-hye

Athlete's Oath Oh Jin-hyek Nam Hyun-hee

Torch Lighter Lee Young-ae

Main venue Incheon Asiad Main Stadium