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October 1, 2014
- GDP growth rate projected at 5.5%
for current fiscal
- The high growth rate during Q1
(Apr-June 2014) may not be
sustained in Q2 and Q3

1) What is the name of the social

network belonging to search engine
Google whose operations were closed
from 30 September 2014? Orkut

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Explanation: Orkut was Googles first

foray into the social networking space,
which failed to take off due to tough
competition from rival services such as
Facebook and Twitter. Orkut was
started in 2004 and it initially caught the
fancy of youth all over the world. While
Orkut wasnt a big success across the
world, it was very popular in India and
Brazil. Google later launched another
social network called Google+, which
turned out to be far more popular than
Orkut. Google stated that the growth of
communities of YouTube, Blogger and
Google+ outpaced Orkuts growth and
hence it was decided to bid Orkut
farewell.

2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

presented its 4th Bi-monthly Monetary
Policy review on 30 September 2014.
As was widely expected, RBI kept the
major rates unchanged as the central
bank kept its focus on tackling inflation.
What are the major rates and
projections coming out of this review?

- Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based

inflation projected to remain at 8% by
Jan 2015 and 6% by Jan 2016
- Repo rate (short term lending rate)
unchanged at 8%
- Cash Reserve
unchanged at 4%

Ratio

(CRR)

- Statutory Liquidity Ratio (used for

unlocking banking funds) retained at
22%
- The liquidity rate under Export
Credit Refinance (ECR) reduced from
32% to 15% (w.e.f. 10 October 2014)

3) Which country is witnessing a civil

disobedience
movement
named
Occupy Central demanding electoral
reforms in the country? Hong Kong
Explanation: The Occupy Central
movement started in Hong Kong from
28 September 2014. The movement
was the brainchild of Benny Tai Yiu-ting,
an associate professor of law at the
University of Hong Kong, who founded
the movement in 2013. The primary
demand of the movement is the
implementation of universal suffrage for
the chief executive election in 2017 and
the Legislative Council elections in 2020
according to international standards.
Thousands of protestors participated in

the movement which paralysed Hong

Kongs financial district through massive
road blocks.

4) What was the name of the 14-day

India-US military exercise held in
Uttarakhand that concluded on 30
September 2014? Yudh Abhyas
2014
Explanation: Yudh Abhyas 2014 that
commenced from 17 September 2014
was held with the objective of
strengthening and broaden interoperability and cooperation between
Indian and the United States. The
exercise was the 10thedition of Yudh
Abhyas series, which started in 2004
under the US Army Pacific Partnership
Programme. The exercise operations
were held in Ranikhet and Chaubatia
areas of Uttarakhand.

5) What are the names of two Indian

referees scripted Indian football history
when they officiated in the Asian Games
womens semifinal match featuring
Womens World Champions Japan in
Incheon on 30 September 2014?
Maria Rebello Piedade and Uvena
Fernandes

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3 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: This was the first time an

Indian woman referee has officiated in a

match featuring a current World

champion. Maria adjudicated the match
while Urvena was the assistant referee.
Maria was the first-ever woman referee
in the world to supervise a premier
league match of any country when she
officiated an I-League match held on 8
March 2014 between Pune and Shillong
Lajong.

6) Which
Indian
pharmaceutical
company has emerged the worlds
largest manufacturer of Foot and Mouth
Disease (FMD) vaccine as announced
by the company on 30 September
2014? Indian Immunologicals Ltd
(IIL)
Explanation: IIL is worlds largest
vaccine manufacturing company and
was established in 1983 by the National
Dairy Development Board (NDDB). The
company is renowned for developing
veterinary and human vaccines for footand-mouth (FMD) disease, rabies,
bacterial vaccines, canine vaccines,
hepatitis, measles, MMR and DPT. The
company currently meets the bulk of the
vaccine requirement for the FMD control
programme in India. It has supplied over
a billion doses and is gearing up to
meet the surge in demand due to the
expansion of the programme in the
coming years at a competitive price.

October 2-3, 2014

Cabinet during September 2014 also
decided to merge the Nirmal Bharat
Abhiyan, a campaign for rural
sanitation with Swachh Bharat
Abhiyaan.

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1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2

October 2014 Indias biggest-ever
cleanliness drive the Swachh
Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India
Mission) on the occasion of Mahatma
Gandhi Jayanti. What is the main
objective of this huge mission on
which around Rs.62,000 crore would
be spent? To accomplish the
vision of Clean India by 2 October
2019 (The 150th Birth Anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi)
Explanation: The main programme of
Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan was held
with a public gathering at Rajpath
(New Delhi) where Prime Minister
administered oath to the public and
dignitaries to pledge their role in
keeping the country clean. On this
occasion President Pranab Mukherjee
asked every Indian citizen to spend
100 hours annually in this drive. The
urban component of the Mission is
proposed to be implemented over 5
years in all 4,041 statutory towns. The
total expected cost of the programme
is Rs. 62,009 crore, out of which the
proposed central assistance will be
of Rs. 14,623 crore. The Union

2) Indian mens Hockey team moved

one more step closer in regaining its
lost glory by claiming the gold medal at
17th Asian Games at Incheon on 2
October 2014. India defeated archrivals Pakistan by 4-2 in a nervewracking shoot-out in the finals to earn
a direct berth to the 2016 Rio
Olympics. With this win India has now
won how many gold medals in mens
hockey at the Asian Games? Three
Explanation: Prior to this India won
only 2 gold medals in mens hockey
event at Asian Games 3rd Asian
Games 1966 (Bangkok) and 11th Asian
Games 1998 (Bangkok). It is
surprising that despite having 8
Olympic gold medals in mens hockey
event, Indias performance has not
been up to the mark in Asian Games.
Pakistan has till now won 8 gold
medals in this event while South Korea
has won 4 gold medals. Hence this
win was a big morale booster for the
Indian side. South Korea defeated
Malaysia by 3-2 to claim the bronze
medal.

3) Microsoft Corporation recently gave

the first official look of the next version
of its hugely popular Windows
operating system (OS). What is the

name of this latest upcoming OS that

was also unveiled? Windows 10
Explanation: Microsoft gave the world
its first official look of the next version
of Windows on 30 September 2014 at
a press event held in San Francisco
(US). The name of this new OS was a
surprise
because
the
company
skipped over Windows 9 by naming
this OS as Windows 10. Its last
Windows OS was Windows 8.
However, Windows 10 would be made
available only in 2015. Some important
features of this OS would be reintroduction of the popular Start
menu,
ability
to
scale
from
smartphones to giant data centres,
improved capabilities for dealing with
todays security threats and capability
to run modern apps on the desktop
just like other apps.

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4) Which two Union Territories of the

Indian Union achieved a unique
milestone of 100% banking coverage
as revealed in a meeting of Finance
Ministry on 1 October 2014?
Puducherry and Chandigarh
Explanation: Puducherry
and
Chandigarh achieved this milestone by
providing all the households with atleast one account. This was revealed
in the meeting that the Finance
Ministry held with representatives of
public and private sector banks to
review the progress made in the
implementation of Pradhan Mantri Jan
Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the flagship
financial
inclusion
programme
launched on 28 August 2014.

5) Indian womens team defeated

which team in the finals to win the gold
medal in womens Kabaddi at
17th Asian Games on 3 October 2014?
Iran
Explanation: India defeated Iran by
31-21 to notch up its second
successive gold medal at the Asian
Games. This was Indias 10th gold
medal in these games.
6) Which countrys Parliament on 2
October 2014 voted to authorize the
government to take military action in
Iraq and Syria against the Islamic
State (IS)? Turkey
Explanation: Turkey is a member of
NATO but it was not clear whether
Turkey would support the US-led
coalition fighting the Islamic State
group. On the other hand the fight for
the Kurdish city of Kobane in Syria
intensified as Islamic State militia was
located just outside the city on 2
October.

7) Legendary Indian boxer M.C. Mary

Kom won a historic Asian Games gold
medal on 1 October 2014 to become
the first Indian woman boxer to win an
Asian Games gold medal. She
defeated
Kazakhstans
Zhaina
Shekerbekova 2-0. Mary Kom won this
gold in which weight category?
Womens flyweight category (4851kg)
Explanation: M.C. Mary Kom is a 5times world champion and her
personal best was the bronze medal in
the 2012 London Olympics.

8) Indian womens relay team won

gold medal in which event athletics
event at 17th Asian Games on 2
October 2014? 4X400 m relay
event
Explanation: The Indian quartet of
Priyanka
Panwar,
Tintu
Luka,
Mandeep Kaur and M R Poovamma
won an easy race in 3:28.68 to
improve upon the earlier Games

record of 3:29.02 which was also in

the name of the gold-winning Indian
team in 2010. Japan won the silver in
3:30.80 while China bagged the
bronze
in
3:32.02.
India
has
traditionally been a strong performer in
womens 4X400 m relay event and it
was countrys fourth gold medal in this
event. The country has been winning
the event since the 2002 Busan
Games.

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October 4, 2014

1) The rates of the tatkal tickets of

Indian Railways went up from October
2014 with the railways deciding to sell
50% of the quota tickets using
dynamic fare system. The Premium
Tatkal
Ticket
scheme
became
operational in how many trains from 1
October 2014? Eighty
Explanation: Under
this
scheme
Railways had asked all zones to
identify five popular trains in their

respective zone. The passengers will

have to pay normal tatkal fare for 50%
of the total tickets available. But for
subsequent 10% tickets, 20% more
will be charged which means after
selling 50% of tatkal tickets, the Indian
Railways will keep increasing the fare
with the sale of tickets. The railways
described the scheme as a preventive
measure to deal with the menace of
touts. However, this move was
opposed by a large segment of
passengers who see the scheme
tailor-made to increase railways
earnings. The Railways is also running
three Premium trains on dynamic fare
system.

2) The Indian contingent at 17th Asian

Games concluded its campaign on 3
October 2014 as no Indian athletes
would feature in any event on 4
October the last day of the games.

How many total medals were won by

Indian the Indian contingent? 57
Explanation: Indian aggregate tally of
57 medals included 11 gold medals,
10 silver and 36 bronze. India was
currently at 8th position in the medals
tally and its final position would be
confirmed on 4 October. The
aggregate tally was however lesser
than the 65 medals India won in the
last edition of Asian Games at
Guangzhou in 2010. India won 14 gold
medals, 17 silvers and 34 bronze to
finish the games at 6th spot.

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7 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) More than 40 persons were killed

and hundreds injured in a stampede in
Bihars capital Patna on 3 October
2014. The accident took place after
people were returning after watching
the Ravan Vadh ceremony on the
occasion of Dussehra. The accident
took place in which historic ground of
Patna? Gandhi Maidan
Explanation: Lakhs of people were
assembled at main Dussehra event
held annually at Patnas famous
Gandhi Maidan. Bihar Chief Minister
Jitan Ram Manji was present at the
place where people watched the effigy
of Ravan consigned to flames. The
accident took place after people were
leaving the ground and allegedly some
rumours were spread in the crowd.
4) What is the name of the British
hostage who was shown being

beheaded in a video released on 3

October 2014 by Islamic State
militants? Alan Henning
Explanation: However the authenticity
of this video could not be verified by
agencies though it was released in the
same manner as other Islamic State
group videos. This is the fourth such
video released by the Islamic State
militants. The three persons who were
beheaded in the same manner include
American reporters James Foley and
Steven Sotloff and British aid worker
David Haines.
5) Indian mens Kabaddi team won the
gold medal at the 17th Asian Games on
3 October 2014 in a tough final against
Iran. India defeated Iran by 27-25
despite the fact that it was trailing by
13-21 at half time. This was Indias
consecutive gold medal in
these games Seventh
Explanation: India has won all the
gold medals in Kabaddi since it was
introduced in the 11th Asian Games at
Beijing in 1990. Since then India has
won the gold medals in the games
held in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
and now in 2014. Earlier Indian
womens team also won the gold in
Kabaddi on the same day by defeating
Iran and thus giving India the golden
double.

October 5-6, 2014

then allotted to Indonesia. Jakarta had
hosted the 4th Asian Games in 1962. In
17th Asian Games China topped the
medals tally with a total of 151 gold
medals. It was followed by hosts South
Korea (79 gold), Japan (47 gold),
Kazakhstan (28 gold), Iran (21 gold),
Thailand (12 gold), North Korea (11
gold), India (11 gold) and Chinese
Taipei (10 gold).
1) Who was nominated as the next
U.S. Ambassador to India recently?
Richard Rahul Verma

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Explanation: Verma
was
the
Assistant Secretary of State for
Legislative Affairs, at the U.S.
Department of State until March 2011.
He was nominated as Americas next
Ambassador to India by President
Barack Obama during September
2014. He will take place of Nancy
Powell whose tenure ended during
March 2014.

2) The 17th Asian Games concluded at

Incheon (South Korea) on 4 October
2014 with a glittering closing
ceremony. The next edition of Asian
Games would be held in which city?
Jakarta (Indonesia)
Explanation: Indonesia was not the
original host of 18th Asian Games to be
held in 2018. The games were
originally allotted to Hanoi (Vietnam).
But Vietnam government expressed its
inability to host these games due to
financial constraints. The games were

3) What is the name of the upgraded

version of Chinas 10,000-km range
missile which was successfully tested
recently? Dongfeng-31B
Explanation: The 10,000-km range
Dongfeng-31B missile was tested by
China on 25 September 2014 from the
Wuzhai Missile and Space Test Centre
(also called Taiyuan Satellite Launch
Centre) in Shanxi province. This
missile is capable of reaching most of
the
US and
European cities.
Dongfeng-31B is an upgraded version
of the DF-31A and the launch was at
least the second time the PLAs
Second Artillery Corps had tested a
DF-31 missile in the past three
months.

4) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won

the Oppo Champions League T20 for
2014 by defeating Kolkata Knight
Riders (KKR) in a one-sided final on 4
October 2014. CSK has now won the
Champions League T20 title how
many times? Two times

Explanation: CSK
won
the
Champions League T20 title for the
first time in 2010. Mumbai Indians
have also won this title twice. In the
finals CSK thoroughly defeated KKR
by 8-wickets, thanks to a 62-ball 109
unbeaten century by Suresh Raina.
Champions League T20 is an annual
international T20 cricket competition
played between the top domestic
teams from major cricketing nations.

5) Who won the Japanese F1 Grand

Prix on 5 October 2014? Lewis
Hamilton of Mercedes team
Explanation: British
driver
Lewis
Hamilton won the race to take 10 point
lead over teammate Nico Rosberg
(Germany). Rosberg finished the race
at second spot while third place was
taken by Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel
(Germany). Only four races are left in
2014 F1 season and the fight between
Hamilton and Rosberg has made the
season very interesting.

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6) Who on 4 October 2013 became

the first cricketer in the last 10 years to
make it to the Indian national team

without playing a single first-class (like

Ranji Trophy) or list A match?
Kuldeep Yadav
Explanation: Kuldeep Yadav, who
hails from Uttar Pradesh, was the
surprise inclusion and the lone new
face in the squad, getting the nod
ahead of experienced left-arm spinner
Pragyan Ojha. He is a Chinaman
bowler and was rewarded for his
performance
in
the
ongoing
Champions League T20 where he
bagged seven wickets so far playing
for Kolkata Knight Riders.

7) Who on 4 October 2014 won the

PGTI Eagleburg Masters held in
Bangalore? Rashid Khan
Explanation: Delhis Rashid Khan
won the tournament with a total score
of 269. C. Muniyappa emerged runnerup while Narendra Gupta was one
stroke further behind at third place.
PGTI Eagleburg Masters was the
fourth Super Series event of the Indian
golf season. Khan has now moved
from second to first place in the Rolex
Rankings
having
overtaken
Chikkarangappa.

October 7, 2014
was always activated when a rat was
in a certain place in a room. Later
May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser
(Norwegian University of Science and
Technology in Trondheim) worked with
OKeefe to learn how to record the
activity of cells in the hippocampus.

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1) Norwegian couple May-Britt Moser

and Edvard Moser and AngloAmerican
John
OKeefe
were
announced as the winner of the 2014
Nobel Prize for Medicine on 6 October
2014. The three are being rewarded
for which of their pioneering work
associated with the human mind?
They solved the mystery How
does the brain create a map of the
space surrounding us and how can
we navigate our way through a
complex environment?
Explanation: The discovery of the trio
pertains to the discovery that helped in
solving a problem that has occupied
philosophers
and
scientists
for
centuries of How does the brain
create a map of the space surrounding
us and how can we navigate our way
through a complex environment?
Their research helped in giving clues
to how strokes and Alzheimers affect
the brain. OKeefe (University College
London)
discovered
the
first
component of the brains internal
positioning system in 1971 when he
found that a type of nerve cell in a
brain region called the hippocampus

2) Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) on 6
October 2014 announced plans to split
the company into two listed companies
by separating its computer and printer
businesses from its faster-growing
corporate hardware and services
operations. What would be the names
of the two new companies to be
established with this split? HewlettPackard Enterprise and HP Inc.
Explanation: Hewlett-Packard
Enterprise would include companys
corporate hardware and services
operations business whereas HP Inc.
would include computer and printer
business. Meg Whitman, the present
CEO of HP, will lead the new HewlettPackard Enterprise while Dion Weisler
will lead HP Inc. It is worth mentioning
that many investors and analysts had
called for a break-up of the company,
or a sale of the PC business, so that
HP could focus on the more profitable
operations that sell computer servers
and networking gear and data storage
to businesses. Founded by Bill Hewlett
and Dave Packard in a Palo Alto,
California garage in 1939, HP was one
of the companies that shaped Silicon
Valley and the PC revolution.

3) India is among the 5 group of

countries will start work on the worlds
biggest telescope in the United States.
This will enable to identify an object as
small as coin from a distance of 500
km. The other four countries involved
in this project include the U.S., Japan,
China and Canada. Where this
telescope will be established?
Mauna Kea volcano in on Hawaii
Island in U.S.

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11 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The diameter of this

telescope will be a mammoth 30
meter. It will cost around $1.4 billion
and the construction is expected to be
completed by March 2022. Japan is
expected to cover about a quarter of
the construction costs. The telescope
will be larger than Japans Subaru
Telescope, one of the worlds biggest,
which was also built on the summit of
Mauna Kea and started observation in
1999. To mark the start of
construction, 100 astronomers and
officials from the five countries are
scheduled to attend a ceremony on 7
October 2014 at a location 4,012
meters high on Mount Mauna Kea.

4) What is the name of the phone

application (app), the services of which
were asked to be blocked by the
Intelligence Bureau (IB) in a recent
request made to the Department of
Telecom (DoT)? We Phone
Explanation: We Phone is a phone
and messaging application like Skype
and Whatsapp and is freely available
on Android Play Store and Apples
application store. The IB claimed that

the We Phone app facilitates spoofing

of caller id and is difficult to identify to
locate or identify actual caller. The
application after verifying users phone
number at the time of installation gives
an option to disable the number to
hide it. IB has told DoT that in free
version of this application caller id on
receiver screen starts with +1777
whereas in paid version any number
can be set to display as caller id.

5) Which Indian online retail company

organised the Big Billion Day sale on
6 October 2014 with a target of $100
million sale in gross merchandise
value (GMV)? Flipkart
Explanation: Indias largest online
retail company conducted its highly
ambitious Big Billion Day sale on the
day by offering a wide range of
products at unprecedented discounted
rates. The sale was on the day the
company was founded in 2007. Sachin
Bansal and Binny Bansal, the founders
of Flipkart claimed that the sale
achieved its target within 10 hours. On
the other hand Flipkart site crashed on
numerous occasions and was not able
to process some transactions. Some
buyers claimed that the discount were
less than those offered by Flipkarts
rivals.

6) What is the name of the new midsized sedan car launched by Maruti
Suzuki on 6 October 2014? Ciaz
Explanation: Ciaz was introduced by
the company on 3 September 2014
and is companys third foray in the
mid-size segment after Baleno and

SX4. The petrol variants of the sedan

are priced between Rs.6,99,000 and
Rs.9,34,000 while the diesel variants

are priced between Rs.804,000 and

Rs.980,000 (ex-showroom Delhi).

October 8, 2014

1) The Indian Air Force (IAF) is

celebrating 8 October 2014 as its
foundation day in the form of Air Force
Day. The IAF completed how many
years of its establishment on this day?
82 years

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12 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: IAF was established on

8 October 1932 with formation of the
No.1 Squadron. It was established as
an auxiliary air force of the British
Empire and the prefix Royal was
added in 1945 in recognition of its
services during World War II. The
prefix was dropped in 1950 when India
became a republic.

2) On 7 October 2014 Japanese

scientists Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi
Amano and American Shuji Nakamura
were named as the winners of the
2014 Nobel Prize for Physics for
inventing what? LED light

Explanation: The Royal Swedish

Academy of Sciences in its statement
said that As about one fourth of world
electricity consumption is used for
lighting purposes, the LEDs contribute
to saving the Earths resources. LED
(which stands for Light Emitting Diode)
is seen responsible for a massive cut
in electricity consumption sue to it
being energy efficient as well as
environment friendly. The three
scientists during the early 1990s made
the breakthrough to produce the blue
diodes that are a crucial component in
producing white light from LEDs.
Isamu Akasaki is associated with
Meijo University (Nagoya, Japan)
while Hiroshi Amano is from Nagoya
University (Nagoya, Japan). Japanborn U.S. scientist Shuji Nakamurais
associated with the University of
California, Santa Barbara.

3) Birth Centenary celebrations of

which noted Hindustani classical
singer commenced from 7 October
2014? Begum Akhtar
Explanation: Begum Akhtars real
name was Akhtar Bai Faizabadi. She
was famous for the renditions of
Ghazal, Dadra and Thumri and was
given the title of Mallika-e-Ghazal
(Queen of Ghazals). She was born on
7 October 1914 and passed away on

30 October 1974. On the occasion of

her
birth
centenary
year-long
programmes have been planned by
the Union Govt. Commemorative coins
of Rs.100 and Rs. 5 on Begum Akhtar
were also released in a programme
held in New Delhi.

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4) The
new
Monetary
Policy
Framework Agreement, which aims to
change
the
monetary
policy
formulation and will also focus on
inflation targeting, is proposed to be
signed by which date as announced by
the Finance Ministry recently? 1
February 2015
Explanation: The
proposed
framework is based on a combination
of recommendations by FSLRC
(Financial Sector Legislative Reforms
Commission) and the Urjit Patel
Committee, along with inputs from the
Rajan Panel on Financial Sector
Reforms. The Finance Ministry is
presently seeking the comments of the
RBI on this framework. The proposal
will then be placed in the public
domain
before
finalising
the
agreement. The endeavour is to sign
the agreement by 1 February 2015, to
show that one of the key Budget
announcements
has
been
implemented. The establishment of a
modern monetary policy framework
was announced in the Union Budget
2014-15 presented by Union Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014.

5) What is the new growth projection

for India for 2014-15 as announced by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
on 7 October 2014? 5.6%
Explanation: In its report IMF clearly
stated that Indias economy has
recovered from a slump and better
exports and investment prospects are
visible. The IMFs year-on-year
forecast for Indias financial year to
March 2015 represents a 0.2
percentage-point uptick from its April
2014 projection. Indias economy
posted two years of sub-five-per cent
growth, the longest slowdown in a
quarter century.
6) Indias largest ferris wheel was
inaugurated on 2 October 2014 at
Kalindi Kunj in Delhi. This 200-feet
high offers panoramic view of the city
of Delhi. What is the name given to
this giant wheel? Delhi Eye
Explanation: At 200 feet, the giant
wheel is the tallest in the country. It
has 36 air-conditioned cabins that can
seat six people each. Soft music plays
throughout the ride, which lasts 20
minutes in all. The glass bottom in the
cabin offers magnificent views of the
city. It is constructed on the lines of the
famous such flyers in London and
Singapore. In fact, the same Dutch
company which created the Singapore
Flyer, was hired to construct the Delhi
Eye.

October 9, 2014
Explanation: Thomas Eric Duncan
arrived in a Dallas apartment on 20
September 2014 after having spent
years a refugee from his native
country Liberia. He contact the deadly
Ebola virus in Liberia, which is in the
midst of a huge Ebola scar along with
its West African neighbours Guinea,
Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
1) What is the name given to the
tropical cyclonic storm building over
the north Andaman Sea which is
expected to hit the coast of Andhra
Pradesh and Odisha on sheer intensity
on 12 October 2014? Hud Hud

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Explanation: The name Hud Hud

was given by the Indian Met
Department (IMD) according to
international
cyclonic
naming
conventions. This cyclone is moving in
from the Bay of Bengal and is forecast
to bring gales of up to 140 kmph with
heavy rains and storm when it hits the
coast of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
on 12 October. Hud Hud is expected
to hit land between the port city of
Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh
and the resort town of Gopalpur in
Odisha.

2) What is the name of the first Ebola

patient diagnosed in the United States
who died on 8 October 2014 thus
raising enormous anxiety in the
country? Thomas Eric Duncan

3) American scientists Eric Betzig and

William Moerner and Germanys
Stefan Hell were announced as the 3
winners of the Nobel Prize for
Chemistry on 8 October 2014. They
have been honoured for their
contribution
in
which
field
of
Chemistry? Optical Microscopy
Explanation: The trio of Betzig,
Moerner and Hell were conferred for
their contribution in the area of superresolved fluorescence microscopy
which helped in bringing optical
microscopy into the nano-dimension.
This helped to study molecular
processes in real time. Betzig is
associated with the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute (U.S.) while Moerner
is at Stanford University. Hell is
Director of the Max Planck Institute for
Biophysical Chemistry in Germany.

4) 33 years after founding Infosys, two

of its founders bade farewell to the
company on 8 October 2014. Who are
these two persons? NR Narayana
Murthy and S Gopalakrishnan

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15 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: NR Narayana Murthy

and S Gopalakrishnan along with six
other persons (Nandan Nilekani, N. S.
Raghavan, S. D. Shibulal, K. Dinesh,
Venugopal and Ashok Arora) laid the
foundation of Infosys in 1981. Infosys
is now a $8 billion multi-national IT
company and the third largest in India.
On 1 June 2013, Narayana Murthy,
companys long time CEO, returned
from his retirement to assume office in
Infosys as its Executive Chairman.
Murthy had the longest run of about 21
years as CEO before passing the
baton to Nandan Nilekani and then
Gopalakrishnan and S D Shibulal
respectively. He will be designated as
Chairman Emeritus from 11 October
2014. In August this year, Infosys
appointed former SAP board member
Vishal Sikka as its CEO and Managing
Director.

5) According to media reports, the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
ordered its supervision team to
monitor trading in debt markets by
companies. This is the strongest
expression of concern shown by the
RBI on this issue. What is the primary
reason for this move of the RBI?
Reports that many companies are
building large trading positions in
debt and currency markets
Explanation: Trading in debt markets
by companies could pose risks to
financial market stability as it exposes
the companies to greater price
volatility. However, some companies

indulge in this trading as this can be a

lucrative extra source of profits for
them. Companies are legally allowed
to invest in markets in India, but it has
seldom raised RBIs concerns until
recently, when they have become
much more active players.

6) During October 2014 the American

Congress has initiated a probe against
how many generic drug makers for
price escalation of generic drugs that
includes top Indian drug companies
Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddys Lab and
Cadila Healthcare? 14
Explanation: On 2 October 2014 the
U.S. Congress initiated a probe and
wrote to these firms, seeking details
about recent hikes in prices of several
generic products available in the U.S.
market. Apart from the three Indian
companies, the investigation includes
Teva, Mylan, Actavis, Apotex, Endo,
Global Pharmaceuticals, Heritage
Pharmaceuticals, Lannett Company,
Marathon
Pharmaceuticals,
PAR
Pharmaceutical Companies Inc and
West Ward Pharmaceutical Corp. This
development is significant, especially
against the backdrop of a continuing
tussle between India and the US over
issues related to intellectual property
rights (IPR) and the American
regulator increasing enforcements on
Indian firms. However, industry
officials maintain there is no provision
under law by which the Congress
could conduct such investigation.

October 10, 2014

2) What is the name of the new global
service launched by the World Bank
on 9 October 2014 which aims at
mobilising the private sector to help
tackle the massive infrastructure deficit
facing developing countries? Global
Infrastructure Facility (GIF)

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1) Who won the 2014 Nobel Prize for

Literature as announced by the
Swedish Academy on 9 October
2014? Patrick Modiano of France
Explanation: Patrick Modianos works
have primarily centered around the
Nazi occupation and its effect on
France. He is the 11th person from
France to win the literature prize, the
last being Jean-Marie Gustave Le
Clezio in 2008. He, however, is
relatively unknown outside of France
and hence his declaration came as
surprise for many. Modiano has
already won Frances prestigious
Goncourt prize in 1978 for his work.
Some of his 30 literary works include
Missing Person (1980), Trace of
Malice (1988) and Honeymoon
(1992).

Explanation: GIF was launched by

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim at
Washington D.C. This facility basically
aims to ensure that billions of dollars
are channelised to develop world-class
infrastructure in emerging markets like
India and developing economies.
Through GIF, the World Bank plans to
work with regional banks and financial
entities like Asian Development Bank
(ADB), the New Development Bank
(NDB) of BRICS countries and the
proposed
Asian
Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB).

3) Which country of the middle-east

witnessed massive suicide bombings
on 9 October 2014 after newly
appointed Prime Minister of the
country was forced to step down due
to political crisis? Yemen
Explanation: The
two
suicide
bombings were targetted at countrys
powerful Shiite Houthi group in capital
Sanaa and an army camp in eastern
Yemen resulting in the death of 67

people. The attacks occurred just

hours after a showdown between the
Houthis and President Abd-Rabbu
Mansour forced Prime Ministerdesignate Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak,
whose appointment on 7 October 2014
under a power-sharing deal signed last
month had angered Houthi leaders, to
turn down the post. The Houthis have
emerged as Yemens main power
brokers since their paramilitary forces
seized the capital on 21 September
2014 after huge anti-govt. protests.

4) Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg

came to India on 9 October 2014 on
two day visit. The big reason for his
visit is giving a push to his dream
project that aims to bring affordable
Internet access to everybody. What is
the name of this project?
Internet.org

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17 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Internet.org is the dream

project of Mark Zukerberg which
involves six global mobile phone
companies. The project aims to bring
the whole world under affordable
Internet access by making mobile
services
more
affordable
and
increasing
efficiency
of
them.
Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia,
Opera Software, and Qualcomm are

the six phone companies involved in

the project, which was launched on 20
August 2013. Zukerberg participated in
a summit on Internet.org held at New
Delhi on 9 October.

5) The state govt. of Madhya Pradesh

on 9 October 2014 organised Global
Investors Summit 2014 (GIS 2014), a
huge summit of top corporate houses.
This meet is held at which city of MP?
Indore
Explanation: GIS is a biennial summit
organized
by
Madhya
Pradesh
government in Indore with the aim of
attracting domestic and foreign
investment for development of state.
Indore is perceived as the commercial
capital of central India.

6) M.V. Kamath who passed away at

the age of 93 on 9 October 2014 was
associated with which field?
Journalism
Explanation: Kamath was former
Editor of The Illustrated Weekly of
India and former Chairman of Prasar
Bharati Board. He also served as
Editor of The Sunday Times.

October 11, 2014

2) Malala Yusoufzai achieved which
two major distinctions after being
jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for 2014 with Indian child activist
Kailash Satyarthi? She became the
youngest ever winner of Nobel Prize
and the first Pakistani to get this
award

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18 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Indian child-rights activist Kailash

Satyarthi and Pakistani teenager
Malala Yusoufzai were announced as
the joint winners of the prestigious
Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 by the
Nobel jury on 10 October 2014. They
were awarded for promoting child
rights in the Indian sub-continent.
What is the name of the movement
started by Satyarthi to fight Child
labour?
Bachpan
Bachao
Andolan
Explanation: Bachpan
Bachao
Andolan (BBA) stands for (Save the
Childhood Movement). It was founded
in 1980 by Kailash Satyarthi to fight
the problem of child labour in India.
BBA has rescued over 82,000 children
from the clutches of child labour and
being
employed
in
hazardous
occupations. Satyarthi and Malala will
be awarded on 10 December 2014.

Explanation: Malala
shot
into
prominence in October 2012 when she
was shot in her forehead by Talibani
militants for promoting girls education
in Pakistans Swat Valley. She later
recovered in a London hospital after
sustaining life-threatening wounds in
this incident. Her assassination
attempt sparked a national and
international outpouring of support for
Malala. On 12 July 2013, she spoke at
the headquarters of the United Nations
to call for worldwide access to
education.

3) On 8 October 2014 who became

the first-ever serving head of state to
appear before the International Court
of Justice (ICC)? Uhuru Kenyatta,
the President of Kenya
Explanation: Uhuru Kenyatta was
charged with crimes against humanity
relating to ethnic violence after the
2007 Presidential elections in Kenya
that left some 1,200 dead and 600,000
displaced. On 8 October he appeared

at a pre-trial hearing at ICC Status

Conference.

4) The mega gas deal worth $400

billion between Russia and China
took-off on 9 October 2014 as China
froze the design and construction plan
on its side for the gas pipeline. Russia
had already started work on Russian
segment of the pipeline during
September 2014. What is the main
objective of this mega project?
Reducing Russias dependence on
the
European
market
and
establishing a firm ground in the
Asia-Pacific market
Explanation: China is slated to
receive 38 billion cu m of gas every
year for 30 years through this gas
project. Gas flows to China will
commence in 2018 after the lengthy
Siberia Power Pipeline, having both
Russian and Chinese components,
gets completed. Under this project
Russia will link Siberias Kovyktin and
Chayandin gas fields with the eastern
port city of Vladivostok to consolidate
its gas outreach to Asia via China.

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19 CURRENT AFFAIRS

5) Who recently resigned as the

chairperson
of
Sangeet
Natak
Akademi (SNA)? Leela Samson
Explanation: Leela Samson is a
renowned Bharatanatyam dancer and
she was appointed for the post during
the UPA regime in 2010 for a period of

5 years. The Sangeet Natak Akademi

is Indias national academy for all
performing arts. Set up in 1952, it is an
autonomous body that is fully funded
by the Ministry of Culture. Samson
continues as the chairperson of the
Central Board of Film Certification
(CBFC), although she has completed
the three-year term.

6) The Bombay High Court on 10

October 2014 gave its landmark ruling
in
favour
of
British
telecommultinational Vodafone in a longrunning dispute with the Indian tax
authorities. What was the primary
charge of India tax authorities on
Vodafone on this $490 million case?
The shares in Vodafone India
Services Private Ltd were allegedly
undervalued and were transferred
to the parent company in Britain in
2009-10
Explanation: Vodafone India Services
Private Ltd (VISPL) is the Indian
subsidiary of Vodafone and it entered
Indian telecom market in 2007 after
acquiring the Indian operations of
Hutchison
Whampoa
(Hutch).
Presently VISPL is the second largest
telecom operator in India after Bharti
Airtel. Vodafones treatment, seen by
many investors as Indian tax
authorities heavy-handed, has fuelled
debate over Indias unpredictable rules
and regulations. Vodafone is presently
the biggest foreign corporate investor
in India.

October 12, 2014

2014 with the primary objective of
providing access to good quality
treatment to mentally ill people. What
is the name of an action plan which is
backing this policy? Mental Health
Action Plan 365

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1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 11

October 2014 launched the ambitious
Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
(SAGY) on the occasion of the birth
anniversary of renowned socialist
leader Jai Prakash Narayan. What is
the primary aim of SAGY? Every MP
of Indian Parliament to take
responsibility to develop 3 villages
of the country by 2019
Explanation: SAGY (or MP Model
Village
Scheme)
proposes
the
development of one village by each
MP by year 2016. On the basis of the
model created by this experience, it is
envisaged that two more villages
would be developed by each MP by
year 2019. Thus around 2,500 villages
across the country are proposed to be
developed
by
SAGY.
The
development of villages under the
scheme would include developing
physical and institutional infrastructure.
2) Indias first ever mental health
policy was launched on 10 October

Explanation: Mental Health Action

Plan 365 spells out the specific roles
to be played by the Centre, the state
governments, local bodies and civil
society organisations. The new mental
health policys objective is to provide
universal access to mental health care
by enhancing understanding of mental
health and strengthening leadership in
the mental health sector at all levels. It
also lays focus on mentally ill living in
poverty. It was also announced that 10
October, which is observed as the
world mental health day, would now
also be observed as the National
Mental Health Day.

3) India has deferred the India-Africa

Forum Summit 2014, which was
proposed to be held on 4 December
2014. What was the reason for
deferring this summit in which 54
African nations were set to participate?
Ebola scare
Explanation: Indias
Ministry
of
External Affairs said that the decision
to defer the India-Africa Forum Summit
was taken in view of logistical

difficulties
that
India
expected.
However, many African countries
questioned Indias wisdom to defer the
summit, observing that Ebola scare did
not deter the United Nations (UN) or
the U.S. from hosting the UN General
Assembly in New York during
September 2014. 5 African countries
(Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria
and Senegal) have been seriously
affected by Ebola resulting in death of
around 4,000 people.

4) What are the names of the two

children of Mukesh Ambani the
chairman of Reliance Industries
Limited (RIL), who on 11 October 2014
were appointed to the boards of the
companys
telecoms
and
retail
businesses? Isha and Akash
Ambani

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21 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Isha and Akash Ambani

are twins and their names were
approved by the boards of Reliance
Jio Infocomm and Reliance Retail
Ventures Ltd. RILs retail unit has
turned around after seven years of
losses and is now the biggest retail
chain in the country, while the 4G
telecoms venture, Reliance Jio, is
expected to launch commercial
services next year.

5) What is the name of the Syrian town

which has become the centre of the
Syrian Civil War, with the ongoing
siege between the militants of Islamic
State (IS) and Syrian Kurds? Kobani
Explanation: Kobani (or Kobane) is
also known as Ayn al-Arab. It is a
predominantly Kurdish town and

borders Turkey. It has been under the

control of the Kurdish Peoples
Protection Units since 2012. The
militants of the IS attacked the town
and surrounding villages during July
2014. Since then continuous fight
between Kurds and the IS has been
going on. US-led airstrikes have
turned the situation in favour of the
Kurds from last few days.

6) Which country shocked 2014 FIFA

World Cup champions Germany with a
convincing 2-0 win in a Euro 2016
qualifying match held on 11 October
2014? Poland
Explanation: Poland
defeated
Germany in a Euro 2016 Group D
qualifier match to earn its first ever
victory over Germany. The feat was
even more impressive given Germany
had not lost an away qualifier for either
the World Cup or Euros since 1998.

7) What is the name of the breakaway

faction of Pakistan Taliban, whose
militants had fired bullets into Pakistani
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala
Yousafzai in 2012 and which has now
criticised awarding her with this
prestigious prize? Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
Explanation: Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
had
separated from Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan in August 2014. The armed
militants of this faction had pumped
bullets into Malalas forehead in
October 2012 in countrys troubled
Swat Valley, an incident that brought
Malala and her work into worlds
limelight.

October 13, 2014

bang with its grand opening ceremony
at Kolkatas Salt Lake Stadium. The
first season of ISL started on 12
October with eight franchisee teams
Atltico
de
Kolkata
(Kolkata),
Chennaiyin (Chennai), Delhi Dynamos
(Delhi), FC Goa (Goa), Kerala Blasters
(Kerala), Mumbai City (Mumbai),
NorthEast United (Guwahati) and
Pune City (Pune). Some of the
marquee
players
of
ISL
are
Alessandro Del Piero (Italy), Luis
Garcia (Spain), Elano (Brazil) and
Robert Pirs (France).

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1) 12 October 2014 etched its name in

Indias footballing history as Indian
Super League (ISL) countrys first
real professional football league
featuring some top international
names, got underway on this day. ISL
will be second major football league in
India after I-League. Which are the two
entities who have main stake in ISL?
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)
and
International
Management
Group (IMG)
Explanation: RIL and IMG signed a
Rs. 700 crore deal with the All India
Football
Federation
(AIFF)
in
December 2010 for a 15-year
exclusive right over ISL. This deal
gave the duo exclusive commercial
rights to sponsorship, advertising,
broadcasting, merchandising, video,
franchising, and rights to create a new
football league. ISL started with a

2) Indias strongest tropical cyclone of

2014 Hudhud made its landfall near
Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh
(AP) on 12 October 2014 with peak
wind speeds of up to 175 km/hr. It
lashed the coast of AP as well as
Odisha bringing in heavy rains spread
over a widespread area. Hudhud
however lost its intensity and its speed
was reduced to up to 100-110 kmph
after crossing the coastline. The name
of this cyclone Hudhud was
suggested by which country? Oman
Explanation: Hudhud stands for a
bird called Hoopoe. The name
Hudhud is mentioned in the holy
Quran. This cyclone formed through a
low pressure area in the Andaman
Sea on 6 October 2014. With its
progress it was classified as a Very
Severe Cyclonic Storm by the Indian
Meteorological Department (IMD). The

severity of the cyclone was however

limited to Andhra Pradesh with wide
spread destruction and death of 4
persons. Odisha heaved a sigh of
relief with no major damages in the
state.
AP
Chief
Minister
N.
Chandrababu Naidu sought Rs. 2,000
crore central relief for coping with the
destruction brought by Hudhud.

3) Which is the only Indian-owned

entity to have its brand in an elite
annual club of worlds 100 most
valuable brands list for 2014 compiled
by
leading
brand
consultancy
Interbrand? Tata Group

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23 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Tata
Group-owned
iconic British car brand Land Rover
has been ranked 91st with a brand
value of $4.47 billion (Rs. 27,267
crore) in this elite list. It is the only
brand owned by an Indian entity in this
list. US company Apple retained its top
slot with nearly $119 billion valuation
and is followed by Google on the
second position ($107 billion). These
are the only two in the list with brand
values in excess of $100 billion.

4) Who scored the first goal of Indian

Super League (ISL) for football, the
inaugural season of which started from
12 October 2014? Fikru Lemessa
Explanation: Ethiopian
footballer
Fikru Lemessa scored the first goal of
ISL for his team Atltico de Kolkata
while playing against Mumbai City in
the first match of ISL. The match was
played at Kolkatas famous Salt Lake
Stadium and Kolkata easily defeated
Mumbai by 3-0 in the match.

5) Russian Grand Prix became part of

the Formula One (F1) World
Championship with the conclusion of
the F1 race on the Russian circuit on
12 October 2014. Russian Grand Prix
is staged in which city? Sochi
Explanation: The Sochi racing circuit
is the only track in F1 calendar to be
located on an Olympic site. The circuit
is at the Olympic Park, which was
used for Sochis Winter Olympics in
February 2014. It is worth mentioning
that the Russian Grand Prix was run
twice, in 1913 and 1914 at a circuit in
St.
Petersburg
before
it
was
discontinued.

6) Who won the first edition of Russian

F1 Grand Prix on 12 October 2014?
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes
Explanation: With this win British
driver Hamilton strengthened his
position further in the present F1
season with 17 point lead over
teammate Nico Rosberg. Rosberg and
Finlands Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
couldnt manage to outrace Hamilton
and took the second and the third
places respectively.

7) What is the name of the

autobiography of former England
batsman Kevin Pietersen, which was
released during October 2014? KP
Explanation: In his autobiography,
Pietersen is outspoken about the
unfriendliness of his teammates and
English cricket while is all praise for
the Indian Premier League (IPL) for

the bonding atmosphere it offers.

However, this autobiography was
ridiculed by some former British

players
Cook.

including

skipper

Alastair

October 14, 2014

brought on by cyclonic storm Hudhud
on 12 October? Operation Lehar

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24 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Who won the Nobel Prize for

Economics for 2014 as announced by
the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences on 13 October 2014?
French economist Jean Tirole
Explanation: Tirole was chosen for
his analysis of market power and
regulation. The Academy commended
him for the way he presented his
theory clarifying how to understand
and regulate industries with a few
powerful firms. The Nobel Prize for
Economics is officially called the
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic
Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel
and was not part of the original group
of awards set out in his will of 1895.

2) What is the name of the relief and

rescue operation launched on 13
October 2014 by the Indian armed
forces in Andhra Pradeshs cycloneaffected districts after the havoc

Explanation: The Indian Navy has

been made the nodal agency to carry
out relief and rescue works under
Operation Lehar. The three wings of
Indian armed forces repositioned their
assets
to
assist
the
civilian
administration in rescue and relief
operations in cyclone-affected districts
of the state.

3) According to reports appearing in

media during October 2014, the Union
Govt. is on its way for a major
overhaul of the current monetary
policy framework. Under this the govt.
will specify specific inflation related
targets for the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) instead of the RBI setting a
target for itself. This decision is a big
departure from the recommendations
of a recent expert committee of the
RBI, which had recommended that the
monetary
policy
decision-making
should be vested with a monetary
policy committee, chaired by the RBI
Governor. Who headed this RBI
committee? Urjit R. Patel, Deputy
Governor of the RBI
Explanation: Union Government had
decided to set targets for the RBI as it
feels that it is best that inflation targets

are set by the governments elected by

the people instead of the bureaucrats.
It is worth mentioning that the Urjit
Patel Committee (The Committee on
Strengthening
Monetary
Policy
Framework) in its recommendations
had also stated that the RBI should
adopt the new Consumer Price Index
(CPI) as the measure of the nominal
anchor for monetary policy and set the
target CPI inflation level at 4 per cent
(+/- 2%) to be achieved through its
monetary policy tools.

4) Which
prominent real estate
company was barred by Indian capital
market regulator SEBI from accessing
capital markets for three years on 13
October 2014? DLF Limited

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25 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: DLF Limited along with

its founder-chairman K.P. Singh and 5
top executives were barred from
accessing Indias capital markets for
three years. This penalty was imposed
due to some non-disclosure violations
related to DLFs initial public offering
(IPO) of 2007. SEBI had investigated
whether the company had disclosed in
its IPO documents the names of all of
its subsidiaries and the legal cases
pending against those companies.
5) What is the name of Indias third
navigational satellite in a series of
seven, the countdown for the launch of
which was started on 13 October 2014
at the spaceport of Sriharikota in
Andhra Pradesh? IRNSS 1C
Explanation: India has proposed to
launch seven navigational satellites to
put in place Indias navigation system

on par with US Global Positioning

System (GPS). IRNSS 1C would be
launched on 16 October 2014 to be
placed into a sub Geosynchronous
Transfer Orbit (sub GTO). The first two
satellites in the series, IRNSS 1A and
IRNSS 1B were launched from
Sriharikota on 1 July 2013 and 4 April
2014.

6) What is the name of the first Earthobserving instrument of U.S. space

agency NASA to be placed and
activated on the International Space
Station (ISS), which started delivering
its first set of data from 1 October
2014? RapidScat
Explanation: RapidScat will be used
to monitor ocean winds for climate
research, hurricane monitoring and
weather predictions. The main benefit
of RapidScat will be the comparatively
lesser time taken by it to produce high
quality earth data. This instrument was
launched aboard the SpaceX CRS-4
mission on 21 September 2014. ISS is
the largest artificial space body in
Earths low orbit and is a joint project
between NASA and Russian space
agency
Rosaviakosmos.
First
component of ISS was launched in
1998. ISS is used as a habitable
laboratory and consists of numerous
components.

7) Global retail giant Amazon on 13

October 2014 entered into a strategic
partnership with which Indian retail
company to exclusively retail its
product through Amazon.in platform?
Future Retail Ltd

Explanation: Future Retail Ltd is

Indias leading retail chain led by
Kishore Biyani. It retails through its
proprietary retail chain brands like Big
Bazaar and Future Bazaar. Under the
partnership Amazon will initially focus
on selling Future Groups fashion
brands and will subsequently cover all
other categories. The two firms will
also explore synergies in areas such
as distribution network, customer
acquisition and cross-promotions. This
strategic partnership came days after
Biyani complained of e-commerce
companies, particularly Flipkart, of
under-cutting the market and selling
products at even below the cost price.

8) What is the name of the strongest

typhoon of 2014 to hit Japan, that hit
countrys southern island Kyushu early
on 13 October 2014 after hitting
Okinawa a day earlier? Typhoon
Vongfong
Explanation: Typhoon
Vongfong
battered the southern Japanese island
of Okinawa, 600 km south of Tokyo,
as well as Kyushu and Shikoku islands
resulting in injuries to over 50 people
and evacuation of about 450,000
people. This typhoons peak speed
was 234 km/hr as recorded on 11
October 2014 making it a Super
Typhoon.

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26 CURRENT AFFAIRS

October 15, 2014

1) Australian author Richard Flanagan

was awarded the prestigious Man
Booker literature prize for 2014 on 14
October 2014. Flanagans which
literary work was chosen for this
award? The Narrow Road to the
Deep North

Explanation: The book The Narrow

Road to the Deep North is set during
the building of the so-called ThailandBurma Death Railway in World War
II. The other books on the short list
were We Are All Completely Beside
Ourselves by Karen Jay Fowler
(American), To Rise Again at a
Decent
Hour by
Joshua
Ferris
(American), J by Howard Jacobson
(British), The Lives of Others by Neel
Mukherjee (British} and How to be
Both by Ali Smith (British). Flanagan
was awarded 50,000 ($79,530) cash
award under the prize. This was the
first time Man Booker Prize was
opened up for anyone writing in
English regardless of nationality.
Previously, the prize was open only to
authors
from
the
U.K.
and

Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland

and Zimbabwe.

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27 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on

13 October 2014 came out with an
additional criterion for classifying an
urban co-operative bank (UCB) as
financially sound and well managed
(FSWM). What is this additional
criterion? Implementation of Core
Banking Solution (CBS)
Explanation: Till now the UCBs were
classified as FSWM banks if they
fulfilled criteria such as capital to risk
weighted assets ratio of not less than
10%, gross non-performing assets
(NPAs) of less than 7% and net NPAs
of not more than 3%. The new criterion
of
CBS
implementation
would
henceforth
be
considered
for
processing applications received from
UCBs for opening of on-site/off-site /
mobile ATMs, applications under
Annual Business Plans, extension of
area of operation, shifting of premises
and all other permissions from RBI.
The other criteria prescribed by the
RBI for classifying a UCB as financially
sound and well managed are: net
profit for at least three out of the
preceding four years, subject to it not
having incurred a net loss in the
immediate preceding year; no default
in the maintenance of cash reserve
ratio / Statutory Liquidity Ratio during
the preceding financial year; sound
internal control system with at least
two professional directors on the
Board; and regulatory comfort.

3) What was Indias position in the

Global Hunger Index 2014 (GHI) that
was released on 13 October 2014 by
the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI)? 55th out of 76
countries
Explanation: Indias score in this
index stood at 17.8 points while the
country improved on its position in
2013 when it was ranked at 63rd spot.
According to GHI 2014, India has
made a marked improvement in the
GHI 2014 and no longer ranks secondto-last in the world on underweight in
children. A significant improvement in
the levels of hunger in India was
noted, especially among children,
between 2005-06 and 2013-14. The
countrys score is better than Pakistan
(rank 57) and Bangladesh (57) but it
still trails behind Nepal (44) and Sri
Lanka (39).
4) Indias wholesale price inflation for
September 2014 eased to 2.38% as
announced by the Union Govt. on 14
October 2014. This was the lowest
WPI-based inflation since when?
Since October 2009
Explanation: The wholesale price
index
(WPI)-based
inflation
for
September 2014 was down to 2.38%
mainly due to lowered prices of food
and fuel. In August 2014, wholesale
prices rose by 3.74%. The inflation
based on consumer price index (CPI)
for September 2014 was 6.46%, which
was the lowest since the latest data
series started in January 2012.

5) 432 Park Avenue, a residential

tower being constructed in New York,
recently came to news. Why? It
became the tallest building in New
York when it reached its peak
height of 1,396 feet
Explanation: 432 Park Avenue is
situated between 56th and 57th streets
in midtown Manhattan in New York
City. When measured by roof height,
this super-tall building is now the
tallest in New York surpassing One
World Trade Center by 30 feet. It is
also believed to be one of the tallest
residential building in the world and
overall third tallest in the United
States. 432 Park Avenue comprises of
104 condominium apartments and is
being constructed by CIM Group.

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28 CURRENT AFFAIRS

6) Woman police inspector from India

Inspector Shakti Devi has been
named recipient of the International
Female Police Peacekeeper Award
2014 by the UNs Police Division for
her exceptional achievements with the
UN mission in Afghanistan. She is
currently deployed in the UN
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
(UNAMA). Shakti Devi is associated
with the police force of which Indian
state? Jammu & Kashmir

Explanation: This honour has been

bestowed on Inspector Shakti Devi for
her exceptional achievements in
leading the establishment of Women
Police Councils in several parts of
Afghanistan. The award was delivered
during the International Association of
Women Police (IAWP) conference
held during October 2014 in Winnipeg,
Canada.
7) Data released by NASAs Goddard
Institute for Space Studies (GISS) has
showed that September of 2014 was
the
warmest
September
ever
recorded. This September was about
0.78 degrees Celsius above the 195180 average temperature for the month.
Till now which years September had
been the warmest ever? September
of 2005
Explanation: This data makes it even
more likely that 2014 will become the
warmest year on record. It is worth
mentioning that in 2014 September
followed the warmest August on
record. Ocean temperatures have
played a large role in this, including
the warmer-than-normal sea surface
temperatures in the tropical Pacific
Ocean that have accompanied an
emerging El Nino.

October 16, 2014

2) On 15 October 2014, China reacted
strongly to announcement of which
ambitious project by the Indian
Government a few days ago?
Construction of 1800-km highway
along China border in Arunachal
Pradesh

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29 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Indias third navigation satellite

IRNSS-1C was launched and placed
successfully in its pre-designated orbit
on 16 October 2014. This launch was
executed by ISRO from the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in
Sriharikota at 1.32 a.m. Which rocket
of ISRO launched this satellite?
PSLV-C26
Explanation: PSLV-C26 stands for
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C26
while IRNSS-1C stands for Indian
Regional
Navigational
Satellite
System-1C. IRNSS-1C is the third of
the seven navigation satellites in the
Indian Navigation Satellite System
(IRNSS)
and
has
wide-ranging
applications in terrestrial, aerial and
marine navigation. India has proposed
to launch seven navigational satellites
under the IRNSS series to put in place
Indias navigation system on par with
US Global Positioning System (GPS).
The first two satellites in the series,
IRNSS 1A and IRNSS 1B were also
launched from Sriharikota on 1 July
2013 and 4 April 2014 respectively.

Explanation: India had announced an

ambitious project to construct highway
along the McMahon Line in Arunachal
Pradesh, mainly to counter China.
China has already laid out a huge road
network close to international borders
in Arunachal. The proposed IndoChina frontier highway, that will be
monitored by the Home Ministry will
run parallel along the China border
and will be 1,800 km long. This road
project will be the biggest single
infrastructure project in the history of
India with an estimated cost of over Rs
40,000 crore. China has opposed
Indias road project saying that first the
border dispute between the two
countries should be resolved.

3) Who was conferred with the Best

Central Bank Governor award for 2014
by Euromoney magazine on 10
October 2014? Raghuram Rajan,
Governor of Reserve Bank of India
Explanation: This prestigious award
was given to him for the tough
monetary measures adopted by him to
battle the storm ravaging the deficitridden Indian economy in the recent
market crisis. In January 2003, the
American Finance Association had

awarded
Raghuram
Rajan
the
inaugural Fischer Black Prize for the
best finance researcher under the age
of 40.

retire its older aircraft and keep the

average age of its fleet to around six
years, helping to keep operating costs
down.

4) Which
Indian
private
airline
company on 15 October 2014 signed
an agreement to buy 250 planes from
European aircraft giant Airbus, a deal
said to be the biggest sale ever for
Airbus in terms of number of aircrafts?
IndiGo

5) Who was chosen as the Most

Valuable Player (MVP) of Indias
Incheon Asian Games campaign at a
felicitation of the medal winners on 13
October 2014? M.C. Mary Kom

Explanation: IndiGo is the largest

airline company in India by market
share and is the only airline among the
four biggest currently operating to
consistently report profits. It signed an
MOU with France-based Airbus
Industrie to buy 250 of its A320neo
aircrafts to expand its fleet. Delivery of
the 250 aircraft would start from 2018.
These new aircraft will allow IndiGo to

Explanation: Mary Kom became the

first Indian woman boxer to win a gold
medal in Asian Games when she
clinched the yellow metal in flyweight
(51kg) class at the 17th Asian Games
held at Incheon (South Korea). She
was named the MVP after a poll
conducted by sponsors of Indian
contingent Samsung India. All the 11
individual/team gold winners, including
the mens hockey team, were in the
contest.

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30 CURRENT AFFAIRS

October 17, 2014

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16
October 2014 kicked-off an overhaul of
archaic labour rules in the country by
launching a series of ambitious steps.
What was the name of this programme
which integrates numerous labour
related reforms? Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyay
Shramev
Jayate
Karyakram
Explanation: Pandit
Deendayal
Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram
was launched to implement a series of
labour
reforms.
This
includes
measures to end the so-called

Inspector-Raj with a system that is

expected to sharply curb the element
of discretion with labour inspectors
and a single window compliance
process.
Important initiatives under Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate
Karyakram are
- Shram Suvidha Portal for singlewindow clearance of business
proposals. Shram Suvidha Portal
simplifies compliance of 16 labour
laws, through a single online form.
- Web-based labour inspection
system for random selection of
units for inspection
- Apprentice Protsahan Yojana and
the Effective Implementation of
revamped Rashtriya Swasthya Bima
Yojana (RSBY) for labour in the
unorganized sector
- Universal account number for
Provident Fund with easy portability
of PF accounts

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31 CURRENT AFFAIRS

- Appointment of National Brand

Ambassadors
of
Vocational
Training to instill pride and
confidence in ITI students

2) A Euro 2016 qualifier match

between which two countries was
abandoned mid-way on 14 October
2014 after a controversial flag was
flown above the stadium by a drone
device? Albania and Serbia
Explanation: The match between
Albania and Serbia was being played
at Serbian capital Belgrade when the
drone device above stadium carried a

flag of a so-called Greater Albania, an

area covering all parts of the Balkans
where ethnic Albanians live. That was
enough to infuriate Serbs on and off
the pitch and when Albanian players
joined in the melee, an unseemly
brawl ensued. After a delay of around
half an hour, English referee Martin
Atkinson abandoned the game, which
stood at 0-0. Both Serbian and
Albanian fans have a long history of
violence and racial abuse.

3) Who was appointed as the next

Chief Economic Adviser on 16 October
2014? Arvind Subramanian
Explanation: Arvind
Subramanian
was earlier a senior fellow at the
Washington-based Peterson Institute
for International economics. He is
pronouncedly pro-market and has in
the past argued for quicker subsidy
reforms, fast introduction of GST, and
faster deficit reduction than the
temporal target set by the government.
The post of Chief Economic Adviser
has been lying vacant since Raghuram
Rajan left the Finance Ministry to join
the Reserve Bank of India as the
Governor more than a year ago.

4) Finance Secretary and Economic

Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram was
transferred to the Tourism Ministry in a
major reshuffle by the Union
Government on 16 October 2014. Who
replaced him as the Economic Affairs
Secretary? Rajiv Mehrishi
Explanation: Rajiv Mehrishi is a 1978batch Rajasthan cadre officer IAS
officer and is currently the Chief

Secretary of Rajasthan. He will join as

Economic Affairs Secretary from 1
November 2014. Mayaram, who had
twin roles as both finance and
economic affairs secretary, was
appointed by the previous UPA
government. His transfer is part of the
first major shuffle of top civil servants
since Modi took office in May. In all, 20
senior officials were transferred, many
at the level of secretary.

5) Which country is on its way to

become the first cruelty-free cosmetics
zone in South Asia by following a
national ban on animal testing for
cosmetics by banning the import of
animal-tested cosmetics as well?
India

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32 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation:
This
significant
development makes India the first
cruelty-free cosmetics zone in South
Asia and an example for other nations
to follow. The ban comes in the form of
Rule 135-B that states Complete
prohibition of import of cosmetics
tested on animals. No cosmetic that
has been tested on animals after the
commencement
of
Drugs
and

Cosmetics (Fifth Amendment) Rules,

2014 shall be imported into the
country. The notification will come into
effect on 13 November, 2014. Pro-life
groups across the world have long
campaigned to end the practice of
testing cosmetics on animals.

6) Which subsidiary firm of Indian IT

major Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS) is to be merged with the
company as announced on 16 October
2014? CMC Limited
Explanation: CMC was established
as
Computer
Management
Corporation Limited, a govt. company
in January 1975. Later the name was
changed to Computer Maintenance
Corporation Limited in 1984. The
name was again changed to CMC
Limited later. It was privatised in 2001
by transferring its majority stake to
TCS. TCS held 51% stake in CMC
presently. Under the merger plan,
shareholders of CMC will receive 79
equity share of Rs. 1 each of TCS for
100 equity shares of Rs. 10 each of
CMC.

October 18, 2014

hover near the target, striking at will
from any direction.

2) Which Latin American country on 16

October 2014 launched its first-ever
domestically built satellite named
ARSAT-1? Argentina

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33 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) What is the name of Indias nuclearcapable cruise missile developed with

indigenous technology by the Defence
Research
and
Development
Organisation
(DRDO)
that
was
successfully test fired on 17 October
2014? Nirbhay
Explanation: The test was conducted
from the Integrated Missile Test Range
in Chandipur, Odisha. Nirbhays first
test was conducted on 12 March 2013
but it had to be terminated in the
middle as it deviated from its course
about 20 minutes after launch. So the
17 October launch became its first fully
successful launch. Nirbhay (which
means fearless) is very manoeuvrable
and can fly at tree-top level, making it
difficult to detect on radar, and strikes
targets more than 700 km away
carrying nuclear warheads, giving
India the capability to strike deep into
enemy territory. Unlike other ballistic
missiles like the Agni, Nirbhay has a
wing and pronounced tail fins. It
launches like a missile and in early
flight the small wings get deployed. It
then flies like an aircraft and can even

Explanation: ARSAT-1 is the first

satellite to be constructed with local
technology in Latin America. It was
built by a crew of about 500 scientists
over seven years at a cost of $250
million. The satellite was launched
from a base in French Guyana on 16
October and is to orbit 36,000
kilometers above Earth. ARSAT-1 has
been designed to provide digital
television and cell phone services to
Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and
Uruguay for the next 15 years.

3) What is the name of the revamped

version of Googles Android software
that was unveiled by the company on
15 October 2014? Lollipop
Explanation: Lollipop or Android 5.0,
is the upgraded operating system for
mobile phones. The company claimed
that with Android Lollipop the songs,
photos, apps, and even recent
searches from one of Android devices
can be immediately enjoyed across all
Android devices. Google also unveiled
its Nexus 6 series of smartphones
mainly to compete against Apple,
which launched two upgraded large-

screen
2014.

iPhones

during September

4) West Indies cricket team pulled-out

of its current tour to India on 17
October 2014 after no solution could
be reached for the ongoing payment
dispute. The payment dispute is
between which two bodies associated
with West Indies cricket? The West
Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and
West Indies Players Association
(WIPA)
Explanation: West Indies Players
Association (WIPA) is association of
West Indies cricketers led by Wavell
Hinds. The payment dispute is related
with
new
Collective
Bargaining
Agreement (CBA) signed with the
WICB. The West Indies players felt
that CBA would result in around 75%
reduction in their earnings. The West
Indies team was to play the fifth ODI at
Kolkata and a one-off T20 match at
Cuttack followed
by Tests at
Hyderabad,
Bangalore
and
Ahmedabad. This chapter is an
addition to the history of disputes that

the West Indian players have had with

their administrators. Ahead of the 1998
tour to South Africa too, the players
had threatened to pull out of the tour.
Later in July 2009 the team had called
off Test series against Bangladesh
and tour was completed with B-grade
players sent by the WICB.

5) Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba

Group Holding Ltd changed the name
of its Alipay financial services unit as
announced on 16 October 2014. What
is the new name of this financial
services
unit?
Ant
Financial
Services Group
Explanation : Alibaba, the worlds
largest
e-commerce
company,
presently processes roughly half of
Chinas e-commerce
transactions
through this financial unit. The
company has been aggressively
offering new financial services around
Alipay, including a money market fund
for consumers, a mobile payment app
and even a new private bank that was
recently approved by the Chinese
government.

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34 CURRENT AFFAIRS

October 19, 2014

1) In an important decision the Union
Government on 18 October 2014
completely de-regulated the prices of
retail diesel. This resulted in reduction
in price of diesel by Rs 3.37 per litre
(including taxes) from midnight in
Delhi. This was the first price cut in
diesel in India since when Since
January 2009

Explanation: Public
sector
oil
marketing companies had been
making a profit of Rs. 3.56 a litre
(over-recovery) on diesel between 2
October and 16 October 2014
according to the Petroleum Planning
and Analysis Cell. This was due to the
falling price of crude oil internationally,
which had brought down the Indian
basket to $83.85 a barrel as on 15
October. From now on the prices of
diesel would be linked to the market.
Diesel deregulation will also bring the
private oil marketing company retail
network into system.

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35 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) What is the new price of

domestically produced natural gas
fixed by the Union Government as
announced on 18 October 2014?
$5.61 a unit
Explanation: This price is up from the
current price of $4.2. The hike in price
will be done prospectively and will be
effective from 1 November 2014. C.
Rangarajan panel on natural gas had
recommended a price of $8.4 a unit.
This recommendation was looked at
again by a committee of secretaries.
The Committee considered many hubs
that werent taken by Rangarajans
formula and ignored many hubs that
were in the formula. The Cabinet
approved the reworked formula
keeping in consideration that there is
sufficient incentive for drilling and
exploration while not making it
prohibitive for consumers. The hike will
have implications on power producers,
fertiliser industry and increase CNG
prices for consumers. According to the
power industry, every dollar increase

in gas price will result in electricity

costs going up by almost 45 paise a
unit.

3) The Union Cabinet on 18 October

2014 approved a proposal to develop
Chahbahar Port in Iran wherein an
Indian joint venture company will
undertake this project. A leasing
agreement will be signed to operate
the port for 10 years. Which two Indian
companies would comprise this
venture? Jawaharlal Nehru Port
Trust (JNPT) and Kandla Port Trust
(KPT)
Explanation: Chahbahar port, located
in the Sistan-Baluchistan Province on
Irans south-eastern coast, is of
strategic utility for India. It lies outside
the Persian Gulf and is easily
accessed from Indias western coast.
Indias presence at the Chahbahar
port would give it a sea-land access
route into Afghanistan through Irans
eastern borders. The Indian venture in
this project can have a local Iranian
partner and/or an Indian private sector
partner to serve as the vehicle for
Indias
participation
in
the
development of the port.

4) Which bank won the IDRBT

Banking Technology Excellence award
for 2013-14 in four out of total five
categories in the mid-sized lenders
segment? Federal Bank
Explanation: Kerala-based
Federal
Bank was adjudged as the best bank
for use of Technology for Financial
Inclusion, Social Media and Mobile
Banking,
Business
Intelligence

Initiatives and for Best IT Team,

becoming the bank to have won the
maximum number of awards for 201314. Karur Vysya Bank bagged the Best
Bank Award for Business Intelligence
Initiatives among small banks. The
awards were presented to the winners
at a function held in Hyderabad on 1
October 2014 by RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan in Hyderabad.
Instituted in 2001, the IDRBT Banking
Technology
Excellence
Awards
recognise and honour the best
innovative
use
of
information
technology to enhance levels of
customer service.

5) Indian campaign in the Denmark

Open Super Series Premier badminton
tournament ended with P.Kashyap
losing in the mens singles semi-final
on 18 October 2014. He lost to which
player, who is ranked no.2 in the
world? Chen Long of China
Explanation: Chen Long defeated
Kashyap by 21-16 and 21-15. A day
earlier 28th seeded Kashyap had
created a huge upset in the
tournament by defeating World No.3
and local favourite Jan O. Jorgensen
of Denmark in the quarterfinals. With
Kashyaps loss, Indias campaign in
the tournament also ended.

October 20, 2014

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36 CURRENT AFFAIRS

party won more than 100 seats in

Maharashtra assembly elections? 25
years

1) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

emerged as the single largest party in
Maharashtra assembly elections of
2014, the results for which were
declared on 19 October 2014. BJP
won 122 of the 288 seats with its
former ally Shiv Sena garnering 63
seats. After how many years a single

Explanation: Congress had won 141

seats in 8th Assembly Elections of
Maharashtra held in 1990. After that
no party had been able to secure 100
or more seats in the state. Ruling
Congress was reduced to 42 seats
while its former ally NCP won 41
seats. BJP was however 23 seats
short of securing absolute majority in
state assembly.

2) BJP scored an emphatic victory in

assembly elections held in Haryana by
winning 47 out of 90 seats, the results
for which were declared on 19 October
2014. It thus secured absolute majority

in the state while it had just 4 seats in

the last assembly elections held in
2009.
Haryana
Chief
Minister
Bhupindra Singh Hooda, who tendered
his resignation on 19 October, was
holding this post since when? Since
March 2005
Explanation: Bhupindra Singh Hooda
took over as Haryana Chief Minister
on 5 March 2005. Ruling Congress
could secure just 15 seats while
O.P.Chautalas Indian National Lok
Dal (INLD) won 19 seats.

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37 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Which party opened its account in

Maharashtra Assembly by winning two
seats for the first time? The All
India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
(AIMIM)
Explanation: AIMIM
is
a
predominantly Hyderabad-based party
led by Asaduddin Owaisi, who is a Lok
Sabha MP from Hyderabad. The party
won two seats in Maharashtra in its
first attempt to expand its base outside
Hyderabad. The two seats won by it
are Aurangabad Central (Imtiaz Jalil)
and Byculla (Waris Pathan). It fared
better
than
Raj
Thackeray-led
Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS)
which could win just one seat (Junnar
in Pune) while it had 13 seats in last
assembly.

4) Who created a new record of

securing Lok Sabha seat with the
highest margin till date as announced
on 19 October 2014? Pritam Munde
of BJP

Explanation: Pritam Munde is the

daughter of Union Minister Gopinath
Munde who died in a car accident in
May 2014. She won the Lok Sabha byelection from Maharashtras Beed
constituency by a huge margin of
6,92,245 votes, which is the highest
ever winning margin in Indias electoral
history. Pritam Munde bagged a total
of 9,16,923 votes while her nearest
rival, Ashokrao Shankarrao Patil of the
Congress, secured 2,24,678 votes.
Mundes margin of 6,92,245 is way
above the 5.7 lakh vote margin
secured by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi from the Vadodara Lok Sabha
seat in May 2014. Modi later gave up
the seat. However, the highest victory
margin ever till 18 October 2014, was
Left leader Anil Basus margin of
5,92,502 votes from Arambagh in
West Bengal.

5) Which party is set to lose its status

as a national party after it failed to win
the two seats in Assembly elections of
Maharashtra and Haryana, which were
needed to hold on to this status?
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
Explanation: BSP could win just one
seat in these two assembly elections
whereas it required 2 seats to hold its
status as a national party of India.
Party could not win a single seat in
Lok Sabha elections of 2014. Soon
after the Lok Sabha elections, the
Election Commission had sought an
explanation from BSP chief Mayawati
as to why her partys national status
should not be cancelled. But the party
had managed to buy some time citing
Haryana and Maharashtra assembly

elections. Losing the national status

would deprive BSP of some benefits
given by the EC like contesting
elections on a common symbol, using
All India Radio and Doordarshan for
election campaign broadcast and free
copies of electoral rolls.

6) U.N. Women launched its campaign

associated with gender equality in
India on 18 October 2014. This
campaign aims at ensuring greater
participation of men in promoting
womens rights and gender equality.
What is the name of this campaign,
which is the global campaign of U.N.
Women to ensure gender equality?
HeForShe
Explanation: HeForShe
is
a
solidarity campaign to end gender
inequality by 2030 initiated by U.N.
Women. The campaign was started at
UN headquarters in New York on 20
September 2014. The goal is to
engage men and boys as advocates

and agents of change in the effort to

achieve equality.

7) Who was appointed as the Ebola

Czar to oversee the Ebola response
of United States by President Barack
Obama on 17 October 2014? Ron
Klain
Explanation: Ron Klain is a lawyer
and had served as chief of staff to Vice
Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore.
This prominent appointment came as
Obama faced criticism from some
lawmakers over his administrations
efforts to contain the Ebola virus in the
country. US officials are trying to
identify and monitor people who came
in contact with three people who
caught the disease. The three include
Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person
diagnosed with the disease in the
United States, and two nurses who
were on the team of health workers
caring for Duncan.

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38 CURRENT AFFAIRS

October 21, 2014

1) Which African country was on 20
October 2014 declared Ebola-free by
the WHO after a 42-day period with no
new cases of the deadly virus?
Nigeria
Explanation: The
World
Health
Organisation (WHO) on 20 October
declared Nigeria officially free of Ebola
infections and called this outcome the
triumphal
result
of
world-class
epidemiological detective work. The

announcement came 42 days after the

last reported infection in Nigerias
outbreak,
twice
the
maximum
incubation period for the Ebola virus.
Nigerias outbreak started in July 2014
when Patrick Sawyer, an American of
Liberian descent, traveled by air from
Liberia to Lagos, the countrys biggest
city, starting a chain of infection that
spread the disease to 19 other people
and resulted in eight deaths.
According to the WHO more than
9,000 people have become infected in
the Ebola epidemic, over 4,500 people
have died, and the number of
infections are still doubling every
month. The worst effected countries
have been Liberia, Sierra Leone and
Guinea. Three cases in the United
States and one in Spain has also been
reported.

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39 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) Joko Widodo was sworn in as

Indonesias new President on 20
October 2014. What is the special fact
associated
with
his
becoming
countrys President? He becomes
the first Indonesian President not to
come from the ranks of the
countrys
established
political,
business and military elite
Explanation: A
former
furniture
salesman, Widodo rose from humble
beginnings to become Jakartas
Governor before winning Julys
presidential election with 53% of the
vote.

3) The Union Cabinet on 20 October

2014 recommended the promulgation
of an Ordinance to acquire the land of

those 214 coal blocks mines the

allocations of which the Supreme
Court had quashed in September
2014. This ordinance would also eauction of cancelled coal blocks. What
are the main provisions associated
with this proposed ordinance?
- The proceeds from the e-auction
will go entirely to the state
government where the coal mines
are located including Jharkhand,
Orrisa,
West
Bengal
and
Chattisgarh. The Centre will not
receive any part of the proceeds.
- Government entities including
public sector units such as NTPC
and State Electricity Boards (SEBs)
will not have to go through the
auction route as a pool of coal
mines
will
be
reserved
for
allocations to them from the
cancelled blocks.
- Private sector firms will be allowed
to bid for these coal blocks.
- The structure of biggest coal
company Coal India Limited (CIL)
will not be changed and the
company will not be de-nationalised

4) Christophe de Margerie, who was

killed in an airplane collision with a
snow plough at Moscows Vnukovo
International Airport on 20 October
2013, was CEO of which leading oil
company? Total
Explanation: Total is the leading oil
company of France with major stakes
in oil exploration, oil retailing and
branding. Christophe de Margerie

became companys CEO in February

2007.

5) What is the annual pay package of

Microsofts new CEO, the India-born
Satya Nadella, as disclosed in a
regulatory document filed by the
company on 20 October 2014?
$84.3 million

Explanation: Nadella got a salary for

the fiscal year that ended 30 June
2014 of $918,917 and a $3.6 million
bonus. He also was given stock
awards worth nearly $79.8 million but
most of the payments will be made
over several years. Thus most of the
salary received by him will be in form
of long-term stock awards.

October 22, 2014

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40 CURRENT AFFAIRS

by a reminder for further period of

three months. If the accounts are still
KYC non-compliant after six months of
imposing initial partial freezing, banks
may disallow all debits and credits
from/to the accounts, rendering them
inoperative. Further, it would always
be open to the bank to close the
account
of
such
customers.
Meanwhile, the account holders can
revive accounts by submitting the KYC
documents as per instructions in force.

1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on

21 October 2014 asked the banks to
take a step against bank accounts of
customers who have not complied with
KYC requirements despite repeated
reminders. What step these banks
have been asked to take? Partially
freeze such accounts in a partial
manner
Explanation: The RBI, while imposing
this partial freezing, advised the banks
to ensure that the option is exercised
after giving due notice of three months
initially to the customers and followed

2) Who was chosen as the new Chief

Minister of Haryana by BJPs
Legislature Party on 21 October 2014?
Manohar Lal Khattar
Explanation: 60-year old Manohar Lal
Khattar is a first-time MLA and has
worked as an RSS Pracharak
(propagandist) for 40 long years. He
will be the first Chief Minister of the
BJP in Haryana and also the first
Punjabi to become the Chief Minister
of the State. He had contested the
Assembly elections from Karnal and

had won the seat with a margin of

63,736 votes.

3) Who was the coach of Indian

national hockey team, who resigned
on 19 October 2014? Terry Walsh
Explanation: Australian
hockey
legend Terry Walshs contract as
Indian Hockey coach was to expire on
19 November 2014. He however
resigned mainly due to payment
disputes with the Sports Authority of
India
(SAI).
He
alleged
that
bureaucratic confines in Indian sports
system had taken its toll on his
personal life. Walsh had guided India
to the historic Asian Games gold in
Incheon recently.

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41 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) Aditya Birla Financial Services

Group recently signed a memorandum
of understanding (MOU) with which
overseas entity to enter the health
insurance market of India? MMI
Holdings Ltd of South Africa
Explanation: The Aditya Birla Group
currently operates in the life insurance
segment through Birla Sun Life
Insurance (BSLI). BSLI is a joint
venture with the Canada-based Sun
Life Financial Inc. Aditya Birla
Financial Services Group and MMI
Holdings will enter into a formal joint
venture in which the foreign partner
will hold 26% stake, which is the
maximum holding allowed as per the
existing foreign direct investment
norms in the sector.
5) Which Pakistani news channel was
taken off the air for 15 days by

Pakistans media regulatory authority

PERMA on 21 October 2014? ARY
News
Explanation: Pakistan
Media
Regulation Authority (PEMRA) in a
statement released on 21 October said
the private ARY News channel was
shut for next 15 days following a court
order as it was maligning the
countrys judiciary. The court also
banned one of ARY News anchors,
Mubashar Luqman, from appearing on
any national TV.

6) South
African
Olympic
and
Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius
was on 21 October 2014 sentenced to
five years in prison for the negligent
killing of his girlfriend Reeva
Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile Masipa
handed down the prison sentence for
culpable homicide. Pistorius came to
limelight in 2012 for achieving which
sporting glory? In the London
Olympics of 2012 he reached the
semifinals of the 400m against ablebodied athletes
Explanation: He was charged with
killing his girlfriend-model Reeva
Steenkamp on Valentines Day in
2013.

..
7) Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the iconic
British car manufacturer owned by
Tata Motors, on 21 October 2014
opened
its
first
overseas
manufacturing
facility
in
which
country? China

Explanation: JLR had tied up with

Chinas Chery Automobile Company
Ltd to manufacturer its vehicles in
China. The Range Rover Evoque will
be the first model to be built under this
first Chinese-British automotive joint
venture. Till now JLR had six

manufacturing facilities, five of which

were in the UK and one in India.
However, the Indian unit (in Pune) is
presently engaged in assembly of
complete knock-down (CKD) units
only.

October 23-24, 2014

attack while the attacker (Martin
Couture-Rouleau) was killed in a
shootout following a car chase.

2) Which country became the sixth

West African country to be hit by the
deadly
Ebola
virus
after
its
government on 23 October 2014
confirmed first case of Ebola in the
country? Mali

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42 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Which countrys Parliament came

under attack by a lone gunman on 22
October 2014? Canada
Explanation: Canadian Parliament at
Ottawa (Ontario) was attacked by a
man named Michael Zehaf-Bibeau in
the morning of 22 October. He fatally
shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo, an onduty Canadian soldier at the Canadian
National War Memorial and then
attacked the Central Block of the
Parliament. He was later shot dead by
Canadian security agents. Michael
Zehaf-Bibeau was a recent convert to
Islam and was born as Michael Joseph
Hall. The motive for the attack is being
probed. This attack took place two
days after an attack on two soldiers in
Quebec carried out by a convert to
Islam. One soldier was killed in this

Explanation: Malis Health Minister

Ousmane Kone on 23 October
announced that countrys first Ebola
patient is a two-year-old girl in the
western town of Kayes who had
recently arrived from neighbouring
Guinea, where the outbreak began.
People who came into contact with the
patient in Kayes have been identified
and placed under watch. The other
five West African countries to be hit by
Ebola are Guinea, Liberia, Sierra
Leone, Senegal and Nigeria. However,
Senegal and Nigeria witnessed small
outbreaks and have since been
declared Ebola-free by the WHO.
Ebola has killed over 4,900 people in
West Africa. The vast majority of the
deaths and nearly 10,000 cases of the

disease have been in Guinea, Liberia

and Sierra Leone.

3) What is the name of the new e-mail

service launched by Google on 22
October 2014 to better organize
emails and display information such as
appointments, flight bookings and
package deliveries in a more userfriendly way? Inbox
Explanation: Googles Inbox service
will be initially provided alongside
Gmail, which was launched in 2004. It
will be available on the Web as well as
on Android smartphones and iPhones.
Inbox displays real-time updates to
emails for example, showing the
delivery status of items bought online.
It also shows reminders in a more
accessible way that allows users to
more easily keep track of chores and
appointments. Inbox also enhances
features that are already available in
Gmail that allow users to view
purchases
and
bank
account
statements grouped together.

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43 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) The Indian Air Force (IAF) on 22

October 2014 grounded the entire fleet
of which of its fighter aircrafts to
undertake a thorough check-up of the
fleet? Sukhoi SU-30 MKI

Explanation: The fleet was grounded

following the crash of a SU-30 MKI
aircraft on 14 October 2014 near
Pune. The investigation of this
accident had revealed that there was
no human error in it and some
malfunction in Fly-by-Air system was
detected. Sukhoi SU-30 MKI is the
leading combat aircraft of the IAF and
represents almost a third of the
countrys fighter plane fleet.

5) The Union Government recently

gave forest clearance to Indias
biggest public sector iron ore site
which is situated in the state of
Chhattisgarh. This site contains
proven iron ore reserves of 319.6 MT.
This ore is situated at which site of
Chhattisgarh? Bailadilla Hills in
southern Chhattisgarh
Explanation: This iron ore site is
situated in the Maoist-dominated
forests of Dantewada district in
Chhattisgarh. This site is the richest
iron ore in the country and has onethird of countrys total iron reserves. It
comes under the National Mineral
Development Corporation (NMDC).
The environment clearance for this site
was pending for many years.

October 25, 2014

2) In an important developed the 28nation European Union (EU) on 24
October 2013 struck a deal on a new
target to cut carbon emissions. What is
this new agreed target that was
reached at Brussels after long stretch
of discussions? To cut carbon
emissions in year 2030 by at least
40% from levels in the benchmark
year of 1990

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44 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) What is the name of the Chinabacked Asian infrastructure bank that

was launched on 24 October 2014 and
is seen as a challenge to the World
Bank (WB) and Asian Development
Bank (ADB)? Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB)
Explanation: The AIIB was launched
in Beijing at a ceremony attended by
Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei
and delegates from 21 countries
including India, Thailand and Malaysia.
The MOU for the proposed bank was
signed on this occasion. China is set
to be its largest shareholder with a
stake of up to 50%. However, three
major countries, Australia, Indonesia
and South Korea, were absent from
this launch ceremony. AIIB, which is
expected to start its operation from
2015, is being seen as the new rival to
Western-dominated
multilateral
lenders. The main objective of AIIB will
be to give project loans to developing
nations.

Explanation: It is worth noting that an

existing goal of a 20% cut by year
2020 has already been nearly met.
The EU accounts for about a tenth of
world greenhouse gas emissions and
has generally done more than other
major industrial powers to curb the
gases blamed for global warming. But
environmentalists
have
been
complaining that the deal could still
leave the EU struggling to make the at
least 80% cut by 2050 that its own
experts say is needed to limit the rise
in global average temperatures to two
degrees Celsius.

3) The Union Government on 24

October 2014 constituted a committee
to function as a think-tank to help draft
a new National Intellectual Property
Rights Policy (National IPR Policy).
Who is heading this think-tank?
Justice Prabha Sridevan
Explanation: The main task of this
committee will be to fine tune countrys
IPR policy and advice it on issues
related to intellectual property. It will
also highlight anomalies in the present

IPR legislations and advice the

Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion
(DIPP)
on
possible
solutions.
The
committee
was
constituted by the DIPP, which will coordinate with it to identify areas in
intellectual property where study
needs to be conducted. Other
members of the committee include
Narendra K Sabarwal, former Deputy
Director General of World Intellectual
Property
Organisation,
Rajeev
Srinivasan, Director, Asian School of
Business, Advocate Pratibha Singh,
Advocate Punita Bhargava and Cadila
Pharmas Unnat Pandit.

4) Which surfacing of 3 more cases of

Polio in Pakistan, the number of polio
victims in the country during 2014
went up to 220. Pakistan is one of the
three countries where polio remains
endemic. Which are the other two
countries? Afghanistan and Nigeria

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45 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The
World
Health
Organization (WHO) announced the
surfacing of 3 more polio victims in
Pakistan on 24 October 2014, a day
when many nations observed World
Polio Day to create awareness about
polio. Most of the polio cases in
Pakistan were detected in the countys
northwest, where Pakistani Taliban

has banned immunizations and

attacked polio vaccination teams in
recent years.

5) Who was appointed as the Chief

Executive Officer (CEO) of WalMart
India on 24 October 2014? Murali
Lanka
Explanation: WalMart India is the fully
owned Indian subsidiary of the worlds
biggest retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Murali
Lanka
will
lead
store
operations, sales and business
development,
membership
and
marketing and asset protection
functions for the Best Price Modern
Wholesale stores.

6) S.S. Rajendran, who passed away

on 24 October 2014 at Chennai at the
age of 85, was associated with which
field? Films
Explanation: S.S. Rajendran was a
Tamil actor of yesteryears and was the
contemporary of legendary actor
Shivaji Ganeshan. Some of his famous
movies
were
Ratha
Kanner, Rangoon
Radha and Sivagangai Seemai. He
was also involved in Tamil politics for
some time.

October 26, 2014

worth how much in monetary terms?
Rs. 80,000 crore
Explanation: This huge clearance
was given in a meeting of the Defence
Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley. The
bulk of the decisions went in favour of
the Indian Navy that was in dire need
of
up-gradation
and
capability
enhancement. Important proposals
that were cleared in this meeting are

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46 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) India is to purchase 8,356 units of

Israels Spike anti-tank guided missile
as agreed in the meeting of the
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on
25 October 2014. With this decision
India rejected the rival offer from the
United States for similar missile. What
is the name of the U.S. missile for
which Washington had lobbied hard?
Javelin
Explanation: Spike is a man-portable
fire and forget anti-tank missile that
locks on to targets before shooting. It
is produced by Israels Rafael
Advanced Defence Systems. It thus
beat out the rival U.S. Javelin
weapons system, built by Lockheed
Martin Corp and Raytheon Co., that
U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel
had pitched during Modis visit to
Washington during September 2014.

2) The Union Government on 25

October 2014 gave its clearance to a
wide array of defence projects to clear
a backlog of defence orders and boost
Indias firepower. These projects are

- 6 submarines to be built in India at

a cost of about Rs. 50,000 crore
- 8,356 anti-tank guided missile
(named Spike) of Israel worth Rs.
3,200 crore to be purchased along
with 321 launchers for the missile
- 12 Dornier surveillance aircraft
with enhanced sensors to be
bought
from
the
Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) at a cost of
Rs. 1,850 crore
- 362 infantry fighting vehicle to be
purchased from the Ordinance
Factory Board (OFB) for Rs. 662
crore

3) The Election Commission of India

(ECI) announced the Assembly
election schedule for Jammu &
Kashmir and Jharkhand on 25 October
2014. According to this schedule these
elections would be held in how many
stages in both the states? 5 stages
Explanation: The Assembly elections
in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and

Jharkhand will be held in 5 stages on

25 November, 2 December, 9
December, 14 December and 20
December 2014. The results for both
states will be declared on 23
December 2014. The elections have
been scheduled in 5 stages in the two
states keeping in view the security
perceptions in both the states. J&K
has a long history of militancy and
cross border terrorism whereas
Jharkhand is Naxalite-infested state
with deep clout of Maoists. During
September 2014 J&K had witnessed
its worst flood in 100 years. The ECI
thus assured that the Model Code of
Conduct, which came into effect
immediately, will not affect relief work
in the state.

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47 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) The Indian Air Force (IAF) has

recently asked its personnel and their
families not to use a mobile phone of
Chinese make which is believed to be
capable of transferring data to
companys servers in China and hence
be a security risk. Which Chinese
mobile phone is this? Xiaomi
Redmi 1s
Explanation: Xiaomi Redmi 1s is the
budget smartphone of Xiaomi which is
available in India from several months
now. According to the advisory of the
IAF a leading security solution
company F-secure recently carried out
a test of this phone and found that the
phone was forwarding carrier name,
phone number, IMEI (the device
identifier) plus numbers from address

book and text messages back to

Beijing. The advisory has been
prepared by the intelligence unit based
on the inputs from Indian Computer
Emergency Response Team (CERTIn).

5) Who was selected as the new

Chairman of the Central Board of
Excise and Custom (CBEC) recently?
Kaushal Srivastava
Explanation: Kaushal Srivastava a
1978 batch Indian Revenue Service
(IRS) officer and senior-most in the
board after the present chairperson, is
at present Member (budget) with
additional charge of computerisation
and vigilance. He will replace JM
Shanti Sundharam, who is retiring on
31 October 2014. CBEC is the apex
policy making body of indirect taxes in
India.

6) Which Indian player won the World

Billiards Championship 2014 on 24
October 2014 that was held in Leeds
(UK)? Pankaj Advani
Explanation: Pankaj Advani defeated
Singapores Peter Gilchrist 62 in the
finals on 24 October to win his 11th
major Billiards title. In 2014, Advani
has won three different world titles
the IBSF World 6 Red Snooker,
World Team Billiards and World
Billiards Championship (point format),
which is an unprecedented record in
itself.

October 27, 2014

over the Arabian Sea is expected to hit
Karachi in Pakistan and adjoining
Kutch in northwest Gujarat in India.
This cyclone would be known by which
name? Nilofar

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48 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Manohar Lal Khattar was sworn in

as Chief Minister of Haryana on 26
October 2014 with which he now leads
the first-ever BJP government in the
state. However, in a departure from
the past, the oath- taking function was
not held at Chandigarh, the common
capital of both Haryana and Punjab.
Where was this oath ceremony held?
Panchkula
Explanation: Panchkula
is
newly
th
formed 17 district of Haryana state
and is surrounded by Himachal
Pradesh in the north and east and
Punjab
and
Chandigarh
Union
Territory in the west. First-time MLA
Manohar Lal Khattar was administered
the oath along with nine ministers by
Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki. The
six cabinet ministers of Khattars
cabinet are Kavita Jain, state BJP
president
Ram
Bilas
Sharma,
Abhimanyu, Om Parkash Dhankar,
Anil Vij and Narbir Singh.

2) According to the statement released

by the US Naval Observatory on 26
October 2014, the cyclone building up

Explanation: Cyclone
Nilofar
is
expected to hit Oman in 1 to 2 days.
The name Nilofar was given by
Pakistan
according
to
the
nomenclature conventions of cyclones
in the region. The last cyclone in the
region was Hudhud, which was
named by Oman.

3) In a historic event, the last U.S.

Marines and final British combat
troops in Afghanistan officially ended
their operations on 26 October 2014
by transferring their military base to
the Afghan military. These combat
forces of the two countries have been
in Afghanistan for how many years?
13 years
Explanation: U.S. and British troops
have been in Afghanistan since 2001.
The Afghan war that started on 7
October 2001 resulted in the toppling
of the Talibans radical Islamist regime
by December 2001. But the troops
have been in Afghanistan since the fall
of Taliban. U.S. troops started leaving
Afghanistan in stages from 13 July
2011 after U.S. President announced
withdrawal of troops in his speech on
22 June 2011. On 26 October the
American and British flags were
lowered and folded up for the final time
at the regional headquarters of the

international military. The troops would

completely leave Afghanistan by the
end of 2014.

4) Indian tennis star Sania Mirza

achieved yet another milestone of her
career when she won a prestigious
doubles tennis title for the first time on
26 October 2014. Which title is this,
which Sania won in partnership with
Cara Black (Zimbabwe)? WTA
Finals
Explanation: WTA Finals is generally
considered to be the fifth most
prestigious event on the womens tour
after
the
four
Grand
Slam
tournaments. It was earlier known as
the WTA Tour Championships. Cara
Black and Sania Mirza won the 2014
womens doubles WTA Finals by
defeating defending champions Peng
Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei very
comfortably by 6-1, 6-0 at Singapore.
For Mirza it was her first title victory in
WTA Finals while this was Blacks
third WTA Finals doubles crown.

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49 CURRENT AFFAIRS

5) What is the name of a 750-year-old

city unearthed recently in Russia that
was founded by the descendants of
Genghis Khan? Ukek
Explanation: This
predominantly
Christian city is situated along the river

Volga in Russia and was unearthed by

the archaeologists from the Saratov
Regional Museum of Local Lore. It is
believed to be established just a few
decades after Genghis Khan died in
1227. Two Christian temples, one of
which has stone carvings and fine
ceramics, are among the discoveries.
The discovery of Ukek shed light on
the Christian people who lived under
Khans rule.

6) What is the name of the Google

executive who recently set a new
stratosphere sky diving record by
jumping from more than 25 miles from
sky? Alan Eustace
Explanation: Alan Eustace is a senior
vice president with Google. On 24
October 2014 he jumped out of a giant
balloon floating in the stratosphere
more than 25 miles (40 km) above
New Mexico (U.S.) and broke the
sound barrier and also shattered a
world altitude record. His jump topped
a record set by Austrian daredevil
Felix Baumgartner over New Mexico
on 14 October 2012 after he jumped
from a height of 128,100 feet (39,045
meters). Eustace remained in a free
fall for about 4.5 minutes before
landing safely nearly 70 miles from his
launch point, setting a world record for
the highest skydive and breaking the
sound barrier in the process.

October 28, 2014

2) Manipur and Nagaland were cutoff from the rest of the country from 27
October 2014 due to the 1000-hour
district blockade called in a district of
Assam from 5 am. Which district is
this? Karbi Along district

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50 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

was re-elected in the Presidential
Elections held in the country on 26
October 2014. This win came from the
tightest Presidential elections held in
Brazil since its return to democracy
three decades ago. What is the name
of the ruling party which is represented
by Dilma Rousseff? Workers Party
Explanation: Rousseff took 51.6% of
the votes while her centre-right
challenger Aecio
Neves representing Brazilian Social
Democracy Party (BSDP) got 48.4%
votes. The BSDP held power for two
terms before Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva,
Rousseffs
mentor
and
predecessor, was elected in 2002.
Brazil is the fifth largest democracy
and the seventh-largest economy of
the world. However, the country has
underperformed since 2011, with
some fearing it could put the social
gains at risk. The government led by
Workers Party has enacted expansive
social programmes that have helped
pull millions of Brazilians out of poverty
and into the middle class, transforming
the lives of the poor.

Explanation: The 1000-hour blockade

was imposed in Karbi Along district by
the Joint Action Committee (JAC), who
has been demanding the creation of
the autonomous state to be carved out
of Assam. The 32-km stretch from
Lahorijaan to Garam Pani, which
passes through this district, is the
lifeline for North-Eastern states,
particularly for Manipur and Nagaland.

3) Senzo Meyiwa, who was killed in a

shooting spree by attackers on 26
October 2014, was the captain of
which countrys national soccer team?
South Africa
Explanation: Senzo Meyiwa was the
captain and goalkeeper of South
Africa. He was fatally shot when
armed men broke into the house in
Vosloorus
township
near
Johannesburg where he was staying.
He was South Africas captain in its
four qualifiers for the African Cup of
Nations this year, including its last
game, a 0-0 draw with Republic of
Congo held on 15 October 2014. Its
the second death to hit South African
sports in three days, as former 800 m
world champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi
was killed in a car crash on 24 October
2014.

4) The European
Central
Bank
(ECB) recently conducted a landmark
health check of the banks of the Euro
zone to ascertain real condition of the
banking industry. Which country
performed worst in this test with nine
of its banks falling short and two still
needing to raise funds? Italy

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51 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Italian bank Monte dei

Paschi had the largest capital hole to
fill at 2.1 billion as revealed in this
test. The ECB found the biggest
problems in Italy, Cyprus and Greece
but concluded that banks capital holes
had since chiefly been plugged,
leaving only a modest 10 billion to be
raised. The test was designed to mark
a clean start before the ECB takes on
supervision of the banks from
November
2014.
The
exercise
provided the clearest picture yet of the
health of the Euro Zones banks more
than 7 years after the eruption of a
financial crisis that almost bankrupted
a handful of countries and threatened
to fracture the Euro Zone.

5) Which former Union Minister was

recently selected to chair Future
Earth Engagement Committee a
global
research
committee
on
sustainable development that was
constituted
by
an
alliance
of
organisations including the UNEP, the

UNESCO
and
the
World
Meteorological Organisation (WMO)?
Jairam Ramesh
Explanation: Jairam Ramesh was a
Union Minister for Environment and
Science & Technology in the erstwhile
UPA government. He was also a
member of the U.N. Secretary
Generals
High-Level
Global
Sustainability Panel between 2011 and
2012 and played a key role in the U.N.
Climate Change Conferences at
Copenhagen (2009) and Cancun
(2010).

6) Three prominent businessmen were

named in an affidavit in the black
money case filed by the Union
Government on 27 October 2014
before the Supreme Court. Who are
these three businessmen? Pradip
Burman, Radha S Timblo and
Pankaj Chimanlal Lodhya
Explanation: Pradip Burman was
once a whole time director of Dabur
India, Radha Timblo is engaged in
mining activities in Goa while Pankaj
Chimanlal Lodhya is a bullion trader.
However, the Govt. also told the
Supreme Court that every foreign
account held by an Indian may not be
illegal and names cannot be disclosed
unless there is prima facie evidence of
wrongdoing.

October 29, 2014

adopted during the UPA Govt. and
decided to fill vacancies of 8 posts of
CMDs and 14 posts of Executive
Directors through a fresh process
involving RBI Governor or his
nominee.

..

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52 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) The Union Government sacked the

heads of six Public Sector Unit (PSU)
banks on 27 October 2014. This action
was taken after submission of a report
by a high-level committee in this issue
that stated about irregularities being
found in the selection process of the
Chairman and Managing Directors
(CMDs) of these banks. The CMDs
who were sacked were associated
with which six PSU banks? Bank of
Baroda, Canara
Bank, Indian
Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of
Commerce, United Bank and Vijaya
Bank
Explanation: The
probe
into
appointment of CMDs in PSU banks
was ordered following the arrest and
termination of Syndicate Bank CMD
SK Jain for alleged graft during
September 2014. Following this the
Finance Ministry had set up a
committee comprising Expenditure
Secretary,
RBI
Governor
and
Secretary
School
Education
to
examine the selections to six PSU
banks. The government has now
scrapped the selection process

2) Which country on 28 October 2014

became the first developed country to
shut its door on Ebola-hit countries by
imposing a blanket ban on visas from
West African nations? Australia
Explanation: Australia
announced
refusal to entry for anyone from Sierra
Leone, Guinea and Liberia, a decision
criticised by experts and advocates as
politically motivated and shortsighted.
Australia has not recorded a case of
Ebola despite a number of scares. The
Ebola outbreak that began in March
2014 has killed nearly 5,000 people,
the vast majority in West Africa.

..
3) 44-year-old Devendra Fadnavis will
be the new Chief Minister of
Maharashtra and will take oath on 31
October 2014. He was elected as the
leader of the Maharashtra Legislature
Party on 28 October 2014. Fadnavis,
who will be the first BJP Chief Minister
of the state, has been a Mayor of
which city of Maharashtra? Nagpur
Explanation: Devendra
Fadnavis
became the Mayor of Nagpur in 1997
when he was just 27 year old. He thus

became the second youngest Mayor in

India. He also was the youngest
municipal corporator of the Nagpur
Municipal Corporation (NMC) at the
age of 21 in 1992. As an MLA he
represents Nagpur West constituency.
The BJP fought the recent Assembly
elections under his helm as state BJP
President.

..

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53 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) What was Indias rank in World

Economic Forums 2014 gender gap
index that was released on 27 October
2014? 114th
Explanation: Indias rank of 114 was
out of 142 countries that were
analysed in this index. India slipped 13
spots from its last years ranking of
101 due to low score in parameters
like
economic
participation,
educational attainment and health and
survival. India is part of the 20 worstperforming countries on the labour
force participation, estimated earned
income, literacy rate and sex ratio at
birth indicators. On the other hand,
India is among the top 20 bestperforming countries on the political
empowerment sub-index. The index
was first introduced by the World
Economic Forum (WEF) in 2006 as a
framework for capturing the magnitude
of gender-based disparities and
tracking their progress. The index
benchmarks national gender gaps on
economic, political, education and
health criteria.

..

5) Who was appointed as the new

Chairman of the Prasar Bharti Board
on 28 October 2014? A. Surya
Prakash
Explanation: A.
Surya
Prakashs
appointment
came
on
the
recommendation of a three-member
committee headed by Vice President
Hamid Ansari and comprising Press
Council
of
India
chairperson
Markandey Katju and Bimal Julka,
Secretary, Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting. He has been appointed
for 3 years. Surya Prakash is a noted
journalist and is at present the
Consulting Editor, The Pioneer, and a
distinguished
fellow
at
the
Vivekananda International Foundation.

..
6) Which two Formula One (F1) teams
have filed for bankruptcy protection
and will not race at the United States
Grand Prix to be held on 2 November
2014? Caterham and Marussia
Explanation: Caterham and Marussia
have been placed into bankruptcy
protection and will not race at the
United States Grand Prix. Caterham
was
placed
in
bankruptcy
administration on 24 October and was
given special dispensation to miss the
next two GPs while a buyer is sought.
This was followed by bankruptcy
protection of Marussia on 27 October.
This means that it will be first time
since 2005 that there will be only nine
teams in a F1 Grand Prix. Escalating
costs and unequal distribution of
money has made F1 unviable for
smaller
teams
like
Caterham,
Marussia, Sauber and Lotus. It is

worth mentioning that F1 has seem

more than 120 teams come and go
and Italys Ferrari is the only one to
have stayed the course since the

championship started in 1950. Some

51 F1 teams have never scored a
single point.

October 30, 2014

Thailand (113 points), UAE (112) and
China (111).

2) Which country was rated as the

most pessimist consumer market in
the world in the Nielsen Global
Consumer Confidence Index for third
quarter of 2014? Italy

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54 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Which country was rated as the

most bullish consumer market in the
world in the Nielsen Global Consumer
Confidence Index for third quarter of
2014 that was released on 29 October
2014? India
Explanation: India was given 126
points, a drop of 2 points from
previous quarter, in this index that was
conducted between 13 August and 5
September 2014 and covered more
than 30,000 consumers across 60
markets. The overall Global Consumer
Confidence Index rose 1 point in the
third quarter to 98. Australia saw the
biggest increase in confidence index
from the previous quarter, by 12
points, followed by Slovenia with a 9
point increase and Thailand with 8
points. In overall picture India was
followed closely by Indonesia (125
points), the Philippines (115 points),

Explanation: Italy was given just 47

points, which was 4 points less than
the last quarter. European countries
generally were the most pessimistic,
reflecting the conflict in Ukraine,
faltering growth and the risk of
deflation in the euro zone. Britain and
Germany, however, saw consumer
confidence improve. Countries just
above Italy in this index were Croatia
(49 points), Serbia (51 points), South
Korea (52 points) and Portugal (53
points).

3) What milestone in numbers was

achieved in Aadhaar identification
issued by the Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI) as on 28
October 2014? 70 crore
Explanation: According
to
an
announcement made by the UIDAI,
around 70 crore Aadhaar numbers
were issued till 28 October. Aadhaar is

a 12-digit individual identification

number issued by the Authority on
behalf of the Government and contains
various biometrics, such as iris or
fingerprints. The number serves as
proof of identity and address anywhere
in India. 9 states, including Andhra
Pradesh, Kerala, Delhi and Himachal
Pradesh, had crossed 90% Aadhaar
coverage, while 16 had over 70%
coverage. But only 26% Aadhaar
coverage was achieved in Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and
Chhattisgarh. In recent months, the
Government has provided a fresh
impetus to the UIDAI by linking
Aadhaar to various entitlements and
schemes, including the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY),
MGNREGA, pensions, scholarships,
direct
benefit
transfer,
ration,
passports, attendance system, among
others.

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55 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) The Union Govt. on 29 October

2014 placed a list of names of 627
Indian account holders is Swiss and
other foreign banks before the
Supreme Court in association with the
black money case. These names are
of which year as disclosed by Attorney
General Mukul Rohatgi? 2006
Explanation: Attorney General Mukul
Rohatgi disclosed before the Supreme
Court that the details of account
holders are of year 2006 which were
supplied by the French Government to
the Indian Government in 2011. This
data was stolen from HSBC Bank in
Geneva which later reached France
from where the government got the
information. On its part the Supreme

Court asked the Special Investigation

Team (SIT) constituted by it to go
through the list and take appropriate
action in accordance with law.
5) What was Indias rank in World
Banks latest Ease of Doing Business
report that was released on 29
October 2014? 142
Explanation: Indias rank of 142 was
among 189 countries included in this
report. India was ranked 140th in the
last years edition of the list. Indias
drop by 2 places in the report is mainly
because other nations have performed
much better. This report, however,
does not take into account the latest
slew of measures taken by Modi
Government to make India a business
friendly destination. Hence, World
Bank officials cautioned against linking
the latest ranking with the steps taken
by the new Indian Government.

6) Which country was placed at the top

position in World Banks latest Ease
of Doing Business report that was
released on 29 October 2014?
Singapore
Explanation: Singapore topped this
list with 88.27 points and is followed by
New Zealand, Hong Kong, Denmark
and South Korea. Among other major
countries, the US has been ranked
seventh, Britain (eight), China (90), Sri
Lanka (99), Nepal (108), Maldives
(116), Bhutan (125), and Pakistan
(128).

7) The logo of 2018 FIFA World Cup

was revealed on 28 October 2014 by
FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Which
country is hosting this World Cup?
Russia
Explanation: The logo depicts the
World Cup trophy in red and blue,
colors from the Russian flag, with a
gold trim. The 2018 FIFA World Cup to
be hosted by Russia would be the
21st edition of Football World Cup.

8) Michael Sata, who passed away on

28 October 2014 while being treated in
London, was President of which
African country? Zambia
Explanation: President Sata, who
was being treated in the UK, died in
Londons King Edward VII hospital at
the age of 77 years on 28 October. He
is the second Zambian leader to die in
office after Levy Mwanawasa in 2008.
Sata was elected Zambias president
in 2011, defeating the then incumbent
Rupiah Banda whose party had been
in power for 20 years.

October 31, 2014

Most Western nations still dont
recognize Palestine, and many said
they dont plan to follow Sweden.
European Union (EU) member states
such as Hungary and Poland that do
recognize a Palestinian state did so
before they joined the bloc.

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56 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Which country on 30 October 2014

became the first major European
nation to accord official recognition to
Palestine and thus drawing sharp
criticism from Israel? Sweden
Explanation: Swedish announcement
about giving recognition to Palestine
came just a few weeks after new
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said his
government would become the first
major European nation to make this
move. This announcement places
Sweden among more than 100 others
that recognize a Palestinian state.

2) The Union Finance Ministry on 30

October 2014 issued new austerity
measures in view of lower revenue
realization. These measures included
cut in non-plan expenditure and ban
on creation of new posts. How much
reduction in non-plan expenditure had
been proposed? 10%
Explanation: An office memorandum
issued by the Expenditure Department
of the Finance Ministry stated that for
the
year
2014-15,
every
Ministry/Department shall affect a
mandatory 10% cut in non-plan

expenditure which will exclude interest

payment, repayment of debt, defence
capital, salaries, pension and Finance
Commission grants to the States. The
Ministry also made it clear that
Government officials will not travel in
first class. These measures have been
announced after indirect tax collection
grew mere 5.8% during first six
months of the current fiscal against the
budgeted target of 25.8%.

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57 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Which African countrys government

was toppled on 30 October 2014 by
protestors who were against countrys
Presidents plans to further extend his
27-year rule through a vote of motion
in the Parliament? Burkina Faso
Explanation: President
Blaise
Compaor had planned a vote on the
motion on 30 October 2014 to further
extend his 27-year rule in Burkina
Faso. But this was thwarted by
thousands of protestors who surged
through the streets of Ouagadougou,
the
capital,
overrunning
state
broadcasters, setting fire to Parliament
and burning the homes of the
presidents
relatives.
Later
the
government was dismissed by a
Presidential order and martial law was
imposed in the country. If the protests
do unseat President Compaor, it will
be the first time since the Arab Spring
that a popular movement has
succeeded in removing an autocrat in
sub-Saharan Africa.

4) Who was named as the acting

President of Zambia on 29 October

2014 after death of President Michael

Sata? Guy Scott
Explanation: Guy
Scott
is
the
Zambian Vice President and was
appointed as the acting president until
elections are held within 90 days.
Scott is the first white leader of an
African nation since F.W. de Klerk, the
last president of apartheid, the South
African system of white racist rule that
ended in 1994. His appointment was
announced by Defence Minister Edgar
Lungu.

5) An unmanned commercial supply

rocket of US space agency NASA
bound for the International Space
Station (ISS) exploded moments after
lift-off on 28 October 2014 resulting in
a setback for NASA and drawing
criticism over the space agencys
growing reliance on private U.S.
companies. What was the name of the
company whose rocket Antares was
involved in this mishap? Orbital
Sciences Corp.
Explanation: This accident took place
at Orbital Sciences Corp.s launch
complex at Wallops Island in Virginia.
Antares rocket blew up over the
launch complex, just six seconds after
the lift-off. This was the second launch
attempt for the mission. Orbital
Sciences Corp. is a U.S. based
company specializing in the design,
manufacture and launch of small- and
medium- class space and rocket
systems for commercial, military and
civil government customers. Antares is
a two-stage launch vehicle designed to
deliver
medium-class
payloads
weighing up to 6120 kg into space.

6) Global consulting firm McKinsey &

Company on 30 October 2014
released a report which identified 49
metropolitan clusters that could be
growth hotspots in India. These 49
metropolitan clusters will drive about
77% of Indias incremental GDP from
2012-2025 and by year 2025, they
would be home to 72% of the
consuming class and 73% of income
pool. How many of these clusters are
situated in performing and low
performing states of the country? 29

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58 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: This McKinsey report is

titled Indias economic geography in

2025: States, Clusters and Cities and

pertains with metropolitan clusters in
India. A metropolitan cluster is a
group of districts that have high
economic potential, are contiguous
such that each cluster represents
serviceable market, and have a
metropolitan district as the nucleus.
The report has forecast Indias
average economic growth over the
period 2012 to 2025 could be in the
region of 7.2% a year. This forecast is
assuming a scenario of growth
renewal.

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