01- Jan Month 2015 Current Affairs.pdf

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Daily GK Updates 01st Jan 2015

1. Isro chairperson K Radhakrishnan

retires i. Spearheading Indian Space Research Organisation triumphantly through

several milestones, its chairperson K Radhakrishnan retired on Wednesday carrying the crowning glory of the much-hailed India's mission to Mars.

ii . Indian space scientists bid a 'sombre' farewell describing Radhakrishnan an "iconic leader" as his exit left the space

agency at what ISRO on its Facebook called "at its most glorified pedestal ever." iii . Radhakrishnan, a recipient of Padma-

Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, was recently chosen as one of the top ten scientific personalities in 2014 by Nature Science Journal.

India's Mars Orbiter, currently orbiting the red planet, tweeted it's farewell.

2. Planning Commission renamed "Neeti Ayog" i. India's Planning Commission will be

renamed "Neeti Ayog" as part of a plan to restructure the institution that the government believes has run its course. ii . The name, replacing "Yojana

(planning)" with "Neeti (policy)" will be announced in an amended resolution for the new plan body today, sources said.

iii . The Planning Commission had suggested to a group chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that its replacement body should be structured

to meet the need of changing economic paradigm and comprise sectoral experts and states' representative.

It was India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a socialist who admired Joseph Stalin's drive to

industrialize the Soviet Union, who in 1950 set up - and chaired - the Planning Commission to map out a development path for India's agrarian economy.

3. Tropical storm Jangmi struck Philippines

i. Jangmi, a tropical storm made landfall in northeastern Mindanao Island of Philippines on 28 December 2014. The storm that caused heavy rains and

triggered flash floods and landslides in the country killed at least 30 people. ii . Tropical storm Jangmi, known in the Philippines as Seniang carried winds of

65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour

destroying several bridges and highway and lead to evacuation of thousands of residents.

iii . Apart from Philippines, the storm has affected several parts of other countries like Malaysia and southern Thailand.

4. NASA's SMAP instrument to measure Earth's soil

i . The U.S. space agency NASA's Moisture

Active Passive (SMAP) instrument is ready to measure the amount of moisture in Earth's soils wi th an unparalleled precision and resolution.

ii . The instrument comprises of three main parts namely radar, a radiometer as well as the biggest rotating mesh antenna ever used in space.

The new instrument is expected to be launched on January 29.

5. A K Mittal appointed railway board chairman

i . Mittal, who was member (staff), has succeeded Arunendra Kumar, whose appointment as well as entire tenure was mired in lot of controversies.

ii . Mittal's position as member (staff) has been taken by Pradeep Kumar, who was general manager, North-Central Railway

with additional charge as GM, Northern Railway. iii . Navin Tandon had been appointed as new member (electrical), a post which

was lying vacant for last six months. Tandon was GM, South Eastern Central Railway. Gupta, member (engineering),

has been given additional responsibility of member (mechanical), the post which is likely to be fi lled within a week.

6. Noted journalist Boobli George Verghese died i. Eminent journalist Boobli George Verghese died on 30 December 2014

following a brief illness. He was 87.

ii . He was an information adviser to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966

to 1969. In 1975, Verghese was given the

Ramon Magsaysay award for his

contribution to journalism. iii . In October 2010, he published his autobiography First Draft: Witness to

Making of Modern India. His last work was Post Haste: Quintessential India, a book that was released in May 2014.

7. Govt splits CMD post in Public Sector Banks

i. The government of India decided to split the post of chairman and managing director at public sector banks (PSBs).The finance ministry has

appointed chief executive officers (CEOs) of four banks, while confirmed that non-executive chairman would be declared shortly.

ii . The appointment of the CEOs would be for a fixed tenure, in this case for three years or when the candidate

retires, whichever is earlier. iii . The four banks for which new MD & CEOs were announced on Wednesday were Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian

Overseas Bank, United Bank of India and Vijaya Bank 8. Rajnath Singh launches women safety

mobile app 'Himmat'

i . Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on 1st Jan 2015 launched India's first

integrated mobile application for women safety called 'Himmat', in the presence of Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi and Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb

Jung. ii . Who-so-ever will download this smart phone-based application can alert the

police in the hour of need by either shaking the phone or pressing the power button twice," said Bassi. iii . "It is directly linked to the Police

Control Room and they will get an indication immediately. After that the location can be traced and will be updated every ten seconds," he added.

9. PM Narendra Modi greets nation on New Year

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday greeted the nation on New Year, wishing that it brings immense happiness, peace and prosperity to

everyone.

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02nd January 2015

1. K.K. Paul to be Uttarakhand Governor

i. Krishan Kant Paul will be sworn in as

the sixth Governor of Uttarakhand on

January 8.

ii . A presidential communiqué said Mr.

Paul, Meghalaya Governor, would

continue to hold the office of the

Governor of Manipur.

iii . The current Uttarakhand Governor,

Aziz Qureshi, would be transferred to

Mizoram.

iv. Challenging the move of the Narendra

Modi government to seek resignations of

Governors appointed during the UPA

regime.

2. Uttarakhand governor Aziz Qureshi

transferred to Mizoram

i. Dr Aziz Qureshi was shunted out and

appointed Mizoram governor.

ii . A statement issued by the President's

office said that Qureshi had been given

charge of Mizoram for the remainder of

his term. He has almost three years of

tenure left.

iii . West Bengal governor K N Tripathi

meanwhile has been asked to take

additional charge of Meghalaya.

3. Pakistani fishing boat carrying

explosives sets itself on fire after being

chased by Indian Coast Guard

i. A suspicious fishing boat carrying

explosives from Pakistan was intercepted

by Indian Coast Guard in Arabian Sea

near Indo-Pak maritime boundary but it

sank after the crew on board set it on

fire. The incident came a month after

sixth anniversary of the Mumbai terror

attack.

ii . The boat carrying some four people

blew up some 365 kms off Porbander

coast after a hot chase.

iii . As per the intelligence inputs received

on 31st December, a fishing boat from

Keti Bunder near Karachi was planning

some illicit transaction in Arabian Sea.

iv. Coast Guard Dornier aircraft

undertook sea – air coordinated search

and located the suspect fishing boat.

4. BHEL bags first key power project in

Telangana

i. BHEL will set up first Supercritical

Thermal Power Plant in newly formed

state of Telangana. The company has

bagged contract worth Rs. 3,810 crore.

ii . The order is for setting up the 1x800

MW Supercritical Thermal Power Plant on

EPC (Engineering, Procurement &

Construction) basis at Kothagudem in

Khammam District of Telangana.

iii . To this effect, an advance cheque of

Rs. 350 crore was handed over by the

Chief Minister of Telangana, K.

Chandrasekhar Rao to Chairman &

Managing Director.

iv. The project is targeted to be

commissioned in 36 months on fast track

basis with both BHEL and TSGENCO

setting up teams to expedite clearances

and execution of the project.

5. LIC International launches co-branded

credit card with UAE's First Gulf Bank

i . India's LIC International and Abu Dhabi -

based First Gulf Bank are planning to

introduce a unique co-branded credit

card in the United Arab Emirates to

address concerns of insurance policy

holders.

ii . It is first of its kind payment solution.

This is the first time that an insurance

firm has entered into a strategic all iance

with a bank in the gulf country.

iii . LIC International, established in

Bahrain in 1989 by LIC of India to

facilitate residents in the gulf region, has

over 350 million policyholders worldwide.

6. Government to prioritise drugs, states

to revive Jan Aushadhi Pharmacies

i . To infuse a fresh lease of life into the

struggling Jan Aushadhi chain of

pharmacy outlets, set up to make

affordable generic drugs available to

people.

ii . The government plans to focus on

select drugs and states, spruce up supply

chain and encourage doctors to use

generic names of drugs.

iii . Government is considering a proposal

to trim the list of drugs being distributed

through Jan Aushadhi outlets to 40-50

mass consumption ones from the 320

medicines enlisted to be part of stock at

present.

7. R Koteeswaran takes over as new

Indian Overseas Bank CMD

i . R Koteeswaran has taken over as the

Chairman and Managing Director of

public sector Indian Overseas Bank.

ii . Prior to this, Koteeswaran was serving

Bank of India as its Executive Director

Koteeswaran began his career in 1976 in

Bank of Baroda and later joined Bank of

India as its Executive Director.

iii . He replaces M Narendra who has

superannuated

Daily GK Update - 3rd January 2015

1. ICICI Launches Digital Village Project in

Gujarat

i. Joining Digital India programme, top

lender ICICI Bank has launched its own

'digital village' project while adopting an

entire village in Gujarat to provide

services ranging from cashless banking to

digitised school teaching.

ii . Digital village has three themes --

cashless, comprehensive and connected.

iii . Village, named Akodara, in

Sabarkantha district of Gujarat

incidentally happens to be the same

place where Modi started Gujarat's first

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animal hostel in 2011 when he was the

Chief Minister of the state.

iv. One of the key points is providing

cashless banking services to every

villager.

v. The villagers are getting SMSs in

Gujarati for their transactions and other

digital services.

vi. the bank has set up e-health, e-milk

producer group, Wi-Fi connectivity and

schools with digital black boards in the

village, along with a host of other digital

facilities.

2. Gyan Sangam: Government on its way

to overhaul public sector banks

i . Government has embarked on a

mission to overhaul public sector banks,

beginning with a twoday, high-profile

retreat in Pune.

ii . The main objective is to search for

"out-of-the-box" ideas to reorient them

to support the country's bid to move back

to a high-growth trajectory.

iii . the government wants to draw up an

urgent reform road map that could

include the revamp of priority sector

lending, consolidation and effective use

of technology for lending besides greater

financial inclusion.

iv. The event is being held at the National

Institute of Bank Management on the

outskirts of Pune.

3. Bengal Global Business Summit

i. Projecting itself as an ideal investment

destination, the Government of West

Bengal is organising Bengal Global

Business Summit — Bengal Leads.

ii . The State is seeking investment in

sectors such as urban infrastructure and

housing, IT software and hardware, food

processing, horticulture and floriculture,

MSME and textiles.

iii .Other Sectors such as health care,

education and skills development,

manufacturing, energy and

infrastructure, hospitality and tourism

and business of entertainment and

financial services are given the nod of the

state as special sectors to look for.

4. Kumar Sangakkara fastest to 12,000

runs in Tests

i. Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan

Wicket Keeper batsman became the

fastest player to reach 12,000 Test runs.

ii . Sangakkara had entered the game

needing five runs to become the fifth

man to surpass 12,000 test runs.

iii . Sangakkara has accumulated his runs

in 224 innings, compared to India's Sachin

Tendulkar and Australia's Ricky Ponting,

who both needed 247 innings to surpass

the mark.

5. Intel invests $24.8 million to speed up

launch of Google Glass rival

i . Vuzix Corporation said that Intel Corp

invested $24.8 million in the company to

speed up the launch of internet-

connected eyewear.

ii . Rochester, New York-based Vuzix

develops computerized, internet-

connected glasses and other video

eyewear aimed at consumers, businesses

and entertainment.

iii . Intel, which was slow to launch chips

for smartphones and tablets, is striving to

be at the forefront of future trends in

mobile computing and expand into new

markets.

6. RBI relaxed KYC rules for Non-Banking

Financial Companies

i . Know-Your-Customers (KYC) rules for

Non-Banking Financial Companies

(NBFCs) were relaxed by the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI).

ii . The KYC rules were amended for

NBFC’s due to practical difficulties and

constraints being faced by them in

getting KYC documents at frequent

intervals.

iii . As per RBI notification, the KYC

exercise will be required to be done in

three ways and they are

For high-risk individuals and

entities – in at least every 2 years For medium risk individuals and

entities - in at least every 8 years For low risk individuals and

entities – in at least every 10 years

7. India lost 66 wild tigers in 2014

i. Sixty-six wild tiger deaths were

reported in the country in 2014.Two tiger

deaths occurred on the last day of the

year.

ii . It was the only day in 2014 when two

wild tiger deaths were reported. One was

at Bandipur in Karnataka and the other at

Tadoba Andhari in Maharashtra.

iii . As per statistics provided by Tigernet,

the official database of the National Tiger

Conservation Authority, the highest

number of wild tiger deaths was reported

from the forests of Tamil Nadu —15,

followed by Madhya Pradesh —14. Six of

the deaths in Tamil Nadu were from the

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

iv. The majority of wild tiger deaths was

caused by poaching, It is estimated that

about 50 tigers could have been kil led in

this manner.

Daily GK Update - 4th and 5th January 2015

1. LED there be light: Modi launches

scheme to brighten Delhi

i . Prime Minister Narendra Modi on

Monday launched a scheme for LED bulb

distribution under domestic efficient

lighting programme (DELP) in Delhi.

ii . Describing the LED bulb as a ‘prakash

path’ (way to light), Mr. Modi said that it

is much more economical to conserve

power than to produce power.

iii . LED bulbs shall be distributed in a

phased manner from March 2015

onwards, an official statement said.

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iv. The entire project of installing LED

bulbs for domestic and street l ighting in

100 cities is targeted for completion by

March 2016.

v. In Delhi, LED bulbs will be provided to

all domestic consumers at an initial

payment of Rs 10 each and recovery of Rs

10 each for 12 months from their

electricity bill .

2. Laxman, SP Balasubrahmanyam new

Swachh Bharat ambassadors

i . The Centre on Monday nominated

cricketer V.V.S. Laxman, chess player

Koneru Humpy, playback singer S.P.

Balasubrahmanyam and several other

icons as brand ambassadors of Swachh

Bharat campaign.

ii . The nomination was formally made by

Union Urban Development Minister M.

Venkaiah Naidu at a function in

Hyderabad.

iii . The others nominated include MPs

K.Kavitha, Jayadev Galla, badminton icon

P.Gopichand, corporate personalities

B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, J.A.Chowdary,

Rameshwar Rao and Gopichand, G.S. Rao

from medical field, lyricist S. Ashok Teja,

Telugu actor Nitin and media personality

V. Radhakrishna.

3. Sports ministry recommends Saina

Nehwal's name for Padma Bhushan

i. The sports ministry today decided to

recommend ace shuttler Saina Nehwal

for the Padma Bhushan award.

ii . Ministry insisted that it did not receive

her nomination from the Badminton

Association of India (BAI) within the

stipulated deadline.

iii . On Saturday, a disappointed Saina had

stated that the Badminton Association of

India (BAI) had recommended her name

for the Padma Bhushan in August last

year but the sports ministry rejected her

application, citing norms.

4. 18 Jharkhand villages identified under

'Green India Mission'

i . Eighteen villages have been identified

under union government sponsored

'Green India Mission' for undertaking

eco-friendly development programmes in

the areas fall ing under Seraikela forest

division in Seraikela-Kharswan district of

Jharkhand.

ii . The main objective of the mission was

to develop the ecological and economic

scenerio by choosing different

developmental schemes including rain

water harvesting and greenery among

others.

iii . The forest division has also developed

facilities for development of pissiculture

and poultry which have helped villagers

to earn livelihood.

iv. The Mission proposed a holistic view

of greening and focuses not on carbon

sequestration targets alone, but on

multiple ecosystem services, especially,

biodiversity, water and biomass.

5. Arvind Panagariya to be Vice-Chairman

of PM Narendra Modi's NITI Aayog

i . Eminent free-market economist Arvind

Panagariya has been appointed to run

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's

new policy commission, or NITI Aayog.

ii . Niti Aayog has been set up to

modernise economic strategy after

decades of Soviet-style central planning.

iii . the appointment of Panagariya, an

Indian-born economics professor at

Columbia University in New York, is likely

to be announced in the next 24 hours.

iv. Panagariya's market-friendly, pro-

growth economics has helped shape

Narendra Modi's outlook and is seen by

many as a Margaret Thatcher-like attack

on overbearing labour regulations and

state-run companies.

NOTE - Narendra Modi will be the

Chairman of the Niti Ayog.

6. Government to implement new

Companies Act that includes setting up

IEPFA and NFRA

i. The corporate affairs ministry has

charted its road map for full

implementation of the new Companies

Act that envisages setting up Investor

Education and Protection Fund Authority

(IEPFA) and National Financial Reporting

Authority (NFRA) within six months.

ii . The government is already in final

stages of notifying rules for IEPFA and

NFRA, a quasi-judicial apex body for

accounting and auditing standards, also

with powers to probe and review audits

of companies.

iii . NFRA will be responsible for

monitoring, compliance review and

overseeing quality of service,

enforcement and standard setting in

accounting and auditing.

iv. IEPFA, which will be set up under the

new Companies Act, will manage investor

education and protection fund. If the

amount deposited with companies is not

claimed for more than seven years, it will

go to IEPFA.

7. DDA plans smart city, flats for senior

citizens in 2015

i. A smart "world-class" city in Dwarka,

exclusive apartments for senior citizens, a

financial hub, electric buses for Delhi and

erecting the city's tallest building are

among DDA's major plans this year.

ii . The 'smart city' envisioned by DDA will

be a complete sub-city, which would be

located in an area of 20-24 hectares,

zoned out of Dwarka, Rohini and Narela,

and will be equipped with latest

technologies and waste-management

techniques.

iii . "The smart city will have a world-class

infrastructure, 24-hour power supply,

complete wi-fi connectivity, and will

employ green technology and latest

water conservation like rain-harvesting

and waste management techniques,

among other facilities.

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Daily GK Update - 6th January 2015

1. World Cup 2015 squad announced:

Yuvraj out, Jadeja in

i. The Board of Control for Cricket in India

on Tuesday released its 15-member

squad for the World Cup 2015.

ii . The noticeable exclusion was that of

Yuvraj Singh who has been dropped from

the squad.

iii . The players are as follows:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Shikhar

Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Vi rat

Kohli,Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina,

Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja ,

Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel,

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma,

Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny and

Umesh Yadav.

iv. India will start it's World Cup campaign

against Pakistan on 15th of February.

2. Five-day coal strike begins

i. Trade unions on Tuesday began a five-

day coal industry strike, terming it as the

biggest industrial action for any sector

since 1977.

ii . The unions have gone on strike to

protest against ’disinvestment and

restructuring of State-run Coal India’ and

to press for their other demands

including the roll -back of what they call

as “process of denationalising of coal

sector”.

iii . The strike can affect coal production of

up to 1.5 million tonnes a day and may

also hit supplies to power plants which

are already grappling with fuel shortages.

iv. All five major trade unions of the coal

PSU had boycotted a meeting called by

Coal Minister Piyush Goyal last week.

3. ISRO gears up to launch IRNSS 1D

i. After completing an eventful year, ISRO

is gearing up for some satellite launches

this year, with the IRNSS 1D being the

first, which would put in place India's

own navigation system on par with the

Global Positioning System of the US.

ii . "The launch campaign for IRNSS 1D has

come, which starts on January 16. Within

two months, all components from other

ISRO labs have to reach Sriharikota. The

launch is l ikely after March 15.

iii . IRNSS 1D is the fourth in the series of

seven satellites, the national space

agency is planning to launch to put in

place the Indian Regional Navigation

Satellite System (IRNSS).

iv. While four satellites would be

sufficient to start operations of the

system, the remaining three satellites

would make it more accurate and

efficient.

4. P Krishnamurthy appointed as Private

Secretary of Union Defence Minister

Manohar Parrikar

i. IAS officer P Krishnamurthy was on 5

January 2015 appointed as Private

Secretary of Union Defence Minister

Manohar Parrikar.

ii . He is appointed for a five-year period

or on co-terminus basis with the

minister's tenure.

iii . Krishnamurthy is a 1997 batch IAS

officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-

Mizoram Union territories (AGMU) cadre.

iv. He served as the Director of National

Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)

from 2011 to 2014.

5. Union Cabinet approved to set up

India-based Neutrino Observatory in TN

i. Union Cabinet headed by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi on 5 January

2015 approved to set up the India-based

Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Tamil

Nadu.

ii . The INO laboratory will host

experiments such as the neutrino-less

double beta decay and the search for

dark matter.

iii . The INO project will be set up near

Pottipuram village in the Bodi West Hills

of Theni district in Tamil Nadu. The

project is at an estimated cost of 1500

crore rupees.

iv. The project also includes Inter-

Institutional Centre for High Energy

Physics (IICHEP) and Iron Calorimeter

Detector (ICAL).

6. Former Minister of State for PWD Ram

Prasad Kamal died

i. Former Minister of State for Public

Works Department (PWD) Ram Prasad

Kamal passed away on 4 January 2015

after a brief illness in Allahabad. He was

84.

ii . Kamal was inducted into the BJP by

former Prime Minister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee in 1980 following which he was

elected for two consecutive terms as

member of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan

Parishad from 1992.

iii . Ram Prasad Kamal served as the

Minister of State for PWD for BJP

government from 1997-2004.

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Daily GK Update - 7th January 2015

1. Railways' earnings up by over 12%

i. Railways has earned Rs 1,14,656.13

crore during April -December 2014,

registering an increase of 12.57 per cent.

ii . It had earned Rs 1,01,856.45 crore

during the same period in the previous

year.

iii . The total earnings from goods during

April-December, 2014 were Rs 77,161.55

crore as compared to Rs 68,776.35 crore

in the corresponding period in 2013,

showing an increase of 12.19 per cent,

according to the Railway Ministry data.

iv. The total number of passengers

booked during April - December 2014

were 6,256.16 million compared to

6,360.15 million during the same period

in 2013, showing a decrease of 1.64 per

cent.

2. NASA Closer Than Ever to Finding

Earth's 'Twin'

i . Two of the eight are the most Earth-like

of any known planets found so far

outside our solar system, astronomers

told the 225th meeting of the American

Astronomical Society in Seattle,

Washington.

ii . The discovery doubles the number of

known planets that are close in size to

the Earth and believed to be in the so-

called "Goldilocks zone" of the stars they

orbit.

iii . The promising discoveries are that of

the planets named as - Kepler 438b and

Kepler 442b.

3. Google, New ally for 'Digital India'

project

i. Vinton Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist at

Google, met Minister for

Communications and Information

Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad to

discuss the role technology giant can play

in supporting the government’s vision for

a Digital India.

ii . Vinton Cerf said, "We have some ideas.

We want to share with them those ideas

to find out which of them make sense.

Maybe they will have better ideas than

us.”

iii . The government’s ambitious Digital

India project aims to connect all gram

panchayats by broadband Internet,

promote e-governance and transform

India into a connected knowledge

economy.

4. IBA raises wage revision offer to 12.5%

i. The United Forum of Bank Employees

has deferred the all -India bank strike.

ii . the IBA had improved its offer of wage

revision by raising the monthly salaries of

banks employees and officers to 12.5 per

cent.

iii . The unions have refused to accept the

offer which they termed was too low.

4. 500 Firms Approach Ministry to Make

PF Optional

i . As many as 500 companies have

approached the Ministry of Labour to

consider revamping of the laws governing

salary payment and granting employees a

choice in how they are paid their salary.

ii . The petition asks the government to

give employees the choice to decide on

three issues.

Firstly, whether to make their 12 per cent

employee contribution to Provident Fund or opt out of it.

secondly whether to pay 12 per cent

employer contribution to the Employee Pension Scheme or to an individual

account opened with the National Pension Scheme.

And thirdly, whether to pay their ESI

contribution to the ESI corporation or

purchase insurance from any IRDA regulated insurance company. iii . Currently, in a cost to-company model

informal employees can take home their

entire salary while employees in the

organised sector "lose" a part of their

earnings to schemes like PF, Employees

State Insurance (ESI), Professional Tax,

Employees Pension Scheme, statutory

bonus and gratuity.

5. Amitabh Bachchan named as the Brand

Ambassador of AP health sector

i . Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan on

6 January 2015 named as the Brand

Ambassador of Andhra Pradesh (AP)

health sector.

ii . His appointment was announced by

the AP Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas

in Hyderabad.

iii . Being the brand ambassador of AP

health sector, he will be participating in

various health-related campaigns of AP

government.

iv. Bachchan will not take any

remuneration for the services he would

be rendering to the state as its health

ambassador.

6. President signed Ordinance to amend

Citizenship Act, 1955

i. President Pranab Mukherjee signed the

Ordinance that amends’ Citizenship Act,

1955.

ii . The ordinance provides life-long Indian

visa facility to Person of Indian Origin

(PIO) and exempts them from appearing

before the local police station on every

visit.

iii . It merges Overseas Citizen of India

(OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO),

thus making PIO eligible for life-long visa

and bringing them on equal footing with

OCI.

iv. It relaxes the requirement of 12

months in cases related to citizenship by

registration and naturalization. Instead it

allows for breaks up to 30 days if the

Union government is satisfied that special

circumstances exist, and has recorded

them in writing.

7. Nilesh Shah resigned as MD & CEO of

AXIS Capital Limited

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i . Nilesh Shah resigned as Managing

Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD

&CEO) of Axis Capital Limited.

ii . Shah joined Axis Bank as President,

Strategic Initiatives—Corporate Banking

in March 2011. He took over as MD &

CEO of Axis Capital in November 2013.

iii . Prior to joining Axis, he was the

Deputy-MD at the ICICI Prudential Asset

Management. At ICICI he quit after

serving for seven years when assets more

than quadrupled.

Daily GK Update - 8th January 2015

1. 12 dead in shooting at French satirical

weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris

i . Twelve people, 10 journalists and two

policemen, have been killed, and 10

others wounded in the shooting massacre

at the Paris headquarters of satirical

newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

ii . Hollande confirmed the deaths, and

said that at least 40 were “saved.”

iii . The numbers of victims is likely to rise,

the French president added. Flags across

France have been lowered in mourning

for victims of the attack.

iv. Charlie Hebdo (Charlie Weekly) is a

controversial French satirical newspaper

that came under attack over the

publication of caricatures of Muslim

leaders and the Prophet Mohammed in

2011.

v. The attack in the newspaper offices is

the worst militant attack in recent

decades in France, which has a five-

million-strong Muslim population.

2. PM inaugurates 13th Pravasi Bharatiya

Divas Sammelan

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally

inaugurated the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya

Divas at Mahatma Mandir in

Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

ii . The Prime Minister also inaugurated

the Dandi Kutir- a unique exhibition on

father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi

depicting various stages of his life and

work at Salt mount near Mahatma

Mandir.

iii . India will be building a monument in

Guyana dedicated to the arrival of Indian

indentured labourers in the country,

Guyanese president Donald Ramotar is

the chief guest at the event.

iv.About Bhartiya Pravasi Divas - India has

been holding PBD for 12 years now to

coincide with the arrival of Mahatma

Gandhi back to India from South Africa in

order to acknowledge the contribution of

the Indian diaspora to the development

of the country.

v. This year marks the 100th anniversary

of the arrival of the young barrister

Gandhi, who eventually went on to lead

the country to independence.

3. PIO, OCI schemes merged,Coins and

stamps released at PBD.

i. The Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and

Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

schemes have been merged to ensure

one type of facilities and also grant

exemption from weekly police reporting.

ii . Mr. Modi said the visa-on-arrival

facility has been made available to NRIs

in 43 countries. In addition, the facility of

Electronic Travel Authorization (e-Visa)

has also been introduced to save time.

iii . In order to spread knowledge about

India among young NRIs, Mr. Modi

proposed that an online quiz contest as

part of future PBDs.

iv. At the occasion, two stamps of Rs. 25

and Rs. 5 and two coins of Rs. 100 and Rs.

10 denominations were released in the

memory of Mahatma Gandhi.

4. ICCI Bank launched Contactless credit

and Debit cards

i. ICICI Bank on 7 January 2015 launched

contactless credit cards and debits cards

called Coral Contactless Credit Card and

Expressions Wave Debit Card

respectively.

ii . These cards will enable customers to

make electronic payments by waving the

cards near a merchant terminal instead of

dipping or swiping the cards.

iii . These cards are powered by

MasterCard contactless and Visa

payWave technologies.

iv. The key advantage of these two cards

is speed and security.

The speed of transactions will add

momentum to high value payments and

the level of security is higher since the

card doesn’t leave the customer during

the transaction process.

5. Atul Khare appointed as the UN Under-

Secretary-General

i . Atul Khare was on 7 January 2015

appointed as the United Nations (UN)

Under-Secretary-General, Department of

Field Support (DFS). He will succeed

Ameerah Haq of Bangladesh.

ii . His appointed was announced by

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-

moon. Khare is currently providing

charitable medical advice in India.

iii . Khare joined the Indian Foreign

Service in 1984 and has served Indian

diplomatic missions in France, Mauritius,

Senegal, Thailand and the United

Kingdom.

6. New Jersey to host international

conference on Hindi in April

i . The International Hindi Conference with

the theme of "Expanding World of Hindi:

Possibilities and Challenges," would be

held in New Jersey in April.

ii . To be attended by Hindi scholars from

various parts of the world, in particular

from the US and India between April 3-5,

participants of the International Hindi

8 | P a g e

Conference would discuss the current

status of the teaching and learning of

Hindi among other things.

iii . This conference will provide a forum

for community members and leaders,

language experts, policy makers,

education administrators, advocates and

other stakeholders from different parts of

the US, Canada, South America and

Caribbean countries, such as, Trinidad

and Tobago along with experts from India

to get together and share their views and

research, examine a wide spectrum of

opportunities, make plans for the future.

7. Gujarat govt announces industrial

policy for 2015

i. The Gujarat government on Thursday

announced its new industrial policy for

2015 aimed at making the state a global

manufacturing hub, ahead of the Vibrant

Gujarat Summit set to begin from 11th

January.

ii . it would play a pivotal role in realising

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in

India' dream and make Gujarat a global

manufacturing hub, said an official

release issued in Ahmedabad.

iii . Key focus areas of this policy i nclude

infrastructure development,

simplification of labour laws and

motivation of new innovations through

technology transfer.

iv. Industries l ike auto components,

engineering, drugs, cement and

chemicals are flourish in Gujarat. Now,

we wish to boost value addition in these

existing resources.

Daily GK Update - 9th January 2015

1. Mahinda Rajapaksa concedes defeat to

opposition candidate Maithripala

Sirisena

i . Sri Lanka's long-time leader Mahinda

Rajapaksa has been defeated in the

presidential election.

ii . Official results showed Maithripala

Sirisena, a former ally of the incumbent,

had won 51.3% of the vote.

iii . Sirisena met the next Prime Minister

Ranil Vickramaisnghe at the

Independenc e Square, Colombo to

discuss the future course of action.

iv. Less than two months ago, when the

president called snap elections, this

outcome was unimaginable. There was

no big opposition candidate in sight.

v. Then suddenly Mr Sirisena, then the

health minister, switched sides, propped

up by heavyweight politicians and later

supported by many minority groups.

2. SEBI proposes e-IPO norms(Electronic-

Initial public offer)

i . Investors can bid for shares through

Internet and eventually on mobiles, while

already listed PSUs will be provided a

'fast-track' route for share sales to meet

the disinvestment targets.

ii . For already listed companies ,Sebi has

proposed a fast-track route for raising of

funds through FPOs (Follow-on Public

Offers) or Rights Offers (where funds can

be raised from existing shareholders).

iii . The fast-track route of raising capital

has been proposed for companies having

public shareholding market valuation of

as low as Rs 250 crore, as against Rs

3,000 crore currently.

iv. Currently, applications for IPOs can be

uploaded on a real -time basis only

through ASBA (Application Supported by

Blocked Amount). Only self-certified

syndicate banks are authorised to

manage it.

v. With regard to fast-track issuances of

Follow on Public Offer (FPO) and rights

issue, Sebi proposed that route can be

extended to companies having an

average market capitalisation of between

Rs 250 crore to Rs 3,000 crore.

3. Qantas rated as ‘World’s Safest Airline

for 2015′

i . AirlineRatings.com, safety and product

rating website, has announced its top ten

safest airlines and top ten safest low cost

airlines for 2015 from the 449 it

monitors.

ii . Top of the list again is Qantas which

has a fatality free record in the jet era.

iii . Making up the remainder of the top

ten in alphabetical order are: Air New

Zealand, Cathay Pacific Airways, British

Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA

Air, Finnair, Lufthansa and Singapore

Airlines.

iv. Over its 94-year history Qantas has

amassed an extraordinary record of firsts

in safety and operations and is now

accepted as the world’s most

experienced airline.

4. Google CEO Larry Page emerges as

'business person of the year' for 2014

i. Larry Page, Google's CEO has emerged

as the 'business person of the year' for

2014, edging past the likes of Alibaba co-

founder Jack Ma and Facebook CEO Mark

Zuckerberg, according to Fortune

magazine.

ii . Amazon's Jeff Bezos, who led Fortune

list in 2012, failed to make in to the top

20 list.

iii . The list is based on various parameters

like financial results of the company

including 12-month and three year

growth in profits and revenues,

company's stock performance and total

shareholder returns over the same

periods.

5. KKR partners GIC to set up India real

estate lending company

i. KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co),

American multinational private equity

firm, had set up a non-banking financial

company in the country for lending to the

real estate sector, with an investment

from Singapore sovereign wealth fund

GIC.

9 | P a g e

ii . Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC,

which has shown interest in the realty

segment in the recent past, will also

invest in the newly formed company.

6. Governor’s rule imposed in Jammu and

Kashmir

i. Centre has imposed Governor's rule in

Jammu and Kashmir on 9 January 2015,

accepting the state's Governor N.N.

Vohra's recommendations.

ii . Mr. Vohra sent a report to the

President after Omar Abdullah asked him

to relieve him as caretaker Chief Minister.

iii . More than a fortnight after the results

of the Assembly elections have been out,

neither PDP which emerged as the single

largest party with 28 seats nor BJP with

25 could get the magic figure of 44 to

stake claim to form a government in the

87-member House. NC has 15 MLAs while

the Congress 12.

7. Vaccine Raksha Blu for bluetongue

disease launched

i. To counter the deadly bluetongue

disease, Raksha Blu vaccine was launched

on 8 January 2015 by Gachibowli facility

of Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) in

Hyderabad, Telangana.

ii . The vaccine was launched with an aim

to minimise the economic loss of the

animal farming community that occurs

due to bluetongue disease.

iii . The vaccine has been developed to

protect the animals against five strains of

the ‘bluetongue’ virus prevalent in the

country. Per dose of the vaccine will be

available for farmers at an expense of 5

rupees.

NOTE: The vaccine is the result of

collaborative efforts of IIL, TANUVAS

(Tamil Nadu University of Veterinary and

Animal Sciences) and ICAR (Indian Council

of Agricultural Research). The vaccine

was developed in three years.

8. Tatas’ Vistara starts flying

i . Marking Tatas’ re-entry into the Indian

aviation space after over six decades,

new airline Vistara on Friday flew its first

flight, and said its aim will be to “do it

right” without making a big splash.

ii . Tatas hold a majority 51 per cent stake

in Vistara — a joint venture with

Singapore Airlines, which holds the

remaining 49 per cent.

iii . The first Vistara flight flew from Delhi

to Mumbai today — over six decades

after Tata Airlines was rechristened as Air

India, and eventually nationalised in

1950s.

Daily GK Update - 10th January 2015

1. John Kerry Heads for India to Attend

the Vibrant Gujarat Summit

i . US Secretary of State John Kerry

headed for India to attend the Vibrant

Gujarat Summit during which he will

address investors to boost economic ties

and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi

to discuss a broad range of bilateral and

global issues, including climate change.

ii . "The Secretary would be emphasising

the importance and future potential of

our economic partnership with India,

State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki

told PTI.

2. Sindhushree Khullar appointed as the

Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog

i. Senior bureaucrat Sindhushree Khullar

appointed as the Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) of National Institution for

Transforming India (NITI) Aayog with

effec t from 1 January 2015. She will serve

the position for one year.

ii . She is 1975-batch officer of the Indian

Administrative Service’s (IAS) Union

Territories cadre. In March 2013, she was

appointed as Secretary of the Planning

Commission on contract basis for two

years.

iii . Noted Economist Arvind Panagariya

was appointed as the Vice Chairman of

the NITI Aayog. Economist Bibek Debroy

and former DRDO chief V K Saraswat

were appointed as full -time members of

NITI Aayog.

3. Rajiv Mehta appointed new DGP of

Meghalaya

i. Senior IPS officer Rajiv Mehta has been

appointed as the new Director General of

Police in Meghalaya.

ii . He is currently serving as the Director

General of Narcotics Control Bureau

(NCB) in Delhi.

iii . Mr. Mehta replaces P.J.P. Hanaman

who retired on December 31 and will

take charge from acting DGP S.K. Jain.

4. Sirisena's first overseas visit will be to

India

i. Sri Lanka's newly-elected President

Maithripala Sirisena will make his first

State visit overseas to India.

ii . 'Mr. Modi invited our President to

come to India first. He proposes to go

next month," said Rajitha Senaratne,

senior politician and spokesman of Mr.

Sirisena.

5. UN to Host New Libya Peace Talks in

Geneva Next Week

i. The United Nations said that it would

host a new round of peace talks between

Libya's warring factions in Geneva next

week.

ii . The UN Support Mission in Libya

(UNSMIL) said in a statement that its

head "Bernardino Leon" had proposed a

freeze in military operations for a few

days "in order to create a conducive

environment for the dialogue".

6. Vice President Mohammad Hamid

Ansari presented Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman Awards 2015

i. Mohammad Hamid Ansari on 9 January

2015 presented the Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman Awards 2015 to sixteen

10 | P a g e

personalities. The awards were presented

during the occasion of Pravasi Bhartiya

Divas at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

ii . Apart from fifteen awardees, Senator

Liza Singh from Australia also received

the award as he could not accept the

award in 2014

NOTE: About the Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman Awards

a. The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award

was constituted by the Union Ministry of

Overseas Indian Affairs to honour the

contributions of Non-Resident Indians in

their respective profession. The award is

given by the President of India.

b. Organized annually since 2003, the

award is presented to a Non-Resident

Indian (NRI), Person of Indian Origin or an

organization established and run by the

NRIs.

7. SpaceX Launches for NASA, Aims for

Rocket Landing at Sea

i. A SpaceX rocket has blasted off with

supplies for the International Space

Station.

ii . The unmanned Falcon rocket soared

into a clear pre-dawn sky at Cape

Canaveral, Florid

iii . The primary mission for SpaceX is

delivering more than 5,000 pounds (2,300

kilograms) of food, experiments and

other items ordered up by NASA.

The Falcom 9 SpaceX stands ready to

launch on complex 40 at the Cape

Canaverat Air Force Station

Daily GK Update - 11th January 2015

1. Vibrant Gujarat: PM Narendra Modi

promises to make India easiest place to

do business

i . Prime Minister Narendra Modi today

promised to make India the "easiest"

destination to do business with a stable

tax regime and a predictable,

transparent and fair policy

environment.

ii . he said a single window clearance for

projects is being set up at both central

and state level.

iii . According to the Organisation for

Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD), India would be

the only country among world's top

economies which would increase its

pace of growth this year.

iv. Recent initiatives towards a

favourable enviornment is -

FDI in construction has been liberalised,

100 per cent foreign investment has

been allowed in railways, the defence

sector has been opened for FDI up to 49

per cent and a similar level in the

insurance sector.

2. Investers Boom in Gujrat

i. Reliance will invest Rs.1,00,000 crore

in Gujarat across its businesses,

including the Gujarat petrochemical

complex, in the next 18 months.

ii . As part of the investment

programme, RIL will partner with

thousands of small businesses and

Gujarati entrepreneurs to create

virtuous cycle of prosperity, Mr. Ambani

said.

iii . Kumarmangalam Birla said the

diversified Aditya Birla Group will invest

Rs. 20,000 crore over a period of time in

the state to ramp up capacities across

various existing facilities.

iv. On the anvil are brownfield

expansions at our cement plant in

Sevagram, the VSF plants in Vilayat and

Bharuch, and along with that, expansion

in metal plants (among others) here.

3. World Bank projects 6.4% economic

growth in India in 2015

i. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

said that the Indian economy is likely to

grow at 6.4 per cent in 2015 and

accelerate further in the next year.

ii . After slowing to sub-five per cent

growth in the previous two financial

years, the economy has started showing

signs of pick-up as it expanded by 5.7

per cent and 5.3 per cent in the second

and third quarter of 2015.

iii . Mr. Jim said, he was “very

encouraged” by the recent proposal of a

Constitution amendment bil l for Goods

and Services Tax.

iv. GST will create one common market

and substantial saving for companies on

logistics, especially if the structure of

the GST is uniform.

4. Facebook is the leader of social media

i. The findings of a survey by a US-based

global think tank Pew Research Centre

that involved 1,597 internet users

revealed that 71 per cent of US adults

were hooked to Facebook in 2014.

ii . The figure up significantly from 63

percent in 2013, Forbes magazine

reported.

iii . For micro-blogging site Twitter, the

percentage of users logging in daily

decreased from 46 percent in 2013 to

36 percent last year.

5. SunEdison inks pact with Omnigrid

i. SunEdison and Omnigrid Micropower

Company (OMC), which is engaged in

11 | P a g e

building small -scale power plants with

renewable sources have entered into an

agreement to develop 5,000 rural

projects, representing 250 MW of

electricity, throughout India over the

next three to five years.

ii . SunEdison and OMC have an offering

that can help telecommunication

organisations meet their regulatory

requirements and provide energy to

local communities.

iii . SunEdison is currently building 60

mini grids across India - this initiative

will further accelerate our efforts

towards the Prime Minister's Energy

Vision of making electricity available 24

hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. Federer notches 1,000th match win,

claims Brisbane title

i. Roger Federer notched his 1,000th

career victory and collected his 83rd

title with a seesawing 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4

win over third-seeded Milos Raonic of

Canada in the Brisbane International

final.

ii . The 17-time major winner broke

Raonic’s serve in the third game and

again in the opening game of the

second set before Raonic broke back for

2-2 and then dominated the tiebreaker.

iii . Only retired greats Jimmy Connors

(1,253) and Ivan Lendl (1,071) have won

more than 1,000 matches on the men’s

tour.

Daily GK Update - 12th January 2015

1. NRIs can vote through postal ballots

i. Centre gave their nod to the proposal

prepared by a 12-member committee

led by Vinod Zutshi, Deputy Election

Commissioner, for ‘Exploring Feasibility

of Alternative Options for Voting by

Overseas Electors’.

ii . The Centre told the Supreme Court

that the EC’s recommendation to

extend voting rights to NRIs through

postal ballots have been accepted in

letter and spirit.

iii . Chief Justice H L Dattu and A K Sikri

asked the Centre to inform it about

“further steps taken to implement the

suggestions.”

iv. The poll panel had contended that

the move to allow NRIs to use proxy

voting on the lines of defence personnel

and e-ballot facility will require changes

in the law and a legislative framework.

2. Golden Globe Awards announced

i . the 72nd Golden Globe Awards

announced in Beverly Hills, California

ii . Coming of age tale "Boyhood" won

the coveted Golden Globe for best

drama on Sunday.

iii . while the quirky period caper "The

Grand BUDAPEST HOTEL " was the

surprise winner for best comedy or

musical, in a big upset to awards season

front-runner "Birdman."

List of award winners -

Best Motion Picture-Drama: Boyhood

Best Actor in a Motion Picture- Drama:

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama:

Julianne Moore, Still Alice Best Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical:

The Grand BUDAPEST HOTEL

Best Actress in a Motion Picture -

Comedy or Musical: Amy Adams, Big Eyes

Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Comedy

or Musical: Michael Keaton, Birdman

Best Animated Film: How To Train Your

Dragon 2 Best Foreign Language Film: Leviathan

(Russia) Best Supporting Actress in a Motion

Picture: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood Best Supporting Actor in a Motion

Picture: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Best Director-Motion Picture: Richard

Linklater, Boyhood Best Screenplay: Birdman

Best Original Score - Motion Picture:

Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything

Best Original Song - Motion Picture:

John Legend and Common, "Glory,"

Selma

3. Govt to sell stake in PSUs

i. FINANCE Minister Arun Jaitley today

said the divestment programme would

be pursued on priority and involve more

than one PSU during this period.

ii . There are reports that the

government is looking to sell 10 per

cent stake in Coal India to raise Rs

24,000 crore.

iii . The government has realised Rs

1,715 crore from disinvestment

proceeds so far in the current fiscal

2014-15.

iv. Government have set a target of Rs

43,425 crore from sale of its shares in

listed companies.

4. Microsoft ties up with Idea for paid

apps, games

i. Handset maker Microsoft Devices has

partnered with Idea Cellular to help

subscribers of the telecom services firm

pay for apps as part of monthly bills.

ii . Idea users will be able to purchase

premium apps and games from the

Windows Store on Microsoft Lumia as

well as other Windows-based

smartphones and pay for them through

integrated billing.

iii . The smartphone market in India is

poised to grow over 70 per cent this

fiscal and the app ecosystem is also

booming.

iv. The Windows Store, competes with

Google's Play Store and Apple's App

store besides other smaller platforms.

5. National Youth Day observed across

India on 12 January

i. The day is observed annually to mark

the birth anniversary of social reformer,

philosopher and thinker Swami

Vivekananda.

ii . This is the 152nd birth anniversary of

Swami Vivekananda.

12 | P a g e

iii . The Union Government in 1984 had

declared that 12 January, the birthday

of Swami Vivekananda will be observed

as the National Youth Day.

iv. Swami Vivekananda's lectures and

writings are a source of inspiration for

youth and have motivated numerous

youth organisation.

v. His writings derive their inspiration

from Indian spiritual tradition and the

broad outlook of his Master Sri

Ramakrishna.

vi. All his teachings can be found in The

Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda,

in nine volumes, published by Advaita

Ashrama, Kolkata.

vii. He is best known for his inspiring

speech at the Parliament of the World's

Religions in Chicago in 1893 in which he

introduced Hinduism, his words began

with words, Sisters and brothers of

America.

6. SDSC-SHAR director MYS Prasad

chosen for Vikram Sarabhai Memorial

Award 2015

i. The director of Satish Dhawan Space

Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota Range (SHAR)

MYS Prasad was on 10 January 2015

selected for the Vikram Sarabhai

memorial award 2015.

ii . The award will be presented to MYS

Prasad by the Indian Science Congress

Association (ISCA).

iii . Prasad was selected for his

outstanding contribution to Research

and Development in the field of space

science in his long career at the Indian

Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

iv. The Vikram Sarabhai memorial award

was instituted by the Indian Science

Congress Association in 1997-98. The

award carries a GOLD Medal and is

given in every alternate years.

7. EC announces Delhi Assembly poll

dates; voting on Feb 7, counting on Feb

10

i. Voting for Delhi Assembly Elections

2015 would be held in a single phase on

February 7 with the counting of votes

scheduled for February 10,Delhi has 70

Assembly seats.

ii . The total electorate of Delhi is 1.3

crore and the total number of total

stations are 11763. Model Code of

Conduct has come into force from

today.

iii . Last time Arvind Kejriwal challenged

Modi - in the Lok Sabha polls - the

people of Varanasi had left him

humbled.

iv. The Congress forms the third axis of

politics in Delhi but given the party's

weak performance in successive

Assembly polls after the Lok Sabha poll

defeat, the battle is essentially between

the BJP and the AAP.

v. The EC appears to have taken care

while finalising the dates so as to ensure

that it does not come in the way of

school annual examinations, including

those conducted by the CBSE that

usually start early March.

vi. In 2013, the BJP had emerged as the

single largest party with 31 MLAs,

followed by AAP which got 28 MLAs.

8. Stan Wawrinka wins Chennai Open

i. Stan Wawrinka's notched a

comfortable 6-3, 6-4 victory over

Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene to win

the Chennai Open.

ii . It was the second consecutive title

victory at Chennai and third overall for

the top-seeded player, who did not

drop a set in the tournament.

iii . It was the third time the two players

met at the Chennai Open with Bedene

winning their quarterfinal match in 2013

and Wawrinka prevailing at the same

stage last year.

Daily GK Update - 13th January 2015

1. AS Kiran Kumar appointed as new ISRO

chief

i. AS Kiran Kumar on Monday was

appointed as the new Indian Space

Research Organisation (ISRO) chief.

ii . He was the director of Satellite

Application Centre and joined ISRO in

1975.He was also behind the success of

India's Mars Orbiter Mission which

entered the Martian orbit on September

24.

iii . Kumar has contributed to the design

and development of Electro-Optical

Imaging Sensors for Airborne, LEO and

GEO platform based imaging sensors

starting from Bhaskara TV payload to the

latest TMC adHySI payloads for

Chandrayaan-1 missions.

2. Raghuram Rajan named Governor of

the Year in Central Banking Awards 2015

i. Reserve Bank of India Governor

Raghuram Rajan has won "Governor of

the Year" in the Central Banking Awards

for 2015 on Monday.

ii . Jacques de Larosiere winning the

Lifetime Achievement Award after a

lengthy struggle for monetary order while

Claudio Borio, head of the monetary and

economic department at the Bank for

International Settlements, was handed

the inaugural award for Economics in

Central Banking, designed to recognise

significant contributions to the field.

iii . This is a recognition of the part the

Reserve Bank of India and its staff have

been playing in bringing macroeconomic

stability to the Indian economy.

13 | P a g e

3. Retail inflation up at 5% in Dec on

higher food prices

i. Retail inflation moved up marginally to

5 percent in December as prices of some

food items, including fruits and

vegetables, increased.

ii . In November, retail inflation based on

the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was at

4.38 percent, the lowest level since

government started computing the new

series of data in January 2012.

iii . The consumer inflation rose to 5.32

percent in urban India and 4.71 percent

in rural area during December.

iv. RBI was planning to ease the interest

rates in the next revision riding on a

lower inflation rate.

v. RBI is scheduled to announce its sixth

bi-monthly monetary policy on 3rd

February.

4. India’s Mars Orbiter team wins US

award

i . India’s Mars Orbiter programme tea m

has won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award

in the science and engineering category

from the US based National Space Society

(NSS).

ii . This award will be presented to an ISRO

representative during the National Space

Society’s 2015 International Space

Development Conference, the 34th ISDC,

to be held in Toronto, Canada.

iii . Note - India’s Mars Orbiter launched

on Nov 5, 2013 that went into Mars orbit

on Sep 24, 2014 achieved two significant

mission firsts in terms of an Indian

spacecraft that has gone into orbit

around Mars on the very first try and that

no other country has ever done this.

Secondly, the spacecraft is in an elliptical

orbit with a high apoapsis, and has a high

resolution CAMERA which is taking full -

disk colour imagery of Mars.

iv. The Mars Orbiter programme tea m

located in Bangalore is headed by

Mylswamy Annadurai.

5. Zomato acquires U.S. firm

i. Indian restaurant search services

provider Zomato acquired U.S.-based

rival Urbanspoon for about $50 million in

one of the biggest overseas deals by an

Indian startup.

ii . Company is said to be in talks to raise

about $100 million in fresh funding.

iii . The acquisition of Urbanspoon, which

marks Zomato's entry into the United

States, Canada and Australia, will result in

its presence in 22 countries, covering

more than one million restaurants.

iv. Founded in 2008, Zomato is currently

valued at around $660 million.

6. Deepak Parekh appointed as Chairman

of BAE Systems India (Services) Private

Limited

i . Deepak Parekh appointed as a Non-

Executive Director and Chairman of BAE

Systems India (Services) Private Limited

with effect from 1 January 2015.

ii . Parekh was appointed as a member of

the BAE Systems’s Independent Advisory

Board for India association in 2010.

iii . Indian Government honoured Parekh’s

performance with the Padma Bhushan in

2006.

7. Australia launched Online Visa Pilot

Programme for Indian business and

tourism visitors

i. Australia launched Online Visa Pilot

Programme to make it easier for Indian

business and tourism visitors to apply

online visa for travelling Australia.

ii . It covers online lodgement of subclass

600 visas for Indian business and tourism

visitors. It will be rolled out through

selected travel agents across India.

iii . India has the potential to contribute

between 1.9 billion US dollars and 2.3

billion US dollars annually to tourism

industry by 2020.

8. Cristiano Ronaldo retains the Ballon

d’Or

i . Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo won the

FIFA Ballon d’Or for the second year in a

row and the third time in his career,

ahead of Argentinean Lionel Messi and

Manuel Neuer of Germany.

ii . Joachim Low’s feat in guiding Germany

to the 2014 FIFA World Cup earned him

the Coach-of-the-Year award.

iii . Colombian James Rodriguez won the

Puskas Award for the goal of the year.

iv. Contributing to Ronaldo’s win were

37.66% of the votes coming from 181 of

the national team coaches, 182 of the

national team captains, and 181 of the

media representatives who voted.

v. Messi was second with 15.76% and

Neuer, third with 15.72%.

Daily GK Update - 14th January 2015

1. H.S.Brahma to be the next chief

Election Commissioner of India.

i . Shri H.S. Brahma is all set to assume

charge as the new Chief Election

Commissioner of India.

ii . VS Sampath, Chief Election

Commissioner, demits office on 15th

January 2015, capping less than six

years of an eventful tenure.

iii . Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath, turns

65 tomorrow, the upper age limit under

the Constitution for holding the post.

iv. H.S.Brahma will be the 19th Chief

Election Commissioner of India, He was

the other election Commissioner along

with Ahmed Zaidi in the outgoing

Sampath regime.

v. H.S. Brahma, retired Indian

Administrative Service officer of Andhra

Pradesh State cadre (1975 Batch)

assumed charge as Election

Commissioner of India on 25th August,

2010.

14 | P a g e

2. DRDO chief Avinash Chander

removed

i. The Modi government removed

Avinash Chander, chief of top defence

research organisation DRDO, 15 months

before his contract was supposed to

end.

ii . Chander was also the scientific

advisor to the defenc e minister.

iii . Chander joined DRDO in 1972 after

completing graduation in Electrical

Engineering from Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT), Delhi. Chander is the

chief architect of Agni series of ballistic

missile systems.

iv. The action could have been taken

against the backdrop of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi's comment that the 'laid

back' attitude in the DRDO will not be

tolerated.

3. PVR set to acquire movie exhibition

company SPI Cinemas

i . The Ajay Bijli led PVR group is set to

acquire Chennai's premier movie

exhibition company SPI Cinemas,

popularly known as Sathyam Cinemas.

ii . This could end up to be the biggest

deal in India's multiplex sector. the deal

may close for a rather steep valuation of

approximately Rs 750-1,000 crore for

just 40 odd screens, located

predominantly in the Southern metro.

iii . last month Carnival Cinemas paid a

little over Rs 700 crore to buy out Anil

Ambani's Big Cinemas that has 242

screens across the country.

4. Union Ministry of Health proposed

COTPA (Amendment) Bill 2015

i. The Union Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare on 13 January 2015

proposed the Cigarettes and Other

Tobacco Products (Prohibition of

Advertisement and Regulation of Trade

and Commerce, Production, Supply and

Distribution) (Amendment) Bill 2015

(COTPA).

ii . The bill seeks to amend some

provisions of Cigarettes and Other

Tobacco Products (Prohibition of

Advertisement and Regulation of Trade

and Commerce, Production, Supply and

Distribution) Act, 2003.

iii . Provisions of the COTPA

(Amendment) Bill 2015

• The bill proposes to ban on-site

advertising of tobacco products and

shops selling cigarettes and other

tobacco products will no longer be able

to display the brand names.

• It proposed scrapping of designated

smoking areas from HOTELS ,

restaurants and airports making an

exception only for international airports

to prevent exposure of non-smokers to

harmful emissions.

• The penalty for smoking in restricted

areas has been raised from 200 to 1000

rupees.

5. Bharatiya Mahila Bank inks pact with

Lakme Salons to fund franchisees

i . Bharatiya Mahila Bank today inked an

agreement with HUL arm Lakme Salons

to bring easy financing options to fuel

women entrepreneurship.

ii . This partnership would help

encourage more women to become

Lakme Salon's business partners.

iii . Mahila Bank has opened the 40th

branch and will close the fiscal with 40

more.

iv. The loan book of the bank currently

stands at Rs 400 crore and has plans to

close the fiscal with Rs 800 crore and

deposit books to Rs 1,000 crore from

the present Rs 600 crore.

6. Canara Bank bags 3 MSME awards

i . Canara Bank has bagged three awards

at the annual flagship event "MSME

Banking Excellence Awards-2014"

organised by Chamber of Indian Micro,

Small and Medium Enterprises

(CIMSME).

ii . Canara Bank has been adjudged as

the "Best Bank Award-Winner" among

other awards.

iii . The awards were presented by Union

Minister for MSME Kalraj Mishra on the

occasion.

7. Infosys CEO dedicates $250 million to

innovate in India

i. Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka met Prime

Minister Narendra Modi and disclosed

that his company will spend USD 250

million (over Rs 1,500 crore) to fund

innovations in software and services in

India.

ii . Infosys will develop software for

managing the kumbh mela scheduled in

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) in 2016.

iii . The chief of India’s second largest IT

services firm also discussed with Modi

ways in which the company can

participate in the Prime Minister’s vision

of smart and digitally empowered India.

iv. Infosys formed USD 500 million

Innovation Fund. Of this, Rs. 1,500

crore, will be dedicated to just

innovation in India.

8. India will catch up with China’s

growth rate in 2016-17: World Bank

i. The World Bank has said that India

would catch up with China’s growth in

the year 2016-17.

ii . The World Bank in its report also

forecast a growth rate of seven per cent

each in the fiscal year 2016 and 2017 as

against China’s 7 per cent and 6. 9 per

cent respectively.

iii . Regional growth is projected to rise

to 6.8 per cent by 2017, as reforms ease

supply constraints in India, political

tensions subside in Pakistan,

remittances remain robust in

Bangladesh and Nepal, and demand for

the region’s exports firms.

15 | P a g e

Daily GK Update - 15th January 2015

1. PM Narendra Modi to launch 'Beti

Bachao' scheme

i. the Modi government's big bang

flagship scheme will be `Beti Bachao,

Beti Padhao' (BBBP), which will help

address the country's low child sex

ratio.

ii . The scheme will be launched by PM

Narendra Modi on January 22 and will

focus on a multi -sectoral approach to

tackling the problem of the vanishing

girl child.

iii . The Rs 100-crore scheme is expected

to be monitored by the Maneka Gandhi -

headed ministry of women and child

development (WCD) in coordination

with the ministries of health and HRD.

iv. The Objectives -

To prevent genderbiased sex selection

by stringent enforcement of laws, especially by strengthening the implementation of PreConception and

Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Pro hibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PC&PNDT Act) with strict punishments for violations.

BBBP will also ensure access and

availability of essential requirements related to nutrition, healthcare, education and protection and

elimination of discrimination against a girl child which can lead to low self-esteem, l ifelong deprivation and exclusion from the mainstream.

Initiatives will be taken to encourage

girls to express their views and to be heard, to help them participate actively , effectively and equally at all levels of social, economic, and political

leadership. v. Targets of the Scheme -

A toilet in every girls' school in 100

vulnerable districts. An innovation fund at state-level to

encourage best practices in improving child sex ratio (CSR) and gender

inequities. District-level awards to schools

strengthening girl child education.

2. RBI Changed Key Rates

i . In a move that brought huge cheer to

the markets, Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

cut the reverse repo rate by 25 basis

points to 7.75%.

ii . The central bank kept the Cash

Reserve Ratio ( CRR) unchanged at 4.0%.

iii . Reasons for the Repo Cut :

Plunging Oil prices in the Global arena

and hence in India keeping the Inflation

levels in the check. WPI increased at the rate of a mere

0.11% as against the expected increase of 0.6%.

Retail inflation is at 5% as against an

expected 5.4%. Fiscal deficit target is wel l in reach at

4.1%.

3. Pakistan to ban JuD and Haqqani

network

i. Pakistan plans to ban 10 terror

outfits, including 26/11 mastermind

Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD)

and the dreaded Afghan-based Haqqani

Network, a move seen by experts as a

"paradigm shift" in the country's

security policy in the wake of Peshawar

school massacre.

ii . The move came a day after the US

declared the fugitive chief of the

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Mullah

Fazlullah as a 'Specially Designated

Global Terrorist'.

iii . The UN security council designated

the JuD a front for the LeT after the

Mumbai attacks. Since then, the UN and

US have sanctioned several JuD leaders.

4. Naqvi gets 1-year jail term

i. Union Minister of State for

Parliamentary and Minority Affairs

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was sentenced to

a one-year jail term.

ii . Naqvi and 19 others were convicted

by a Rampur court for breaching

prohibitory orders in the run-up to the

2009 Lok Sabha election.

iii . Judicial magistrate Manish Kumar

pronounced Mr. Naqvi guilty under

Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 341

(wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful

confinement) of the Indian Penal Code,

Section 7 of the Criminal Law

Amendment Act and Section 144 of the

Cr.PC.

iv. In 2009, Section 144 was imposed in

Rampur when local BJP workers staged

a protest after the arrest of the BJP

district president. Over 200 people were

named in the charge sheet.

5. Centre to implement biometric

attendance system soon

i. The Centre is set to implement

Aadhaar-based biometric system for

attendance in all government

departments and state-owned entities

spread across Delhi.

ii . Department of electronics &

information technology (DeitY) has so

far implemented Aadhaar Enabled

Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS)

in 54 government locations in Delhi that

requires fingerprint-based attendance

for employees entering into the office

premise.

iii . We are rolling out biometrics

attendance system in 394 government

organizations and agencies within the

Delhi region while 300 of them have

actually started working on

implementing it.

6. Army Day celebrated on 15 January

i . India on 15 January 2015 observed the

67th Army Day. The day is celebrated to

commemorate the day, when

Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal)

K M Cariappa on 15 January 1949

became the first Indian Commander-in-

Chief of the Indian Army post

Independenc e. He had succeeded

General Sir Francis Butcher, the last

British Commander-in-Chief of India.

ii . To mark the day, all three service

chiefs, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh

Suhag, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral

Robin K Dhowan and Air Chief Marshal

16 | P a g e

Arup Raha paid tributes at the Amar

Jawan Jyoti at India Gate by laying floral

wreath and remembering the martyred

soldiers.

7. Anupam Shrivastava appointed as

CMD of BSNL

i. Appointments Committee of the

Cabinet (ACC) approved appointment of

Anupam Shrivastava as CMD of Bharat

Sanchar Nigam Limited.

ii . BSNL's Director Enterprises A N Rai is

currently handling the additional charge

of CMD.

iii . As Zonal Director for North Zone he

is responsible for monitoring growth

and maintenance of Telecom Network

in 8 Circles.

8. Brett Lee retires from all forms of

cricket

i. Australian pace bowler Brett Lee on

Thursday announced he is to retire from

all forms of cricket after a 20-year

career.

ii . The 38-year-old called time on his

international commitments in July 2012,

but continued to play Twenty20 in both

the Australian Big Bash League and the

Indian Premier League.

iii . Lee played 76 Tests for Australia,

taking 310 wickets, and 221 one-dayers

with 380 dismissals.

Daily GK Update - 16th January 2015

1. Haryana picks Ramdev as brand

ambassador

i. The Haryana government plans to

promote yoga and ayurveda in a big way,

and has appointed yoga guru Ramdev as

its brand ambassador.

ii . Haryana's minister of sports and

health Anil Vij said a herbal forest would

be developed over thousands of acres of

land in the state where plants of 25

thousand species of ayurvedic herbs

would be grown under the supervision of

the yoga guru and his close aide

Balkrishna.

iii . An ayush wing was being established

in all the hospitals of Haryana for which

550 doctors would have to do a refresher

course under the supervision of the yoga

guru.

iv. Haryana would be developed into an

Ayurvedic University whereas a yogic

centre of international standards would

be built in Panchkula.

2. Censor Board chief Leela Samson

decides to quit

i . Citing "interference, coercion and

corruption of panel members and

officers" appointed in the Central Board

of Film Certification (CBFC) by the Union

Information & Broadcasting Ministry,

Bharatnatyam danseuse Leela Samson

has quit as Censor Board chief.

ii . She put in her papers on Thursday

amid reports that the Film Certification

Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) had cleared the

release of the film MSG – The Messenger

of God featuring Dera Saccha Sauda chief

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the lead

role.

3. Siddhartha Chatterjee appointed as

CTO of Persistent Systems Ltd

i . Siddhartha Chatterjee was appoi nted

as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of

Persistent Systems Ltd with effect will be

based at the United States branch of the

company.

ii . Chatterjee is a graduate in Electronics

and Electrical Communications

Engineering from the Indian Institute of

Technology, Kharagpur.

iii . Chatterjee has served as an Assistant

and Associate Professor of Computer

Science at the University of North

Carolina, Chapel Hill from 1994 to 2001.

iv. He had also served as a post-doctoral

scientist at the Research Institute for

Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) at

Moffett Field, California from 1991 to

1994.

4. Noted RTI activist Subhash Chandra

Agrawal conferred with Giraffe Hero

award 2015

i. Renowned Indian RTI activist Subhash

Chandra Agrawal was conferred with the

Giraffe Hero award 2015 by a US-based

NGO The Giraffe Heroes Project. ii . The

award will be presented to him on 22

January 2015.

iii . Agrawal was awarded for his bravery

in utilising the Right to Information (RTI)

Act, 2005 for public good despite

innumerable challenges. Agrawal also

holds the Guinness record of filing

highest number of published letters to

the editors.

5. China Food and Drug Administration

approved new vaccine to treat

Poliomyelitis

i . Chinese drug regulator China Food and

Drug Administration (CFDA) approved a

new vaccine S-IPV to treat the

Poliomyelitis.

ii . The vaccine S-IPV is known as Ai Bi Wei

in China. It is manufactured by the

Institute of Medical Biology of the

Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

located in Kunming, southwest China's

Yunnan province.

iii . The vaccine will be given to Chinese

children as part of routine disease

prevention and will help the global fight

against the polio virus. The World Health

Organization is also considering use of

this new vaccine in its global poli o

treatment program.

6. RBI issued final guidelines for banks to

act as Insurance brokers

i . Reserve Bank of India issued final

guidelines for banks to act as insurance

brokers. Earlier, the banks were allowed

to undertake insurance business as

agents of insurance companies on fee

basis with an aim to increase insurance

penetration in the country.

17 | P a g e

ii . The banks were allowed to look

forward for participation in insurance

business in accordance to Union

Government’s notification in which it

allowed banks to do business of

insurance under Section 6(1)(o) of the

Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

7. Trade deficit of India declined to ten

month low in December 2014

i. Trade deficit of India declined to ten

month low of 9.43 billion US dollars in

December 2014. The data was released

by the Union Ministry of Commerce &

Industry.

ii . The trade deficit in December 2014

was narrowed by 44 percent from

November 2014 due to fall down of

global oil prices and fall of demand for

gold.

iii . Imports of India declined by 4.8

percent to 34.8 billion US dollars in

December 2014 as compared to 36.6

billion US dollars in December 2013.

iii . Exports of India fell by 3.8 percent to

25.4 billion US dollars and outbound

shipments were valued at 26.4 bil lion US

dollars in December 2014.

GK Update - 17th January 2015

1. LCA Tejas Ready for Crucial Handover

i. The first of the indigenously-built Light

Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is likely to

be handed over to the Indian Air Force.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is

expected to hand over the aircraft to

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup

Raha.

ii . This will start the process of induction

of fighters being built at home under a

project that was commenced in 1983

and has already cost the exchequer over

Rs.17,000 crores.

iii . 20 aircraft will be built by 2017-2018,

to make the first squadron of the

aircraft.

iv. The LCA programme was initiated in

1983 to replace the ageing MiG-21s in

Indian Air force's combat fleet but has

missed several deadlines due to several

reasons.

2. Tamilmani likely to be interim DRDO

chief

i. K. Tamilmani, Chief Controller of

Aeronautics Cluster in the Defence

Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO), is likely to become

the interim head of the organisation.

ii . Dr. Tamilmani, the senior-most of the

seven cluster heads in the DRDO, is the

Director of the Centre for Military

Airworthiness and Certification

(CEMILAC), Bangalore.

iii . The government on Tuesday

terminated the 18-month contract of

Dr. Chander and asked him to step

down on January 31, ahead of his term

that would have ended in May 2016.

iv. A proposal to de-link the position of

Scientific Adviser to the Defence

Minister from the Director-General,

DRDO, was under consideration as part

of a major overhaul of the organisation.

3. Filmmaker Shaji N Karun quits Censor

Board

i. Another 12 members of the Board

followed Leela Samson suggestion of

quitting “en masse” and tendered their

resignations.

ii . CBFC members including Ira Bhaskar,

M.K. Raina, Pankaj Sharma, T.G.

Thyagarajan, Shaji Karun, Anjum

Rajabali, Shubra Gupta, Nikhil Alva,

Rajeev Masand, Mamang Dai, K.C

Sekhar Babu and L.K. Prabhu tendered

their resignations on Saturday in a joint

email to I&B Minister of State

Rajyavardhan Rathore.

iii . The award-winning filmmaker Shaji N

Karun said the board members were not

happy about the approach of not just

the present NDA Government but also

about the approach of the previous

Congress-led UPA regime towards the

Board.

4. Beagle 2 spacecraft found intact on

surface of Mars after 11 years

i. Beagle 2 was launched in 2003

onboard the European Space Agency’s

Mars Express spacecraft. It was

designed to land on the planet’s surface

on Christmas Day that year but

following ejection from Mars Express it

was never heard from again.

ii . UK’s Beagle 2 successfully landed on

the surface of Mars in 2003 but failed to

fully deploy its solar panels. Without

these, it could not communicate with

Earth and scientists lost contact.

iii . The discovery images come from the

HiRISE camera on Nasa’s Mars

Reconnaissance Orbiter.

iv. Beagle 2 cost around £50m. It was

comparatively cheap for a space

mission, with some industrial work

being performed on a cost-only basis.

5. S.K. Sinha - first non-Muslim to lead

the Bangladesh’s top judiciary,

i . Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has

been appointed the 21st Chief Justice of

Bangladesh.

ii . Justice Sinha is the first Chief Justice

from the country’s ethnic minority

Hindu community.

iii . He was the senior-most judge of

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court

who was made the next Chief Justice.

iv. Justice Sinha will serve just over

three years as the Chief Justice with his

retirement due in early 2018.

v. Born in 1951, Justice Sinha hails from

Tilokpur village of north-eastern

Moulvibazar district.

vi. A law graduate, he was enrolled as

an advocate of the district court, Sylhet

in 1974 and practised there for several

year.

6. Book on Sonia Gandhi titled The Red

Sari written by Javier Moro released in

India

i. The Red Sari, an unauthorized

biography of Congress Party President

Sonia Gandhi, was released by Roli

18 | P a g e

Books in India. The book has been

written by Spanish author Javier Moro.

ii . The book describes about how Sonia

Gandhi’s courage, honesty, and

dedication have made her a leader in

the eyes of one-sixth of humanity that is

from her idyllic childhood to her

passionate love affair, and from her

days as a docile daughter-in-law to her

current status of being the only Indian

politician to have refused Prime

Ministership.

iii . This book also examines the lives of

the famous Nehru-Gandhi family set

against the backdrop of the Bangladesh

War, the Emergency, Operation Blue

Star, and other events that have shaped

modern Indian history.

iv. Originally, the book was written in

Spanish language and was titled El Sari

Rojo. It was first published in 2008.

v. The English version of the book was

not allowed to release in India in 2010

because it was argued by the Congress

Party and Sonia Gandhi's lawyers that

the book is full of untruths, half-truths,

falsehoods, defamatory statements,

completely imaginary and invented

conversations

7. HAL Chairman R K Tyagi conferred

with JGBS-Top Rankers’ Excellence

Award

i . Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

Chairman R.K. Tyagi was on 16 January

2015 conferred with the JGBS-Top

Rankers' Excellence Award for CEO of

the year 2014.

ii . Tyagi played a key role in 2014 being

a successful year for HAL through series

of initiatives. The year was dedicated for

Integrity, Customer Focus and Quality

(ICQ).

iii . The award has been instituted by

Jindal Global Business School (JGBS) and

Top Rankers’ Management Consultants.

iv. HAL recently contributed to the

success of Mars Orbiter Mission and

GSLV Mk III launch in 2014.

8. Sania Mirza wins Sydney Open title

with Bethanie

i. India's Sania Mirza won her first title

of the season and 23rd of her career

when she and Bethanie Mattek-Sands

shocked top-seeded Americans Abigail

Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones in the

summit clash of the Sydney

International.

ii . The unseeded Indo-American

combine humbled the top seeds 6-3, 6-3

in just 69 minutes.

iii . Sania and Bethanie earned 470

ranking points each and split $39,000 as

prize money.

Daily GK Update-18th - 19th January 2015

1. Mukherjee launches Pulse Polio

Immunization Programme

i. President Pranab Mukherjee launched

the Pulse Polio Immunization

Programme by administering polio

drops to children at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

ii . The National Immunization Day was

held on 18th Jannuary when children

under 5 years age were given polio

drops as part of the Government's drive

to sustain polio eradication from the

region.

iii . India has been implementing the

Pulse Polio Programme since 1995.

iv. In India, the last case of wild polio

was reported on January 13, 2011. The

South-East Asia region of WHO has been

certified on March 27, 2014 as "polio

free", meaning that transmission of wild

poliovirus has been interrupted in this

block of 11 countries including India,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea, Indonesia,

Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka,

Thailand and Timor-Leste for the last

three years.

2. Manjul Bhargava to lead Prime

Minister Narendra Modi’s teach in India

programme

i. Fields medallist Manjul Bhargava will

be the face and facilitator of Prime

Minister Narendra Modi's pet education

project to rope in eminent scholars and

scientists abroad to teach students at

IITs and central universities.

ii . Bhargava, who is the first person of

Indian origin to win the coveted

international prize for his work in

mathematics agreed to 'recruit'

scientists in the US and across the world

to participate in the Global Initiative of

Academic network (GIAN), a shortterm

teaching programme under which

scholars abroad will be invited to teach

in India.

iii . GIAN is Prime Minister Narendra

Modi's brainchild. The project is

expected to figure once again on the

Indian agenda when Obama arrives

here.

3. Twitter ropes in Taranjeet Singh to

head business in India

i. Microblogging site Twitter has hired

Taranjeet Singh as business head for its

operations in India.

ii . Singh will responsible for increasing

commercial opportunities for Twitter

and work closely with brands and

agencies to maximise the value of real-

time marketing for live public

conversations.

iii . Taranjeet has more than 19 years of

sales and business development

experience. He was previously sales

director of South Asia for BBC

Advertising.

19 | P a g e

4. 24 Children, including 8 girls selected

for National Bravery Awards

i. Four of the awards have been given

posthumously. The children will receive

their awards from Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on the 24th of January,

and will also participate in the Republic

Day parade.

ii . 16 year old Resham Fatma of Uttar

Pradesh, a victim of Acid attack, will be

conferred the Bharat Award for showing

exemplary courage while fighting off her

tormentor, whose marriage proposal

she had turned down.

iii . The prestigious Geeta Chopra Award

has been conferred on 13 year old

Gunjan Sharma of Assam who displayed

exemplary valor in saving her friends

from the clutches of the abductor.

iv. The Sanjay Chopra Award has been

given to 16 year old Master Devesh

Kumar of Uttar Pradesh who displayed

outstanding courage while confronting

two chain-snatchers.

5. PSU bank employees to hold 4-day

strike from Jan 21 on wage revision

issue

i. Public sector bank (PSB) employees

have decided to go on a 4-day strike

from January 21 to protest against the

"rigid and callous attitude" of Central

Government in resolving the long

pending wage revision issue.

ii . The decision is in response to the

strike call given by United Forum Of

Bank Unions, which has more than ten

lakh employees and officers of banking

Industry under its umbrella.

iii . The wage revision for bank

employees is due from November one,

2012

6. Indian-American Frank Islam receives

Martin Luther award

i. An eminent Indian-American

entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank

Islam has been presented with the

prestigious Martin Luther King Jr.

Award.

ii . He is awarded in recognition of his

contribution to the legacy of the great

leader through his efforts in

international service and civil

engagement.

iii . The award, which carries the name of

Martin Luther King Jr., an apostle of

peace, is about building bridges

between humanity.

iv. The award was presented to Islam by

Harry Johnson, president of the

Memorial Foundation Inc. and one of

the honorary vice chairs of the event,

which was held at WILLARD

INTERCONTINENTAL .

7. Telecom Commission clears Rs 3700-

cr base price for 2,100-MHz

i. The Telecom Commission (TC)

approved a base price of Rs 3,700 crore

for each MHz of 2,100-MHz spectrum to

be auctioned on February 25.

ii . The final reserve price is 36 per cent

higher than the Rs 2,720 crore

recommended by the Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

iii . The previous Telecom auction was

cancelled amid the speculation of bad

and crony practices in the bandwidth

allocation.

8. Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Restarts

Power Generation

i. Power generation at the Kudankulam

Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) has

restarted after the first unit's reactor

and turbine tripped on January 14, said

Power System Operation Corporation

Ltd. (POSCO).

ii . India's atomic power plant operator

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.

(NPCIL) is setting up two 1,000 MW

Russian reactors at Kudankulam in

Tirunelveli district, 650 km from

Chennai.

iii . Ever since the first unit at KNPP

started commercial generation

December 31, 2014 it has been

producing around 940 MW per day or

around 2.25 crore units per day.

9. AB de Villiers: South Africa batsman

smashes century record

i. South Africa batsman AB de Villiers hit

a century off 31 balls to record the

fastest ever one-day international ton.

ii . De Villiers, 30, set the new landmark

during an innings of 149 against the

West Indies in Johannesburg.

iii . He smashed nine fours and 16 sixes

in beating the previous ODI record of 36

balls by New Zealand all -rounder Corey

Anderson against West Indies last year.

iv.South Africa scored 439-2 as they

registered their highest ever ODI score,

beating the 438-9 in a win against

Australia in March 2006.

10. Sydney Open 2015 Winners

i. Czech Petra Kvitova beats compatriot

Karolina Pliskova to win the Women's

Sydney International.

Viktor Troicki

ii . The world No.4 and second seed

needed to win two tie-breakers to clinch

victory over her team mate in a big

hitting contest at the Ken Rosewell

Arena.

iii . While in the Men's section, Viktor

Troicki crushed fellow qualifier Mikhail

Kukushkin 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the

Sydney International.

iv. In the first ATP final in history

featuring two qualifiers, Troicki

dispatched Kukushkin in 64 minutes

after breaking the Kazakh twice in each

set.

20 | P a g e

Daily GK Update - 20th January 2015

1. Jaipur Literature Festival all set to

begin

i. The eighth edition of the ZEE Jaipur

Literature Festival is all set to open on

21st January 2015. The event, which is

now the world’s largest free literary

festival, will see a galaxy of literary and

musical stars come together for a

vibrant celebration of creative

expression.

ii . To be inaugurated by the Chief

Minister Vasundhara Raje, the event is

seen as an agenda-setter on key issues

from the global economic crisis to the

rise of e-books, the current state of

politics in the Middle East to the

increasing importance of Indian

language publishing.

iii . This year the Festival will look at

gender equity in India in a series titled

`Women Uninterrupted', supported by

UN Women to mark the 20th

anniversary of the Beijing Conference

on Gender, leading up to the world

summit at the UN this September, as

well as `The Seven Deadly Sins' that

polarize society.

2. Hyderabad to host World Congress on

Information Technology in 2018

i. Hyderabad will host the World

Congress on Information Technology

(WCIT) in 2018. This will be the first

WCIT to be held in India and the theme

of the 2018 WCIT will be Future of

enterprises.

ii . As part of this, the Chief Minister of

Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao would

visit the US, the UK and other countries

to invite the bigwigs of the IT industry to

the 2018 event.

iii . WCIT 2016 is to be held in Brazil.

In 2014, the 19th WCIT was held in

Guadalajara in Mexico. The theme was

Building the Digital Age Together.

The first WCIT was held in 1978 and it is

held since then every two years.

3. India’s growth to reach 6.3 per cent in

2016: UN WESP report

i. According to the United Nations

World Economic Situation and

Prospects (WESP) 2015 report, India’s

growth in terms of GDP is expected to

reach 5.9 per cent in 2015 and 6.3 per

cent in 2016.

ii . India's growth recovery is partly the

result of improved market sentiment

after the new government took office in

the second quarter of 2014 and had

announced plans to reform the

bureaucracy, labour laws and public

subsidies.

About United Nations World Economic

Situation and Prospects (WESP) report

This report is published at the beginning

of each year by the combined efforts of

UN Department of Economic and Social

Affairs. UN Conferenc e on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD). 5 UN regional commissions.

World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

4. Singapore's GIC to invest Rs 1,020

crore in Bandhan Financial Services

i . Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC

is investing 10.2 billion rupees ($165.5

million) in India's Bandhan Financial

Services, which is setting up one of the

country's two newest banks

ii . The company will get a total equity

investment of 16 billion rupees,

including 5.8 billion rupees from existing

investor IFC

iii . IFC, part of the World Bank Group,

owns 10.8 percent of Bandhan and its

stake will increase after the latest

investment.

iv. Bandhan and IDFC were the only two

companies which won bank permits

from the c entral bank last year in what

was the first bank licensing process in a

decade.

5. Shubham, 13, Silicon Valley’s

youngest entrepreneur, develops Braille

printer

In Silicon Valley, it’s never too early to

become an entrepreneur . Just ask 13-

year-old Shubham Banerjee.

i . The California eighth-grader has

launched a company to develop low-

cost machines to print Braille. Tech

giant Intel Corp. recently invested in his

start-up, Braigo Labs.

ii . Mr. Shubham wants to develop a

desktop Braille printer that costs around

$350 and weighs just a few kilograms,

compared with current models that can

weigh more than nine kilograms.

iii . The machine could be used to print

Braille reading materials on paper, using

raised dots instead of ink, from a

personal computer or electronic device.

6. Twitter buys Indian mobile marketing

start-up ZipDial

i . Twitter Inc said it will buy Indian

mobile phone marketing start-up

ZipDial, reportedly for $30 million to

$40 million, as the U.S. microblogging

service looks to expand in the world's

second-biggest mobile market.

ii . Bengaluru-based ZipDial gives clients

phone numbers for use in marketing

campaigns. The start-up's clients include

International Business Machines Corp,

Yum! Brands Inc's KFC and Procter &

Gamble Co 's Gillette.

This acquisition significantly increases

our investment in India, one of the

countries where we're seeing great

growth,' Twitter said

iii . The service capitalises on a local

tradition of communicating through so-

called missed calls.

7. Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani appointed

as chairperson of CBFC

21 | P a g e

i . Union Government has reconstituted

Central Board of Film Certification

(CBFC). In this regard, government has

appointed 1 chairperson and 9 board

members.

ii . Pahlaj Nihalani was appointed

chairperson. He will be office in for a

period of three years or until further

orders, whichever is earlier.

iii . 9 Members are: BJP leader Vani

Tripathi Tikoo, filmmakers Ashoke

Pandit and Chandra Prakash Dwivedi,

film writer Mihir Bhuta, Syed Abdul Bari,

Ramesh Patange, actor George Baker,

actor-filmmaker Jeevitha and actor-

playwright S Ve Shekhar.

8. Former PM Manmohan Singh

adopted Pachim Bekeli Gaon Panchyat

i. Former Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh adopted Pachim Bekeli Gaon

Panchyat under Sansad Adarsh Gram

Yojna (SAGY). Pachim Bekeli Gaon

Panchyat is located in Kamrup district of

Assam.

ii . Manmohan Singh represents Assam

in the Rajya Sabha.

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana aims to

cover 2500 villages by 2019. Under the

project, each Member of Parliament

(MP) will take up the responsibility of

providing infrastructure and devel oping

three vil lages by 2019.

iii . The objective of the project is to

create a holistic development of all

adopted villages by the MPs in all

aspects —human, personal, social,

economic and environmental

development, including provision of

basic amenities, services, security and

good governance.

9. TCS ends RIL's 23-year run as most

profitable firm

After 23 years, India has a new numero

uno when it comes to net profit

i . Information technology major Tata

Consultancy Services (TCS) posted a net

profit of Rs 5,328 crore for the quarter

ended December, overtaking long-

standing champion Reliance Industries

Ltd.

ii . In Indian business history it's the first

time that an IT company has topped the

profit charts.

iii . TCS has also become the world's

third largest employer of people in the

technology sector, with over 3 lakh

employees. And given the pace at which

it is growing, it could become the

second largest employer this year,

crossing Hewlett-Packard, and would be

fast closing in on leader IBM.

Daily GK Update - 21st January 2015

1. Bibek Debroy joins as full time member

of NITI Aayog

i . Noted economist Bibek Debroy today

assumed charged as full time member of

the NITI Ayog (National Institution for

Transforming India). Government had

announced the appointment of Debroy

and DRDO chief V K Saraswat as full -time

members earlier this month.

ii . An economist by profession, he was

educated at the Presidency College

(Calcutta), the Delhi School of Economics

and the Trinity College (Cambridge).

iii . Debroy worked as a consultant in the

Department of Economic Affairs in

Finance Ministry.

iv. Debroy has also authored several

books, papers and popular articles, and

has been a Consulting Editor of some

financial newspapers in the country.

2. India set to overtake China next year:

IMF

i. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

projected that India will grow 6.5 per

cent in 2016, overtaking China which, it

projected, will slowdown to 6.3 per cent.

ii . In a separate forecast, the United

Nations World Economic Situation and

Prospects UN WESP report too predicted

a smart recovery for India during 2015.It

pegged its 2015 India growth forecast

lower than the IMF’s –at 5.9 per cent.

iii . At 6.3 per cent, the UNWESP 2016

India growth forecast is, however, closer

to that of the IMF.

iv. The IMF said that global growth will

receive a boost from lower oil prices,

which reflect to an important extent

higher supply in many advanced and

emerging market economies.

3. Government to allocate 36 coal blocks

to PSUs

i . The government today kick-started the

process of allocating cancelled coal mines

to state-owned firms, it will initially allot

36 blocks.

ii . Of these 36 coal blocks, one mine will

be given to the steel sector while the rest

will be given to the power sector.

iii . For schedule II (producing mines)

category 23 blocks will be put on offer

and the auction would be between

February 14 and February 22.

iv. With regard to Schedule III mines

(ready to produce mines) he said another

set of 23 mines will be auctioned

between February 25 and March 5.

4. EU decided to l ift ban on import of

mangoes from India

i. European Union (EU) decided to l ift a

seven-month-long ban on the import of

mangoes from India. The proposal to lift

the ban was voted unanimously by the

European Commission’s standing

committee on plant health.

ii . The decision to lift the ban was made

after India, the world’s biggest producer

of Mangoes made significant

improvements in plant health controls

and certification system.

iii . European Union issued a temporary

ban on import of Indian mangoes on 1

May 2014 after fruit flies and other

quarantine pests were found in 207

22 | P a g e

consignments. The consignment infested

with fruit fl ies were found by authorities

in Brussels. The ban was supposed to be

effec tive ti ll December 2015.

iv. EU accounts to almost 50% of the total

exports of fruits and vegetables from

India, UK is the top exporter.

5. India world's second-most trusted

nation: Survey

i. India has emerged as the second-most

trusted country in the world in terms of

faith reposed on its institutions even as

globally trust levels have fallen, says a

survey.

ii . Trust in institutions in India has

improved sharply in 2015 with the

country moving up three notches to the

second place among 27 nations.

iii . While the number of "truster"

countries are at an all -time low of six in

2015 including UAE, India, China and

Netherlands, the number of "distruster"

countries has grown significantly to 13

including Japan, Russia, Hong Kong, South

Africa and Italy.

iv. The list is topped by UAE with 84 per

cent trust. India (79 percent),Indonesia

(78 per cent), China (75 per cent),

Singapore (65 per cent) and Netherlands

(64 per cent) are the others that have

recorded highest levels of trust.

6. 2015 World Economic Forum Annual

Meeting

i. The 45th World Economic Forum kick

started in Davos,Switzerland today.

ii . Ahead of the start of its annual

meeting in Davos on Tuesday, the WEF

published 14 measures of inclusive

growth as it responded to criticism that

the gathering of 2,500 business leaders,

academic and policymakers has become

an exercise in hand-wringing about the

gap between rich and poor.

iii . Christine Lagarde, the managing

director of the IMF, Pope Francis, Jim

Kim, the president of the World Bank

and Mark Carney, the governor of the

Bank of England, are among those who

have stressed the need to ensure that

the fruits of economic progress are

shared more equally. Carney will be

taking part in a panel in Davos this week

titled: “A richer world but for whom”.

Daily GK Update - 22nd January 2015

1. Microsoft unveils Windows 10 and ‘HoloLens’ i . Microsoft has taken the wraps off a

new version of Windows and a new

wearable 3D gadget it calls the HoloLens.

ii . The company showed the new

headset, which lets users view and

interact with three-dimensional images.

iii . Windows 10 will also come with a new

Web browser that will be closely

integrated with Cortana, the company’s

voice-activated answer to Siri.

iv. Microsoft announced that Windows 10

will be released later this year as a free

upgrade for anyone owning a computer

or gadget that’s currently running

Windows 8.1 or 7.

2. Pakistan bans JuD, Haqqani network

i. Pakistan has banned the Jamaat-ud

Dawa (JuD) and the Haqqani network

after the US insisted it do so.

ii . The Pakistani government took action

against the militant organisations without

making a distinction between the good

Taliban and the bad Taliban .

iii . The Haqqani Network, founded by

Jalaluddin Haqqani, has been blamed for

some of the most heinous attacks on the

US—led foreign forces in Afghanistan. It

was designated as a terrorist organisation

by the US in September 2012.

iv. the Ministry has also banned Harkat-

ul-Jihad Islami, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen,

Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation, Ummah

Tameer-i-Nau, Haji Khairullah Hajji Sattar

Money Exchange, Rahat Limited, Roshan

Money Exchange, Al Akhtar Trust, Al

Rashid Trust.

3. OPEC, oil companies clash at Davos

over price collapse

i. OPEC defended its decision not to

intervene to halt the oil price collapse,

shrugging off warnings by top energy

firms that the cartel's policy could lead to

a huge supply shortage as investments

dry up.

ii . Oil prices have collapsed to below $50

a barrel as a result of a large supply glut,

due mostly to a sharp rise in U.S. shale

production as well as weaker global

demand.

iii . The heads of world's largest oil firms

warned that the decline in investments in

future production could lead to a supply

shortage and a dramatic price increase.

4. Sunil Sood to succeed Marten Pieters

as Vodafone India CEO

i. Martin Pieters will be succeeded by

Sunil Sood, who is at present the chief

operating officer at the telecom giant.

ii . Marten Pieters, Vodafone India

Managing Director and Chief Executive

Officer, will be stepping down from his

post with effect from 1 April, 2015.

iii . Mr. Sood, is currently responsible for

day-to-day operations and P&L

management together with new business

development initiatives including the

launch and expansion of mobile

commerce activities.

iv. Mr. Sood, who had joined Vodafone

India's predecessor business, Hutch, in

2000, in his current role, is responsible

for day-to-day operations and P&L

management together with new business

development initiatives including the

launch and expansion of mobile

commerce activities.

5. Modi launched ‘Beti Bachao-Beti

Padhao’ scheme in Haryana

i . The ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ scheme,

which seeks to address gender imbalance

and discrimination against the girl child,

23 | P a g e

was launched by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi at Panipat in Haryana.

ii . Mr. Modi begged the people with open

hands to save the lives of the girl child

and also administered them an oath to

fight female foeticide, celebrate the birth

of a girl and educate them.

iii . Mahendergarh and Jhajjar districts of

Haryana are badly effected with

imbalanced Sex ratios where there are

just about 775 girls for 1,000 boys, the

lowest in India.

6. Suzlon sells German unit for Rs. 7,200

crore

i. Wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy on

Thursday announced selling 100 per cent

stake in its German subsidiary Senvion SE

to U.S.-based Centerbridge Partners for

€1 billion euro (about Rs. 7,200 crore) in

an all-cash deal.

ii . The proceeds will be utilised towards

debt reduction and business growth in

key markets like the US, India and other

emerging markets.

iii . Senvion SE will give Suzlon licence for

off-shore technology for the Indian

market.

7. Pakistan's Ex-Foreign Minister Khurshid

M Kasuri penned 'Neither a Hawk nor a

Dove'

i . The book is based upon the relations

between India and Pakistan.

ii . Kasuri in his book writes that the two

countries have no option but to go for a

just and peaceful solution to Jammu and

Kashmir and other contentious issues

between them.

iii . He further writes that he knew on the

basis of his experience that both the

countries have major fault lines and that

both are equally capable of destabilizing

the other.

iv. The book contains update til l

November 2014 including the advent of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the

current policies of the new Indian

government.

Daily GK Update - 23rd January 2015

1. India observes 118th birth anniversary

of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

i. India today observed the 118th birth

anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra

Bose by paying glowing tribute to his

memory at functions held throughout the

country.

ii . PM Modi took to his official Twitter

account to express his gratitude to the

phenomenal freedom fighter.

Mr. Modi tweeted, His bravery, courage

& patriotic zeal inspire us. On his birth

anniversary, I bow to the proud son of

India, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

iii . It has been maintained that Bose died

in an air crash in Taiwan in 1945.

However, the Mukherjee Commission

had rejected the opinion that he had died

in a plane crash at Taihoku airport in

Taiwan on August 18, 1945.

2. RBI directs banks to display all loan

costs

i. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made it

compulsory for banks to set out every

possible cost in respect of the loan in a

fact sheet at the processing stage.

ii . Banks will also have to publish the

'annual percentage rate' representing the

total cost of credit to an individual

borrower.

iii . Besides, they will have to display on

their website the interest rate range for

various contracted loans for the past

quarter for different categories of

advances.

iv. The fact sheet drafted by the central

bank requires lenders to spell out the

interest rate, the spread above the

benchmark rate, date of reset of floating

rates, mode of communication of interest

rate changes, all fees payable, refundable

fees, charges for conversion from floating

to fixed rate loan and penalty for delayed

payments.

v. The significance of this fact sheet is

that it will make it possible for borrowers

to compare loans from two lenders.

3. Supreme Court's decision on IPL Spot

fixing

i. The Supreme Court pronounced its

much-awaited verdict on N Srinivasan's

conflict of interest case, saying that BCCI

functions are amenable to judicial review.

ii . Supreme Court gave verdict that N

Srinivasan can't contest BCCI polls till he

gives up commercial interest in CSK.

iii . The Apex court said No BCCI

administrator can have commercial

interests.Srinivasan held miniscule share

in India Cements misleading since his

family directly or indirectly holds much

more.

iv. The court-appointed Justice Mukul

Mudgal Committee, also comprising

senior advocates L Nageswar Rao and

Nilay Dutta, had found Srinivasan's son-

in-law Gurunath Meiyappan guilty of

indulging in betting during IPL 2013

despite being a CSK team official.

4. Saudi King Abdullah passes away

i. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, the

powerful U.S. ally who joined

Washington’s fight against al -Qaeda, has

died, He was 90.

ii . He also sought to modernise the

ultraconservative Muslim kingdom with

incremental but significant reforms,

including nudging open greater

opportunities for women

iii . Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz became

king and Prince Muqrin was declared

Crown Prince, another Royal Court

statement said.

24 | P a g e

5. Bomb blast at Ara civil court in Bihar

i. At least two persons, including a

woman, were killed and several others

injured in a bomb blast inside the

premises of the civil court at Ara in Bihar.

ii . Police officials said that a woman who

was killed in the blast was carrying the

crude bomb which suddenly went off

inside the court premises kill ing a

policeman and injuring several others.

6. South Korean president nominates

new prime minister

i. South Korean President Park Geun-hye

has nominated ruling party lawmaker Lee

Wan Koo to replace Prime Minister

Chung Hong-won .

ii . Chung offered to resign nearly 10

months before, over a ferry disaster that

killed more than 300 people in April last

year.

iii . Park decided to retain Chung in June

after two possible replacements for the

job abandoned their nominations

because of questions over past behavior.

7. Kerala to get first International

Institute of Music

i. Kerala Culture Minister K C Joseph on

22 January 2015 announced setting up of

the International Institute of Music in

Kerala. It will be the first international

institute in India that is dedicated to

music.

ii . A Trust headed by Sarod Maestro

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has been entrusted

with the responsibility to set up the

Institute.

iii . The government will provide only land

and all other infrastructure facilities will

be built by a trust managed by Khan's

family.

iv. Kerala Government also identified the

land for setting up the school in

Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi or

Kozhikode.

Daily GK Update -24th January 2015

1. Hindu share dips below 80%, Muslim

share grows but slower

i . The share of Hindus in India’s

population has shown the sharpest dip in

a decade since Independence and has

dropped below 80 per cent.

ii . According to figures of the religion

census of 2011, yet to be officially

released, Hindus comprised 78.35 per

cent of the total population of 121.05

crore, compared with 80.45 per cent of

the total population in 2001.

iii . In absolute terms, however, the Hindu

population increased 14.5 per cent from

82.75 crore to 94.78 crore during the

period (2001-11).

iv. The 2011 religion census data also

shows that the share of Muslims in the

population has risen from 13.4 per cent

in 2001 to 14.2 per cent with some

border states showing a high increase.

v. The share of other religious groups like

Sikhs and Christians in the total

population remained steady at a little

over 2 per cent each, roughly in the same

range as in the 2001 census.

2. A tracker to curb sex determination

i. A simple set top box is helping prevent

sex determination and female foeticide.

ii . The civil administration in Jind has now

made it mandatory for all ultrasound labs

in the district to install active tracking

devices with their machines so that the

details of the tests become available

online to the Chief Medical Officer.

iii . Jind does not figure in the list of the 12

districts of Haryana identified for

concerted action through the Beti Bachao

Beti Padhao campaign launched by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi.

iv. The district administration has

introduced the scheme of active tracking

of ultrasound machines to curb their

misuse for sex determination tests and to

improve the sex ratio.

3. Kerala government slaps Rs 54 crore

fine on 4 online traders including Flipkart,

Jabong

i . Kerala Commercial Taxes Department

has slapped a fine of Rs 53.63 crore on

four online trading companies including

Flipkart and Jabong for allegedly doing

illegal business in the state.

ii . The fine was imposed by the

intelligence wing of the Commercial

Taxes Department for the year 2012-13

and 2013-14

iii . E-commerce major Flipkart has been

asked to pay a fine of Rs 47.15 crore,

Jabong.Com Rs.3.89 crore, Vector e-

commerce Rs 2.23 crore and Robemall

Apparels Rs 36 lakh.

4. SBI inks 100 mn euro loan pact with

European bank

i . State Bank of India has signed a loan

agreement for 100 million euro (about Rs

700 crore) with European Investment

Bank for lending to private businesses in

the country.

ii . The loan will be utilised to support the

development of private sector, in

particular small and medium-sized

enterprises ( SMEs), social and economic

infrastructure as well as climate change

mitigation and adaptation in the country.

iii . Agreements related to the first

tranche of 55 million euro and the second

of 45 million euro were signed in June

and November 2014.

5. 9 Crore sign up for LPG cash-subsidy

scheme

i. More than 60 per cent of LPG

customers in the country have joined the

ambitious PAHAL scheme for receiving

cash subsidy so that they can buy cooking

gas (LPG) at market price.

25 | P a g e

ii . Over 9 crore consumers, out of a total

customer base of 15.33 crore, have

joined the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG

(DBTL) scheme and Rs 2,262 crore in cash

has been transfered to them.

iii . The DBTL Scheme for LPG consumers

(PAHAL) was launched on November 15,

2014 in 54 districts and in the rest of the

country on January 1, 2015. The Scheme

aims to transfer the subsidy on LPG

directly into the bank accounts of over 15

crore LPG consumers.

6. National Girl Child Day - 24th January

i . Prime Minister Narendra Modi today

saluted the unparalleled

accomplishments of the girl child on

National Girl Child Day.

ii . "On National Girl Child Day, I salute the

unparalleled accomplishments of the girl

child. Their role in nation building is

paramount," PM Modi tweeted.

iii . Since 2008, the government has

celebrated the National Girl Child Day on

January 24 every year across India to

raise awareness and consciousness of the

society with regard to the girl child.

7. RBI Relaxes Overseas Loan Recast Rules

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed

rules for companies and banks to

restructure and reschedule existing

overseas borrowings by permitting an

increase in the total cost of borrowing

offshore.

ii . Indian firms have found it difficult to

restructure existing borrowings after

facing a sharp slowdown in the economy.

iii . The banking regulator also allowed

changes in the drawdown and repayment

schedules of such overseas borrowings,

the Reserve Bank of India said.

Daily GK Update - 25th - 27th January 2015

1. India celebrates 66th Republic Day;

Barack Obama witnesses military might

i. India today celebrates its 66th

Republic Day and showcased before the

chief guest US President Barack Obama

and the world its military might and

cultural diversity with a splendid display

of land and naval weaponry, fighter and

reconnaissance aircraft.

ii . Obama was the first ever US

President to attend the parade as Chief

Guest on the second day of his three-

day visit.

iii . For the first time in the history of

India’s Republic Day, all -women

contingent from the three forces Army,

Air Force and Navy marched down in

the parade.

Army contingent was led by Capt Divya

Ajith. Navy contingent was led by Lt

Commander Sandhya Chauhan.

Air Force contingent was led

by Squadron Leader Sneha.

2. The uncommon man: RK Laxman

(1921-2015)

“Since childhood I do not remember

wanting to do anything else except

draw,” R.K. Laxman says in his

autobiography, The Tunnel of Time.

i. Eminent cartoonist, il lustrator and

humorist Rasipuram Laxman passed

away in Pune. He was 94.

ii . He is best known for creation of

iconic character The Common Man, for

his daily cartoon strip, You Said It in The

Times of India(TOI). It was started in

1951. This character held a mirror to the

society and targeted politicians for more

than five decades.

iii . His creations also include the

sketches drawn for the television

adaptation of Malgudi Days.

iv. He is recipient of Padma Vibhushan

(2005) and Ramon Magsaysay Award for

Journalism, Literature and Creative

Communication Arts (1984).

3. Libby Lane, first female bishop of

England consecrated

i. Church of England has consecrated

Reverend Libby Lane as its first female

bishop in a ceremony held at York

Minster (a Gothic cathedral) in northern

England.

With this consecration, Church of

England ended its 500 year old male

dominated tradition and considered as a

historic move towards widening female

participation in the Church.

ii . In this regard General Synod- the law-

making body of the Church of England

had given nod to this legislation in

November 2014 which was passed by

UK Parliament in October 2014.

4. Miss Colombia crowned Miss

Universe 2015 in Miami

i. Miss Colombia Paulina Vega, has been

crowned Miss Universe, beating out first

runner-up Miss USA Nia Sanchez and

contestants from more than 80 other

countries.

ii . With this, Vega became the second

beauty queen from Colombia to win the

title. Luz Marina Zuluaga was the first

Colombian to win the crown in 1956.

iii . The 22-year-old is the granddaughter

of a legendary tenor, Gastun Vega.

iv. Three of the last six Miss Universe

titles have gone to Venezuela, where

beauty pageants are big business.

5. Modi to hold first meeting of NITI

Aayog on February 6

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will

spell out the functional roadmap of the

newly created NITI Aayog at its first

meeting being scheduled on February 6,

2015.

ii . The members of the Aayog would

have first hand experience of Mr.

Modi’s expectation from the new body

and also help them in finalising the plan

of action of the new body which was

formed on January 1.

iii . The ex-officio members of the Aayog

are Home Minister Rajnath Singh,

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Railway

Minister Suresh Prabhu and Agriculture

Minister Radha Mohan Singh.

iv. The Aayog’s special invitees are Road

Transport and Highways Minister Nitin

Gadkari, Social Justice and

Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand

Gehlot and Human Resource

Development Minister Smriti Irani.

6. Major Mukund Varadarajan, Naik

Neeraj Kumar Singh posthumously

awarded with Ashok Chakra

i. Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik

Neeraj Kumar Singh were on 26 January

2015 posthumously awarded with the

highest peacetime military honour the

Ashok Chakra by President Pranab

Mukherjee.

ii . In April 2014, Major Mukund

Varadarajan had killed three terrorists

in an encounter in Shopian district of

Jammu and Kashmir. He was an officer

in the 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya

Rifles (22 Rajput) of the Indian Army.

However, he died after being severely

hurt in the operation.

iii . In August 2014, Naik Neeraj Singh

died after heavy fire from terrorists. He

was leading a search operation in

general area Gurdaji of Kupwara district.

He was serving in the 57th Battalion of

the Rashtriya Rifles.

About Ashok Chakra

Ashok Chakra is India’s highest

peacetime military decoration awarded

for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield.

The decoration is awarded either to

military or civilian personnel and can be awarded posthumously.

The Ashok Chakra medal is circular gold

gilt with the chakra (wheel) of Ashoka in

the center surrounded by a lotus wreath and with an ornate edge.

7. Anti-austerity Syriza party wins

Greec e’s general elections

i . In

Greec e, anti-austerity Syriza party has

won general election. In this election

Syriza party has won about half the

seats in Parliament.

ii . While the earlier ruling government

led by outgoing Prime Minister Antonis

Samaras of centre-right New Democracy

party has been placed second.

Something about Syriza party:

It was formed in 2004 as an umbrella

group. Syriza- an acronym means the Radical Coalition of the Left.

It is led by Alexis Tsipras and first came

to prominence following the 2008 Greek

riots. In this general election, Syriza Party has

promised to end Greece’s painful austerity measures and wants to renegotiate its debt.

8. Argentine playmaker Juan Roman

Riquelme retired from Football

i . 36-year-old Argentine player Juan

Roman Riquelme retired from football

on 26 January 2015. Legendary

Argentine represented his country in

2006 World Cup in Germany.

ii . He debuted for Argentina’s national

team in 1996 against Colombia and

went on to represent Argentina 51

times and scored 17 goals.

iii . He also was the Captain of

Argentina’s football team that won the

Gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic

Games.

iv. He was named as South American

Player of the Year and Argentine Player

of the Year four times.

9. Obama wraps up three-day India visit,

departs for Saudi Arabia

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama do

a 'Namaste' before boarding Air Force

One

i. US President Barack Obama left India

for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after a

three-day visit focused on improving

relations between the world's largest

democracies.

ii . The US president had been due to

visit the Taj Mahal while in India, but cut

short his visit to offer his condolences to

the royal family following the death of

King Abdullah and to pay his respects to

the new Saudi king.

iii . Obama addressed a gathering of

about 2,000 students at the Siri Fort

auditorium on the last day of his visit.

Daily GK Update – 28th January 2015

1. Kalyan Singh sworn in as Himachal

Pradesh Governor

i. Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh was

today sworn in as the Himachal Pradesh

Governor

ii . He was administered oath of office by

Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief

Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir

iii . Singh has been given an additional

charge of Himachal Pradesh after Urmila

Singh, who completed the full five year

term as HP Governor on January 24.

2. Hockey Olympian Jaswant Singh Rajput

passes away

i. Two-time gold medal winning hockey

Olympian Jaswant Singh Rajput passed

away on 28th January 2015 following a

prolonged illness

ii . The former India centre-half was part

of the gold medal winning teams in 1948

London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

iii . With the likes of Leslie Claudius,

Keshav Dutt and Meldric Daluz, Jaswant

had formed a lethal foursome and was

part of a golden era in Bengal hockey

with as many as seven players in the

Helsinki-bound side.

3. Arundhathi Subramaniam won

Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for

Poetry

i . Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam won the

inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial

Prize for Poetry for her work When God is

a Traveller.

ii . The winner was announced at a prize

ceremony at the ZEE Jaipur Literature

27 | P a g e

Festival, attended by over 2,500 poetry

lovers.

iii . The award, carrying a cash prize of Rs.

2 lakh, was established earlier this year

by Suhel Seth in memory of the late

Khushwant Singh and is open to Indian

poets writing in English or Indian

language translation.

4. RBI signs an information sharing

agreement with Brazil’s Central Bank

i . This MoU was signed by Anthero de

Moraes Meirelles, Deputy Governor for

Supervision, BCB and S.S. Mundra,

Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.

ii . This MoU was signed by Anthero de

Moraes Meirelles, Deputy Governor for

Supervision, BCB and S.S. Mundra,

Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.

iii . In this regard, RBI in total has signed

23 such MoUs, one Letter for Supervisory

Co-operation and one Statement of Co-

operation (SoC), with different Central

Banks of other countries and overseas

regulators/supervisors.

5. Gujarat Technological University

launches e-Raksha centre to fight

cybercrime

i. Gujarat Technological University (GTU)

has launched e-Raksha Research Centre

to curb rising menace of cybercrimes.

ii . This research Centre will provide

solution for issues related to cyber

security by encouraging research and

enhance capability in this field.

Key facts e-Raksha Research Centre

This centre is established by GTU in

collaboration with Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF).

Its goal is to establish a peaceful and

harmonious cyber space through

research in this area.

It will also support Union government’s

Make in India campaign by manufacturing routers, switches,

firewalls, UTMs (Unified Threat Management) and other network appliances.

This centre will also train students in

areas of cyber security and enhance their capability to provide solution for issues related to it.

6. Ancient star with five Earth size planets

discovered

i. After analysing over four years of data

from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, a team of

astronomers has discovered a star that is

11.2 bill ion years old and has at least five

Earth-size planets.

ii . The findings show that Earth-size

planets have formed throughout most of

the universe’s 13.8-bill ion-year history,

leaving open the possibility for the

existence of ancient l ife in the galaxy.

Key findings

This star is named as Kepler-444. It is 25

percent smaller than our Sun and is 117

light years from Earth. It belongs to the first generation of stars

and considered as part of one of the oldest systems in the galaxy.

This star has five known planets which

have sizes that fall between Mercury and

Venus. These 5 planets are so close to their star

that they complete their orbits in fewer than 10 days.

This discovery is going to help

astronomers learn more about the

history of our solar system- Milky Way. 7. K Durga Prasad appointed as the

Special DG of CRPF

i. K Durga Prasad hte new appointed

Special Director General (DG) of the

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is an

IPS officer of 1981 batch from Andhra

Pradesh cadre will be in office for next

three years or till further orders are

given.

ii . Earlier, Prasad served as the director of

the Special Protection Group (SPG). SPG

provides security to the Prime Minister,

former Prime Ministers and their family

members.

8. Bradman young cricketer of the year

award

i. Australian cricketer Sean Abbott has

won Bradman young cricketer of the year

award 2015.

ii . Sean Abbott is the bowler, who was

unwittingly at the centre of the tragic

death of Phillip Hughes. iii . In November

2014, he had delivered bouncer to

Hughes that hit him in head during a

Sheffield Shield match at the SCG against

South Australia.

Bradman young cricketer of the year

award: It was instituted in 1990. It is

bestowed annually by Cricket Australia to

best player under the age of 24. The

recipient is presented with a bat

personally signed by Sir Donald Bradman

(He had signed 100 bats in 1989 for this

award)

Daily GK Updates - 29th January 2015

1. Nation remembers Lala Lajpat Rai on

his 150th birth anniversary

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has

saluted Punjab Kesari Lala Lajpat Rai, on

his birth anniversary. In his message, the

Prime Minister said that Punjab Kesari

Lala Lajpat Rai was a unique personality

who was ahead of his time.

ii . Journey of Lalaji -

Popularly known as Punjab Kesari, Lala

Lajpat Rai was born on 28 January 1865 in Jagraon town of Ludhiana district.

The session of the Indian National

Congress at Allahabad in December 1888 marked the beginning of his political career.

The year 1905 was important for the

emergence of a new leadership in the Indian National Congress of Lal -Bal-Pal, as they were popularly known. The partition of Bengal in 1905 aroused their stout

nationalism. Lalaji presided over the first session of

the All India Trade Union Congress in 1920.

Lalaji also went to Geneva to attend the

eighth International Labour Conference in 1926 as a representative of Indian labour community.

28 | P a g e

His journal Arya Gazette concentrated

mainly on the subjects related to the Arya Samaj.

For the sake of India's independenc e

movement, Lalaji led a procession to demonstrate against the Simon Commission.

Lalaji was made the target of a brutal

lathi charge in which he was injured badly.

A meeting was held the same evening at

which Lalaji, wounded and aching, spoke with such vigour that his words, 'Every

blow aimed at me is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism', became historic.

on 17 November 1928, Lalaji succumbing

to his injuries passed away.

2. BrahMos to be integrated with Sukhoi

i . HAL has completed integration of

BrahMos thermonuclear cruise missile

with Sukhoi-30MKI after over two years

of work, modifying the Russian-made

aircraft.

ii . HAL director S Subrahmanyan, who led

the project, said the first test flight of the

modified Su-30MKI with the BrahMos

missile will be conducted in March.

3. Governor nominates Anglo-Indian in

Jharkhand Assembly

i . Glen Joseph Galstaun was today

nominated as the representative of the

Anglo-Indian community in the Jharkhand

Assembly.

ii . Governor Syed Ahmed nominated

Galstaun to the House as there is a need

for a representative from the community.

iii . With his nomination, the strength of

the House has gone up to 82 from 81.

4. Centre to dilute stake in CIL

i . The government is planning to dilute its

stake further in Maharatna public sector

Coal India Ltd (CIL) with the company

putting up on the stock exchanges a

notice for an offer for sale of up to 10 per

cent of the government stake in CIL.

ii . CIL had gone public in October 2010

with a 10 per cent dilution of the

government holding, the trade unions

had blocked a follow-on offer proposed

by the UPA-II government in late 2013.

iii . In this fresh move, the allocation shall

be on a price priority method at multiple

clearing prices in accordance with the

SEBI OFS circular.

iv. CIL had helped generate over Rs

23,000 crore through its initial public

offer and expectations are that a similar

amount would be garnered this time too.

CIL shares have averaged at Rs.383.

5. S Jaishankar takes charge as Foreign

Secretary

i . S Jaishankar took charge as Foreign

Secretary, replacing Sujatha Singh whose

tenure was abruptly curtailed.

ii . S Jaishankar is a 1977-batch IFS officer .

iii . He will have a two-year tenure as per

rules. The 60-year-old diplomat was

India's Ambassador to the US.

iv. The decision to appoint Jaishankar,

who played a key role during Prime

Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US

in September and US President Barack

Obama's just concluded visit here, was

taken by the Appointments Committee of

the Cabinet chaired by Modi

.

6. ICC ends Amir’s ban

i . In a major breakthrough, the ICC has

allowed Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad

Amir to return to domestic cricket early

from his five-year ban for involvement in

spot-fixing.

ii . Amir (22) was jailed for six months and

banned for his part in a spot-fixing scam

during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010.

iii . Amir, then 17, delivered pre-arranged

no balls at Lord’s in a plot that also led to

the banning of Mohammad Asif and then

captain Salman Butt.

Daily GK Update - 30th January 2015

1. 30th January observed as Martyrs' Day

i. The government today observed

Martyrs' Day on the 67th death

anniversary of the Father of Nation

Mahatma Gandhi and those who

sacrificed their lives in the struggle for

the country's freedom.

ii . The MHA has told all states and UTs to

see that “speeches and talks connected

with the significance of the day,

particularly mentioning the role of

freedom fighters in the freedom of India

may be made”.

iii . The day is remembered in the living

memory of all the freedom fighters who

lost their lives for handing our the much

needed independence.

iv. Mahatma Gandhi was assasinated by

Nathuram Godse on this day.

2. IIT Bombay launches mass open online

courses

i. Prof Devang Khakhar, Director of IIT

Bombay, launched three Mass Open

Online Courses (MOOC) in computer

programming, thermodynamics, and

signals and systems from the institute’s

IITBombayX platform developed in

collaboration with edX.

ii . edX is a not-for-profit initiative by MIT

and Harvard.

iii . About this course - The Introduction to

Computer Programming will be 16-week

course in two parts aimed at computer

programming students. The course on

Thermodynamics, designed for

mechanical engineering students, will last

12 weeks. Signals and Systems will be a

16-week course in two parts designed for

electrical engineering students. The

29 | P a g e

students will get an honour certificate of

achievement certifying successful

completion of the course after they have

qualified in the tests.

3. Send money 24x7 using only your

phone's address book

i . HDFC Bank, India’s second-largest

private bank, is set to introduce a new

app, Chillr, which will allow users to send

money to any contact in their phone

books, 24 hours a day, seven days a

week.

ii . Chillr is a third-party app, which will be

available exclusively for the customers. It

will allow them to transfer money using a

contact’s mobile number alone.

iii . Through the app, one can send Rs 1-

5,000 a day. While the bank will not levy

any charges, users will have to pay a fee

for using the IMPS platform.

4. Charles Townes died

i. Townes shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in

physics with Russian physicists Aleksandr

M. Prokhorov and Nicolai G. Basov for the

invention of the Laser.

ii . On April 26, 1951, Townes scribbled a

theory on scrap paper that would lead to

the laser, the invention he’s known for

and which transformed everyday life and

led to other scientific discoveries.

iii . The laser paved the way for other

scientific discoveries that revolutionize

everything from medicine to

manufacturing, including DVD players,

gun sights, printers, computer networks,

metal cutters, tattoo removal and vision

correction.

5. Jaipal Singh appointed PS to MoS

Home

i. Jaipal Singh, a Gujarat-cadre IFS officer,

has been appointed Private Secretary to

Minister of State for Home Affairs

Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary.

ii . Singh, a 1991-batch Indian Forest

Service officer is presently working as

Director in Department of Higher

Education.

iii . He has been appointed for a period of

upto September 26, 2018, which is

maximum period of seven years of stay

outside the cadre in a single stint, or on a

co-terminus basis with the minister's

tenure.

6. India overtakes China as world’s

leading gold consumer

i . India overtook China as the world’s

biggest gold consumer in 2014 as global

physical demand fell.

ii . Chinese gold demand slid by more than

a third last year to a four-year low of 866

tonnes.

iii . Indian jewellery demand rose 14

percent last year to a record 690 tonnes,

putting it back ahead of China as the

world’s number one jewellery

manufacturer.

7. RK Mathur to hold additional charge of

DDR&D

i. Defenc e Secretary RK Mathur is given

additional charge of Department of

Defence Research and Development

(DDR&D).

ii . Mathur, a 1977-batch IAS officer of

Manipur Tripura cadre, will hold the

additional charge for a period of three

months.

iii . He will take over the additional charge

from incumbent Avinash Chander.

iv. Another IAS officer Reena Ray has

been appointed as Additional Secretary in

Department of School Education and

Literacy.

8. Shekhar Sen appointed as Chairman of

Sangeet Natak Akademi

i. Renowned music composer and actor

Shekhar Sen is appointed as the

Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi

(SNA).

ii . Shekhar Sen will succeed Leela Samson

who resigned from the position on 5

September 2014. The post was lying

vacant since October 2014.

Shekhar Sen:

• He is famous for his mono act musical

plays Tulsi, Kabeer, Vivekananda, and

Soordas.

• Shekhar Sen has received prestigious

awards including Padam Shri Award in

2015, Safdar Hashmi Puraskar in 2001 for

his contribution in field of theatre and V.

Shantaram Lalit Kala Puraskaar in 2008.

Daily GK Update - 31st January 2015

1. Agni 5, successfully test-fired

i. India successfully test-fired its

indigenously developed, intercontinental

surface-to-surface nuclear capable

ballistic missile Agni-5, which has a strike

range of over 5000 kms and can carry a

nuclear warhead of over one tonne, from

Wheeler’s Island off Odisha

ii . The three stage, solid propellant

“missile was test-fired from a mobile

launcher from the launch complex-4 of

the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at about

8.06 hours.

iii . M V K Prasad is the director of the

project.

iv. About AGNI Series -

India has at present in its armoury of Agni

series, Agni-1 with 700 km range, Agni -2

with 2000 km range, Agni -3 and Agni-4

with 2500 km to more than 3500 range.

After a few more trials, Agni-5 will be

inducted into the services.

2. Coal India stake sale fetches Rs. 22,600

crore

30 | P a g e

i . The Centre raised Rs 22,557.63 crore

from the sale of its 10 per cent

shareholding in Coal India (CIL).

ii . Of the total proceeds raised, Rs

11,360.11 crore came from insurance

companies — both private sector and

public sector including the Government-

owned Life Insurance Corporation.

iii . With divestment drive, the Centre’s

shareholding in CIL stands at 79.65 per

cent.

3. Base year change pushes 2013-14 GDP

growth to 6.9%

i. The Government, sharply revised

India’s 2013-14 GDP growth estimate to

6.9 per cent from 4.7 per cent.

ii . The 2012-13 growth estimate was

revised to 5.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent.

iii . The estimates released also follow a

change in the base year for calculating

national accounts to 2011-12 from 2004-

05 in addition to the routine annual

revision.

iv. The changes have reduced the gap

between the way India calculates GDP

and the methodology used by the

International Monetary Fund.

4. India tops Credit Suisse Emerging

Consumer Scorecard 2015

i. The formation of a strong government

at the c entre which triggered a major

revival in consumer sentiment in 2014

saw India rank first in the Credit Suisse

Emerging Consumer Scorecard 2015.

ii . The fifth annual Emerging Consumer

Survey by the Credit Suisse Research

Institute profiles consumer sentiment

and its drivers across the emerging world

providing insights regarding consumer

sentiment and future consumption

patterns.

iii . The survey showed India as having the

lowest consumption of beer, meat and

cigarettes, the lowest ownership of cars

and lowest access to the internet.

5. Uniformity, innovation coming to

credit data

i. In its bid to better the credit

information landscape, the Reserve Bank

of India (RBI) has directed all credit

institutions to become members of credit

information companies (CICs).

ii . Currently, there are four such

companies in India—Credit Information

Bureau (India) Ltd (Cibil), Equifax Credit

Information Services Pvt. Ltd, Experian

Credit Information Co. of India Pvt. Ltd

and CRIF High Mark Credit Information

Services Pvt. Ltd.

iii . According to the RBI’s report on

furnishing credit information, India is

ranked 28 in “getting credit” and the

coverage of CICs accounts for only 19.8%

of adult population, as against 100% in

several countries.

6. Krishna Chaudhary appointed as the

Director General of ITBP

i . Krishna Chaudhary is appointed as the

Director General (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan

Border Police (ITBP). He i s an IPS officer

of 1979-batch Bihar cadre and will be in

office till June 2017.

ii . At the time of appointment, he was

working as the Director General of the

Railway Protection Force.

iii . Chaudhary succeeded Subhas

Goswami who retired on 31 December

2014. CRPF DG Prakash Mishra was

holding the additional charge of the ITBP

since the retirement of Subhas Goswami.

7. Serena Williams beats Maria

Sharapova to win Australian Open

i. Serena Williams won her 19th Grand

Slam title, continued her unbeaten run in

six Australian Open finals and extended

her decade-long domination of Maria

Sharapova with a commanding 6-3, 7-6

(5) win.

ii . She is now second only to Steffi Graf

(22) on the list of major winners in the

Open era.

iii . The 33-year-old Williams, the oldest

winner of the Australian women’s title in

the Open era, won the first six points of

the second set and seemed on course for

another lopsided victory before

Sharapova hit back in a gripping second

set.

8. Bravo quits Tests

i . West Indies all -rounder Dwayne Bravo

has announced his retirement from Test

cricket.

ii . The 31-year-old has played 40 Tests

but had not suited up for the West Indies

since December 2010.

iii . Bravo said he had already informed

the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) of

his decision to retire from Tests but said

he had made clear his desire to continue

playing ODIs and Twenty20s.

iv. He bagged 86 wickets at an average of

nearly 40.