Important Moves

8/20/2019 Important Moves

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December 1, 2014

1) Due to continued decreased ininternational oil prices the price of petrolin India was slashed by 91 paise perlitre on 30 November 2014 while that ofdiesel was reduced by 84 paise. Therevised prices came into effect from themidnight of 30 November and 1December 2014. What significantinternational price level was broken for

crude oil recently? – The price of Brentcrude oil went down below $70 perbarrel on 28 November, which is itslowest level since 2010

Explanation: The price of internationalcrude oil, called Brent crude, wentbelow $70 per barrel level markfollowing decision made by the 12members of the Organization of thePetroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

on 27 November 2014 to keep daily oiloutput at 30 million barrels. The stepwas taken despite a major oversupplythat has caused oil prices to fall morethan 30%. This also meant that the costof January futures fell by 4.47%, to$66.07 per barrel.

2) On 30 November 2014 who becamethe first Indian footballer to be inductedinto Asian Football Confederation(AFC‘s) Hall of Fame? – BaichungBhutia

Explanation: The Asian FootballConfederation inducted 10 continentalsuperstars in its Hall of Fame in Manilaon 30 November 2014. The awardswere awarded by FIFA Chief SeppBlatter. Bhutia joined Iran‘s legendary

Ali Daei and Saudi Arabia‘s Sami AlJaber in the Hall of Fame. Otherprominent players to be inducted in

AFC‘s Hall of Fame included HarryKewell, regarded as one of Australia‘sfinest football exports to Europe, thanksto a successful career with England‘sLeeds United and Liverpool.

3) How much cable is proposed to belaid over next three and a half years toprovide broadband in every village ofthe country, as revealed by the Ministerfor Communications and InformationTechnology Ravi Shankar Prasad on 29November 2014? – 7,50,000 KM

Explanation: Under UnionGovernment‘s ‗Digital India‘ project7,50,000 KM of fiber optical cable is

proposed to be laid over next three anda half years to ensure digitalempowerment of people. ‗Digital India‘project envisages bringing all theexisting initiatives such as the Ebizproject, E-kranti, virtual classroom, e-visas and the National Optical FibreNetwork project under a single


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umbrella. Other programmes includeimplementation of e-office to makeGovernment departments paperless,encouraging domestic manufacturing of

electronic products and kick startingResearch & Development andentrepreneurship development fund.The project was unveiled in the Budget2014-15 and is being directly monitoredby Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

4) Indian woman badminton player P.V.Sindhu won which Grand Prixtournament on 30 November 2014,

which was her first title of the season? – Macau Grand Prix Gold Trophy

Explanation: World No. 11 Sindhu wasthe defending champion of this trophyand she prevailed over 91st-ranked KimHyo Min of Korea, defeated her 21-12,21-17 in the final. This was the first titlefor her in 2014 season. She had lost theSyed Modi Grand Prix Gold final to

fellow Indian Saina Nehwal in Januarythis year.

5) Thailand‘s crown prince MahaVajiralongkorn on 28 November 2014revoked the royally-assigned familyname of his wife Princess Srirasmi. Herroyal-appointed surname

Akharaphongpreecha was revoked dueto which reason? – Due to the arrest ofseveral of her relatives in a high-profile corruption case

Explanation: Three people with the

Akharaphongpreecha name wereamong 19 arrested in a crackdown onalleged police corruption this month inraids that netted tens of millions ofdollars in assets. Crown Prince MahaVajiralongkorn is the first in line for theThai throne. His father, King Bhumibol

Adulyadej, who is widely revered byThais, is 86. The Thai monarchy canbestow honorary names to families inreturn for service under a 1915 law.

December 2, 2014

1) The United Nations Climate ChangeConference (COP20) started on 1

December 2014 at which city? – Lima(Peru)

Explanation: COP20 the 20th yearlysession of the Conference of theParties (COP 20) to the 1992 UnitedNations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) and the10th session of the Meeting of theParties (CMP10) to the 1997 KyotoProtocol. COP20 is being organised tonegotiate on a new ambitious and


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binding deal to cut global carbonemissions, in the last chance to reachon a historic deal to be signed nextyear in Paris. Officials from 190nations, including India, areparticipating in this 12-day summit.During the summit countries will putforward what they plan to contribute tothe 2015 pact in the form of IntendedNationally Determined Contributions(INDCs) by the first quarter of 2015,well in advance of the Parisconference in December. EnvironmentMinister Prakash Javadekar leadsIndia‘s 17-member delegation to

negotiate terms for the final agreementto be signed in Paris, which will takeeffect in 2020.

2) At least 13 CRPF (Central ReservePolice Force) personnel were killedand many were injured in a Maoistambush in Chhattisgarh on 1December 2014. This incident tookplace in which Maoist-infested district

of south Chhattisgarh? –Sukma

Explanation: The ambush took placenear Kasalpara village of Sukmadistrict. Kasalpara village is the sameplace where the CRPF had claimed tohave killed 15 alleged Maoists on 21November 2014 in an encounter.

3) A referendum held in Switzerland

on 30 November 2014 rejected theproposed curbs on immigrations in thecountry. What was the specific issuethat was addressed by holding thisreferendum? – To cut netimmigration to no more than 0.2%of the population

Explanation: The referendum wasconducted to know the opinion ofcountry‘s 26 cantons about theproposal to cut net immigration into thecountry to not more than 0.2% of thepopulation. About 74% of the peoplerejected the proposal. Supporters ofthe measure argued that it would havereduced pressure on the country‘sresources. Opponents said it wouldhave been bad for the economy. It isworth mentioning that around a quarterof Switzerland‘s eight million peopleare foreigners. The issue addressed inthis referendum would have required

the government to reduce immigrationfrom about 80,000 to 16,000 people ayear.

4) Who won the Presidential electionsheld in Uruguay on 30 November2014? –Tabare Vazquez

Explanation: Tabare Vazquez is aformer President of the country who

led the country from 2005 to 2010. Hewon comfortably with 52.8% supportwhile his center-right challenger, LuisLacalle Pou, trailed with 40.5% votes.Returning to power, he will succeedPresident Jose Mujica, an ally andformer guerrilla whose straight-talkingstyle won him widespread affection inthe country. Vazquez is a respectedoncologist who helped heal rifts insidethe Broad Front in the late 1990s and

led it to power in 2005, ending twodecades of conservative rule thatfollowed a military dictatorship.

5) Which application softwarecompany was chosen by the ICC as its


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exclusive Analytics and Cloud Partnerfor the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 asannounced on 1 December 2014?- SAP SE

Explanation: SAP SE is a worldwideleader in enterprise applicationsoftware services. The partnership,which starts immediately and runsthrough to the end of the tournament,will see SAP utilise its HANA platformto power numerous live matchexperiences across the ICC‘s networkof Web sites, to enhance theexperience for fans and media withreal-time data, statistics andperformance analysis that will helpthem get closer to the action and tellmore insightful and informed stories.ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is hosted

jointly by Australia and New Zealand.

6) Which film won the coveted GoldenPeacock award for Best Film at the45thInternational Film Festival of India

(IFFI), which concluded on 30November 2014? –„Leviathan „(Russian film)

Explanation: ‗Leviathan‗ is a survivaldrama directed by Russian director

Andrey Zvyaginstev. ‗Ek HazaarchiNote‗, set against the backdrop offarmers‘ suicide in Vidharba region ofMaharashtra, created history at IFFI by

winning the centenary and special juryaward (for debutante director ShrihariSathe). ‗Leviathan‗ star AlexelSerebriakov shared the best actoraward with Dulal Sarkar of ‗ChotoderChobi ‗. Cuban actress ArinaRodriguez won the Best Actress awardfor her role in the Cuban-Spanishmovie ‗Behaviour ‗ while Israeli actressSarit Larry shared the trophy withRodriguez for her role in ‗TheKindergarten Teacher ‗. The award forbest director went to Nadaf Lapid for‗The Kindgarten Teacher ‗.

7) Who was conferred with theLifetime Achievement Award at the45th edition of International FilmFestival of India (IFFI)? – Wong Kar-Wai (Hong Kong)

Explanation: Wong Kar-Wai is one ofHong Kong‘s most celebratedfilmmakers. Some of his world-acclaimed films include ‗Days of Being

Wild’ (1990), ‗ Ashes of Time‘ (1994),‗Chungking Express‘ (1994), ‗Fallen

Angels‘ (1995), ‗Happy Together ‘(1997), ‗2046 ‘ (2004) and ‗TheGrandmaster’ (2013). ‗My Blue berryNights‘ is Wong Kar -Wai‘s only Englishlanguage Film and ‗In the Mood forLove‘ is by far his most universallyloved film.


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December 3, 2014

1) 3 decades (30 years) of the Bhopaltragedy of 1984 were completed on 2December 2014. This disaster, whichtook place on 2 December 1984 due toaccidental leakage of poisonous gasfrom the factory owned by the U.S.multinational Union Carbide Corp inMadhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, isknown as one of the world‘s worstindustrial disasters ever. Whichpoisonous gas had leaked from this

plant resulting in death of over fivethousand people? – MethylIsocyanate

Explanation: The Union Carbide plantin Bhopal was established in 1969 formanufacture of a range of pesticidesused by farmers. On the night of 2December 1984 almost 40 tonnes ofhighly poisonous Methyl Isocyanategas was released and carried by the

wind to the surrounding denselypopulated. The government recorded5,295 deaths, but activists claim25,000 people died in the aftermathand following years. Another 100,000people who were exposed to the gascontinue to suffer today withsicknesses such as cancer, blindness,

respiratory problems, immune andneurological disorders. Some childrenborn to survivors have mental orphysical disabilities. Union Carbidewas sued by the Indian governmentafter the disaster and agreed to pay anout-of-court settlement of $470 millionin damages in 1989. Union Carbidewas later acquired in 2001 by DowChemical Company.

2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)presented its 5th Bi-monthly MonetaryPolicy review for 2014-15 fiscal on 2December 2014. Despite pressure tocut interest rates from industry as wellas some quarters of the government,RBI kept the major rates unchangedas it kept its focus on tackling inflation.What are the major projections and

rates coming out of this review?- GDP growth rate projected at 5.5%for current fiscal

- Consumer Price Index (CPI)-basedinflation projected to remain at 6%by March 2015

- Repo rate (short term lending rate)unchanged at 8%

- Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)

unchanged at 4%

- Statutory Liquidity Ratio (used forunlocking banking funds) retainedat 22%


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3) The RBI in its 5th Bi-monthlyMonetary Policy review for 2014-15fiscal presented on 2 December 2014,kept the most important repo rateunchanged at 8%. The last time thisrate was changed was – January2014

Explanation: In January 2014 the RBIhad increased the repo rate by 25basis points to 8%. Since then this ratehas been unchanged.

4) Deven Verma, Bollywood film actor,who was known for his comic roles,passed away on 2 December 2014 atPune at the age of 77 years. He hadwon how many Filmfare Awards forbest comic roles? – Three

Explanation: Deven Verma won threeFilmfare Awards respectively for ‗ChoriMera Kaam‘ (1976), ‗Chor ke GharChor ‘ (1978) and ‗ Angoor ‘ (1982).‗ Angoor ‘, directed by Gulzar andfeaturing Sanjeev Kumar in main role,is still considered one of the best Hindicomedy films ever made.

5) Abdul Rahman Antulay (A.R. Antulay), who passed away on 2December 2014, was a former ChiefMinister of which state of India? – Maharashtra

Explanation: Antulay was the first and

only Muslim Chief Minister ofMaharashtra during the years 1980 to1982. However he had to resign fromhis post following allegation ofcorruption. He was convicted in anextortion case by the Bombay High

Court. He passed away at the age of85 years.

6) Former Prime Minister Atal BehariVajpayee‘s birthday (25 December)would be observed as which nationalday, as announced by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on 2 December 2014?

– „Good Governance Day‟

Explanation: Addressing party MPs atthe meeting of the BJP ParliamentaryParty Narendra Modi made thisannouncement. On the occasion thenational ‗Good Governance Day‘ allgovernment officials will make the daysymbolic of good governance.

7) Who was appointed as the newDirector of the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) on 2 December2014? – Anil Sinha

Explanation: Anil Sinha is the Biharcadre IAS officer of the 1979 batchand is presently the Special Directorwith the CBI. He replaced RanjitSinha, who relinquished office onsuperannuation on the same day. Theappointment was made by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi-led

Appointments Committee of Cabinet(ACC). Earlier name of Anil Sinha wasshortlisted by the three-memberselection committee consisting of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi,Opposition leader in Lok Sabha(Congress) Mallikarjun Kharge andChief Justice of India H.L. Dattu.

8) Who was named as the nextDirector General of National Disaster


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Relief Force (NDRF) on 1 December2014? – O P Singh

Explanation: O P Singh is an UttarPradesh cadre IPS officer of the 1983-

batch. Singh is serving presently asadditional DG (Airport) in CentralIndustrial Security Force (CISF). Hewill now be the full-fledged NDRF chief

in the rank of additional DG for hisremaining period of central deputationtill 15 January 2018. NDRF is adisaster response agency underNational Disaster Management

Authority (NDMA) created by theMinistry of Home Affairs, Governmentof India, in 2009.

December 4, 2014

1) In an unprecedented move, theChief Justice of India during December2014 constituted which Special Benchthat would meet every Friday to handlecases associated with it? – The SocialJustice Bench

Explanation: The Social JusticeBench of the Supreme Court wasconstituted to handle Public Interest

Litigations (PILs) and other petitionson social issues. This newlyconstituted bench would meet everyFriday afternoon. The issuesassociated under this bench wouldrange from the availability of nightshelters for the homeless to whether

children in government schools arebeing provided free mid-day mealsand the efficacy of the PublicDistribution Scheme (PDS) which ismeant to provide poor families accessto subsidized grain. The two judgeswho will handle these cases everyFriday are Justice Madan B Lokur andJustice UU Lalit.

2) During December 2014 IndianRailways issued guidelines forconstituent railway zones to invitetenders to offer three-yearmaintenance contracts toprofessionals for managing India‘srailway stations. Under this proposedexercise, contracts would be given forcleaning and managing cover key

station areas, such as tracks,platforms, buildings, concourses,approach roads, and parking areas.How many railway stations are beingmade available under this initiative? – 50


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Explanation: 50 railway stationsmade available for privatized clean-upare Nasik Road, Solapur, Jalgaon,Howrah, Sealdah, Bhagalpur, Patna,Mughalsarai, Gaya, Visakhapatnam,Bhubaneswar, Puri, New Delhi, Delhi,Varanasi, Lucknow, Ludhiana,

Allahabad, Kanpur, Jhansi, Gorakhpur,Lucknow Jn, Kathgodam, Rangiya,New Bongaigaon, Kishanganj, Jaipur,Jodhpur, Ajmer, Chennai Central,Egmore, Trivandrum Central,Secunderabad, Vijayawada, Tirupati,Kharagpur, Tatanagar, Ranchi, Raipur,Bilaspur, Drug, Hospet, Vasco-Da-

Gama, Belgaum, Mumbai CentralMain, Bandra Terminus, Vadodara,Bhopal, Jabalpur and Kota. TheRailways have stipulated the contractshould be given to a single agencyand there should be no mixed systemof management, a move to help fixaccountability. The work will also coverrag-picking, disinfection, pest androdent control, garbage collection, andsegregation of waste and disposal.

3) Recently arguments have beengiven in favour of implementing theM.S. Swaminathan Committee‘srecommendation on assessment ofagricultural costs. Punjab ChiefMinister Parkash Singh Badal andUrban Development MinisterM.Venkaiah Naidu have pushed for

implementing this committee‘srecommendation. What is the basicformula for estimating agriculturalcosts as recommended by M.S.Swaminathan Committee? – Procurement prices of agriculturalproduce should be set as the entire

cost of production with a 50% profitquotient

Explanation: Renowned agriculturalscientist MS Swaminathan led a

committee on minimum support price(MSP) for farmers. This committeecame out with its recommendationsduring the UPA-1 regime. The basicrecommendation of this committeewas that the MSP for farmers shouldbe calculated as cost of productionplus a 50% margin. Parkash SinghBadal recommended that the IndianGovernment fix minimum supportprices of paddy and wheat keeping inmind rising input costs. On the otherhand M.Venkaiah Naidu called for theGovernment to seriously considerimplementing the M.S. SwaminathanCommittee‘s recommendation at the10th National Conference of Farmers.

4) What was India‘s rank in the list ofcorrupt countries released by graft

watchdog Transparency InternationalIndia (TII) on 3 December 2014? – 85th

Explanation: India‘s rank hasimproved from 94th last year to 85th thisyear in the Corruption PerceptionIndex (CPI) report by TII. India‘s scorestood at 38 as compared to 36 lastyear. In India‘s neighbourhood, Chinamoved to 100th place, down from80th last year, while Pakistan and

Nepal were at 126th

position.Bangladesh was 145th and Bhutan30th in the ranking. Sri Lanka wasranked 85thwith India. Afghanistan wasat a bleak 172. Denmark retained itsposition as the least corrupt country in2014 with a score of 92 while North


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Korea and Somalia shared the lastplace, scoring just 8.

5) Which university was ranked no.1 inTimes Higher Education BRICS &Emerging Economies Rankings 2015,covering 18 countries, that wasreleased on 4 December 2014? – Peking University, China

Explanation: China topped thisprestigious list with as many as 27universities in the top 100 list. Indianow has four universities in the top 40

– IISc, Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Bombay, IIT Roorkee and PunjabUniversity, Chandigarh – and sevenmore in the top 100. Punjab University,ranked 13th last year, however, hasfallen to 39th in the rankings. China‘sPeking University and TsinghuaUniversity occupied the first andsecond positions.

6) During December 2014 who wasappointed as the Secretary General ofthe Lok Sabha, an appointment that

was protested by the Congress as italleged that procedures were notfollowed in this appointment? – AnoopMishra

Explanation: Anoop Mishra is asenior bureaucrat from Uttar Pradeshand a formal announcement about hisappointment was made by Lok SabhaSpeaker Sumitra Mahajan on 1December 2014. Congress alleged

that procedures were not followed inthis appointment as it was notconsulted during the procedure of thisappointment. Congress also wanted toknow whether none of the secretariatofficials of the Lok Sabha werecompetent for the post.

December 5, 2014

1) Eminent jurist and former SupremeCourt judge Justice Krishna Iyerpassed away on 4 December 2014 atthe age of 100 in Kochi. Apart frombeing one of the foremost legalluminary India has produced, whatwas a special fact associated withhim? – In between his legal practicehe also joined politics and becamean MLA of Kerala Assembly

Explanation: He became a memberof the Madras Legislative Assembly in


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1952. He held portfolios such as law, justice, home, irrigation, power,prisons, social welfare and inlandnavigation in the first Communistgovernment in Kerala headed byE.M.S. Namboodiripad that came topower in 1957. He was instrumental inpassing several pieces of people-oriented legislations during his tenureas minister in the Communistgovernment. Later in 1959 heresumed his legal practice. He wassworn in as the judge of the SupremeCourt on 17 July 1973 and retired atthe age of 65 on 14 November 1980.

His landmark judgments include theShamser Singh case which interpretedthe powers of the Cabinet vis-à-vis thePresident, Maneka Gandhi case whichgave a new dimension to Article 21,Ratlam Municipality case andMuthamma‘s case.

2) Government of India is kicking off itsambitious divestment programme for

the current fiscal year from 5December 2014 with the sale of a 5%stake in a PSU. Govt. is expected toraise $275 million through this stakesale. Which PSU is this? –SteelAuthority of India Ltd (SAIL)

Explanation: SAIL thus becomes thefirst PSU to be divested for meetingthe proposed budget deficit target. Thegovernment, which owns an 80%

stake in SAIL, plans to sell up to 206.5million shares through an auction onthe stock exchanges on 5 December.The floor price for the share auction ofSAIL has been set at 83 rupeesapiece. Union Govt. had planned toraise $9.5 billion from divestments in

the fiscal year ending in March 2015.However, it is likely to miss this targetdue to slow speed of the divestmentprogramme.

3) Union Govt. on 3 December 2014constituted a high level committee withthe objective of bringing about clarityon tax laws. Who is heading thiscommittee? –Ashok Lahiri (FormerChief Economic Advisor)

Explanation: This committee hasbeen constituted in line with FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley‘s announcementduring the 2014-15 Budget speechpertaining to bringing about clarity intax laws in the country. This committeewill interact with trade and industry toascertain where clarity on tax laws isrequired. Other members of thecommittee include retired SettlementCommission Member SidharthaPradhan and Gautam Ray, retiredDirector General (Audit) of Customs

and Central Board of Excise andCustoms (CBEC).

4) During December 2014, whatimportant decision was taken by theUnion Govt. in the area of FDI inconstruction sector? – The lock-inperiod for foreign investments inthe construction sector has beendiluted

Explanation: A note released on 3December 2014 by DIPP stated, whileforeign investment cannot berepatriated before three yearsfollowing completion of minimumcapitalisation, an investor may beallowed to exit earlier by getting


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approval from the Foreign InvestmentPromotion Board (FIPB). This decisionhas been taken following UnionCabinet‘s nod to allow FDI inconstruction development in October2014.

Following are the important pointsassociated with above decision:

The minimum capital requirementfor such projects (for joint ventureswith Indian partners) has beenhalved from $10 million to $5million. For wholly ownedsubsidiaries of foreign companies,

the requirement is $10 million. At least 50% of each project mustbe developed within a period of fiveyears from the date of obtaining allmandatory clearances. The investorwould not be allowed to sell underdeveloped plots.

The minimum area to be developedis 10 hectares of land area forserviced housing plots and 50,000sq meters of built-up area forconstruction development projects.For combined projects, any one ofthe two conditions is sufficient

5) During December 2014 India signeda multilateral agreement admittingIndia‗s participation in thedevelopment of the World‘s lar gesttelescope – the Thirty MetreTelescope (TMT). This telescope willbe established at which place? – Hawaii (US)

Explanation: Institutions from theUSA, India, Canada, Japan and Chinaare participating in the construction ofthe world‘s largest telescope on MountMauna Kea. This telescope, 4207 mabove sea level, may cost more than$1.47 billion. TMT will contain 492hexagonal mirror segments of 82different kinds. These will behave likea single mirror with an aperture of 30metre diameter. This large collectingarea of 650 square metres is thrice assensitive as the Hubble SpaceTelescope. India‘s role will primarily beto create the control systems andsoftware that keep the mirrors alignedand collects the data. This project was

rapidly cleared by the Union Cabinetand India has agreed to spend Rs.1299.8 crores over the next decade forthis project. Besides learning about theuniverse, India will gain the technologyto manufacture fine aspherical mirrorsegments from the California Instituteof Technology (Caltech).


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December 6, 2014

1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on5 December 2014 gave whatrelaxations in norms for White Label

ATM (WLA) operators? – They cannow accept international cards andalso source cash supply from otherthan banks

Explanation: The RBI provided abreather to WLA operators by allowingthem to accept international

credit/debit/prepaid cards. The cardsissued under card payment networkschemes (authorized under the PSS

Act 2007) will be allowed for thepurpose. The WLA operators have toensure that they have establishedtechnical connectivity with therespective card network operatorseither directly or through their sponsorbanks. In addition, RBI enabled

delinking of cash supply from sponsorbanks. WLA operators would now beable to tie up with other commercialbanks for cash supply at WLAs.Earlier, the cash supply had to bemanaged only through a sponsor bankwhich limited the scope of cashmanagement for the operators. During

2012 the RBI had allowed corporatesto set up white label ATMs to increasethe penetration of ATMs in severalareas of the country. These ATMs arebeing operated by non-bankingcorporates and organisations and areproviding ATM services to customersof all banks.

2) 13 security personnel includingeight Army men and five policemenwere killed in a major militant attack inJammu and Kashmir on 5 December2014. In the retaliatory strike sixmilitants were killed. This attack wascarried at which army camp situated inthe Uri area in north Kashmir? – Mahura Army camp

Explanation: 6 Six terrorists enteredthe Mahura Army camp in Rampurarea of Uri at early morning of 5December and attacked the camp. Allsix terrorists were killed in theencounter while eight of Army soldiers,including a Lt. Colonel and fivepolicemen lost their lives too. Theattack happened four days before Urigoes to the Assembly elections on 9December. This was one the biggestattacks by the militants in the recent

past.

3) During December 2014 Union Govt.took an important decision to decreasesubsidy load by scrapping the supplyof subsidised kerosene through thePublic Distribution System (PDS).


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Under this decision, from now onsubsidised kerosene would besupplied to only one category ofhouseholds. Which category is this? –Households without electricityconnection

Explanation: According to informationgiven by Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley the Centre is in the process ofwriting to States asking them toprovide subsidised kerosene only toun-electrified households. Stateswhich have achieved near 100%electrification will be incentivised tobecome kerosene-free. In theremaining States, un-electrifiedhouseholds will be given the choicebetween cash subsidy in lieu ofkerosene allocation and upfrontsubsidy for greener solar lightingsystems. This decision comes closeon the heels of cuts in the Centre‘ssocial sector spending allocationsaimed at aligning plan expenditurewith subdued revenue collections. The

allocation of kerosene subsidy will nowbe in accordance with Census 2011data, which shows that it‘s no longer afuel of choice for cooking but is usedfor lighting purposes. The Censusshowed that kerosene has beenalmost completely replaced by LPG inurban and semi-urban areas andbiomass is the cooking fuel of choicein the rural areas. Less than 2% ofIndia‘s rural households use kerosene

as cooking fuel, according to theCensus.

4) The Indian Air Force (IAF) on 5December 2014 sent supplies of

drinking water to which of itsneighbouring country? – Maldives

Explanation: Indian Air Force (IAF)pressed the services of its IL-76

aircrafts and the C-17 Globemaster toprovide drinking water to the people ofMaldives. Water was cut off to morethan 100,000 residents in theMaldives‘ capital Male because of afire in the city‘s water treatment plant.Maldives had made a request to Indiafor supplying drinking water. Followingthis, the Centre asked the DefenceMinistry to provide assistance. TheMinistry in turn directed the IAF to shipthe drinking water in IL-76 aircrafts toMaldives. India would supply 400tonnes of packaged drinking waterunder this initiative. An offshore patrolvessel in the ocean with a watertreating facility was also diverted toMaldives.

5) The Union Govt. has recently made

amendments in Indian Medical CouncilRegulations 2002 pertaining toprescribing generic medicines. Whathas been done under thisamendment? – Physicians havebeen directed to prescribe drugswith generic names in legible andcapital letters

Explanation: The Central governmenthas approved to amend Indian Medical

Council Regulations, 2002, providingtherein that every physician shouldprescribe drugs with generic names inlegible and capital latter and he/sheshall ensure that there is a rationalprescription and use of drugs. Thisamendment has been done as it wasfelt by a section of parliamentarians


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that illegible prescription by doctorsmay lead to serious implications and

even death in certain cases.

December 7-8, 2014

1) What is the name of the Indiancommunication satellite that wasplaced in orbit by Ariane 5 rocket on6 December 2014 from the space portof Kourou in French Guiana? – GSAT-16

Explanation: GSAT-16 is the11thamong GSAT series of Indiancommunication satellites, and will haveestimated lifespan of 12 years. It willsupport civil aviation services apartfrom backing up the services providedby other communication satellites. Thesatellite is aimed as a replacement forsatellite INSAT-3E. It was launchedinto a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit(GTO) by European Space Agency‘s

Ariane 5ECA rocket. This launch wasinitially planned for 4 December 2014,but was postponed due to inclementweather.

2) What important recommendationwas given by a committee constitutedin 2010 to design future currencynotes as disclosed by Union FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley on 5 December2014? – No other national leader‟simage should be put on banknotesexcept Mahatma Gandhi

Explanation: The committee in itsreport said that it would be improper toput image of other national leader oncountry‘s currency notes as no otherpersonality could better represent theethos of India than Mahatma Gandhi.On the advice of the Government, theRBI had, in October 2010, constituteda Committee to design future currencynotes.

3) Due to iron ore crunch Tata Steelrecently underwent a situation for thefirst time in the over 100 years of itsglorious history. What was thissituation? – For the first time in itshistory the company operated its

Jamshedpur plant with raw materialbought from domestic sourcesbesides imports

Explanation: This was done as all themines of Tata Steel are closed. Thecompany is now operating its 9.7million tonnes per annum facility in


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Jamshedpur with raw material boughtfrom domestic sources besidesimports. The company bought iron orefrom state-run NMDC besidesimporting the key steel making rawmaterial from Australia. While it hasbought around 0.8 million tonnes fromNMDC, the remaining is imports from

Australia. One of the first steel units inthe country, the Jamshedpur facility ofTata Steel was founded in 1907 andthe plant has been running on captivesource of iron ore. Apart from TataSteel, state-run steelmaker Steel

Authority of India (SAIL) enjoys the

benefit of having captive iron oresources. Others depend upon themarket purchase. The problem of TataSteel started following a notification ofthe Mines Ministry in July amendingthe Mineral Concession Rules, 1960which provides a period of two yearsfor execution of the renewal leasedeed Post expiry of lease, for the firstrenewal.

4) What is the name of the powerfultyphoon which struck through thecentral Philippines on 7 December2014 resulting in 1 million peoplefleeing their homes? –TyphoonHagupit

Explanation: Typhoon Hagupit wasnot as powerful and on the same scaleas last year‘s deadly Typhoon Haiyan

but it still toppled trees and power linesand cut off communication lines acrossthe central Philippines. More than 1million people fled to shelters awayfrom coastal areas and landslide-prone villages by the time TyphoonHagupit slammed into the town of

Dolores, on the eastern coast ofSamar island.

5) What is the name of the bookwritten by President Pranab Mukherjeeto be released on 11 December 2014,that has been caught between brick-and-mortar retailers and e-retailers asit is being released exclusively on

Amazon.in? – “The DramaticDecade: The Indira Gandh i Years ”

Explanation: The book published byRupa & Co., will be releasedexclusively on Amazon.in on 11December 2014 and will be availablefor sales in book stores only after 31December. Traditional bookstoreshave now decided to boycott this booksaying competition in the Indianpublishing industry has been upset bysuch exclusive sales.

6) The 2014 Men‘s Champions Trophy

started on 6 December 2014 atBhubaneswar. This is which edition ofChampions Trophy? – 35th

Explanation: Champions Trophy isone of the most prestigious hockeytournaments and includes the tophockey playing nations. The35th edition of men‘s ChampionsTrophy is being played at KalingaStadium in Odisha‘s capital

Bhubaneswar. 8 countries are takingpart in this tournament. These 8countries include Argentina, Australia,Belgium, England, Germany, theNetherlands, Pakistan and hosts India.The tournament will conclude on 14December 2014.


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7) The marketing approval of 25generic drugs of which Indian pharmacompany was suspended on 6December 2014 by drug regulators ofFrance, Germany, Belgium andLuxembourg due to concerns over thequality of data from clinical trials? – GVK Biosciences

Explanation: French watchdog ANSMhad inspected GVK Biosciences‘ sitein Hyderabad and found anomalies inthe way electrocardiograms weremonitored during the bioequivalencestudies. It said the inspection raisedserious concerns over whether thecompany complied with good clinicalpractices. GVK was given approvalbased on clinical trials meant to showthat these generic drugs wereequivalent to the original brandedversions conducted by GVK between2008 and 2014. All of the drugs beingsuspended, several of which aremanufactured by Mylan Inc. and

Abbott, have brand name equivalents

that can be used instead, so patientswill not have to interrupt theirtreatment. The quality of Indianpharmaceuticals has come under firethis year, with regulators in Europe

and the United States citing problemsranging from data manipulation tosanitation and banning the import ofcertain products from several firms.

8) Tennis great and 17 time GrandSlam winner Roger Federer(Switzerland) made his historic debutin India on 7 December 2014 byparticipating in the InternationalPremier Tennis League (IPTL). He isrepresenting which team of IPTL? – Micromax Indian Aces

Explanation: IPTL is a brainchild ofIndian tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi.Modeled after the IPL, IPTL iscomprised of four teams in itsinaugural edition. These four teamsare from India (Indian Aces), thePhilippines (Manila Mavericks),Singapore (Singapore Slammers) andthe United Arab Emirates (UAERoyals). It features some of thelegends of tennis world including

Federer, Novak Djokovic, SerenaWilliams, Andy Murray and SaniaMirza. In his opening game Federerled his team to defeat SingaporeSlammers.


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December 9, 2014

1) Andhra Pradesh Government on 8December 2014 signed an MoU(Memorandum of Understanding) withwhich country to assist it in developingmaster plan for the new proposedcapital city? – Singapore

Explanation: Andhra Pradesh (AP)has to develop its own capital followingformation of Telangana in June 2014and subsequently Hyderabadbecoming its capital. The AP Govt.

had earlier proposed to develop itsnew capital in the Guntur-Vijayawadaregion. Following this the govt. wantsto take the experience and expertise ofSingapore in developing its capital. APChief Minister N Chandrababu Naiduwants to develop a capital city whichwould be better than the best cityanywhere in the world. The proposedcapital is being touted as a smart and

environmentally sustainable city. Themaster plan for the same is expectedto be prepared within 6 months.

2) US-based news and bloggingplatform Huffington Post launched itsIndian edition on 8 December 2014.

The India edition of Huffington Postthus becomes its 13th editionworldwide. This edition has beenlaunched in association with whichIndian media company? – The Timesof India Group

Explanation: Huffington Post is thefirst major global entrant into a fastgrowing digital news space in India.Owned by AOL, it has 119 million

multi-platform visitors per month in theUS and has over 80,000 bloggers.Huffington Post has editions in the UK,Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Japan,Maghreb, Germany, Brazil, SouthKorea and Greece apart from the US.

3) Which Indian private airline ispresently going through rough weatherand an emergency board meeting washeld on 8 December 2014 to takeimportant decisions pertaining toairline‘s recapitalization and paymentplans for vendors? –SpiceJet

Explanation: SpiceJet is the secondlargest budget airline in India and isoperating its passenger services in allimportant sectors of the country. Itsproblems arose after it continued tocancel flights over the last few days in

many sectors. Company claimed that itis being done to restructure airline‘soperations. However, many analystsclaimed that it is going through sameconditions as the bankrupt Kingfisher

Airlines had before its closure. Aviationregulator Directorate General of Civil


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Aviation (DGCA) on its part asked theairline to prepare a payment plan by15 December 2014. The airlinereportedly owes Rs. 700 crore tocreditors and Rs. 400 crore to othervendors.

4) According to the recently released―Global Wealth Databook 2014‖ bySwiss banking entity Credit Suisse,how much of India‘s wealth is held bycountry‘s 10% rich people? – Around75%

Explanation: This databook has comeout with some staggering data on thewealth gap and disparity between therich and the poor in India. It states thatIndia‘s richest 10% holds 370 timesthe share of wealth that it‘s pooresthold. India‘s richest 10% have beengetting steadily richer since 2000, andnow hold nearly three-quarters of totalwealth. It also states that India thusdominates the world‘s poorest 10%,

while China dominates the globalmiddle class and the United States theworld‘s rich. The world‘s super -rich – the top 1% – is overwhelmingly

American. Indians make up just 0.5%of the world‘s super -rich.

5) Which private sector bank on 8December 2014 announced hiking of

ATM usage charges for its saving

account holders from 1 January 2015? – ICICI Bank

Explanation: ICICI Bank announcedthat from 1 January 2015 the numberof free transactions in a month hasbeen fixed at five using own ATMs,while it has been capped at three for

other banks‘ machines. Thus bank‘scustomers would be able to enjoy onlyfive free transactions, includingfinancial and non-financial, at thebank‘s own ATMs. After exceeding thefree transaction limits, customers willhave to pay Rs. 20 per financialtransaction excluding service tax andRs. 8.50 for every non-financialtransaction. For transactions at non-ICICI Bank ATMs, the number of freefinancial and non-financial transactionshave been reduced to three per monthat six metros of Mumbai, New Delhi,Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and

Hyderabad, after which the customerwill have to pay Rs. 20 for a financialtransaction and Rs. 8.50 per non-financial transaction. In case of usagein non-metro areas, a customer canenjoy five free transactions per monthat non-ICICI Bank ATMs, after whichthe same charges apply.

6) The Delhi government on 8

December 2014 banned all operationsby private cab service Uber withimmediate effect and blacklisted itfrom providing any transport service inthe national capital in the wake of thealleged rape incident in a taxi plyingfor it. Uber is hire-a-cab firm of whichcountry? – The US

Explanation: The Delhi transportdepartment banned all activities

related to providing of any transportservice by www.uber.com withimmediate effect. The department alsoblacklisted the company fromproviding any transport service in theNCT of Delhi in future. It was allegedthat the cab firm misled the commuter


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(rape victim) about the nature of thetaxi service offered by its App. Thealleged rape incident took place on 5December 2014 when the victim, who

works for a finance company inGurgaon, was headed back to herhome in north Delhi.

December 10, 2014

1) Which Indian drug companylaunched in India the first biosimilar

version of the anti-inflammatorymedicine Adalimumab, the world‘s top-selling drug, at a fifth of its U.S. priceon 9 December 2014? –CadilaHealthcare Ltd

Explanation: Adalimumab‘s brandedversion is sold under the name‗Humira‘ by U.S. firm AbbVie Inc, andcosts $1,000 for a vial in the UnitedStates. Cadila Healthcare launchedcheaper copy of this drug at a price of$200 a vial in India and named it‗Exemptia‘. Adalimumab is used fortreating diseases such as rheumatoidarthritis, juvenile idiopathicarthritis, psoriatic arthritis,and ankylosing spondylitis. Biosimilarsare cheaper copies of biotech drugs –

medicines made from proteins andother large molecules. Severalhundred companies around the world

are chasing the biosimilars market,including Indian generic drugmakersDr Reddy‘s Laboratories Ltd, Cipla Ltdand Lupin Ltd.

2) Which ally of the ruling NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA) announcedquitting the alliance on 8 December2014? – Marumalarchi DravidaMunnetra Kazhagam (MDMK)

Explanation: MDMK a regional partyof Tamil Nadu and is and is led by pro-Tamil leader Vaiko. It joined the six-party grand alliance led by BJP inTamil Nadu ahead of Lok Sabhaelections held in May 2014. Thoughthe party contested seven seats out of39, it could not win any. BJP and PMK,another partner of the NDA alliance,managed to win a seat each. MDMK

alleged that the BJP government atthe Centre was acting against Tamilsand betrayed the people of the state.

3) Union Govt. on 9 December 2014put out an official list of six radio cabservices that have the requisite


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licenses to operate in the nationalcapital Delhi. Which are these six radiocab services? – Easy Cab, MegaCab, Meru Cab, Chanson Cab, YoCab and Air Cab

Explanation: These 6 radio cabservices are licensed with the DelhiTransport Department for operatingradio taxis in the National CapitalTerritory (NCT) of Delhi and apart fromthese all other radio cab services havebeen banned. The Delhi governmenton 8 December banned Uber taxiservices, after a 27-year-old MNCexecutive, who used its mobile app tobook a cab on 5 December, was rapedallegedly by the driver.

4) Which Southeast Asian country on8 December 2014 ordered U.S. onlinetaxi booking company Uber to ceaseoperations, on the same day taxi appswere banned in Delhi where an Uberdriver is under arrest for suspected

rape? –Thailand Explanation: Thailand‘s Departmentof Land Transport said drivers pickingup fare-paying passengers via Uber‘sapp were neither registered norinsured to drive commercial vehicles,and that Uber‘s credit-card paymentsystem did not comply withregulations. Taxi booking apps haveirked drivers at traditional taxi firms

across the globe. Consumers areincreasingly using the smartphonesoftware to find people willing to drivethem, rather than booking a cab byphone.

5) Jet Airways joined hands with whichinternational banking entity to launch a

first-of-its-kind airline co-brandedcorporate card for owners of small andmedium enterprises (SMEs) and theiremployees, as announced by Jet on 9December 2014? – AmericanExpress

Explanation: The card is named ‗Jet Airways American Express CorporateCard‘ and will help SMEs and theirexecutives to drive substantial savingson business travel and associatedexpenses. Any SME with an annualturnover of Rs. 5 crore or more canapply for the card, which allows themto make the most of every businessexpense they incur on either travel,hotel stays or dining with businessassociates. It allows SMEs to getaccelerated rewards and discounts onpurchasing tickets from Jet Airwaysand also on Taj Group of hotels.

6) The Competition Commission ofIndia (CCI) during December 2014

approved the Sun Pharma-Ranbaxymerger with some conditions. What isthe main condition applied for this? – The merged entity will have todivest seven drug formulations inwhich its combined market sharegoes up to 95%, resulting in amonopoly

Explanation: Acknowledging that theCCI approval was a step ahead, the

companies said these productsconstitute less than 1% of thecombined entity‘s revenues in India.The CCI had received a notice fromSun Pharmaceuticals and RanbaxyLaboratories for the proposed mergerof Ranbaxy with Sun Pharma on 6May 2014. It then sought opinion from


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the public on this mega-merger whichis the largest merger in India‘scorporate history. This $4-billionagreement is the first merger dealwhere CCI had sought opinion fromthe public. According to the terms

inked between Ranbaxy and SunPharmaceuticals in April 2014, eachRanbaxy shareholder will get 0.8shares of Sun Pharmaceuticals forevery share of Ranbaxy.

December 11, 2014

1) The Lok Sabha on 9 December2014 passed the Payments andSettlement Systems (Amendment) Bill.What is the main objective of this bill?

– To bring India‟s banking paymentsystem in sync with internationalpractices

Explanation: The Bill seeks toimprove the payment and settlementsystems by increasing transparency

and stability of Indian financial market. Amendment to the Payment andSettlement Systems Act, 2007 wasproposed to update the regulations inline with globally accepted standards.The amendment seeks to protectfunds collected from the customers bythe payment system providers and to

extend the Act to cover traderepository and legal entity identifierissuer. A Legal Entity Identifier is aunique ID associated with a singlecorporate entity. It was felt thatnumerous obsolete laws exist in theIndian financial system and they areneeded to be rectified.

2) Which Indian bank has become the

first in India to have developed its owneconomic index on lines of HSBCIndia Services Purchasing Managers‘Index (PMI) and HSBC IndiaManufacturing PMI? – State Bank ofIndia (SBI)

Explanation: SBI‘s economic indexhas been named ‗SBI CompositeIndex‘ and will be released in January2015. It will have both monthly and

yearly indices. The short-term report,to be released in the first week ofevery month, will forecast the state ofthe economy two months down theline. The annual index will make year-on-year forward predictions. This indexhas gone through eight years of back-testing (2007-2014) and during this


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index accurately predicted economicdirection 72% of the time. SBIComposite Index will take into accountthe credit demand and other indicatorsof economic activity like consumerspending, mining activity, interestrates, inflation, exchange rate andother thematic indices and service andmanufacturing activities.

3) World‘s longest train journey wascompleted on 9 December 2014 whena train covering record 13,052 km long

journey reached Spanish capital

Madrid. This train had started its journey from which country? – China

Explanation: The train named‗Yixinou‘ had started its journey fromChinese city of Yiwu. The traincomprised of 40 wagons, carrying1,400 tons of cargo, consisting ofstationary, craft products and productsfor the Christmas market and it willreturn to China filled with luxury

Spanish produce such as cured ham,olive oil and wine. The marathon journey crossed China, Kazakhstan,Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germanyand France, before arriving in Spain.The results of this first historic journeywhich will then be evaluated with theaim of opening a regular two-way raillink between China and Spain, whichcould commence operations in early2015. The 13,052 kilometers between

Madrid and Yiwu is a greater distancethan that between the North and SouthPole, although the distance was notcovered using the same crew, nor thesame engine.

4) 3-day Great Online ShoppingFestival (GOSF) kicked off on 10

December 2014 that features morethan 400 online retailers andcompanies offering deals anddiscounts to fast-growing onlineshopping fraternity in India. Who isorganising GOSF? – Google

Explanation: GOSF is in its thirdedition and was initially launched in2012 by Google to boost the adoptionof online shopping in India. GOSF2014 features numerous exclusivelaunches including Google‘s Nexus 6smartphone. Google India haspartnered Aditya Birla Money MyUniverse as a preferred partner for thisyear‘s event. Last year, GOSF sawtremendous response from consumersin India and the company claimed itattracted 2 million visitors. Thecompany had also claimed that itsGOSF 2013 partners (over 200 e-commerce websites) saw daily sales

jumping 3 to 4 times.

5) Who was confirmed as the next US Ambassador to India by the USSenate on 9 December 2014 andwould thus become the first Indian-

American to hold this post? – RichardRahul Verma

Explanation: Richard Rahul Vermahas served as assistant secretary ofstate for legislative affairs at the StateDepartment in the Obama

administration from 2009 to 2011. Heis currently a senior counsellor atSteptoe & Johnson law firm and the

Albright Stonebridge Group, abusiness advisory company, led byformer US Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright. He had earlierplayed an important role in the


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Congressional passage of CivilNuclear Deal. The very fact thatVerma was confirmed by a voice votein a bitterly divided Senate with morethan fifty ambassadorial nominationspending, signify the bi-partisan supportto India-US relationship.

6) Which country was rated as theMost Dangerous Country in the Worldin the Country Threat Index (CTI)released on 9 December 2014 byIntelCenter, a Washington-basedcompany working for intelligence

agencies? – Iraq

Explanation: The index wereprepared after examining the volumeof terrorist and rebel alerts, messagingtraffic, videos, photos, incidents andthe number of killed and injured in acountry over the past 30 days. Theother countries in the top 10 areNigeria (second), Somalia (third)followed by Afghanistan (fourth),Yemen (fifth), Syria (sixth), Libya(seventh), Pakistan (eighth), Egypt(ninth) and Kenya (tenth). There are atotal of 45 countries with a CTI greaterthan zero.

December 12, 2014

1) The United Nations Organisation(UNO) on 11 December 2014 declaredwhich day as World Yoga Day, forwhich the Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had urged the worldcommunity three months ago? – 21June

Explanation: The announcement todeclare 21 June as World Yoga Day isbeing seen as a huge diplomatic winfor India. Narendra Modi had askedthe UN members to celebrate India‘sYoga as World Yoga Day during hisaddress to the UN General Assemblyduring September 2014. Yoga is the5,000-year-old Indian physical, mentaland spiritual practice that aims totransform body and mind.

2) Union Govt. on 10 December 2014decided to repeal Section 309 from theIndian Penal Code (IPC) claimingsupport of 18 states and 4 UnionTerritories. This Section is associatedwith which subject? – Attempt to


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commit suicide being declared acrime

Explanation: Section 309 of IPCmakes the act punishable with jail term

of up to one year and fine. The LawCommission in its 210th report on―Humanization and Decriminalisationof Attempt to Suicide‖ hadrecommended that Section 309 of IPCneeds to be effaced from the statutebook. The Commission had saidSection 309 needs to be deletedbecause the provision is inhuman,irrespective of whether it isconstitutional or unconstitutional. On10 December, Union Govt. claimedthat 18 states and 4 union territoryadministrations have supported thatSection 309 of the IPC may bedeleted.

3) According to the announcementmade by Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley on 10 December 2014, the

Centre has proposed to release howmuch money to the States towardsCentral Sales Tax (CST)compensation, as part of consensusbuilding for GST rollout? – Rs. 11,000crore

Explanation: CST compensation isone sticky issue that has been holdingup agreement on introduction of theGoods and Services Tax (GST)

regime to replace all indirect taxes.Clearance of CST compensationarrears has been a bone of contentionbetween the Centre and States, as theStates still wait for Rs 13,000 crorearrears pending till 2010. CST, a taximposed on the inter-state movementof goods, was reduced from 4% to 3%

in 2007-08 and further to 2% in 2008-09 after the introduction of Value-

Added Tax (VAT). The Centre hadthen promised the states that it wouldbear losses due to reduction of CST.The Centre collects CST anddistributes it among states. Rs.11,000crore is one-third of the total CSTcompensation proposed to be paid tothe States.

4) Mukesh Ambani led-RelianceIndustries Limited (RIL) announcedselling 49% stake in its iconic textile

brand ‗Vimal‘ to which Chinese textilecompany? –Shandong Ruyi Science& Technology Group

Explanation: Shandong Ruyi Science& Technology Group is $3 billionChinese textile major and it ispurchasing 49% stake in ‗Vimal‘ for anundisclosed amount. It has its ownmajor worldwide brands such as HarrisTweed and Taylor & Lodge. Selling

this stake would be nostalgic for RILas it was the first business underReliance group. Reliance founder lateDhirubhai Ambani had established the‗Vimal‘ manufacturing plant at Narodain Ahmedabad in 1966. The brand‗Vimal‘ was named after his elderbrother Ramaniklal‘s son. Vimalstarted as a saree brand and laterfocused on suiting fabrics in the early-nineties. But it got swamped by

competition such as Raymond,Siyaram, S Kumar‘s, Digjam andOCM. These players notched up betterbrand recall with more ad spending.The stake sale is being done as thefocus of RIL shifted to its otherbusinesses with much higher margins


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and the original business with whichthe group had started, contributed lessthan 1% to its revenues. The ‗Vimal‘brand now accounts just $300-350million of RIL‘s total revenues ofaround $65 billion.

5) Who was named Time Magazine‘sPerson of the Year for 2014 asannounced by magazine‘s managingeditor Nancy Gibbs on 10 December2014? – Ebola Fighters

Explanation: While announcing thisdecision, Time said ―These men andwomen did the hard and dangerouswork in treating patients and protectingthe rest of us.‖ The magazineapplauded the fighters fordemonstrating an ―exceptionally greatamount of courage and kindness andbravery.‖ Other finalists this yearincluded Russian President VladimirPutin, singer Taylor Swift, NFLcommissioner Roger Goodell, Apple

CEO Tim Cook and President of theKurdistan Region in Iraq MassoudBarzani. The magazine alsoconsidered larger news stories,including the protestors in Ferguson,Missouri, following the killing ofunarmed teenager Michael Brown.Chosen by the magazine‘s editorseach year, Time‘s Person of the Yearis an individual or group of individualswho have had the greatest impact on

news that year.

6) The Delhi High Court in an interimorder on 11 December 2014 bannedwhich Chinese mobile company fromimporting and selling its mobile phones

in India due to charges of patentinfringement? – Xiaomi

Explanation: The High Court grantedan ex parte injunction order against

Xiaomi for allegedly infringing onEricsson‘s Standard Essential Patents(SEPs). Flipkart, online e-commercesite, was also restrained from sellingXiaomi through its website. The exparte injunction againstXiaomi, reported by SpicyIP, stops theChinese manufacturer from ―selling,advertising, manufacturing orimporting devices‖ that infringe uponEricsson‘s patents. Ericsson has beenfighting manufacturers to protect itsSEPs in the Indian legalsystem, including alawsuit against Micromax last year.

7) What history was created by theJammu & Kashmir (J&K) cricket teamin Ranji Trophy on 10 December2014? – It defeated 40 time Ranji

Trophy champion Mumbai at theirhome

Explanation: J&K team, led byParveez Rasool, defeated Mumbai intheir Group A Ranji Trophy cricketopener at the Wankhede Stadium inMumbai by successfully chasing thetarget of 237 runs. They won thematch before lunch with more than asession to spare. This was the first

clash between the two teams in 80years of Ranji Trophy.

8) Virat Kohli, who made a brilliant 115on 11 December 2014 against

Australia in the first Test being playedat Adelaide, achieved which feat with


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this Test century? –He became thefourth Indian to smash a hundred inhis first Test as captain

Explanation: Virat Kohli is leading

India for the first time in a Test matchin the absence of Mahendra SinghKohli. He scored a fighting century onthe third day of the Test match against

Australia. He thus became the fourthIndian to smash a hundred in his firstTest as captain after Vijay Hazare(164 not vs England at Delhi in 1951-52), Sunil Gavaskar (116 vs NewZealand at Auckland in 1975-76) andDilip Vengsarkar (102 in the secondinnings vs West Indies at Delhi in1987-88).

December 13, 2014

1) Iconic Hindi film ‗Dilwale DulhaniaLe Jayenge‘ completed its 1,000 weekat a cinema hall in South Mumbai on12 December 2014. Which cinema hallis this, which also recorded its name inhistory books with this feat? – MarathaMandir

Explanation: Yash Chopr a‘s ‗DilwaleDulhania Le Jayenge‘, popularlyknown as DDLJ, was released atMaratha Mandir on 20 October 1995.The film, featuring Shahrukh Khan andKajol in lead roles, has been runninguninterrupted at this single-theatrecinema hall at its usual playing timeslot of 11:30 am for the last 19 years.DDLJ is by far the longest running film

in Indian cinema. Located justopposite the Mumbai Central railwaystation, offering it an advantageouslocation, Maratha Mandir is one of thefew single screen theatres that havesurvived the onslaught of themultiplexes. It first caught the limelightwhen it ran ‗Mughal-e-Azam‘ for eightyears at a stretch. However, withDDLJ it caught international attention.

2) What was the consumer price orretail inflation in November 2014 asannounced by the govt. on 12December 2014? – 4.38%

Explanation: 4.38% consumerinflation recorded during November2014 is a record low and wassubstantially lower than October‘s

5.52%. A cooling off in food pricesaccompanied by a sharp drop in globalcrude oil prices and high base effectcontributed to the fall in inflation. Buton the other hand the industrial outputin October 2014 fell sharply by 4.2%.November‘s inflation data and slowingof factory output in October will be a


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shot in the arm for those who want theRBI to cut rates quickly to stimulategrowth. Despite the improvement ininflation, the data suggests a lack ofmomentum in India‘s recovery from itsweakest phase of economic growthsince the 1980s.

3) The Lok Sabha on 12 December2014 passed the Coal Mines (SpecialProvisions) Bill. What is the objectiveof this Bill? – It provides for freshauction of 204 coal blocks de-allocated by the Supreme Court in

September 2014 Explanation: The Coal Mines (SpecialProvisions) Bill also replaces theOrdinance promulgated by the UnionGovt. in October 2014 to put in toacquire the land of those 214 coalblocks mines the allocations of whichthe Supreme Court had quashed. TheBill provides for allocation of coalmines and vesting of the right, title and

interest in and over the land and mineinfrastructure, together with miningleases, to successful bidders andallottees through a transparent biddingprocess. It is expected to ensurecontinuity in coal mining operationsand production of coal. The UnionGovt. also allayed the apprehensionsof some parties that the legislationwould lead to privatisation of thesector.

4) The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) on 12 December 2014 seniorTrinamool Congress leader and WestBengal Minister Madan Mitra in themulti-crore Saradha scam case. The

arrest comes as a majorembarrassment to the West Bengal‘sruling party which had already suffereda battering of its image on account ofseveral of its leaders involved invarious Ponzi scams. Madan Mitra isholding which portfolio in West BengalGovt.? – Transport Minister

Explanation: CBI stated that MadamMitra was arrested on prima facieevidence of criminal conspiracy,cheating and misappropriation as wellas deriving undue financial benefitsfrom the Saradha Scam. Mitra wasearlier summoned by the agency on21 November 2014. However, sincehe was admitted to a city hospital hesought exemption from appearingbefore the CBI. His arrest comes threeweeks after the CBI arrestedTrinamool Rajya Sabha MP SrinjoyBose in the Saradha scam.

5) Which Crimean leader‘s presence

on the occasion of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin‘s state to India createdbuzz with the Ukrainian President andsome Western leaders flaying hispresence? – Sergey Aksyonov

Explanation: Sergey Aksyonov,previously an obscure nationalistpolitician, was elected leader ofCrimea in a closed session of theregional parliament after Russian

forces in February 2014 took control ofthe Crimean peninsula in a bloodlessoperation. He masterminded aquickfire referendum to join Russiathat was recognised by Moscow. Kievand the West felt that this referendumwas rigged. Aksyonov‘s presence inIndia created a flutter in diplomatic


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circles with the Ukrainian PresidentPetro Poroshenko lashing out at Indiaon 12 December 2014 a day after hewas seen in India. Critics argued thathis visit enjoyed Russia‘s fulldiplomatic backing. It is worthmentioning that India does not backWestern sanctions against Russia.

6) What is the objective of the Authorisation for Use of Military Force(AUMF) bill, which was passed by akey US Congressional committee on11 December 2014? –To authorise

the use of military force against thedreaded Islamist State (IS) militantgroup

Explanation: The Authorisation forUse of Military Force (AUMF) billallows the President to use militaryforce against ISIS for up to threeyears. AUMF would, however, requirea report on the comprehensivestrategy for this campaign after 60

days. The US is contemplating usingforce against IS that has seizedswathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

7) What is the name of the politicalparty founded by Telugu actor PawanKalyan which was recently recognizedby the Election Commission of Indiapaving the way for its foray intoelectoral politics? – Janasena Party

Explanation: Janasena Party wasannounced by Pawan Kalyan earlier

this year. Pawan Kalyan, youngerbrother of former Union Minister andactor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, is atop-ranking hero in the Telugu filmindustry. He had campaignedextensively in support of the TDP-BJPcombine in undivided Andhra Pradeshfor the general elections earlier thisyear. His campaign is believed to beone of the key factors in the successof the TDP-BJP combine in theelections.

8) ―Born Ag ain on the Mountain ―, the

book released by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on 12 December 2014,is a book on the life struggle of whichpersonality? –Arunima Sinha, firstfemale amputee to climb Mt. Everest

Explanation: Arunima Sinha is thefirst female amputee and first Indianwoman amputee to climb MountEverest. The book describes herstruggle to become mountaineer after

starting her career as a volleyballplayer. She was a national levelvolleyball player who was pushed outof a running train by thieves on 11

April 2011 while resisting them. One ofher legs had to be amputated belowthe knee as a result. But this neverdeterred her. Two years later, sheretrained as a mountaineer andbecame the first female amputee toscale Mount Everest on 21 May 2013.


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December 14-15, 2014

1) Which country won the35th Champions Trophy Hockey(Men‘s) by winning the final held on 14December 2014? – Germany

Explanation: Germany defeatedPakistan in the final by 2-0 to win theirtenth Champions Trophy title. Thisedition of Champions Trophy was heldat Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar(Odisha) and eight teams took part init. Australia has won Men‘s ChampionsTrophy for the highest 13 timesfollowed by Germany (10 times).Champions Trophy is one of the mostprestigious tournaments of men‘s

hockey as all the top teams take partin it. It was founded by Pakistan‘s AirMarshal Nur Khan in 1978.

2) What was India‘s position in35th Champions Trophy Hockey

(Men‘s) that concluded on 14December 2014? – Fourth

Explanation: Australia defeated Indiaby 2-1 in the classification match heldfor third and fourth position. India thusonce again finished at fourth position,the same position it achieved in 2012Champions Trophy held in Melbourne(Australia). India‘s best performance inChampions Trophy is third position it

got in the 4th

edition held at Amstelveen (Netherlands) in 1982.The Netherlands finished at adisappointing fifth place followed by

Argentina (sixth), England (seventh)and Belgium (eighth and last place).

3) Negotiators from over 190countries, including India, on 14December 2014 adopted a format fornational pledges to cut global carbonemissions at the United NationsClimate Change Conference (COP20)held at Lima (Peru). This ended adeadlock between rich and poorcountries to agree on a new ambitiousand binding deal to be signed in Parisin 2015. The proposed climate controldeal is to come into effect from whichyear? – 2020

Explanation: The deal, dubbed theLima Call for Climate Action, paves theway for what is envisioned as thehistoric agreement in environmentalhistory. The draft approved in the dealmentioned only that all pledges wouldbe reviewed a month ahead of


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December 2015 Paris summit toassess their combined effect onclimate change. Consistent with Indiaand other developing countries push, aseparate paragraph was addedregarding differentiation – the principleof categorising countries based ontheir ability to pay for climate actionmeasures. The last portion was lifteddirectly from the US-China climateagreement announced in Novemberthis year.

4) Which leading financial luminary of

the country recently came to news forapparently rejecting Prime MinisterNarendra Modi‘s highly ambitious‗Make in India‘ and suggesting ‗Makefor India‘ strategy instead? – Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor

Explanation: Raghuram Rajan gavestress on ‗Make for India‘ instead of‗Make in India‘ on the occasion of theBharat Ram Memorial Seminar on

‗India‘s Growth Trajectory in aFractured World Economy:Opportunities and Challenges‘,organised by FICCI in Delhi on 12December 2014. He said that Indiashould focus on domestic demand andcreate a unified market with a view toreducing transaction costs. Hismessage was clear – what worked forChina may not necessarily work forIndia too. He elaborated that when

India pushes manufacturing exports, itwill have to compete with China, andan export-led growth will not be aseasy as it was for the East-Asianeconomies. We warned that thestrategy of import substitution hasbeen tried and it has not worked

because it ended up reducingdomestic competition, makingproducers inefficient, and increasingcosts for consumers.

5) The Supreme Court-backed SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) on blackmoney lead by Justice M.B. Shahrecently made what importantrecommendation pertaining to highvalue purchases? – Quoting ofpermanent account number (PAN)in addition to submitting an identityproof such as Aadhaar should me

made compulsory for purchasesover Rs. 1 lakh

Explanation: The SIT recommendedthat quoting of PAN and Aadhaarshould be made mandatory forpurchases over Rs. 1 lakh and shouldcover purchases made by cash as wellas cheque. It further recommendedthat a central ―Know Your Customer‖(KYC) database be set up which

captures details of PAN, passportnumber or driving licence number,which are often quoted fortransactions. Other important SITrecommendation is that the amount ofcash in possession should be cappedat Rs 10 or 15 lakh and any amountbeyond the threshold should beconfiscated.

6) Russia has proposed to establish amanufacturing facility in India toproduce as well as export which twohelicopters during President VladimirPutin‘s state visit to India? – Mi-17and KA-226


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Explanation: Mi-17 is a medium lifthelicopter (MLH) while KA-226 is lightutility helicopter (LUH). The proposedmanufacturing facility, to be put up incollaboration with an Indian partner,will also aim at exporting helicopters toother countries. The KA-226 hadcompeted in the Indian military‘s globalLUH tender before the Indian DefenceMinistry cancelled the process anddecided to source the helicoptersthrough the ‗Make in India‘ project.India‘s ambitious ‗Make in India‘campaign is expected to gainmomentum with Russian decision to

establish helicopter manufacturing unitin India.

7) The Union Home Ministry recentlyproposed to add a new category to thelist of notified disasters eligible forassistance from national and statedisaster relief funds. Which naturaldisaster is this? – Lightning

Explanation: The Union HomeMinistry has moved a proposal to the14th Finance Commission, suggestinginclusion of lightning in the list ofnotified disasters eligible forassistance from national and statedisaster relief funds. India accounts foran average 400 deaths due tolightening every year. India hasunusually high death toll due tolightning every year, mostly during

monsoon season. On an average,three people die in Britain each yeardue to lightning strikes, while in theUS, an average 30 people diefollowing these strikes.

8) What is the name of the warshipmanufactured in India that would soonbecome the first to be exported by thecountry? – Coast Guard ShipBarracuda (CGS Barracuda)

Explanation: CGS Barracuda hasbeen designed and built by theKolkata-based Garden ReachShipbuilders. It is currently on its wayto be exported to Mauritius for Rs. 350crore. It would thus become the firstwarship to be exported by India. Theoff-shore patrol vessel will be used topolice Mauritian waters, spread over1.9 million square km, against piracy,smuggling, illegal fishing and drugtrafficking. It will also provide logisticalsupport, including search and rescueoperations. Unlike in the past, India nolonger needs to look to foreignmanufacturers for warships. All itsboats are now being manufactured inIndian shipyards.

9) What is the name of the Indian-origin woman who is poised to becomethe first woman to head a major Britishbank, the Santander UK? – ShritiVadera

Explanation: Shriti Vadera Vaderawas a Labour minister in the CabinetOffice, Business Department andInternational Development Departmentfrom 2007 to 2009 and served in the

House of Lords. She will join the boardof Santander UK as joint deputychairman in January 2014. She willalso join a very exclusive club of justthree FTSE 100 firms, listed on theLondon Stock Exchange with thehighest market capitalisation, withwomen as their chair.


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10) Who was chosen as the newDirector of the Intelligence Bureau (IB)on 13 December 2014? – DineshwarSharma

Explanation: Dineshwar Sharma ispresently Special Director in theIntelligence Bureau. He will take

charge on 1 January 2014 succeedingSyed Asif Ibrahim. He is a 1979 batchIPS officer from Kerala cadre and willhave two-year tenure. Sharma hasserved at various desks in IB since hewas posted in the organisation in 1991which includes Kashmir, Northeastbesides stints in Lucknow.

December 16, 2014

1) What was the name of the loneheavily-armed man of Iranian-originwho held 17 people hostage at a caféin Sydney for around17 hours on 15December 2014 before being killed inthe police attack? – Man Haron Monis

Explanation: Man Haron Monis waskilled along with 2 hostages in thishostage drama as the police attackedthe café in the early hours of 16December. Monis had held 17 peoplehostage in the Lindt Chocolate Cafe inSydney‘s commercial district at around9:45 am on 15 December. He hadtried to link himself with the ISIS withtwo hostages holding a black flag with

Arabic script similar to the ISIS. 11hostages had escaped the café beforethe police raided it at 2:10 am on 16

December. Monis, who arrived in Australia as a refugee in 1996,notoriously sent letters to the familiesof Australian soldiers who lost theirlives in Afghanistan, accusing them ofbeing murderers. He was a self-styledMuslim cleric and was described as anisolated figure, who was acting alone.Two Indian nationals, Vishwakant

Ankit Reddy and Pushpendu Ghosh,were among the hostages involved

when Monis began his siege. Howeverboth escape unhurt in this hostagedrama.

2) Which company was ranked at thetop place in the Fortune 500 list ofIndian companies for 2014 that wasreleased on 15 December 2014? – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)

Explanation: The Fortune 500 listranks companies according to theirrevenues. Indian Oil Corp (IOC)topped this list with an annual revenueof Rs 5,00,973 crore, while Mukesh

Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd‘s(RIL) full-year revenue is Rs 4,44,021crore. Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) was


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placed at the third spot with a revenueof Rs 2,67,718 crore. HindustanPetroleum‘s (HPCL) Rs 2,36,797 crorerevenue earned the fourth place forthe company. Others in the top 10 listinclude Tata Motors (5th in the ranking,with a revenue of Rs 2,36,502 crore.State Bank of India (Rs 2,26,944crore), ONGC (Rs 1,82,084 crore),Tata Steel (Rs 1,49,663 crore), EssarOil (Rs 99,473 crore) and HindalcoIndustries (Rs 89,175 crore). Thisyear‘s list, compiled by global businessmagazine Fortune‘s Indian edition,said there has been a 9.5% annual

growth in total revenues, while interms of profit it is 4.5%.

3) Wholesale price inflation (WPI) inIndia hit the zero level in November2014 as stated in data released by theUnion Govt. on 15 December 2014.This was mainly on account of adecline in prices of food, fuel andmanufactured items. When WPI was

lower than this level? – July 2009

Explanation: This is probably the firsttime when WPI inflation has hit theexact zero level. In July 2009, theWPI-based inflation was (-) 0.3%(negative 0.3%). The inflation rate thusrecorded during November 2014 wasthe lowest in about five-and-a-halfyears. The WPI-based inflation was at1.77% in October 2014 and 7.52% in

November 2013.

4) Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group on15 December 2014 announced sellingits multiplex business to South Indiabased Carnival Group. What is the

name of cinema chains owned byReliance Group‘s RelianceMediaWorks which would be soldunder this deal? – BIG Cinemas

Explanation: The deal will makeCarnival the third largest multiplexoperator with nationwide presence andover 300 screens. The transaction willreduce Reliance Capital‘s overall debtby Rs. 700 crore and is part ofReliance Capital‘s strategy to exitminority investments. Reliance Capitalhad recently announced its plans tofocus on core business and is in theprocess of encashing its minorityinvestments. Reliance Capital is theparent firm of Reliance MediaWorks,which operates one of the largestcinema chains, under the brand ‗BIGCinemas‘ with over 250 screens pan-India.

5) Which Indian politician was recentlyappointed as a member of United

Nations Environment Programme‘s(UNEP‘s) advisory board? – JairamRamesh

Explanation: Ramesh recentlyaccepted the offer to serve as amember of the International AdvisoryBoard (IAB) which gives strategicpolicy advice to the Executive Directorof United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP) on the

programmatic direction of InternationalEnvironmental Technology Centre(IETC). The IETC, based in Osaka,Japan, was established with themandate of providing support todeveloping countries in transition withenvironmentally-sound technologies.In the short and medium term, IETC is


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focusing on support for wastemanagement.

6) 22-year old Rolene Strauss wasadjudged the Miss World 2014 at theMiss World beauty pageant held inLondon on 14 December 2014. RoleneStrauss is from which country? – South Africa

Explanation: Hungary‘s Edina Kulcsŕrcame second and Elizabeth Safrit,representing the United States, camethird. This year‘s Miss World beautypageant was the 64th edition of MissWorld but it was marred by tragedyafter a Honduran beauty queen wasfound shot dead in a suspected crimeof passion days before she was due totake part.

7) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe‘s coalition cruised to a big win inthe parliamentary elections held in the

country on 14 December 2014. Thewin ensured that he will stick toreflationary economic policies and amuscular security stance. What is thename of Abe‘s party which is leading the ruling coalition in Japan? –LiberalDemocratic Party (LDP)

Explanation: Liberal Democratic Partyis leading Japan with its junior partnerthe Komeito party. The coalition was

assured more than the 317 seats inthe 475-member lower house requiredto maintain a two-thirds majority thatsmoothes parliamentary business.However, the final turnout of 52.4%was below 59.3% in a 2012 poll thatreturned Abe to power for a raresecond term on pledges to reboot an

economy plagued by deflation. Abehad called for this snap poll inNovember 2014.

8) Which northeastern state signedagreement with a Russian powercompany for collaborating inhydropower projects in the state on thesidelines of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin‘s visit to India duringDecember 2014? – ArunachalPradesh

Explanation: Arunachal PradeshGovt. signed agreement withRusHydro International, a companypartly owned by the Russiangovernment. This was done mainly toexplore collaboration prospects increating manpower for the severalhydro-electric projects coming up inthe state. Arunachal also wants theRussian company to design hydro-electric projects in the state. RusHydroInternational is one of Russia‘s largest

power generating companies with 38.2GW installed electricity generationcapacity distributed over 70 renewableenergy source facilities across thecountry. The company had earlierdesigned Tehri dam, said to be one ofthe safest dams

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