Current affairs for banking exam

1. In 3rd Quarterly Monetary policy review RBI unexpectedly raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis
points on 28 January.
a. Bank Rate 9 % (Increased 0.25%)
b. Cash Reserve Ratio 4 % (Unchanged)
c. Statutory Liquidity Ratio 23 % (Unchanged)
d. Repo Rate 8 % (Increased 0.25%)
e. Reverse Repo Rate 7 % (Increased 0.25%)
f. Marginal Standing Rate 9 % (Increased 0.25%)
2. Michael Rogers has been nominated as the Director of National Security Agency by the US president
Barack Obama.
3. Gopal Vittal has been designed as MD& CEO of India and South Asia including Srilanka and
Bangladesh announced by the Bharti Enterprises.
4. The Union Government appointed IPS Aruna Bahuguna as chief of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National
Police Academy, Hyderbad. She is the first woman on this post.
5. The US Senate confirmed the name of Janet Yellen as the first woman to lead the US Federal
Reserve.
6. R. Chandrashekhar was appointed as President of National Association of Software and Service
Companies (NASSCOM). Chandrasekhar succeeded Som Mittal.
7. B. G. Srinivas and U.B. Pravin Rao appointed as presidents of the Infosys.
8. Anand Kumar, a mathematician and founder of Super30 classes was conferred with the 2014
Ramanujan Mathematics Award.
9. At the 59th Idea Filmfare Awards, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag grabbed seven awards. Best Actor award was
given to Farhaan Akhtar for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Deepika Padukone was Best Actress for Ramleela.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag won Best Film award, and itsdirector Omprakash Mehra won Best Director award.
10. Ela Gandhi was honoured with Amadelkufa in South Africa on 26 January 2014 for her lifetime
contribution to the freedom struggle of South Africa.
11. Cyrus Mistry won the DSC prize 2014 for South Asian literature for his book Chronicles of a Corpse
Bearer on 18 January 2014.
12. President of India presented the Sunil Gangopadhyay Memorial Award of 2012 and 2013 to two
eminent Bengali poets, namely Nirendranath Chakraborty and Sankha Ghosh, respectively.
13. Andhra Pradesh bagged the Oil and Gas Conservation Award for the best performance among the
big States. The award is given by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association.
14. The Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was organised in New Delhi from 7 to 9 January 2014. The theme for the
year was Engaging Diaspora: Connecting Across Generations.
15. Anand Sinha, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India retired.
16. MS Dhir an MLA of Aam Aadmi Party has been elected as the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly.
17. The Union Government approved a proposal for sending a Presidential reference to Supreme Court
for conducting a probe in judge AK Ganguly case.
18. The King and Queen of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema Wangchuck
respectively will pay an official Visit to India from 6-10 January 2014.
19. Vijay Bahuguna, the Chief Minister of Uttrakhand submitted his resignation to the Governor.
20. Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned.
21. The former Supreme Court Judge, Justice A K Ganguly resigned as the Chairman of the West Bengal
Human Rights Commission.
22. Raymond Weil, the founder of the watch brand of his name died at the age of 87 on 27 January
2014.
23. Karl Slym, the managing director of Tata Motors died on 26 January 2014 after falling from a hotel
building in Bangkok.
24. Sudhir Mahato, former Deputy Chief Minister of Jharkhand and leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
died.
25. Famous Bengali actress Suchitra Sen died in Kolkota.
26. Israels former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died.
27. Expert Committee constituted by Information and Broadcasting Ministry to review the institutional
framework of Prasar Bharti has submitted its report. The committee was headed by Sam Pitroda.
28. A panel of Reserve Bank of India led by Nachiket Mor has suggested to set-up specialized banks to
cater to the low income households. These banks will ensure that every citizen have a bank account by
2016. It has limited the maximum balance for an individual customer to 50000 rupees.
29. Dhruva-3 was inaugurated by Avinash Chander, DG DRDO in Hyderabad. Dhruva-3 an indigenous
High Performance Computing System was designed to solve critical Defence Research and
Development applications by DRDO.
30. India test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile with a range of 4000 kilometers
from Wheeler Island in Dhamra of Odisha Coast.
31. India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable surface to surface Prithvi II
missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range at Chandipur near Balasore.
32. Tejas, Indias Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) set a new record on 27 December 2013 of flying 500
sorties in 2013. This is the highest sorties achieved in a calendar year so far.
33. Gorakhpur railway stations platform number one of Uttar Pradesh has entered into the Limca Book
of Records as longest rail platform in the world with the length of 1355.40 meters.
34. WHO reported that Pakistan is the only polio-endemic country in the world. Pakistan had 83 polio
cases in 2013.
35. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be the chief guest of 65th Republic Day parade at Rajpath
in Delhi.
36. Army Chief General Bikram Singh took over as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC).
He succeeds IAF chief N.A.K. Browne.
37. U.K.-based Tesco Plc became the first global retailer to get approval from the Foreign Investment
Promotion Board (FIPB) to enter the domestic multi-brand retail sector. Tescos plans to initially invest
$110 million in the multi-brand retail foray,including for the acquisition of 50 per cent stake in Tata
group firm Trent Hypermarket Ltd.
38. The Reserve Bank of India extended the time for issuance of inflation-indexed bonds to March 31,
2014, from the earlier date of December 31, 2013. The RBI in consultation with government earlier this
month launched Inflation Indexed National Saving Securities-Cumulative (IINSS-C), which was open for
subscription between December 23 and 31. On review, now it has been decided to extend the issuance
of Inflation Indexed National Saving Securities-Cumulative till March 31, 2014. The issuance can be
closed earlier than March 31, 2014, with a prior notice, the RBI said in a release.
39. India will sign a labour cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia.
40. Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2013, got President Pranab Mukherjees assent.
41. The Finance Ministry has approved the proposals of the Transport Ministry under the Nirbhaya fund
of Rs. 1,000 crore. The proposal is to have CCTVs to record the events, while autorickshaws must
compulsorily fit GSP devices.
42. Latvia officially adopted the euro on 1st January 2014 and became 18th member of eurozone.
43. An inter-State committee of Secretaries chaired by Union Food Secretary Sudhir Kumar has
recommended that the Central government may share with the States 50 per cent of the cost of
distribution of the foodgrains meant for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) under the
recently passed National Food Security Act (NFSA).
44. Manmohan Singh dedicated a liquefied natural gas terminal in Kochi to the nation.
45. Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5), powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine,
effortlessly put the 1,982-kg GSAT-14 communication satellite into a perfect orbit after 17 minutes of
flight. The cryogenic engine is built by ISRO.
46. The Awami League led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to form the new government
Bangladesh after winning an absolute majority inthe January 5 parliamentary elections boycotted by the
Opposition.
47. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was injured in a fall while cross-country skiing in Switzerland over
the winter holidays.
48. Nachiket Mor committee appointed by RBI recommended a Universal Electronic Bank Account
(UEBA) for every Indian resident above 18 years of age by January 1, 2016.
49. Construction of the 2,800-MWe nuclear power project at Gorakhpur in Haryana will begin soon. The
project will comprise two reactors of 700 MWe each.
50. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a helpline number (011-27357169) to deal with
corruption and promised action against those involved in corrupt practices within 24 hours of a sting
operation conducted by citizens with help from the advisors of the Anti-Corruption Branch.
51. The Supreme Court suggested to the Centre to cancel coal blocks that have not received
environmental clearance.
52. The Reserve Bank of India allowed Non-Banking Finance Companies to lend up to 75 per cent of the
Loan-To-Value ratio of gold jewellery, up from 60 per cent, with immediate effect.
53. The Supreme Court warned the Sahara Group to reveal the source of the Rs.22,885 crore with which
it claimed it had refunded its investors, or be ready to face inquiry by CBI and Registrar of Companies.
54. Germany said it had accepted a United Nations (U.N.) request to destroy remnants of Syrias
chemical weapons on its own soil as part of a bid to eliminate the arsenal by June 30.
55. MCX-SX said that it got the approval of the market regulator SEBI to start trading in interest rate
futures.
56. SEBI made it compulsory for all investments into Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) funds to be
made through banking channels, and not in cash.
57. The Union Environment Ministry rejected the forest clearance for Vedantas bauxite mining project
in Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha and renewed the stand-alone environmental clearance for Poscos eight
million tonnes per annum steel plant.
58. Former Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade reached New Delhi night after the U.S. gave her
full diplomatic immunity.
59. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry notified a new natural gas pricing guidelines under the
Rangarajan Committee formula that will lead to almost doubling of prices for all domestically-produced
gas, including conventional, shale, coal bed methane (CBM), from the present price of $4.2 mbtu
starting April.
60. India has dismissed a report by an influential U.S. think tank that placed it 23rd out of 25 countries in
terms of securing its nuclear stockpile from non-state actors.
61. On 13th January, it completes three years without reporting any case of polio. It is only the second
time in the history that a disease is being eliminated in India through immunisation after small pox in
May 1980.
62. Iran said the landmark agreement the Islamic republic clinched with world powers on its nuclear
programme would take effect from January 20.
63. The Arvind Kejriwal-ruled Delhi government has decided to withdraw Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
in multibrand retail.
64. Sri Lanka released 52 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu at the same time as India let go an equal
number of Sri Lankan fishermen held in Chennai.
65. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Girija Vyas launched the Housing Start Up
Index (HSUI) logo, web site and monitoring tool called Integrated Urban Poverty Monitoring System for
the Rajiv Awas Yojana. The HSUI is a joint initiative of the Ministrys National Building Organisation and
RBI. The HSUI is an index that tracks the number of houses being constructed every year across the
country.
66. Showcasing Indias rich film heritage over the past 100 years, the National Museum of India Cinema
(NMIC) will open in Mumbai.
67. The Congress decided that Rahul Gandhi would only lead the party in the general election after party
president Sonia Gandhi rejected suggestions that he be named the prime ministerial candidate.
68. A regular budget session of Parliament will be held only after the general election in April/May.
Parliament, whose winter session was adjourned sine die on December 18, will resume its proceedings
on February 5 to obtain a Vote on Account.
69. The service tax amnesty scheme has yielded around Rs.7,700 crore. The Voluntary Compliance
Encouragement Scheme (VCES), which was launched on May 10, 2013, to enable service taxdefaulters to
pay dues without penalty or late payment charges, closed on December 31.
70. The government has notified the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act, 2011 that
allows swapping of organs and widens the donor pool by including grandparents and grandchildren in
the list.
71. India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL) has signed an agreement with the Export-Import
Bank of Korea (K-EXIM) for infrastructure finance.
72. The Reserve Bank of India will pump Rs.10,000 crore into the market by buying government
securities to ease the liquidity situation.
73. The Union Home Ministry has advised the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to not give
exploration and production contracts for oil and gas blocks to Chinese companies for security reasons.
74. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal defied prohibitory orders to launch an unprecedented protest
outside Parliament House, demanding executive control of the Delhi Police and the transfer of police
personnel his government says defied orders from Ministers.
75. The preliminary post-mortem report of Sunanda Pushkar wife of Union Minister Shashi Tharoor
who was found dead in a hotel room has indicated that it was a case of drug overdose, police sources
said.
76. Centre allowed the establishment of Rail tariff authority. Cabinet approved the setting up of an
electric locomotive factory at Madhepura and a diesel locomotive factory at Marhoura.
77. Minister for Railways M. Mallikarjun Kharge said that his aim is to double the network from 2,400 km
to 4,700 km within eight years.
78. The Union Cabinet granted minority status to the 50 lakh strong Jain community, enabling it to avail
itself of benefits in government schemes and programmes. This would make them the sixthcommunity
to attain minority status after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.
79. Odisha has been selected as the best State for providing self employment to the urban poor under
Swarna Jayanti Sahari Rojgar Yojana (SJGRY), official sources said.
80. Maharashtra Cabinet decided to reduce electricity tariff by 20 per cent across the State, barring
Mumbai.
81. The U.N. atomic watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Irans
partial nuclear freeze, part of a landmark deal with world powers struck in November, began as planned.
82. Chinas economy grew 7.7 per cent in 2013, the slowest growth rate in 14 years.
83. Fifteen death-row prisoners, whose mercy petitions were rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee,
received commutation of their sentences to life imprisonment with the Supreme Court ruling that
inordinate delays ranging from seven to 11 years in the disposal of their pleas, as well as psychiatric
conditions developed during incarceration, are grounds for clemency.
84. Uttarakhand became the first State to adopt the provisions of the Lokpal Act with the Vidhan Sabha
passing the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill-2014.
85. Nominations for the countrys biggest biennial poll to the Rajya Sabha to elect 55 members from 16
States began with President Pranab Mukherjee issuing the notification.
86. U.S. President Barack Obama appeared to firmly link nearly $33 million in aid and other funding for
Pakistan to Islamabads cooperation in securing the release of Shakil Afridi, the doctor who allegedly
assisted the U.S. Special Forces operation to kill Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011.
87. Tens of thousands of South Koreans flooded banks and call centres to cancel credit cards following
the unprecedented theft of the personal data of at least 20 million people.
88. The expert committee headed by Urjit R. Patel appointed to examine the current monetary policy
framework of the RBI has suggested that the apexbank should adopt the new CPI (consumer price index)
as the measure of nominal anchor for policy communication. The nominal anchor or the target for
inflation should be set at 4 per cent with a band of +/- 2 per cent around it.
89. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it would establish a fund to be called Depositor Education
and Awareness Fund, which would comprise unclaimed funds of depositors. The Fund will be created by
taking over inoperative deposit accounts which have not been claimed or operated for ten years.
90. India is likely to clock an economic growth rate of 4.6 per cent this financial year, and the expansion
may improve to 5.4 per cent in 2014-15, the International Monetary Fund said.
91. RBI has decided to withdraw from circulation all currency notes issued prior to 2005. From April 1,
the public will be required to approach banks for exchanging these notes. From July 1, however, those
wanting to exchange more than 10 pieces of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes in a bank where they do not have
an account will have to provide proof of residence and identity. The move will flush out black money.
92. The Delhi High Court refused to stay a Delhi Government order asking the Capitals three power
distribution companies, BSES Rajdhani, BSES Yamuna and TPDDL, to get their accounts audited by the
Comptroller and Auditor-General.
93. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will present the vote-on-account for 2014-15 on February 17 in
the Lok Sabha. Similarly, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge will present an interim railway budget for
2014-15 on February 12.
94. Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily announced the launch of portability of LPG
connection scheme across 480 districts of the country and covering all the oil marketing companies
(OMCs) and which have multiple LPG distributors of various ratings.
95. A university in the U.K. Cumbria University has become the first public varsity in the world to allow
students to pay their tuition fees with the digital currency Bitcoin.
96. Asias biggest botanical garden will come up in Naya Raipur with the Chhattisgarh government
initiating work on the ecotourism project.
97. State Bank of India launched of its channel on popular video sharing website Youtube.
98. Hours after a video showing three police constables thrashing a man near the Red Fort in the Walled
City of Delhi was posted on the Aam Aadmi Partys Facebook page, the Delhi Police top brass suspended
the accused policemen.
99. The BJP-led NDA is projected to cross 220 seats in the coming Lok Sabha polls, according to an
opinion poll. The survey, conducted by CNN-IBN and CSDS, also projects the worst-ever performance by
the Congress, better show by regional parties like the Trinamool Congress and the AIADMK and
emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party.
100. Indias economy is projected to grow at a slower-than-expected rate of 5.3 per cent this year,
according to a United Nations report.
101. World famous yoga guru, B.K.S. Iyengar, and former chief of the Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) R.A. Mashelkar have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan, Indias second highest civilian
honour.
102. China has overtaken India to become the largest contributor of Foreign Direct Investment to Nepal
over the first six months of the current fiscal year, underlining the rising Chinese economic presence
and strategic influence in the country.
103. The Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai, has been selected for the National
Communal Harmony Award 2013 in the organisation category. Mohinder Singh of Delhi and N
Radhakrishnan of Kerala have been selected for the award in the individual category.
104. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is all set to report a fiscal deficit of 4.65 per cent of the
Gross Domestic Product for the current fiscal when he presents the Vote-on-Account in the Lok Sabha
on February 17.
105. Over 10 days after Aam Aadmi Party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny turned rebel and took his grievances
to the media, the party expelled him for publicly making false statements against it and its leadership.
106. K. Prasad Babu, a Greyhounds Inspector who laid down his life combating Maoists in the Andhra
Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border region last April was awarded the highest peace time gallantry award,
Ashok Chakra, on the occasion of Republic Day.
107. Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam ended his hunger strike after four days night once the Maharashtra
government agreed to look into his demand to reduce power tariff in Mumbai.
108. Actor Aamir Khans show Satyamev Jayate is back with its second season, which will go on air from
March 2. The first season was shown on Star Plus along with Doordarshans DD National.
109. Nobel Prize-winning author of Indian-origin, Sir V.S. Naipaul, and Pakistani teenage campaigner
Malala Yousafzai have been named among Britains 500 most influential people.
110. Russia and China have begun their first naval war games in the Mediterranean.
111. Countrys first Monorail finally made its debut with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan
inaugurating the service in Mumbai. The commercial operations of the 8.9-km first phase started.
112. The US has said that it was committed to work with India to help it get back the Category 1 aviation
safety rating "as soon as possible", a day after Washington downgraded India's ranking, bringing it
below Pakistan and at par with countries like Ghana and Bangladesh.
113. The government revised the GDP growth for last fiscal to 4.5% from 5% earlier. However, the
growth rate for this fiscal may still remain below 5%. 2011-12 annual GDP expansion pace to 6.7% from
6.2%.
114. Rajasthan, one of the 12 states that had agreed to allow global companies to open supermarkets,
has scrapped the approval given by the previous government for foreign direct investment (FDI) in
multi-brand retail.
115. The government postponed the direct benefit transfer scheme (DBTL), under which cooking gas
consumers were to receive cash subsidy using their Aadhaar numbers.
116. Government raised the LPG cylinder quota to 12 cylinders per household in a year from nine at
present.
117. The term of the 14th Finance Commission led by former RBI Governor YV Reddy is likely to be
extended by at least three months to enable it to submit its report by the end of this year.
118. India's FDI ranking has slipped by one notch to 16th position in 2013 among the top 20 global
economies receiving foreign direct investment.
119. The Delhi government ordered an audit into finances of Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit
System (DIMTS), which operates infrastructureprojects including the controversial Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT) corridor in the city.
120. The Reserve Bank said Current Account Deficit (CAD) in this fiscal is expected to decline to below
2.5 per cent of GDP from 4.8 per cent a year ago, raising hopes of a cut in import duty on gold.
121. An industry survey has showed that economic growth for the current fiscal may slip to 4.8 per cent
from 5 per cent estimated earlier.
122. India has been ranked 155 out of 178 countries on the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI)
released by the Yale University.
123. Japan has offered to set up a joint venture company like the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to
finance bullet train projects in India. High Speed Railway system on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, the
joint feasibility study should be completed by July 2015.
124. Major FDI destinations, including Maharashtra and the National Capital Region, witnessed a sharp
fall in inflows during the April-October period of the current fiscal.
125. Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily will launch sale of 5-kg cooking gas (LPG) cylinders at petrol pumps
in the national capital.
126. The government approved the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) project, which seeks to
boost the manufacturing sector in the country.
127. India's energy consumption will rise by 132 per cent by 2035, outpacing demand growth in Russia,
China and Brazil, BP's Global Energy Outlook said.
128. Wholesale inflation declined to a five-month low of 6.16 per cent in December.
129. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation declined to 9.87 per cent in December.
130. Finance ministry has called for expediting the setting up of a central Know Your Customer (KYC)
depository for financial services and telecom sectors.
131. US retail giant Walmart has asked the government to reduce the mandatory local sourcing norm to
15 per cent. The government allowed 51 per cent FDI in the multi-brand retail sector in September
2012. Only UK-based retailer Tesco has so far applied to open supermarket chains in India.
132. India has slipped to eighth rank from the top spot in terms of business optimism, with 69 per cent
of the corporates having a positive outlook on the economy and growth of operations in 2014, says a
survey. UAE topped this list.
133. Internet giant Google made a formal presentation to the Election Commission proposing a tie-up
with it for voter facilitation services ahead of Lok Sabha elections, a move questioned by several
quarters citing security concerns. The Election Commission has said it has "not" signed any agreement
with the US-based internet company.
134. Oriental Bank of Commerce became first bank which introduced the e-KYC (electronic Know Your
Customer) facility, which instantly verifies a customer's identity and address proof after the Aadhaar
number is keyed in to the system. Last month, private sector HDFC Bank also launched eKYC facility.
135. Out of over 900 million mobile phones and over 450 million bank accounts, only 67 million cell
phones are linked to bank accounts, underscoring the huge unfinished agenda of mobile banking in the
country, according to the National Payments Corporation of India.
136. India Post has drawn a massive plan to install as many as 3,000 ATMs and 1.35 lakh micro-ATMs at
the ubiquitous post offices across the country for savings account holders by September 2015.
137. Cyber security sleuths have detected a "black" private information stealing virus in the Indian
online banking transactions space and have alerted consumers who swipe debit or credit cards at
shopping counters to make payments.
138. The world's first Bitcoin storage service Elliptic Vault that insures deposits of the digital currency
against hackers and accidental loss has opened in London.
139. RBI will consider reducing the number of free ATM withdrawals, as recommended by Indian Banks'
Association, in an effort to cut down on cash transactions in the economy.
140. As part of taking banking services to rural areas, the Centre has revised its target upwards to
opening 10,000 new bank branches a year, according to Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.
Earlier, there was a target to open 7,000 bank branches a year.
1. Ibrahim Mahlab was sworn in as new Egypt Prime Minister.
2. Dinesh Sarraf appointed as next CMD of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
3. Harish Rawat was appointed as the 8th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He succeeded Vijay Bahuguna.
Harish Rawat was a Union Minister for Water Resources.
4. Manoj Vaish took charge as the MD and CEO of Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd.
5. United Nation appointed India based Vivek Lall as special advisor on cyber security.
6. Poonam Khetrapal Singh took charge as the Regional Director of World Health Organisation South-
East Asia Region.
7. Former Supreme Court Justice, Ashok Kumar Mathur was appointed as the Chairman of the 7th Pay
Commission. Its recommendation would be implemented from 1 January 2016.
8. M Teresakho was appointed as Asian Development Banks new Country Director for India.
9. Satya Nadella was appointed as CEO of Microsoft. Satya Nadella will succeed Steve Ballmer as the
third CEO of the Microsoft firm. Bill Gates is the founder and first CEO of Microsoft. Nadella is the first
Indian to head the Microsoft in its 38-year history.
10. WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) appointed Marco Lambertini as Director-General of the WWF
International.
11. Matteo Renzi sworn-in as Italys Prime Minister replacing Enrico Letta, who resigned from the office.
12. Pakistan appointed Abdul Basit as Pakistans high commissioner to India. He will replace Salman
Bashir.
13. Justice Mukul Mudgal was appointed as the chief of the Broadcast Content Complaints Council
(BCCC).
14. Vinod Sawhny was appointed as CEO of Reliance Communications.
15. Jatinder Bir Singh was appointed CMD of Punjab and Sind Bank.
16. R.K.Tiwari was appointed as the new chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes.
17. N Ramachandran was elected President of Indian Olympic Association.
18. Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the noted Gandhian environmentalist and social activist won the Gandhi Peace
Prize for the year 2013. Bhatt was one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement.
19. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor was awarded with Israels highest civilian honour, the Israeli
Presidential Medal of Distinction.
20. Killa, a Marathi film won the Crystal Bear (Glasernen Bar) for the best film award by the Childrens
jury in Generation Kplus section at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. The film has been directed
by Avinash Arun.
21. Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India presented the International Gandhi Award for the year
2013 to Dr. Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre (VV Dongre) and Prof. Guocheng Zhang.
22. The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee was conferred Award of Honour for the leadership he has
provided and the Indias victory over Polio. The award was presented by Ron Burton, President of Rotary
International.
23. Bangladeshs Kamar Ahmad Simons documentary Are You Listening won the Golden Conch Award at
the Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films.
24. Arunima Sinha received Amazing Indian Award. She was awarded for scaling Mount Everest despite
being physically challenged.
25. Vishwanath Tripathi, the eminent Hindi writer has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman
for the year 2013. He has been chosen for his memoir 'Vyomkesh Darvesh' that is a biography of the
noted Hindi scholar Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi.
26. Malala Yousafzai was nominated for the World Childrens Prize in Sweden for championing
education rights for girls.
27. Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour was conferred on cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar and
eminent scientist Prof CNR Rao by the President of India. Sachin became the first youngest and
sportsperson to be conferred with the honour of Bharat Ratna. Prof CNR Rao (Chintamani Nagesa
Ramachandra Rao) is the third scientist who has been conferred with the award. He received the honour
after CV Raman and APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India. Rao is recognized international
authority on solid state and materials chemistry.
28. Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station awarded a gold shield for its meritorious performance in 2013-
14.
29. Indian Navy Chief Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi resigned taking moral responsibility of the accident
on INS Sindhuratna in Mumbai.
30. Rishang Keishing the oldest Parliamentarian of India decided to retire. He is 94. He joined politics as
the member of the first Lok Sabha in 1952 after being elected from Socialist Party. He had served the
nation for seven decades. He joined Congress in 1962.
31. Archana Bhargava CMD of the Kolkata-based United Bank of India resigned.
32. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned from the post. He also quitted from the
membership of the State Assembly and the Congress Party as a protest to the decision to bifurcate the
Andhra Pradesh State.
33. The Telangana Bill, splitting Andhra Pradesh and forming Telangana as 29th State was passed by the
Lok Sabha on 18 February 2014 with Congress and BJP coming together on the issue. The Bill will be
passed in Rajya Sabha on 19 February 2014.
34. Italy Prime Minister Enrico Letta resigned.
35. Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi resigned. He resigned following his government failure to
muster the support over whether the Jan Lokpal Bill should be presented before the House or not. 42
MLAs voted against the bill whereas only 27 members favoured it.
36. Vijay Bahuguna, the Chief Minister of Uttrakhand submitted his resignation to the Governor.
37. Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India released a commemorative postage stamp in the honour of
Maulana Hasrat Mohani who was a freedom fighter and an eminent poet.
38. The Parliament of Nepal elected Sushil Koirala as next Prime Minister of Nepal. Sushil Koirala is a
veteran Nepali Congress leader.
39. President of Israel Shimon Peres set a new Guinness World Record. He delivered the largest online
civics class in the world.
40. President of Zanzibar, Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein is on an official visit to India from 1 to 9 February
2014.
41. Save the Children, UK-based NGO released a Report that claimed India alone accounts for a 29
percent of the global deaths of newborns on their very first day of birth.
42. India was ranked 8th in the list of ten countries in terms of digital governance. The list was topped by
Singapore.
43. G-4 Director Generals for UNSC reform met on 11 February 2014 in New Delhi. G-4 members are
Brazil, Germany, India and Japan.
44. The World famous Khajuraho Dance Festival began at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. The Dance
Festival will be celebrated from 20 to 26 February 2014.
45. 103 persons were killed in Algeria when a military aircraft C-130 Hercules crashed in the mountains
of Algeria.
46. India successfully test-fired indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash Missile with a range of 30
Km from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha coast. The missile that was launched targeted
a floating object that was supported by Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) Lakshya.
47. Indian Navy kicked off its largest exercise with both the western and eastern fleets in the Bay of
Bengal for intensive combat maneuvers.
48. 8th Defence Expo was organized at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi from 6 February 2014 to 9 February
2014.
49. Defence Research and Development Organization said that it is in the process of developing
Unmanned Arial Vehicles to track down Maoists in naxal hit states including Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh. The vehicles will be used by the Central Reserve Police Force to track the locations of the
Maoists in even the forests.
50. Central Government constituted one-man expert committee headed by G K Pillai to examine the
demand of a separate Bodoland state, which will be carved out from Assam.
51. Union Cabinet approved the setting up of an Equal Opportunities Commission. The proposal for EOC
was made by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs on the recommendations of the Justice Sachar
Committee on Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslim Community in India.
52. The speaker of Lok Sabha, Meria Kumar referred the pepper spray incident in the Lok Sabha to the
Privileges Committee. The 15 member Committee headed by senior Congress leader P C Chacko has
power to take punitive measures.
53. A music album entitled Raunaq based on the songs composed by music maestro AR Rahman and
written by Kapil Sibal was launched.
54. Prime Minister of India inaugurated Indira Paryavaran Bhawan in New Delhi. This Bhawan will house
the Ministry of Environment and Forest and is Indias first on site Net Zero Building built by the adoption
of Solar Passive design and energy efficient building material.
55. IRCTC launched E-Wallet Scheme in the second week of February 2014. The scheme was launched to
make payment process fast and to reduce transaction failures due to bank payment related problems.
56. The G-20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held at Sydney, Australia. The
official theme of the meeting is restoring global growth. The G20 nations set the target to increase
global growth by at least two percentage points over the next five years that is by 2019. The annual G20
summit will be held in November 2014 in Brisbane.
57. Corporate social responsibility will take effect from 1 April, under which Indian companies and
foreign companies registered in India would need to spend a minimum 2 per cent of net profit for the
benefit of the society. They will apply to companies with at least Rs 5 crore net profit, or Rs.1,000 crore
turnover or Rs.500 crore net worth.
58. Japan-based Mt Gox, which was the world's largest bitcoin exchange filed for bankruptcy. Mt Gox
hasadmitted to have lost 7.5 lakh bitcoins of its customers and one lakh of its own.
59. India is home to the fifth largest group of billionaires in the world and Mukesh Ambani is the
country's richest man with a personal fortune of USD 18 billion. According China-based research firm
Hurun's 2014 global rich list, Mukesh Ambani was ranked 41st in the list that was topped by Bill Gates
with USD 68 billion.
60. India is the second-most cyber attacks on mobile devices prone country with a major chunk of these
intrusions designed for phishing and stealing banking details, a report by security software maker
Kaspersky said. Russia topped the list.
61. Government increased the workdays under MNREGA from 100 to 150 for tribals from 1 April. Those
tribals who have received land rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 will be eligible for additional 50
days of wage employment.
62. India's GDP growth rate fell under expectations at 4.7 per cent in October-December. GDP had
expanded 4.8 per cent in the July-September quarter and 4.4 per cent in April-June. Growth in the first
nine months (April-December) was 4.6 per cent.
63. G-20 members in Sydney meeting agreed to start automatic sharing of tax information by end 2015.
64. India's Current Account Deficit (CAD) is expected to be around two per cent of GDP during the
current fiscal, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan has said.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said while tabling the interim budget that CAD will be contained at
USD 45 billion this financial year, well below the USD 88 billion level in FY'13.
65. IMF estimated India's GDP growth at 4.6% for FY14 and at 5.4% for FY15.
66. The government cleared Rs 6,400 crore FDI proposal of global healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline
to acquire additional 24.33 per cent stake in its India arm.
67. Chief Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat is all set to have a World Trade Centre at Gandhinagar.
68. Government said there is a noticeable decline in below poverty line population in the country
between 2004 and 2012. Percentage of population below poverty line in urban areas has declined from
25.5 per cent in 2004-05 to 13.7 per cent 2011-12.
69. Remittances from overseas Indians touched USD 67.6 billion in 2012-13, up from USD 66.1 billion the
previous fiscal.
70. Connaught Place in Delhi slipped four notches to become the world's eighth most expensive office
location as rentals, said property consultant Cushman & Wakefield. Londons West End emerged as the
world's most expensive office market.
71. Finance Minister P Chidambaram retained the 10 per cent surcharge on those earning over Rs 1
crore annually. The government also decided to continue a 5 per cent surcharge on domestic companies
with total annual income of more than Rs 1 crore but less than Rs 10 crore. Those with income
exceeding Rs 10 crore will pay a surcharge of 10 per cent.
72. The government's dependence on debt has come down from 27 paise in the previous Budget to 25
paise in the coming year. On the expenditure side, central plan allocation has been reduced sharply from
21 paise to 10 paise in 2014-15. However, the interest payment would go up to 20 paise as compared to
18 paise in the 2013-14. Defence allocation has been maintained at 10 paise. As the single largest source
of revenue income, the collection from corporate tax has been maintained at 21 paise as a percentage
of every rupee earned.
73. Finance Minister P Chidambaram proposed to infuse Rs 11,200 crore in public sector banks to
enhance their capital in the next financial year.
74. Defence Ministry was allocated Rs 2,24,000 crore by FM P. Chiambaram's interim Budget 2014,
marking a 10 per cent increase over the last Budget.
75. Finance Minister announced a reduction in excise duty to 10 per cent from 12 per cent on a range of
goods till June 30.
76. India's exports are expected to grow by 6.3 per cent to USD 326 billion during the current fiscal.
77. Finance Minister P Chidambaram allocated an additional Rs 1,000 crore to the Nirbhaya Fund for the
safety and empowerment of women. In January, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairsapproved a
Rs 1,405-crore project to track and monitor public transport. The project involves setting up closed-
circuit television (CCTVs) and GPS in public transport vehicles. The government set a deadline of
February 20, 2014.
78. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram while presenting Budget 2014 said the fiscal deficit for the current
financial year will be contained at 4.6 per cent of GDP.
79. Wholesale Price Index inflation in January eased to an eight-month low of 5.05 per cent, helped by a
moderation in food prices.
80. The central board of trustees (CBT) of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation endorsed a
comprehensive amendment to the EPF Act to hike the wage ceiling for mandatory PF coverage to
R15,000 per month from R6,500 and guarantee a minimum pension of R1,000 per month.
81. The number of poor in the country declined to 27 crore in 2011-12, from 40.74 crore in 2004-05. As
per the estimates, Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of poor people living below the poverty line at
5.98 crore in 2011-12, followed by Bihar at 3.58 crore.
82. The Bimal Jalan panel, which scrutinised applications for new bank licences submitted its report
along with shortlisted entities to the Reserve Bank of India. The last day for applications was July 1. The
RBI received 27 applications and subsequently, Tata Sons Ltd and Value Industries Ltd withdrew. At
present India have 27 public sector banks, 22 private sector banks and 56 regional rural banks.
83. RBI has given in-principle approval to setting up of a new payment system that will facilitate fund
transfers from bank account holders to those without accounts through automated teller machines
(ATMs).
84. Several small and mid-size public sector banks (PSBs) are expected to face capital adequacy trouble
in the near future as bad loans surge and profits fall. In the December quarter, United Bank posted a net
loss of Rs 1,238.08 crore. The bank's net worth declined and its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) fell to a
little over 9%.
85. RBI has removed the 26% cap on the interest rate that a microfinance company can charge its
borrowers. RBI has said that MFIs can arrive at their lending rate by calculating their cost of funds and
adding the prescribed margin.
86. In a major setback to gay rights activists, the Supreme Court declined to review its December 11
judgment, holding that homosexuality or unnatural sex between two consenting adults was illegal.
87. The Aam Aadmi Party Government recommended an audit of the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal
Transit System (DIMTS) by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
88. Ukraines Prime Minister Mykola Azarov tendered his resignation in order to facilitate peaceful
settlement of the political crisis.
89. The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution allowing European troops to use force
in the Central African Republic.
90. The Aam Aadmi Party Government in Delhi announced its intentions to form a Special Investigation
Team (SIT) to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
91. The latest Education For All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) released worldwide by the UNESCO
acknowledges that India currently has the largest population of illiterate adults in the world with 287
million. This is 37 per cent of the global total.
92. A former Norwegian Minister nominated whistleblower Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize.
93. The Indian Railways is gearing up to roll out next-generation e-ticketing from April this year, marking
a paradigm shift in technology, customer-friendliness and speed.
94. Three Australians of Indian origin Sadanandan Nambiar, Radhey Shyam Gupta and Pratish C.
Bandopadhayay have received one of the most prestigious honours for their contribution to Australian
society.
95. The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to
include or delete 115 castes from 13 States and three Union Territories.
96. The U.S. economy grew at a 3.2 per cent annual rate in the October-December quarter.
97. The Supreme Court stayed the execution of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, sentenced to death for a
bomb attack on former Indian Youth Congress president Maninderjeet Singh Bitta in 1993, and decided
to examine his case afresh.
98. Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh submitted his resignation to the State Home
Department as he plans to explore a career in politics.
99. The family of the late Chief Justice of India, Justice J.S. Verma, has declined to accept the Padma
Bhushan conferred on him.
100. The government said the economy might have expanded by 4.5 per cent in 2012-13, compared
with the earlier estimate of 5 per cent. However GDP growth in 2011-12 has been revised upwards to
6.7 per cent from 6.2 per cent. At current prices, the gross national income in 2012-13 is estimated at
Rs.92.70 lakh crore. Per capita net national income at factor cost in real terms is estimated to have risen
by 2.1 per cent to Rs.38,856 in 2012-13.
101. Maruti Alto 800, Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen Polo, have failed crash tests,
showing high risk of life-threatening injuries in road accidents.
102. Meghalayas oldest voter and the first Padma Shri awardee from the State, Silverine Swer, passed
away.
103. As many as 37 candidates from 12 States have already been declared elected unopposed to the
Rajya Sabha.
104. Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York apartment.
105. China has rejected reports suggesting it was planning to set up an air defence zone over the
disputed South China Sea. In November, China established its first Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ)
over parts of the East China Sea, amid an increasingly tense stand-off with Japan over the disputed
Diaoyu/Senkaku islands.
106. The Delhi Government recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee that the strictest possible
action be taken against former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for distributing provisional regularisation
certificates to unauthorised colonies in Delhi ahead of the 2008 Assembly elections.
107. The Canara Bank submitted a draft scheme to the Karnataka High Court for taking over the
specified assets and liabilities of the troubled Amanath Cooperative Bank.
108. The Indian Banks Association (IBA) has issued an advisory to banks to ensure business continuity
after Microsoft ends support for its popular Windows XP operating system on April 8.
109. As Facebook celebrates its 10th anniversary.
110. The decision of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to downgrade India to Category 2
under its International Aviation Safety Assessment programme will have cascading effect on Indian
carriers though Air India and Jet Airways, which fly to the U.S, would be affected immediately.
111. The Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch lodged an FIR against the former Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, in
a street light project scam that occurred ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
112. The Union government constituted a committee chaired by M.P. Bezbaruah to look into the
problems faced by people from the Northeast living in other parts of the country, especially in
metropolitan cities, and suggest remedial measures. The move follows the recent death of Nido Taniam,
an 18-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh, after an argument with some shopkeepers in a South
Delhi market.
113. As part of a major reform travellers arriving in India from up to 180 countries can avail of the visa
on arrival facility in the near future.
114. Indian Railways has decided to launch an all-India security helpline number for passengers soon.
Although it will be managed by a professional call centre, complaints will be monitored by a DIG and
four inspectors.
115. ISPO will launch four more foreign satellites for earth observation with its PSLV rocket between the
year-end and 2015-end. ISROs commercial wing, Antrix Corporation, signed a contract with Singapores
ST Electronics (Satcom & Sensor Systems) Pte Ltd. for putting in space its 400-kg TeLEOS-1 satellite, and
entered into agreements with DMC International Imaging for launching three 350-kg DMC-3 disaster
monitoring satellites.
116. India was among key players in generic drug market with eight of its companies figuring among the
top 25 companies in the world that accounted for 28 per cent of global generics market.
117. President Jacob Zuma announced that South Africa will hold its fifth democratic general election on
May 7.
118. RBI working paper has warned banks of further strains on their asset quality. Gross NPA ratio
couldrise to 4.4 per cent by end-March 2014. This ratio could go up to 7.6 per cent under the severe risk
scenario.
119. RBI has issued Certificate of Authorisation to Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd., Prizm
Payment Services Pvt. Ltd., Muthoot Finance Ltd., and Vakrangee Ltd. for setting up and operating white
label ATMs. Of these, three have already launched their services.
120. SEBI Chairman U. K. Sinha has got a two-year extension till 2016 to continue.
121. Secretary of State John Kerry vowed that the United States would defend Japan against attack
including over islands claimed by China as tensions boil between the Asian powers.
122. The Chinese Navy has conducted rare exercises in the Lumbok Strait in the Indian Ocean near
Indonesia.
123. Civil service aspirants will soon get two additional attempts at cracking the UPSC examination along
with a relaxation in the upper age limit. As per the existing rules, a general, OBC, SC & ST category
candidate have 4, 7 and unlimited attempts respectively.
124. Penguin India has agreed to withdraw American Indologist Wendy Donigers book The Hindus: An
Alternative History from the Indian market following an out-of-court settlement with Delhi-based
complainants, who had moved the court alleging distortion aimed at denigrating Hindu traditions.
125. The International Olympic Committee lifted the suspension of the Indian Olympic Association after
an ad-hoc meeting of its Executive Board in Sochi.
126. The Mars Orbiter spacecraft completes 100 days in space (Feb. 12), or roughly a third of its journey
towards the Red Planet.
127. Indian National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi held
a very constructive two-day meeting, which discussed additional confidence-building measures
such as early implementation of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) as well as the core
issue of a framework agreement for sorting out the border issue.
128. Nissan has displaced Maruti to become the second-largest passenger car exporter from India.
Hyundai remains the number one car exporter.
129. Lakshmi Swaminthan, who hails from Chennai, has been elected as the President of the
Administrative Tribunal of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
130. A Parliamentary panel rejected the Bill on micro finance institutions, which sought to empower the
Reserve Bank of India to regulate them and fix interest rates ceiling on loans to be provided by MFIs.
131. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily, former
Minister Murli Deora and former Director-General of Hydrocarbons V.K. Sibal have been named in an FIR
registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi
government over alleged collusion in fixing natural gas prices and hoarding in the KG-D6 basin. The
complaint alleges that gas prices will be doubled from April 1 to $8.4 (Rs.524.20) per mbtu as against
$4.2 (Rs.262.25) per mbtu because of collusion between RIL and UPA-II government servants. The hike
would cost the country a minimum of Rs.54,500 crore a year and allow RIL to make a windfall of Rs.1.2
lakh crore, the complaint alleged.
132. President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod for the nomination of P.P. Rao, senior advocate, as
jurist member of the selection committee of the Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, despite
objections from Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.
133. Italy has petitioned the U.N. over the trial of two of its marines in India under a strict anti-piracy
law, for allegedly shooting down two fishermen off the Kerala coast and has vowed to exercise all
options to bring back the naval personnel.
134. The Ministry of Rural Development directed the States not to deny workers job cards under the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for non-possession of either bank/post
office account numbers or the Aadhaar card. The directives follow an affidavit filed by activist Jean
Dreze in the Supreme Court.
135. Consumer Price Index inflation fell for the second consecutive month, and eased to a 24-month low
of 8.79 per cent in January mainly due to a drop in food prices.
136. Congress MP from Vijayawada L. Rajagopal used a can of pepper spray inside the Lok Sabha to
protest against the tabling of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill.
137. Washington ended its nine-year hands-off policy on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi when
U.S. Ambassador Nancy J. Powell met him in Gandhinagar.
138. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill envisages Hyderabad as the common capital. The Andhra
Pradesh Governor will be Governor for both successor States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Centre
shall form expert committee to suggest a newcapital of Andhra Pradesh within 45 days. 25 Lok Sabha
seats to be allocated to residuary Andhra Pradesh and 17 Lok Sabha seats to Telangana. Residuary
Andhra Pradesh will get 175 Legislative Assembly seats and Telangana 119. The High Court at Hyderabad
will be common for both States till a separate High Court is set up for residuary Andhra Pradesh.
139. China plans to build the worlds longest underwater tunnel beneath the Bohai Sea by 2026,
connecting the port cities of Dalian in Liaoning province and Yantai in Shandong province.
140. Honda Cars India has moved upwards to grab the position of Indias third largest car brand after
Maruti and Hyundai from 6th position a year ago.
141. Securities and Exchange Board of India will hike the minimum net worth requirement for asset
management companies (AMCs) from Rs.10 crore to Rs.50 crore.
142. The Election Commission of India will allow candidates contesting Lok Sabha elections to
electronically file their nominations as well as affidavits containing financial, educational, and legal
information on their backgrounds.
143. The Chinese film Bai Ri Yan Huo (Black Coal, Thin Ice) has won the Golden Bear for best picture at
the 64th Berlin international film festival.
144. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said in his interim Budget speech that Rs.4,909 crore was
being spent on modernisation of all 1.55 lakh post offices, and the project would be completed by 2015.
145. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram announced a farm growth of 4.6 per cent in the current
year. He set agriculture credit target of Rs. 8 lakh crore for 2014-15, against Rs.7.35 lakh crore expected
this year. Mr. Chidambaram exempted the loading, unloading, packing, storage and warehousing of rice
from service tax.
146. Under National Skill Development Corporation, Mr. Chidambaram said the National Skill
Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme launched last August had been widely hailed as a success.
He proposedanother Rs. 1,000 crore next year to scale up the programme rapidly.
147. Finance Minister said the government was fully committed to Aadhar under which 57 crore unique
numbers had been issued so far.
148. The Supreme Court got its full strength of 31 judges with the swearing-in of Justices Rajesh Kumar
Agrawal and Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana by Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam.
149. Centre has informed the Supreme Court that Kachatheevu could not be retrieved from Sri Lanka as
demanded by DMK party president, M. Karunanidhi.
150. The Faisalabad government of Pakistan has proposed to develop Bangay, freedom fighter Bhagat
Singhs village, as a heritage site with a budget of Rs two crore as part of a plan to restore places of
historical importance. Bangay would be developed with five other historical villages in the district.
151. The Union Ministry of Tourism has declared Sikkim the best State in the implementation of rural
tourism projects.
152. Russia and Estonia have signed a border pact that took the two countries 23 years to negotiate.
153. Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N .Security Council plus Germany began talks in
Vienna on reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal.
154. China emerged as the largest buyer of gold in the world in 2013 having bought 1,066 tonnes. Indian
gold demand grew to 974.8 tonnes in 2013.
155. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaas promise to free seven convicts serving life sentences for
the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The Supreme Court directed the Tamil
Nadu government not to release till March 6.
156. The first-ever night user trial of the nuclear-weapons capable Agni-1 surface-to-surface ballistic
missile on Wheeler island, off the Odisha coast, was postponed for a second time due to a technical
glitch.
157. India and Bahrain signed three agreements to expand cooperation in key areas, including trade and
business. The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and King
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in New Delhi.
158. The Union Cabinet approved Odia as a classical language. Now Odia has become the sixth language
in the country to get classical language status after Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
159. About 10 per cent of the voters during this Lok Sabha election are likely to be first-time voters,
possibly the highest in any election, electoral data show. The Election Commissions data show that the
proportion of 18-19 year olds registered to vote is the highest in Jharkhand (9 per cent of total electors),
Chhattisgarh (4.9) and Rajasthan (4.8) and the lowest in Himachal Pradesh (1.3), Maharashtra (1.4) and
Kerala and Karnataka (1.8).
160. China said the economic corridor that it is planning to construct to link its western Xinjiang region
to Pakistan, through parts of the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), was not directed at a third
party and would not pose any detriment to Indias concerns on the Kashmir issue.
161. Sudipta Sen the chairman and managing director of the Saradha Group that was involved in a
massive Ponzi scheme scam was sentenced to three years in imprisonment.
162. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said he would
quit the organisation by March-end to contest the Lok Sabha election on Congress ticket.
163. Popular music director Bappi Lahiri has been appointed the goodwill ambassador of Unesco Nepals
Education For All in a unique honour.
164. U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed Tibets exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to the White
House defying China, which said the meeting would seriously impair ties between the two countries.
165. Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with New India
Assurance Company to deliver three unique innovative health insurance policies for women account
holders of the bank. The policies BMB-Sakhee, BMB-Nirbhaya and BMB-Parivar Suraksha provide
customised health insurance package for women.
166. Foreign exchange reserves surged by $1.46 billion to $293.79 billion in the week ended February 14
on account of increase in the currency assets, the Reserve Bank of India said.
167. Archaeological Survey of India has decided to make efforts to renovate the Red Fort in such a
manner that the earlier grandeur of the Mughal-era is revived.
168. The Whistleblowers Protection Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Bill seeks to provide for
adequate protection to persons reporting corruption or wilful misuse of discretion which causes a
demonstrable loss to the government, or commission of a criminal offence by a public servant.
169. The Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal suffered a huge blow after six of its 22 MLAs broke away
from the party and announced that they would join the ruling Janata Dal (United). In a show of strength,
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad declared the return of nine of the 13 rebel MLAs who broke
away from the party to form a separate bloc.
170. The attempt to capture the non-Congress, non-BJP electoral space began in earnest with leaders of
seven regional parties joining the Left Front in issuing a joint declaration, offering the electorate a
democratic, secular, federal and pro-people development agenda.
171. A sting operation by a Hindi news channel appeared to show opinion polling agencies willing to
manipulate the results on behalf of political parties for a price. The contents of the sting operation
conducted by News Express.
172. President Barack Obama told his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai he is now planning a fullU.S.
troop withdrawal, but did not rule out making a deal on a post-2014 mission with the next Kabul
government.
173. The Food and Civil Supplies Department and the World Food Programme (WFP) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for modernising the public distribution system and for
implementing the end-to-end computerisation project.
174. The Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Sahara chief Subrata Roy for his failure to appear before it
in connection with the Rs.19,000-crore deposits his company has not refunded to its investors.
175. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi launched a 130-MW solar power plant at Bhagwanpur in
Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh. This is the largest solar power plant in India set up at a cost of Rs. 1,100
crore on 305 hectares of land, will supply power at Rs. 8.05 a kWh.
176. The Uttar Pradesh Government approved the proposal for establishing a tiger reserve in Pilibhit.
177. Delhi Police launched on line complain facility for lodging a complaint about a lost article. The
application is currently available on Android phones. It will be made available on Windows and Apple
phones soon.
1. Abdullah, the king of Saudi Arabia appointed his half-brother Moqren as the next heir to the throne.
2. Sunil Gavaskar was appointed as the interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) by the Supreme Court. Sunil Gavaskar replaced the present BCCI chief N Srinivasan.
3. Former BCCI chief N Srinivasan was removed by the Supreme Court on the ground that his position
may interfere with the investigations going into the alleged involvement of his sons-in-law Gurunath
Meiyappan. Gurunath Meiyappan was found to be involved in betting by the Mudgal Committee report
on IPL spot fixing during IPL-6 held in 2013.
4. Jens Stoltenberg was appointed as the Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO). He will replace the incumbent Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
5. General Sedki Sobhi was sworn-in as the new Defence Minister and Army Chief of Egypt.
6. Rajiv Takru was appointed as the Revenue Secretary. He will succeed Sumit Bose.
7. Rakesh Sethi was appointed as CMD of Allahabad Bank.
8. Sheila Dikshit, the former chief minister of Delhi was appointed as the 22nd Governor of Kerala. She
will succeed Nikhil Kumar.
9. Indian-origin Gopal Rao won UK Twitter Prize.
10. Japanese architect Shigeru Ban won the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2014.
11. Govind Mishra, the renowned Hindi author will receive Sarawasti Samman for the year 2013 for his
book Dhool Paudho Par published in 2008.
12. The 86th Annual Academy Oscar Awards 2014 was announced on 2 March 2014 and the best picture
award was won by 12 Years A Slave of Steve McQueen. Best Actor - Matthew .
13. McConaughey (Film-Dallas Buyers Club) , Best Actress - Cate Blanchett (Film - Blue
14. Jasmine), Best Director - Alfonso Cuaron (Film Gravity)
15. Pranab Mukherjee conferred three Kriti Chakras and ten Shurya Chakras to Armed Personnel atthe
Rashtrapati Bhawan. The five Surya Chakra was given posthumously.
16. Malala Yousafzai and Misbah-ul-Haq along with 103 others were conferred with the Pakistans Civil
Awards.
17. Physicist Rajesh Gopakumar was selected for G D Birla Award for scientific research for the year
2013.
18. Indian journalist Shubranshu Choudhary won Google digital activism award for regional news
service.
19. Tomas Halik, the Czech priest won the Templeton Prize for 2014.
20. President Pranab Mukherjee presented the President's Standard and Colours Award. The Standard
Award was given to 112 Helicopter Unit and President's Colour to 4 Base Repair Depot (BRD).
21. Indian writer Pankaj Mishra won Windham Campbell Literature Prize 2014 in non-fiction category.
22. US honoured Laxmi, an acid attack victim with the prestigious International Women of Courage
Award.
23. Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the noted Gandhian environmentalist and social activist won the Gandhi Peace
Prize for the year 2013. Bhatt was one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement.
24. Actor Arjun Kapoor was named as the brand ambassador of the Earth hour 2014. Earth hour is an
initiative under which citizens are advised to switch off all electricity for an hour. It is organized by the
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
25. Grand jury of US indicted Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, the person accused for visa fraud
and for under paying her housekeeper. Earlier, the virtually identical charges against Devyani were
dropped by a court on the ground that she enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
26. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, the Army Chief of Egypt resigned to contest in Presidential election.
27. Dr KC Chakrabarty, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India resigned. Earlier, Anand Sinha
retired from the position of Deputy Governor of RBI.
28. GK Pillai resigned as Chairman of MCX-SX on 14 March 2014. Consequently, current Vice Chairman
and former LIC Chairman, Thomas Mathew T was elected as new Chairman.
29. Nandan Nilekani resigned as chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Nilekani joined the Congress Party and he is contesting from the Bangalore South constituency in Lok
Sabha polls.
30. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Apple Inc Peter Oppenheimer announced his retirement.
31. Veteran film actress of Hindi and Marathi films, Nanda died.
32. Khushwant Singh, the renowned author and journalist died.
33. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the former President and leader of Sierra Leone died.
34. South China Sea-Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in the South China Sea.
35. Union Ministry of Minority Affairs launched Nalanda Project for Minorities Higher Educational
Institutions.
36. Union Ministry of Minority Affairs launched a new initiative Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme for the
welfare of minorities.
37. India was ranked fourth in a Microsoft report in the list of the countries sending out spam e-mails.
India has followed three nations namely USA, China, UK.
38. Indias import of weapon systems is three times more than Pakistan and China. The report published
by as Swedish Think Tank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has claimed that
India continues to be the largest buyer of arms in the world.
39. Mumbai was the least expensive major city for expatriates among the major cities of the world. This
was revealed in a report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). After Mumbai,Karachi and
New Delhi are the least expensive city in the world. Singapore was ranked as the most expensive city.
40. The Third Nuclear Security Summit was held in The Hague, Netherlands from 24 to 25 March 2014.
41. A non-profit group Vandana Foundation launched AQUATM in Mumbai. The AQUATM is a water
vending machine from which water can be purchased.
42. A multi-pronged National campaign on Dengue, U & Me Against Dengue, was launched to eradicate
dengue across six Indian cities with public private partnership.
43. Union Defence Ministry ordered a CBI investigation into the purchase of jet fighter engines from
Britains Rolls-Royce that worth 10000 crore rupees.
44. Indian Navy successfully completed Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX), one of
its largest war drills spread over Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal region.
45. India and Nepal started a joint military exercise at Saljhandi in Rupandehi district of Nepal. The two
week exercise named Ex-Surya Kiran Drills VI.
46. Third BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)
Summit was held from 1 March to 4 March 2014 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. Indian Prime Minster visited
Myanmar.
47. Sumith Nakandala was appointed as the first Secretary General of BIMSTEC.
48. Union Cabinet recommended imposition of Presidents Rule in Andhra Pradesh while keeping the
Assembly in suspended animation.
49. Union Cabinet increased the dearness allowance (DA) of Union government employees and dearness
relief (DR) of pensioners by 10 per cent of the basic pay, taking the rate to 100 per cent. It fixed the
minimum monthly pension paid by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation at Rs. 1,000.
50. The Union Cabinet gave its approval for the setting up of 54 Kendriya Vidyalayas, four
National Institutes of Design (NIDs), and 3,500 model schools at the block level in Educationally
Backward Blocks (EBBs). The proposal to set up new KVs during the 12th Five Year Plan period.
51. Various Central agencies cleared seven major National Highway projects, including the Delhi-Meerut
Expressway, pertaining mostly to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab and Rajasthan.
52. The Centre assailed the January 21 Supreme Court verdict commuting the death sentence of 15
convicts to life term, saying the Presidents decision in disposing of a mercy petition was beyond judicial
review.
53. With a view to promoting affordable and effective generic drugs, the Centre has asked the States to
provide space in government hospitals for their sale so that more Jan Aushadhi Stores could be opened.
54. President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014 that
would pave way for the creation of the State of Telangana, and approved the Cabinets recommendation
to impose Central rule in the State.
55. Russias Parliament has approved the use of armed force in Ukraine, even as the West warned
Moscow not to intervene in the troubled post-Soviet state.
56. UPA government decided to give reservation to Jats in nine northern States.
57. Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung approved a proposal to bring back trams in Chandni Chowk area.
58. Justice G. Rohini is set to become the first woman Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
59. The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Kalyan Singh, who rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
was appointed national vice-president.
60. Two fund houses of SBI and Axis have filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Boardof India
(SEBI) to start mutual fund schemes linked to inflation-indexed bonds.
61. Former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman J. S. Sarma, an advocate of telecom
sector reforms, has passed away.
62. The Union government has raised by 10 to 20 basis points the interest rates on select fixed deposit
schemes offered by post offices. The rate hike will come into effect from April 1, 2014. The rate hike
decision is in line with the recommendations of the Shyamala Gopinath Committee.
63. Cutting across political lines, all members of the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly condemned
the death of Nido Tania in New Delhi.
64. With the provisional exclusion of the Indian Boxing Federation (IBF), the International Boxing
Association (AIBA) has suggested that a new national federation be floated to revive the countrys
relations with the international boxing community. The AIBA, which suspended the IBF on December 6,
2012 due to alleged irregularities in its elections held that year.
65. RBI decided to allow foreign inward remittances received under money transfer service scheme
(MTSS) directly into the bank account of the beneficiary through electronic modes such as national
electronic funds transfer (NEFT) and immediate payment service (IMPS).
66. The elections for the 16th Lok Sabha, along with the Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and
Sikkim, will be held on nine different dates. The first date is April 7 and the last is May 12. Counting of
votes will be held on May 16. Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath, accompanied by Election
Commissioners H.S. Brahma and S.N.A. Zaidi, said Bihar and Uttar Pradesh would have the maximum of
six polling dates each. A record 81.4 crore voters are eligible to exercise their votes for 543 Lak Sabha
members.
67. The detention of Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Radhanpur town in Gujarat sparked off
street clashes between AAP and BharatiyaJanata Party workers in Delhi, Lucknow and near Kutch
district.
68. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the Uttar Pradesh government to take
immediate action to end the strike by government doctors which has resulted in "violation of peoples
right to health and life.
69. Indias current account deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply to $4.2 billion (0.9 per cent of gross domestic
product (GDP)) in the third quarter of the current financial year.
70. Telecom subscribers across the country can now register complaints by dialling a special toll free
number 1063.
71. At Graphic Era University in Dehradun as Arvind Mishra, a young assistant professor of Mechanical
Engineering, broke the Guinness record of 121 hours in the non-stop lecturing category.
72. For the first time candidates will have the option of e-filing their affidavits in the coming Lok Sabha
and Assembly polls. The mandatory affidavits (Form 26), to be submitted at the time of filing nomination
papers, include information on the candidates assets (movable and immovable property), property and
accounts abroad, liabilities, educational qualifications and criminal antecedents, if any, and the name of
the spouse and dependents.
73. Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) will celebrate International Women's Day by organising financial
literacy camps for women. All the 12 branches of the bank will organise financial literacy camps on
March 8.
74. China announced its biggest hike in military spending in three years, with its defence budget set to
cross $130 billion in the coming year.
75. Bihar is Indias fastest growing State with its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growing at 15.05
per cent during 2012-13. According to the CSO data, Gujarat grew at 7.96 per cent, ranked sixth, behind
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh (9.89 per cent), Goa (8.47 per cent), Kerala (8.24 per cent) and Odisha (8.09 per
cent). The all-India economic growth in 2012-13 was 4.47 per cent.
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76. A high-power committee under the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) has been set
up to find ways for the banking sector to comply with Basel-III capital norms. The decision was taken at a
sub-committee meeting of FSDC chaired by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan.
77. Tata Motors said it had tied up with Bharatiya Mahila Bank to provide retail finance to its passenger
vehicle customers.
78. The Uttar Pradesh Governments ambitious Samajwadi Pension scheme has been stalled, with the
model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls.
79. Myanmar will be presented the award of Worlds Best Tourist Destination for 2014 by the European
Union Council on Tourism and Trade.
80. To expedite proceedings against sitting MPs and MLAs in criminal cases, the Supreme Court asked
lower courts to complete trial within a year of framing of charges.
81. Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut landed back on Earth in Kazakhstan after a stay
of more than half a year aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
82. China said it would allow, for the first time, the setting up of five private banks on a trial basis.
83. Bharatiya Mahila Bank Limited, the first womens bank and a wholly-owned government institution,
proposes to open 55 more branches in Tier 4, Tier-5 and Tier-6 cities in 2014-15.
84. Gold and silver imports declined by 71.4 per cent to $1.63 billion in February mainly due to
restrictions imposed by the government.
85. The Supreme Court declined to review its January 21 verdict, commuting the death sentence of 15
convicts to life term because of inordinate delay on the part of the President in disposing of their mercy
petitions.
86. Rakesh Sethi took over as Chairman and Managing Director of Allahabad Bank.
87. The U.S. financial regulator warned consumers that using the online currency Bitcoin was fraught
with risks, including theft by hacking and fraud.
88. The Delhi High Court upheld the death sentence of all four convicts in the December 16, 2012, gang-
rape and murder of a physiotherapy student.
89. The Director General of Civil Aviation has come out with new detailed guidelines for the physically
challenged travelling by air, making it clear that no airline can refuse to fly them.
90. India and Bangladesh are keen to increase business relations by setting up inland waterways for
hassle-free movement of cargo.
91. Singapores central bank said it would regulate intermediaries for the Bitcoin virtual currency to
prevent them from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.
92. Designed and built using a $777,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the self-
contained, waterless toilet with its innovative technology converts human waste to biochar, a highly
porous charcoal. It aims to provide an eco-friendly solution to help some of the 2.5billion people around
the world lacking safe sanitation.
93. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said he had called President Barack Obama to complain that the
U.S. government is undermining confidence in the Internet with vast, secret surveillance programmes.
94. Wholesale Price Index Inflation slipped to a nine-month low of 4.68 per cent in February.
95. Goldman Sachs Asset Management (India) has announced the launch of CPSE-ETF (Central Public
Sector Enterprise Exchange Traded Fund) new fund offer, which tracks the central public sector
enterprises (CPSE) index. Through this fund, investors can invest in Maharatnas, Navratnas and
Miniratnas companies.
96. Indias foreign exchange reserves jumped by $1.088 billion to touch $295.45 billion during the week
ended March 7, 2014.
97. The Andhra Pradesh State government has in principle decided for the Rs. 1,000-crore Missile Test
Launch Facility project proposed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in
Nagayalanka mandal of Krishna district.
98. For the first time, a large section of the still classified Henderson Brooks Report, which details a
comprehensive operational review of Indias military debacle in India China war 1962, has been made
public.
99. The Hinduja brothers have emerged the third richest family in Britain in the United Kingdom.
100. Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and applied to rejoin Russia. Nearly 97 percent of
voters said yes to revert to Russia.
101. El Salvadors election officials declared Sanchez Ceren the winner in presidential election.
102. The Madras High Court restrained Zee Media Corporation Limited and News Nation Network from
publishing or telecasting any news content on Indian cricket team skipper Mahendra SinghDhoni in
connection with alleged acts of betting, spot-fixing and match-fixing.
103. Ludhiana and Kanpur are among the 10 most polluted cities in the world, says the World Health
Organisation. Ludhiana made it to the fourth position along with Quetta in Pakistan. Kanpur made it to
the ninth position. The most polluted city in the world is Ahvaz in Iran.
104. India has made it clear that it will not support sanctions sought to be imposed on Russia by a select
group of countries led by the U.S.
105. The Election Commission has directed content managers of social networking sites to make sure
that candidates do not post anything violative of the model code of conduct. The guidelines will be
applicable to a range of Internet-based social media including Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and
Wikipedia.
106. The All India Bank Employees Association has sought the immediate intervention of Chief Election
Commissioner V.S. Sampath to disqualify top loan defaulters from entering the poll fray.
107. The Home Ministry has taken action against about 19,000 non-government organisations which did
not file returns within the stipulated time period.
108. Reserve Bank of India has warned all domestic banks to take steps before Microsoft ends its
Windows XP software support from April 8, 2014.
109. A city court directed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her close aide N. Sasikala to appear
before it on April 3 to face trial in cases pertaining to alleged failure to file Income Tax returns.
110. The aviation regulator has launched a probe against SpiceJet after a video posted on YouTube
showed Holi celebrations on its Goa-Bangalore flight.
111. Indian business honchos Anand Mahindra and Lakshmi Mittal are among the worlds 50 greatest
leaders, according to Fortune magazine. The list of leaders, which includes Nobel PeacePrize winner
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis.
112. The Central Government will sell 4.2 crore shares or 9 per cent stake in Axis Bank. The government
holds about 20.72 per cent of the shares of the third largest Indian private sector bank through the
Specified Undertaking of UTI (Unit trust of India).
113. The EU welcomed Ukraine into the Western fold, signing the political provisions of a landmark
accord. European Union leaders agreed sanctions against top Russian politicians and stepped up efforts
to cut the blocs debilitating energy dependence on Russia.
114. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan said that the central bank was yet to
take a decision on Urjit Patel committee report which had suggested an inflation target and was still in
discussion with the government on the subject.
115. British retail major Tesco announced that it was forming an equal joint venture with Trent Ltd., a
part of the Tata Group, by picking up 50 per cent stake in Trent Hypermarket Ltd (THL) for about Rs.850
crore.
116. North Korea test-fired 30 short-range missiles into the sea. The missiles are estimated to have
flown about 60 km.
117. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar could be facing trouble for a remark he made urging
a crowd to vote twice in the Lok Sabha polls.
118. Book your own coach is the latest initiative rolled out by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) for the benefit of foreign travellers, tourists and students.
119. The Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) will open three more branches in three capital cities of the
northeastern States - Agartala (Tripura), Shillong (Meghalaya) and Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh).
120. Prime Minister Muhammed Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan had postponed giving India the Most
Favoured Nation (MFN) status.
121. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified that poll campaign-related news appearing in
newspapers and channels owned by political parties will fall under the purview of paid news.
122. Bank of India launched IMT (Instant Money Transfer), which allows cardless cash withdrawal at its
IMT-enabled ATMs, a first-of-its-kind initiative by any public sector bank. The facility can be initiated by
the banks customer over banks ATM and retail Internet banking. The sender initiates IMT by providing
receivers mobile number, four digits sender code and the IMT amount. The receiver receives the
notification of IMT on his mobile phone, along with a four-digit SMS Pin. The sender separately
communicates the four-digit sender code to the receiver. Then the receiver, after getting these two
pieces of information - one from the sender and the other on SMS, walks into the banks nearest IMT-
enabled ATM and withdraws cash by punching in the mobile number, sender code, and SMS Pin.
Monthly withdrawal limit prescribed for IMT transaction is Rs.25,000 for receiver, and per transaction
limit of Rs.10,000. IMT, once issued, is valid for 14 days, post which it expires, and the sender is credited
back with the IMT amount. IMT, once issued, can also be cancelled by the sender before its expiry and
withdrawal.
123. The Election Commission (EC) has directed the government to defer notification of the order on gas
price hike till the end of the general election in the third week of May. In its order the Commission said
that after taking into account all relevant facts, it had decided to order the government defer the
proposal. Mr. Kejriwal had maintained that the government had decided to increase the price of natural
gas from April 1 from the existing $ 4.2 per mmBtu (million metric British thermal unit) to $8.4 per
mmBtu,and the policy decision was a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
124. After having launched its first ATM a year ago, Tata Communications Payment Solutions Limited
(TCPSL) which is the first non-banking firm to launch its ATM network or white label ATMs said it plans
to roll out 15,000 ATMs across India by June 2016.
125. Shocked at the revelations in the report submitted by the Justice Mukul Mudgal panel in a sealed
cover, the Supreme Court asked Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president N. Srinivasan to
step down on his own to ensure a fair inquiry into allegations of betting in the Indian Premier League.
126. The G8 group of top economic powers have suspended Russia for annexing Crimea, and has
threatened to impose far-reaching sanctions if Moscow continued its incursion into Ukraine. The U.S.
and six other economic powers alsoscrapped the G8 summit to be hosted by Russia in Sochi in June.
127. More than a year after the shocking Delhi gang rape, the Indian Ordinance factory launched a light-
weight revolver, Nirbheek, designed especially for women to defend themselves from assault.
128. Shigeru Ban, Japanese architect known for his creative and inexpensive designs for disaster relief
shelters, has won the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize.
129. A U.S. court upheld the 2012 conviction of Rajat Gupta (65), former Goldman Sachs Director on
insider trading charges.
130. The death sentence passed by an Egyptian court against 529 supporters of ousted Egyptian
President Mohamed Morsy has triggered an outcry among a wide cross section of the legal community.
131. The Reserve Bank of India simplified foreign portfolio investment norms. The portfolio investor
registered in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) guidelines shall be called
Registered Foreign Portfolio Investor (RFPI). The existing portfolio investor class, namely, Foreign
Institutional Investor (FII) and Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) registered with SEBI shall be subsumed
under RFPI.
132. The Supreme Court indicted the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh for its failure to
prevent the communal riots in and around Muzaffarnagar in September last. The Supreme Court
directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs. 15 lakh to each of the families of 63 persons who died
in the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar last September.
133. Creating a new Guinness world record, over two-and-half lakh Bangladeshis performed a chorus of
their national anthem at the national parade ground to mark the countrys 43rd Independence Day.
134. European Union member states decided to ban the import of five types of fruits and vegetables
from India.
135. The U.N. Human Rights Council launched an inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, despite
Colombos fierce efforts to block an investigation. In a 23-12 vote, the council backed a Western-
sponsored resolution to investigate into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights. India, for
the first time, abstained from voting.
136. The discovery of two more mounds in January at the Harappan site of Rakhigarhi in Hisar district,
Haryana, has led to archaeologists establishing it as the biggest Harappan civilisation site.
137. Supreme Court directed all the States to abolish manual scavenging and take steps for
rehabilitation of such workers.
138. The World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region, home to a quarter of the worlds
population, was certified polio-free by an independent commission under the WHO certification
process.
139. Russian mathematician Yakov Grigorevich Sinai, one of the most influential mathematicians of the
20th Century, has been chosen for the 2014 Abel Prize by the Norwegian Academy of Science Letters.
140. The U.N. General Assembly adopted a Western-backed resolution declaring Crimeas referendum
illegitimate and refusing to recognise Russias annexation of the peninsula. The non-binding resolution
was passed in the 193-member body, with 100 votes in favour and 11 against.
141. Outgoing Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has threatened action by India against Switzerland at
global forums such as G20 for its persistent denial to share information on Indians stashing money in its
banks. Indian tax authorities have sought information on Indians with accounts in Swiss banks under the
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
142. Srei Infrastructure Finance is planning to start roll-out of its while label ATMs (WLAs) between July
and September starting with a pilot of 200 Tier-III towns in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
143. The Reserve Bank of India extended the transitional period for banks to complete the full
implementation of Basel-III capital regulations up to March 31, 2019, instead of March 31, 2018.
144. Government has set up a Tax Administration Reform Commission comprising officials from public
and private sector agencies. Parthasarathi Shome is the chairman this Commission.
145. BJP expelled its veteran leader Jaswant Singh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha poll as an
Independent in Rajasthan's Barmer constituency against the party's official nominee.
146. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Google for failing to
provide information related to an investigation into its alleged unfair trade practices in India.
147. Tata Group and Singapore Airlines received the mandatory security clearance. While both partners
will initially invest $100 million, Tata Sons will be the majority partner with 51% stake. SIA will hold 49%.
148. Indian exports will fall short of the USD 325 billion target envisaged in the current fiscal. For the
April-February period, the country's merchandise exports were up 4.79 per cent to USD 282.7 billion.
Imports during the 11-month period fell 8.65 per cent to USD 410.86 billion. The trade deficit during this
period was USD 128 billion.
149. The Supreme Court restrained the Centre and the Unique Identification Authority of India from
sharing the vast biometric database of Aadhaar cards with any third party or agency without the consent
of the registered person. It also ruled that people cannot be denied any service or benefit for not having
an Aadhaar card.
150. India has the potential to become the third-largest aviation market by 2020 and the largest by 2030
as there is a large untapped potential for growth due to the fact that access to aviationis still a dream for
nearly 99.5% of its population, stated the FICCI-KPMG India Aviation 2014-Enhancing Air Connectivity
report released.
151. UPA government has decided to extend the current foreign trade policy that expires on March 31
till a new government is formed after the Lok Sabha elections.
152. Consumer Price Index Inflation declined to 8.1 per cent.
153. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the services sector declined by about 60 per cent to USD 1.59
billion in the first nine months of this financial year.
154. A Study sponsored by the Planning Commission shows that Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
are the top three industry-friendly states in the country.
155. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion had proposed relaxation of FDI norms in the
construction sector and 100 per cent FDI in the railway sector.
156. The status of the waitlisted tickets will be communciated through SMS on the passenger mobile
phone number given at the time of booking ticket.
157. India and the United States have decided to enhance cooperation for automatic exchange of
information on tax evasion and detection of financial crimes, shoring up efforts to crackdown on black
money cases involving economic channels of the two countries.
158. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sat on 'Satyagraha' (dharna) in front of Mahatma Gandhi's bust at
Gandhi Maidan as part of the JD(U) day-long 'Bihar bandh' to protest the Centre's "discriminatory"
attitude toward Bihar and vowed to get special status for the state.
159. China has emerged Indias biggest trading partner in the current fiscal replacing the UAE.
160. Kotak Mahindra Bank announced the launch of Jifi, a first-of-its-kind fully integrated social bank
account that transcends normal digital banking by seamlessly incorporating social networking platforms
like Twitter and Facebook with mainstream banking.
161. Country's largest lender the State Bank of India (SBI) will sell bad loans amounting to Rs 3,000 crore
in the last quarter of the ongoing fiscal to the Asset Reconstruction Companies.
162. RBI has decided to withdraw the pre-2005 currency notes from circulation and asked the holders of
such currency to exchange them by January 1, 2015. The earlier deadline was June 30. Thereafter,
people would have had to produce identity proof to exchange more than 10 notes of Rs 500 and Rs
1,000. Meanwhile, banks have been advised to stop re-issue of the pre-2005 series notes over the
counters/through ATMs.
163. The new Corporate Responsibility Regulations notified recently was not applicable to the State
Bank of India, but it would comply voluntarily as SBI was created under SBI Act.
164. Central Bank of India has sold its entire stake in credit information provider CIBIL to Transunion
International Inc. Central Bank had a 5 per cent stake in CIBIL while Transunion is the majority
shareholder in CIBIL at 27.5 per cent.