Current Affairs PDF August 2014- Third Week

Current Affairs PDF

August 2014- Third Week

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1) Name the renowned filmmaker and poet who was presented the 22nd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana award on 20 August 2014 at Jawahar Bhawan in New Delhi?

Ans. Muzaffar Ali

Note: Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award or Rajiv Gandhi National Communal Harmony Award was instituted by All-India Congress Committee (AICC) in 1992 to commemorate the contribution of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

2) Who was appointed as Chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 20 August 2014?

Ans. Prof. KV Thomas

Note: He will be the 94th Chairman of PAC. KV Thomas is the senior Congress Parliamentarian from Ernakulum Constituency, Kerala. Before him Murli Manohar Joshi of BJP was the chairman.

3) Which bank became the first bank in India to launch EMI facility on Debit Card on 19 August 2014?

Ans. ICICI Bank

4) Name the world-renowned yoga guru who died on 20 August 2014?

Ans. B K S Iyengar

5) Name India’s indigenously designed warship which was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 16 August 2014?

Ans. INS Kolkata (D63)

6) Who was was elected as Chairman of Indian Banks Association (IBA) on 20 August 2014?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. T M Bhasin

Note: He will be the Chairman of IBA for 2014-15.T M Bhasin is the chairman and managing director of Indian Bank. K R Kamath, who is the chairman and managing director of Punjab National Bank, was the previous chairman of this Association.

7) Name the eminent Kannada writer and Jnanpith awardee who died on 22 August 2014 at a hospital in Bangalore?

Ans. UR Ananthamurthy

Note: Ananthamurthy was a new voice in Kannada literature and is considered as one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. His nomination for the 2013 Man Booker International Prize brought him to the attention of a Western audience.

8) Name the Sri Lankan batsman and a former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team who retired from the Test Cricket on 18 August 2014?

Ans. Mahela Jayawardene

9) Which former Indian player was appointed as the Director of Indian Cricket Team on 19 August 2014?

Ans. Ravi Shastri

Note: Ravi Shastri would be assisting the team for the upcoming ODI series (25 August 2014-5 September 2014) and a single Twenty-20 (7 September 2014) against England.

10) World Humanitarian Day was observed across the world on 19 August 2014 with the theme?

Ans. The World Needs More Humanitarian Heroes.

11) India on 18 August 2014 called-off the Foreign Secretary-level bilateral talks with which country?

Ans. Pakistan.

Note: The decision was taken by the Union government after Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit invited Kashmiri separatist Hurriyat leaders in Delhi for a meet.

12) Name the scheme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 August 2014 to meet the irrigation needs of all farmers across the country?

Ans. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Seenchayi Yojana

13) Name India’s first indigenously-built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) which was commissioned in Indian Navy by Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on 23 August 2014?

Ans.  INS Kamorta

Note: It was commissioned at naval dockyard in Vishakhapatnam.

14) Who won Cincinnati Tennis Open on 17 August 2014?

Ans. Roger Federer

15) District and Sessions Court of Imphal, Manipur ordered release of which human rights activist who is on a hunger striker since November 2000 for scrapping Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958?

Ans. Irom Sharmila Chanu

Note: She is also known as Iron Lady of Manipur or Mengoubi.

16) Which state will host Football Federation Cup in August 2015?

Ans. Jammu and Kashmir

17) Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 21 August 2014 withheld the release of which Punjabi film based on Indira Gandhi's assassination?

Ans. Kaum de Heere.  In English means Diamonds of the Community.

18) Who has resigned as the Prime Minister of Iraq on 14 August 2014?

Ans. Nuri al-Maliki

19) Who was appointed as the Chef-de-Mission for Asian Games on 18 August 2014?

Ans. Adille Sumariwala

Note: He was the President of Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

20) England recently won the 5-match ............ Trophy test-series played against India by 3-1?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Pataudi Trophy

21) Book Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: An Inside Job recently released was authored by?

Ans. Faraz Ahmad

22) Who was was elected as the Prime Minister of Thailand on 21 August 2014?

Ans. Prayuth Chan-ocha

Note: He was the Thailand coup leader and Army Chief.

23) Who will become the youngest Formula One (F1) driver in the F1 history when he will compete for the 2015 season?

Ans. Max Verstappen of Netherlands

Note: He will be 17 years and few months old in 2015.

24) Name the weightlifter who won first medal for India at 2nd Youth Olympics on 22 August 2014?

Ans. Ragala Venkat Rahul

Note: Event was held in Nanjing, China.

25) Name the Delhi-based wrestling academy which was chosen for the 2014 Rashtritya Khel Protsahan Puraskar (RKPP) on 21 August 2014?

Ans. Guru Hanuman Akhara

26) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21 August 2014 dedicated 765 KV Ranchi-Dharmjaygarh-Sipat Transmission Line (Powergrid) to the nation in which state?

Ans. Jharkhand

27) India celebrated its ...... Independence Day on 15 August 2014?

Ans. 68th

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PA/SA Exam 2014: Result (Paper-1) of Gujarat Circle Published

Schedule of Paper II (Computer Skill Test) for the following Postal Circles is as follows:

Postal Circles: Gujrat (16)

Exam Date: 13 to 19 September 2014

Exam Time: 08:00AM onwards in Batches of 2.0 hr each. Please check your Admit Card for timings

Candidates for the above mentioned Postal Circles may check their status for Paper I by Logging into the website. Candidates, shortlisted to appear in the Paper II, may download the Admit Cards.

Please keep visiting the website for exam schedules for other Postal Circles & updates.

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Recruitment of 2986 Probationary Officers (PO) in SBI Associate Banks 2014

State Bank of India (SBI) has released notification for recruitment of 2986 Probationary Officers (POs) in Associate Banks of State Bank of India. Eligible Indian Citizens can apply online from 01-09-2014 to 18-09-2014. Details are as follows:

Important Dates:

Starting date for Online Registration of Applications: 01-09-2014

Last date for Online Registration of Applications: 18-09-2014

Dates for Payment of fees through Online: From 01-09-2014 to 18-09-2014

Dates for Payment of fees through Offline: 03-09-2014 to 20-09-2014.

Date of Examination: November 2014.

Vacancy

 

Age Limit: Candidates age limit should not be below 21 years and not above 30 years as on 01-09-2014, i.e candidates must have been born not earlier than 02-09-1984 and not later than 01-09-1993 (both days inclusive). Age relaxation will be applicable as per the rules.

Educational Qualification: Candidate should possess Graduation in any discipline from a recognised University or any equivalent qualification recognised as such by the Central Government. Candidate having integrated dual degree (IDD) certificate should ensure that the date of passing the IDD is on or before the eligiblity date.

Selection Process: Candidates would be selected based on their performance in Objective Test , Descriptive Test, Group Discussion and interview.

Examination consisting Objective Tests for 200 marks and Descriptive Test for 50 marks.

The Objective Test will be online. Immediately after the online Objective Test, Descriptive Test will be administered. Questions relating to Descriptive Test will be available on computer (Online) and candidates will have to write the answers on the answer sheet (Offline) provided to them on Paper/Pen mode.

(i) Objective Test: The Objective Test with 2hours duration consists of 4 Sections with 50 marks each (Total 200 marks) as follows:

a) Test of English Language (Grammer, Vocabulary, Comprehension etc.)

b) Test of General Awareness, Marketing & Computers

c) Test of Data Analysis & Interpretation

d) Test of Reasoning (High Level)

The candidates are required to qualify in each of the Tests by securing passing marks, to be decided by the Bank.

How to Apply: Eligible candidates can apply online through Bank’s website www.statebankofindia.com or www.sbi.co.in from 01-09-2014 to 18-09-2014. After completion of registration process, take print out of the online application form & fee payment receipt and keep it for future purpose.

For more details see official notification from below link.

Read Official Notification: English and Hindi

Apply Online: Click Here 

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Know about Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

* The government rolled out its ambitious financial inclusion programme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) on 28 August 2014, and said about 1.5 crore accounts were opened on August 28 through thousands of camps, exceeding the firstday target of 1 crore accounts.

* The programme is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first blockbuster social upliftment scheme and is aimed at improving the lives of millions of India's poor by bringing them into the financial mainstream and freeing them from the clutches of usurious moneylenders, while giving them a modicum of insurance cover.

* Buoyed by the performance on Day 1, Modi shortened the time for achieving the 7.5 crore new accounts to five months from six, urging the finance ministry to complete the task by January 26.

* The prime minister topped up each account with life insurance cover of Rs 30,000, adding to the Rs 1 lakh accidental insurance benefit already available under the account that will come bundled with a Ru-Pay-enabled debit card.

* After six months of satisfactory operations, the account would be eligible for Rs 5,000 overdraft facility, designed to take the poor out of the clutches of moneylenders. Subsequently, these accounts will be also used for providing micro pensions.

* PMJDY was simultaneously launched at multiple centres by 20 chief ministers and several union ministers — Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lucknow, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Bhopal, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani in Surat, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in Chennai and Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar in Pune.

* In all, 600 programmes and 77,852 camps were organised on the first day for the opening of bank accounts.

* All the 6 lakh villages to be mapped according to the sub service area. Villages with over 2,000 population to get full-fledged brick & mortar branches. Each bank to have at least one fixed point banking outlet catering to 1,000 to 1,500 households.

* Expansion of network includes: 50,000 Business Correspondents - targets set for bank, 7,000 branches and 20,000 new ATMs in the first phase.

* Other features include: Project management consultant/group to be engaged to help financial services department. A web portal would be created for reporting/monitoring of progress.  Roles of various stakeholders like departments, state governments, RBI, NABARD, NPCI and others identified. Gram Dak Sevaks in rural areas are proposed as Business Correspondents of banks.

* Direct benefits transfers for LPG could be routed through these accounts.

* With the introduction of new technology introduced by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a person can transfer funds, check balance through a normal phone which was earlier limited only to smart phones so far.

* Mobile banking for the poor would be available through National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) for which all banks and mobile companies have come together.

Other highlights of the scheme

1) Modi had announced the scheme on Independence Day in his address to the nation.

2) The logo of the mission was created by Priya Sharma through competition in My Gov.in platform.

3) The name “Jan Dhan” was also chosen through an online competition on the MyGov Platform and received more than 6000 suggestion from Indian citizens. After evaluation the jury shortlisted “Jan Dhan” which was suggested by 7 individuals.

4) Slogan of this scheme is " Mera Khata – Bhagya Vidhaata” (My Bank Account – The Creator of the Good Fortune).

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August 2014 Current Affairs Questions (Second Week): PDF

Current Affairs PDF

August 2014- Second Week

Download as PDF: Click Here

1) Name the Indian-origin mathematician who recently won Fields Medal which is known as 'Nobel Prize' of maths?

Ans. Manjul Bhargava

Note: He won the award for developing new approach in the geometry of numbers. Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936 to Finnish mathematician Lars Ahlfors and American mathematician Jesse Douglas.

2) Who was appointed as new Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 1 August 2014?

Ans. K V Chowdary

Note: He succeed R K Tewari. CBDT is the apex authority of the Income Tax department.

3) Paragliding World Cup Association selected which state in India as a venue to host the 2015 para-gliding World Cup?

Ans. Himachal Pradesh

Note: This will be the first para-gliding World Cup to be hosted in India. The tournament will be organised under the aegis of Para-gliding World Cup Association, France.

4) Union Government decided to appoint whom as the head of the Expenditure Management Commission on 12 August 2014?

Ans. Bimal Jalan 

Note: He is the former RBI governor. He would be tasked to suggest ways for managing public finances by reducing food, fertiliser and oil subsidies to include fiscal deficit.

5) President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 August 2014 conferred the Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards. Name the winners?

Ans. BJP leader Arun Jaitley received the award for the year 2010.

Congress Veteran Karan Singh received the award for the year 2011.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav received the award for the year for 2012.

6) Tata-Singapore Airlines (SIA) recently named its upcoming joint venture airline as?

Ans. Vistara

Note: It will start its operation from October 2014. Vistara is an inspiration from Sanskrit word, Vistaar that means limitless expanse. It has drawn inspiration from the brand’s domain – the limitless sky.

7) Who became the new Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on 16 August 2014?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Rajni Razdan

Note: She was appointed as Chairperson of UPSC by the President Pranab Mukherjee on 14 August 2014 in accordance with the Article 316 (1) of the Constitution. She replaced Prof. D P Agrawal who completed his six-year tenure as Chairman of UPSC on 16 August 2014. 

8) Indian Women’s Recurve team on 10 August 2014 won gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage IV. Where was the event held?

Ans. Wroclaw, Poland

9) Which Indian player was ranked number one Test all-rounder in ICC Test team rankings released on 11 August 2014?

Ans. Ravichandran Ashwin

10) Who became the first Indian player to reach the semi-final of World Junior Squash Championship on 13 August 2014?

Ans. Kush Kumar

11) Which football club on 13 August 2014 lifted the UEFA Football Super Cup, the first European trophy of the season?

Ans. Real Madrid

12) Selection committee headed by Kapil Dev gave no nominations for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2014 on 12 August 2014. Since the inception of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991-92, this is the ..... time that there has been no nomination?

Ans. Second. Other was in 1993-94.

13) Name the German player who announced his retirement from international football on 11 August 2014?

Ans. Miroslav Klose

14) Who became the first woman to win coveted Fields Medal on 13 August 2014 in Seoul, South Korea?

Ans. Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian born mathematician

15) Which state police on 10 August 2014 launched Whatsapp helpline to curb corruption?

Ans. Delhi Police

16) Andhra Pradesh Government on 12 August 2014 decided to make which city as its ad hoc capital?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Vijayawada

17) Which state became the most favoured destination for foreign tourists in the North-Eastern (NE) region of India as per the data released by the Union Tourism Ministry in the second week of August 2014?

Ans. Sikkim

18) Iraqi President Mohammed Fuad Masum named whom as the new Iraqi Prime Minister on 11 August 2014?

Ans. Haider al-Abadi

19) World Elephant Day was observed across the world on?

Ans. 12 August 2014

20) Name the powerful Typhoon which smashed large parts of south-west Japan on 9 August 2014?

Ans. Typhoon Halong

21) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 August 2014 laid the foundation of 44 MW Chutak hydro-electric project and Nimoo Bazgo project in which state?

Ans. Jammu and Kashmir. 

22) Name the Delhi University professor who on 13 August 2014 received Global South Award given by International Political Science Association (IPSA)?

Ans. Dr. Sunil Kumar

23) Who became the oldest-ever woman to win a Gold medal in European Championships recently?

Ans. Jo Pavey of Great Britain

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Result of SBI PO Online Exam 2014 Published

Friends..State Bank of India has published the results of its PO Exam (Phase-1) held in June- July 2014. You can check your result from the below link. Roll Numbers of Candidates Shortlisted for Phase - II are only available in the PDF. The dates and details of next phase ie, Group Discussions and Interview will be published shortly by SBI. We will update you..Keep visiting All the Best.

Check Result from official site: Click Here

Difficulty in accessing official site? - Click Here for downloaded result 

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SSC CGL Re-Exam 2013 (Tier-1) Marks Published

Friends..Staff Selection Commisssion (SSC) on 26 August 2014 published the marks of SSC CGL Tier-1 Re-exam held recently. The list of selected candidates already published by SSC on 19 August 2014. The marks can be checked by entering Roll Number and Date of Birth from the below link.

Check Marks: Click Here

Read Write Up: Click Here

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IBPS CWE-RRB-III Officer 2014 Online Exam Call letter Out

Friends..IBPS has activated the link to download admit card for officers Scale I, Scale II and Scale III. You can download the call letter from below link by entering Registration Number and Date of Birth or Password.

Download Call Letter: Click Here

Download Current Affairs Materials: Click Here

Update shared by our friend Karan Mankatala

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Download Call Letter for IBPS RRB Office Assistant CWE III 2014 Pre-Exam Training

Friends..IBPS has activated the link to download pre-exam training call letters for those belonging to SC/ST and minority communities. You need to enter Registration number and Date of Birth or Password to download.

Download Call Letter: Click Here

Update shared by our friend Karan Mankatala

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Complete Current Affairs PDF: July 2014

Friends.. Here is the Complete Current Affairs PDF of July 2014. You can download PDF from the following links. Many events of National and International importance happened during July 2014. Football World Cup and Common Wealth Games 2014 were the major sports events had in July 2014. We have tried our best to include questions on all important events. If anything is missed please bear with us. This will be useful for all upcoming competitive Exams including IBPS PO/Clerk etc. Do let us know your feedback on this for further improvement. Thank you all once again for your encouragement and support. Currentaffairs4examz Team J

Download as PDF: Link 1 and Link 2

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 21 August 2014

1) T M Bhasin elected IBA chairman: T. M. Bhasin, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Bank, has been elected as the Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), which is a representative body of CMDs and CEOs of public sector, private sector and foreign banks. IBA plays an advisory role, and presents views of banking industry to various Union Ministries for policy formulation as also to RBI for regulatory matters. 

On behalf of IBA, Mr. Bhasin, will be associated with “Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana” Mission, headed by Union Finance Minister, said a statement.

2) Thai Army chief chosen Prime Minister: Thailand’s Army chief is all set to become the country’s next Prime Minister after the junta-picked National Legislative Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved his nomination, consolidating the military’s hold on power three months after he ousted the elected government in a coup. The 60-year-old Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha was named as the next Prime Minister after the NLA voted 191-0 in his favour in an uncontested race. Altogether 194 of the existing 197 NLA members signed in to attend Thursday’s meeting to vote on the prime minister.

3) Islamic State militants killed US journalist James Foley: Militants from Islamic State (Isis) claimed to have killed an American journalist long held captive in Syria in retaliation for ongoing US air strikes against its forces in Iraq. A propaganda video circulated showed a masked Isis fighter beheading a kneeling man dressed in an orange jumpsuit who is purported to be James Wright Foley, a photojournalist who went missing in Syria in 2012. The masked executioner spoke in English, with what sounded like a British accent, and said the slaying came in response to the air strikes ordered by President Barack Obama against Isis 12 days ago.

4)  Bangladesh to join BRICS Bank: Bangladesh has decided to join the newly formed BRICS Bank, an initiative of the world's five emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This was informed to news reporters by Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith.

5) PM dedicates Ranchi-Dharamjaygarh-Sipat transmission line to the nation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today dedicated to the nation the Ranchi-Dharamjaygarh-Sipat 765kv inter-regional power transmission line in Jharkhand. This line is the first inter-regional link between eastern region and western region, an official statement said. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the commencement of work at state-run NTPC’s thermal power plant (3x660 MW) at North Karanpura at Chatra in Jharkhand.

6) Australian Cyril Baldock is oldest to swim English Channel: Australian Cyril Baldock has set the world record for the oldest person to swim the English Channel. The 70 year old Bondi Surf Life Saving Club member completed the swim between England and France in 12 hours and 45 minutes.

7) RBI tightened rules for lending against shares by NBFCs: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, tightened the norms for giving loans against shares by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). NBFCs lending against collateral of shares have been told to maintain a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 50 per cent. They can accept only specified Group 1 securities as collateral for loans of value more than Rs.5 lakh.

8) Kerala, India’s top consumer of liquor, heads for prohibition:  The excise policy of the Congress-led United Democratic Front government, finalized in a two-hour meeting held at the chief minister's official residence on Thursday, proposed to make Kerala alcohol-free in 10 years. As a first step, 418 bars closed since April 1 as they had failed to upgrade to two-star facilities, won't have their licenses renewed. Similarly, licenses of 312 functioning bars in the state won't be renewed after March 31, 2015. The government will also seek the legal possibility of terminating the licenses of these 312 bars immediately. Kerala has the highest per capita consumption of liquor in the country at 8.3 litres. Punjab comes second with 7.9 litres, while the national per capita consumption of liquor is 4 litres.

9) Film on Indira Gandhi's assassins banned from release: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Thursday put on hold the release of the controversial Punjabi film, Kaum De Heere, based on the assassination of the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, following concerns raised by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. “The film will not be released on Friday. The decision has been taken as per Rule 32 of the Cinema Certification Rules, 1983,” an official said. The instruction was issued after Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Chairperson Leela Samson watched the movie.

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