Mars Orbiter Mission: India becomes first country to enter Mars orbit in maiden attempt

>> Creating history, ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) on Wednesday successfully entered the orbit of the red planet. With this, India has become the first nation in the world to have entered the Mars orbit in the first attempt. ISRO's MOM is also the cheapest such mission till now.

>> Indian Space Research Organisation's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft started orbiting the red planet at 7.47am, but it was only 12 minutes later —because of a time delay in radio signals travelling the 680 million km -- that scientists at Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bangalore, could erupt in joy as Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood a happy witness.

>> The scientists had waited for more than 300 days as MOM journeyed on through space, but the last 54 minutes were virtually unbearable. For, it was during this period that the orbiter first reoriented itself and then fired its engine and thrusters for about 24 minutes to get into the Mars orbit.

>> Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Isro scientists over the success. "MOM never disappoints," he told applauding scientists at the Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bangalore. "India is the first country to get this right in the first attempt," he said.

>> With MOM successfully entering the red planet's orbit, ISRO on Wednesday also launched the MOM's official Twitter handle, @MarsOrbiter.

>> With the success of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India has joined the United States, European Space Agency and the former Soviet Union in the elite club of Martian explorers.

>> Interestingly, India's MOM is also the world's cheapest inter-planetary mission costing around Rs 450 crores or 74 million USD, which is a tenth of NASA's Mars mission MAVEN that entered the Martian orbit on September 22.

>> It aims to study Mars' surface and mineral composition, and scan its atmosphere for methane with the help of scientific instruments.

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 23 September 2014

1) Hindi film 'Liar's Dice' to represent India at Oscars: Hindi film 'Liar's Dice', a road drama about a tribal woman's journey to find her missing husband, has been selected as India's official entry to the upcoming Academy awards in the best foreign film category. Directed by Geetu Mohandas and starring Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles, 'Liar's Dice' beat 29 other films to represent India at the Oscars 2015, Supran Sen, secretary general of the Film Federation of India (FFI) told PTI. 

2) Abhinav Bindra Finishes Asian Games Career With Bronze: Ace Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra claimed his first Asian Games individual medal by winning the bronze in the men's 10 metre air rifle event at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range at Incheon on Tuesday. Chinese pair Haoran Yang (209.6) and Yifei Cao (208.9) proved too strong for the 31-year-old Indian, who had a final score of 187.1. The 2008 Olympic gold medallist had won his first Asian Games medal earlier in the day by taking third place in the men's team 10m air rifle event along with compatriots Sanjeev Rajput and Ravi Kumar.

3) AP Govt. raises age limit to 40 years for direct recruitment: The Andhra Pradesh government has issued orders relaxing the upper age limit for direct recruitment from 34 years to 40 years for the ensuring recruitments by the AP Public Service Commission and other recruiting agencies. The G.O. No.295 issued on Tuesday said that the upper age limit was relaxed in order to compensate for the shrinking opportunities to the educated unemployed youth in Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation. The opportunities that existed before the bifurcation of combined AP were lost after the bifurcation of the State, it said.

4) Google launches new social campaign: Internet search major Google, on Tuesday, launched a new social campaign to increase the internet literacy among women in India. Google has tied up MARD, an initiative started by Bollywood actor-cum-director Farhan Akhtar. MARD has tied up with Google’s digital literacy initiative for women ‘Helping Women get online’ (HWGO). HWGO was launched by Google India in collaboration with Axis Bank, Intel and Hindustan Unilever about a year ago, a statement from Google India said.

5) South Indian Bank appoints V G Mathew as new MD & CEO: Private lender South Indian Bank has appointed V G Mathew as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for three years. Mathew's appointment will come to effect from October 1, 2014. He was the Executive Vice President of the bank earlier.

6) Amit Mathew elected as chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations: Amit Mathew on 22 September 2014 was unanimously elected as Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2014-15. He is the resident editor and director of Malyala Manorama. In addition to Mathews, Shashidhar Sinha was elected as the deputy chairman of the ABC for the 2014-15.

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Daily Current Affairs from 22 September 2014

1) Pakistan appointed Rizwan Akhtar as new ISI chief: Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar was on Monday appointed the new chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in commander-level promotions announced in the country’s powerful Army. The announcement was made on Twitter by Major General Asim Bajwa, director-general of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Dawn online reported.

2) Entry norms for IITs relaxed: The Ministry of Human Resource Development has ratified new criteria for admission to the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs), paving the way for participation of more students in counselling from next year. Until now, students in the top 20 percentile of Class XII marks alone were eligible for entry into IITs. As a result, those who scored well in the Joint Entrance Examination, but failed to make it to the top 20 percentile were denied admission. Under the new rules, those who have scored 75 per cent marks in Class XII will also be eligible.

3) Mars Orbiter Mission: ISRO on verge of creating space history: The Mars Orbiter spacecraft of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) moved closer to its home on Monday, as ISRO woke up its liquid engine from slumber and slowed down the spacecraft marginally. This is in preparation for the final manoeuvres on Wednesday morning, which will slow it further and place it in Martian orbit by 8 am. A successful set of manoeuvres will make ISRO the world's only organisation to reach Mars in its first attempt. 

4) Saurav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal Create History at Asian Games: Saurav Ghosal became first Indian to enter squash final at Asian Games, while Dipika Pallikal became first Indian woman to win a squash bronze. Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal scripted history on the squash court, while shooters also continued to deliver medals as India bagged two more bronze to boost their tally to six on the third day of the 17th Asian Games. Pallikal settled for a bronze medal -- the first by an Indian woman squash player -- after losing to world number one Nicol David in the semifinals. India were also assured of at least a silver in the men's singles event after Ghosal stormed into the final -- the first from the country to achieve such a feat.

5) Sonowal Inaugurates National Academy for Athletics and National Golf Academy at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated two Sports Academies National Academy for Athletics and National Academy for Golf at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sonowal urged the youth and sports enthusiasts to make sports a part of their daily life. Quoting Swami Vivakananda, the Minister said, playing football will make you understand the meaning of Bhagavat Geeta. The National Academy for Athletics will give training for sub junior, junior and senior athletes, selected across the Country with the help of expert coaches including foreign ones. The Academy has been established as the first Academy in Sports in the country under Public-Private Partnership with M/s. JSW.

6) Ashraf Ghani declared next Afghanistan president: Afghanistan's election commission on Sunday has named Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the winner of the country's presidential election. The commission's announcement came hours after Ghani Ahmadzai signed a power sharing agreement with opponent Abdullah Abdullah, who will fill the newly created position of government chief executive.

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 18 September 2014

1) Richard Verma named new US ambassador to India: Indian-American Richard Rahul Verma was nominated by US President Barack Obama as the next ambassador to India. The move that comes ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the US next week is being seen as a positive signal since the US embassy is being headed by charge d’affaires Kathleen Stephens since June this year. Verma’s confirmation, however, is expected to take a while due to the current political situation in the US.

2) Li Na Announced Retirement From Tennis: Li Na, Asia's biggest tennis star, said she is retiring from the sport, capping a career in which she became the first Asian woman to win a Grand Slam, as well as an iconoclastic personality that made her one of China's most marketable sports stars. The 32-year-old said in statements via her verified Chinese social-media microblog and Facebook that four surgeries on her knees to heal pain and swelling had taken their toll, including the most recent in July on her left knee. "My chronic injuries will never again let me be the tennis player that I can be," she wrote.

3) Sardar Singh to be India's flag bearer at Asian Games opening ceremony: Ending the suspense over who would be the Indian contingent's flag bearer at 17th Asian Games opening ceremony in SOuth Korea, men's hockey team captain Sardar Singh was bestowed with the honour. "The flag bearer will be Sardar Singh, captain of the men's hockey team. Actually all the people were asked and we have been trying to ask the coaches about who is available. They all have matches the next day or the day after and none wanted to stand outside the stadium from 12 noon to 4 pm (before the parade). Sardar does not have a match. He was happy to do so," said Chef-de-Mission Adille Sumariwalla.

4) Xi Jinping announces new route to Kailash-Mansarovar: Chinese President Xi Jinping made a special announcement on opening a new route for pilgrims to Kailash-Mansarovar in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Mr. Xi on behalf of the people of India and said the gesture will enable a higher number of pilgrims to visit the shrine and will be especially beneficial to older pilgrims. India and China signed 13 agreements even as the two leaders called for a speedy border resolution process.

5) International Economic Association appointed Kaushik Basu as President-Elect: The International Economic Association (IEA) on 16 September 2014 appointed Kaushik Basu as president-elect of the association beginning September 2014. However, he will continue to serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of World Bank. This will be the second time that an Indian will be heading this association that produces a large number of research papers and books and organizes round tables on topics of contemporary interest. Amartya Sen became the first Indian to join IEA.

6) Le Yucheng is China's New Ambassador to India: China appointed Le Yucheng as its ambassador to India, a day ahead of President Xi Jinping's maiden visit to the country. The President appointed Le as the country's envoy, replacing Wei Wei, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a statement from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body.

7) Leonardo DiCaprio appointed as UN Messenger of Peace: Academy Award-nominated actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio has been designated the United Nations Messenger of Peace by UN chief Ban Ki-moon, with a special focus on climate change.

8) Naseeruddin Shah released his autobiography And then One Day: A Memoir: Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah on 12 September 2014 released his autobiography And then One Day: A Memoir. And Then One Day is the poignant and inspiring memoir of the acclaimed Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah. The autobiography depicts his extraordinary journey from a feudal village near Meerut, to Catholic schools in Nainital and Ajmer, and finally to stage and film fame in Mumbai.

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August 2014 Complete Current Affairs PDF

Friends.. Here is the monthly Current Affairs PDF of August 2014. This will be a very useful reference for upcoming Bank Exams and other competitive Exams. We have tried our best to cover all the happenings from August 2014. You can download the PDF from the below link. Do comment your suggestions for further improvement.

Download as PDF- Link 1 and Link 2

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Current Affairs Questions September 2014 First Week: PDF Download

Current Affairs PDF

September 2014 First Week

Download as PDF- Click Here

1) Former Chief Justice of India, Palaniswamy Sathasivam was appointed as the new Governor of which state on 3 September 2014?

Ans. Kerala

2) President Pranab Mukherjee on 3 September 2014 cleared the appointment of whom as the 42nd Chief Justice of India?

Ans. Justice H L Dattu

Note: Justice Dattu will become the Chief Justice of India after the retirement of CJI R.M. Lodha on 27 September 2014. He would hold the post until his retirement on 2 December 2015.

3) Which team won the inaugural title of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League on 31 August 2014?

Ans. Jaipur Pink Panther (JPP)

Note: It is owned by Abhisek Bachchan. They defeated U Mumba 35-24 in the final at the NSCI Stadium in Mumbai.

4) Who recently became the first Indian actor to be honored with a postage stamp by the US Post Service (USPS)?

Ans. Indian Telugu Actor, Akkineni Nageswara Rao.

Note: The stamp will be issued on the birth anniversary of Nageshwara Rao that is on 20 September 2014 in Dallas Texas.

5) Who became the first Spaniard to win World Badminton Championship on 31 August 2014?

Ans. Carolina Marin

Note: The World Badminton Championship was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Carolina won women’s singles titles by defeating world number one Li Xuerui of china.

6) Who was named Junior Men Player of the Year by Asian Hockey Federation on 31 August 2014?

Ans. Manpreet Singh

7) Name the former Attorney General of India who died of a heart attack in Mumbai on 2 September 2014?

Ans. Goolam Essaji Vahanvati

8) Name the Indo-Nepal joint military exercise which was concluded on 31 August 2014 at Pithoragarh?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Surya Kiran-VII

9) Union Government on 4 September 2014 approved ....... percent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners?

Ans. 7 %

10) The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 3 September 2014 released a set of eight Commemorative Postage Stamps on?

Ans. Indian Musicians

11) Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 3 September 2014 constituted a  panel under whom to assess the amount of unclaimed deposits in the PPF accounts and Post Office saving schemes?

Ans. H R Khan

Note: H R Khan is the Deputy Governor of RBI.

12) Sania Mirza and along with which player on 5 September 2014 won the Mixed Doubles trophy of the US Open Tennis 2014?

Ans. Bruno Soares of Brazil

13) Name India's largest naval offshore patrol vessel (NOPV) which was commissioned into Indian Navy on 4 September 2014?

Ans. INS Sumitra

14) Which country on 31 August 2014 defeated Australia for the first time in 31 years in the one-day match played at the Harare Sports Club recently?

Ans. Zimbabwe

15) Name the first Women directors in IIT council?

Ans. Tessy Thomas and Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath

Note: They were appointed on 1 September 2014. IIT Council is the apex body of 16 IITs. Tessy Thomas is the Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation.

16) Union Government on 2 September 2014 constituted a high-level committee to review five environment laws. Who will head the committee?

Ans. Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian

17) India-Japan Annual Summit 2014 was held at?

Ans. Tokyo, Japan

Note: The Summit was held during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi five-day visit to Japan from 30 August - 3 September 2014.

18) Which player was selected to lead Indian women's hockey team in Asian Games 2014?

Ans. Ritu Rani

19) India won the 5-match One-Day International (ODI) series played against England by 3-1 recently. Who was adjudged the Man-of-the-Series?

Ans. Suresh Raina

20) Who was appointed as first women chairperson of Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) on 4 September 2014?

Ans. Chandrakala Padia

21) The revived Nalanda University on 1 September 2014 started its first session with 15 students in its makeshift campus at which place?

Ans. Buddhist pilgrim town of Rajgir, about 100 km from Patna.

22) Which parliament reappointed Abdullah al-Thinni as the Prime Minister on 1 September 2014?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Libya

23) Which state became the first State in the country to launch a Health Adalat?

Ans. Karnataka

24) Name the renowned Telugu filmmaker nicknamed Bapu who died on 31 August 2014 in Chennai?

Ans. Sattiraju Lakshminarayana

25) Which state high court banned animal sacrifice at any place of public religious worship on 1 September 2014?

Ans. Himachal Pradesh.

26) Saina Nehwal on 1 September 2014 decided to train under new coach?

Ans. Vimal Kumar

Note: She decided to split with the national head coach Pullela Gopichand.

27) Which country recently unveiled plans to issue world’s first digital currency?

Ans. Ecuador

28) Who recently set a world record in the womens hammer throw at the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) Berlin Athletics meet at Berlin's Olympic stadium in Germany?

Ans. Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland

29) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 4 September 2014 formally announced that the new capital of Andhra Pradesh as?

Ans. Vijayawada

30) Who won the gold medal for the third time at the IWF World Masters Weightlifting Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark recently?

Ans. Indian Army's Lt Colonel Sudhakar Jayant

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17 September 2014 Daily Current Affairs Updates

1) Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for three-day India visit: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday on a three-day visit, which is expected to define the relationship between the two neighbours who have had a troubled past. Jinping, who arrived here from Sri Lanka, was welcomed by Gujarat Governor O P Kohli and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, as well as the state Cabinet ministers. The Chinese President is accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan. He is the first important foreign dignitary to begin his India visit from Gujarat.

2) Boxer Manoj Kumar to finally get Arjuna Award: Forced to take the legal route after being denied the honour initially, Indian boxer Manoj Kumar will be bestowed the Arjuna Award as the sports ministry has finally accepted his nomination. Manoj, a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, told that he was informed of the ministry's decision this morning. The controversial recommendation of boxer Jai Bhagwan for the Arjuna Awards had led to Manoj approaching the sports ministry officials, who, he said, had assured him that his name would be added to a list of 15 athletes in a review meeting.

3) Indonesia set to be awarded 2018 Asian Games: Indonesia is poised to be selected as the host of the next Asian Games in 2018 after Vietnam withdrew because of financial concerns. The decision will be formally ratified at an OCA General Assembly in South Korea on Saturday but OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah told that there was an agreement in place to give the multi-sports event to Jakarta. Sheikh Ahmad acknowledged that Hanoi's pullout had posed problems the OCA had never faced before, but they had not been left in the lurch for long.

4) Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed NCW chairperson: The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has appointed BJP national executive member Lalitha Kumaramangalam as the new chief of the National Commission for Women (NCW). Hours after the Union Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Menaka Gandhi announced her appointment Ms. Kumaramangalam spoke of her keenness to mainstream the gender issue in a holistic manner. Ms. Kumaramangalam also stressed on creating an atmosphere of “respect” for women. She said while there are many terms like “empowerment, autonomy and freedom” used to vis-à-vis gender issues and equality, there is need to ensure that women are treated with respect.

5) Advani Appointed Chairman of Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha: Veteran BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, who was sidelined totally in the NDA government and the BJP, finally bagged a post in Parliament. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday appointed L K Advani as the Chairman of the Lok Sabha Committee on Ethics, which oversees the moral and ethical conduct of its members. Advani was recently removed from the party Parliamentary Board and party Central Election Committee. Interestingly enough, the Speaker had recently appointed L K Advani as a member of the Standing Committee on Information Technology headed by one of the youngest members of his party, Anurag Thakur. Advani will also be a part of the Committee on Public Undertakings headed by the BJP’s Shanta Kumar.

6) Rajasthan first state to ratify Judicial Appointments Bill: Rajasthan on Wednesday became the first State to ratify the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2014 which was passed by Parliament last month. The Bill needs to be endorsed by at least 15 States before it can be sent for Presidential assent and brought into effect. The 121st Constitutional Amendment was also adopted by the House simultaneously.

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Daily Current Affairs: 16 September 2014

1) Set back for BJP in bypoll results:  It was bad news for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Assembly by-elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. These were the states that the BJP had swept in the Lok Sabha polls four months ago. The party which is ruling at the Centre lost 13 of the 24 seats held by it. Also, the polls were seen as yet another test of popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Reverses in the bypolls has come after the party's disappointing performance in the Assembly by-elections in Bihar, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh in the last two months.

2) International Day for preservation of Ozone Layer observed: The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on 16 September 2014. The day marks the commemoration of the date of signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 on substances that deplete the Ozone layer. The theme for 2014 is Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On.

3) USA won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014: USA on 14 September 2014 won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 by defeating Serbia. The World Cup was held at Madrid, Spain. The United States became the third country to win consecutive world titles and extended its winning streak in international play to 63 games. The win margin of 33 points through nine games with total score of 129-92 made the team of USA world Leader. With this, the American team became the first national team to win by more than 20 points in any previous FIBA championship event.

4) Ambani tops Hurun India Rich List again: The stock market boom and a slight strengthening of the rupee have helped drive up the number of dollar billionaires in the country to record highs, according to the Hurun India Rich List for 2014. The number has risen to 109, up from 63 last year and 59 the year before, according to the listings made available on Tuesday. Mukesh Ambani held on to his position as the richest man in India with a fortune of Rs.1.65 lakh crore, up 37 per cent from last year. 

5) Sachin Tendulkar Named for Giants International Awards: Cricket maestro and Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood danseuse Helen are among this year's Giants International awardees, according to an announcement. Tendulkar will get the award for lifetime achievement in sports while Helen Salim Khan will be honoured for her lifetime contribution to films. The awards shall be given away by the Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah at a function Wednesday. The other awardees include Urvi Piramal (Business & Industry), Hemant Thacker (Medicine), Kulinkant Luthia (Social Service), Bahubali Shah (Journalism), Anu Malik (Music) and Patangrao Kadam (Education).

6) Meghalaya boy wins bronze in World Kickboxing Championship: Edward Mawthoh, a junior from Meghalaya, has bagged a bronze medal at the World Kickboxing Championship 2014 held in Italy recently. Mawthoh competed in the 48kg category of the Under-16 full contact sports, which was held from September 6-14 at Rimini, where he bagged a bronze, Meghalaya Association of Kickboxing Organisations (MAKO) secretary Larry P Warjri said.

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 15 September 2014

1) KK Paul sworn in as Manipur Governor: Meghalaya Governor K K Paul was sworn in as acting Governor of Manipur. Manipur Chief Justice Laxmi Kant Mahapatra administered the oath of office and secrecy to Paul during a function at Raj Bhavan, which was attended by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, his cabinet colleagues and high civil and police officials.

2) Arnold Schwarzenegger Meets Jayalalithaa in Chennai: Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger had a blockbuster meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in Chennai. The 67-year-old actor met Ms Jayalalithaa for a half an hour at the state Secretariat. After the meeting he tweeted, "It was fantastic to sit down with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa before our event tonight and talk about her state's success and challenges. That's the advantage of being an actor who was also a Governor!"

3) Google launched Android One phones in India at Rs 6,399: Google has launched in India the first smartphones under its Android One project, pricing them at Rs 6,399 ($105) to capture the low-cost segment of the world's fastest growing smartphone market. The Mountain View-Based company tied up with Indian mobile players Micromax, Karbonn and Spice Mobiles to launch the affordable phones, which are powered by its Android operating system and aimed at emerging markets.

4) Axis Bank launched e-surveillance facility at ATM location: Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, announced the launch of e-surveillance facility, a service that allows a 24x7, 365 days centrally monitored automated security of ATMs. Under the e-surveillance facility, the ATM premises of Axis Bank will be monitored 24x7 from a centralised security operation centre. An immediate alert will be activated in case of detection of any unauthorised activity at the ATM site. In the event of any unauthorised activity at the ATM location, an immediate hooter alert will instantaneously propel a two way communication between the officials at the security operation center and the alleged intruders, through mike, speakers and CCTV system. Simultaneously, the system would also alert the local Police station and nearby on road Patrolling Officer about the incident, the bank said in a statement.

5) Andhra Pradesh holds country's first e-cabinet meet: Ushering in paperless cabinet, Andhra Pradesh on Monday held e-cabinet meeting. I-pads and power point presentation replaced the papers as tech-savy Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu presided over the meeting, billed as thr first such exercise by any state cabinet in the country. The e-cabinet e-meeting was held to mark 100 days of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in power in the state. According to officials, the cabinet agenda was sent to the ministers in advance through e-mail. Naidu asked all ministers to come to the meet with i-pads.

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Employment News: Job Highlights (13thSep – 19th Sep 2014)

1. UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

Name of Post- Assistant Engineer, Junior Scientific Officer, Assistant Legal Adviser etc.

No. of Post- 31

Last Date- 02.10.2014

2. HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD

Name of Post - Junior Assistant and Paid Apprentices

No. of Post- 2341

Last Date- 30.09.2014

3. INDO – TIBETAN BORDER POLICE FORCE

Name of Post- Constable (Pioneer)

No. of Post- 497

Last Date- 09.10.2014

4. PUNJAB UNIVERSITY, CHANDIGARH

Name of Post- Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor

No. of Post- 146

Last Date- 14.10.2014

5. BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICALS LIMITED, BHOPAL

Name of Post- Pharmacy Assistant, Hospital Lab Technician Assistant etc.

No. of Post- 37

Last Date- 04.10.2014

6. NATIONAL BOOK TRUST, INDIA

Name of Post- Dy. Director, Assistant Director and Accountant etc.

No. of Post- 9

Last Date- 21 days from the date of the advertisement

7. LNJN NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CRIMINOLOGY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE

Name of Post- Professor and Senior Scientific Assistant (Narcotics) etc.

No. of Post- 11

Last Date- 60 days from the date of the advertisement

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Daily Current Affairs: 14 September 2014

1) Hindi Diwas observed across India on 14 September: Hindi Diwas was celebrated across India on 14 September for commemorating the occasion of adoption of Hindi as the official language of Constituent Assembly on 14 September 1949. On the occasion, Rajbhasha Awards were conferred upon the Ministries, Departments, PSUs and Nationalised Banks. On 14 September 1949, Hindi was adopted as an official language of the Constituent Assembly. The decision of using Hindi as the official language was ratified by the Constitution of India that came into effect on 26 January 1950. Under the Article 343 of the Indian Constitution, the Devanagri script of Hindi was adopted as the official language.

2) HS Prannoy wins Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold title: Kerala shuttler HS Prannoy defeated local lad Firman Abdul Kholik 21-11, 22-20 in Palembang on Sunday to win the Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold title, his first in the senior ranks. The hard-hitting shuttler took just 43 minutes to dispatch Kholik and come as the title did a week after his runner-up finish in Vietnam, Prannoy was excited.

3) Educationist Kireet Joshi passed away: Eminent educationist and former education adviser to the Union government Kireet Joshi passed away on Sunday after battling cancer. He was 83. In 1976 the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed him as the educational adviser to the Government of India. He was instrumental in redesigning and redrafting of the Bill for Vishwa Bharati University, Shantiniketan. He is also credited with seeding the idea of the Indira Gandhi National Open University as also of Pondicherry University. He served as the Educational Adviser to the Gujarat Chief Minister from 2008 to 2010.

4) Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Vietnam on four-day state visit:  President Pranab Mukherjee arrived on a four-day state visit to strategically important Vietnam during which he will hold talks with the country's top leadership and the two nations will ink pacts in key areas of oil exploration and air connectivity.

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13 September 2014: Daily Current Affairs for Exams

1) Peaceful by-polls held in 10 states with moderate to high balloting: Moderate to heavy turnout was reported in the biggest democratic exercise in India since the April-May general election as three parliamentary and 33 assembly constituencies spanning 10 states went for by-polls Saturday. The elections - regarded as a test of popularity of the respective state governments as also of the Bharatiya Janata Party which held many of these seats - were generally peaceful. The elections to the three Lok Sabha constituencies became necessary after three political stalwarts - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao - resigned from Vadodara (Gujarat), Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh) and Medak (Telangana) respectively.

2) Champions League T20 2014 starts: As many as 12 teams are taking part in the 2014 edition of the Champions League T20, which starts on 13 September. The event is divided into two stages, Qualifiers and Group Stages. Four teams will play against each other and the top two teams will make it to the next round of the Champions League T20. The 10 teams in the group stages will be divided into two groups and they will fight against the teams from the same group to make it to the semifinal. The tournament starts on 13 September and the final will be played on 4 October. The tournament is hosted by India.

3) SC ruled 3 percent quota for disabled persons in all government jobs: The Supreme Court on 12 September 2014 ruled 3 percent quota for disabled persons in all government jobs. A bench headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha said that the disabled people have not got their due in the last 19 years. Despite the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act was passed in 1995. The bench also comprised Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton F Nariman. On the other hand, government contended that reservation cannot be given in case of promotion to Group A and Group B officers category as it is not a case of appointment. Further, it claimed that the Persons With Disabilities Act provides for three per cent quota for the differently-abled people.

4) World First Aid Day observed: World First Aid Day was observed on 13 Spetember across the world. This day observed to raise awareness on how first aid can save lives during crisis.

5) Mobile Services partially restored in Jammu Kashmir; free BSNL services for 1 week: Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday said people in flood-hit Kashmir will get free telecom services for a week on BSNL network, and mobile networks have been substantially or partially restored in the valley, except Poonch. 

Of the total 12,306 base transceiver stations (BTS) or mobile towers in J&K, 6,811 were submerged, he said, adding that of these the government has restored 1,208. "People can talk free for a week on BSNL's network in the flood affected areas. We have also requested private telecom operators. They have allowed 60 minutes of free talk time everyday," Prasad said at the press conference marking the first 100 days of in the ministry.

6) ABVP sweeps DUSU polls after 18 years: After a gap of 18 years, BJP's student wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Saturday swept Delhi University students' union elections, trouncing Congress' NSUI to bag all four positions and credited the triumph to "Modi wave". The ABVP won posts of president, vice president, secretary and joint secretary by comfortable margins, bettering last year's performance when it had lost one of the seats to the National Students' Union of India (NSUI). Mohit Nagar was elected president of DUSU while Pravesh Malik won the elections for vice president's post.

7) Davis Cup: Paes-Bopanna magic keeps India alive as hosts pull one back: Leander Paes yet again turned the clock back in company of Rohan Bopanna as the Indian duo recorded a dramatic come-from-behind 1-6 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 8-6 win over Serbian pair of Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac to keep home team's chances alive in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie in Bangalore on Saturday.

8) Telangana govt gives Rs 1 cr to Sania Mirza for US Open win: The Telangana government on Thursday felicitated tennis ace Sania Mirza for her recent victory in the US Open mixed doubles and presented her a cheque of Rs one crore. "Sania, who is the brand ambassador for Telangana, met Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Hyderabad, where he appreciated her for winning the title and wished that she win the upcoming China Open and Japan Open as well," a release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

9) Mars Mission is in the pink of health: ISRO: India's ambitious Mars Orbiter Mission, scheduled to enter the Mars orbit later this month, is in the "pink of health" and sending vital information from a distance of 211 million km after covering 95 per cent of its journey, ISRO said. "MOM keeps sending us vital information about the health of its various modules and measurements from sensors. This is called Telemetry signal. Today's telemetry confirms that MOM is in the pink of health," Indian Space Research Organisation said on its micro-blogging site.

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