Recent Current Affairs Questions/Answers: September 2014

1) Name the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister who has been sentenced to 4 years in jail after a Bangalore court found her guilty of corruption case in her assets value on 27 Sep 2014?

(A) J Jayalalithaa

(B) Mamta Banerjee

(C) Shashikala

(D) Vasundhara Raje

2) Name the Maharashtra Chief Minister who resigned from his post, as his party lost majority in the assembly following withdrawal of support by NCP recently?

(A) Manohar Parrikar

(B) Siddaramaiah

(C) Prithviraj Chavan

(B) Shivraj Singh Chouhan

3) BJP and Shiv Sena recently ended its ......... year old alliance and decided to contest state election in Maharastra independently?

(A) 10

(B) 50

(C) 30

(D) 25

4) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 September 2014 left for which country on a six-day visit?

(A) Germany

(B) USA

(C) China

(D) Russia

5) Which Indian cricketer has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award at a ceremony in the House of Lords recently?

(A) Kapil Dev

(B) Sachin Tendulkar

(C) Mohinder Amarnath

(D) Rahul Dravid

6) Which film was selected as India's official entry for OSCAR film awards 2015?

(A) Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

(B) Madras Cafe

(C) Liar’s Dice

(D) Ship of Theseus

7) Who recently won India's first gold medal at the Asian Games after clinching the men's 50 metre pistol event?

(A) Abhinav Bindra

(B) Gagan Narang

(C) Vijay Kumar

(D) Jitu Rai

8) People of which country recently rejected the referendum of independence from Britain in a historic voting?

(A) Ireland

(B) Scotland

(C) Wales

(D) All of the above

9) 17th Asian Games started on 19th September 2014 at?

(A) Jakarta, Indonesia

(B) Beijing, China

(C) Incheon, South Korea

(D) Daka, Bangladesh

10) Asia's only grand slam singles champion Li Na announced her retirement from tennis recently. She is from which country?

(A) China

(B) Japan

(C) South Korea

(D) Kazakhstan

Answers

1) Ans. (A) J Jayalalithaa

2) Ans. (C) Prithviraj Chavan

3) Ans. (D) 25

4) Ans. (B) USA

5) Ans. (A) Kapil Dev

6) Ans. (C) Liar’s Dice

7) Ans. (D) Jitu Rai

8) Ans. (B) Scotland

9) Ans. (C) Incheon, South Korea

10) Ans. (A) China 

Read More

26th September 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan resigned: Prithviraj Chavan has resigned as Maharashtra chief minister after his government was reduced to a minority with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) withdrawing support. President's Rule is expected to be imposed in the state, where elections will be held in less than three weeks. NCP's insistence on the two allies contesting an equal number of the state's 288 Assembly seats and the demand for rotational chief minister for half of the government's five-year term if the alliance retained power were the sticking points during the seat-sharing talks which eventually led to the collapse of the alliance.

2) PM Narendra Modi arrived in New York: Describing America as India's "natural global partner", Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New York on Friday on a five-day visit to the US, holding out an assurance that India is "open and friendly" for business and innovations.  Modi, 64, flew into New York's JFK airport on a special Air India Boeing plane on the first leg of his maiden visit to the US as Prime Minister after a nearly nine-hour flight from Frankfurt where he had an overnight halt.

3) Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award 2014 announced: CSIR on 26 September 2014 announced the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards 2014 for ten scientists in recognition of their work. The awards were announced by Director General of Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Dr. Paramvir Singh Ahuja during the CSIR’s 72nd Foundation day celebrations in New Delhi. The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology consists of a citation, a plaque and a cash prize of 5 lakh rupees.

4) Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban and rural poor: Union Government on 25 September 2014 launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban and rural poor. The Yojana aims at alleviating urban and rural poverty through enhancement of livelihood opportunities through skill development and other means. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana has two components one for urban India and other for rural India. The Urban component will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation while rural component named as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

5) Rajat Sharma is new President of News Broadcasters Association: The News Broadcasters Association announced appointment of office bearers for the year 2014-15 with India TV's Rajat Sharma as the President and Ashok Venkatramani of ABP News as the Vice President. A statement from the Association, which represents private television news and current affairs broadcasters, said Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India TV has been appointed as the President.

6) S&P upgrades India's credit outlook from negative to stable: Rating agency Standard & Poors has reversed its opinion about the Indian economy and upgraded the rating outlook to stable from negative while maintaining the credit rating at BBB-. This is a major change from its position last year when it said India faces one in three chances of a downgrade.

Read More

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 25 September 2014

1) BJP, Shiv Sena ends 25-year-old alliance in Maharashtra: The BJP Maharashtra unit called off its 25-year-old alliance with the Shiv Sena on Thursday, two days before the deadline for filing of nomination for the October 15 Assembly elections ends. "Shiv Sena never gave a suitable proposal, we could not accommodate our allies in that," BJP leader Eknath Khadse said. The party made a formal announcement of the split after two weeks of high drama and intense parleys between the two allies. 

2) PM Narendra Modi launched 'Make in India' campaign: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (25 Sep 2014) launched his flagship 'Make in India' campaign to put the country prominently on the global manufacturing map and, in turn, facilitate the inflow of new technology and capital, while creating millions of jobs. The ambitious scheme, that also puts in place the logistics and systems to address, in a timely manner, queries of potential investors, was unveiled along with a logo, a portal and brochures on 25 identified growth sectors before bigshots from the corporate world from India and abroad at the Vigyan Bhavan conference complex in the national capital.

3) Kapil Dev honoured With lifetime achievement award at House of Lords: Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award at a ceremony in the House of Lords in London. The award, constituted by the Indo-European Business Forum (IBEF), was presented to the former India World Cup-winning captain for his contribution to the sport and for his work in the field of upliftment of poor and destitute communities through the Khushii society. Arguably the greatest pacer bowler and all-rounder India has produced, Dev led the country to its maiden World Cup triumph in 1983, beating the then formidable West Indies in the title clash at Lord's.

4) PM Modi left for America on a six day visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for his visit to the United States of America with a vision to start a new chapter in the strategic partnership of the two countries. Modi's packed schedule includes meetings with US President Barack Obama, the US administration, other heads of states, leading industrialists and the Indian diaspora. He will also conduct bilateral meetings with the leaders of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. The Prime Minister will make his first address to the UN General Assembly as well as address prominent Indian-Americans at the famous Madison Square Gardens.

5) Isro’s Mars Orbiter Mission sends its first image home: India’s Mars Orbiter Mission on 25 Sep 2014 despatched the first image of the red planet, shot from a height of 7.3km with its colour camera, which has a 376m spatial resolution. The blurry image showing a surface pockmarked with giant craters was taken after the Martian Orbiter Mission, affectionately nicknamed MOM, took its position above the red planet.

6) Bamiyan to be SAARC cultural capital for 2015: Bamiyan, the Afghan town which shot into prominence when the Taliban blew up two ancient statues of the Buddha in 2001, has been selected to be the SAARC cultural capital for a year beginning April 2015. Dhaka will be the SAARC cultural capital in 2016-17. The year 2016-17 will also be declared the SAARC Year of Cultural Heritage.

Read More

Current Affairs daily Updates: 24 September 2014

1) Mission Mars accomplished, India's Mangalyaan enters red planet's orbit: Creating history in space, India on Wednesday (September 24) successfully placed its Mangalyaan into the Martian orbit in a record time of mere three hours. Thus, India has become the first Asian country to reach Mars and the first in the world to enter Martian orbit in its maiden attempt. Nearly 13 hours after the Mangalyaan was placed in the martian orbit, the spacecraft started sending pictures of the red planet's surface, confirmed a senior official of the ISRO. 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. 

2) Supreme Court cancels all but four coal blocks allocated since 1993: The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled 214 coal block allocations, giving the owners six months time to wind up their work. A bench, headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha, saved only four blocks — one belonging to NTPC and SAIL each and two allocated to Sasan ultra mega power projects — from being cancelled. The bench, also comprising justices Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, granted six months breathing time to mining companies to wind up their operations in the coal blocks.

3) PM Modi inaugurates mega food park in Tumkur, Karnataka: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a mega food park in Tumkur, Karnataka on Wednesday. The park has been developed with the support of the Ministry of Food, state and central governments. Future Group's food park is first of its kind in India with the group investing about Rs 250 crore in the project. Till date, 50 units have been established for food processing.

PM Modi congratulated the crowds on the Mangalyaan successfully reaching Mars. Modi in his speech emphasised the importance of the state and Centre working together for any scheme to be successfully implemented.

4) ICICI launched SB account for minors: Private sector bank ICICI Bank on Wednesday launched a savings account for minors above 10 years of age. The account, which will be opened in the name of the minor, will offer a personalised cheque book and a debit card with a picture of his or her choice, the bank said in a statement. “We are pleased to offer the ‘Smart Star’ account, which allows minors to operate their accounts independently. This will help to inculcate a habit of saving and responsibility of spending wisely,” bank’s executive director Rajiv Sabharwal said.

5) Atapattu appointed SL head coach: Marvan Atapattu's appointment as Sri Lanka's first full-time local coach in 15 years has been confirmed by Sri Lanka Cricket, following a six-week vetting process, and his three-month tenure as interim coach. SLC's coach-selection committee interviewed Atapattu and one other remaining candidate on Tuesday, and then recommended Atapattu as their preferred candidate to the executive committee. The executive committee then "unanimously approved and appointed Mr. Marvan Attapattu to the position of National Head Coach of Sri Lanka Cricket with immediate effect," an SLC release said.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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

Read More

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

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More