Daily Current Affairs Updates: 04 October 2014

1) Asian Games end with cultural extravaganza, India finishes 8th: The 17th Asian Games drew to a close with an enthralling cultural extravaganza on Saturday after 15 days of high-voltage action at the end of which India managed to stay inside top 10 even as China extended its supremacy at the top for the ninth successive edition. The formal closing was done at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium by Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah after an impressive cultural show that kept the crowd enthralled. World sports powerhouse China topped the medals table for the ninth time on the trot with another staggering haul of 342 medals, that included 151 gold, 48 less than what they pocketed at home four years ago in Guangzhou. India, second only to China in population, finished eighth on the medals table with a total haul of 57, comprising 11 gold, 10 silver and 36 bronze. The next Asian Games will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018.

2) World's first healthy baby born to womb transplant woman: A 36-year-old Swede has become the world's first woman to give birth after receiving a womb transplant, medical journal The Lancet said on Saturday, describing the event as a breakthrough for infertile women. The healthy baby boy was born last month, it said. Both mother and infant are doing well. The woman had a genetic condition called Rokitansky syndrome which meant she was born without a womb, although her ovaries were intact. The replacement organ came from a 61-year-old woman, a close family friend who had been through menopause seven years earlier. The organ was transplanted in a 10-hour operation last year. 

3) Chennai Super Kings lifted Champions League T20 2014: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) rode on Suresh Raina’s brilliance and defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by eight wickets to lift the Champions League T20 2014 Trophy. Chasing a target of 181 CSK despite losing early wicket of opener Dwayne Smith looked well in control thanks largely to Raina’s unbeaten 109 off 62 balls.

4) World Animal Day celebrated: Animal Day was celebrated across the world with a focus on hunting. Although it was started in 1931 to draw attention to the endangered species is has since "become a day for remembering and paying tribute to all animals and the people who love and respect them. It's celebrated in different ways in every country, with no regard to nationality, religion, faith or political ideology.

5) China test fires 10,000-km range nuclear missile: China has flight tested an upgraded version of its 10,000-km range Dongfeng missile which can reach most of the US and European cities, demonstrating its nuclear capability, media reports said.

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Daily Current Affairs: 03 October 2014

1) India men, women retain kabaddi gold at Asian Games: India's unhindered supremacy in the kabaddi competition at the Asian Games continued as both the men's and women's teams successfully defended their respective gold medals with hard-fought final triumphs over Iran in Incheon on Friday. Staging a fantastic second-half recovery, the Indian men surged to their seventh straight gold by defeating Iran 27-25 in a thrilling final at the Songdo University Gymnasium. India thus completed a golden double on the kabaddi mat for the second successive edition after the women defeated the same nation 31-21 in their final held earlier in the day.

2) Nation celebrated Vijaya Dashami: Nation celebrated Vijaya Dashami on Friday- the last and the tenth day of the Dusshera festival. Sukla Paksha Aswayuja Dashami or the tenth day of the waxing phase of the moon of the month of Ashwayuja Month of the lunar calendar is Vijaya Dashami. ‘Vijaya’ is a Sanskrit word which means victory. It is believed that Rama had killed Ravana and was victorious in the war. Vijaya Dashami marks the victory of good over evil. It is also believed that it was on Vijaya Dashami that Pandavas have completed their Agnat Vaas.

3) PM Narendra Modi addressed nation via All India Radio: Prime Minister Narendra Modi connected with the people through national broadcaster All India Radio on Friday. The speech, titled 'Man ki Baat', is exclusive to AIR and will also be telecast on all news channels of Doordarshan. A "recording point" has been set up at 7, Race Course Road, the PM's official residence for the address. The radio programme is one of the efforts being made by Modi to connect with the people. According to AIR old-timers, former prime minister Indira Gandhi was the last leader to have regularly used the radio medium to address the nation.

4) Sunil Narine suspended from bowling in CLT20 final: Kolkata Knight Riders, which entered the final of the Oppo Champions League T20 championship on Thursday, suffered a huge blow when its star spinner Sunil Narine was declared ineligible to bowl in the final following a report on his suspected illegal bowling action. “Narine was reported for a second time in as many matches over a suspected illegal bowling action during Thursday evening’s semi-final game against Hobart Hurricanes here at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium,” a statement issued said.

5) India finish Asian Games campaign with 57 medals: India have brought the curtains down on their campaign in the 17th Asian Games, maintaining their domination of kabaddi with two gold medals. On the penultimate day of competitions at Incheon on Friday, India rose a rung to eighth in the overall medal standings. They had a total haul of 57 medals 11 gold,10 silver and 36 bronze. In Hammer throw, Manju Bala's medal was upgraded from bronze to silver after a Chinese competitor who finished ahead of her was caught for doping.

6) 32 people killed in stampede in Patna's Gandhi Maidan during Dussehra event:  At least 32 people, including 20 women and 10 children, were killed and 26 others injured in a stampede that broke out at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan filled with huge crowds here shortly after the end of the Dussehra celebrations.

7) Isro to launch India's 3rd navigation satellite on October 10: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro’s) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is getting ready for its 28th flight, after the successful launch of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)-1C, the satellite, will be fired from Sriharikota, about 90 km from Chennai, on October 10. Isro officials said the satellite will be launched from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre. IRNSS-1C is the third navigation satellite of the seven satellites, constituting the IRNSS space segment. Its predecessors, IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B, were launched by PSLV-C22 and PSLV-C24 in July 2013 and April 2014, respectively. IRNSS-1C has a lift-off mass of 1,425 kg. The configuration of IRNSS-1C is similar to that of IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B.

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Current Affairs Updates from 2nd October 2014

1) Nation paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on birth anniversary: The nation on 2 October 2014 remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 145th birth anniversary with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders paying floral tributes at his memorial. Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh were among those who also paid homage to the Father of the Nation. The nation also remembered former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 110th birth anniversary with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the nation in paying homage to the leader, who gave the slogan 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan', at his memorial at Vijay Ghat.

 2) PM launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan; India's biggest ever cleanliness drive: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, exhorted people to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi`s vision of Clean India. Launching the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan at Rajpath in New Delhi, the Prime Minister paid homage to two great sons of Mother India, Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, on their birth anniversary. He said that out of Gandhiji`s two dreams – Quit India, and Clean India, the people had helped to ensure that the first became a reality. However, the second dream – Clean India – still remained unfulfilled. The Prime Minister said it was our social responsibility as citizens of India to help fulfil Gandhiji`s vision of Clean India, by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. The Prime Minister congratulated the winners of the crowdsourcing contests for logo and tagline of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan – Anant from Maharashtra and Bhagyashree from Gujarat. The tag-line is “Ek Kadam Swachhta Ki Ore”.

3) India beat Pakistan 4-2 to win men's hockey gold, qualified for 2016 Olympics: A spirited Indian men's hockey team defeated arch-rivals and defending champions Pakistan 4-2 in a nerve-wracking shoot-out to end its 16-year gold medal draught in the Asian Games and earn a direct berth to the 2016 Rio Olympics on Thursday. It turned out to be a humdinger of a contest between the two sub-continental foes as both India and Pakistan refused to give an inch to each other in the entire 60 minutes of a keenly contested tussle. It took a shoot-out to determine the winner as both the teanm were locked 1-1 in the regulation time of the summit clash at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium. The last time India won the gold medal was in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

4) India won women's 4x400m relay gold at Asian Games:  India continued their stranglehold in women's 4x400m relay event in the Asian Games as its quartet ran a brilliant race to win the gold for the fourth time on the trot in Games record time in the 17th edition on Thursday. The quartet of Priyanka Panwar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and M R Poovamma won an easy race in 3:28.68 to improve upon the earlier Games record of 3:29.02 which was also in the name of the gold-winning Indian team in 2010. This was the second gold for India from athletics after Seema Punia bagged the yellow metal in women's discus throw.

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 01 October 2014

1) Mary Kom becomes first Indian Woman Boxer to win Gold at Asian Games: M C Mary Kom added another feather to her already well-adorned cap, becoming the first Indian woman boxer to clinch a gold medal in the Asian Games after a coming-from-behind win over Kazakhstan's Zhaina Shekerbekova in the flyweight final. The five-time world champion and Olympic bronze-medallist beat Shekerbekova 2-0 to improve on the bronze medal she won in the previous edition of the Games, where women boxers made their debut.

2) Election Commission launched video game titled 'Get Set Vote' to promote voter awareness: In a first-of-its-kind effort, the Election Commission (EC) launched a video game titled 'Get Set Vote' as part of a series of edutainment material on voter awareness and education. The game has been created to broadly engage citizens of all age groups to learn about democracy and the electoral process. The video game, which can be played using the keyboard, gives out information and interesting details through 10 levels of mazes. With every successive level, the information becomes more specific to subjects such as Indian democracy, registering to vote, ethical voting, help from EC and so on. The mazes also get more challenging as the player clears each level.

3) PM Narendra Modi returned to Delhi after five-day visit to US: Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to New Delhi after a five-day visit to the US. Modi left Washington on Tuesday at the end of his visit and returned home on a special Air India plane after a brief transit halt in Frankfurt. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and a few of his ministerial colleagues were present at the Palam Technical area to receive Modi in a departure from normal practice where ministers no longer line up to see off or receive the Prime Minister during his foreign trips.

4) Windows 10 is the official name for Microsoft's next version of Windows: Microsoft has officially announced Windows 10, not Windows 9 like most people were expecting. It looks to be a rather big update and at the event in San Francisco, Microsoft only revealed small parts of the new update. Windows 10 will be available for all types of devices, anything from a four-inch smartphone to an 80-inch TV. Microsoft is looking for incredible scalability as well, with Windows 10 able to run on a small microprocessor or on something fit for Azure servers. Windows 10 is for everyone – and it runs deeper than the scale. Microsoft has turned back on the radical ideas of Windows 8, the Metro UI and full touch-interface, replacing it with a more timid crossover between Windows 7 and Windows 8.

5) International Day of Older Persons observed: On 14 December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly (by resolution 45/106) designated 1 October the International Day of Older Persons. The theme of the 2014 commemoration is “Leaving No One Behind: Promoting a Society for All.” International Day of Older Persons is dedicated to honour, respect and care for the world’s elderly.  Research has shown that in the next 50 years, the number of older person in the world is expected to reach the 2 billion mark.

6) Tintu Luka wins silver in 800m race at Asian Games: Indian sprinter Tintu Luka clocked her season’s best to clinch a silver medal in the 800m women’s race of the 17th Asian Games. Luka clocked 1:59.19s to better the bronze medal she had won in this event in the previous edition of the Games in Guangzhou. The gold was won by Kazakhstan’s Mukasheva Margarita, who broke the two-decade-old Games record of 1:59.85s with a timing of 1:59.02s. China’s Zhao Jing settled for the bronze medal after finishing the race in 1:59.48s, which also happened to be her personal best.

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30th September 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) Indian PM Narendra Modi meets Obama at White House: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met US President Barack Obama at the White House over dinner, ahead of formal talks on Tuesday. The two leaders "exchanged anecdotes about their first few days in office, to see if they had anything in common", India's foreign ministry said. Earlier, Mr Modi met the CEOs of top global firms in New York in an effort to persuade them to invest in India. He assured them that he was committed to liberalising the economy. Mr Modi is on his first trip to America since being elected in May. 

2) Google shuts down Orkut after a 10-year run:  Internet search titan Google has finally downed the shutters of its social networking website Orkut. However, users can save their profiles, scraps, testimonials and community posts via Google Takeout service till September 2016. Google in June had announced that it will shut down Orkut on September 30, marking the end of a 10-year run. Orkut was the first social network to hit it off on a large scale in India, even as other websites like Hi5 and MySpace failed to catch the fancy of India's internet users in mid-2000s. However, as Facebook made inroads in India, Orkut's popularity started waning, and Mark Zuckerberg's website overtook Orkut in terms of user base in the country in 2010.

3) Vigilance commissioner Rajiv named interim CVC: The government has named vigilance commissioner Rajiv as the acting central vigilance commissioner (CVC) following the completion of tenure of incumbent Pradeep Kumar. The arrangement will be valid until a regular CVC is appointed. A gazette notification issued on Monday said that "in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 10 of the CVC Act, 2003, the President is pleased to authorize Rajiv, vigilance commissioner, Central Vigilance Commission, to act as the CVC, in the vacancy caused due to completion of tenure of Pradeep Kumar, central vigilance commissioner, with effect from the 29th day of September, 2014, until the appointment of the CVC".

4) RBI announced fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15: For the fourth time in a row, RBI kept key interest rates unchanged maintaining that it will not cut them unless inflation moderates to anticipated levels, disappointing borrowers and the industry in this festive season. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan hoped that inflation will moderate to acceptable level of 6 per cent by January 2016 and maintained that the GDP growth in the current fiscal will be 5.5 per cent, same as projected earlier. RBI relaxed the 'know your customer' norms by allowing self-certification of documents needed for opening bank accounts.

Current Rates are as follows:

1. Repo Rate – 8%

2. Reverse Repo Rate – 7%

3. SLR – 22%

4. CRR – 4%

5. Bank Rate – 9%

6. MSF – 9%

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 29 September 2014

1) Ashraf Ghani sworn in as Afghanistan President: Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s new President, replacing Hamid Karzai in the country’s first democratic transfer of power since the 2001 U.S-led invasion toppled the Taliban. He became President of Afghanistan in a peaceful transition Monday after a six-month election season that ended with marathon negotiations that gave the newly created position of chief executive to his challenger Abdullah Abdullah. Mr. Karzai had been Afghanistan’s only leader since 2001.

2) Seema Punia clinches first athletics gold in Asian Games: Discus thrower Seema Punia Antil ended India's gold-less streak in track and field events on the third day of athletics competitions as she beat back a strong challenge from two Chinese rivals to bag the coveted yellow metal at the Asian Games. Seema ran away with the gold with a best throw of 61.03m in the women's discus throw final while team-mate Krishna Poonia finished fourth with a below par 55.57m at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium.

3) Panneerselvam sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister: AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam was sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister at a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhavan on Monday afternoon, two days after a special court in Bangalore sentenced former chief minister J Jayalalithaa to four years imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case. Governor K Rosaiah administered the oath to Panneerselvam, after which his cabinet colleagues were sworn in.

4) World Heart Day observed: World Heart Day was observed on 29 September 2014 across the globe. The objective of the day is to inform people around the globe that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading causes of death, claiming 17.3 million lives each year. Eating more of low-calorie and nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and less of high-calorie, high-sodium foods, such as refined, processed or fast foods, can shape up our diet as well as our heart.

5) Modi announces lifelong visas for Indian diaspora: Amid cheers from thousands of Indian-Americans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced several measures to ease travel to their motherland including life-long visas. “Happy?” he asked as the crowd cheered his announcement with chants of “Modi, Modi” at the huge Madison Square Garden community reception for him. “There is even more to come,” he said smilingly as he announced that People of Indian Origin (PIOs) in staying in India for long would not have to report to police. “There is no need for them to do that anymore.”

6) Sania Mirza-Saketh Myneni Win Mixed-Doubles Gold at Asian Games: Sania Mirza and Saketh Myneni's successful run at the Asian Games 2014 continued as the pair beat Chinese Taipei's Hsien Yin Peng and Hao Ching Chan 6-4, 6-3 to win India's sixth gold medal at Incheon. This is Sania's third consecutive Asian Games mixed doubles final appearance. In 2006, she won a gold with Leander Paes. She followed that up with a silver medal in 2010 with Vishnu Vardhan and has now won a gold with Saketh Myneni at Incheon.

7) BlackBerry Passport launched in India for Rs 49,990: BlackBerry has launched its new flagship smartphone, BlackBerry Passport in India for Rs 49,990. The smartphone was announced last week internationally and India is one of the first countries where the phone will be available. The Passport is a departure from the usual smartphone design and has a square shape. Its 4.5-inch touchscreen has an aspect ratio of 1:1 with a resolution of 1440 x 1440 pixels. Under the display is an innovative touch enabled keyboard that combines a physical keypad with virtual keypad functions seamlessly. You can swipe to delete and flick to select a predicted word on the keypad just like you would do on a display.

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 28 September 2014

1) Justice H L Dattu sworn in as 42nd Chief Justice of India: Justice HL Dattu was on Sunday sworn in as the Chief Justice of India. He was administered the oath of office by President Pranab Mukherjee. He is the 42nd Chief Justice of India and will be at the helms of the Indian judiciary till December 2, 2015. He succeeds Chief Justice RM Lodha who demitted office September 27. The oath ceremony held in Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan was attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, former deputy prime minister LK Advani, home minister Rajnath Singh, urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu, outgoing Chief Justice RM Lodha and Justice AS Anand as well as other seating and retired judges.

2) O Panneerselvam named Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister: O Panneerselvam has succeeded All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)) chief as Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister. He will take oath as the CM at 11 am on Monday. The decision to appoint Panneerselvam as the CM was taken at a meeting of AIADMK MLAs at the party headquarters in Chennai on Sunday where his name was proposed for the top post. Soon after his appointment, Paneerselvam, who is currently Tamil Nadu's Finance Minister, drove to Raj Bhavan to call on Governor Rosaiah to convey the party's decision. He was accompanied by Housing minister R Vaithilingam, Electricity Minister Natham Viswanathan and Highway Minister Edappadi Palanisamy. 

3) Yogeshwar Dutt wins historic gold in wrestling at Asian Games: Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt won the fifth wrestling gold medal for India beating Jevon Balfour of Canada in the final of the men's freestyle 65kg category in the 2014 Commonwealth Games at the SECC Hall. Yogeshwar was declared the winner on grounds of technical superiority after he took a 10-0 lead within 1.53 minutes of the first period. It was also the second gold medal of the day after Babita Kumari's triumph in the women's freestyle 55kg category.

4) KV Kamath-led 15-member panel to study financing in MSME sector: The Finance Ministry has appointed a 15-member committee under the Chairmanship of ICICI Bank Chairman KV Kamath to examine the financial architecture for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.

The committee will, among other things, come up with concrete suggestions to improve the share of institutional finance to MSMEs. This Panel has been asked to submit its final report in three months.

5) Freedom fighter Bhagat Singh remembered on birth anniversary: Country celebrated the 107th birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh. "On his birth anniversary, I bow to the proud son of India, Shaheed Bhagat Singh. His undying patriotism and courage continue to inspire," the Prime Minister said in a message. The revolutionary freedom fighter was hanged at a Lahore jail along with Shivaram Hari Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar on March 23, 1931.

6) President's rule imposed in Maharashtra:  President's rule was imposed in poll-bound Maharashtra after Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan resigned following the break-up of 15-year-old Congress-NCP alliance in the state. President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation for imposition of central rule in Maharashtra, a day after the Union Cabinet recommended clamping of President's rule in the state, a Home Ministry spokesperson said.

7) Khushbir scripts history, wins silver in 20km race walk: Khushbir Kaur today became the first Indian woman to win a medal in race walking in the Asian Games as she clinched silver in 20km event on the second day of the athletics competition. The 21-year-old from Amritsar clocked 1:33:07 to finish behind Lu Xiuzhi of China, who won the gold in 1:31:06, at the Marathon Course. The Indian, who holds the national record of 1:31:40, was consistently third till the 18km mark before going up a position in the final two kilometres, thanks largely to the slowing down of second-placed Chinese Nie Jingjing, who eventually finished fourth.

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 27 September 2014

1) Jayalalithaa convicted; gets 4-year jail term, fined Rs. 100 cr: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has been sentenced to four years in jail and slapped a fine of Rs. 100 crore in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets case. Judge John Michael Cunha pronounced the verdict. Jayalalithaa has been convicted under Section 13(2) and 13(1) (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The conviction will lead to her immediate disqualification as an MLA and subsequent stepping down as Chief Minister. Jayalalitha's aide Sasikala, V N Sudhakaran, and J Ilavarasi have also been convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

2) PM Narendra Modi addressed UN Assembly:   Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke in Hindi as he addressed the UN General Assembly session in New York on Saturday, emulating his party, the BJP's iconic leader and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Since taking charge as Prime Minister in May, Mr Modi has stuck to Hindi for most of his speeches and interactions with world leaders. Only after the historic entry of India's Mangalyaan into the Mars orbit earlier this week, did he use more than a smattering of English while addressing space scientists. Mr Vajpayee, who was Prime Minister from 1998 to 2004, was the first person to speak in Hindi at the United Nations General Assembly. As foreign minister, he addressed a session in 1977 in Hindi.

3) Indian men's squash team gets historic gold, women grab silver:  The Indian squash players wrapped up a historic performance in the Asian Games, clinching an unprecedented men's team gold after the women's side settled for its first ever silver on Saturday. With a silver and a bronze, through Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal respectively in the individual events, the squash players signed off with their best ever medal haul in the Games. The icing on the cake was provided by the men's team, led by Ghosal, which clinched the historic gold after edging out Malaysia in the summit clash.

4) Cabinet nod for President’s rule in Maharashtra: Assembly poll–bound Maharashtra is all set to be brought under President’s rule as the Union Cabinet made a recommendation to the effect on Saturday. The meeting of the Union Cabinet was presided over by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is away on a visit to the United States. Mr. Singh chaired the meeting of the Cabinet soon after his return from Kerala in the evening, government sources said.

5) BCCI extended tenure of Ravi Shastri as team India Director till 2015 World Cup: The Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) Working Committee on 26 September 2014 extended Ravi Shastri’s tenure as Director of Indian Cricket team till end of 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. The ICC Cricket World Cup is to be played in Australia and New Zealand from 14 February to 29 March 2015. The decision of retaining 52-year-old former India all-rounder Shastri as the Director was made during the BCCI Working Committee meet.

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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 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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