December 2014 Current Affairs Questions PDF - Second Week

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1) Who was named as the TIME’s Person of the Year 2014 on 10 December 2014 by the TIME’s magazine?

Ans. Ebola fighters

2) Indian Blind Cricket team on 7 December 2014 won the fourth edition of the Blind Cricket World Cup (BCWC) 2014 by defeating which country in the final?

Ans. Pakistan

Note: The final held at Wally Wilson Cricket Ground in Cape Town, South Africa. The captain of the Indian team was Shekar Naik.

3) India on 7 December 2014 set the Guinness Record for largest human formation of a national flag in the world. Where was this event held?

Ans. Chennai

4) Which US-based taxi service was in news recently as Delhi Government banned its services in the national capital?

Ans. Uber taxi service

5) Who recently became the first Indian-American to be appointed as US Ambassador to India?

Ans. Richard Rahul Verma

6) Human Rights Day was observed globally on 10 December 2014 with the theme?

Ans. Human Rights 365

7) Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai received Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2014 on 10 December 2014. Where was the award ceremony held?

Ans. Oslo, Norway

8) Union Home Ministry on 10 December 2014 removed which section of Indian Penal Code (IPC) decriminalizing attempt to suicide?

Ans. Section 309

9) Which bank recently launched India’s first credit card with a unique transparent design and a distinctive look, in association with American Express?

Ans. ICCI Bank

10) Indian Communication Satellite GSAT-16 was on 7 December 2014 launched successfully from?

Ans. Kourou space port in French Guiana

Note: GSAT-16 carries a total of 48 communication transponders, the largest by a communication satellite developed by the ISRO so far.

11) International Cricket Council (ICC) on 7 December 2014 suspended which Pakistani player from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect for illegal bowling action?

Ans. Mohammad Hafeez

12) Andhra Pradesh Government on 8 December 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with which country for the development of its new capital that is set to come up near Vijawayada region?

Ans. Singapore

13) World’s first handcrafted herbal Holy Quran was unveiled on 8 December 2014 in?

Ans. Dubai

14) State Bank of India (SBI) on 9 December 2014 launched two indices namely the SBI Monthly Composite Index and the SBI Yearly Composite Index. What is the aim of these indices?

Ans. To primarily track manufacturing and services activity to determine contraction and expansion of the Indian economy.

15) Advanced version of Mark-II Pinaka Rocket was successfully test fired on 9 December 2014 from?

Ans. Chandipur, Odisha

 Prepared by: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

16) Which Nobel Laureate was in news recently because he auctioned his Nobel Prize medal for 4.8 million US dollars, thus becoming the first living recipient to auction the Nobel Prize medal?

Ans. James D Watson

Note: He was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1962.

17) Which Australian Cricketer player on 12 December 2014 completed 1000 Test runs in 2014, becoming the first opener to achieve the feat in one calendar year since England skipper Alastair Cook in 2012?

Ans. David Warner

18) Which former South African cricketer was on 5 December 2014 appointed as the mentor and batting consultant for Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR)?

Ans. Jacques Kallis

19) Nation remembered and paid homage to martyrs of Parliament attack on ......th anniversary of Parliament attack on 13 December 2014?

Ans. 13th

20) Delhi High Court on 10 December 2014 banned which chinese handset maker to sell phones in India over patent issue with Ericsson?

Ans. Xiaomi

21) International Anti-Corruption Day was observed by the United Nations on?

Ans. 9 December

22) Which state government on 8 December 2014 launched the 'M One app' that will provide a platform for m-governance in the State?

Ans. Karnataka

23) Who was awarded Swiss Ambassador's Award in Mumbai on 3 December 2014?

Ans. Azim Premji, Wipro Chairman

24) Which Indian playback singer was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) held in Dubai on 10 December 2014?

Ans. Asha Bhosle

25) Which Indian won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014 at Beirut, Lebanon on 10 December 2014?

Ans. Ruhi Singh

26) First Arabic translation of Indian Constitution was launched on 9 December 2014 at?

Ans. Cairo, Egypt.

27) 15th Indo-Russian Bilateral Annual Summit was recently held at?

Ans. New Delhi

Note: President Vladimir Putin of Russia visited India to hold the summit on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

28) Name the Indian who was appointed as an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently?

Ans. Randhir Singh

29) Olympian Grihanandan Singh who died on 7 December 2014 in New Delhi was famous in which sport?

Ans. Hockey

30) The Committee on Leveraging the Post Office Network on 4 December 2014 submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Who headed the committee?

Ans. Former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian

31) Armed Forces Flag Day was observed recently across the nation on?

Ans. 7 December

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25 December 2014 Current Affairs Questions & Answers

1) Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and educationist Madan Mohan Malviya were on 24 December 2014 chosen for the country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna. Both of them share common birthday on?

(A) 24 December

(B) 25 December

(C) 31 December

(D) 1 January

2) Who among the following was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Coal India Ltd (CIL) on 23 December 2014?

(A) Nirmal Chandra Jha

(B) A K Dubey

(C) S Bhattacharya

(D) None of these

3) National Consumers Right Day was observed on?

(A) November 20

(B) December 26

(C) July 21

(D) December 24

4) Theme song of the 35th National Games 2015 penned by Javed Akthar and composed by famous singer and composer Hariharan was released on 24 December 2014. Which state will host 35th National Games 2015 during Jan-Feb?

(A) Kerala

(B) Jharkhand

(C) Goa

(D) Gujarat

5) Which Union Ministry on 24 December 2014 has decided to have all official work on e-files within three months, in connection with observance of ‘Good Governance Day’ on December 25?

(A) Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Food

(B) Ministry of Information & Communication Technology

(C) Ministry of Railways

(D) Ministry of Human Resource Development

6) Which E-retailing firm on 23 December 2014 launched the online Agri store offering agricultural products to the farmers?

(A) Flipkart.com

(B) Snapdeal.com

(C) ebay.com

(D) Quickr.com

7) Which country on 23 December 2014 launched its largest ever missile warship named Tuo Chiang?

(A) China

(B) Japan

(C) South Korea

(D) Taiwan

8) Government on 24 December 2014 decided to promulgate ordinance for easy passage of bills relating auction of coal blocks and increasing the foreign investment in Insurance sector sector. An ordinance is issued under which Article of the Constitution of India?

(A) Article 234

(B) Article 256

(C) Article 123

(D) Article 321 

9) For the first time in the country, which telecom company on 24 December 2014 decided to charge customers for using voice calls over Internet (VoIP) like Skype, Viber etc?

(A) BSNL

(B) Airtel

(C) Idea

(D) Vodafone

10) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 102nd Indian Science Congress on January 3 at?

(A) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

(B) Kolkata, West Bengal

(C) New Delhi

(D) Mumbai, Maharashtra

Answers

1) Ans. (B) 25 December

2) Ans. (C) S Bhattacharya

3) Ans. (D) December 24

4) Ans. (A) Kerala

5) Ans. (A) Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Food

6) Ans. (B) Snapdeal.com

7) Ans. (D) Taiwan

8) Ans. (C) Article 123

9) Ans. (B) Airtel

10) Ans. (D) Mumbai, Maharashtra

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Complete List of Bharat Ratna awardees - PDF Download

Friends.. As you know only the last day (24 Dec 2014) bharat has got two more ratnas with the selection of Atal Bihari Vajpayee & Madan Mohan Malviya for the prestigious award. So now it’s time to rewind all the awardees of Bharat Ratna since its inception. Before going to the list, let's have a deep look into this award. You can download this article as PDF from link given below. 

Know about Bharat Ratna?

>> Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award instituted on 2 January 1954, is given in recognition of exceptional service, performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex is eligible for this award.

>> The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President. The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year.

>> The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science and public services but the government expanded the criteria to include "any field of human endeavour" in December 2011.

>> Recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a peepal-leaf–shaped medallion; there is no monetary grant associated with the award. Bharat Ratna recipients rank seventh in the Indian order of precedence, but are constitutionally prohibited from using the award name as a title.

>> However, should an award winner consider it necessary, he or she may use the following expression in their biodata or letterhead or visiting card etc. to indicate that he or she is a recipient of the award: ‘Awarded Bharat Ratna by the President’ or ‘Recipient of Bharat Ratna Award’.

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Full list of Bharat Ratna recipients:

1) C. Rajagopalachari (1954)

2) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954)

3) C.V. Raman (1954)

4) Bhagwan Das (1955)

5) Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (1955)

6) Jawaharlal Nehru (1955)

7) Govind Ballabh Pant (1957)

8) Dhondo Keshav Karve (1958)

9) Bidhan Chandra Roy (1961)

10) Purushottam Das Tandon (1961)

11) Rajendra Prasad (1962)

12) Zakir Hussain (1963)

13) Pandurang Vaman Kane (1963)

14) Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966)

15) Indira Gandhi (1971)

16) V.V. Giri (1975)

17) K Kamaraj (1976)

18) Mother Teresa (1980)

19) Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1983)

20) Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987)

21) M.G. Ramachandran (1988)

22) B.R. Ambedkar (1990)

23) Nelson Mandela (1990)

24) Rajiv Gandhi (1991)

25) Vallabhbhai Patel (1991)

26) Morarji Desai (1991)

27) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1992)

28) JRD Tata (1992)

29) Satyajit Ray (1992)

30) Gulzarilal Nanda (1997)

31) Aruna Asaf Ali (1997)

32) APJ Abdul Kalam (1997)

33) M.S. Subbulakshmi (1998)

34) Chidambaram Subramaniam (1998)

35) Jayaprakash Narayan (1999)

36) Amartya Sen (1999)

37) Gopinath Bordoloi (1999)

38) Pandit Ravi Shankar (1999)

39) Lata Mangeshkar 2001)

40) Ustad Bismillah Khan (2001)

41) Bhimsen Joshi (2009)

42) C.N.R Rao (2014)

43) Sachin Tendulkar (2014)

44) Atal Bihari Vajpayee (2015)

45) Madan Mohan Malviya (2015) 

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24th December 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) Atal Bihari Vajpayee & Madan Mohan Malviya to get Bharat Ratna award: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and educationist Madan Mohan Malviya were on 24 December 2014 chosen for the country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna. "The President has been pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya (posthumously) and to Atal Bihari Vajpayee," a press communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

2) Govt to use ordinances to push coal auction, insurance reform: Government on 24 December 2014 got moving and recommended the promulgation of ordinances for auction of coal blocks and increasing the foreign investment ceiling for insurance from 26% to 49%, seeking to get around the determined resistance to its reforms agenda from the opposition which stalled the functioning of Rajya Sabha and passage of key bills during the winter session. “An Ordinance under Article 123 is issued when issues of extreme urgency arise and cannot await a forthcoming Parliament session. The matter must be of such urgency between the date of issuance of the ordinance and Parliament session that it is difficult to wait for that period".

3) Assam violence toll mounts to 75: Assam remained on the edge on 24 December 2014 as the death toll in attacks by the Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) reached 76. Heavily armed militants suspected to be associated with the Songbijit faction of NDFB went on a killing spree and killed the ‘adivasis’ mainly in Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts as well as Chiang district and killed many people.

4) PM Modi to Inaugurate Indian Science Congress at Mumbai on January 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 102nd Indian Science Congress here on January 3. Preparations are in full swing at the University of Mumbai’s Kalina Campus to host the event from January 3 to January 7, 2015. Around 12,000 delegates, including seven Nobel laureates and four Nobel-equivalent prize winning scientists, are expected to attend the congress.

5) Bharti Airtel to charge customers for using VoIP services: Bharti Airtel customers will now have to pay extra if they are making calls on Skype, Viber or other apps using their mobile data packs as the operator has decided to charge standard data rates for making voice calls over Internet (VoIP). The VoIP data will be charged separately and would not be part of the existing data packs. This is the first time in the country that any mobile operator is charging separately for VoIP data.

6) S Bhattacharya appointed Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Ltd: Senior IAS officer S Bhattacharya has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Ltd(CIL). The coal major was without a full time chief for the past six months. "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had a couple of days back cleared Bhattacharya for the top job," an official said adding that "the order for his appointment has been made." Bhattacharya takes over the charge from Additional Secretary (Coal) A K Dubey who was given the additional charge as CMD of CIL from June 26.

7) ISRO chairman Radhakrishnan in Nature journal's top ten list: Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is one of the 2014 top ten scientists chosen by the prestigious journal Nature. This is the first time in the recent past that the journal has chosen an Indian working in India. He is listed along with other people like Andrea Accomazzo, the Rosetta flight operations director, European Space Agency. He was listed for the success of Mangalyaan mission when India became the first and only nation to land sucessfull in Mars during maiden attempt. 

8) Theme song of National Games 2015 released: The theme song of the 35th National Games, composed by famous singer and composer Hariharan, was formally released by Kerala Chief MinisterOommen Chandy, at a function held at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The promotional video starring the Games' Goodwill Ambassador and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was released by Sports Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan. Song was penned by Javed Akthar and composed by Hariharan. The song has been sung by K.J. Yesudas, Salim Merchant, Shreya Ghoshal, Benny Dayal, Shweta Mohan and Akshay Hariharan, besides the composer. Kerala is hosting the games to be held from January 31 to February 14.

9) National Consumers Right Day observed: 29th National Consumers Right Day was observed across India on 24 December 2014. The day provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make every consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.

10) Food Ministry to have all official work on e-files in 3 months: In observance of ‘Good Governance Day’ on December 25, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Food has decided to have all official work on e-files within three months. Initiative in this regard has been taken and within next three months all proposals will be put up and approvals will be taken on e- files only, said an official release.

11) Government allowed 100 per cent FDI in medical devices sector: The government has allowed 100% foreign investment in the medical devices sector under the automatic route to encourage domestic manufacturing and also potentially opened the existing Indian companies in the sector to foreign acquisition.

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Bharat Ratna for Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malaviya

* Union government on 24 December 2014 announced the prestigious Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, for former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously).

* The announcement was made on the eve of Mr. Vajpayee's 90th birthday and the 153rd birth anniversary of Pandit Malviya.

* The BJP has been demanding Bharat Ratna for Mr. Vajpayee for a long time; and BJP patriarch L.K. Advani has been at the forefront of seeking the highest civilian honour for the former Prime Minister.

* A Bharat Ratna for Madan Mohan Malaviya, freedom fighter and educationist popularly known as 'Mahamana', was one of the promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaigns.

* 43 people have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna since its inception, including scientist CV Raman, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, singer Lata Mangeshkar and politicians C Rajagopalachari.

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Current Affairs Quiz: 24 December 2014

1) Bharatiya Janata Party, along with its ally, the All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU) won a total of 43 seats in the Jharkhand assembly elections, the result of which was declared on 23 December 2014. Total how many seats are there in Jharkhand Assembly?

(A) 65

(B) 84

(C) 90

(D) 81

2) Which country on 23 December 2014 carried out the first test launch of a new heavy-class Angara A5 rocket?

(A) China

(B) Russia

(C) Pakistan

(D) Argentina

3) K Balachander who died on 23 December 2014 was an acclaimed filmmaker in which industry?

(A) Tamil

(B) Malayalam

(C) Kannada

(D) Telugu

4) Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, was recently named as the International Cricket Council ambassador for the second successive edition for the World Cup to be held in 2015 at?

(A) England and Ireland

(B) India and Sri Lanka

(C) Australia and New Zealand

(D) South Africa and Kenya 

5) RBI on 23 December 2014 extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes to?

(A) March 31, 2015

(B) January 31, 2015

(C) June 30, 2015

(D) September 30, 2015

6) Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 23 December 2014 set up a committee to examine the possibility of constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for reinvestigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases. Who will head the committee?

(A) Justice (retired) G.P. Mathur

(B) Justice (retired) Markandey Katju

(C) Justice (retired) R.M Lotha

(D) Justice (retired) Ashok Kumar Mathur

7) Which party emerged as the largest party in Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections of 2014, results for which were declared on 23 December 2014?

(A) Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC)

(B) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

(C) Jammu & Kashmir People Conference

(D) Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

8) Kisan Diwas was observed across the country on 23 December 2014 to celebrate the birthday of?

(A) Madan Mohan Malviya

(B) Chaudhary Charan Singh

(C) Lal Bahadur Shastri

(D) Lala Lajpat Rai

9) Who won the Golden Boot Award for the top scorer of Indian Super League 2014?

(A) Sandesh Jhingan

(B) Iain Hume

(C) Elano Blumer

(D) Jan Seda

10) The data for the Sample Registration Survey (SRS), conducted by the Registrar General of India (RGI), was released on 22 December 2014. As per the report, in how many states the Total Fertility Rate has fallen below two children per woman?

(A) 5

(B) 12

(C) 9

(D) 8

Answers

1) Ans. (D) 81

2) Ans. (B) Russia

3) Ans. (A) Tamil

4) Ans. (C) Australia and New Zealand

5) Ans. (C) June 30, 2015

6) Ans. (A) Justice (retired) G.P. Mathur

7) Ans. (D) Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

8) Ans. (B) Chaudhary Charan Singh

9) Ans. (C) Elano Blumer

10) Ans. (D) 8

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23 December 2014 Daily Current Affairs Updates

1) BJP becomes the single largest party in Jharkhand assembly election: Having secured a majority, the Bharatiya Janata Party, along with its ally, the All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU), is all set to form a government in Jharkhand. Many political stalwarts, even former Chief Ministers, lost the election, in what political observers see as a shift from the politics of the past that has seen unstable regimes, five Chief Ministers and intermittent periods of President’s rule since the State was formed 14 years ago.

2) Hung Assembly in Jammu&Kashmir: The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), with 28 seats, has emerged as the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir, but the hung Assembly formed by a four-cornered division of seats has made government-formation an uphill task. 

3) Filmmaker K Balachander died: Acclaimed filmmaker K Balachander, who brought in a new wave of filmmaking in Tamil cinema with bold themes and mentored talented actors like Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Sridevi, died on 23 December 2014. The 84-year-old Dadasaheb Phalke award winner, who carved out a niche for himself on the national stage with memorable films like 'Arangetram', 'Aval Oru Thodarkadhai', Rajini and Haasan-starrer 'Apoorva Raagangal', 'Avargal', 'Ek Duje Ke Liye' and 'Aaina', died of heart attack following a brief illness.

4) Deadline to exchange pre-2005 notes extended till June 30: The deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, has been extended by another six months till June, 30, 2015. "The Reserve Bank of India has stated that the public can do so till June 30, 2015. Earlier in March 2014, it had set the last date for public to exchange these notes was January 1, 2015," the RBI said in a statement. The central bank clarified that all such notes will continue to remain a legal tender. These notes can be exchanged for their full value, it added. Currency notes issued before 2005 do not have the year of printing on the reverse side. In notes issued post 2005, the year of printing is visible at the bottom on the reverse.

5) Govt. sets up committee to form SIT to reinvestigate 1984 riot cases: Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 23 December 2014 set up Mathur committee to examine the possibility of constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for reinvestigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases. The Committee will be headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retired) G.P. Mathur. It will submit its report till April 2015.

6) Kisan Diwas observed: Kisan Diwas was observed across the country on 23 December 2014 to celebrate the birthday of Chaudhary Charan Singh. Political leaders cutting across party lines paid tributes to fifth PM of India on his 11th birth anniversary. Leaders visited the former PM’s samadhi at Kisan Ghat in New Delhi. Government in 2001 had decided to observe 23 December every year as Kisan Diwas (Farmers Day).

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Recruitment of Officers in Grade "A" and "B" in NABARD 2015

Friends..National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has invited applications for the post of Assistant Manager (Grade ‘A’) in the Rural Development Banking Service (RDBS), Rajbhasha Service, Legal Service, Protocol & Security Service and Manager (Grade ‘B’) (RDBS). Eligible candidates can apply only ON-LINE on NABARD website www.nabard.org between 24 December 2014 and 15 January 2015. Further details are as follows:

Important Dates

Commencement of on-line registration of application: 24/12/2014

Closure of registration: 15/01/2015

Closure for editing application details: 15/01/2015

Last date for printing your application: 30/01/2015

Online Fee Payment: 24/12/2014 to 15/01/2015

Preliminary Examination will be conducted online tentatively in February / March 2015 on various dates. The examination may be held on working days.

Posts Advertised

Assistant Managers (Grade ‘A’) in Rural Development Banking Service (RDBS): 100

Assistant Managers (Grade ‘A’) in Rajbhasha Service: 09

Assistant Managers (Grade ‘A’) in Legal Service: 03

Assistant Managers (Grade ‘A’) in Protocol and Security Service: 10

Managers (Grade ‘B’) in Rural Development Banking Service (RDBS): 06

Age (as on 30 November 2014):

i) For Asst. Manager in Grade 'A' & Manager in Grade ‘B’: Between 21 years and 30 years (candidates born not earlier than 01 December 1984 and not later than 30 November 1993 are eligible to apply).

ii) For Asst. Manager in Grade ‘A’ in Protocol and Security Service : Between 25 and 40 Years (candidates born not earlier than 01 December 1974 and not later than 30 November 1989 are eligible to apply)

Educational Qualification and Experience (as on 30 November 2014): Refer official advertisement from below link. For Asst. Manager in Grade ‘A’ (RDBS) minimum qualification is a Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% marks or an equivalent grade, in aggregate of all semesters / years.

For more details refer official advertisement from the below link.

Check detailed notification: Click Here

Apply Online: Click Here

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