Current Affairs PDF September 2014 (Third Week)

Current Affairs PDF September 2014

Third Week

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1) Who was India's flag bearer at 17th Asian Games opening ceremony held on 19 September 2014?

Ans. Sardar Singh

Note: Sardar Singh is the captain of Indian Hockey team.

2) Name the Mandolin maestro who died on 19 September 2014 in Chennai?

Ans. Uppalapu Srinivas

3) Name Asia's first women Grand Slam winner who on 19 September 2014 announced her retirement from Tennis at the age of 32?

Ans. Li Na

4) Who was appointed as chairperson of National Commission for Women (NCW) recently?

Ans. Lalitha Kumaramangalam

5) International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on 16 September 2014. What was the theme this year?

Ans. Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On.

6) National Hindi Divas (Hindi Day) was observed across India on 14 September 2014. Why was Hindi Diwas celebrated on this day?

Ans.  Hindi Day is observed because on 14 September 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the Official Language of the Union.  

7) Which country on 19 September 2014 rejected the historic referendum for independence from United Kingdom through public voting?

Ans. Scotland

8) 17th Asian Games also known as XVII Asiad commenced at Asiad Main Stadium in Incheon, South Korea on 19 September 2104. What is the theme of Asian Games 2014?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans.  Meet Asia’s Future

9) What was the slogan of Asian Games 2014?

Ans. "Diversity Shines Here"

10) Union Sports Ministry on 17 September 2014 agreed to honour which Boxer with Arjuna Award?

Ans. Manoj Kumar

Note: Ministry admitted in the court that Manoj was initially not considered for the award by the committee as they mistakenly believed that he was involved in a doping case.

11) US President Barack Obama on 18 September 2014 nominated which Indian-American as the next US Ambassador to India?

Ans. Richard Rahul Verma

12) Which state became the first Indian state to ratify the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Bill 2014?

Ans. Rajasthan

Note: The Bill seeks to end the two-decade-old collegium system of appointments and transfers of judges to higher judiciary.

13) Which place became a permanent venue for the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) as decided by Union Government recently?

Ans. Goa

14) Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah on 12 September 2014 released his autobiography named?

Ans. And then One Day: A Memoir.

15) Who won the Miss America pageant on 14 September 2014?

Ans. Miss Kira Kazantsev

16) Which country won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 by defeating Serbia on 14 September 2014?

Ans. USA

17) Name the young Indian shuttler won Indonesian Badminton Masters Grand Prix Gold on 14 September 2014?

Ans. HS Prannoy

18) US Senate on 19 September 2014 passed a bipartisan resolution declaring which day as US-India Partnership Day?

Ans. 30 September 2014

19) Name the Co-founder and leader of Oracle Corp who on 18 September 2014 stepped down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)?

Ans. Larry Ellison

Note: Larry Ellison will now be the chairman of Oracle’s board and the Chief Technology Officer of the company.

20) Who became the first transgender television news anchor in India recently?

Ans. Padmini Prakash

Note: On the eve of Independence Day on 15 August 2014, she for the first time read out the day’s headlines from a teleprompter for the Lotus News Channel Studios.

21) President Pranab Mukherjee was on a visit to which foreign country from 14 to 17 September 2014?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Socialist Republic of Vietnam

22) Chinese President Xi Jinping on 16 September 2014 appointed whom as China's new Ambassador to India?

Ans. Le Yucheng

23) Name the former Director General of Police of Assam who committed suicide on 17 September 2014?

Ans. Sanker Baruah  

Note: His suicide came after CBI raided his residence during the course of investigation of multi-crore Saradha chit fund case.

24) Who was appointed as United Nations Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change on 16 September 2014?

Ans. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio

25) International Economic Association (IEA) on 16 September 2014 appointed whom as president-elect of the association beginning September 2014?

Ans. Kaushik Basu

26) Which firm on 18 September 2014 launched equity index linked green bond?

Ans. BNP Paribas

Note:  It was launched in collaboration with the World Bank which will help raise funds for products seeking to mitigate climate change. It is the first equity index linked with green bond.

27) Which state police on 16 September 2014 decided to launch its first e-police station to deal exclusively with vehicle thefts?

Ans. Delhi Police

28) The 20th Asian Junior & Cadet Table Tennis Championship was held  from 12 to 16 September 2014 at?

Ans. Sardar Vallabhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Mumbai

29) Who was appointed as the Chairman of Quality Council of India (QCI) on 17 September 2014?

Ans. Adil Zainulbhai

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Current Affairs PDF Questions: September 2014 Second Week

Current Affairs PDF- September 2014

Second Week

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1) Who won the Men’s Singles title of the US Open of Tennis 2014 on 8 September 2014?

Ans. Marin Cilic

2) World Literacy Day was observed across the world on 8 September 2014. What was the theme of the day this year?

Ans. Literacy and Sustainable Development

3) State Bank of India (SBI) on 13 September 2014 celebrated 150 years of its operations in which country?

Ans. Sri Lanka.

4) Which bank launched a Cardless Cash Withdrawal service on 10 September 2014?

Ans. ICICI Bank

5) International Cricket Council (ICC) on 9 September 2014 suspended which Pakistani off-spinner from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect for illegal bowling action?

Ans. Saeed Ajmal

6) Who became the first Indian to visit to the stratosphere, the second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere on 15 August 2014?

Ans. TN Suresh Kumar

Note: He traveled to an altitude of 17100 meters in MIG-29 from Sokol Airbase near Nizhny Novgorod in Russia.

7) Name the Prime Minister of Australia who visited India from 4 to 5 September 2014?

Ans. Tony Abbott

8) Who won the women’s Singles title of the US Open of Tennis 2014?

Ans. Serena Williams

Note: This was her third consecutive Tennis US Open trophy. She defeated Caroline Wozniazki of Denmark in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. With this, Williams joined the Tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on 18 Grand Slam titles.

9) Supreme Court on 12 September 2014 ruled ...... percent quota for disabled persons in all government jobs, including Indian Administrative Services (IAS), and promotions?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans.  3%

10) Reserve Bank of India on 9 September 2014 decided to fix the upper age limit at ..... years for Managing Directors (M.D) and Chief Executive Officers (CEO) in private sector banks?

Ans. 70 years

11) Engineering and information technology company Tata Technologies Ltd on 9 September 2014 appointed whom as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of the company?

Ans. Warren Harris

12) Which committee on 8 September 2014 reported that most of the deemed universities are not fit for being a university?

Ans. H Devaraj Committee

13) Uttarakhand Government officially declared which day as Himalaya Diwas?

Ans. 9 September

14) Who was elected as Chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) on 12 September 2014?

Ans. Narendra Ambwani

15) Who became the youngest sailor to represent India at the 2014 Asian Games?

Ans. Chitresh Tatha, 12 years

16) Union government on 11 September 2014 decided to wind up which famous watch factory in a phased manner?

Ans. HMT watches

17) Name the Indian who on 6 September 2014 won bronze at the women Grand Prix chess at the Asian Games?

Ans. Harika Dronavalli

18) Which Indian player announced retirement from the professional snooker tour on 5 September 2014?Visit: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Pankaj Advani

19) Name the Union Civil Aviation Minister who on 9 September 2014 announced that the Union Government has identified five locations for development of no-frills airports in India?

Ans. Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju

20) Who was appointed as the Executive Director (ED) of World Bank on 10 September 2014?

Ans. Subhash Chandra Garg

Note: He is a Senior IAS officer.

21) Who won the men’s doubles titles of the US Open 2014?

Ans. American twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan

22) Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station on 6 September 2014 became the ........ longest running reactor in the world?

Ans. Second

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SSC CGL Tier-1 2014 Admit Card/Call Letter Download

Friends.. You can now download the Admit Card/Call Letter of Combined Garduate Level 2014 Tier-1 Exam. As per schedule SSC is going to conduct the All India level exam on 19th October 2014 and 26th October 2014. Check the regional SSC websites from below links for more details. All the Best. (Some Region's are yet to activate the link of admit card) 

Northern Region: Click Here

Western Region: Click Here

MP Sub Region: Click Here

Kerala/Karnataka Region: Click Here

Southern Region: Click Here

North Western Sub Region: Click Here

Central Region: Click Here

North Eastern Region: Click Here

Eastern Region: Click Here

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Employment News: Job Highlights 04th October – 10th October 2014

1. High Court, Madhya Pradesh

Name of Post- English Stenographers

No. of Post- 88

Last Date - 13.10.2014

2. Public Service Commission, Uttar Pradesh

Notifies Rajasva Nirikshak Examination-2014

Last Date : 16.10.2014

3. Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur

Name of Post- Trained Graduate Teacher (Science, English), Laboratory etc.

No. of Post- 58

Last Date- 20.10.2014

4. Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh

Name of Post- Engineers, Associate Professors, Librarian & Lecturer

No. of Post- 127

Last Date- 20.10.2014

5. Staff Selection Commission (Northern Region)

Name of Posts- Various Post Group ‘B’ and ‘C’ Non-Gazetted posts.

No. of Post- 30

Last Date – 31.10.2014

6. Film and Television Institute of India, Pune

Name of Posts - Group ‘A’ (Film Wing Faculty & TV Wing Faculty) Prof. & Asstt. Prof., Group ‘B’ Cameraman & Asstt. Security Officer, etc.

No. of Posts- 58

Last Date-45 days after publication

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List of Gold Medal winners for India at Asian Games 2014- PDF Download

Friends.. The 17th Asian Games came to an end on 04 October 2014 with spectacular closing ceremony at Incheon, South Korea. India finished their campaign with 57 medals which includes 11 gold, 10 silver and 36 bronze. They ended joint 5th (in terms of total haul) in the medal standings and overall 8th. Now it’s time to rewind the list of Gold Medal winners for India as the Asian Games related questions are going to be a sure part in the upcoming competitive Exams. There were 4 individual gold medal winners for India and the other 7 came via team events. Here is the complete list of gold medal winners for India with details. You can download this as PDF by clicking on the 'print friendly' button below. 

11 Gold Medal winners

1) Jitu Rai

Jitu Rai brought India's first gold medal in Incheon with a win in the men's 50 metres pistol shooting.  The 27-year-old showed steely grit to get the better of a strong field, which included two-time Olympic champion Jin Jongoh of South Korea, to snatch the gold off the final shot in a straight duel with Vietnamese rival Nguyen Hoang Phuong. It was India's first gold medal at Asian Games 2014.

2) Men's Archery team

Indian team containing Sandeep Kumar, Raijat Chauhan and Abhishek Verma won Compound Men's team gold in Archery.  Young archer Abhishek Verma became India's new hero as he combined with Rajat Chauhan and Sandeep Kumar to clinch the gold medal in the compound team at the Gyeyang Asiad Archery Field.s

3) Squash team

Squash team with Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, Kush Kumar and Mahesh Manaonkar won Men squash team event. Saurav Ghosal combined with Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu to help India beat Malaysia 2-0 and win the men's team gold medal, the first in squash in the continental games.

4) Yogeshwar Dutt

Yogeshwar Dutt won gold medal winning the men's freestyle 65kg wrestling. He won India's fourth gold medal at Asian Games defeating Zalimkhan Yusupov of Tajikistan.

5) Seema Punia

Seema Punia won gold medal winning women's discus throw. Seema clinched the gold medal with a best throw of 61.03m in the women's discus throw final at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium.

6) Tennis mixed doubles

Saketh Myneni with Sania Mirza won gold in Tennis mixed doubles. The second-seeded Indian pair overwhelmed the top-seeded Chinese Taipei pair of Hao Ching Chan and Hsien Yin Peng 6-4 6-3 in the summit clash in just 69 minutes.

7) Mary Kom

Mary Kom won gold in women's boxing flyweight 48-51 kg category. She became the first Indian woman boxer to clinch a gold medal in the Asian Games defeating Kazakhstan's Zhaina Shekerbekova in the flyweight final.

8) Hockey (Men's Team)

Indian men won gold in hockey beating Pakistan 4-2 in penalty shootout in the final. It was 1-1 after regulation time. They ended a 16-year wait for gold.

9) 4x400 Relay Team

Indian women won gold medal after winning the 4x400 metres relay race. The team included MR Poovamma, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and Priyanka Panwar.

10) Kabaddi - women

Indian women kabaddi team won the gold defeating Iran in final. This was India’s second consecutive Gold at Asian Games.

11) Kabaddi - men

Indian men kabaddi team won the gold defeating Iran in final. This was India’s seventh consecutive Gold at Asian Games.

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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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