Central Government Holidays in Kerala for 2015

List of Holidays and Restricted Holidays (RH) for 2015 for the Central Government Offices in Kerala

Holidays 2015

Sl.No.	Occasion	Date Christian Era	Date Saka Era	Day of the Week
1	Republic Day	January 26	Magha 06	Monday
2	Maha Shivaratri	February 17	Magha 28	Tuesday
3	Mahavir Jayanti	April 02	Chaitra 12	Thursday
4	Good Friday	April 03	Chaitra 13	Friday
5	Vishu/ Vaisakhadi/Bahag Bihu	April 15	Chaitra 25	Wednesday
6	Buddha Purnima	May 04	Vaisakha 14	Monday
7	*Idu’l Fitr (Ramzan)	July 18	Ashadha 27	Saturday
8	Independence Day	August 15	Sravana 24	Saturday
9	Onam	August 28	Bhadra 06	Friday
10	*Idu’l Zuha (Bakrid)	September 25	Asvina  o3	Friday
11	Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday	October 02	Asvina 10	Friday
12	Dussehra  (Vijaya Dashmi)	October 23	Karthika 01	Friday
13	* Muharram	October 24	Karthika 02	Saturday
14	Diwali (Deepavali)	November 10	Karthika 19	Tuesday
15	Guru Nanak’s Birthday	November 25	Agrahayana 04	Wednesday
16	*Milad-Un-Nabi or Id-E-Milad (Birthday of Prophet Mohammed)	December 24	Pausha 03	Thursday
17	Christmas Day	December 25	Pausha 04	Friday

    

* Subject to change depending on the sighting of the moon.

RESTRICTED HOLIDAYS 2015

Sl. No.	Occasion	Date Christian Era	Date	Day of the Week
1	New Year’s Day	January 01	Pausha 11	Thursday
2	Makara Sankranti	January 14	Pausha 24	Wednesday
3	Pongal	January 15	Pausha 25	Thursday
4	Basanta Panchami / Sri Panchami	January 24	Magha 04	Saturday
5	Guru Ravidas’ Birth Day	February 03	Magha 14	Tuesday
6	Swami Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti	February 14	Magha 25	Saturday
7	Shivaji Jayanti	February 19	Magha 30	Thursday
8	Attukal Pongala  / Holika Dahan	March 05	Phalguna 14	Thursday
9	Holi	March 06	Phalguna 15	Friday
10	Chaitra Sukhladi/Gudi Padava/Ugadi/Cheti Chand	March 21	Phalguna 30	Saturday
11	Ram Navami	March 28	Chaitra 07	Saturday
12	Maundy Thursday	April 02	Chaitra 12	Thursday
13	Easter Sunday	April 05	Chaitra 15	Sunday
14	Vaisakhi/Masadi	April 14	Chaitra 24	Tuesday
15	Thrissur Pooram	April 29	Vaisakha 09	Wednesday
16	May Day	May 01	Vaisakha 11	Friday
17	Hazarat Ali’s Birth Day	May 03	Vaisakha 13	Sunday
18	Guru Rabindranath’s Birth day	May 09	Vaisakha 19	Saturday
19	St: Thomas Day	July 03	Ashada 12	Thursday
20	Jamat-ul-Vida	July 17	Ashadha 26	Friday
21	Rath Yatra	July 18	Ashadha 27	Saturday
22	Karkadaka Vavu	August 14	Sravana 23	Friday
23	Parsi New Year’s Day/Nauroz	August 18	Sravana 27	Tuesday
24	First Onam	August 27	Bhadra 05	Thursday
25	Third Onam / Avani Avittam	August 29	Bhadra 07	Saturday
26	Fourth Onam/ Sreenarayana Guru Jayanti	August 30	Bhadra 08	Sunday
27	Janmashtami	September 05	Bhadra 14	Saturday
28	Ganesh Chaturthi/Vinayak Chaturthi	September 17	Bhadra 26	Thursday
29	Sree Narayana Guru Samadhi	September 21	Bhadra 30	Monday
30	Dussehra (Maha Saptami) Additional	October 20	Asvina 28	Tuesday
31	Dussehra (Maha Ashtami) Additional	October 21	Asvina 29	Wednesday
32	Dussehra (Maha Navami)	October 22	Asvina 30	Thursday
33	Maharishi Valmiki’s Birth Day	October 27	Karthika 05	Tuesday
34	Karaka Chaturthi (Karva Chouth)	October 30	Karthika 08	Friday
35	Deepavali (North India)	November 11	Karthika 20	Wednesday
36	Govardhan Puja	November 12

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1 January 2015 Current Affairs Quiz Questions

1) Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 30 December 2014 announced immediate retirement from which format of the cricket?

(A) ODI

(B) Twenty-20

(C) Test

(D) All of these 

2) Commercial power generation in Kudankulam nuclear power plant started on 30 December 2014 after getting approval from the Nuclear Power Corporation. Kudankulam nuclear power plant is situated in which state?

(A) Maharashtra

(B) Karnataka

(C) Andhra Pradesh

(D) Tamil Nadu

3) Finance ministry has recently decided not to extend excise duty cuts on automobiles beyond December 31. The interim Budget of former finance minister P Chidambaram had reduced the excise duty on small cars, scooters, motorcycles and commercial vehicles to __% from 12%?

(A) 8%

(B) 6%

(C) 9%

(D) 10%

4) Uttrakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi was on 30 December 2014 shifted to which state?

(A) Kerala

(B) Arunachal Pradesh

(C) Mizoram

(D) Gujarat

5) Union government on 31 December 2014 has blocked access to how many websites for carrying anti-India views and spreading banned terrorist outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) propaganda?

(A) 15

(B) 32

(C) 45

(D) 63

6) Government has on 31 December 2014 decided to separate the post of Chairman and Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in public sector banks. As per the Finance Ministry, the Chairman in public sector banks other than which bank will be a part- time board member henceforth?

(A) NABARD

(B) State Bank of India

(C) United Bank of India

(D) Indian Overseas Bank

7) M Sathiyavathy has recently become first woman to be appointed as Director General (DG) of?

(A) Department of Posts

(B) Central Information Commission

(C) Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

(D) Pay Commission

8) President Pranab Mukherjee on 31 December 2014 has given his assent to NJAC Bill, 2014 that seeks to scrap the collegium system of appointing?

(A) Judges to higher judiciary

(B) Central Vigilance Commission

(C) Director of CBI

(D) Chief Information Commissioner

9) Amidst row and demonstrations over Aamir Khan-starrer 'PK', which state government has recently decided to exempt the movie from entertainment tax?

(A) Delhi

(B) Bihar

(C) Uttar Pradesh

(D) Jammu and Kashmir

10) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan retired on 31 December 2014. Who will hold additional and interim charge as Chairman of ISRO for a month or until a regular chief is named?

(A) R.S. Sharma

(B) S. Ramakrishnan

(C)  M. Chandra Dathan

(D) Shailesh Nayak

Answers

1) Ans. (C) Test

2) Ans. (D) Tamil Nadu

3) Ans. (A) 8%

4) Ans. (C) Mizoram

5) Ans. (B) 32

6) Ans. (B) State Bank of India

7) Ans. (C) Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

8) Ans. (A) Judges to higher judiciary

9) Ans. (C) Uttar Pradesh

10) Ans. (D) Shailesh Nayak 

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31 December 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) Govt plans to make health a fundamental right: For the first time since Independence, the Indian government has moved towards making health a constitutional guarantee, the denial of which will be punishable. The health ministry on 31 December 2014 released a draft of the National Health Policy 2015, a document that will provide an overarching framework for the government’s health targets. The document answers one of the fundamental policy questions of our times—whether to pass a health rights Bill making health a fundamental right in the way that was done for education.

2) Government splits Chairman & MD post in PSU banks: Government has split the post of chairman and managing director at public sector banks (PSBs). In a statement on 31 December 2014, the finance ministry named managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) of four banks and said the procedure for selection of a non-executive chairman would be announced shortly. Under the new format, “the chairman (except for State Bank of India, or SBI) will be a part-time board member who will preside over board meetings and not be an executive chairman”, said a statement by the finance ministry. Earlier, a committee headed by former Axis Bank chairman PJ Nayak had suggested radical changes, including the government giving up control in PSBs, for improving corporate governance practices.

3) Aamir Khan's PK tax free in Uttar Pradesh: Amidst row and demonstrations over Aamir Khan-starrer 'PK', the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to exempt the movie from entertainment tax. "Chief Minister Akilesh Yadav has watched the movie and has directed that such films should be exempted from the entertainment tax," a senior officer said.

4) ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan retired: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan retired on 31 December 2014. Shailesh Nayak, who is Secretary, Union Earth Sciences Ministry, will hold additional and interim charge as Chairman for a month or until a regular chief is named, said an order by the Secretary, Appointments’ Committee of the Union Cabinet. Dr. Radhakrishnan led ISRO in many achievements over the past five years after he took over the reins in November 2009. The historic Mars Orbiter Mission was launched and guided to an orbit around the red planet under his leadership. Dr. Radhakrishnan took over from G. Madhavan Nair in October 2009 as the seventh chief of the space establishment.

5) President Pranab Mukherjee signed National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill: President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday formally assented to the National Judicial Appointments Commission, setting the stage for the scrapping of the decades-old collegium system of judges appointing judges. Under the new system, the government will have some say in such appointments. A six-member panel led by the chief justice of India will decide all appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts. This panel will also include the law minister, two eminent personalities and two senior-most judges of the court. The eminent persons will be named by a panel, comprising the Prime Minister, the chief justice of India and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha. One of the members will be a woman or belong to the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, other backward class or minority communities.

6) Commercial power generation started in Kudankulam nuclear power plant: Commercial power generation in Kudankulam nuclear power plant started in Tamil Nadu on 30 December 2014 night, after getting approval from the Nuclear Power Corporation. The hot run of second unit will start from end of January after fulfilling technical equirements. Of the 1000 Mega Watt electricity generated in the first unit, 562 will be given to Tamil Nadu, 221 MW to Karnataka, 133 MW to Kerala, 33 MW to Puducherry. Till now more than 335 crore units of electricity has been generated from Kudankulam nuclear power plant.

7) Union government blocked 32 websites for spreading anti-India views and ISIS propaganda: Union government has blocked access to 32 websites for carrying anti-India views and spreading banned terrorist outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) propaganda. These websites were blocked after following an advisory given by an anti-terrorism team. The blocked uniform resource locator’s(URLs) include files, videos and source code-sharing websites. They were blocked by Department of Telecom(DoT) under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and under Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.

8) M Sathiyavathy becomes first woman to be appointed as Director General DGCA:  The government has appointed M Sathiyavathy, 1982 batch UT cadre IAS officer, as the DG till January 28, 2017 — making her the first woman director general of civil aviation (DGCA). Sathiyavathy, who is currently additional secretary and financial advisor in the aviation ministry and has a clean image, may, however, remain DG only for a few months as she is going to be empanelled as secretary later this year. Sathiyavathy will replace Prabhat Kumar, who has completed his central deputation and will go back to parent UP cadre.

9) Microsoft to replace Internet Explorer with new browser in Windows 10: According to sources Microsoft is building a completely new browser to replace the ubiquitous but oft-maligned Internet Explorer. This new Windows browser is being called "Spartan," and it seems it's a completely new browser not based on Internet Explorer at all.

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Final Result of RBI Assistant Exam 2014

Friends.. Reserve Bank of India has published the final results of RBI Assistant Exam 2014 based on the online exam held during September 2014 and subsequent interview held during November 2014. You can check the result from the below link.

RBI Assistant Final Result: Click Here

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General Knowledge Quiz: 1 January 2015

Friends.. As a New Year gift to all of you, from today onwards in addition to the daily Current Affairs Quiz, we are starting Quiz on General Knowledge as well. We would like to thank all our daily readers from the bottom of our heart for the encouragement that you have given us.  Do continue the same and once again a very very Happy New Year to all of you..

1) Which Mughal emperor was the grandson of Jahangir?

(A) Shah Jahan

(B) Aurangzeb

(C) Shah Alam

(D) Bahadur Shah

2) Which zodiac sign has a lion as its symbol?

(A) Cancer

(B) Aries

(C) Leo

(D) Taurus

3) Which of these football teams is nicknamed ‘The Red Devils’?

(A) Liverpool

(B) Manchester United

(C) Aresenal

(D) Chelsea

4) The Bollywood personality Sampoorna Singh Kalra is known by which other name?

(A) Samir

(B) Anjan

(C) Gulzar

(D) Abhijeet

5) In which American city is the famous indoor stadium Madison Square Garden located?

(A) San Francisco

(B) New York City

(C) Los Angeles

(D) Washington, DC 

6) Which train was started by the Indian Railways to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru?

(A) Rajdhani Express

(B) Shatabdi Express

(C) Duronto Express

(D) Garib Rath

7) Which of these rivers flows through four capital cities?

(A) Amazon

(B) Nile

(C) Danube

(D) Volga

8) Brahmos, India’s flagship missile and Nokia both take their name from what?

(A) Mountain

(B) River

(C) Glacier

(D) Pass

9) Where would one find the ‘Sea of Tranquility’?

(A) Mars

(B) Earth

(C) The Moon

(D) The Sun

10)  Where did the Supreme Court of India originally function for 8 years before shifting it to its present building?

(A) Irwin Amphitheatre

(B) Rashtrapati Bhavan

(C) Metcalfe House

(D) Parliament House

Answers

1) Ans. (B) Aurangzeb

2) Ans. (C) Leo

3) Ans. (B) Manchester United

4) Ans. (C) Gulzar

5) Ans. (B) New York City

6) Ans. (B) Shatabdi Express

7) Ans. (C) Danube & the capital cities are Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.

8) Ans. (B) River

9) Ans. (C) The Moon

10) Ans. (D) Parliament House

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Questions related to Kisan Vikas Patra for Bank Exams

Friends.. As you might have noticed in the recent Bank/Insurance Exams, in every shift one question related to Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) was asked. Hence, in this post we are sharing with you some probable questions related to KVP which will be useful in the upcoming exams.

1) Union government on which date relaunched the erstwhile popular small savings instrument Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) to encourage people to save more and keep them off fraudulent schemes? - November 18, 2014

2) Amount invested in Kisan Vikas Patra would get doubled in? - 100 months or eight years and four months

3) Will the investors get any tax benefit for their investment in Kisan Vikas Patra? - No

4) Kisan Vikas Patra certificates would be available in the denominations of? - Rs 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 50,000

5) What is the upper limit on investment in KVPs? - No upper limit

6) Kisan Vikas Patra certificates can be encashed after a lock-in period of? - 30 months or 2 years and 6 months

7) Kisan Vikas Patra certificates can be issued jointly? - Yes, it can be issued in single or joint names.

8) Whether KVP can be transferred from one person to any other person/persons? - Yes & multiple times also possible.

9) Is nomination facility available for KVP? - Yes.  The facility of transfer from one post office to another anywhere in India is also permitted.

10) Can Kisan Vikas Patra certificates be pledged as security to avail loans from the banks? - Yes

11) Kisan Vikas Patra savings scheme was originally launched in which year? – 1^st April 1988

12) What was the maturity period of the earlier KVP scheme when it was launched? - 5 years and six months

13) In which year earlier KVP was discontinued? - 2011

14) Why was the earlier KVP discontinued by UPA government? - Following the Shyamala Gopinath Committee report which suggested that KVPs may be discontinued as they are prone to misuse.

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