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    June 1, 2014

    1)Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31May 2014 abolished all the EmpoweredGroups of Ministers (EGoMs) andGroups of Ministers (GoMs) and toldMinistries and departments to takedecisions on pending matters. Howmany EGoMs and GoMs were workingon different issues that have now beenabolished?30(These include 9EGoMs and 21 GoMs. These EGoMs

    and GoMs were constituted during theUPA regime of Manmohan Singh andwere formed to take decisions on issueslike corruption, inter-State waterdisputes, administrative reforms andgas and telecom pricing. EGoMs hadthe power to take decisions on the lineof the Union Cabinet. Therecommendations of the GoMs wereplaced before the Cabinet for a final

    call)

    2)The Chief Executive of Lok SabhaTelevision (LSTV) Rajiv Mishra wassacked from his post by Meira Kumar,the Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha, on30 May 2014. This sacking was done by

    Meira Kumar on her last day in office tillthe appointment of a Pro term Speakerfor the Lok Sabha on 31 May 2014.Who was appointed as Lok Sabhas Proterm Speaker?Kamal Nath, the seniorCongress leader (Kamal Nath is thesenior-most leader of the Lok Sabhaand has won from Chhindwara inMadhya Pradesh for the ninth time)

    3)India lost in its first tie of the 13thFIH

    Mens Hockey World Cup that startedfrom 31 May 2014. India lost to Belgiumby 2-3 to start its campaign on a losingnote. This World Cup is being held atThe Hague, Netherlands(The 13thFIHMens Hockey World Cup is being held

    from 31 May to 15 June 2014 atKyocera Hockey Stadium at the Hague.12 teams participating in the HockeyWorld Cup areArgentina, Australia,

    Belgium, England, Germany, India,Malaysia, Netherlands (the hosts), NewZealand, South Africa, South Korea andSpain)

    4)Who emerged as the winner in thePresidential Elections in the southern

    African country Malawi that were heldon 20 May 2014?PeterMutharika(Peter Mutharika is the leader

    of Malawis main opposition partyDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP).The results were declared the MalawiElectoral Commission (MEC) on 30 may2014. Mutharika, the 74-year-oldbrother of the late former PresidentBingu wa Mutharika, was elected

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    president of the country after garnering36.4% of the votes cast. MalawiCongress Party (MCP) leader LazarousChakwera came second grasping

    27.8% of the votes and outgoingpresident Joyce Banda trailed in thirdwith 20.2% of the votes, followed byUDFS Atupele Muluzi with 13.7%)

    5)The Samajwadi Party (SP)government of Uttar Pradesh on 31 May2014 removed states Chief SecretaryJaved Usmani amid huge uproar over astring of heinous gang-rapes and crime

    against women in the state. Who wasappointed as states new Chief

    Secretary?Alok Ranjan(Alok Ranjanwas till now the agriculture production

    commissioner (APC). Javed Usmaniwas made the chief secretary in 2012soon after the SP formed thegovernment in the state after a hugevictory in the assembly polls. The

    Akhilesh Yadav-led state govt. wasespecially under pressure after theBadaun incident, where two sisters fromthe dalit community were gang-rapedand then hung from a tree)

    June 2, 2014

    1)At the stroke of midnight, as thedate changed from 1 June to 2 June

    2014, Indias newest state Telanganawas born amidst celebrations eruptingall across the state. KalvakuntlaChandrasekhara Rao, the supremo ofthe Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)became the first Chief Minister ofTelangana as he took oath on 2 June2014 at around 8:20 am at Hyderabad.Who became the first Governor of

    Telangana, who first took oath asstates Governor before administering

    the oath of office of secrecy to Rao?

    E.S.L. Narasimhan(Narasimhan willserve as the Governor of bothTelangana and the residual AndhraPradesh, out of which Telangana hasbeen carved out. Telangana becamethe 29thstate of the Union of India)

    2)Indias newest state Telanganacomprises of how many districts?

    Ten(These include Adilabad,Hyderabad (capital), Karimnagar,Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Medak,Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Rangareddyand Warangal)

    3)Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) wonthe 2014 title of the Indian Premier

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    League (IPL) on 1 June 2014 with amagnificent win over first-time finalistsKings XI Punjab at Bangalores

    Chinnaswamy Stadium. KKR won the

    high-scoring match by 3 wickets andchasing Kings XIs 199 for four, scored200 for seven in 19.3 overs to win thetitle. With this win KKR has won theIPL title for how many times?Two(KKR first won the title in 2012.Rajasthan Royals was the first winnerof IPL and won the maiden title in2008. The other title winners areDeccan Chargers (2009), ChennaiSuper Kings (2010 and 2011) andMumbai Indians (2013))

    4)Who won the Orange Cap in IPL2014 for scoring highest number ofruns?Robin Uthappa(KKRsUthappa scored 660 runs and becamethe highest run scorer in any edition ofIPL. He was followed by D. Smith ofCSK (566 runs), G. Maxwell of KingsXI (552 runs), David Warner ofSunrisers Hyderabad (528 runs) andSuresh Raina of CSK (523 runs))

    5)Who won the Purple Cap in IPL2014 for taking highest number ofwickets?Mohit Sharma ofCSK(Mohit Sharma took 23 wickets inthe tournament. He was followed by

    Sunil Naraine of KKR (21 wickets),Bhubaneshwar Kumar of SunrisersHyderabad (20 wickets), RavindraJadeja of CSK (19 wickets) andSandeep Sharma of Kings XI (18wickets))

    6)Indias first clinic for technology de-addiction was opened in which cityaround a month ago?Bangalore(The clinic has been

    opened by Indias premier mentalhealth hospital, the National Institute ofMental Health & Neuro Sciences(NIMHANS). The clinic providestreatment and consultancy for peoplewith obsession for social networkingand instant chatting sites, texting andmobile games. Technology addictionor internet addiction is recognised bymental health professionals as akin toaddictive disorders concerning drugsor alcohol. It is the propensity toexcessively engage in activitiesinvolving the cellphone, internet andsocial networking sites to the detrimentof ones health, social life or mental

    state)

    7)What is the name of the village inNagaland which was declared thecountrys first tobacco-free village on31 May 2014 on the occasion of No-tobacco Day? Gariphema(Thedeclaration was made by Nagalands

    Principal Secretary R Benchilo Thongat the Gariphema Village Council hallnear Kohima. A resolution was takenat the village that whoever sellsalcohol and tobacco or whoever getsdrunk and disturbs peace would be

    imposed a fine of Rs. 1000 while thoseconsuming alcohol, bidi, paan, betel

    nut or smokeless tobacco on the streetand public places would befined Rs. 500)

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    8)What is the name of Indias firstluxury superfast train which completed85 years of its operations on 1 June2014?Deccan Queen(This famous

    train runs between Mumbai and Puneand was started as a weekend train on1 June 1930 for the British during theirrule in India. It is one of the longest

    running trains of Indian Railways andhas never ran on steam power. Fromthe very beginning, Deccan Queenhas been running on electricity. Now it

    is a second home for thousands ofpassengers who commute betweenPune-Mumbai on daily basis)

    June 3, 2014

    1)The fifth Indo-French bilateral airexercise named Garuda-V began on2 June 2014. This exercise is aimed atenhancing operational cooperationand validating capabilities. Theexercise will involve the assets ofIndian Air Force (IAFs) main

    operational formations, including theGandhinagar-based South Western Air

    Command and the Allahabad-basedCentral Air Command. Where isGaruda-V being held? Jodhpur AirBase, Rajasthan(Frontline fighteraircraft of the IAF, including the SU 30,Mig-27 (UPG), MIG- 21 Bison, andforce multipliers such as the AWACSand Flight Refueller Aircraft IL 78 areparticipating while the French havefielded their frontline Rafale Fighteraircraft along with the KC 135Refueller. The exercise, whoseprevious edition was held at Istres,France, in 2010 will end on 13 June2014)

    2)Congress President on 2 June 2014nominated whom as partys leader in

    the Lok Sabha?Mallikarjun Kharge,the Lok Sabha member of Congressfrom Karnataka (Kharge is the formerRail Minister and was nominated afterCongress vice-president Rahul Gandhiwas apparently reluctant to take on theresponsibility of leading his party in the

    Lok Sabha)

    3)King Juan Carlos, who on 2 June2014 announced his decision toabdicate his throne, is the head ofwhich countrys royal family?

    Spain(Juan Carlos announcedabdication in favour of his son, the 46-year-old Crown Prince Felipe.KingCarlos has been on the throne for 39years and led Spains transition from

    dictatorship to democracy. However, inthe recent years his popularity hastaken a big blow following numerousroyal scandals and controversies)

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    4)Which international airlines for thefirst time introduced regularcommercial services of Airbus mega

    passenger aircraft A-380 in India

    recently?SingaporeAirlines(Singapore Airlines on 30 May2014 became the first to operate theworlds largest passenger carrier

    aircraft to India. Regular operations ofA-380 in India became a reality afterthe government in January 2014allowed Airbus A380 to fly into thecountry. The civil aviation ministry hadlifted the ban imposed in 2008 on theground that operation of A-380s couldwork against the interest of Indianpassenger carriers. At present onlyfour airportsDelhi, Mumbai,Hyderabad and Bangalorehave therequired infrastructure for handling A-380 operations. The A-380 super

    jumbo can accommodate up to 853passengers in a single-classconfiguration and a capacity of 525passengers in a three-class

    configuration)

    5)What is the name of the US Armysoldier who was in the captivity of theTaliban-aligned Haqqani network in

    Afghanistan from June 2009 until hisrelease on May 31, 2014?BoweRobert Bergdahl(Bergdahl was theonly known US prisoner of war in

    Afghanistan. His release was brokeredby the American, Qatar and

    Afghanistan governments with the

    Taliban, in exchange for fivedetainees)

    6)Which port overtook Kochi port tobecome the largest marine exportingport of India (in terms of value) during2013-14?Vishakhapatnam, AndhraPradesh(Vishakhapatnam, alsoknown as Vizag port, clocked arevenue of Rs. 6,825.64 crore, agrowth of 104% vis-a-vis last fiscal.Kochi port registered 37% growth inrevenue at Rs. 4,491 crore and stoodat second position among all the majorports of India. It is understood thatexport of vannamei shrimps, a highvalue aquaculture product mainlyfarmed in Andhra Pradesh, havecontributed substantially to the higherearnings of Vizag port)

    7)Which port belonging to the privatesector continued to retain the foremostposition in marine exports among themajor ports in terms of quantity during2013-14?Pipavav Port(During2013-13 Pipavav Ports share ofexports was 25.27 per cent out of thetotal 9,83,756 tonnes seafoodexported from the country. The porthandled 2,48,621 tonnes of marineproducts during 2013-14 against2,33,738 tonnes in the previous fiscal,

    an increase of 6.37%. Kochi handled1,60,798 tones whereas the figure ofVizag was 1,02,146 tonnes)

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    June 5, 2014

    1)Which anniversary of Chinasinfamous Tiananmen Squaremassacre was observed on 4 June2014?25th(The students protests ofTiananmen Square took place atBeijings famous Tiananmen Square

    from 15 April 1989 and went till 4 June1989 when these protests wereforcibly suppressed by hardlineleaders who ordered the military toenforce martial law. The protestsstarted during April 1989 against thekilling of a former Communist PartyGeneral Secretary and liberal reformerHu Yaobang. These protests weremowed down by Chinese Army whichused tanks and heavy armoury totarget protestors. Tiananmen Squareprotests of 1989 are considered one ofthe strongest pro-democracymovements in China which shook theCommunist regime to the core andresulted in some degree of reforms)

    2)Which country would become the19thmember of Eurozone and the lastBaltic nation to adopt the euro on 1January 2015 as announced by theEuropean Commission on 4 June2014?Lithuania(EuropeanCommission announced that Lithuaniahas fulfilled all conditions to join theEurozone and it recommended thatthe country would become the

    currency blocs 19thmember on 1January 2015. Lithuania would be thelast Baltic nation to adopt the euro,after Estonia did so in 2011 and Latviafollowed suit at the beginning of 2014)

    3)The Operation Blue Star, underwhich Indian Army carried out amilitary operation in order to establish

    control over the Golden Temple(Harmandir Sahib Complex) inAmritsar, completed how many yearson 3 June 2014?30years(Operation Blue Star was carriedout from 3 June to 8 June 1984. Themain objective of the operation was toflush-out Jarnail Singh Bhindranwaleand his armed followers from thecomplex buildings. Bhindranwale hadearlier taken residence in HarmandirSahib and made it his headquarters in

    April 1980. Unofficial sources claimthat over a hundred army soldiers diedin this operation while over 500civilians and Sikh militants were killed.Operation Blue Star was led by Lt.Gen. Kuldip Singh Brar, who operated

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    under Lt. Gen. Sundarji. However, theoperation has been criticized onnumerous grounds including ill-planning, ill-timing and arrogant

    attitude of the strategists of thisoperation. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwalealso died in the operation)

    4)The first sitting of the newlyconstituted 16thLok Sabha wasadjourned for the day on 4 June 2014after paying homage to the departedUnion Minister Gopinath Munde. Whowas sworn in as the Protem Speakerof the newly constituted Lok Sabha?Kamal Nath(Kamal Nath, a nine-termMP, was administered the oath at asimple function in the RashtrapatiBhavan which was attended by Prime

    Minister Narendra Modi, VicePresident Hamid Ansari, Parliamentary

    Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naiduand Minister of State (Parliamentary

    Affairs) Santosh K Gangwar)

    5)According to the HSBC ServicesBusiness Activity Index released on 4June 2014 Indias services sector

    expanded for the first time during May2014 after a gap of how manymonths?11 months(The headlineHSBC Services Business ActivityIndex released on 4 June stood at50.2 in May 2014, rising from Aprils

    reading of 48.5 and pointing to the firstexpansion of output in 11 months. Thisclearly indicated that activity in theservices sector is improving gradually)

    June 6, 2014

    1)40thSummit of Group of Seven (G7)group of countries concluded on 5June 2014. This 2-day summit washeld at which city?Brussels,Belgium(G7 was earlier known as G8but after Russia being expelled fromthe group, the group is again known as

    G7. G7 is the group of seven majorworld powers (largest economies ofthe world) and includes Germany,France, the United Kingdom, Italy,Japan, the United States, and Canada.Russia was expelled from its earlierincarnation called G8 after its invasion

    of Crimea during March 2014. G8ssummit for 2014 was proposed to beheld at Sochi (Russia) but it wassuspended after Russia was expelledas a member of the group. The summitwas thus shifted to Brussels)

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    2)Indias new Prime MinisterNarendra Modi would undertake hisfirst official foreign visit to whichcountry, as disclosed on 5 June 2014?

    Bhutan(Bhutan is Indias friendliestneighbour and Modi would visit the

    country after the ongoing session ofthe Indian Parliament)

    3)US President Barack Obama on 4June 2015 suspended the oilsanctions being imposed on Iran forhow many months?Six months(Thiswas done as Iran continued to complywith the commitment on itscontroversial nuclear weaponsprogramme. Obama determined thatthere is no need to continue with oilsanctions on Iran as it is fully co-operating with the US-led internationalcommunity to address their concernsabout its nuclear weaponsprogramme)

    4)BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan will bethe Speaker of the 16thLok Sabha. Hername was proposed for the post on 5June 2014 with senior leaders from allparties, including Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, moving motions in herfavour. She is an eight-term Lok

    Sabha member from whichconstituency of Madhya Pradesh?Indore(Sumitra Mahajan would thusbecome the second woman Lok

    Sabha speaker after Meira Kumar)

    5)Who was nominated as Congresspartys Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha

    on 5 June 2014?JyotiradityaScindia(Jyotiraditya Scindia retainedhis traditional Guna constituency seatfrom Madhya Pradesh in the electionsfor the 16thLok Sabha. DeependraSingh Hooda, the lone Congressmember from Haryana, and K.C.Venugopal from Kerala were namedas partys other two whips)

    6)Who was named as Congresspartys deputy leader in the Lok Sabhaon 5 June 2014?AmrinderSingh(Amrinder Singh had defeatedsenior BJP leader and the presentFinance Minister Arun Jaitley from

    Amritsar constituency in the electionsfor the 16thLok Sabha. Earlier veteranleader Mallikarjun Kharge wasnominated as partys leader in the Lok

    Sabha by party President SoniaGandhi)

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    June 7-8, 2014

    1)The Mumbai Metro finally started its

    commercial operations from 8 June2014 with opening of first line of thePhase-1 of the project comprising of11.4 km. Which stretch- of metroservices was opened on this day? Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar

    stretch(The commercial services onPhase-1 of Mumbai Metro wasoriginally proposed to be startedduring 2011 but it was delayed by

    three years. There are a total of 3phases with three lines in each phase)

    2)Which company has been operatingthe Phase-1 of Mumbai Metro whichopened for the general public from 8June 2014?Mumbai Metro One Pvt.Ltd

    MMOPL(MMOPL is a jointventure company formed by Reliance

    Infrastructure, Voelia Transport andthe Mumbai Metropolitan RegionDevelopment Authority (MMRDA))

    3)The Unit 1 of the KudankulamNuclear Power Project (KKNPP)crossed the much-awaited milestone

    of 1,000 MW at 1.20 p.m. on 7 June2014. What unique achievement wasmade by KKNPP on this occasion?Itbecame India

    s first unit to produce

    1,000 MW electricity (The reactor hasbeen built with VVER technology andhas been supplied by

    Atomstroyexports, Russia. Indiasatomic power plant operator NuclearPower Corporation of India Ltd

    (NPCIL) is setting up two Russianmade 1,000 MW atomic power plantsat KKNPP at an outlay of overRs.17,000 crore)

    4)An expert committee set up toreview the functioning of the directbenefit transfer for LPG scheme hasrecently recommended immediate re-

    launch scheme in the districts where ithas already been implemented. Whoheaded this committee? Prof. S GDhande, former Director of IIT Kanpur(The committee in its report has saidthat the scheme can be re-launched inthe same districts provided they meetthe prescribed threshold of UIDnumber issued, LPG connections andbank account seeding. The schemewas rolled from 1 June 2013 in 291districts in phases. Till 7 March 2014,about Rs. 5,400 crore was transferredto more than 2.8 crore LPGconsumers across the country. The

    Aadhaar-linked scheme was put onhold from 7 March followingcomplaints from consumers that either

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    they didnt have the Aadhaar numberor have problems in seeding theiraccounts with the sponsor banks)

    5) Who won womens singles title ofFrench Open 2014? Maria

    Sharapovaof Russia (She defeatedRomanias Simona Halep by 6-4, 6-7,6-4 at Roland Garros, Paris on 7 June2014. This was Sharapovas second

    French Open singles title and fifthgrand slam singles title)

    June 9, 2014

    1)Who took over as the first ChiefMinister of the residuary state of

    Andhra Pradesh on 8 June 2014? Nara Chandrababu Naidu (Naidu, thesupremo of Telugu Desham Party(TDP) was administered the oath ofoffice and secrecy by Governor E.S.L.Narasimhan. He has served for closeto nine years from 1995 to 2004 asChief Minister of united Andhra

    Pradesh. 19 ministers were alsoinducted into Naidus government)

    2)The oath ceremony of newgovernment of the residuary state of

    Andhra Pradesh was held at whichplace on 8 June 2014? at thegrounds of Acharya Nagarjuna

    University at Numbur, which falls

    between Vijayawada and Guntur(Theresiduary Andhra Pradesh does nothave a capital of its own at presentand will share Hyderabad as joint-capital with Telangana for 10 years. Bythen it will have to develop a newcapital of its own)

    3)Which international airport ofPakistan became target of a massiveterrorist attack on 8 June 2014 inwhich at least 23 people were killed? Karachis Jinnah InternationalAirport(The old terminal building of theairport was targeted by terrorists who

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    posed as Airport Security Force (ASF)personnel. All 10 terrorists were killedin a combined retaliatory operation ofarmy units, ASF commandos,

    paramilitary rangers and police. Theattack was reminiscent of the deadlyattack carried out by some 15 militantsof the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan inMay, 2011 on the Mehran navalairbase here in which the attackerskilled some 18 personnel anddamaged aircrafts before being killedin a counter attack)

    4)Which former Indian cricketer joinedthe Supreme Court-appointed Mudgalcommittee as a member on 8 June2014? Sourav Ganguly(Ganguly

    joined the Mudgal committee, which isprobing the IPL betting and spot-fixingscandal, as an expert on cricketingaffairs. The panel is headed by Retd.Justice Mukul Mudgal and includesadvocates L. Nageswara Rao, NiloyDutta and senior IPS officer B.B.Mishra. The Supreme Court hadearlier directed the probe committee toselect a cricketer of impeccableintegrity who would help the

    committee on the cricketing mattersrelated to IPL betting and spot-fixing)

    5) In a dramatic race in the Canadian

    Formula One Grand Prix on 8 June

    2014, team Mercedes was beaten forthe first time in 2014. Who was theunexpected winner of this race? Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull(This

    was the first GP win for DanielRicciardo of Australia and Mercedeswas beaten for the first time in thisseason. However, the second spotwas taken by Mercedes Driver NicoRosberg (Germany) and Ricciardosteammate Sebastian Vettel (Germany)claimed the third spot. A big event ofthe race was Mercedes LewisHamilton being forced to retire fromthe race due to brake failure. ForceIndias Hulkenberg (Germany) claimed

    fifth spot. With this result Mercedes

    Nico Rosberg extended his lead overHamilton for the ongoing F1 season)

    6)Spains Rafael Nadal won the menssingles title of 2014 French Open on 8June 2014 by defeating Serbias

    Novak Djokovic by 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4.This was Nadals singles title

    win at the French Open 9th (In themodern era, no man has had a tightergrip on a Grand Slam event thanRafael Nadal, who won the FrenchOpen title for record ninth time at theage of just 28 years. Nadal has nowwon 14 Grand Slam singles titles; justthree behind the career leader, hisformer archrival Roger Federer)

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    June 10-11, 2014

    1)Indias market capitalization recently

    crossed which major milestone afteraround 4 years, mainly on the back ofa strong government at the Centre? 1.5 trillion dollar (The recent spurt inthe market has also propelled India tobe the 10thbiggest in terms of marketcap, and the second biggest in theBRIC group of countries, behind Chinawhich is at $3.23 trillion. In rupeeterms, Indias market cap is at an all-

    time high of Rs 89.8 lakh crore. At thecurrent level, Indias market cap-to-GDP ratio is about 0.79. However, thisis much lower than the levels seenduring the last bull market of 2007-08,when the ratio was nearly 2)

    2)Who took charge as the firstSpeaker of the Telangana Assembly

    on 10 June 2014? S.Madhusudanachari(He was elected tothe Assembly from Bhupalpalli inWarangal district. He had been amember of the Telangana RashtraSamithi (TRS) since its foundation in2001 and is a trusted lieutenant of

    TRS chief and Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao)

    3)Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8June 2014 unveiled a new booktitled Getting India Back on Track AnAction Agenda For Reform. The bookbasically carries a series of papers ondifferent areas for presentation to the

    new government arguing out the casefor the reforms that would benecessary to get India back on track.Who are the authors of this book? Bibek Debroy, Ashley J. Tellis andReece Trevor(The book has beenpublished by Carnegie Endowment forInternational Peace. The foreword ofthe book has been written by Ratan NTata and it contains insightful essays

    by eminent academicians and publicpolicy experts)

    4) Who was named as the Leader ofthe House in the Rajya Sabha on 9June 2014? Arun Jaitley(RajyaSabha Chairman Hamid Ansari madethe announcement on the first dayssitting of the Upper House after theLok Sabha elections. Jaitley, a seniorBJP Rajya Sabha member fromGujarat and Union Finance Ministerwas earlier the Leader of Opposition inthe Rajya Sabha during UPAGovernment)

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    5)Who was named the Leader of theOpposition in the Rajya Sabha on 9June 2014? Ghulam NabiAzad(Ghulam Nabi Azad is a veteran

    Congress leader and was UnionHealth Minister during the UPA govt.He lost the Lok Sabha election fromUdhampur constituency in Jammu andKashmir)

    6)At least 24 engineering studentsfrom the Hyderabad-basedengineering college VNR VignanaJyothi Institute of Engineering &Technology were washed away on 8June 2014 in River Beas near Thalot(Himachal Pradesh) on Manali-Kiratpur Highway after water from thereservoir of a dam was releasedsuddenly. Which dam is this which ispart of a hydropower project? LarjiDam, which has a reservoir under the126 MW Larji Hydropower Project(The incident took place when thestudents from the Hyderabad-basedcollege were trying to click photos onthe bank of the river. The studentsdrowned when water from Larji damwas suddenly released without anywarning)

    7)Armed militants made yet anotherattack near Karachis Jinnah

    International Airport on 10 June 2014just two days after a huge attack on 8June. The militants attacked a trainingcamp of the Airport Security Force(ASF) but failed to penetrate thesecurity cordon and managed to fleeinto nearby residential areas. Which

    militant group had claimed theresponsibility for the first attack and isbelieved to be involved in this attacktoo? Tehreek-i-TalibanPakistan

    TTP (Eleven airport security guards,along with a paramilitary ranger and apoliceman, 14 civilian workers and 10militants were killed in the previousattack. TTP took the responsibility forsecond attack too later in the day on10 June)

    8)Which mobile phone operatorsigned a two-year agreement withIndian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) todeploy its enterprise mobility platformto companys LPG customers? IdeaCellular (Under this agreement Ideasplatform would be used to serviceIOCs more than 82 million LPG

    consumers. The service allowsconsumers to book LPG over phone ortext messages, much in contrast withthe traditionally mode of bookingsdone through distributors. IOC, whichprovides LPG under the Indanebrand, will extend its Smart Gas

    Solution service to provide end-to-endautomation on refill delivery process ofIOC)

    9)According to a latest report by TheBoston Consulting Group (BCG) how

    many millionaire households werethere in India during 2013? Around1.75 lakh(The BCG report titled 14th

    Annual Study of the Global Wealth-Management Industry was released

    on 10 June 2014, according to which

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    Indias wealth in 2013 grew 24.6% to$2.2 trillion)

    10)Defence Minister Arun Jaitleyduring June 2014 commissioned twocoastguard ships ICGS Achook andICGS Agrim into the service of IndianCoastguard. These two are the fifthand sixth ships in a series of twentyfast patrol vessels and are new

    generation fast patrol vesselsequipped with sophisticatedcommunication equipment to be basedin Mumbai. The other commissioned

    ships in these series are in Tuticorin,Porbandar, Cochin and Mangalore.They have been built at Cochinshipyard(Cochin shipyard is alsobuilding Indias first indigenous aircraftcarrier)

    June 12, 2014

    1)FIFA Football World Cup 2014starts from 12 June 2014 as hostsBrazil take on Croatia in the openingmatch at the new Corinthians Arena in

    Sao Paulo. This would be whichedition of FIFA Mens Football WorldCup? 20th(The 20thedition of FIFAWorld Cup would be played from 12June to 13 July 2014. 32 teams from 5confederations are participating in thisWorld Cup. Total 64 matches would be

    played at 12 different venues in Brazil.Brazil is hosting the World Cup for thesecond time. It hosted it for the firsttime in 1950)

    2)What is the name assigned to atropical cyclone which initiated in theeast-central Arabian Sea on theafternoon of 11 June 2014? Nanauk(The name Nanauk wasassigned by Myanmar as per theregional cyclone naming protocol.India Met Department (IMD)

    announced initiation of this tropicalcyclone and expected it to intensifyanother round into a severe cyclonicstorm. The cyclone will later weakenas it nears landfall over Oman coast)

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    3)Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu on 11 June 2014allotted portfolios to his Cabinetcolleagues. He also appointed two

    Deputy Chief Ministers for the state.Who are the two ministers to securethis post? K.E. Krishna Murthy andN. Chinarajappa(Senior leaderYanamala Ramakrishnudu was namedFinance minister while N.Chinnarajappa got Home Ministryalong with the post of Deputy CM)

    4)Which city would host the WorldChess Championship rematchbetween Indian chess veteranViswanathan Anand and title-holderMagnus Carlsen (Norway) duringNovember 2014?Sochi, Russia(Thismuch-anticipated rematch would beheld staged from 7 November to 28November 2014 at the Olympic Villagein Sochi. The schedule for the match

    was announced on 11 June 2014 byFIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.Carlsen became the world championduring November 2013 by defeating

    Anand in Chennai)

    5)The World Bank lowered its growthforecast for developing countriesduring 2014 in its Global EconomicProspects (GEP) report which wasreleased on 11 June 2014. The growthforecast was lowered from the Januaryestimate of 5.3% to 4.8%(However,the estimates for 2015 and 2016displayed signs of strengthening withgrowth of 5.4 and 5.5%, respectively.In the report the global economy isexpected to pick up speed as the yearprogresses and is projected to expandby 2.8% during 2014 and laterstrengthening to 3.4 and 3.5% in 2015and 2016, respectively)

    June 13, 2014

    1)AirAsia India, the Indian arm of theMalaysian no-frills airline headed byTony Fernandes, on 12 June 2014became the fifth budget carrier in Indiaas its maiden flight took off on the day.

    This first flight of AirAsia was betweenwhich two destinations? FromBangalore to Goa(AirAsia became thefifth budget (no-frills) airline in Indiaafter IndiGo, JetLite, SpiceJet andGoAir. AirAsia India is a three-wayventure between the Malaysia-based

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    low-cost airline, Indias Tata Groupand investment firm TelestraTradeplace)

    2)Which major public-sector steelplant of the country witnessed anaccident due to a gas leakage on 12June 2014 resulting in death of 6persons? Bhilai Steel Plant at Durgin Chattisgarh(Bhilai Steel Plant isowned by the Steel Authority of IndiaLimited (SAIL). The accident tookplace after a gas leakage from a blastfurnace due to breakdown in a waterpump. Six persons, including twoDeputy General Managers, were killedand over 30 people fell ill in thisaccident)

    3)Who was appointed as the newCEO of Infosys Limited, Indiassecond-largest IT services exporter,on 12 June 2014? VishalSikka(Vishal Sikka thus becomes thefirst external CEO of Infosys which ispresently witnessing a large staffexodus and low sales of high-marginservices like cloud computing. VishalSikka is a former member of executiveboard at German software companySAP AG and would replace S.D.Shibulal on 1 August 2014)

    4)Who was appointed as the newAttorney General of India on 12 June2014?Mukul Rohatgi(Mukul Rohatgiis a senior advocate of the Supreme

    Court and he replaced G.E. Vahanvatias the 14thAG of the country. He willhave a tenure of 3-year. Thegovernment has already appointed

    Ranjit Kumar as the Solicitor General.Six Additional Solicitors General havealso been appointed)

    5)Hosts Brazil came from behind tobeat a stubborn Croatia 3-1 in the firstmatch of 2014 FIFA World Cup on 12June 2014. Who scored two goals forBrazil to start their World Cupcampaign in style? Neymar(Neymarscored two goals in 29thand71stminute respectively after Croatiatook the surprise lead in 11thminutethrough a self-goal by Brazils Marcelo. Third goal for Brazil was scored byOscar during last seconds of thematch)

    6)Who topped Union Public ServiceCommission (UPSCs) IAS exams for2013, the results for which weredeclared on 12 June 2014? GauravAgarwal(This was the second attemptof the 29-year-old Jaipur boy, who iscurrently under training at NationalPolice Academy after he was selectedfor the IPS with 244thrank in the UPSCexams in 2012. Agrawal holds aBachelor of Technology (computer

    science) degree from Indian Instituteof Technology (IIT), Kanpur and MBA(Finance) from Indian Institute ofManagement (IIM) Lucknow)

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    June 14-15, 2014

    1)Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14June 2014 dedicated Indias largestwarship the 44,500-tonne INSVikramaditya to the nation. This hugeship had been purchased at a cost ofaround Rs. 15,000 crore from Russiawhere it was known as AdmiralGorshkov. But what was the originalname of this ship which started as aKiev class aircraft carrying cruiser in

    the erstwhile Soviet Navy? aku(Itwas commissioned as Baku in theNavy of the former USSR on 20December 1987. However, on 7November 1990 it was renamed after

    Admiral Sergey GeorgiyevichGorshkov and was finallydecommissioned in 1996)

    2)India on 13 June 2014 became apermanent member of the Washington

    Accord (WA) as it joined a selectgroup of 17 countries who arepermanent signatories of the WA.Washington Accord is associated withwhich field?Engineering studies and

    mobility of engineers(WashingtonAccord is an international agreementamongst prominent nations of theworld, with the charter of promotingmobility and quality assurance ofengineers across internationalboundaries. The charter requires thatnations set up suitable accreditationstandards, which would ensure aminimum quality of attainment for their

    engineering graduates)

    3)The Maharashtra Government on13 June 2014 decided to split Indiasmost populous district Thane bycarving out a new district out of district.Which will be this new district? Palghar(Palghar will be theheadquarters of the new district, which

    will have eight taluks (sub-districts).The residual Thane district will haveseven taluks including Thane city.Thane district, with a large tribalpopulation, huge tracts of forest andinaccessible areas has always beenchallenge for the administrators. Thetribal belt will now come underPalghar)

    4)The Narmada Control Authority(NCA) on 12 June 2014 approved theproposal to raise Narmada Damsheight from 121.9 metres to 138.7metres. The demand for raising theheight of the dam was a longstandingdemand of the Gujarat government.

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    This would make Narmada Damworlds second largest concrete gravity

    dam (by volume). Which is the largestone? Grand Coulee Dam in the

    United States(A higher dam willoptimize hydro-power generation andwater supply capacity of this project,and is expected to benefit not justGujarat but also neighbouringRajasthan, Maharashtra and MadhyaPradesh. But decision to raise damsheight drew protests from activistMedha Patkar who drew attention tothe resultant displacement ofthousands of people)

    5)The Maharashtra Government on13 June 2014 approved 20%additional reservations in government

    jobs and education for whichcommunity with which the communitysquota limit would be raised upto 72%?

    Maratha Community(The Marathasare a dominant caste in the state ofMaharashtra, comprising roughly 30%of the population. The communitywields massive political clout)

    6)Defending champion Spain wasdelivered a humiliating 5-1 defeat bythe Netherlands in a league match at

    the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2014 on13 June 2014. This was only thesecond time the Spanish team hadconceded five goals in a World Cupgame. When they were last defeatedby such a margin in World Cup? in1950(When hosts Brazil defeatedSpain by 6-1 on their home turf. Spainis also the Euro 2012 champions)

    7)India ended its campaign at the FIHHockey World Cup on 14 June 2014by playing their last classificationmatch. India finished at which place inthis World Cup? Ninth(Indiadefeated South Korea by 3-0 in theninth-10thplace play-off match at theKyocera Stadium at The Hague inNetherlands. India ended the World

    Cup one notch below their eighth-place finish at New Delhi edition in2010)

    June 16, 2014

    1)Defending champions Australia wonthe FIH mens Hockey World Cup by

    humiliating hosts the Netherlands by6-1 on 15 June 2014. With this winAustralia has now won how manyhockey World Cup titles? Three(Australias other title wins werein 1986 and 2010. Argentina defeatedEngland by 2-0 to win third place whileIndia got ninth place in the

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    tournament. This was 13thedition ofmens Hockey World Cup and washeld at the Hague in the Netherlandsfrom 31 May to 15 June 2014)

    2)Hosts the Netherlands defeatedwhich team in the finals to win FIHwomens Hockey World Cup on 14June 2014? Australia(This wasrecord seventh title win for theNetherlands in 13 World Cups. Thiswas also the 13th edition of womensHockey World Cup and was held atthe Hague in the Netherlandssimultaneously with mens World Cup.

    Argentina defeated the USA by 2-1 towin third place. This was Argentinas

    fourth successive medal in theWorld Cup. They were champions in2002 and 2010, and bagged abronze in 2006)

    3)Prime Minister Narendra Modivisited which country on his first officialvisit to a foreign country sinceassuming charge? Bhutan(Hereached Bhutan on 15 June 2014 onhis 2-day official visit. Modi saidBhutan was a natural choice as hisfirst foreign destination because of theunique and special relationshipbetween India and Bhutan)

    4)Renowned journalist Shekhar Guptawas heading which newspaper as itsEditor-in-Chief, from which he officiallyresigned on 15 June 2014? IndianExpress (From 16 June 2014 IndianExpress has a new Editor-in-Chief

    Raj Kamal Jha. Raj Kamal Jha wasthe Editor of the newspaper till nowwhile Managing Editor Unni RajenShanker was appointed the new

    Editor. Shekhar Gupta is also famousfor his hosting of Walk the Talk onNDTV)

    5)Who was elected as the new PrimeMinister of Finland on 14 June 2014 toreplace outgoing Prime Minister JyrkiKatainen? Alexander Stubb(Stubbwas the Foreign Trade Minister in thegovernment till now. Stubb representsthe liberal wing of National CoalitionParty, the main government party inthe five-party coalition and was electedin the party congress where hedefeated rival Social Affairs MinisterPaula Risikko with 500 votes againsther 349. Katainen, who has led theparty since 2004, announced hisresignation in April 2014)

    6)What is the name of the Worlds firstsupersonic car which can run at 1,609kmph (1,000 mph), which wasunveiled on 13 June 2014 in Bristol(UK)? BloodhoundSSC(Bloodhound SSC is aimed to setthe fastest land speed record in historyin the South African desert in 2015and 2016. It has been handcrafted

    using 5 different types of carbon fibersand two different resins. Andy Green,a British Royal Air Force fighter pilotand World Land Speed Record holder,is the official driver of this supersoniccar)

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    June 17, 2014

    1)What is the name given to a major

    operation started by the Pakistanimilitary from 15 June 2014 to flushinsurgents out of the volatile region ofNorth Waziristan bordering

    Afghanistan? Zarb-e-Azb, whichtranslates to Strike of the ProphetsSword (Pakistan sent troops, artillery

    and helicopter gunships to NorthWaziristan on 15 June in a long-expected military operation seen as a

    response to a deadly insurgent attackon its biggest airport (Karachi) a weekago. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whopreferred peace talks, has been underpressure from hawks in the army aswell as the United States to launch amajor operation against militants inNorth Waziristan, part of the largelylawless areas bordering Afghanistan.The Pakistan Army on 16 June 2014

    said that at least 27 terrorists werekilled in the ongoing operation)

    2)The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)for the month of May 2014 touched a5-month high as higher food pricesand fuel costs fuelled price rise. What

    was the WPI for May 2014 which wasreleased on 16 June 2014? 6.01%(The WPI for April 2014 was5.20%. As per the data released bythe government, core inflation was at3.8% as against 3.4% last month.Primary article inflation stood at 8.58%as against 7.06% last month. Foodarticle inflation was at 9.50% asagainst 8.64% last month while non-

    food article index was up at 1.5%)

    3)Who was chosen as the next UnitedNations High Commissioner forHuman Rights by the U.N. General

    Assembly on 16 June 2014? PrinceZeid al Hussein of Jordan(Prince Zeidal Hussein is Jordans Ambassador tothe U.N. He is a longtime diplomat and

    former U.N. peacekeeper and will takeover from Navi Pillay as U.N. HighCommissioner for Human Rights on 1September 2014. He will be the firstMuslim and Arab to hold the post)

    4)The goal-line technology,introduced for the first time in the FIFAWorld Cup, awarded the firstinternational goal in its history on 15June 2014. This goal was awarded towhich country?France(France madeWorld Cup history by becoming thefirst team to benefit from FIFAs long-overdue embrace of video replays inawarding goals called goal-linetechnology. This decision was done in

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    Frances league match against

    Honduras which France wonconvincingly by 3-0)

    5)Which team won the US prestigiousNBA (National Basketball Association)Championship for 2014 on 15 June2014? San Antonio Spurs(San

    Antonio Spurs defeated the MiamiHeat by 104-87 to win the series in fivegames. This was 5thNBA title for Spurshaving won the title in 1999, 2003,2005 and 2007. Spurs also endedMiami Heats winning spree havingwon the title consecutively in 2012 and2013. NBA is widely considered to be

    the premier mens professional

    basketball league in the world)

    6)Who won the US Open Golf title for2014 on 15 June 2014? MartinKaymer of Germany(With this title winKaymer became the first continentalEuropean to ever win the US Open.Hes also only the third Openchampion to have led from beginningto end of the tournament, joining TigerWoods and Rory McIlroy. This was114thedition of US Open Golf, which isone of the most prestigious titles ininternational golf circuit)

    June 18, 2014

    1)The Delhi Government on 17 June2014 announced that the nationalcapital has become the first kerosene-free city in the country. Which scheme

    was implemented in the city whichenabled it to do away with the sale of

    non-subsidised kerosene in the city Delhi: A Kerosene-Free City Scheme2012(The scheme was launched in2012 in collaboration with three oilmarketing companies and the UnionMinistry of Petroleum and Natural Gasfor which Delhi Government hadincurred an expenditure of Rs. 62crores. With delhi being kerosene-free,India is expected to save upto Rs. 200crore annually)

    2)Which bank is organising TheBanking and Economics Conclave2014 which was inaugurated by

    Reserve Bank of India (RBI) GovernorRaghuram Rajan in Mumbai on 17

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    June 2014? State Bank of India SBI (This conclave is a national levelbanking conclave that has beenorganized for the first time. The

    conclave is on the lines of Bancon, anevent organised by Indian BanksAssociation (IBA) each year. It is alsothe first time that a commercial bankhas organised an event of thismagnitude)

    3)The Tax Administration ReformCommission (TARC) headed byParthasarathi Shome in its first reportendorsed the recommendations givenby the 1992 committee on tax reformsfor abolishing the post of RevenueSecretary in the Ministry of Finance.Who had headed that 1992 committeeon tax reforms which had advocatedpath-breaking tax reforms for thecountry Raja J Chelliah(Raja JChelliah was instrumental in bringingabout the early reforms to the directtaxation structure. He served aschairman of Tax Reforms Committeeof Union govt. between 1991 and 1993and he was often called The Father ofTax Reforms)

    4)Who was re-elected as ColombiasPresident in the tightest presidentialcontest in years in the country? Juan

    Manuel Santos(Santos defeated right-wing challenger Oscar Ivan Zuluaga

    who was backed by former two-termPresident Alvaro Uribe. His win isbeing seen as an endorsement of his18-month-old peace talks to end the

    Western Hemispheres longest-running conflict)

    5)Who scored the first hat-trick of the2014 FIFA World Cup ThomasMueller of Germany(Mueller scoredthe first hat-trick of the World Cup on16 June 2014 against Portugal in aGroup-G league match at Salvador.Germany outclassed Portugal 4-0 inthis match to start its World Cupcampaign in style)

    6)With over 3 lakh employees IndianIT company TCS has become theworlds third largest employer in thetechnology sector. Which is theleading employer in this segment? IBM(According to the latest datareleased by analysis firms, IBM had4,31,212 employees during the end oflast fiscal year (2013) and wasfollowed by Hewlett-Packard (HP) with3,17,500 employees. TCS is nowplaced third with employee strength of3,00,464. Given the pace at whichTCS is growing, it could become thesecond largest employer this year,crossing HP and would be fast closing-

    in on IBM)

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    June 19, 2014

    1)Who was recently appointed thearbitrator from the Union FinanceMinistry in the Rs.20,000-crore taxdispute case with U.K. telecom majorVodafone? Justice (Retd.) R. C.Lahoti, Former Chief Justice of India(The governments decision was inresponse to an arbitration noticeserved by Vodafone InternationalHoldings B.V. in April 2014 under theBilateral Investment Protection andPromotion Agreement between Indiaand the Netherlands for resolving thedispute. The Union Cabinet hadapproved the conciliation withVodafone in June last year in a bid toresolve the capital gains tax disputerelated to its 2007 acquisition of

    Hutchison Whampoas stake inHutchison Essar)

    2)The Securities and Exchange Boardof India (SEBI) on 17 June 2014 cameout with a consultation paper on an

    alternative funding source to helpstart-ups struggling to raise funds.Under this, funding (in small amounts)is sought from multiple investorsthrough a web-based platform or asocial networking site for a specificproject, business venture or socialcause. What is the name of thisfunding source which is quite popularin developed countries? Crowd-

    funding(According to SEBIsconsultation paper SEBI wants theissue fund-raising capped at Rs. 10crore a year for each start-up. Onlynational stock exchanges and SEBI-registered depositories are eligible toset up a crowd-funding platform)

    3)Mehrangir, the south Mumbai

    bungalow of late Dr. Homi Bhabha, thefather of Indias atomic energyprogramme was sold on 18 June 2014for Rs. 372 crore. Which organisationwas the beneficiary of this auction andwhich also conducted the auction? National Centre for Performing Arts NCPA(NCPA a charitable trust wasthe beneficiary of as per the will ofHomi Bhabhas brother JamshedBhabha. The property is located insouth Mumbais Malabar Hill, one of

    the most premium and expensivelocalities in Mumbai)

    4) What is the name of Iraqs largestoil refinery which was taken into

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    control by Islamic militants on 18 June2014? Beiji(The Beiji refineryaccounts for a little more than aquarter of the countrys entire refining

    capacity all of which goes towardsdomestic consumption for things likegasoline, cooking oil and fuel forpower stations. At the height of theinsurgency from 2004 to late 2007, theBeiji refinery was under the control ofSunni militants who used to siphon offcrude and petroleum products tofinance their operations. If the seize atBeiji continues for a long time, longlines at the gas pump and electricityshortages are expected in Iraq)

    5)The third and the final link of the16.4-km elevated Eastern Freewaywas inaugurated by Maharashtra ChiefMinister Prithviraj Chavan at Mumbaion 16 June 2014. With this all thesections of Mumbais Eastern Freewayhave now been opened for traffic,some seven years after its foundationwas laid. Which is the third link of this

    freeway? The Panjarpol-Ghatkoparlinkwhich is 2.8 km long (The EasternFreeway was commissioned by theMumbai Metropolitan Region

    Development Authority (MMRDA) in astaggered manner, with the firstsection being open for motorists inJune 2013)

    6)Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) ofIndia on 18 June 2014 confirmed thekidnapping of 40 Indian workers in Iraqwho worked there. These workerswere based near which Iraqi town asstated by the MEA?Mosul(These 40Indian workers were working for aTurkish construction company near theIraqi town of Mosul and no contact isbeing established with them. There areabout 10,000 Indians working andliving in Iraq. Only about 100 are inviolent, insecure areas. That includesthe construction workers near Mosulas well as 46 Indian nurses working ina hospital in the Iraqi town of Tikrit)

    June 20, 2014

    1)The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on17 June 2014 asked banks to makesector-wise disclosure of theiradvances from 2014-15 onwards witha view to encourage them to activelymanage exposure to varioussegments. This direction was basedon which committeesrecommendation on this subject?Dr.

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    6)Who took over as the Chief ofSouthern Naval Command on 19 June2014? Vice Admiral Surinder PalSinghCheema(He took over as

    Southern Naval Commands FlagOfficer Commanding in Chief at aceremonial parade held at Naval AirStation INS Garuda at Kochi)

    7)Defending champion Spain made ashocking exit from FIFA World Cup

    2014 after it lost to Chile 0-2 in aleague game at the iconic MaracanaStadium on 18 June 2014. With thisloss Spain became the

    .defending champions tocrash out of the tournament at the firststage Fourth(Spain joined Brazil(1966), France (2002) and Italy (2010)in the dubious club of defendingchampions bowing out of the WorldCup in the first round)

    June 21, 2014

    1)The shareholders of RelianceIndustries Limited (RIL) got anopportunity to cast their votes throughe-voting system at companys40thAnnual General Meeting (AGM)

    held on 18 June 2014 at Mumbai. RILshareholders cast their votes bytouching the touch-pads of tabletcomputers that were brought byvolunteers individually to them.However, the Ministry of Corporate

    Affairs had deferred mandatory e-voting for shareholders till which date?

    31 December 2014(Thus e-votingfor shareholders would becomemandatory for companies from 1January 2015. An advantage of e-voting is that under it one share hasone vote while under the earlier

    system one person has one vote. Inthe traditional voting at companyAGMs hands were shown or lifted insupport of a proposal and it was notmore than a mere formality)

    2)The railway passenger fare wasincreased by 14.2% in all classeswhile freight charge was hiked by

    6.5% on 20 June 2014 by the uniongovt. This hike comes into effect fromwhich date 25 June 2014, i.e., postmidnight of 24 June (This is thesteepest hike since 1999 and the thirdhike in last 15 years)

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    3)Indias capital market regulatorSecurities and Exchange Board ofIndia (SEBI) on 19 June 2014announced a slew of reforms that

    included a proposal to hike publicholding in all public sectorundertakings (PSUs), new norms forresearch analysts and ESOPs givenby listed firms. What is the minimumpublic shareholding for PSUs as fixedby the SEBI? 25% or Rs. 400 crorewhichever is lower(Currently, PSUshave to maintain 10% of minimumpublic shareholding, while privatecompanies are required to maintain25%. Now, the PSUs will be giventhree years to achieve minimum publicshareholding of 25%)

    4)The Union Home Ministry on 19June 2014 asked Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) to ensure prior permissionis sought before any donation is madeto NGO Greenpeace India by twooverseas contributors. Anycontribution from these two overseascontributors to Greenpeace Indiawould have to be cleared by the HomeMinistry, the ministry has said, citingSection 46 of the Foreign Contribution(Regulation) Act, 2010. Which arethese two overseas contributors? Greenpeace International and ClimateWorks Foundation(With this,

    Greenpeace International and ClimateWorks Foundation have been clubbedwith Amnesty International and HumanRights Watch, which have been put ona similar leash)

    5)Hyderabads famous Salar JungMuseum is celebrating how manyyears of its existence during June2014? 125 years(The Salarjung

    Museum is one of the three NationalMuseums of India and houses thelargest one-man collections ofantiques in the world. Nawab MirYusuf Ali Khan Salar Jung III (18891949), former Prime Minister of theseventh Nizam Hyderabad collectedthe items housed in the museum fromall over the world. The125thanniversary of Salar Jung III isbeing celebrated as museums125thanniversary)

    6)Who was unanimously elected asthe first Speaker of the Legislative

    Assembly of Andhra Pradesh postbifurcation of the state on 20 June2014? Kodela SivaprasadaRao (Rao is a veteran TDP legislatorand has been elected to the Assemblyfrom Guntur district for the sixth time.Pro-tem Speaker P NarayanaswamyNaidu announced the election of K.Sivaprasada Rao in the old Assemblybuilding, which has been allotted to APfollowing the bifurcation)

    7)Indias domestic air traffic betweenJanuary and May 2014 grew by

    around 3% as compared to the sameperiod last year. Which company onceagain led in domestic air servicesegment during the month of May2014? IndiGo(IndiGo continued todominate the scene in terms of marketshare cornering 31.7% in May 2014,

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    followed by Jet Airways- JetLitecombine with 21%, Air India with18.6%, SpiceJet 17.9% and GoAir9.8%. All Indian carriers flew 60.22

    lakh passengers in May compared to57.10 lakh in April, while the January-May figure stood at 267.22 lakh asagainst 260 lakh in the same periodlast year recording a 2.78% growth,latest official air traffic data showed)

    8)Which senior IAS officer wasrecently appointed Private Secretary toPrime Minister Narendra Modi? Rajeev Topno (Topno, a 1996 batchIAS officer of Gujarat cadre, wasalready working as Director in thePrime Ministers Office (PMO). Hisformal appointment was announced on18 June 2014)

    9)According to the latest survey reportreleased by a US travel websitewhichairline.com, which airline

    emerged as the cheapest in the

    World? Fireflyof Malaysia (Fireflytook the top spot in the cheapestairline segment by offering a one-wayflight tickets, including 20 kg ofchecked-in baggage fees, at anaverage of 30 euro. Two India-basedairlines SpiceJet and Indigo werealso included among the top 10cheapest airlines in the world.SpiceJet, which was placed at thesecond spot, was offering a one-wayticket at an average of 52.24 euro,while the cost of one-way ticket ofIndiGo, placed in the eighth position,came to 68.37 euro)

    June 22-23, 20141)What unique record was created byChess World Champion MagnusCarlsen after winning the World BlitzChampionship held at Dubai on 22June 2014? He became the firstever chess player to hold the World

    Blitz, Rapid and Classic title at the

    same title(Carlsen won the Rapid titleearlier this month and he took theWorld Championship for 2013 fromViswanathan Anand during November2013. Indias Vishwanathan Anandfinished at a joint fifth place afterscoring 13.5 points. Nepomniachtchiwon the silver, while the bronze went

    to Nakamura who started as the topseed in the championship)

    2) In an important development Indiarecently decided to enhancetransparency of its nuclear

    infrastructure by ratifying an AdditionalProtocol with the International AtomicEnergy Agency (IAEA). The newgovernment has decided to go aheadwith the ratification process, clearingthe decks for large imports of nucleartechnology, boosting power generationand other civilian purposes. The

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    Additional Protocol will cover onlythose facilities which are monitored bythe IAEA, and will have no bearing onthe non-safeguarded facilities which

    are used for building weapons. Howmany nuclear facilities would becovered under this agreement with theIAEA? 20 (These 20 facilities wouldinclude the Nuclear Fuel Complex inHyderabad, Tarapur atomic powerplant, Rajasthan Atomic PowerStation, both units at Kudankulam, andthe Kakrapar Atomic Power Station)

    3)Who was announced as the winnerof the Jnanpith Award for 2013? Kedarnath Singh, Hindi poet andwriter (Kedarnath Singh thus becomes10thHindi writer to be bestowed thisaward, which is often reckoned as themost prestigious literary award ofIndia. Kedarnath Singh is known forhis very rich collection of Hindi poetryin collections such as Abhi Bilkul

    Abhi, Zameen pak Rahi Hai, Yahan

    se Dekho, Akaal mein Saaras,

    Baaghand Tolstoy aur cycle. MereSamay ke Shabd, Kalpana aur

    chhayavadand Kabristan meinPanchayat are some of his prominentprose collections. 2013s Jnanpith

    Award is the 49thedition of thisprestigious award and KedarnathSingh would become 54thJnanpith

    Award winner overall)

    4)Who is heading the 4-membercommittee to conduct an introspectionof the Congress debacle in the recentgeneral elections by meeting key of

    the party from different states andUTs? A.K. Antony(A.K. AntonyCommittee is an informal committeewhich is involved in ascertaining the

    reasons for very poor performance ofCongress party in the Lok SabhaElections of 2014 where the partycould win just 44 seats. Congress hadover 200 seats in the 15thLok Sabha.Other 3 members of this committeeare Mukul Wasnik, Avinash Pandeand R.C. Khuntia)

    5)According to the recently releasedreport by the U.N. High Commissionerfor Refugees (UNHCR), whichembarrassing milestone has beenachieved in global refugee count bythe end of 2013? 50million(According to the UNHCR thenumber of people who have had toflee from violence and crises hasclimbed above 50 million for the firsttime since the Second World War. Thetotal number of refugees and peopledisplaced within their own countriesreached 51.2 million by the end of2013, an increase of 6 millioncompared to the previous year)

    6)Who won the Austrian F1 GrandPrix title for 2014 on 22 June 2014? Nico Rosberg of Mercedes

    Team(Rosberg of Germany continuedhis domination of this years F1season with another emphatic win. Histeammate Lewis Hamilton (GreatBritain) claimed second place and thirdplace was taken by Finlands Valteri

    Bottas for Williams team. This was the

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    first-ever podium finish for Bottas.Force Indias Sergio Perez (Mexico)finished at 6thposition and his

    teammate Nico Hulkenburg (Germany)was at 9thposition)

    June 24, 2014

    1)Which body, that during June 2014submitted its report to the PrimeMinister, has recommended that thePlanning Commission should be

    replaced by a reforms and solutionbody as it exceeds the scope of itsauthority by acting as a controlcommission?Independent EvaluationOffice

    IEO(The IEO, which was setup by the government in November2010, from February this year beganindependently assessing theeffectiveness of governmentprogrammes and institutional policies.

    It submitted the assessment report onPlanning Commission to PrimeMinister during June 2014. IEO in itsreport stated that since the PlanningCommission has defied attempts toreform it to bring it in line with theneeds of a modern economy and thetrend of empowering the States, it isproposed that the PlanningCommission be replaced)

    2)Which national park of India hasbeen included in the prestigiousUNESCO World Heritage List by theWorld Heritage Committee at its38thSession held at Doha? TheGreat Himalayan National Park

    Conservation Area

    GHNPCA(GHNPCA was includedunder criterion (x) of UNESCOGuidelines. Criterion (x) is To contain

    the most important and significantnatural habitats for conservation ofbiological diversity, including thosecontaining threatened species ofoutstanding universal value from thepoint of view of science orconservation. The Great HimalayanNational Park Conservation Area is inHimachal Pradesh and major part of itcomprises of the Great Himalayan

    National Park (GHNP) in the KulluDistrict)

    3) The first copy of the Encyclopediaof Hinduism was released by thePresident Pranab Mukherjee on 23June 2014. The Encyclopedia, acompendium of thousands of years ofhistory, science, art, architecture,polity, religion, philosophy and culture,took 25 years to complete. Whichorganisation published this book? India Heritage Research Foundation IHRF(Swami Chidanand Saraswati ofthe Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh is thefounder-chairman of IHRF. ThisEncyclopedia is not limited to

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    Hinduism as a religion, but provides aninclusive treatment of Indias spiritualculture, including coverage of Sikhism,Jainism and Buddhism traditions)

    4)Which south-east Asian countrystop court (The Federal Court) on 23June 2014 upheld a government banforbidding non-Muslims from usingAllah to refer to God? Malaysia(While upholding the govt.ban the court rejected an appeal bythe Roman Catholic Church thatargued that the law failed to considerthe rights of minorities in the largelyMuslim nation. Although the Malaysianconstitution guarantees freedom ofreligion, the 4-3 decision by theFederal Court is expected to reinforcecomplaints from Christians, Buddhistand Hindu minorities that non-Muslims

    do not always get fair treatment fromthe government and courtsaccusations the government denies)

    5)What is the name of the popular filmdirector and producer, who directed arecord-breaking 125 movies in nineIndian languages, and who passedaway on 22 June 2014? Ramanarayanan(The prolificfilmmaker Ramanarayanan made aname for himself making small-budgetfilms, predominantly on devotionalthemes or stories in which animals andanimated characters played centralroles. He was basically a Tamilproducer and director but easilyswitched to other languages likeTelugu, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi andBengali)

    June 25, 2014

    1) In a major achievement for Indiasnational airline Air India, the airline on24 June 2014 formally became thepart of which global airlines grouping

    which would enable seamless travel toover 1,300 destinations for itspassengers? Star Alliance(Ending a

    seven-year-long wait, the Star AllianceChief Executive Board (CEB), at itsmeeting in London gave anendorsement vote to induct Air Indiainto the fold. With this, Air Indiabecomes the first Indian carrier to joina global alliance. Star Alliance is one

    of the largest alliance of global airlinesand it now has 27 member airlines inits fold. Star Alliance members includemajor airlines like US carrier United,Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, AirChina, Air Canada, Swiss, Austrian, AllNippon Airways, Thai and Turkish

    Airlines)

    2)The prestigious UNESCO WorldHeritage Site list crossed the 1,000mark over the last few days as the38th Session of World Heritage

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    Committee at Doha (Qatar) concludeson 25 June 2014. Which entry becamethe 1,000thmilestone entry into this listthat was started in 1978? The

    Okavango Delta in Botswana (Thisdelta region has Africas largestelephant population and is considereda sanctuary for white and blackrhinoceros. Along with this deltanumerous other entries from the worldover were included in World HeritageSite over the last few days)

    3)Which major milestone wasachieved by NASAs Mars-roverCuriosity on 24 June 2014? Itcompleted one Mars year on this day

    which is equivalent to 687 Earth

    days(Curiosity arrived on Mars duringAugust 2012 to conduct probe on theplanet. The main goal for the probewas to determine whether Mars onceoffered environmental conditionsfavourable for microbial life. One ofCuriositys first major findings was anancient riverbed)

    4) What is the name of Tata Groupsmember company which entered intopartnership with Europes Ruag

    Aviation to build new generation

    Dornier 228 aircrafts in India? TataAdvanced Systems Ltd.

    TASL(TASLopened the unit for Ruag Aviation atHyderabad on 23 June 2014. The

    Ruag project is the fourth Aerostructures unit to be set up by TASLsince 2009 in Hyderabad and theproducts of all the units are 100%exported)

    5)What is the name of the DelhiUniversity Vice-Chancellor whotendered his resignation on 24 June2014? Prof. Dinesh Singh(Heresigned from his post after the day-long confusion and chaos due to theongoing tussle between the UniversityGrants Commission (UGC) and DelhiUniversity (DU) over the four-yearundergraduate programme (FYUP).The resignation came shortly after theSupreme Court refused to intervene inthe row. The SC dismissed a pleamoved by the Delhi UniversityTeachers Association (DUTA) seekingcancellation of the University GrantsCommission (UGC) order asking theDelhi University (DU) to scrap its four-year undergraduate programme. Theambitious FYUP was the brain-child ofProf. Dinesh Singh)

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    June 26, 2014

    1) Which new district in West Bengalwas announced by the West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjee on 25June 2014, which becomes the20thdistrict of the state? Alipurduar (Alipurduar was created inNorth Bengals Dooars region bybifurcating the Jalpaiguri district.Jalpaiguri was carved out as a districtway back in 1869 and seven years

    later the Alipurduar sub-division wasset up)

    2)Which state will become the firstone in India to implement 33%reservation for women in the policeforce as announced by the state govt.on 24 June 2014? Gujarat(GujaratChief Minister Anandiben Patel

    announced 33% reservation forwomen in the police force. There arearound 2,500 policewomen in theState at present. If the governmentmanages to fill all 33% posts forwomen against the sanctionedstrength, the state would have around19,800 women in the force)

    3)Which Rajdhani Express derailed atGolden Ganj station near Chapra(Bihar) on 25 June 2014 killing at least4 people? Delhi-Dibrugarh RajdhaniExpress(Twelve coaches of thispremium were derailed in the incidentat around 0200 hours on 25 June. Fivecoaches B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4 and

    pantry car overturned in the derailmentwhile seven other coachesB-5 to B-10 and power car got derailed at thestation)

    4)What is the name of the formerSolicitor General who withdrew hiscandidature for appointment asSupreme Court judge over lack of

    support from the Union Govt.?GopalSubramaniam(The development hasput an end to the ongoing controversyover Subramaniams nomination by aSupreme Court collegium for the postof a judge in the apex court. The nameof Subramanium, who served as theSolicitor-General during the UPAregime, was recommended by thecollegium for elevation to the apex

    court bench along with some othernames. But the government rejectedhis name and returned the file over hisname while accepting therecommendation related to others.Though the government did not sayanything officially on the rejection,there were reports that its decisionwas based on a CBI report that hadquestioned Subramaniums role inarranging a meeting with the lawyer ofthe 2G accused even when he was thelawyer for CBI)

    5)Which PSU general insurancecompany recently introducedinsurance on wheels concept for

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    faster renewal of policies? NationalInsurance Company Ltd.(Under thescheme, a vehicle will be parked atappropriate locations in a city. People

    can renew their policies from thereinstead of going to the company office.Currently, the service has beenintroduced in 15-odd cities of thecountry)

    6)The ancient city-states of Pyu,which were included in UNESCOsWorld Heritage List on 22 June 2014,are the first entry of which Asiancountry? Myanmar(The trio of cities

    Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra, arelocated in Myanmars central Dry Zone

    and feature the walled remains of sitesbuilt by the now-extinct Pyu peoplefrom the first to ninth centuries AD.The Pyu sites together formed one of15 historical and natural sites inMyanmar on the tentative list for WorldHeritage status)

    7)The delisting process of whichpharma major came under marketregulator SEBIs lens for violation of its

    regulations on fraudulent and unfairtrade practices and SEBI issued anorder on 24 June 2014? AstraZeneca(SEBI said that it startedinvestigating the matter after comingacross reports that the offer-for-sale(OFS) done by Astra Zenecaspromoters in May 2013 was adeliberate attempt to subsequently getthe share delisted at ease. On further

    examination, SEBI found that AstraZenecas two earlier attempts atdelisting (2004 and 2010) had beenunsuccessful. In its order SEBIdirected that the promoters of

    AstraZeneca shall finally purchaseshares from public shareholders in thedelisting offer only after seekingapproval of the BSE and the NSE)

    June 27, 2014

    1)Goa has been formally declared aspermanent venue for the prestigiousannual International Film Festival of

    India (IFFI) by the Union Governmentrecently. Goa, however, has beenhosting the IFFI for a decade now. Sowhat main advantage would be gainedwith this declaration? Now therewould be no more requirement of the

    annual Memorandum of

    Understanding (MoU) about the mega

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    film festival to be signed between the

    state and the central governments as

    was the practice till now

    2)How much minimum export price(MEP) on potatoes was slapped by theUnion Govt. on 26 June 2014 with aview to ease prices in domestic marketand ensure more availability indomestic markets? 450 pertonne(The Directorate General ofForeign Trade (DGFT) in a notificationannounced that export of potatoes ispermitted subject to MEP of US$ 450per tonne. This was done with in viewof continuous rise in price of potatoeswhich was selling in the range ofRs.25-30 per kg in major retailmarkets. Earlier the MEP on onion ofUS$ 300 per tonne was notified on 17June 2014)

    3)Who on 26 June 2014 was formallyappointed the first Chairman of theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) inits Annual Conference held atMelbourne, Australia? N. Srinivasan,the President-in-exile of the BCCI(Srinivasan was elected the Chairmandespite being barred by the SupremeCourt of India from carrying out hisduties as BCCI President due toongoing investigations into the match-

    fixing allegations relating to the 2013edition of the IPL. It is worth notingthat the post of ICC Chairman is anewly-created post and has beencreated under ICCs controversialrevamp of the bodys administrative

    structure. The revamp will also hand

    major executive decision-makingauthority to the Big Three of the game

    India, Australia and England)

    4)A Delhi court on 26 June 2014summoned Congress president SoniaGandhi and Vice president RahulGandhi and other Congress leaders asaccused in National Heraldnewspaper case filed on charges ofcriminal conspiracy and cheating. Whohad established National Herald,which was shut down in 2008? Jawaharlal Nehru(Nehru started thisnewspaper in 1938. The summonswas issued on a private complaint filedby BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.Other senior leaders summonedinclude Motilal Vohra, OscarFernandes and Sam Pitroda. Theyhave been asked to be present in thecourt on 7 August 2014)

    5)Which Uruguay footballer was on 26June 2014 banned by the FIFA fornine international matches and wasbarred from all football activities forfour months for biting an Italianopponent in a FIFA World Cup match?

    Luis Suarez (Luis Suarez is the starstriker for Uruguay. This is heaviestpunishment ever inflicted on a playerat a World Cup finals and was

    imposed following Suarezs clash withItalys Giorgio Chiellini on 24 June

    2014 in a league match against Italy.As part of the ban on football activities,Suarez will not be allowed into astadium for four months. He was also

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    fined 100,000 Swiss francs or 112,000dollars)

    6) Which university recently launcheda 4-year undergraduate programmeeven as a standoff persists betweenthe University Grants Commission(UGC) and Delhi University (DU) overthe Four Year UndergraduateProgramme (FYUP)? BangaloreUniversity(Bangalore University

    offered a 4-year re-structuredundergraduate programme withmultiple exit options from this year.With the raging row in Delhi,

    Bangalore University was quick toclarify that its new programme with thechoice-based credit system (CBCS)cannot be compared to FYUP of theDU and it would not tamper with theexisting 3-year system but only addvalue)

    June 28-29, 2014

    1)How many years of Panchsheel, thefive principles of peaceful coexistencepropounded by India and China, isbeing celebrated this year? 60years (Panchsheel was enunciated byformer Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru along with his then Chinesecounterpart Zhou Enlai in 1954. Thepolicy was later endorsed by Burma

    (now Myanmar) too. A commemorativemeeting was held on 28 June 2014 onthe occasion of 60thanniversary ofPanchsheel in Beijing in which IndianVice-President Hamid Ansari andChinese President Xi Jinping and his

    Myanmar counterpart Thien Sein tookpart)

    2)Which three former Soviet republicson 27 June 2014 signed historic tradedeals with the European Union (EU)that are expected to help themovercome their post-Soviet legacy ofcorruption and debt? Georgia,Moldova and Ukraine(These dealswere signed at Brussels. For Ukrainethe deal was signed by PresidentPetro Poroshenko. The deal wassupposed to be signed in Novemberby Poroshenkos predecessor, ViktorYanukovich, who balked at the last

    minute under the pressure of threatsby Russia. With this deal the three joinEstonia, Latvia and Lithuania inpursuing stronger ties with Europe atthe expense of Russia, with Moscowvoicing its displeasure at the progressof the discussions)

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    3)Which village of East Godavaridistrict in Andhra Pradesh was on 27June 2014 the witness of a gaspipeline blast in the gas trunk line of

    Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL)in which 16 people died? Nagaram(Nagaram village in

    Amalapuram Mandal of East Godavaridistrict in Andhra Pradesh was witnessto a huge blast and fire after the firebroke out in the 18-inch trunk pipelineowned by GAIL)

    4)India has developed the worldssecond largest gamma ray telescopethat will help scientists gain newknowledge on the origin of theuniverse and origin of cosmic rays thatbombard the space. Where this hugetelescope will be installed? InLadakh

    s Hanle regio

    n(State-ownedElectronics Corporation of India Ltd.(ECIL) in Hyderabad designed thegiant 45 m high and 180 tonnetelescope. The transportation of thistelescope from Hyderabad to Ladakhstarted on 28 June 2014 and it isexpected that the telescope will beoperational in Ladakh by early 2016.This will be the fourth gamma raytelescope in the world. The largestsuch telescope built by a consortium ofEuropean countries with a diameter of28 m is currently in operation in

    Namibia. Indias telescope is thesecond largest with a diameter of 21m. But because it is being located inthe high altitude Ladakh region, it willhave the same capabilities of the onein Namibia)

    5)Jean-Claude Juncker, who wasnamed as the new President of theEuropean Commission (EC) on 27June 2014, is the former Prime

    Minister of which country? Luxembourg(But Junckers selectionfor the post dealt a bitter blow toopponent and British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron and it threatened toincrease the chances of Britain leavingthe bloc. Juncker, a veteran EUinsider, was backed by all EU memberstates, except Britain and Hungary)

    6)Global e-commerce giant Amazonduring May 2014 tied up with N.R.Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of ITservices firm Infosys by forming an e-commerce joint venture with hisprivate investment firm. What is thename of this investment firm ofNarayana Murthy? CatamaranVentures(Murthys private investmentfirm Catamaran Ventures, a Rs. 600-crore fund launched in 2010, hasformed a joint venture with Amazons

    Asia unit to create a new entity. Thisnew entity will help small and mediumbusinesses in India. CatamaranVentures is based in Bangalore)

    7)For the first time two countries fromAfrica qualified for last-16 stage in

    FIFA World Cup by making theirplaces in the ongoing 2014 FIFAWorld Cup. Which team are these? Algeria and Nigeria(Algeria qualifiedfor last-16 stage for the first time in thisWorld Cup)

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    8)The unit 42 yoctonewtons, whichcame to news recently, representswhat? It is the smallest force evermeasured so far(According to the

    journal Science the scientists at theBerkeley Lab and University ofCalifornia (UC) Berkeley measured the

    smallest force that can be applied toan object. This force was measuredusing a combination of lasers and aunique optical trapping system that

    provides a cloud of ultra-cold atoms.42 yoctonewtons stands for one-septillionth or 10 of a Newton)

    June 30, 2014

    1) Jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq,

    led by the Islamic State of Iraq andSyria (ISIS), on 29 June 2014announced the formation of a virtualnew country in Iraq with theestablishment of a Caliphate. Whowas declared as the Caliph, the

    leader of the Muslims all over theWorld? Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi(Baghdadi is the chief ofISIS. The system of Caliphate ended

    nearly 100 years ago with the fall ofthe Ottomans. Ever since the ProphetMohammeds death, a caliph was

    designated as the prince or Emir of

    the believers. This system wasabolished when the Ottoman Empirecollapsed in 1924)

    2)Which warship of the Indian Navy

    was deployed in the Persian Gulf on28 June 2014 in an effort to ensuresafety of Indians stranded in Iraq dueto the ongoing civil war? INSMysore(Indian Navy has anotherwarship INS Tarkash deployed in theGulf of Aden and if required, bothships can be pressed into evacuationoperations. The warship has beendeployed in the Persian Gulf as it has

    been asked to be on standby by thegovernment to evacuate Indian beingstranded in Iraq. The Indian Air Forcealso has its aircraft on standbyand can deploy its C17 and C-130JSuper Hercules aircraft at short noticefor any such evacuation operation)

    3)The performance ratings of banksoperating in India would be put on thepublic domain from next year. Whichentity is rating bank services andwould share this information in publicdomain? Banking Codes StandardsBoard of India

    BCSBI(BCSBI wasset up as an independent andautonomous body in 2007 by the

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    Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensurethat the common consumer of financialservices from the banking industrygets what he/she has been promised.

    BCSBI is rating banks on customerservices on five parameters information dissemination,transparency, customer-centricity,grievance redressal system andcustomer feedback. Of the 48 banksrated for customer service, only fivereceived high ratings; 25 were ratedabove average; 17 average; and onebelow average. The ratings have beenshared with the banks. The ratingswere given based on a surveyconducted by BCSBI across 69 cities,involving 3,000 branches and 6,000customers)

    4)Which Indian player on 29 June2014 created history by becoming the

    first player in the world to win worldtitles in the long and shorter formats ofboth billiards and snooker? PankajAdvani(Pankaj Advani achieved this

    rare feat by winning the IBSF World 6-Red snooker Championship, in Sharmel-Sheikh (Eygpt), when he defeatedKacper Flilpiak of Poland in the final.This win takes Pankaj to highest tallyof world titles by any Indian cueist inthe Open (Mens) category)

    5)Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwalon 29 June 2014 won which superseries title to wrap up her second titleof the year? Star Australian SuperSeries(She won the $750,000 Star

    Australian Super Series by defeatingSpains Carolina Marin by 21-18, 21-11 in the finals. Saina had won theIndia Open Super Series earlier thisyear)