launched Aam Aadmi Party sworn in as the seventh (as a person) Chief Minister of Delhi at a function in Ramlila Maidan. He has sworn in as the youngest Chief Minister of Delhi. 2. The BJP leader, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was sworn- in as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. 3. Lal Thanhawla of Congress party has sworn in as the Chief Minister of Mizoram for the second successive term. 4. BJP leader Vasundhara Raje was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the second time. 5. Ashraf Jehan a female judge sworn-in at Pakistans national sharia court which hears cases under the Islamic legislation. 6. J.N.Chaudhary was appointed as new head of NSG (National Security Guard). He will take his charge from incumbent Arvind Ranjan. 7. Arvind Ranjan was appointed the full time chief of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). 8. The ministry of civil aviation appointed Ashok Lavasa as new Civil Aviation Secretary. 9. Marpadi Veerappa Moily, the petroleum and natural gas Minister took an additional charge of the Environment and Forests Ministry after the exit of Jayanthi Natarajan. 10. Sidharth Birla, Chairman of Xpro India Limited took the charge as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Sidharth Birla succeeded the HSBC India Country Head Naina Lal Kidwai. 11. Vinod Kumar Duggal, the former Home Secretary has been appointed the new Governor of Manipur. He will replace the present Governor of the state, Ashwani Kumar, who was given an additional charge of Manipur, while being a Governor of Nagaland. 12. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar became the Ambassador of US. He is the successor of Nirupama Rao and his position in Beijing will be taken by Ashok k. kantha.
13. Usha Sangwan was appointed as the first woman managing director of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) by the Government. 14. S.B. Nayar was appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd (IIFCL). 15. The Union Government appointed Harsh Kumar Bhanwala as the Chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for a This GK Capsule has been prepared by Career Power Institute Delhi (Formerly Known as Bank Power). This has been prepared on the basis of news and events appeared in The Hindu Newspaper in the month of Dec 2013.
www.bankersadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in period of five years. Prior to this appointment, Bhanwala was an Executive Director at India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL). Bhanwala succeeds Prakash Bakshi. 16. CVR Rajendran was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Andhra Bank. 17. Krishna Iyer was appointed President and CEO of Wal-Mart India. 18. D Shivakumar was appointed as the Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo India. 19. Ambassador Ahmet Uzumcu was re-appointed as the OPCW Director General at the 18th Session of the Conference of State Parties. 20. Ms. Sushma Singh has been appointed as the next Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India and will succeed Ms. Deepak Sandhu. 21. Sashi Tharoor, the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development was named as the Person of the Year by the animal rights body PETA India for taking steps to advance animal protection.
22. Indias deputy consul in New York, Devyani Khobragade was transferred to Indias Permanent Mission in United Nations in New York. This was done by India to boost her diplomatic immunity. Earlier, Devyani Khobragade was charged with criminal offences by US. 23. Angela Merkel was elected as the German Chancellor for third term by the German Parliament. 24. Pope Francis was named as the Person of the Year 2013 by Time Magazine. 25. Ranjan Mathai took over as the India's High Commissioner to the UK. He has succeeded Jaimini Bhagwati. 26. Miss Venezuela Alyz Henrich was crowned with the pageant of Miss Earth 2013 at the Versailles Palace, Philippines. 27. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad awarded the Sword of Honour for safety management in London in the second week of December 2013. 28. IRCON International Limited has been awarded the prestigious India Pride Awards for Excellence in Central PSUs in India Image Enhancement. 29. Eminent historian Bipan Chandra was awarded Itihas Ratna from Asiatic Society Bihar. 30. Irrfan Khan won the best actor award for his brilliant performance in his film The Lunchbox at the 10th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Ritesh Batra, the Writer-Director of the film The Lunchbox, got a special mention for screenplay for the film in the same category. 31. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji won the Economic Times Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 for his role in creating India's third-largest software exporter. 32. East Timor film Beatrizs War bagged Golden Peacock award for Best Film at the 44th International Film Festival of India at Panaji, Goa. The film, directed by Bety Reis and Luigi Acquisto. Indian Director Kaushik Ganguli bags the award for Best Director for his Bengali film Apur Panchali. Best Actor (Male) award went to Alon Moni Aboutboul for his performance in Israeli movie A Place in Heaven. Best Actor (Female) award was presented to Boczarska Magdalena for her excellent performance in Polish film In Hiding. 33. Sheila Dikshit, the Chief Minister of Delhi resigned from her post after Congress party faced a defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls. Sheila Dikshit was defeated in her constituency in New Delhi from Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party by over 25,000 votes. She has been the Chief Minister of Delhi three times. 34. Shoma Chaudhury, managing editor of Tehelka, announced her resignation from the Tehelka, an investigative magazine. 35. Veteran Bollywood actor Farooq Sheikh died due to heart attack in Dubai. 36. Mikhail Kalashnikov, who invented the AK47 weapon died at the age of 94 due to ill-health on
www.bankersadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in 23 December 2013 in Izhevsk, Udmurtia province of Russian Republic. 37. Pran Chopra, the veteran journalist and first editor of The Statesman died. 38. Dr. Michiaki Takahashi who developed a vaccine for the chicken pox virus died due to heart failure on 23 December 2013 in Osaka, Japan. 39. Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid revolutionary of South Africa died on 5 November 2013. 40. US actor Paul Walker died in a car accident in Southern California. 41. The business magazine Fortunes Indian edition released its annual list of Fortune 500 Indian companies for 2012. Indian Oil Corporation was the biggest company followed by the Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Industries. 42. India was ranked 94th out of 177 countries on Global Corruption Perception Index 2013, which was released by Transparency International. Denmark and New Zealand tied for first place. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia this year make up the worst performers. 43. The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference was concluded on 6 December 2013 at Bali, Indonesia. The Ministerial Conference has agreed on the revised draft of Bali Package. 44. International Petroleum Conference 2014 (PETROTECH-2014) will be held in New Delhi from 12th 15th January 2014. 45. The 8th Asia Gas Partnership Summit (AGPS) was held at New Delhi, India. The 8th AGPS was organized by GAIL (India) Limited and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). 46. The fourth generation Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas received its second operational clearance on 20 December 2013 in Bangalore. Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) II of Tejas is to replace the Mig21 fleet of IAF, which was decommissioned on 11 December 2013. 47. India successfully test-fired the indigenously developed Pinaka from a base at Chandipur, off the Odisha coast. Pinaka is a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL). Pinaka is an area weapon system with a range of 40 km. 48. The Union Government launched e-inclusion project to make people e-literate. The project is an initiative to make at least one individual in every household e-literate. IT training will be provided to the economically weaker sections of the society including rural SC, ST and women under this project. 49. Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2013 was passed by the Lok Sabha on 18 December 2013. Earlier, the Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Bill seeks to establish an anti-corruption watchdog that will have in its purview even the office of Prime Minister. The Lokpal consists of a Chairperson and a maximum of eight members of which 50% shall be judicial members. 50. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has planned to set up birth waiting homes close to healthcare centres to enable pregnant women in remote areas to gain access to prenatal care as their due date nears.
51. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has been named the regional brand ambassador by the UNICEF to promote its Total Sanitation Campaign in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. 52. Iran has invited U.N. inspectors to visit its Arak heavy-water plant, in tune with the spirit of the Geneva agreement signed which promises a dtente between Tehran and the West. During the Geneva talks, Irans interlocutors United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany wanted Tehran to halt all work on the facility related to the production of plutonium that can be used to develop an atomic bomb. 53. NASA is planning to grow plants and vegetables such as turnip and basil on the Moon, by 2015, to understand whether humans can live and work on the Earths natural satellite. 54. The Argentinian government has dramatically increased the pressure on British companies
www.bankersadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in drilling for oil off the disputed Falkland Islands by passing laws that could impose 15-year jail sentences on their executives. 55. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) relaxed norms for long-term foreign investors eligible to put money into Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF), as part of efforts to attract more overseas investments into the country. 56. Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a young colleague. 57. Chinas official Xinhua news agency reiterated Beijings territorial claims on Arunachal Pradesh, coinciding with President Pranab Mukherjees two- day visit to the State. 58. In the wake of the collapse of the Ponzi scheme run by the Saradha Group in West Bengal, the Chhattisgarh government is setting up a registration authority to control non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). 59. India is once again among a small list of nations that qualifies for an exception from unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington on nations importing oil from Iran, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. 60. The U.S. will destroy the most dangerous of Syrias chemical weapon stockpile on a ship at sea, said the worlds chemical weapons watchdog Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). 61. Debit card holders will from 1 December be required to punch in their PIN numbers every time they use the card 62. The Current Account Deficit (CAD) of the country has narrowed down sharply to $5.2 billion, or 1.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for the second quarter July to September in the current financial year. 63. The West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution demanding withdrawal of the Union Petroleum Ministrys decision to link subsidies on LPG cylinders to Aadhaar cards. 64. Chaloka Beyani, U.N. special envoy on human rights of internally displaced persons arrived in Sri Lanka to examine the status of people rendered homeless by the countrys three-decade civil war. 65. French nuclear energy conglomerate Areva SA, which is the technology provider for the proposed nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, said it was working with Nuclear Energy Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to bring down the cost of the project so that power could be supplied at cheaper rates. 66. The Supreme Court directed all States to put in place by March 31, 2014 draft rules for regulating sale of acids and other corrosive substances. 67. The the Army successfully test-fired the surface-to- surface Prithvi-II missile from the Integrated Test Range near Balasore, Odisha. The missile, which can travel 250 km-350 km, can carry a nuclear warhead weighing 350 kg. 68. India, an aspirant to next months international conference on Syria in Geneva, has offered the services of its experts to help in destruction of Damascus chemical weapons arsenal. In addition, it has offered to contribute $1 million towards this effort by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). 69. All the three Service chiefs have agreed to having a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) as per the recommendations of the 14-member Naresh Chandra Task Force on undertaking reforms in the defence management. 70. Chinas yuan currency overtook the euro in October, becoming the second-most used currency in trade finance, global transaction services organisation SWIFT said. The market share of yuan grew to 8.66 per cent in October. The yuan now ranks behind the U.S. dollar, which remains the leading currency with a share of 81.08 per cent. 71. Federal Bank said it had appointed Abraham Koshy as its part-time Chairman. 72. Telecom operators will not be penalised for up to 50 complaints received against them in a week for pesky calls and SMSes originating from their networks. 73. Breaking all previous records, Delhi registered more than 65 per cent polling on 4th December.
www.bankersadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in 74. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that the ongoing amnesty scheme voluntary compliance encouragement scheme (VCES) for service tax evaders, which ends on December 31, would be the last chance for them to comply with tax regulations. 75. Cyprus has said the Indian government had agreed to withdraw a notification that suspended tax benefits on investments from the island nation. 76. Over one million people will benefit from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-supported flood control programme along the Brahmaputra river, the first tranche of which is likely to be completed by May 2014. 77. The Union Cabinet night approved a bill for the creation of a Telangana. Some of the highlights of the bill are: Telangana will have 10 districts and the rest of Andhra Pradesh will have 13 districts; Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area will remain the common capital for both states for a period not exceeding 10 years. 78. Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar recommended a financial package to Sugar millers, which includes an interest-free loan of Rs. 7,500 crore to pay off arrears. The loan can be repaid in five years with a moratorium of two years. 79. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy openly defied the Congress high command again when he vowed to oppose every aspect of the A. P. State Reorganisation Bill in the Assembly. 80. While in Chhattisgarh, 3.07 per cent of the valid votes went to NOTA the highest among the four States for which results were declared in Delhi, it was 0.63 per cent. 81. Bharti Airtel and Relaince Jio Infocomm announced a comprehensive arrangement under which they will share their telecom infrastructure. 82. In a major setback to gay rights activists, the Supreme Court held that homosexuality or unnatural sex between two consenting adults under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is illegal and will continue to be an offence. 83. Pope Francis has been named Person of the Year 2013 by Time magazine for changing the perception of the Catholic Church within just nine months. 84. The Supreme Court pulled up the Sahara group for issuing public advertisements accusing SEBI of being a sarkari gunda (a government goon) for not refunding Rs. 20,000 crore to duped investors.
85. The Supreme Court has directed all the States to drastically restrict the number of VIPs using the red beacon in their cars, and give the facility only to heads of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary and those holding constitutional posts. 86. The Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) panel, headed by former chief justice of India N. K. Sodhi, has suggested that trades by promoters, employees, directors and their immediate relatives would need to be disclosed internally to the company.
87. The Reserve Bank of India said it would infuse an additional Rs.10,000 crore into the system to ease the tight liquidity situation, ahead of commencement of advance tax payments. 88. In Operation Falcon Claw Investigative website Cobrapost claimed to have exposed 11 Members of Parliament from different political parties who allegedly showed willingness to issue recommendation letters and lobby with the Union Ministry for Petroleum for a fictitious foreign oil company seeking exploration and digging rights in the northeast. 89. The Supreme Court expressed serious concern at media reports of death of over 50 children in relief camps for victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots, and directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide them with relief. 90. President Vladimir Putin has ordered the military to step up its presence in the Arctic after Canada signalled it planned to claim the North Pole and surrounding waters. 91. South Korea and Japan have carried out a naval drill in the East China Sea, deploying destroyers and maritime helicopters in a region where both countries are involved in a dispute with China. A biennial naval drill took place in a part of the sea that lies within Chinas newly established Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). 92. On the back of rising food prices, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew at the rate of 11.24 per cent in November. 93. Doha Bank has been granted licence to commence banking operations in India, and has been permitted to open a branch in Mumbai to provide full-scale banking services. 94. India has indicated its disagreement with American pressure on Afghanistan to sign the bilateral security agreement (BSA), which will limit the number of western troops in the war-torn country after 2014. 95. In a relief to Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the fodder scam case in which he was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for five years by a trial court in Jharkhand. 96. The Union Cabinet approved the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill. It will replace the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995. The Bill provides for five per cent reservation in public sector jobs and makes the private sector more accountable for creating a disabled-friendly environment. 97. C. V. R. Rajendran took charge of Andhra Bank Chairman and Managing Director. 98. A Bill to set up an independent coal sector regulator Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2013 with the task of conserving resources and charting methodology for price fixing was introduced in the Lok Sabha. 99. U.S. retail giant Walmart announced the appointment of Krish Iyer as the President and CEO of its India unit. 100. India and Afghanistan have agreed to deepen defence and security cooperation to increase the operational capabilities and mobility of the Afghanistan National Security and Defence Forces (ANSDF). 101. China for the first time landed a rover on the Moon. A lunar probe carrying the Jade Rabbit or Yu Tu rover landed in the Bay of Rainbows, or Sinus Iridum, on the Moons surface, 12 days after the Change-3 probe the countrys third major lunar mission blasted off from southwestern China. 102. Prince Harry has become the first British royal to reach the South Pole after a three-week charity trek with injured military veterans from Britain, the U.S., Canada and Australia. 103. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram pitched for limiting the Reserve Bank of Indias mandate to monetary policy formulation and banking regulation. Mr. Chidambaram told that Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC), headed by Justice B. N. Srikrishna, has made similar recommendations.
www.bankersadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in 104. Indias foreign exchange (forex) reserves jumped by $4.40 billion to $295.70 billion for the week ended December 6. 105. Narendra Modi launched a Run for Unity in central Gujarat. The run is aimed to drum up support for the Gujarat Chief Ministers mega- project for the Statue of Unity, a monument of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The run marked the 63rd death anniversary of Sardar Patel. 106. Started in 2008, bitcoin is the most prominent amongst a group of digital currencies money that exists in the form of computer code that do not have a central issuing authority. These virtual currencies are stored in electronic wallets and can be traded on online exchanges and converted into cash. Indian version of Bitcoin is Laxmicoin. 107. British company Tesco, the worlds third largest retailer, applied for permission to acquire a 50-per- cent stake for $110 million in Tata Groups Trent, the company that operates the Star Bazaar hypermarket chain. The FDI policy permits a maximum of 51-per cent stake in an Indian multi- brand retailing company. 108. The Reserve Bank of India outlined a corrective action plan to minimise rising non-performing assets (NPAs). RBI said it would set up a Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) to collect, store, and disseminate credit data to lenders. The RBI said that before a loan account turns into an NPA, banks should identify it in a new sub-asset category, Special Mention Accounts (SMA). Within the SMA category, there should be three sub-categories: SMA-NF non-financial (NF) signals of incipient stress; SMA-1 principal or interest payment overdue between 31-60 days; SMA-2 principal or interest payment overdue between 61-90 days. Banks will be required to report, among others, the SMA status of the borrower to the CRILC. 109. Over half of Indias working population in 2011-12 was under the $2-per-day poverty line, new research has found. Researched and prepared by the Delhi-based Institute for Human Development (IHD), the India Labour and Employment Report 2014 was released by the Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh.
110. Employees of the major scheduled banks went on a days strike pressing for wage revision, due from November 1, 2012. 111. Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare ended his nine-day fast as the Lok Sabha passed the Lokpal Bill. 112. Reserve Bank of India kept the indicative policy rates (repo) and cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged. 113. Virtual currency Bitcoin crashed in China, falling almost 50 per cent after the country's biggest trading platform BTC China banned deposits in yuan, following new restrictions imposed by the Peoples Bank of China. 114. India and Japan tripled the limit for the currency swap arrangement to $50 billion. 115. The Election Commission recognised the Aam Aadmi Party as a state party after the party fulfilled the eligibility conditions set by the EC for granting the status. According to EC rules, to get the ECs recognition as a State party, all the candidates set up by the party together should get a minimum of eight per cent of the valid votes polled in the entire State or secure a minimum of six per cent of the total votes polled. The party should also win one Assembly seat for every 25 seats in that State. 116. The Union Cabinet approved a proposal for the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences to take over the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram. 117. Pakistan appointed career diplomat Abdul Basit as its new High Commissioner to India. 118. The Cabinet approved a free trade agreement (FTA) in trade and services with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The Cabinet approved the Agreement on Trade Goods under the CECA with the Asean in July 2009.
www.bankersadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in 119. Nationwide protests in Bangladesh continued against Pakistans criticism of the hanging of Jamaat leader Quader Mollah. 120. The Pakistan Air Force rolled out its indigenously built 50th JF-17 Thunder aircraft which has a top speed of Mach 1.6 and is dubbed as the backbone of the countrys air defence. China is collaborating with Pakistan on a number of projects including Gwadar Port, Chashma Power Project, Karakoram Highway, Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and more recently the Karachi Civil Nuclear Power Plant.
121. US Fed reserve decided to cut its monthly bond purchases to $75 billion from $85 billion starting in January. 122. The Union Cabinet gave its approval to allow Coal India Ltd. (CIL) to carry out exploration of coal bed methane (CBM) gas in its existing mines. 123. The first tranche of inflation indexed savings bonds will be launched on 23 December. It is open for subscription between December 23 and 31. The minimum limit for investment is Rs.5,000 and the maximum is Rs.5 lakh per applicant per annum. The interest rate would be linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The rate would comprise two parts fixed rate (1.5 per cent per annum) and inflation rate based on CPI. 124. Standard & Poors cut its long-term credit rating on the European Union to AA-plus from AAA. 125. Indias Parliamentarians are one of the best paid legislators across the world but they lag behind when it comes to performing legislative business, says the National Social Watchs Citizens Report on Governance and Development 2013. 126. A 75-year-old man, who became the first person this week to receive an artificial heart developed by French biomedical firm Carmat, was progressing well, according to doctors. 127. Nuclear weapons capable Agni-III surface-to- surface ballistic missile was test-fired for its full range of a little over 3,000 km from the Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast. 128. More than 10 lakh employees of the nationalised, private and foreign banks will strike work on January 20 and 21. Besides demanding a salary increase, the employees protest the reduction in the staff strength; denial of their say in fixing of salaries; and outsourcing. 129. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the Ministry of Defence gave the go-ahead for four major acquisitions worth nearly Rs. 16,000 crore for the Indian Navy and the Army. The approved shopping list includes two deep-sea rescue vessels, an indigenous anti-submarine craft programme, more Israeli Barak missiles and 41 advanced light helicopters. 130. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed Rs.1 crore fine on Abu Dhabi-based Etihad for non-disclosure of full information in the course of seeking approval for its purchase of 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways. 131. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with Monster.com, has launched a job portal ciispecialabilityjobs.in. 132. The Finance Ministry has asked all public sector banks to switch to the broker model from the
www.bankersadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in existing corporate agency structure for distribution of products. 133. National Sample Survey found over 46 per cent of households in rural India and 77 per cent of households in urban India had drinking water sources within their premises. One-eighth of Indias urban population lives in a slum. Maharashtra accounted for 23 per cent of the total slum population according to the NSSO, followed by Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. 134. The Reserve Bank of India warned the public against the use of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, pointing out that users expose themselves to potential financial, legal and security related risks. The creation, trading or usage of virtual currencies including Bitcoins are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority. 135. Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) number of women who die of pregnancy-related causes per 1,00,000 live births came down to 178. While Kerala has the lowest MMR at 66, Assam tops the list in absolute numbers with 328. 136. The Bharatiya Janata Partys prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi gained crucial legal relief when a city court rejected the petition of Zakia Jafri against the closure report of the Special Investigation Team giving him a clean chit in a case relating to the 2002 communal riots. 137. Tech major Microsoft launched Guardian, a new safety application (app), that enables friends and family of Windows Phone users to track them in real time. 138. Union Bank of India appointed Arun Tiwari as its new Chairman and Managing Director. Mr. Tiwari was earlier working with Allahabad Bank as Executive Director. 139. India will beat Japan to grab the position of the world's third largest economy in 2028, according to an influential British think-tank, that also forecast China to overtake the US for the top position. 140. As many as 60 per cent rural households do not have access to toilet facility. 141. Ratings agency CRISIL said government will overshoot its 4.8 per cent fiscal deficit target by 0.40 per cent this fiscal. 142. Domestic cooking gas consumers in Delhi and Mumbai will get cash subsidy for buying cooking gas refils as the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) Scheme will be extended to 105 more districts. The scheme has been rolled out in 184 districts. The scheme was launched in 20 districts on June 1.
143. United Nations has lowered India's economic growth forecast for 2013 to 4.8 per cent. 144. Bitcoin has been acknowledged as a "legitimate currency" by the US lawmakers, which has resulted in value of the virtual currency shooting up to $1,000. The lawmakers and central bank in European Union have adopted a wait and watch policy, so has the RBI. In Germany, it is considered a private currency, while in China, it is considered a virtual commodity and transactions are taxed as such. In Switzerland, it is treated as a foreign currency and Canada already taxes gains on trade in bitcoins. 145. India was ranked the fifth largest exporter of black money between 2002-2011 with over USD 343 billion sent abroad. 146. India has secured 69th position in the global energy architecture performance index report released by World Economic Forum. 147. Asian Development Bank said India is likely to record 4.7 per cent growth in current fiscal which will improve to 5.7 per cent next year. 148. RBI said India's economy would grow about 5 per cent in this financial year while the current account deficit would be below 3 per cent of GDP. 149. India has been ranked 98th in the Forbes list of world's best countries for doing business that has cited poverty, corruption and discrimination against girls among the challenges facing the country. Ireland topped the list.
www.bankersadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in 150. India will become the largest single source of global oil demand growth after 2020, the International Energy Agency said. 151. India was ranked among the world's highly corrupt nations at the 94th spot in a global list topped by Denmark and New Zealand as the cleanest, while Somalia emerged as the most corrupt. 152. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked people not to fall prey to rumours circulating that banks would not accept banknotes with scribbling from January 1, 2014. 153. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to sanction loans of up to Rs 1 lakh against pledge of gold ornaments and jewellery. 154. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be generated through complex computer software systems with solutions shared on a network, although the process is complex and such 'mining' can be done only on very powerful servers. Hardly three years into existence, bitcoin has already become the world's most expensive currency and its per unit value soared past USD 1,000 level or about Rs 63,000 recently. 155. The World Banks investment arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), is planning to launch IFC Asia Fund with a target size of $1-1.5 billion. The fund will mobilise additional capital for co- investment in emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region. 156. Nepal and India have agreed in principle to allow circulation of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denomination Indian bank notes within Nepalese territory, ending a ban in place for over a decade. 157. India Post has drawn up an ambitious Rs 4,900- crore plan to swamp the country with 2,800 automated teller machines (ATMs) in major centres and handheld micro-ATMs in 1.3 lakh rural branches by 2015. 158. RBI said, "It is advised that a credit card account will be treated as non-performing asset if the minimum amount due is not paid fully within 90 days from the next statement date". 159. People using Bitcoins are on their own when it comes to losses, the European Unions banking watchdog said in a formal warning to consumers on the risks of using unregulated online currencies. 160. Top 30 loan defaulters of public sector banks (PSBs) account for more than one-third of total gross non-performing assets of state-run lenders. 161. State Bank of India is stepping up investments in technology as a way to bring down the cost it incurs in opening and operating accounts in rural and semi-urban areas as part of its financial inclusion efforts.