GK Power Capsule September 2014 (The Hindu Review)

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 September 2014.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
6.

7.

8.

Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan left all

key rates unchanged citing increased risks to
inflation and difficult external situation
especially on the geopolitical front. The RBI also
retained the growth projection for the current
fiscal at 5.5 per cent. The apex bank sees FY16
growth at 6.3 per cent.
1. Bank Rate 9 % (Unchanged)
2. Cash Reserve Ratio 4 % (Unchanged)
3. SLR 22 % (Unchanged)
4. Repo Rate 8 % (Unchanged)
5. Reverse Repo Rate 7 % (Unchanged)
6. Marginal Standing Rate 9 % (Unchanged)
President Pranab Mukherjee authorised
Vigilance Commissioner Rajiv to act as chief of
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) until the
appointment
of
the
Central
Vigilance
Commissioner.
Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy
Dattu was sworn-in as the 42nd Chief Justice
of India on 28 September 2014. He succeeded
Chief Justice RM Lodha who demitted office on
27 September 2014.
AIADMK Treasurer O Panneerselvam was
sworn-in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He
replaced the former AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa.
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was sworn in as
president of Afghanistan.
The Bangladesh government appointed Syed
Muazzem Ali as the new Bangladesh High
Commissioner to India.
Suresh Prabhu was appointed as Prime
Minister Narendra Modis Sherpa for the
Group of 20 annual Summit 2014. The G-20
annual summit will be held in Brisbane from 15
November to 16 November 2014. Sherpa is a
senior official responsible for preparing the
agenda for leaders to consider during the
summit.
India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat
Sharma was appointed as the new president
of the News Broadcasting Association (NBA) for
the year 2014-2015.

9.

Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar was

appointed as the new head of the Pakistans
spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
10. US President Barack Obama nominated IndianAmerican Richard Rahul Verma as the next US
Ambassador to India.

11. Lalitha Kumaramangalam was appointed as

chairperson of National Commission for
Women.
12. Chinese President Xi Jinping appointed Le
Yucheng as China's new Ambassador to India.
13. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was appointed as
United Nations Messenger of Peace with a
special focus on climate change.
14. The International Economic Association
appointed Kaushik Basu as president-elect of
the association beginning September 2014.

However, he will continue to serve as Senior

Vice President and Chief Economist of World
Bank.
15. Meghalaya Governor, Dr. Krishan Kant Paul
was swornin as the Governor of Manipur.
16. Senior IAS officer Subhash Chandra Garg was
appointed as the Executive Director (ED) of
World Bank.

28.
29.

30.

31.

17. Former Chief Justice of India, Palaniswamy

Sathasivam was appointed as the new Governor
of Kerala. He will replace Sheila Dikshit.
18. Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward
Snowden and Alan Rusbridger, editor of The
Guardian won Right Livelihood Award.
19. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh
of Australia were selected as Bradman
Honouree 2014.
20. Hindi-language feature film Liar's Dice was
selected for Indias official entry in the 2015
Oscars Awards for the Best Foreign Language
Film category. The film is directed by Geethu
Mohandas. The 87th Oscar Awards event will
take place in the US on 22 February 2015.
21. Govind Mishra, the renowned Hindi author
was given the Saraswati Samman in New
Delhi. He was given the Samman for his novel
Dhool Paudhon Par that was published in 2008.
22. The World Health Organisation honoured
Bangladesh and Timor-Leste with South East
Asia Regional Award for Excellence in Public
Health.
23. Court, an Indian movie written and directed
by Indian writer Chaitanya Tamhane won the
Lion of the Future Luigi De Laurentiis award
for a Debut Feature at the 71st Venice Film
Festival.
24. J Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu was found guilty in the disproportionate
assets case by the Special Court in Bangalore.
The Court pronounced a jail term of 4 years and
fined 100 crore rupees to her.
25. The 41st Chief Justice of India (CJI), Rajendra
Mal Lodha retired.
26. South Africa denied visa to Dalai Lama for Nobel
Summit. He was scheduled to attend the 14th
world summit of Nobel peace laureates in Cape
Town in October 2014.
27. Taslima Nasreen, the controversial writer of
Bangladesh in first week of September was

32.
33.

34.
35.

36.
37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

given a one-year long visa that allows her to stay

in India till August 2015.
The President Pranab Mukherjee was on a visit
to Vietnam from 14 to 17 September 2014.
Sushma Swaraj, the Union Minister of External
Affairs and Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs
visited Bahrain.
Former
International
cricket
umpire
Mohammad Ghouse died following a brief
illness.
The British aid worker, David Haines was in
news as he was beheaded by Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants.
Freedom fighter and veteran journalist Jitendra
Chandra Paul.
Prominent Bangladeshi Nazrul Sangeet singer
Firoza Begum died in Dhaka due to heart and
kidney problems.
Legendary US comedian and talk-show host Joan
Rivers died.
The world`s oldest test cricketer Norman
Gordon died in Johannesburg. He was a former
South African international fast bowler.
Former Attorney General of India Goolam Essaji
Vahanvati died of a heart attack in Mumbai.
People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China on 20
September 2014 pitched seven tents at Point
30R Post in Chumar area of Ladakh within the
Indian Territory.
The Forbes India magazine released The 100
Richest Indian List 2014. As per the list, the top
100 richest tycoons in India are all billionaires
for the first time.. According to the Forbes India
List, the Top 10 Richest people of India: 1.
Mukesh Ambani; 2. Dilip Shanghvi; 3. Azim
Premji; 4. Pallonji Mistry; 5. Lakshmi Mittal; 6.
Hinduja brothers; 7. Shiv Nadar; 8. Godrej
family; 9. Kumar Birla; 10. Sunil Mittal.
World population will reach 11 billion by 2100
and it was highly unlikely that global population
will stabilize by the end of 2100 according to UN
report.
KPMG-FICCI study has ranked India among top
three medical tourism destinations in Asia. The
other two countries within Asia that receive
maximum medical tourists are Thailand and
Singapore.
The World Bank Group approved 105 million US
dollars grant for Ebola Emergency Response
project to fight Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone.
UN Climate Change Summit 2014 was held at UN
headquarters in New York on 23 September
2014 to put the planet on course towards
reversing global warming. The purpose of the

43.
44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.
52.

53.

54.

55.

2014 Climate Summit was to raise political

momentum for a meaningful universal climate
agreement in Paris in 2015.
The G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial
meet was held at Melbourne, Australia.
The two brothers, Achin and Sarthak Narula of
Delhi became the first ever contestants to win
7 crore rupees in the television show, Kaun
Banega Crorepati, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott returned
two stolen antique statues of Hindu deities to
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One of the
idols is a Nataraja, the dancing Shiva that
belongs to the Chola dynasty of 11th-12th
century.
The
other
sculpture
is
of
Ardhanariswara which represents Shiva in halffemale form. It belonged to the 10th century.
The revived Nalanda University started its
first session with 15 students in its makeshift
campus at the Buddhist pilgrim town of Rajgir,
about 100 km from Patna.
Operation Megh Rahat a rescue operation
undertaken by Indian Army during Jammu and
Kashmir floods Indian Army on 19 September
2014 completed rescue Operation Megh Rahat in
Jammu and Kashmir.
SRPF (Special Rhino Protection Force) is to be
setup to protect Rhinos from poaching in Assam.
It will be created in Assam with the help of
Central funds.
Barauni bound Lucknow Barauni express
collided with the coaches of Lucknow bound
Maduadih-Lucknow Krishak Express near
Gorakhpur station at Nandnagar railway
crossing.
Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah released
his autobiography And then One Day: A
Memoir.
50 years of man in space was authoured by
Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher.
The Supreme Court of India formed a five
member committee to evaluate the damage
caused by devastating floods in Jammu and
Kashmir (J&K) in September 2014.
H Devaraj Committee reported that most of the
deemed universities are not fit for being a
university. It said that out of 41 C category
deemed universities only 10 universities are
found to be fit for being a university.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley constituted
H R Khan panel to assess the amount of
unclaimed deposits in the PPF accounts and Post
Office saving schemes.
Bombay High Court set up V V Daga Committee
to conduct forensic audit of NSEL and liquidate

56.

57.

58.
59.

the assets of its defaulting borrowers in the over

5500 crore rupees payments scam.
Sivaramakrishnan committee constituted by the
Union Government to suggest the place to build
the capital city of Andhra Pradesh submitted its
report.
Union Government declared 25 September as
Antyodya Diwas. Antyodya diwas was
observed to mark the 98th birth anniversary
of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.
National Hindi Divas (Hindi Day) was observed
across India on 14 September 2014.
The India-US Combined Military Training
Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2014 concluded at
Ranikhet in Uttarakhand.

60. Indian Air Force gifted a vintage Dakota aircraft

from its museum to Bangladesh Air Force.
61. Strategic Force Command of India successfully
test-fired nuclear weapons capable ballistic
missile Agni-I with a range of 700 Km. The
missile was launched from the Integrated Test
Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, Balasore off the
Odisha Coast.
62. Indias first Air Veteran Rally was held at the Air
Force Auditorium, Subroto Park in New Delhi.
63. India's largest naval offshore patrol vessel INS
Sumitra was commissioned into Indian Navy.
64. Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya KiranVII concluded on 31 August 2014 at Pithoragarh.
65. The Union Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy announced the organisation of the first
Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo
(RE-INVEST). The meet is scheduled to be held
on 15 February 2015 in New Delhi.
66. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the
country's biggest-ever cleanliness drive that is
expected to cost over Rs 62,000 crore, asserting
that the "Swachh Bharat" mission is "beyond
politics" and inspired by patriotism. The Cabinet
had last month decided to merge the 'Nirmal
Bharat Abhiyan', a campaign for rural sanitation
with Swachh Bharat Mission.
67. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
to ensure universal coverage under Aadhaar
by June 2015. The current Aadhaar enrolment is
about 68 crore, which means over 50 crore
people will have to be brought under its ambit
within the next eight months. Last month, the
union cabinet set a target of 100 crore

68.

69.

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

77.

enrolment under Aadhaar by the end of next

year.
Targeting a five-fold jump in Indo-US trade to
USD 500 billion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and US President Barack Obama pledged to
deepen economic cooperation and will set up a
joint program to boost business investment.
US government welcomes India's offer for US
industry to be the lead partner in developing
smart
cities
in
Ajmer
(Rajasthan),
Vishakhapatnam
(Andhra
Pradesh)
and
Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh).
US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi agreed to deepen USIndian cooperation on maritime security to
ensure freedom of navigation in what amounts
to a response to China's naval muscle-flexing in
Asia.
India and the US decided to set up an interagency contact group to address liability and
technical issues hindering installation of
American-origin nuclear reactors in India.
India and US agreed to extend their defence
agreement for another 10 years which is
expected to give a big boost to cooperation in
this key area between the two countries.
The government announced setting up of four
task forces to lay down the roadmap for
developing four new regulatory agencies
Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA),
Financial Sector Appellate Tribunal (FSAT),
Financial Data Management Centre (FDMC) and
Resolution Corporation (RC).
PM Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama
issued an India and the US vision statement
"Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go"
promising that their "strategic partnership"
would work to combat terror threats and
prevent the spread of weapons of mass
destruction.
The government is planning to introduce a fresh
Bill in the winter session of Parliament to repeal
over a 1,000 archaic laws in the financial, social,
land and infrastructure sectors.
The next Parvasi diwas will be held in
Ahmedabad in January 8-9 next year. The
Pravasi Diwas will coincide with the 100 years
of coming back of Mahatma Gandhi next year.
Standard & Poors improved its rating outlook
for India to stable from negative even as it
retained the credit rating at BBB-. Among the
other major rating firms, Moodys maintains
Baa3 rating for India with stable outlook while
Fitch rates the countrys creditworthiness at
BBB- with a stable outlook.

78. Standard and Poor's warned that it could

downgrade rating of crisis ridden Syndicate
Bank if its asset quality deteriorates. It has
raised the rating outlooks on 11 Indian banks
and financial institutions to stable from negative.
These include, Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI
Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian Bank, IDFC, Kotak
Mahindra Bank, Kotak Mahindra Prime, State
Bank of India and Union Bank of India.
79. Revising India's GDP upwards by 0.3 per cent to
6.3 per cent in 2015, Asian Development Bank
(ADB) has said the economy shows a new
promise of turnaround after the election
brought a stable government in May.
80. In a bid to make the country a manufacturing
hub, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised
easy an effective governance to enable ease of
doing business as he launched the 'Make in
India' campaign.
81. Mumbai has emerged as the least expensive city
in the world to live and work in, according to a
latest real estate analysis. British capital London
has overtaken Hong Kong as the most expensive
city to rent living and working space.
82. The Union government said the proposed Goods
and Services Tax could become a reality from
April 1, 2016. The finance ministry is set to
introduce the Constitution (115th Amendment)
Bill in the winter session.
83. India and China inked 12 pacts in a range of
areas including railways and outer space as
Beijing pledged investments of USD 20 billion
over five years in a bid to boost economic ties
and address India's concerns over trade deficit.
84. The Indian Railways will get assistance from its
counterpart in China for semi-high speed
corridors, which allow trains to run at a speed of
up to 200 km per hour.
85. India has retained its sixth position in terms of
number of billionaires with 100 such people
collectively having USD 175 billion in networth,
while globally the number of uber-rich has
reached a record high of 2,325 persons
according to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire
Census 2014.
86. PSU oil marketers not only wiped out their
under-recovery on diesel in the fortnight
ended September 15 but also reported a
marginal over-recovery of 35 paise a litre on its
sales. The development, mainly due to monthly
price hikes since January 2013 and also helped
hugely by a relatively low global crude oil price.
87. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development
Authority has set up a panel of experts, headed
by former Sebi chief GN Bajpai, to review

88.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

94.

95.

96.

investment norms for National Pension System

(NPS) schemes for the private sector.
Industrial and infrastructure project proposals
will get security clearance within 12 weeks as
the Home Ministry has streamlined the process
by issuing a detailed guideline in this regard.
To sort out the liability issue plaguing Indian
nuclear reactors, the Centre has asked General
Insurance Company (GIC) to work on a model
that could be applied to insure such facilities in
the country.
A new index Creative Productivity Index (CPI)
ranks Japan as the most efficient among Asian
countries while Myanmar, Pakistan and
Cambodia are least efficient. India is at 14th
rank. The Asian Development Bank said it
developed the index with the Economist
Intelligence Unit to give policymakers a tool to
assess how best to foster innovation and
creativity in Asian economies.
With the target of providing houses for all by
2022, a new integrated National Housing
Mission will be launched soon by merging some
of UPA's flagship schemes like JNNURM and
Rajiv Awas Yojana.
Boeing has delivered the fifth maritime patrol
aircraft P-8I to India as part of a deal for eight
aircraft to support the Indian Navy's maritime
patrol requirements.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley is unlikely to
attend the G-20 finance ministers and central
bank chiefs meeting in Cairns, Australia, on
September 20 and 21, as he is recovering from a
diabetes management surgery. Minister of state
(finance and commerce) Nirmala Sitharaman
will attend the meeting instead.
The Expenditure Management Commission
headed by Bimal Jalan, will submit its interim
report by January, in time for its
recommendations to be incorporated in the
FY16 Budget.
Rating agency Moody's said prospects have
brightened with growth rate expected to
accelerate to 5.2 per cent in 2014 and 6.5 per
cent by end of 2015.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has
cleared sale of government's 11.36 per cent in
NHPC. The government also gave a go- ahead to
the much-awaited 10 per cent stake sale in Coal
India Ltd, which could fetch over Rs 23,000
crore to the exchequer. Government also cleared
5 per cent disinvestment in oil major ONGC,
which may fetch the exchequer about Rs 18,000
crore.

97. RBI said guarantors, group firms and

management can also be classified as wilful
defaulters by lenders. If the guarantor refuses to
comply with the demand made by the banker
despite having sufficient means to make
payment of the dues, such guarantor would also
be treated as a wilful defaulter.

98. The NDA government has decided to start

negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA)
with Peru.
99. India has signed the free trade agreement (FTA)
in services and investments with the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
100. Declaring the Jammu and Kashmir floods as
"national level disaster", Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced Rs 1,000 crore as
special assistance for rehabilitation.
101. Seven years after the then Australian Prime
Minister John Howard decided to sell uranium to
India. India and Australia signed the civilian
nuclear cooperation agreement.
102. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu
Naidu announced that the new capital of the
state would be located "around Vijayawada".
103. India is among the worst- ranked countries
when it comes to taxation and inflation burden
on economy, as also in terms of the negative

impact of crime, terrorism and health hazards on

business environment, a WEF report said. Out of
144 countries analysed by the World Economic
Forum, India ranks 133rd in terms of inflation,
130th for taxes and 131st for starting a business.
Switzerland has retained its top slot.
104. India will get $35 billion from Japan over the
next five years for development projects,
including building of smart cities and next
generation infrastructure.
105. Japan offered to provide financial, technical and
operational support to India for introduction of
bullet trains. The two Prime Ministers look
forward to the completion of the Joint Feasibility
Study on High Speed Railway system on
AhmedabadMumbai route.

106. Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to turn Varanasi
into a smart city with help from Kyoto.
107. The much-awaited minimum monthly
pension of Rs.1,000 and a higher wage ceiling
of Rs.15,000 for social security schemes run by
retirement fund manager Employees Provident
Fund Organisation (EPFO) will be implemented
from September 1.
108. Ms. Mridula Sinha will be administered oath of
office as the Governor of Goa.
109. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ch. Vidyasagar
Rao was sworn in as Maharashtra Governor. His
appointment followed the resignation of UPA
appointed K. Sankaranarayanan.
110. A four-member high-level committee has been
set up under the former Cabinet Secretary
T.S.R. Subramanian to examine five laws
administered by the Union Ministry of
Environment, Forests & Climate Change.
111. Iran unveiled a new surface-to-air Talash-3
(Effort-3, in Persian) missile and two radar
systems Arash-2 and Kayhan.
112. The Department of Personnel and Training has
notified amendments giving autonomy to the
Lokpal search committee to shortlist and
recommend names independently for selection
of Chairman and members of the anti-corruption
body.
113. Mumbais Esplanade House, once the residence
of Jamsetji Tata, founder of the Tata empire, and
the Shri Sakhargad Nivasini Devi Temple
Complex in Satara are among the 14 projects

from 10 countries that bagged the UNESCO AsiaPacific Heritage Awards that were announced in
Bangkok.
114. India and Bangladesh have reached a decision
on ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement
(LBA) and ensure zero border killings.
115. China will set up two industrial parks in India,
one each in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
116. Tata Consultancy Services has reappointed N
Chandrasekaran as Chief Executive Officer and
Managing Director for a five year term.
117. Bihar is the fastest growing State while Tamil
Nadu is the worst performer, the latest data
released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO)
has revealed. Bihars Gross State Domestic
Product (GSDP) grew 10.73 per cent during
2012-13. The second-best performing State is
Madhya Pradesh, which grew at 9.89 per cent.
Delhi is third with a growth rate of 9.33 per cent.
118. Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh; Kishangarh in
Rajasthan; Jharsuguda in Odisha; and Hubli and
Belgaum in Karnataka will soon get no-frills
airports.
119. Kolkata-born British author Neel Mukherjees
latest novel The Lives of Others has been
shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize
2014.
120. The Indian economy will grow at a rate of 5.6
per cent in 2014 according to United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) said.
121. ICICI Bank launched Instant Money Transfer.
In which customer can now transfer money
from their account to anyone in India with a
mobile number.
122. Meghalaya Governor Krishan Kant Paul has been
given additional charge of Manipur and
Mizoram.
123. The European Union (EU) decided to slap new
economic sanctions on Russia over its actions in
Ukraine.
124. Paypal will start accepting bitcoin payments
through its subsidiary, Braintree, the company
has announced.
125. Haryana and Maharashtra will hold elections on
October 15, with counting of votes on October
19, as per the schedule announced by the
Election Commission.
126. China will be the focus country for the 45th
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2014,
scheduled to be held in Goa between November
20 and 30.
127. Retail inflation moderated slightly to 7.8 per
cent in August from 7.96 per cent in July.

128. India and Vietnam signed seven agreements,

including one for enhanced cooperation in the
oil sector. ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and
Vietnam Oil signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for
jointly exploring two more blocks.
129. India has warmed to the idea of the BCIM
(Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar)
corridor
that could prove to be a game-changer in
regional linkages among the four countries. The
BCIM corridor, long promoted by China, is
intended to link Kunming to Kolkata, Mandalay
(Myanmar), Dhaka and Chittagong.
130. Chinese President Xi Jinping made a special
announcement on opening a new route for
pilgrims to Kailash-Mansarovar in the Tibetan
Autonomous Region.
131. The Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim
Bank) and the China Development Bank
Corporation (CDB) signed various agreements
with SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.
132. Public sector banks (PSBs) in India will need to
raise up to $37 billion over the next 4-5 years to
meet Basel III compliance norms, credit rating
agency Moodys said.
133. The government has set up a high-level
committee headed by Bibek Debroy to
reconfigure the Railway Board as well as to
suggest steps for resource mobilisation for
major projects.
134. The government postponed the decision on
revising natural gas prices till November 15.
NDA
government
had
deferred
the
implementation of the Rangarajan formula,
approved by the previous UPA-regime, till
September 30.
135. The Supreme Court cancelled 214 coal blocks
allocated since 1993.
136. Bamiyan has been selected to be the SAARC
cultural capital for a year beginning April 2015.
Dhaka will be the SAARC cultural capital in
2016-17. The year 2016-17 will also be declared
the SAARC Year of Cultural Heritage.
137. Cricket legend Kapil Dev has been honoured
with a Lifetime Achievement award at a
ceremony in the House of Lords in London.
138. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan resigned from
his post, a day after the Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP) withdrew support to his
government and reduced it to a minority.