GK Power Capsule – Dec’ 2013 (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 Dec 2013.

1. Arvind Kejriwal, the convener of the newly 12. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar became the
launched Aam Aadmi Party sworn in as the seventh Ambassador of US. He is the successor of
(as a person) Chief Minister of Delhi at a function Nirupama Rao and his position in Beijing will be
in Ramlila Maidan. He has sworn in as the youngest taken by Ashok k. kantha.
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 Pakistan’s
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 13. Usha Sangwan was appointed as the first woman
Head Naina Lal Kidwai. managing director of the Life Insurance
11. Vinod Kumar Duggal, the former Home Secretary Corporation of India (LIC) by the Government.
has been appointed the new Governor of Manipur. 14. S.B. Nayar was appointed as chairman and
He will replace the present Governor of the state, managing director (CMD) of India Infrastructure
Ashwani Kumar, who was given an additional Finance Co. Ltd (IIFCL).
charge of Manipur, while being a Governor of 15. The Union Government appointed Harsh Kumar
Nagaland. Bhanwala as the Chairman of the National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for a
 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. India’s deputy consul in New York, Devyani
Khobragade was transferred to India’s 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.
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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 ‘Beatriz’s 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
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 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 Fortune’s Indian edition
released its annual list of Fortune 500 Indian
companies for 2012. Indian Oil Corporation was
the biggest company followed by the Mukesh
Ambani‘s 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.
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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
détente between Tehran and the West. During the
Geneva talks, Iran’s 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 Earth’s natural satellite.
54. The Argentinian government has dramatically
increased the pressure on British companies
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 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. China’s official Xinhua news agency reiterated
Beijing’s territorial claims on Arunachal Pradesh,
coinciding with President Pranab Mukherjee’s 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 Syria’s
chemical weapon stockpile on a ship at sea, said
the world’s 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
Ministry’s 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
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Lanka to examine the status of people rendered
homeless by the country’s 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 month’s 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. China’s 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.
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74. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that perception of the Catholic Church within just nine
the ongoing amnesty scheme voluntary months.
compliance encouragement scheme (VCES) for 84. The Supreme Court pulled up the Sahara group for
service tax evaders, which ends on December 31, issuing public advertisements accusing SEBI of
would be the ‘last chance’ for them to comply with being a sarkari gunda (a government goon) for not
tax regulations. refunding Rs. 20,000 crore to duped investors.
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 85. The Supreme Court has directed all the States to
votes went to NOTA — the highest among the four drastically restrict the number of VIPs using the red
States for which results were declared in Delhi, it beacon in their cars, and give the facility only to
was 0.63 per cent. heads of the executive, the legislature and the
81. Bharti Airtel and Relaince Jio Infocomm announced judiciary and those holding constitutional posts.
a comprehensive arrangement under which they 86. The Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI)
will share their telecom infrastructure. panel, headed by former chief justice of India N. K.
82. In a major setback to gay rights activists, the Sodhi, has suggested that trades by promoters,
Supreme Court held that homosexuality or employees, directors and their immediate relatives
unnatural sex between two consenting adults would need to be disclosed internally to the
under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is company.
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
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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 China’s 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
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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 Moon’s surface, 12 days after the
Chang’e-3 probe — the country’s 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 India’s 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.
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104. India’s 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 Minister’s 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 world’s third largest
retailer, applied for permission to acquire a 50-per-
cent stake for $110 million in Tata Group’s 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 India’s 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
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2014 was released by the Union Rural
Development Minister Jairam Ramesh.
110. Employees of the major scheduled banks went on
a day’s 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
People’s 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 EC’s
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.
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119. Nationwide protests in Bangladesh continued
against Pakistan’s 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 country’s 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
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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 & Poor’s cut its long-term credit rating on
the European Union to AA-plus from AAA.
125. India’s 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 Watch’s “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
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 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
India’s 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 Party’s 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.
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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.
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150. India will become the largest single source of watchdog said in a formal warning to consumers
global oil demand growth after 2020, the on the risks of using unregulated online currencies.
International Energy Agency said. 160. Top 30 loan defaulters of public sector banks
151. India was ranked among the world's highly corrupt (PSBs) account for more than one-third of total
nations at the 94th spot in a global list topped by gross non-performing assets of state-run lenders.
Denmark and New Zealand as the cleanest, while 161. State Bank of India is stepping up investments in
Somalia emerged as the most corrupt. technology as a way to bring down the cost it
152. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked people not to fall incurs in opening and operating accounts in rural
prey to rumours circulating that banks would not and semi-urban areas as part of its financial
accept banknotes with scribbling from January 1, inclusion efforts.
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 Bank’s 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 Union’s banking

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