Current Affairs - 23 September 2014

Mars orbiter passes 4-second test, big day tomorrow

• 

  CHENNAI/BANGALORE: In the Martian tourney, India won a T20 on Monday. The real test is on Wednesday.
  
  The celebration lasted as much as the match - a mere four seconds — when at 2.30pm, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) scientists 'woke up' the main engine of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft. Having ensured that the 440N engine is in good shape, they got back to preparations for the 24-minute firing early on Wednesday morning that would put the spacecraft in the red planet's orbit.
  
  The liquid apogee motor (LAM) engine has been idle for about 300 days since the spacecraft left the Earth's orbit on a Martian trajectory on December 1, 2013. MOM executed with precision a set of commands sent from mission control in Bangalore last week and fired the engine.
  
  "With this, we have achieved two things," Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan told TOI. "One, we checked if all is fine with the engine; two, we used the exercise to correct the trajectory to get nearer to Mars." With this, MOM has also entered Mar's sphere of influence.
  
  There were apprehensions of the long duration of idling would have affected some valves because of the corrosive fuel used. If the main engine doesn't fire on Wednesday, an alternative plan is to fire the eight thrusters of the spacecraft to capture the Martian orbit. This Plan B, however, would not help MOM achieve a perfect orbit to take up scientific studies during its elliptical journey around Mars.

J&K floods: When criminals came to cops’ rescue

•  SRINAGAR: Crises bring out the best and worst in us. In Srinagar, cops and undertrials shared unusual bonding in the worst days of Jhelum floods. Between September 7 and 11, when nearly all police stations were submerged, inmates at Shaheed Gunj police lock-up spent four days on the rooftop with cops. Not just that. A short distance from the police station lives Fayaz, a notorious criminal feared for his frequent run-ins with the police. However, a police officer said Fayaz, not bothering about his safety, jumped into the raging waters several times to save lives of policemen.
  
  A thief who had eluded the police until the floods, joined them during those five days to help rescue a family stuck on the top of a building. "While we were wondering how to reach the top, he showed us his trick of hammering in long nails into the wooden facade of the building and climbing up with ropes to reach the top from where he got the family out," said a policeman who did not wish to be named.
  
  The Jhelum, that wrecked NH and submerged Pampore in South Srinagar, reached Srinagar on Sunday morning. By the evening, it had submerged Sadar police station and moved north to police stations in Jawahar Nagar, Bemina, Rajbagh, Batamaloo. Police stations in Rajbagh and Karan Nagar, two stories high, were totally submerged.

US, partners begin air strikes in Syria, Pentagon says

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   SURUC, Turkey: The United States and partner nations launched their first airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria, as fighting raged on Monday between the extremist group and Kurdish forces near the border with Turkey, triggering a surge of tens of thousands of refugees.
  
  The Pentagon said a mix of fighter jets, bombers and Tomahawk missiles fired from ships in the region targeted the Islamic State group. Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said that because the military operation is ongoing, no details could be provided yet. He said the decision to strike was made early Monday by the military.
  
  The strikes are part of the expanded military campaign that US President Barack Obama's authorized nearly two weeks ago in order to disrupt and destroy the Islamic State militants. The US has already launched 190 airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq since an aerial campaign began Aug 8.
  
  As the fighting in Syria has moved closer to Turkey, the government is facing increasing pressure to step up efforts to take on the Islamic State extremists.
  
  Turkey is resisting because it fears that arming Kurdish men to fight the group could complicate peace talks with Turkish insurgents within its own borders.
  
  The Islamic State group's offensive against the Syrian city of Kobani, a few miles from the border, has sent 1,30,000 refugees to seek safety in Turkey in the last few days. The conflict in Syria had already led to more than 1 million people flooding over the border in the past 3 years.

Infosys vice-presidents get salary hikes of Rs 4-5 crore

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  BANGALORE: Infosys has raised the salaries of its top executives so sharply that some of them are now in the $1-million (Rs 6-crore) compensation club - making them almost unpoachable by even international rivals - and raising the salary benchmark in the Indian IT industry. 
  
  The executive vice-presidents who are now at the Rs 6-crore level had salaries in the Rs 1.2-Rs 2 crore range previously, meaning that they have got three to five-fold hikes.
  The move comes as newly appointed CEO Vishal Sikka seeks to revitalize the demoralized company and stem the flood of exits, and brings in senior executives from his erstwhile employer, SAP, at salaries that Infosys has largely been unused to. 
  
  Navnit Singh, MD of executive search firm Korn/Ferry India, says it is a retention strategy to make the senior executives less vulnerable to competition. "If you look at salaries of some of the global companies, they are comparable to what Infosys has done," he said.
  
  "It's a golden handcuff," said a senior executive in the company who did not want to be named. When contacted, Infosys said it would disclose the details in its statutory filings, "as appropriate in due course". 

Congress, NCP to discuss seat-sharing formula today

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  MUMBAI: Congress and NCP teams led by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Praful Patel, respectively, will meet on Tuesday to discuss a 'respectful' seat-sharing formula for the assembly polls.
  
  Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in an interview to Times Now has said that the Congress is ready to go it alone in the upcoming assembly elections in the state. "There will be no solution if NCP comes with pre-conditions," Chavan said in a clear sign that Congress will not yield any ground to its partner in the state.
  
  On Sunday, the Congress had offered 124 seats, while the NCP had held firm to its demand for 144. Congress is learnt to be ready to increase its offer to 130 in a bid to save the 15-year alliance.
  
  After a marathon meeting of the NCP core group presided over by Sharad Pawar, Patel said, "We are keen to contest the polls with Congress, but we feel that the seat-sharing formula should be respectful. Congress proposal of 124 seats is not acceptable to us and we are firm on 144 seats."

Xi Jinping tells People’s Liberation Army to be ready to win regional war

•  BEIJING/NEW DELHI: Chinese president Xi Jinping has promoted three People's Liberation Army (PLA) generals known to be close to him and also asked his troops to "improve their combat readiness and sharpen their ability to win a regional war in the age of information technology".
  
  While this is not the first time Xi has made such a statement, it has raised eyebrows as Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a high-altitude military face-off at Chumar in eastern Ladakh.
  
  Reports said the promotions were ordered after XI summoned 15 top generals to Beijing on Sunday and spoke to them in PLA chief Fang Fenghui's presence. Significantly, Xi also said military commanders should "have a better understanding of international and domestic security situations".
  
  "All PLA forces should follow the instructions of President Xi Jinping, also chairman of the central military commission (CMC), and update their operations to meet new goals and missions set by the CMC," Xinhua news agency quoted an official statement as saying.
  
  The statement highlighted the president's unhappiness with the military and underlined the need "to improve efficiency of military command under new circumstances".

IBPS - Regional Rural Banks Office Assistants General Awareness Questions

• 1. Suzlon Energy related to - Wind Turbine Supplier
  2. Planning Commission is replaced by how many members (no of members in that committee) - 8
  3. Sagarmala Project located at - Over the river Mandovi in Goa
  4. Gangavaram port located in - Vishakapatnam
  5. Sheikh Hasina PM of - Bangladesh
  6. Dhaka capital of - Bangladesh
  7. Full form of MPLADS - Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
  8. Shillong capital of - Meghalaya
  9. Financial inclusion overdraft limit provided to whom - people who come under Jandhan Yojana
  10. Heena Siddhu related to which game - Shooting
  11. "Love" is related to which game - Badminton
  12. D Viju related to which game - Badminton
  13. Amit kumar related to which game - Wrestling
  14. Zero Effect- Zero Defect slogan by - Narendra Modi
  15. Who is Azim premji - Founder of Wipro
  16. Prior to which year currency note should be exchanged - 2005
  17. PFO monthly pension limit - Rs. 1000 (Minimum limit) & Maximum Limit is Rs. 15000
  18. Pankaj Advani Sports name - Billiards
  19. Chanakya also known as (his alternate name) - Kautilya
  20. Number of free ATM transactions - 3
  21. CDR fullform - Credit Default Swap
  22. SEZ started by PM In which state/city - Maharashtra
  23. Indira Awas Yojna new name - National Gramin Awaas Mission (proposed name, please check once)
  24. FLIPKART is which kind of company? - E-Commerce
  25. Income Tax exemption limit for Sr. Citizens - Rs. 3 Lakh
  26. 200 cr allocated for stadium in which state - Jammu & Kashmir
  27. Which organization is worried for EBOLA - WHO
  28. No. of AIIMS propoed in the Union Budget - 4
  29. Largest bank - Industrial & Commercial Bank of China
  30. Who is sumitra mahajan -  Loksabha Speaker
  31. No. of passenger train in rail budget 2014 - 58
  32. No. of countries in BRICS - 5
  33. Union Health Minister: Dr. HarshaVardha
  34. Full form of CST? - Central Sales Tax
  35. Full form of NABARD? - National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Developemnt
  36. Full form of UGC? - University Grants Commission
  37. Full form of SLR? - Statutory Liquidity Ratio
  38. Who is Vladimir Putin? - Russian President
  39. Ajiknkya Rahane is related to which game? - Cricket
  40. What is purpose of Jan Dhan Yojna? - Minimum one account for every family
  41. Who issues RuPay card? - NPCI
  42. RuPay card is linked with a bank account, how much insurance cover is linked with that account? - Rs. 1Lakh
  43. Who is Robin Williams? - Hollywood Actor
  44. Who is P.J Kurien? - Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
  45. According to Budget 2014, how many new Govt. Medical Colleges will be opened? - 12
  46. Who is regarded as Chairperson of Planning Commission of India? - Prime Minister of India
  47. What is the amount charged for ATM transactions after 5 times? - Rs. 20
  48. In addition to Tennis, Rafael Nadal is associated to which game? - Football (Not sure)
  49. In budget 2014, there is proposal of running many passenger trains? - 8
  50. The First Bullet Train will start for which Route? - Mumbai - Ahmadabad
  51. Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens in Budget 2014? - Rs. 3,00,000
  52. Rate of Interest for Farmers under a scheme? - 7% (Not sure)
  53. Flag Bearer for India in Commonwealth Games 2014? -  Vijay Kumar
  54. How many Deputy Governors are there in RBI? - 4
  55. Kundakulam Project is started in which state? - Tamil Nadu
  56. Number of total new trains as per Budget 2014? - 58
  57. Strike word is related to which game? - Baseball
  58. Hardware park is proposed to which state? - Andhra Pradesh
  59. What percent of money is increased for cleanliness in budget? - 40%
  60. Who is all time highest goal scorer of Germany? - Miroslav Klose
  61. Who is Wilfried Bony? - Football Striker from Ivory Coast
  62. Saji Thomas is related to which game? - Rowing
  63. Bhamashah Yojna in Rajasthan is for what purpose? - Women Empowerment
  64. Swaccha Bharat Abhiyan will start from - 2nd October, 2014
  65. In which state Congress won all the 3 seats? - Uttarakhand
  66. Bank Capitalization related to -? - Basel III Norms
  67. Which country is the top source of FDI? - Singapore
  68. Swaccha Bharat Abhiyan is hoping to be ended by? - 2019
  69. According to the Judicial Appoints Commission, who can appoint judge? - two eminent persons to be nominated by the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader of Opposition of the Lok Sabha.