Current Affairs - 6 December 2014

Opposition now wants censure motion against Niranjan Jyoti's hate speech

• NEW DELHI: The opposition has reworked its demand in the hate speech standoff with the government. After asking for minister Niranjan Jyoti's resignation for her "haramzadon" statement, the opposition on Friday demanded that at the very least there should bring a censure motion against the "unparliamentary and inflammatory language" by members for it to call off its agitation which has paralyzed Parliament for the last four days. 
  
  While this might be seen as a climb down by the opposition, its leaders said this was only a realistic recalibration of its demand as the government would never agree to Jyoti's sack. The censure motion demand, too, would be difficult to digest for the ruling party as that would set the threshold of action in the event of future hate speeches. 
  
  The proposed resolution does not mention the minister and is aimed at members in general - to condemn attempts to outrage the Constitution by making inflammatory speeches that are aimed at dividing the syncretic, socio-cultural mosaic - was discussed in the Rajya Sabha but was turned down by the government. 
  
  For the fourth day, as the incendiary row continued to cast a shadow over Parliament and delay the passage of important reforms measures, PM Narendra Modi stepped up yet again and made a statement in the Lok Sabha, urging - as he did in the Upper House - members to let the matter pass as the errant minister had apologized. 

Jihadis at India's doorsteps now come outfitted in high-end military gear

• NEW DELHI: From Swiss mountaineering boots and fully-padded snow clothing to advanced night-vision devices and GPS sets, the jihadis at India's doorsteps are now well-equipped for high-altitude warfare on par with regular soldiers.
  
  The well-trained militants are also willing to go the whole hog to hit "high-value targets", or conversely, unleash random mayhem in a bid to disrupt the high voter turnout in the ongoing polls in strife-torn J&K.
  
  The Army is somewhat taken aback at the "high-end equipment" being found on the infiltrators killed on the LoC or during terrorist attacks in the hinterland. The six terrorists killed in the Nowgam sector last Tuesday, for instance, were all wearing Koflach mountaineering boots costing $200-300 apiece.

Hafiz Saeed's rally mainstreaming of terrorism: India

• NEW DELHI: India on Friday denounced as "mainstreaming of terrorism" the rally held by alleged 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed and the internationally proscribed JuD and said it was against all evolving global norms on terror. 
  
  Saeed addressed a public rally, apparently facilitated by Pakistani authorities who even ran special trains for it, at the ground of 'Minar-e-Pakistan' in Lahore. 
  
  "What is happening in the so-called 'ishtimaah' (congregation) of the JuD ... I think I would describe it as nothing short of mainstreaming of terrorism," said external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin. 
  
  "This was an event which took place at the national monument in Pakistan. It was an event (for which) large number of police personnel were deployed. The event which was advertised all over Pakistan. 

IITs face 37% faculty shortage: Study

• BENGALURU: Here's some unpalatable truth for a nation dreaming to set up a string of new-age technology institutes: over 37% of the faculty posts in the existing 16 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are vacant. 
  
  According to the data compiled by the ministry of human resources development in September 2014, only IIT-Gandhinagar has 99% of the sanctioned faculty members working. TOI accessed the data about faculty in the country's premier institutes. 
  
  The 16 IITs in the country have 4,308 faculty members against the sanctioned strength of 6,944. IIT-Kharagpur, long considered an ace, reports a 46% shortage. The overall student-faculty ratio stands at 16:1. 
  
  As part of its election promise, the BJP had planned to establish IITs, IIITs and NITs across the country. In November, the NDA government announced setting up of IITs in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Chhattisgarh and Jammu. Before moving ahead with the plan, the government needs to tackle the faculty shortage immediately. 

US condemns terror attacks in J&K

• WASHINGTON: The US on Saturday said its policy on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to decide on the pace and scope of peace talks between them. 
  
  "Our policy on Kashmir hasn't changed. We still believe that the pace and the scope and character of India and Pakistan's dialogue on Kashmir is for those two countries to determine," state department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters here. 
  
  "We are concerned about any violence in Kashmir," she said. 
  
  "Of course our embassies in both places have raised these types of incidents with their respective host governments and certainly encouraged both to continue working together on the issue," she said in response to a question.

‘Peace Weapon’ Kalashnikov proposes to set up plant in Gandhi’s Gujarat

• AHMEDABAD: The AK-47 assault rifle, the first choice for peace-keepers as well as a deadly weapon for terror groups across the globe, is all set to fire rounds of production in Gujarat. 
  
  Industry department sources confirmed that the machine gun makers Kalashnikov Concern has approached the state government with a proposal to set up a plant in Gujarat, in line with the liberalized defence manufacturing policy. 
  
  Kalashnikov officials recently met key state officials for preliminary discussions. "They will visit again during Vibrant Gujarat summit in January 2015 and hopefully seal the deal," said a senior official. 
  
  The development comes in the backdrop of Russia expressing keen interest in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' campaign. Apart from oil and gas, agro-processing and logistics, defence products manufacturing is a key area where investments could flow. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit India on December 10 and 11. 

Govt okays dedicated air support for ITBP at China border

• NEW DELHI: Government has approved dedicated air support for ITBP to help the force take on superior infrastructure capabilities of China on the Sino-Indian border. Home ministry has approved and allocated funds for leasing of two choppers which will be under the exclusive command of ITBP for rescue- reconnaissance operations on the border. 
  
  Until now, the border force was dependent on Indian Air Force for air support to maintain its outposts and rescue the sick or injured from the inhospitable heights of Himalayas where it is posted through the year. For various reasons, IAF choppers are not always available to ITBP. 
  
  TOI was the first to report (on October 1) that home ministry was pushing for dedicated air support for the force following the Chumur-Dhemchok faceoff with Chinese army in September.

Low-key Shaurya Diwas in Ayodhya on Babri anniversary

• Ayodhya: December 6, celebrated as Shaurya Diwas here, is likely to be a low key affair on Saturday with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad too keeping development ahead of mandir.
  
  VHP leaders told TOI on the eve of the 22nd anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition that the new government at the Centre should get to kick off its development agenda and then push for the Ram Temple plan. On Saturday, every house and temple here will be decorated with diyas.
  
  VHP functionaries explain that that the idea to mark Shaurya Diwas by remembering the demolition of the Babri Masjid structure is to ensure that people, especially the new generation, is made aware of the "historic event".
  
  "The idea is to keep the temple movement alive," said VHP's Kendriya Marg Darshak Mandal member Pawan Shastri.

Rohtak sisters now claim threat to life

• CHANDIGARH: Days after being in the limelight for thrashing three men for a molestation attempt in a moving bus, the two sisters from a village in Sonipat on Friday said that their life is in danger. A police spokesman, however, said that they have not received any formal request for protection from the girls.
  
  Social organizations and the government initially appreciated the sisters, Aarti and Pooja, for showing courage and bravery in opposing the three men who tried to molest them. 
  
  But the sisters are now facing the anger of a section of villagers, especially those from the native village of the accused, after many passengers told the police that no molestation took place in the bus. Speaking to TOI, Aarti said they had informed the administration about the threat to their life. However, she did not specify the threats they apprehended and from whom. "We don't want to say anything till the inquiry is completed," she said. 

Current Affairs were found in Month - October 2014

• 1 Oct - China's National Day
• 1 Oct - World Vegetarian Day.
• 10 Oct - World Mental Health Day and Indian National Postal Day.
• 11 Oct - International Day of the Girl Child.
• 11th Metropolis World Congress held in Hyderabad, India with theme 'Cities for all'.
• 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP-12) held in South Korea.
• 14 Oct - World Standards Day.
• 16 Oct - World Food Day.
• 17 Oct - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
• 2 Oct - Birth anniversary of M K Gandhi and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji. Declared as International Day of Non-Violence by UN.
• 20th Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championship 2014 held in Mumbai, india. China stayed at the top of tally.
• 23 Oct - Mole Day. Mole-O'Ween is theme for 2014.
• 24 Oct - United Nations Day, World Polio Day and World Development Information Day.
• 3 Oct - German Unity Day.
• 3rd Meet of SAARC Countries' Cultural Ministers held in Delhi.
• 4 Oct - World Animal Day.
• 5 Oct - World Teachers Day.
• 6 Oct -World Habitat Day.
• 6th Meet of Home Ministers of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Countries held in Nepal. Indian Home minister Rajnath singh participated on India's Behalf.
• 8 Oct - Indian Airforce Day.
• 9 Oct -World Sight Day and World Post Day.
• A man and the Motorcycle has been written by Pete Ham and is based on Hamid Karzai (Former Afghan President).
• Nehru Gazing at Tomorrow has been written by H R Bharadwaj.
• Playing it my way is the autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar.
• The Children Act has been written by Ian McEwan.
• The Gods of Antarctica has been written by 13 Year Old Yashwardhan Shukla.
• Wolf in White Van has been written by John Darnielle.
• A 5,000-year-old stepwell has been found in Dholavira (Gujarat) is largest so far and three times bigger than the Great Bath at Mohenjo Daro.
• A Global Investors Summit was organized in Madhya Pradesh to attract Foreign Investors.
• Actor Aamir Khan has been appointed as United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund's (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador for South Asian region.
• Actor Shahrukh Khan has been honored by Global Diversity Award 2014 by British House of Commons.
• After SBI, Largest Private Bank ICICI Bank also allowed children above 10 years to open savings bank account.
• After a journey of over 10 months, Indias Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) arrived at Mars on 24 September 2014. India became fourth country to reach mars after USA, Russia and ESA (European Space Agency) and first country to succeed in first attempt. India made it possible at only cost of approx Rs. 450 Crores.
• Airline Indigo announced to buy 250 Airbus A320 Aircrafts From USA Based Maker Airbus worth Rs. 26 Billion USD.
• Arvind Subramanian has been appointed as new chief economic advisor in the finance Ministry.
• As per a recent report, HIV Virus Started from Kinshasa, Capital of African Country Congo.
• As per a report by IMF (International Monetary Fund), China has became world's largest economy with $17.4 Trillion Evaluation. US is in second place with $17.4 trillion and India at third with $6 Trillion Evaluation.
• As per govt orders, tobacco producers must now show warning on 85% of packaging on both sides of their Tobacco products.
• As per recent Satellite images, Aral Sea that existed between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,has dried up completely.
• As per stats issued by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Consumer Price Index based Inflation came down to 6.46 % in September 2014 which is lowest in 2.5 Years, On the other hand, wholesale price index based inflation also came down to 2.38% which is lowest in Five years.
• Assam government launched an 'Angel Fund' to help first generation entrepreneurs of the state to start business start-ups.
• Ban on e-Rickshaw has been lifted off in Capital Delhi.
• Bangladesh Parliament has been given the right to impeach (Act Against) Supreme Court judges.
• Chennai super kings won the Champions League T-20 Trophy 2014 by beating Kolkata Knight Riders.
• China Open Tennis Tournament 2014 ->
  • Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won in men's Category by beating Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic).
  • Maria Sharapova (Russia) won in Women's Category by beating Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic).
• China tested upgraded version of its 10,000-km range nuclear capable Dongfeng missile.
• China to launch a constellation of marine surveillance satellites named HY-3 in 2019 for monitoring ships,oil rigs and marine disasters.
• Chinese Online Retailer Alibaba.com became largest Market Value Online company after its IPO (Initial Public Offering) as it collected funds of $25 Billion USD through Stocks after listing on NYSE (New York Stock Exchange).
• Chinese Province Hong Kong saw a huge protest called Umbrella Revolution to demand complete Democracy led by 18 Year old Joshua Wong.
• Cramer ball has been appointed as new CEO od Jet Airways.
• Darjeeling's Makaibari has become most expensive tea in India with Price of $1,850 / kg.
• Defence Scientist and Creator of Brahmos Missile Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai has been given the 15th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award.
• Delhi Metro has been ranked second among 18 international Metro systems in terms of overall customer satisfaction as per Recent Online surveys.
• Estonia became first former soviet nation to approve same sex marriage for Males.
• Europe won the Ryder Cup Golf Tournament 2014.
• First Domestic Indian Football League started with 8 Participant Countries and name 'Indian Super League.
• Five Major Telecom Providers Teamed up to lay down 8000 KM High Speed Connectivity Through Bay of Bengal called BAY OF BENGAL GATEWAY CABLE SYSTEM (BBG).
• Foreign VIP Visits to India -
  1. Bhutan King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Visited India.
  2. Akihiro Ota, Japan's land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister Visited India.
  3. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg Visited India
  4. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos visited India.
  5. Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Muhammad Visited India.
• Frank Bainimarama has been appointed as Prime Minister of Fiji.
• G Gopalakrishnan Committee on suggested reforms for capacity Building in Banks and Non Banks suggested to have a Common Banking Aptitude test for appointment of higher authorities and have a Chief Learning Officer in the management.
• G-20 Countries' Finance Ministers Met in Cairns, Australia.
• Government Cleared Transmission Connectivity and Grid Connectivity over Border with Nepal to ease mutual electricity trade in future.
• Government Organized 4th International Buddhist Conclave in Bihar to showcase Buddhist heritage and pilgrim sites of India.
• Government approved buying Barak Missiles worth Rs. 1000 Crores from Israel.
• Government constituted a committee under NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury to study the proposal for using surplus cash of Profitable PSUs to nurse ailing PSUs that can be revived back to health.
• Government decided to honor boxer Manoj Kumar with Arjuna Award.
• Government decided to honor boxer Manoj Kumar with Arjuna Award.
• Government has imposed anti-dumping duty on sulphur black imports from China.
• Government has named vigilance commissioner Rajiv as the acting central vigilance commissioner (CVC).
• Government issued Coins of Rs. 100 and 5 Denominations to commemorate Famous cultural singer Begum Akhtar on her 100t Birthday.
• Government issued rules for minimum 25 per cent public shareholding in listed govt firms for sale of PSU shares of approx Rs. 60,000 crore over three years.
• Government launched Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram to Promote Manufacturing of Several Commidities in India and power up the Make in India Campaign.
• Government notified establishment of MANAS (Maulana Azad National Academy of Skills) in Delhi for skill development among Minorities.
• Government started Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for welfare of people under poverty line in rural and urban areas.
• Government started National Academy for Athletics and National Golf Academy at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• Government started a container shipping service to Myanmar to boost India's Look East Policy.
• Government started cleanliness campaingn at a large scale with name of 'Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan'.
• Govt launches Indian New born Action Plan to reduce infant deaths.
• Govt started Scheme of Rs.1000 Minimum Monthly pension for the subscribers of EPF (Employee Provident Fund Organization).
• Gujarat became first state to form Marine Commando Force to protect international boundary.
• ISRO successfully launched IRNSS 1C, third of seven satellite constellation of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) by Lauch Vehicle PSLV C-26.
• IT Major Microsoft to set up local data centers in India by end of 2015.
• India Helped Sri Lanka with $800 Million USD to restart rail link to northern peninsula of Jaffna ground.
• India and Russian Air Force Joint Exercise Avia Indra-2014 held in Russia.
• India is going to be the partner country at 'Hannover Messe 2015' to be held in Germany.
• India provided 1 Million USD help to UN Women (United Nations entity for gender equality and empowerment of women).
• India successfully test fires nuclear cruise missile Nirbhay with strike range more than 700 KM.
• India's First Olive Oil Refinery has been set up in Bikaner (Rajasthan).
• India's First Semi High-Speed train between Delhi-Agra will be called 'Gatimaan Express'.
• India's former envoy to United Nations Hardip Singh Puri has been named as secretary-general of The Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM), launched by International Peace Institute (IPI).
• India, Japan,US,China and Canada to jointly make worlds biggest telescope on Hawaii Island named 30-Meter Telescope or TMT.
• Indian Amee Kamani won Silver in Australian open Snooker Championship 2014. She lost to Jessica Woods (Australia) in the final.
• Indian Anoop Jain has been honored by Waislitz Global Citizen Award 2014 for his Acts towards Sanitation works.
• Indian Badminton Player Ajay Jayaram won the Dutch Open Tournament beating Maulana Mustafa (Indonesia).
• Indian Cricketer Kapil dev has been honored by Lifetime Achievement award by UK Parliament's House of Commons.
• Indian Film Liar's Dice has been nominated for Oscar Awards 2014.
• Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) and Axis Bank signed an agreement for Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) at the Toll Plazas on the National Highways. It will enable vehicles to pay toll automatically without stopping at toll gates.
• Indian Origin Thomas Kailat has received US National Medal of Science.
• Indian Person Pulak Ghosh is appointed as a member of the UN Secretary-General's Big Data Privacy Advisory Group.
• Indian Shakti Devi has been honored by International female peacekeeper award 2014.
• Indian Teenager Neha Gupta Nominated for International Children's Peace Prize 2014.
• Indian VIP Visits to Foreign Countries ->
  • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited USA.
  • Indian President Pranab Mukherjee Visited Norway and Finland.
• Indian Viswanathan Anand won the Bilbao Chess Masters Final 2014.
• Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla to set up Plant in Iran.
• International Tourism Meet held in Himachal Pradesh on Occasion of International Tourism Day on Sep 28.
• International meet on reconstruction of Gaza after Intense Israel-Hamas Conflict held in Cahira (Egypt).
• Iran has put ban on Viber, Tango and Whatsapp.
• Jayalalitha, Former Chief Minister of Tamilnadu has been Imprisoned by State High Court on grounds of corruption charges.
• Jens Stoltenberg (Norway) has been appointed as 13th Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) headquartered in Brussels (Belgium).
• John key has been reappointed as prime minister of New Zealand for the Third time.
• Joseph Clancy has been named as Director of the U.S. Secret Service.
• Lajja has been written by Taslima Nasrim.
• Largest Cave by Volume has been found in China's Miao Room cavern.
• Latest GDP Growth Rate Predictions for India by Various Financial Agencies ->
  • Asian Development Bank - 5.5% (2014-15), 6.3% (2015-16)
  • World Bank - 5.6 % (2014-15), 6.4 % (2015-16)
  • International Monetary Fund - 5.6 % (2014-15), 6.4 % (2015-16)
  • FICCI - 5.6% (2014-15)
  • Fitch - 5.6 % (2014-15), 6.5 % (2015-16)
  • RBI - 5.5 % (2014-15)
  • UNESCAP -
  • National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) - 5 % (2014-15)
• Le Yucheng has been appointed as China's new Envoy to India.
• Mahendra Mohan Gupta has been elected as Chairman of Press Trust of India.
• Man Booker Award 2014 -
  • Australian Novelist Richard Flanagan has been awarded Man Booker award 2014 for His Novel 'The road to the deep north'
• NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) reached Mars Orbit on Sep 21, 2014, Three days before India's MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) Spacecraft Mangalyaan reached Mars Orbit.
• Nadir patel has been appointed as Canana's new envoy to India.
• Narendra Batra has been appointed as chief of Hockey India.
• National Conference on Agriculture on Rabi Campaign 2014 held in Delhi.
• Nepal cleared Indian firm GMR's Proposal to build a $1.4 billion hydroelectric plant in the northwest of the Nepal.
• Nobel Awards 2014 -
  • Peace - Kailash Satyarthi (India) and Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan). Kailash is the 10th Nobel Prize Winner from India.
  • Economics - Jean Tirole (France)
  • Physics - Shuji Nakamura (Japan), Hiroshi Amano (Japan), Isamu Akasaki (Japan)
  • Chemistry - William E. Moerner (USA), Eric Betzig (USA), Stefan Hell (Romania)
  • Medicine and Phsysiology - John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser, Edvard Moser
  • Literature - Patrick Modiano (France)
• Noted lyricist Sameer will be honoured with the National Kishore Kumar Award for 2012-13,
• O Panneerselvam has been appointed as new (17 th) Chief Minister of Tamilnadu.
• Online store Amazon and India's retailer Future Group have signed deal to sell goods Online amid high competition in the sector.
• PM Narendra Modi Inaugurated a Mega Food Park in Tumkur, Karnataka.
• PM Narendra Modi connected to people through Radio with program titled 'Man Ki Baat' to express his views over pressing issues and pass his messages to the common people.
• Powerful Typhoon Vongfong struck southern Okinawan islands of Japan.
• Pratima Dharm has been appointed as first Hindu Priest sat the USA's Georgetown University.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has named Suresh Prabhu as his sherpa for the G-20 annual summit to be held in Australia.
• Private sector Bank Kotak Mahindra Bank launched a Facebook-based instant fund transfer service named KayPay to enable users to send money to friends on the social media network .
• Punjab University won the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy 2013-14 (Highest Inter-University National sports Title).
• RBI Committee headed by P. J. Nayak recommended for diluting govt stake in public sector banks to below 50 %.
• RBI Committee headed by P. J. Nayak recommended for diluting govt stake in public sector banks to below 50 %.
• RBI in its Fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Review, Reduced the liquidity provided under the export credit refinance (ECR) facility from 32 per cent of eligible export credit outstanding to 15 per cent. All other key monetary Policy rates kept unchanged.
• Railways set up a committee under Bibek Debroy to recommend steps to mobilise resources for major projects and set up a Rail Tariff Authority.
• Railways won in male and female categories of National Senior Powerlifting Championships 2014 held in Goa.
• Rajasthan became first Indian state to ratify and implement National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill (NJAC).
• Rajasthan has Decided to disqualify candidates for Government Jobs who consume any Tobacco Products.
• Rajat Sharma (India TV) has been appointed as chief of news Broadcasters Association.
• Rajiv Mehrishi has been appointed as new Finance Secretary replacing Arvind Mayaram.
• Rating Agency Standar and Poor's has upgraded India's Credit Rating from Negative to Stable as a major positive sign for India.
• Reserve Bank of India reduced free usage of other bank automated teller machines (ATMs) to 3 per month from 5. Also, number of free Transactions from own bank ATM is also limited to 5 now. Post limit charges are Rs. 20 Transaction.
• Right Livelihood Award 2014 -
  1. Edward Snowden (USA)
  2. Alan Rusbridger (UK)
  3. Asma Jahangir (Pakistan)
  4. Basil  Fernando (Sri Lanka)
  5. Bill McKibbben (USA)
• Rizwan Akhtar has been appointed as new chief of Pakistan's ISI (Inter Services Intelligence).
• SEBI has put 3 years ban on Real Estate Major DLF Limited.
• Sachih Tendulkar and Steve Waugh choosen for Prestigious cricketers' Panel 'Bradman Honorees'.
• Saiyid Hamid honored by with Sir Ross Masood Lifetime Achievement Award 2014.
• Shanghai Masters Tennis Tournament 2014 -
  1. Singles - Roger Federer (Switzerland) won by beating Gilles Simon (France).
  2. Doubles - Bob and Mike Bryan (USA) won by beating Julian Benito (Switzerland) and Edouard Roger Vasselin (France).
• Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar award 2013 for contribution in scientific research has been given to 10 Scientists.
• Somalia (Country in Horn of Africa) had its first ever Bank ATM Opened.
• State Bank of India (SBI) has issued First Multicurrency International Debit Cards.
• State Bank of India (SBI), and Export- Import Bank of Korea signed a loan for an Untied Two-Step Line of Credit for a USD 500 million to support Indian companies importing Goods and Services from Korea.
• Steam Locomotive 'Akbar' is to recommissioned for Tourism Service to Sariska Tiger Reserves in Rajasthan.
• Supreme Court slashed down the National Tax Tribunal Act as unconstitutional and stated that it interfere upon the power of the judiciary.
• Sweden became first country to recognize Palestine as a separate nation.
• Tamilnadu Government started Amma Cement Yojana to provide low cost Cement to common households at rate of Rs. 190 / Pakcet as compared to Market rate of Rs.300-350.
• Tang Prize 2014 Conferred -
  • Sustainable Development - Gro Harlem Brundtland (Norway)
  • Sinology - Yu Ying-shih (China)
  • Biopharmaceutical Science - James P Allison of US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan
  • The Rule of Law - Albie Sachs (South Africa)
• The 3000 MW Dibang hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh has been cleared by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC). It will be india's largest Hydro Power Project.
• The Marine Cyclone named Hudhud affected Andhra Pradesh and Odisha States. Indian Navy took charge along with NDRF (National Disaster Relief Force) and named it Operation Lahar.
• Third International Tourism Mart was held in Shillong, Meghalaya.
• Thousands of people in Newyork city did protest against Wall street for climate change in protest named as Flood Wall Street.
• Times magazine has named Alok Shetty as Leader of Tomorrow for his actions towards creating houses designs for people living in Slum areas.
• To expand financial inclusion,RBI will create a framework for licensing small banks and payment banks to meet credit and remittance needs of small businesses, unorganized sector etc.
• To provide help to victims of crime against women, Nirbhaya centres will be opened in all the districts of Uttar Pradesh.
• UK and Ireland signed agreemnt of use of same short-stay visa for visiting both these countries.
• USA Navy invented worl'd first Humanless robotic Boat with CARACaS (Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing) Technology.
• USA Scientists invented first Solar battery that is rechargeable by Air, Light.
• USA's Champion swimmer Michael Phillips has been banned by American Olympic Association for 6 Months.
• Uhuru Kenyatta (Former President of Kenya) has became the first president ever to appear in International court of Justice.
• Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) constituted a 17-member Committee under secretary in MoUD (Currently Shankr Agarwal) to suggest ways to decongest roads of New Delhi.
• United Nations' Climate Summit 2014 held in New York, USA.
• Uttar Pradesh Government started a Mahila Samman Kosh Fund with Initial Funding of Rs. 300 Crores to help females in need.
• Uttar Pradesh became first state to implement Road Security Policy and formed a Rs. 100 Crore fund for the same.
• Vocalist T. M. Krishna has been chosen for the fifth Indira Sivasailam Endowment Medal and Concert.
• Volcanoes at Mount Ontake (Japan) and Mount Sinabung (Inndonesia) Erupted without Warning.
• World Smile Day - First Friday of October (Oct 3 in 2014).
• World bank released its report titled 'South Asia Economic Focus Report' and predicted 5.4% GDP[ Growth Rate for South Asia in 2014, 6 % in 2015 and 6.4 % in 2016.
• Worthy Fights : A memoir of leadership in war and peace has been written by Leon E Panetta.
• Writer and filmmaker M.T. Vasudevan Nair has been chosen for the Kerala governments J.C. Daniel Award for lifetime achievement in Malayalam cinema for the year 2013.
• “Untold Story of Indian Public Sector” - authored by UD Choubey,