Current Affairs - 9 January 2015

Which bank launched India’s first contactless debit and credit card on 7 January 2015 that enables one to make payments by just waving the card near merchant terminals instead of swiping the same? 

• 

  ICICI Bank

  This type of card uses the near-field communication technology to provide customers improved convenience of speed and security over traditional cards as these cards can complete a transaction faster and be more secured as they remain with customer. ICICI Bank has introduced these two cards in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Gurgaon to begin with and it has installed over 1,200 PoS machines capable of accepting contactless payments in these cities. The bank launched two cards with the new technology – the Coral Contactless Credit Cards and the Expressions Wave Debit Cards – and both can also be used as regular cards at all merchant terminals (in other cities)

The shareholders of Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank approved the proposal to merge ING Vysya Bank with Kotak Mahindra Bank. The management of the banks expects the new entity to be operational by 1 April 2015. In terms of total business, this new entity would be India’s …………….. largest private bank?

• 

  Fourth

  The deal will make Kotak Mahindra the fourth-largest private bank in India, in terms of total business after ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. The combined banking entity will have 1,214 branches in India. However, the merger needs regulatory approvals, including from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Competition Commission of India. ING Vysya Bank’s shareholders had approved the merger proposal on 7 January while shareholders of Kotak Mahindra gave their approval to the same on 8 January 2015. The top management of both banks had made the merger announcement on 20 November 2014.

The Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 8 January 2015 proposed e-IPO norms where investors can bid for shares through Internet and eventually on mobiles. This was done so as to boost fund raising from markets. What is the proposed timeline for listing of shares under e-IPO?

• 

  2 to 3 days

  Under the new norms, SEBI has proposed to drastically cut the timeline for listing of shares within 2-3 days of the IPO, as against 12 days currently. For already listed companies as well, SEBI has proposed a fast-track route for raising of funds through FPOs (Follow-on Public Offers) or Rights Offers (where funds can be raised from existing shareholders). The fast-track route of raising capital has been proposed for companies having public shareholding market valuation of as low as Rs. 250 crore, as against Rs. 3,000 crore currently. SEBI has invited public comments till January 30, after which it would put in place final norms for e-IPO as also for fast-track issuances.

Which airline was named as the world’s safest airline in a report published by AirlineRatings.com that was released on 7 January 2015?

• 

  Qantas (The national airline of Australia)

  The remainder of the top 10 spots in this list in terms of the world’s safest airlines were Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. Qantas, which is in its 95th year of operation, was hailed for “an extraordinary record of firsts” in terms of its safety history and ranked the best of 449 airlines, including low-cost carriers, assessed by the website. AirlineRatings.com praised Qantas for the way it monitors the engines of its aircraft using satellite communications, saying “doing so allows the airline to detect problems before they become a major safety issue”. Qantas was founded in 1920 and it began its international services in 1935.

Virat Kohli became the highest scorer in a Test series in Australia as he passed 619 runs in the series on 8 January 2015 while batting in the first innings in the fourth and final test of the Test series against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Whose record of 619 runs he broke?

• 

  Rahul Dravid

  Till now Rahul Dravid was the highest scorer in a Test series in Australia for the 619 runs he scored against it in the 2003-04 Test series. On 8 January Virat Kohli overtook Rahul Dravid as he surpassed 619 runs in the series. It is worth mentioning that Dravid took 8 innings to score 619 runs in 2003-04 while Kohli took 7 to reach surpass this. Kohli scored his fourth century of the test series and was dismissed for 147 on 9 January 2015.

Which Indian diplomat was appointed as Under-Secretary-General in a department of the United Nations (UN) as announced by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 7 January 2015?

• 

  Atul Khare

  Atul Khare is a former Indian Foreign Service officer and AIIMS graduate and he was appointed Under-Secretary-General, Department of Field Support (DFS). He succeeded Ameerah Haq of Bangladesh. Khare has a long senior career with the U.N., most recently as Assistant Secretary-General leading the Change Management Team (2011-2012) and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations and Deputy Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York (2010-2011). He was previously Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) at the level of Under-Secretary-General (2006-2009).

Current Affairs - December 2014

• • 1 Dec - World Aids Day and BSF Creation Day. BSF was created on 1 December, 1965.
  • 06 Dec - Mahaparinirwan Diwas (death anniversary of BR Ambedkar).
  • 10 Dec - International Human Rights Day.
  • 11 Dec - International Mountain Day.
  • 14th Finance Commission headed by former RBI Governor YV Reddy submitted its final report to the President.
  • 16 Dec - Victory and Liberation Day for Bangladesh. On Dec 16, 1971 Bangladesh Forces won over Pakistani Forces with Help of India and leading to creation of separate country Bangladesh. In India it is also celebrated as Vijay Diwas.
  • 20th Corruption Perceptions Index released and ranked 175 countries as per levels of corruption in public sector.
    1. India got score of 38 and ranked 85th (improving slightly compared to 96th position and a score of 36 in 2013)
    2. Index was topped by Denmark with a score of 92 and followed by New Zealand (91), Finland (89), Sweden (87) and Norway (86)
    3. At the bottom of the list are North Korea and Somalia with a score of 8 each.
  • 22 Dec - National Mathematics Day (Birth anniversary of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan).
  • 23 Dec - National Farmer's Day. E-retailing firm Snapdeal.com on online Agri store offering agricultural products to the farmers on this occasion.
  • 24 Dec - National Consumer Rights Day.
  • Born Again on the Mountain is written by Arunima Sinha. She is the first Indian amputee and first female amputee to climb Mount Everest. The book is launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • Prince of Gujarat: The Extraordinary Story of Prince Gopaldas Desai written by Rajmohan Gandhi.
  • Uttar Pradesh government started Women Entrepreneurship Scheme 2014-15 to empower women participation in industrialization Process.
  • Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Bill to establish the Capital Region Development Authority which will plan building of the state capital near Vijayawada.
  • Andhra Pradesh Government Started Farmers Debt Redemption Scheme to give debt relief to about 22.79 eligible farmers. Loans of Upto 50000 to be paid completely and more than that would be paid in Installments of 20%.
  • Anerood Jugnauth named as new Prime Minister of Mauritius.
  • Anil Kumar Sinha appointed as new Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
  • Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered a house belonging to late Harappan period (1900 - 1800 BC) during excavations at Chandyan village in Uttar Pradesh.
  • Archaeologists discovered ancient Buddhist sculptures and precious coins during ongoing excavation at an ancient Buddhist Stupa in northwest Pakistan.
  • As per RBI Report, Foreign Exchange Reserves of India reached 320 billion USD due to jump in foreign currency assets.
  • Assam government launched a new road construction scheme named Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Concrete Road Nirman.
  • Atletico de Kolkata won the first season of ISL (Indian Super League) Football league by beating Kerala Blasters. Chennaiyin FC's Elano Blumer won the Golden Boot in inaugural season of ISL for his performance of 8 Goals..
  • BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) banned spinner Pragyan Ojha from bowling after his bowling action was found illegal.
  • Bangladesh launched huge manual campaign to clean up oil spill in 34,000 hectares of Sundarbanss that threatened the world's largest mangrove forest.
  • Beji Caid Essebsi has been elected as new president of Tunisia.
  • Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) got 16.96 million Euro (131 crore rupees) order for a thermal power project in Turkey.
  • Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) successfully commissioned a 28 MW Nyaborongo Hydro Electric Project in Rwanda (Country in central and east Africa).
  • Bhutan became 181st member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. MIGA is political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of World Bank Group.
  • Boeing 787 aircraft made world's first flight using green diesel. Green Diesel is a sustainable biofuel made from vegetable oils, waste cooking oil and animal fats and The airplane performed in same manner as it does with conventional jet fuel.
  • Book Why I Assassinated Gandhi has been written by Nathuram Godse and Gopal Godse.
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved setting an inter-state power transmission facility in Tamil Nadu with cost of Rs 1,593 crores.
  • China launched CBERS-4 satellite jointly developed with Brazil for monitoring, planning of land, forestry and agriculture.
  • China launched a major scheme to expand its large network of nuclear power plants, brushing aside remarks by its atomic regulator that the new Chinese technology is still not completely up to standards.
  • Committee on Review of Environmental Laws headed by TSR Subramanian submitted its report and recommended creating new umbrella law for streamlining environment clearances for development projects in the country.
  • Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced retirement from Test Cricket.
  • Dec 25 - National Good Governance Day on occasion of Birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
    • On this occasion, Government launched an SMS-based warning system to provide alerts on cyclones, tsunami and other weather-related natural calamities.
    • Sushaasan Express Train was flagged off from Gwalior, the birth place of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
  • Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) relaxed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms for construction development sector and Allowed 100% FDI in operation and management of completed projects.
  • Dinesh Sharma has been appointed as new chief of Intelligence Bureau.
  • East Zone defeated West Zone to win the Deodhar Trophy cricket tournament in Mumbai.
  • Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2014 -
    1. Business Leader of the Year – Dilip Shanghvi
    2. Company of the Year – Tata Consultancy Services
  • European space Agency's mission Rosetta has been named as scientific Breakthrough of 2014 by Science journal as it landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 10 years after its launch.
  • Federal Bank CEO Shyam Srinivasan has been appointed as Chairman of the Indian Banks’ Association's committee on Member Private Sector Banks for 2014-15.
  • Finance Ministry constituted a Committee under former Chief Economic Advisor Ashok Lahiri to interact with trade and industry on tax-related issues.
  • First Arabic translation of Indian Constitution launched in Cairo (Egypt).
  • First Municipal Elections Held in 60 years in Myanmar after Ending of Military Rule in 2011. It is to elect Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). Yangon is largest city of Myanmar.
  • Former Cuban Leader Fidel Castro honored by Chinese Confucius Peace Prize 2014 for his contribution in eliminating nuclear war.
  • Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpee and freedom fighter Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) will receive Bharat Ratna, highest civilian award of India. 43 people have been honoured with Bharat Ratna Till now with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and scientist C N R Rao awarded in 2013.
  • Fortune Magazine’s Indian edition released annual list of Fortune 500 Indian companies. Indian Oil has been rated as country’s biggest company in terms of annual revenue while Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries is at second place.
  • Germany won their 10th Hockey Champions Trophy Tournament beating Pakistan in Bhubaneswar (Odisha).
  • Ghanta Chakrapani has been appointed as first Chairman of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC).
  • Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to lay down international rules for 85 billion USD arms trade across nations came into effect to bring accountability and transparency in global arms trade.
  • Government announced 28000 crore rupees package for the development of North-East.
  • Government announced Five years Visas for minority communities migrating from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
  • Government announced to set up Grahak Suvidha Kendras in each zone of the country to provide counseling to consumers for redressal of grievances and assist in registering their complaints in appropriate consumer forum.
  • Government appointed Managing Directors (MD) and Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of four Nationalised Banks -
  • Government approved Constitution Amendment Bill on goods and services tax (GST), making way for pending indirect tax reforms by rolling out GST from April 1, 2016.
  • Government approved hiking Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in insurance sector to 49 percent from 26 percent.
  • Government approved investment of 60 Crore to hike stake in India’s oldest financial institution IFCI (Industrial Finance Corporation of India) to make it a government owned company.
  • Government banned Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Terrorist Group under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
  • Government created a committee under Home secretary Anil Goswami to look into implementation of of data sharing by various government agencies over National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID).
  • Government decided to decriminalize attempt to suicide by deleting Section 309 of Indian Penal Code from statute book.
  • Government launched Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching at Banaras Hindu University.
  • Government launched Mission Indradhanush to achieve complete immunization for all children by 2020.
  • Government of Meghalaya formed a committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister RC Laloo to speed up Inclusion of Khasi-language in Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
  • Government sets up G.P. Mathur committee to examine possibility of creating a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for reinvestigation of 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
  • Government signed a loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 75 million USD and 1.8 million dollar grant for Karnataka Integrated Urban Water Management Investment Program (KIUWMIP).
  • Government signed loan agreement of 60 Milion USD with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Jammu and Kashmir Urban Sector Development Investment Program (JKURSDIP).
  • Gujarat will host 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas between January 7 - 9, 2015 and will mark the 100th year of M K Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa. Chief guest will be Donald Ramotar, Guyana's President.
  • HDFC Bank launched mobile banking facility named Bank Aap Ki Muththi Mein.
  • Hariom Singh (Indian Army) won Gold in Men 50-metre Rifle Prone event in 58th National Shooting Championships in Pune
  • ICICI Bank launched first Transparent credit card in India - Coral American Express Credit Card in association with American Express.
  • ISRO Launched communication satellite GSAT-16 by Ariane 5 rocket.
  • India Test Fired Nuclear-capable missile Agni-IV Successfully with strike Range 4000 KM.
  • India exported CGS Barracuda offshore patrol vessel to Mauritius as First order by a foreign country for India.
  • India sent assistance to Maldives to help resolve water crisis in Male, the capital of Maldives.
  • India won Gold in World Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad beating Turkey at FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) tournament in Hungary.
  • India's National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) and World Trade Center India Services Council (WTCIS) signed an agreement to promote and develop small businesses in India.
  • Indian Aces won First Edition of  International Premier Tennis League Beating UAE Royals.
  • Indian Ankita Raina won International Tennis Association title of World Tennis Association in Pune beating British Katy Dunne.
  • Indian Army launched Operation All Out against Bodo militants in Assam after Bodo Millitants massacred 81 tribal people in Kokrajhar and Sonitpur districts of Assam.
  • Indian Chess Player Viswanathan Anand won London Classic Chess beating British Michael Adams.
  • Indian Music Composer AR Rahman nominated for Oscar Awards 2015 in Music Original Score Category for three films - Million Dollar Arm, Hundred-Foot Journey and Kochadaiiyaan.
  • Indian Shiva Keshavan won Silver in 17th Asian Luge Championship in Japan.
  • Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched India’s heaviest rocket GSLV Mark-III-X carrying Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE) weighing 630 tonnes.
  • Indian film Jal has been nominated for Oscar contenders of 2014 in two categories- Best Picture and Best Original Score. Marathi film Kapus Kondyachi Goshta nominated for Oscar Award in Best Picture Category.
  • Indian golfer Arjun Atwal won inaugural season of Dubai Open Golf.
  • Indian-American Akhil Sharma’s novel Family Life selected by New York Times Review as one of Best 10 Books of 2014.
  • Indian-American physician Vivek Hallegere Murthy appointed as 19th Surgeon General of America.
  • Indian-American scientist Arun Majumdar appointed as United States (US) Science Envoy.
  • Indian-origin professor T V Paul elected as 56th president of the International Studies Association (ISA).
  • Indonesia's AirAsia flight QZ8501 went missing with 162 People while on its way to Singapore.
  • Irish Film Artist Duncan Campbell won Turner Prize 2014 for a video called It For Others.
  • Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania is appointed as head of UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
  • Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Polls Results 2014 -
    1. Out of total 87 seats, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP) emerged largest with 28 Seats and BJP second with 25 Seats.
  • Jangmi, a tropical storm hit Philippines and caused heavy rains and landslides in the country.
  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched second-generation asteroid explorer Hayabusa 2.
  • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo re-elected for four year term after major victory in Elections.
  • Jharkhand Assembly Polls Results 2014 -
    1. Out of total 81 seats, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party emerged largest with 37 Seats) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) second with 19 Seats. Raghubar Das appointed as Sixth Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
  • Jyotsna Suri has been elected as President of FICCI, (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry).
  • Kabaddi World Cup 2014
    • Indian Men team won by beating Pakistan
    • Indian Women team won by beating new zealand.
  • Karnataka approved Child Protection Policy for Safe Schools in Karnataka after several child abuse incidents in schools.
  • Losar, Buddhists festival of Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir started to mark beginning of New Year in Ladakh.
  • MD and CEO of IndusInd Bank Mr. Romesh Sobti has been named as Business Standard Banker of the Year 2013-14.
  • MRF Limited announced as global partner for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and Indian Cricketer has been made the Brand Ambassador for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
  • Maharashtra Government declared Dahi Handi as adventurous sport. It involves breaking a pot filled by buttermilk and tied at a height by making a human pyramid on the occasion of Krishan Janmashtami.
  • Maharashtra Government made e-tendering compulsory for projects over Rs. 3 lakh to bring transparency in administration.
  • Malayalam film director Madhu Kaithapram Passed away.
  • Maleeha Lodhi has been appointed as 16th Pakistani Ambassador to the United Nations (UN).
  • Mima Ito and Miu Hirano from Japan won table tennis World Grand Finals in Bangkok and became youngest to do so.
  • Most abundant mineral on earth has been named as Bridgmanite in honour of Percy Bridgman, a physicist who won the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physics for his fundamental contributions to high-pressure physics.
  • Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill was passed in Lok Sabha to legalize e-rickshaws by bringing them under the ambit of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
  • National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) released Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households for the Crop Year 2012-13.
    1. This survey conducted between January to December 2013 focused on how agriculture generates only 15 % of India’s GDP despite rural areas houses making about 69 % of the total population.
    2. Survey found that hardly 58 % of rural households in India are engaged in farming activity.
    3. Only about 9 crore Rural Households are agricultural with their at least one member self-employed in farming
    4. Only 68.3 percent of these 9 Crore reported farming activities as their main source of income and mere 39.5 % of rural households today are dependent on agriculture
    5. Uttar Pradesh has about 20 % of all agricultural households. Rajasthan having highest percentage of agricultural households (78.4 %) in its rural households and Kerala had only 27.3 percent rural households as agricultural.
  • New Governors Appointed -
  • Nicaragua launched construction of an inter-oceanic 278-km long canal linking Atlantic to Pacific Ocean to rival Panama's waterway and revitalize the economy of Nicaragua by 10% Annually.
    1. Nicaragua is second poorest country in the Americas after Haiti.
    2. This 50 billion USD Canal project is backed by China.
  • Noted Bollywood comedian Deven Verma Passed Away.
  • OP Singh has been appointed as Director General of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force).
  • P B Acharya has been appointed as Governor of Assam. He is also Governor of Nagaland.
  • PM Narendra Modi flagged off first train from Assam to Meghalaya. It has put Meghalaya on railway map for first time.
  • PM Narendra Modi named as Asian of the Year 2014 by The Straits Times for being a development-focused leader.
  • Pakistan became Associate Member State of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research).
  • Pakistan-born Imtiaz Dharker has been honored by Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry 2014 for her poetry collection Over the Moon.
  • Prakash Mishra has been appointed as Directorate General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
  • President Pranab Mukherjee launched country’s first and world’s largest mobile governance platform - Mobile One Initiative of Karnataka Government offering over 4,000 services from both the government and private sectors to the citizens.
  • Pro-democracy activist of China Xu Youyu has been given the Olof Palme Human Rights Prize 2014 given by Stockholm-based Olof Palme Memorial Fund of Sweden.
  • Punjab Government banned health camps without permission of district civil surgeons after more than dozen people lost vision in a camp at Gurdaspur district.
  • RBI extended deadline for exchanging pre-2005 notes till 30 June 2015.
  • RBI increased RTGS (real time gross settlement) hours from 7.30 hours to 12. With this change, now business hours for RTGS settlements will be 8 am to 8 pm on weekdays as against the earlier 9 am to 4.30 pm.
  • RBI notified revised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy in Railways Infrastructure and Defence sectors. As per the revised norms, foreign investment ceiling in defence was increased to 49 % and 100 % in rail infrastructure.
  • RBI relaxed norms for Pre-paid Payment Instruments and doubled the limit of PPI from 50000 to 1 lakh rupees.
  • Raghubar Das appointed as Sixth Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
  • Rajinder Khanna has been appointed as new chief of RAW (Research and Analysis Wing).
  • Researchers at Louisiana State University (USA) discovered new method to convert Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into an Organic Compound through a cyclic copper complex that converts carbon dioxide to oxalate, a more useful organic compound.
  • Russia and four other ex-Soviet nations, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan finalised creation of Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) during CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) meeting in Russia.
  • Russia launched new generation navigation satellite GLONASS-K.
  • Russia tested Angara-A5 rocket to succeed Proton and other Soviet-era launchers. Angara is the first rocket to have been completely built after collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
  • S Bhattacharya appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Coal India (CIL).
  • Samsung Electronics appointed Pranav Mistry as Global Vice-President.
  • Shriti Vadera has been appointed as first Indian and Woman Chief of Santander Bank of UK.
  • Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling completed 20 years and became longest serving Chief Minister of any State in India. He has been chief minister of Sikkim since 12 December 1994.
  • Sikorsky Aircraft Corp of US won the bid for 6000 crore rupees deal for supplying 16 Multi-role Helicopters to Indian Navy.
  • Singer Asha Bhosle has been awarded Lifetime Achievement Award at 11th Dubai International Film Festival in Dubai.
  • State Bank of India launched two indices namely SBI Monthly Composite Index and SBI Yearly Composite Index to track manufacturing and services activities for determining contraction and expansion in the Indian economy. It is first time an Indian bank has launched a forward-looking economic index. Earlier, markets depended on HSBC India Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) to determine the economic trends.
  • Steve Smith named as Australia’s 45th Test Cricket Team captain Replacing Michael Clarke.
  • Supreme Court directed government to complete fencing along Indo-Bangladesh border within three months.
  • Suresh Prabhu Committee on Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy submitted its report and suggested measures for enhancement of coal production in the short, medium and long term.
  • Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas won Uruguay Presidential Election 2014.
  • Taiwan launched its largest missile warship named Tuo Chiang.
  • Tashi and Nungshi Malik from Uttarakhand became world’s first twin to climb highest peaks of seven continents.
  • Terrorist Group Tehreek-e-Taliban attacked Army school in Pakistan, killing about 141 People including 132 Children.
  • Time magazine named its Person of the Year 2014 title to the health care workers treating the Ebola Epidemic Outbreak.
  • UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 (WESP) report -
    1. Economic growth of India estimated at 5.4 % in 2014, will improve to 5.9 percent in 2015 and 6.3 percent in 2016. Recovery in South Asia will be led by India that has about 70 % of regional output.
    2. Global economy to grow at 3.1 % in 2015 and 3.3 % in 2016. It is higher than 2.6 % growth in 2014.
    3. USA has growth above 2 % in 2014, expected to grow at 2.8 % in 2015 and 3.1 percent in 2016.
  • UN's United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination sent a team of international experts to help Bangladesh in cleaning up the Sundarbans oil spill.
  • US Defence Scientists have developed Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) bullet that can change direction mid-air to reach target. It was revealed by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of US Defense Department.
  • USA and NATO officially ended their combat mission in Afghanistan that ran for 13 years
  • USA's senate passed a Resolution to recognise Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai as symbols of peace.
  • Ukraine Government approved joining North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
  • Union Finance Ministry approved retaining 8.75 percent interest rate on Provident Fund (PF) deposits for year 2014-2015.
  • United Arab Emirates (UAE) Cricket Team captain Khurram Khan became oldest player to score a century in the ODI at age of 43 Years.
  • United Nations Environment Programme released first Adaptation Gap Report during climate talks in Lima (Peru). It serves as assessment of global adaptation gaps in finance, technology and knowledge. Report said that cost of climate change adaptation in developing countries will reach 2-3 times previous estimates of 70-100 billion USD per year by 2050.
  • United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution referring North Korea to International Criminal Court (ICC) for human right abuses and charges of crimes against humanity.
  • Vinicius has been named as Mascot for 2016 Olympics and Tom is named as mascot for 2016 Paralympics Games to be organized in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
  • Vrinda Sarup has been appointed as Secretary to the Department of School Education and Literacy.
  • Washington University Researchers created fastest 2D camera that can capture events up to 100 billion frames a second.
  • Wipro Chief Azim Premji was awarded Swiss Ambassador's Award for inspirational and socially responsible leadership.
  • World Economic Forum (WEF) released Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index Report 2013 with theme Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation. Out of 140 economies, Switzerland topped the list in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness followed by Germany and Austria. India is at 65th position and 11th in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • World Wide Web Foundation released Web Index 2014 to measure internet's contribution to social, economic and political progress in the world. It ranked Denmark at top and India at 48th Rank.
  • World's smallest goanna lizard species was discovered in Australia with name Dampier Peninsula Goanna while its scientific name is Varanus sparnus.