Bank railway s. S. C



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Explanation: The twin attacks were carried out in Danish capital Copenhagen on 14 and 15 February 2015. The first attack was made at a cultural centre in Copenhagen on 14 February organized to honor victims of the attack in January 2015 against the French satirical weekly ‘Charlie Hebdo’. The lone gunman killed one civilian and wounded three police officers in this attack. The second attack was carried out next day near the Copenhagen’s Great Synagogue in Krystalgade, in which a gunman killed a Jewish community member and wounded two officers. Later the gunman was killed by security forces. Denmark became a target of violent Islamists 10 years ago after the publication of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammad.



TODAY’S NEWS FOR FUTURE

17/02/2015



1) India sealed a nuclear deal with Sri Lanka on 16 February 2015 under which India will help Sri Lanka build its nuclear energy infrastructure. What is the major significance of this nuclear deal? – With this deal India was able to push back a little the Chinese influence in Sri Lanka

Explanation: The deal came as Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena began a visit to India, his first trip abroad since he swept to power in January 2015. India’s nuclear deal with Sri Lanka is first major breakthrough for the Narendra Modi-led government in bringing one of its neighbour countries on the nuclear platform. Under the deal, India will help Sri Lanka build its nuclear energy infrastructure, including training of personnel. Later, India could also sell light small-scale nuclear reactors to Sri Lanka which wants to establish 600 MW of nuclear capacity by 2030. India had grown increasingly wary of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s pursuit of closer ties with China, which became a key supporter of the island’s economy after its 26-year-civil war ended in 2009. China has built a seaport in the south of the country and signed a deal to develop a $1.5 billion port next to the commercial port in Colombo, raising fears that China is seeking influence in Sri Lanka with which India has had historical ties. Ties worsened further after the Rajapaksa government allowed Chinese submarines to dock last year.



2) Rajinder Puri, who passed away on 16 February 2015, was a noted personality associated with which field? – Cartooning

Explanation: He was known for his witty political cartoons and was kept in the same league as R.K. Laxman, Shankar, Abu and Vijayan. He was associated with ‘The Hindustan Times’, ‘The Statesman’ and later with ‘Outlook’ magazine. He also tried his hands in politics and was one of the founding members of the Janata Party and later with some splintered groups of the Party.



3) The growth data for Japanese economy’s last quarter of 2014 (Oct-Dec 2014) was released on 16 February 2015. What was a major landmark achieved by Japan with an annualized growth figure of 2.2%? – It was finally able to come out of the recession

Explanation: Japan’s coming out of recession was much-expected. However, its growth was weaker than expected as household and corporate spending continued to disappoint. The preliminary reading for gross domestic product (GDP), which translates into a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.6%, follows two straight quarters of contraction. Private consumption, which makes up about 60% of the economy, rose 0.3% in the final quarter, less than a median market forecast for a 0.7% increase. Japan’s economy slid into recession in July-September last year, prompting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay a second sales tax hike initially scheduled in October 2015.



4) Indian Air Force’s (IAF) dare-devil aerobatic squadron, which was grounded for last 4 years, is all set to take to the skies once again. The squadron is expected to come back in action within 6 to 8 months. What is the name of this world-famous dare-devil aerobatic squadron? – Surya Kiran

Explanation: The Surya Kiran squadron was originally formed in 1996 to serve as ambassadors of the IAF who would showcase the prowess of the force’s fighter pilots in precision aerobatic flying. The Surya Kirans last performed in Bangalore in February 2011 and were grounded because the IAF faced a severe shortage of training aircraft. The situation is less bleak now with the induction of the British Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT), being assembled in India by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which is based in Bangalore.



5) In the 8th auction of Indian Premier League (IPL) held on 16 February 2015, Yuvaraj Singh emerged as the costliest player of the auction. Which IPL franchisee purchased him for a record price of Rs. 16 crore? – Delhi Daredevils

Explanation: In a four-way bidding war, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers tried to outbid each other to bag Yuvraj Singh, who has not have made it to the World Cup squad. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bought Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik for Rs. 10.5 crore, the second-highest bid for a player in this auction. Last year, RCB bought Yuvraj for Rs. 14 crore, the highest-ever bid then in the IPL auctions.



6) Which India-born executive was appointed as the CEO of accounting giant Deloitte’s global operations on 15 February 2015? – Punit Renjen

Explanation: Punit Renjen belongs to Rohtak in Haryana. He will take over as Deloitte’s global operations CEO from 1 June 2015 and will replace Varry Salzberg. Deloitte is one of world’s largest accounting firms with presence in around 150 countries including India. It is among the four largest audit firms, popularly known as “Big-Four”. Other three firms of this “Big-Four” group are PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), KPMG and Ernst & Young (EY). With his appointment, Renjen, thus becomes the first Indian to lead a ‘Big-Four” audit firm.



TODAY’S NEWS FOR FUTURE

18-19/02/2015



1) National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for retail payment system in India, on 18 February 2015 launched a unified platform for providing a single payment interface across all systems. What is the name of this interface that will enable all account holders to send and receive money from their smartphones with a single identifier? – Unified Payment Interface (UPI)

Explanation: The UPI will make possible paying and receiving payments as easy as swiping a phone book entry and making a call on mobile phone. Anyone who has an account should be able to send and receive money from their mobile phone with just an identifier without having any other bank/account details. It is designed to enable all account holders to send and receive money from their smartphones with a single identifier – Aadhaar number, mobile number, virtual payments address – without entering any bank account information. UPI will make payments possible only by providing an address with others without having ever provided account details or credentials on 3rd party applications or websites.



2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Aero India 2015 on 18 February 2015. This exhibition depicting aviation technology and products from all over the world is held biennially in which city? – Bengaluru

Explanation: Aero India is a biennial event held at the Air Force Station Yelahanka (Bengaluru) during February. It comprises of aircrafts, aviation products, aero technology and air shows. The organizer of Aero India is Defence Exhibition Organisation (DEO), an arm of the Ministry of Defence and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The first edition of Aero India was held in 1996. Since then, the event has gradually earned international recognition, and has seen increased participation from exhibitors. Aero India 2015 will be the 10th edition of this event and its main theme is ‘Make in India’, the new Indian refrain that invites defence and civil aerospace manufacturers to think of manufacturing in the country.



3) Which private bank on 16 February 2015 announced plans to launch India’s first Green Infrastructure Bond worth Rs. 500 crore, proceeds from which will be deployed to fund renewable energy and energy efficiency projects? – Yes Bank

Explanation: This proposed Green Infrastructure Bond is claimed to be the first such issue in the country and the money will be used to fund solar power, wind power, biomass, and small hydel projects. The bond will have a tenor of ten years. Yes Bank also claimed that globally, a sum of US$ 35 billion was raised by issuing such green bonds in 2014, while the market in the country is either non-existent or nascent. Yes Bank at present is the 4th largest private bank in the country.



4) India’s Space Commission was re-constituted during February 2015 with the appointment of new ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar as its head. Which official was included for the first time in the Space Commission as its member? – Foreign Secretary

Explanation: Reconstituted on 9 February 2015 after A.S. Kiran Kumar took over as the new ISRO chairman following the retirement of K.Radhakrishnan, the commission made just one change in its composition. Radhakrishnan has gone out while Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has been inducted. This is the first time that the Foreign Secretary has been inducted into the Space Commission. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Cabinet Secretary, National Security Advisor and the Expenditure Secretary have been regular members of this 10-member Commission. The Space Commission is the highest policy-making body for matters related to space exploration in India and is headed by the chairman of ISRO.



5) Lunar New Year of numerous Asian countries including China started on 19 February 2015. This year is being observed as year of which animal according to the traditional Chinese zodiac system? – Year of the Sheep

Explanation: The Year of the Sheep started from 19 February 2015 as per the lunar calendar of China. This year will last till 7 February 2016. Apart from China, it is a public holiday in many places with ethnic Chinese populations such as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. Other countries where this the Year of the Sheep is being observed include Korea, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. China’s transport ministry has predicted that the travel rush for Lunar New Year will see 295 million railway trips as families make great efforts to be together for this occasion.





6) Legendary film producer D.Ramanaidu passed away on 18 February 2015 in Hyderabad at the age of 79. He was conferred with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for lifetime achievement in 2009. What unique record he held in film producing? – He held the world record for producing highest number of films

Explanation: He produced over 150 films in many languages like Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Kannada with Telugu topping the list. He started Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad in 1989 and offered the film-makers the facility of walking in with a script and leaving with the final copy. Considered as an icon of film industry, he introduced several film personalities through his Suresh Productions. Some of his well-known films include “Prem Nagar”, “Mundadugu”, “Soggadu”, “Jeevana Tarangalu”, “Devatha”, “Sangharshana”, “Prathidwani”, “Aha Na Pellanta”, “Prema”, “Indrudu Chandrudu” and the latest being “Gopala Gopala” starring Venkatesh and Pawan Kalyan. Some of his runaway hits in Hindi include “Tohfa”, “Insaf Ki Awaz” and “Prem Qaidi” in which he introduced Karishma Kapoor to the silver screen. Telugu superstar Venkatesh is his son.



7) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has recently asked for which officer of the Central Govt. as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in his office, a move expected to increase bitterness between Union Govt. and the Delhi Govt.? – Sanjiv Chaturvedi

Explanation: Sanjiv Chaturvedi an Indian Forest Service officer who is currently posted in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He is known to be a combative officer who had earlier accused the Centre of illegally obstructing his inter-cadre exchange in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). Chaturvedi was also removed by the Union Govt. as the vigilance chief of AIIMS, a move that was criticized by many quarters. In a letter to Environment Minister Prakash Javdekar, Kejriwal has urged him to depute Sanjiv Chaturvedi as an OSD in his office.



TODAY’S NEWS FOR FUTURE

20/02/2015



1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the centrally sponsored nation-wide ‘Soil Health Card’ (SHC) scheme on 19 February 2015. The Soil Health Card under the scheme will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients\fertilizers required for farms of different soil types, will make it possible for farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs. This scheme was launched at which place? – Suratgarh (Rajasthan)

Explanation: The first-of-its-kind “Soil Health Card” scheme was launched at Suratgarh in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. The cards under this scheme will be issued to all 14 crore holdings across the country in three years. The move will help the farmers in identifying “health of the soil” which will go a long way in improving productivity through judicious and selective use of fertilizers and water. A computerized system is being developed to allow local agriculture science centers across the country to keep details of ‘soil test’ results. Soil samples will be collected even from small tract of farm land in remote village. The system will, eventually, allow the farmers to download the ‘Soil Health Card’ using ‘unique number’ allotted to each soil sample. In that case, the change of ownership of the particular farm land will not create any problem in getting such cards or getting it updated.



2) The Corporate Affairs Ministry during February 2015 removed curbs on acquisition of shares and other securities that was imposed on banking, insurance and housing finance companies. This exemption was earlier available to these entities. The said curb was imposed under which act? – The new company law (Companies Act, 2013)

Explanation: The new company law had placed restrictions on banking, insurance and housing finance companies as far as acquisition of securities and shares was concerned. Prior to this these entities were required to follow compliance requirements including shareholders’ approval in some cases whenever they acquired shares or any other securities. Now the Corporate Affairs Ministry has placed banking companies, private insurers and housing finance companies in the same footing as was the situation under the erstwhile Companies Act 1956.  The latest corporate affairs ministry move is being counted as step towards ease of doing business in India. However, the latest relief will not cover most public sector banks as they are governed under a separate law and restrictions on investments under the company law did not apply to them. Currently, there are only two banks – IDBI Bank and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) – that are registered as companies under the new company law.





3) The State Bank of India has recently launched a massive initiative to empower its customers through technology and awareness. Under this initiative special SBI centers across the length and breadth of the country have started holding interactive learning sessions and demos of the bank’s tech-channels. What is the name of these special centers? – Tech Learning Centres (TLCs)

Explanation: This initiative has been on since December 2014. Under this 385 State Bank TLCs across the length and breadth of the country have started holding interactive learning sessions and demos of the bank’s tech-channels for over ten thousand customers every month. A large number of customers are having an initial fear and hesitation to use technology for their banking needs. But through this initiative SBI seeks to remove such hesitation among them.  After launching in December, 2014, more than 30,000 customers were trained in these TLCs. TLCs will spread awareness of the Bank’s various tech channels including Cash Deposit Machines, Mobile Banking apps, Net Banking and Green Remit Cards, in addition to providing guidance on how to use these channels safely and in a secure manner.





4) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 18 February 2015 allowed banks to lend against gold and thus lifted the ban on the same. When was this ban imposed? – June 2013

Explanation: Apart from listing the ban on lending against gold, the RBI also allowed banks to import gold on a “consignment basis”, under which they act as intermediaries and don’t pay for the stock until a buyer has been found, which is usually quickly. On the other hand trading houses will be allowed to bring in gold with no conditions attached. Gold flows into the country have slowed despite the removal in November 2014 of the so-called 80-20 rule that required importing agencies to re-export a fifth of total imports, as importers and customs officials waited for more clarity. Imports had dropped despite the reversal of the rule as the industry was taken aback by the sudden change in the central bank’s position and banks remained wary, fearing customs officials would hold up incoming shipments.



5) The “Halwa Ceremony”, which was held on 19 February 2015, is associated with which keenly awaited event of the Union Govt.? – “Union Budget”

Explanation: The process of printing documents for the Budget starts with the ritual called “Halwa Ceremony”. It has been a tradition which has continued for long. As part of the ritual, halwa is prepared in a big-kadhai (cauldron vessel) and served to the staff of the Ministry. The significance of the sweet dish (Halwa) is that after it is served, a large number of officials and support staff, who are directly associated with budget making and printing process, are required to stay in the Ministry and remain cut off from their families till the presentation of the budget by the Minister. They are not even allowed to contact their near and dear ones through phone or any other form of communication, like email. Only very senior officials in the Finance Ministry are permitted to go home. The “Halwa Ceremony” was held in North Block and was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.





6) Shahrukh Khan-Kajol starrer Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) finally ended its unprecedented streak for running continuously for over 1,000 weeks at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir cinema hall with its final show held on 19 February 2015. From when this film continuously ran at this iconic theatre? – October 1995

Explanation: DDLJ which went on to win a National and several Filmfare Awards, was first screened at Maratha Mandir in October 1995. Till December 2014, the film ran daily at its usual playing time slot of 11:30 am. However, after completing 1,000 historic weeks, its time slot was changed to 9:15 am owing to business and logistical reasons. However, the change in timing created logistical issues for the theater as its staff were having to work inordinately long hours to accommodate an additional early morning show. It was then mutually decided (between theatre management and DDLJ producer Yash Raj Films) to end the films historic & record breaking run. Its last show was held on 19 February with a crowd of 210 viewers.



TODAY’S NEWS FOR FUTURE

21/02/2015



1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20 February 2015 flagged-off the first air-conditioned express train service between Delhi and Arunachal Pradesh. This train was flagged off from which station which is the only important station of Arunachal Pradesh? – Naharlagun

Explanation: Naharlagun is situated 10 km from Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. Though Arunachal Pradesh found a place on the railway map about 20 years ago when a metre gauge line had reached Bhalukpong, exactly 1.26 km inside the state, state capital Itanagar was connected through Naharlagun only last year when the railway station at Naharlagun was opened on 7 April 2014. Direct connection of Arunachal Pradesh to national capital Delhi was indeed a momentous day for Arunachal as it coincided with the state’s 29th ‘statehood day’ celebrations. Moreover, the tracks, which will be extended to Tawang bordering China, will give India a strategic advantage to counter advances by the neigbouring country which is breathing down its neck. This weekly train (Train No. 22411 Naharlagun-New Delhi AC Express) will cover the 2142 km in about 38 hours.



2) The Union Govt. on 18 February 2015 launched a single window government-to-business (G2B) portal (www.ebiz.gov.in). How many central govt. services have been brought under the ambit of this portal which will primarily facilitate ease of doing in India? – Eleven

Explanation: This G2B portal would provide four services pertaining to Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), two services each of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the RBI and one service each of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO). The portal provides facility for online submission and processing of forms associated with the services of these entities. The online payment facility has also been incorporated in the portal so as to bring transparency and efficiency in transactions.



3) The Supreme Court on 20 February 2015 ruled that national broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) can show Team India’s World Cup 2015 cricket matches free of cost. What was the main subject of conflict between Star Sports and Prasar Bharati in this case due to which Prasar Bharati took Star Sports to the Supreme Court? – Sharing of feed of matches by DD to cable operators


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