Dr. Kirit Parikh

1) Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) recently acquired a controlling stake in which leading media house to signal the emergence of the group as a media mogul of the country? - Network18 (Network18 was started journalist-turned media baron Raghav Bahl and it owns a slew of news, entertainment and e-commerce channels such as CNN-IBN, CNBC TV18, Colors and HomeShop18, online news portal Firstpost.com and e-commerce websites such as Yatra.com and Bookmyshow.com, as well as print properties such as Forbes India magazine. The acquisition is the latest move in Ambani’s strategy to establish a widespread presence across media segments since finalising an alliance with Network18 group in 2012)

2) Who was elected as the new President of Egypt after a sweeping victory in the recently held presidential elections in the country? – Abdel Fatah al-Sisi (Al-Sisi is the former Egyptian Army Chief and he swept the polls with over 90% votes polled in his favour. However, the scale of his victory came as no surprise after Egypt’s top generals, media personalities and business elite united to present the former Army Chief as the only patriotic choice and most challengers declined to take part in the election)

3) Who was elected as the fifth President of Ukraine in Presidential Elections held on 25 May 2014? - Petro Poroshenko (Poroshenko won a convincing victory after winning around 54.7% of the votes from 21 candidates on the ballot. His closest competitor was Yulia Tymoshenko, who emerged with 12.81% of the votes. Poroshenko replaced former President Viktor Yanukovych, who prior to his dismissal and subsequent flight from the country, was considered likely to run for his second and final term)

4) Al Hilal Bank, one of the fastest-growing banks in the UAE, has implemented Finacle e-Banking solution. Finacle e-Banking solution is a leading banking solution of which Indian IT company? – Infosys (The Finacle e-Banking solution would enable Al Hilal to provide a range of Internet banking services to its corporate customers with highest security. It would also allow the bank to roll out new functionalities on a regular basis and build upon the existing products to provide an enhanced banking experience, all at reduced costs)

5) Kotak Mahindra Bank shares slipped after the RBI asked it to reduce its promoters’ shareholding. The bank is to reduce its promoters’ shareholding to what level by September 2014 as directed by the RBI? – 40% (Currently, the promoters’ shareholding in the bank is 43.58%. Hence, the bank’s promoters are required to shed 3.58% of their share. In June 2012, the RBI had asked Kotak Mahindra Bank to reduce the promoters’ holding to 20% by 2018 and 10% by 2020 from the then 45.21%. This move is to diversify the promoters’ shareholding and bring it in sync with the new banking licence regulations and thereby improve corporate governance. Kotak Mahindra Bank is a private-sector bank owned by Uday Kotak)

6) Who was appointed as the Principal Secretary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for which an ordinance was promulgated by the Union Govt. on 28 May 2014? -Nripendra Mishra (Mishra is a UP-cadre IAS officer and has held several senior positions both in Uttar Pradesh as well as at the Centre. He is a former Chairman the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India – TRAI)

7) What is the name of the President of Infosys who resigned from his post on 28 May 2014 giving another serious jolt to the company? - BG Srinivas (His resignation is the fourth Board-level resignation and he is the 10^th senior management executive of the company to move out. Given that he was one of the contenders for the CEO’s post, Srinivas’ exit has raised eyebrows and increased speculation over whether the nominations committee had chosen to overlook his candidature)