Monday 26 November 2012

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS


1.  The Indian national who was appointed as the as chief economist and Senior vice president of World bank?
Ans- Kaushik Basu

2. Who said “My father brought computers, we brought FDI”?
Ans- Rahul Gandhi.

3. Who won the inaugural Asian Cricket Council’s Twenty20 Asia Cup 2012?
Ans-The Indian women’s cricket team.

4. Who will take over as DGP of Haryana from Ranjeev Singh Dalal?
Ans-S N Vashisht.

5. Which company was downgraded on the lines of earnings outlook to underperform from neutral recently by Credit Suisse?
Ans- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

6. Which stock exchange was shut for 2 days because of Hurricane Sandy?
Ans- New York Stock Exchange

FDI in Various Sectors

As per extant FDI policy, FDI, up to 26% is permitted, in the defence sector, with prior Government approval. Government has, further, interalia announced the following decisions:-

(i) Amendment of certain conditions relating to FDI, up to 100%, in single brand retail trading, vide Press Note No. 4(2012 Series) dated 20.9.2012

(ii) Permitting FDI, up to 51%, in multi-brand retail trading, subject to specified conditions, vide Press Note No. 5 (2012 Series) dated 20.9.2012

(iii) Permitting foreign airlines to invest, in the capital of Indian companies, operating scheduled and nonscheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49% of their paid-up capital, vide Press Note No.6 (2012 Series) dated 20.9.2012

(iv) Permitting FDI, up to 49%, in power exchanges, vide Press Note No. 8 (2012 Series) dated 20.9.2012

The above mentioned decisions have been incorporated in the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000 vide Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2012 notified in the Gazette of India: Extraordinary vide G.S.R.795(E) dated 19.10.2012.

It is the Government’s assessment that implementation of the policy is likely to facilitate greater FDI inflows into front and back-end infrastructure; technologies and efficiencies to unlock the potential of the agricultural value chain; additional and quality employment; and global best practices. This, in turn, is expected to benefit consumers and farmers in the long run, in terms of quality and price. The 30% mandatory sourcing condition has been incorporated to encourage local value addition and manufacturing. The increased level of activity, in the front-end, as well as in the back-end, resulting from greater FDI inflows, is expected to create additional employment opportunities for rural and urban youth. It is, further, expected to encourage existing traders and retail outlets to upgrade and become more efficient, thereby providing better services to consumers and better remuneration to the producers from whom they source their products.

The consultations with key stakeholders regarding FDI in multi-brand retail trading brought out views both for and against FDI in multi brand retail trading. On balance, however, the discussions generally indicated support for the policy, subject to the introduction of adequate safeguards. The necessary safeguards have, accordingly, been incorporated in the policy and are expected to protect the interests of various stakeholders. Government has also decided to constitute a high-level group to make recommendations on internal trade reforms, with a view to ensuring distributional efficiencies and also that the benefits from trade are available to all sections of society.

Two proposals have been received for FDI up to 100% in single brand retail trading (from M/s Ingka Holding Overseas B.V, Netherlands and M/s Fossil India Private Limited). Further, seven proposals have been received, for single brand product retail trading, with foreign equity participation up to 51% (from M/s Fapa Company Ltd., Samoa; M/s Promod S.A.S, France; M/s Tommy Hillfiger B.V, The Netherlands; M/s NA Pali Europe SARL; M/s The Semex Alliance, Canada; M/s Le Cruset SAS France and M/s Sketchers South Asia Private Limited). No proposal has been received for FDI in multi-brand retail trading. 

Wednesday 14 November 2012

CURRENT AFFAIRS KEY POINTS



  1. Punjab Government has announced to launch biggest ever door-to-door campaign for early detection of Cancer.
  2. Canara Bank has been recently awarded gold trophy of Niryat Bandhu Award followed by Bank of India (silver) and Punjab National Bank (bronze). The award was presented by the President of India.
  3. Sanofi Indi pharmaceutical company has launched its first indigenously manufactured re-usable insulin pen ‘AllStar’ .
  4. Mohamed Nasheed, Maldivia country’s first democratically elected President has been issued an arrest warrant by the Maldiavian court beacuse he has challenged the legality of a criminal trial against him.
  5. Varsha Bhosle, daughter of the veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle, commited suicide at their peddar road residence on 8 october. She was suffering from depression and had attempted suicide on two previous occasions.
  6. Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit has stepped down making way for Michael Corbat. Pandit’s recent rifts and disaggrements with the board especially chairman Michael O’Neill has been termed as the reason for his sudden and abrupt departure.
  7. Satirist Jaspal Bhatti died in a road accident on 25 October 2012 near Punjab’s Nakodar town 40 km from Jalandhar. He was on his way to Jalandhar from Bathinda for Promotion of his upcoming Film Power Cut.
  8. The City of Hyderabad was named as World Third best city to visit in 2013 by Travel guide book Lonely Planet published on 22 October 2012. Hyderabad the capital city of Andhra Pradesh was described as “elegant and blossoming” by the Lonely Planet.
  9. London Olympic Shooter and silver medalist Vijay Kumar was honoured with the Services Best Sportsman award for 2012 at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi. He was also awarded with Arjuna Award in 2007 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2011-12 by the Government of India.
  10. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched much awaited Aadhar-enabled service system. The launch, marking the second anniversary of Aadhaar project, is aimed at checking corruption and pilferage in schemes and to bring transparency in implementation.
  11. Recently World Food Day has been celebrated across the globe in honour of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It is celebrated every year on October 16.
  12. The Union Cabinet recently gave its nod for setting up of the National Automotive Board (NAB). The body will be responsible for promoting the research and development activities of the industry and act as a facilitator in between the industry and the government. NAB would also be responsible as a specialized body to promote sustainable development of the Nation’s Auto Sector along with skill development for the automobile sector.
  13. The Folded Earth written by Anuradha Roy and A Free Man by Aman Sethi won the 11th Economist Crossword Book Award. The Folded Earth was successful in securing its position in the English Indian Fiction Category, whereas, A Free Man by Aman Sethi was successful in the category of Indian Non-Fiction books
  14. Recently, Newsweek magazines has announced that it would shut down its print operations completely and go all-digital.
  15. Recently, Tata Starbucks, a joint venture between Tata Global Beverages (TGBL) and Starbucks Coffee Company, opened its first store in India at Mumbai.
  16. The Chief Minister of Kerela, Oommen Chandy declared that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) would execute the Kochi Metro Rail Project in association with E. Sreedharan in next three years.
  17. Indian Railways launched RailRadar to find out the location of 6500 trains on real-time basis on Google Map.
  18. Smt Tessy Thomas has been conferred the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award 2012.
19) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully completed its 100th Mission:ISRO launched its 100th satellite named PSLV-C21 on Septmeber 7, 2012 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, 80 kms north of Chennai.

20) Kaushik Basu has been appointed as the chief economist and senior vice president of The World Bank whose term begin on October 1,2012. He succeeded Mr Justin Lin of China.

21) Raghuram Ranjan former IMF chief economist, took charge as the chief economic advisor (CEA) in Finance Ministry in New Delhi. He succeeded Kaushik Basu. Mr Ranjan will be a key official of finance minister P. Chidambaram’s team.

22) Sachin Pilot who is Minister of state for Communications and Information technology and also a young politician has recently been commissioned as Lieutenant in the territorial army.

23) New York became the first city in US to ban the sale of large sodas and sugary beverages in restaurants. This step is taken to curb Obesity.

24) End of IPL road for Deccan Charges- A Hyderabad based franchise: The BCCI terminated the IPL contract of debt-ridden Deccan Chargers stating that the  only reason to take this decision is  due to the absolute inability of the franchise to effectively run the team.

25) Andy Roddick’s Announced his retirement from Tennis: Andy Roddick’s US tennis star and former No. 1-ranked player has announced to leave the game he loves following the U.S. Open. He announced his planned retirement during a news conferences during his 30th birthday.

26) Salman Rushdie released his new book named “Joseph Anton” : Salman Rushdie’s new book reveals his life, at the time when he was issued an Iranian fatwa that ordered his death for the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988. In the book, Salman Rushdie has characterized himself as Joseph Anton and the name is the combination of the first names of his favourite writers Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov.

27) Bank of Baroda one of the nationalised bank has recently opened its first branch in South Africa.

28) Aditya-1′ is India’s first Solar Satellite. It may help satellites dodge solar radiation.

29)  Vijay Kumar is World No. 2: London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar (with 2871 points) has added another feather to his cap as he achieved the World No. 2 ranking in the latest list issued by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).

30) Girisha bags first Paralympic medal for India: Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda gave India its first medal at the Paralympic Games after bagging a silver in the Men’s High Jump F42 event. Iliesa Delana of Fiji won the gold, while Lukasz Mamczarz of Poland settled for bronze.

31) Air India gets its first Dreamliner aircraft named Boeing 787. The 787 aircraft will allow Air India to open new routes in a dynamic marketplace and provide the best in-flight experience for the passengers.

32) Milk man of India is no more: Verghese Kurien, father of “White Revolution” and founder of the cooperative dairy movement in the country, died, aged 90.From one milk project to a larger one, the “Milkman of India” saw India emerge from a milk-deficient country into the largest milk producer in the world, overtaking even the once milk-abundant Netherlands. It is because of Dr. Kurien that India today contributes about 17 per cent of the total milk production in the world.

33)  India falls 3 places to 59th in WEF’s global competitiveness index: India’s ranking declined by three places to 59th position in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index 2012-2013, due mainly to ”disappointing performance” in the basic factors underpinning competitiveness.Switzerland, for the fourth consecutive year, tops the overall rankings in The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013, released today by the World Economic Forum. Singapore remains in second position and Finland in third position.

34) Andy Murray first Britisher to win Grand Slam men’s singles title in 76 years: Andy Murray has overpowered Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in five gruelling sets in a classic US Open final to become the first Britisher to win a Grand Slam men’s singles title in 76 years.

35) Deveshwar appointed on RBI board: The government has appointed ITC chairman Y.C. Deveshwar as a director on the central board of directors of the Reserve Bank of India.

36) Aditi Mukherjee, a Delhi based scientist, won the prestigious Norman Borlaug Award in Field Research and Application. Mukherjee was picked for the award for her work in transforming access to water for thousands of farmers in West Bengal. The award carries 10000 dollar cash prize. The Borlaug Award is restricted to scientists under 40.

37) The Xenon pickup cab has been launched by Tata Motors.

38) 16th NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) summit was held at TEHRAN.The theme of the summit was Lasting Peace  through Joint Global Governance. Venezuela was selected the host for the 17th NAM Summit in 2015.

39) Vice president of India M. Hamid Ansari released a book “Muslim in Indian cities”. The book speaks about Muslim life in India. Numbering more than 150 million, Muslims constitute the largest minority in India, yet they suffer the most politically and socioeconomically.

40)  Panchayat Sanchar Sewa Kendras (PSSKs) under the ‘Panchayat Sanchar Sewa Yojana’ scheme are opened at the Gram Panchayat Headquarters which is without Post Offices to provide basic postal facilities at Gram Panchayat Headquarters.

41) PM congratulates Vijay Kumar, Mary Kom and Saina NehwalPrime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has congratulated Mary Kom on her winning the bronze medal in women’s boxing at London Olympics-2012. Following is the text of PM’s message: ‘I join the nation in congratulating boxer Mary Kom for winning the Olympic bronze medal in the 51 kg women`s boxing event.

42) India’s Ranking in Most Attractive Destination for Retail Investment According to US-based global management consulting firm, A.T. Keamey’s Report on 2012 Global Retail Development Index, India has been ranked the fifth most attractive destination for retail investment among 30 developing countries.

43) DR. Zaidi took Over as New Election Commissioner -- Dr. Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi has assumed the charge as Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India. He fills the vacancy in the Election Commission caused by the assumption of charge by Sh. V.S. Sampath as the 18th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) succeeding Dr. S.Y. Quraishi.

44) India is the Second-Largest Mobile Phone user in World 

45) Second term for Hamid Ansari History repeated after five decades when United Progressive Alliance nominee Hamid Ansari was re-elected as Vice President to get a second consecutive term after s. Radhakrishnan.who enjoyed two terms from 1952 to 1962. Mr. Ansari Won with a thumping majority against Jaswant Singh.

46) India and Belgium Sign MOU for Modernization of Railway A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the visiting Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs of Belgium, Mr. Didier Reynders and the Union Minister of Railways of India Shri Mukul Roy on bilateral co-operation for the effective development and modernization of railway sector of both the countries.

47) The 31st edition of Summer Olympics will be held in Reo de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. 

48) India Signed Tax Information Exchange Agreement with MonacoGovernment of India and Government of Principality of Monaco have signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA).

49) Union Cabinet Approved Three New Extension Lines in Delhi Metro
11) China signed Economic Agreements with North Korea which includes the Development of SEZs.

50) The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs Didier Reynders visited India from 1-5 August and 8-12 August 2012.

51) Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh, the Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences died of multiple organ failure at the Global Health City Hospital in Chennai on 14 August 2012.

52) India’s exports for the month of July 2012 stood at 22.4 billion dollar registering a decline of – 14.8 percent as compared to 26.3 billion dollar during the same month of 2011.

53) London Olympics 2012 concluded as US topped the Medal Tally
• US topped the medal tally with a total of 104 medals (46 Gold+29 Silver+ 29 Silver) followed by China, which bagged a total of 88 medals (38 Gold+27 Silver+23 Bronze).
• Great Britain with 65 medals (29 Gold+17 Silver+19 Bronze),
• Russia with 82 medals (24 Gold+26 Silver+32 Bronze) and
• South Korea with 27 medals (13 Gold+8 Silver+6 Bronze) finished third, fourth and fifth respectively.
• India with a total of 6 medals (2 Silver+4Bronze) finished 55th on the medal tally.
54) Major Medal winning Performances at London Olympics 2012
• Michael Phelps bagged 6 medals (4 Gold+2 Silver) in swimming, becoming the most decorated Olympian ever with 22 medals.
• Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt clinched three gold in three separate events (100 meter race, 200 meter race and 4X100 meter relay team race). He won the 100 metres gold medal with a time of 9.63 seconds, setting a new Olympic record for that distance. He took 19.32 seconds to clinch 200 meters gold. With a storming victory in both 100 and 200 meters race he became the only sprinter in the history to defend both Olympic titles.
• Germany beat Netherlands 2-1 to win men’s hockey gold.
• Mexico beat Brazil 2-1 to win Soccer gold
• United States defeated Spain to win men’s Basketball gold
• Andy Murray of Great Britain beat Roger Federer of Switzerland to win tennis men’s singles gold
• Russia defeated Brazil to win men’s volleyball gold
• Dan Lin of China beat Malaysian Chong Wei Lee to clinch Badminton men’s singles gold
55) Mascots have been a part of Olympic Games since Munich 1972, when Waldi, a dachshund, was the symbol of the Munich games. The mascots of London Games were Wenlock and Mandeville.

56) Olympic Torch is the symbol of Olympic Games which is lit in Olympia (modern day Greece).

57) There were 4700 medals (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) up for grab at the London Olympics 2012. On every medal there is the image of Nike, the Greek Goddess of victory.

58) Rory Mcllroy won the US PGA Golf Championship at Kaiwah island on 12 August 2012, claiming his second major title with a record-setting eight-shot victory.

59) Moody’s Analytics cut India’s growth forecast to 5.5 percent for the fiscal year 2012-13

60) Sushil Kumar, the star Indian grappler, won India its sixth medal on the very last day in London Olympics 2012. The wrestler bagged the silver after his Japanese opponent Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu overpowered him 3-1 in the gold medal bout in the 66-kg freestyle category on 12 August 2012.

61) Raghuram Rajan, former chief economist of International Monetary Fund (IMF) was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry.

62) The Union government allocated 150 crore rupees as interim relief for the flood affected people of Uttarakhand CM “Vijay Bahuguna”.

63) Keshub Mahindra stepped down as the Chairman of 15.4 billion dollar business conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra on 8 August 2012.

64) Mary Kom bagged Bronze in Women Flyweight Boxing at London Olympics 2012

65) India successfully test-fired Medium Range Ballistic Missile Agni – II

66) Pakistan’s Supreme Court on 8 August 2012 ordered the Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to appear before judges for he failed to write Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against the president Asif Ali Zardari.

67) Jet Airways Tied Up with HDFC Bank and Launched Credit Cards

68) Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi, a 1976 batch IAS officer of UP cadre, was appointed as an Election Commissioner on 7 August 2012. His appointment was approved by President Pranab Mukherjee. Zaidi had retired as Civil Aviation Secretary on 31 July 2012.

69) Fitch Ratings revised the Indian Retail Sector Outlook for the second half 2012-13 to Negative

70) RBI permitted Banks to lend to Telecom Companies for the Upcoming Auction for Spectrum

71) The US space agency NASA landed Curiosity, a huge new robot rover on Mars on 5 August 2012.

72) Saina Nehwal clinched Bronze in Women’s Singles Badminton Event at London Olympics 2012

73) RBI directed NBFCs to maintain Net-owned Funds (NOF) at Rs 3 crore by 31 March 2013

74) Vijay Kumar bagged Silver in Olympics 25 Metre Rapid Fire Pistol Event

75) Hero MotoCorp invested 20 million dollar in US based Erik Buell for R&D

76) Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 2 August 2012 stepped down as the UN special envoy to Syria.

77) Kaushik Basu Ended Tenure as the Chief Economic Advisor in New Delhi

78) Government of Japan decided to honour Vandana Shiva with Fukuoka Prize 2012 on 23 July 2012. She will be honoured by this award in the ceremony which will be held by the Government of Japan in Fukuoka city in September 2012.

79) The Supreme Court of India on 23 July 2012 allowed Tamil Nadu government to carry out repair and maintenance works on the Mullaperiyar dam.

80) Bradley Wiggins of Britain became the first cyclist of the country, to win the coveted Tour de France Cycling race on 22 July 2012.

81) Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the 13th President (in person) of India on 22 July 2012. Pranab Mukherjee defeated his rival PA Sangma with a huge margin as he secured nearly 69 percent of total valid votes.

82)The ousted Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed is charged with illegally ordering the arrest of criminal court Chief Justice, Abdulla Mohamed. The charge was made on 15 July 2012.

83) Marissa Mayer appointed as the New President and CEO of Yahoo

84) EGoM recommended CDMA Airwaves in the 800 MHz band at 1.3 times the Base Price for GSM Airwaves.

85) Sally Ride, First US Woman to travel into Space, passed away.

86) SEBI permitted MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) to operate as a Full-fledged Stock Exchange.

87) Spain beat Italy 4-0 to win UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Euro 2012.

88) The World Bank in its report named Global Economic Prospects released on 12 June 2012, projected Indian economy to grow by 6.9% in the financial year 2012-13.

89) The Beijing summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) concluded on 7 June 2012.

90)The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 28 May 2012 invalidated the 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities carved out of the 27 per cent.

91) Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda was sworn in on 15 June 2012 as the International Criminal Court’s new chief prosecutor.

92) Raja Parvez Ashraf, the senior Pakistan People’s Party leader, was appointed the 17th Prime Minister of Pakistan on 22 June 2012.

93) Mohammed Mursi, leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), on 24 June 2012 was declared victorious in Egypt’s historical presidential election.

94) Swiss Tennis maestro Roger Federer beat British player Andy Murray to win the Wimbledon Open Championship Gentlemen’s Singles Final 2012.

95) International donors meeting were held in Tokyo, on 8 July 2012.

96) Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma was signed as the Brand Ambassador of Unicharm’s Sofy.

97) Maruti Suzuki India Limited announced to close down its Factory at Manesar.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR OCTOBER 2012

National News

  1. India’s National Security Advisor Sh. Shivshankar Menon recently released a report on the “Recommendations of Joint Working Group on Engagement with Private Sector on Cyber Security”.
  2. The Supreme Court recently made it mandatory for all the States, Union territories and the regulatory bodies to put in place a legal mechanism to implement the ‘guidelines in Vishaka case’.
  3. Union Home Ministry has begun discussing the broad contours of an agreement to solve the Naga problem with all regional stakeholders. 
  4. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently presented the 2011 Carbon Footprint Report for the Indian Aviation Industry, in line with India’s initiatives to address the climate change challenge.
  5. The Union Cabinet recently approved the introduction of Amendments to the “Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986″ in Parliament
  6. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a high-level committee to spearhead efforts to ensure accessible financial services and to increase the speed of financial inclusion in the country. The committee will be called Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee (FIAC). It will be headed by RBI Deputy Governor K. C. Chakrabarty and has been asked to ensure that financial inclusion and financial stability move in tandem.
  7. A committee headed by Dr C Rangarajan has recommended allowing millers to freely sell sugar in the open market and share 75% of the sugar’s value with sugarcane farmers. Dr C Rangarajan is Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC)
  8. The Parthasarthi Shome committee that was looking at controversial tax proposals in the 2012 Budget has recommended that an amendment to the Income Tax Act seeking to tax indirect transfers of Indian assets should apply prospectively and only on those who make capital gains. The committee has also suggested that retrospective change in the law should be applied in rare cases. It has said that retrospective changes to the laws should be should be clarificatory, done through stakeholder consultations, and not implemented with the objective of enlarging the tax base
  9. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on telecom has recommended that telecom service providers would have to pay a fee for their existing second-generation airwaves that will match the upcoming auction-determined price.
  10. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the first phase of the end-to-end computerization of Targeted Public Distribution System. The project will cost the Centre and states about Rs 884 crore and the Centre will bear half the cost.
  11. The Union Cabinet recently cleared the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012. Subsequently, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on September 3, 2012. The Bill is aimed at prohibiting manual scavenging and employment of manual scavengers as sanitary workers.
  12. The Union Cabinet recently approved the constitution of 20th Law Commission for a period for three years from 01.09.2012 to 31.08.2015
  13. The Government is considering implementation of a number of steps that would quicken the shift towards a system of cash transfers that would put money directly in the hands of the targeted beneficiaries of Government welfare programmes.
  14. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to introduce electronic IPOs from January 1, 2013.The facility would allow retail investors to submit bids for IPOs electronically
  15. Recently a report released by the National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS), which is part of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), shows that India will not meet the target of reducing infant mortality rate to 28 per 1,000 live births by March 2012 (end of the 11th five year Plan)
  16. A high-level panel on infrastructure financing, headed by HDFC Bank Chairman Deepak Parekh, has submitted its interim report to the Prime Minister. The report lays down detailed plans for every infrastructure sector, with special attention to the railways.
  17. The latest by the Registrar General of India Life  Expectancy (LE) of a rural Indian increased by 2.2 years between 2002 and 2008. The LE of an urban Indian was up by just 1.2 years over the same period.
  18. Ministry of Women and Child Development proposed the formulation of a bill through which a certain percentage of a husband’s salary would be compulsorily transferred to his wife’s bank account to compensate her for all the domestic work she performs for the family. 

International News

  1. In the Georgian parliamentary elections of 2012  the opposition Georgian Dream coalition won a majority of seats. The coalition is headed by billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili.
  2. The United Nations (U.N.) recently declared that the recent ethnic unrest in Myanmar has displaced an estimated further 26,500, in addition to some 75,000 people are already having taken refuge in the camps. These numbers include 4,000 who fled in boats to Rakhine State’s capital Sittwe — from mainly Muslim communities.
  3. The 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) was organised by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in collaboration with the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) from 22 to 25 October at Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
  4. Russia agreed on sharing precision signal from the multi-satellite based Russian global navigation system – GLONASS with the Indian military set-up. These signals will allow Indian missiles, including those fired from nuclear submarine Chakra, to strike with great precision – within half a metre of distant targets
  5. The latest version of State of Food Insecurity in the World report has revised the number of people in hunger globally downwards from 1 billion to 870 million as of 2010-12
  6. Indian Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Mr. Timothy Geithner, met in New Delhi for the third annual meeting of the India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership.
  7. The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony was on a three-day visit to Indonesia, beginning Monday (15 Oct 2012), to take part in the first Ministerial Level Biennial Defence Dialogue between the two countries.
  8. Hugo Chavez won the election of president in Venenzula. Mr. Chavez won 55% of the vote against 45% for MrCapriles, with 98% of the vote counted. Mr. Chavez’s new term will be beginning in February 2013.
  9. Global agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has warned that India’s rating could be downgraded to junk status if the Government failed to ensure implementation of key economic reforms, contain the fiscal deficit and improve the investment climate.
  10. The Union Cabinet recently approved the ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing by India.
  11. The Nagoya Protocol is an addition to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It was formulated during the 10th Biodiversity Summit (also called COP-10 of CBD), which was held in Nagoya (Japan) in 2010.

Monday 5 November 2012

Sikkim to be 1st state to provide pucca houses to all citizens

Sikkim will soon be the first state in the country to provide 'pucca' houses to all its residents as it has launched a mega social housing mission of quality housing to families living in hutments.
 

Under the Rs 211.20 crore ambitious project, 6,000 poor household dwellers living in 'kutcha' houses will be given a single storey earthquake-resistant new 'pucca' house free of cost by the end of 2013.

The five-year project will solve the issue of homelessness among the poor in Sikkim permanently, project director of Chief Minister's Rural Housing Mission C C Wangdi said in a release.

Each spacious house will have a RCC structure with two bedrooms, a kitchen-cum-dinning room, a toilet and a verandah in front portion measuring a plinth area of 605 sq ft each.

The each owner-driven conversion of hutments to 'pucca' house would cost of Rs 3.50 lakh which will be constructed by the beneficiary through financial assistance to be received from the government in four instalments.

There will be no middle men or contractors and construction of each house is closely monitored by Block Rural House Construction Committees comprising both elected as well as official representatives, the release said.

All these 6,000 'katcha' house dwellers were identified through a rigorous baseline survey conducted by gram sabhas using transparent criteria followed by multiple level of supervision and cross checks by the Rural Management and Development Department.

The houses will be earthquake resistant and will be designed in such a way that the interiors get maximum sunlight and have air circulation.

As earth quake safety feature, foundation reinforcement, column size, plinth size of each house has been increased and additionally the GCI roof has been replaced by RCC slab roof with a three-feet parapet wall on all four sides.

The tiny northeastern state was hit by a major earthquake on 18th September 2011 in which more than 100 people lost their lives.

The Sikkim government is providing 0.25 acre land to each landless person living below the poverty line (BPL) to construct the house.

The administration has completed the construction work on 1,137 houses so far while construction work on 3,029 houses will be completed by December next.

The construction work on remaining 1834 houses is under various stages of completion which will be completed during next financial year, Wangdi said.

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS

1.    The year by which India is expected to achieve total sanitation coverage, as per the Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India is - 2017

2.    Which film actress has been selected as the brand ambassador of Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
      Vidya Balan

3.    The joint exercise carried out by the Army and the Indian Air Force in the desert of Rajasthan is named -   Exercise Shoorveer 

4.    For which region of the country the Union Government has cleared a 8,500 crore project under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)?
      Naxalite-affected districts

5.    As per data released by Indian statistical organisation in May 2012, India's Industrial production declined by 3.5 per cent in March 2012, the chief factor behind this decline is -
      Contraction in manufacturing and mining output

6.    Recently Wikipedia city Monmouth has been built. In which city is it located
      USA

7.    United States has decided to ease the stiff economic and diplomatic sanctions imposed on which country and appointed envoy to her after 22 years
      Myanmar

8.    The Government has launched a scheme called for encourages and enables Overseas Indian Workers to save for their return and resettlement and to save for their old age by providing a co-contribution from the Government, is
      Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana

9.    Who was the father of Operation Flood
      Dr Verghese Kurien

10.    Who is the winner of US Open Tennis 2012 in women section
      Serena Williams    
     
11.    Who is the winner of US Open Tennis 2012 men section
      Andy Murray

12.    Vedanta Alumina is a company operating in the area of
      Mining

13.    Which of  is used as a fuel in Nuclear power stations in India
      Thorium

14.    In which  State was the first UID card issued
      Maharashtra

15.    Expand the term MGNREGA.
      Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

16.    Which States has passed a legislation to confiscate the property of corrupt officials and to open schools in these properties
      Bihar

17.    In which  States, Jaitapur Nuclear Power plant is proposed to be set up
      Maharashtra

18.    The Eleventh 'Five-Year Plan' of India is for the Five years ranging from
      2007-2012

19.    The Government of India provides direct financial support to which scheme
      Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana

20.    Which  is the objective of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)issued by the Government?
      To ensure that Companies take steps for rehabilitation of project-affected people

21    Endosulfon, which has been in news these days, is
      a pesticide

21.    The disease which has been declared by the Union Government to be a mandatorily notifiable in order to provide better diagnosis and treatment and reduce its transmission is -
      Tuberculosis

22.    The first Credit Information Company in India was -
      CIBIL

23.    To review the determination of poverty line by Suresh Tendulkar Committee, Planning Commission has constituted a committee under the chairmanship -
      C. Rangrajan

24.    All services excluding services in negative list have been brought under the umbrella of service tax w.e.f. July 1, 2012. How many services have been included in the negative list?
      17

25.    For 2011-12, the external debt as percentage of GDP stands at -
      20%

26.    With reference to The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report
      Biodiversity has decreased by an average of 50 per cent globally since 1970

27.    With a view to strengthening regional financial and economic cooperation the Reserve Bank of India has announced Swap Arrangement of how much amount of US$ billion both in foreign currency and Indian rupee for SAARC member countries?
      USD 2 billion

28.    In the 12th Five Year Plan the Government of India has proposed to invest for development of various projects in port sector the amount of
      76,793.95 crore

29.    India has signed a key tax information exchange agreement and another pact on information technology to accelerate economic and joint investment with-
      Bahrain

30.    Which country took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in June 2012?
      China

31.    Which country has increased its defence budget by nearly 10 per cent to 545 billion rupees ($ 5.8 billion) for the 2012-13?
      Pakistan

32.    Who authored the book Mind Positive, Life Positive ?
      S. Joginder Singh

33.    Who had been made the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)?
      Mr. Suma Chakrabarti

34.    The World Environment Day was observed across the globe on June 5,2012. Theme for the World Environment Day 2012 was -
      Green Economy : Does it include you

35.    IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd.) an independent Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) was established in
      1987

36.    SSS-NIRE (Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Renewable Energy) working in bio-energy, bio-fuel, synthetic fuel etc is located at
      Wadala Kalan, Kapurthala (Punjab)

37.    RGAUD (Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas) i.e. Rajiv Gandhi Renewable Energy Day, Sadbhavana Day is celebrate each year on the birth day of ex. PM Rajiv Gandhi. His birth day is
      20th August

38.    The Solar Evapo-Cooking System (SECS) for controlling excretion of CO2 in atmosphere and to save LPG amount during food cooking for 20000 people daily in Shri Sai Baba Institute Nyas, Shirdi (Maharashtra)was established in
      June 2010

39.    The estimates of National Income are prepared by-
      Central Statistical Organization

40.    The State who launched "Atal Khadyanna Yojna" is -
      Uttarakhand

41.    The first Lokpal Bill was presented in the Parliament in -
      1968

42.    Which is the latest country to reach an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with India?
      Australia

43.    Montreal Protocol is related with the protection of -
      Ozone layer

44.    Which is the most fragile eco-system that will be first affected by global warming?
      Arctic and Greenland Ice sheet

45.    Who is the author of the book "To A Hunger Free World"?
      M.S. Swaminathan

46.    The Government of India has launched an Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) to monitor certain disease. Which is not covered under the project?
      Plague

47.   "Swayamsidha" is a scheme launched by the Government of India to help.
                Women only