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May 1-2, 2014

1) The Expert Committee to help
develop a low-carbon growth
strategy for India presented its
report to the Union Govt. on 1 May
2014. Who is heading this 26-
member committee? Dr. Kirit
Parikh, former member of Planning
Commission (This committee was
constituted in January 2010 by
Prime Manmohan Singh to suggest
a national low-carbon growth
strategy for India)

2) The Supreme Court on 1 May
2014 reconstituted a panel (Special
Investigation Team SIT) to
monitor the Union governments
probe on black money. Who will
head this SIT? MB Shah, former
judge(Constitution of this SIT was
ordered by the apex court a day
after Centre relented and disclosed
names of 18 people it was
investigating for tax evasion to the
Supreme Court. The Centre had on
30 April disclosed names of 18
persons who had stashed black
money in LGT Bank in
Liechtenstein. This was done as per
information furnished by the
German government to India in
2009)

3) A woman was killed and at least
18 others were injured in twin blasts
in an express train stationed at
Chennai Central railway station on
1 May 2014. Which train was this?
Bangalore-Guwahati Superfast
Express (Train No. 12509) The
explosions were reported shortly
after the train pulled into platform


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no. 9 at the railway station. The
blasts damaged three coaches (S3,
S4 and S5). A multi-agency probe
was launched to investigate the
source and nature of the bombs.

4) According to the latest data
released by World Bank Groups
International Comparison Program
(ICP), India became the third
largest economy in the world. This
was a rapid climb for India as it was
ranked at 10th spot in 2005.
However, this ICP study was not
based on evaluation of actual GDPs
of countries. On which basis was
this ranking done by ICP? On
Purchasing Power Parity
PPP (The GDP of various countries
was evaluated on PPP and it was
evaluated that the purchasing
power parities -based world GDP
amounted to $90,647 billion)

5) Which Afro-Arabian country on 1
May 2014 adopted a landmark new
electoral law, which requires party
lists for legislative elections to be
half women and half men?
Tunisia (The newly adopted law
also allows members of the
authoritarian regime ousted in 2011
to run for office. The law paves the
way for general elections later this
year. Tunisias path to democracy
has been rocky but is seen as a
model for other countries, after
street protests overthrew a dictator
and unleashed uprisings across the
region known as the Arab Spring)

6) Which university is the only
Indian university from India to have
been listed among the top 100
young universities in the world for
2014 in the recently released study
by London-based Times Higher
Education Magazine? Indian
Institute of Technology,
Guwahati(The magazine mentions


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IIT Guwahati at 87th place, marking
Indias debut on the rankings. It is
placed alongside the New
University of Lisbon and the
University of Western Sydney. IIT
Guwahati campus came up in 1994.
JNU, however, missed the bus by a
small margin, with IIT Guwahati
beating it on the strength of its
citation record. For the third year in
a row, the ranking was headed by
South Koreas Pohang University of
Science and Technology)
7) Who was recently appointed as
the new Vice Chancellor of Delhi-
based Jamia Milia Islamia? Prof.
Talat Ahmad (Prof. Talat Ahmad
was appointed by President Pranab
Mukherjee. This post had been
vacant since former Jamia vice-
chancellor Najeeb Jung was made
Delhis Lieutenant Governor. Till
now Ahmad was Vice-Chancellor of
University of Kashmir and had
previously served at the
Department of Geology, University
of Delhi)








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May 3-5, 2014
1) A high-level committee
recommended recasting of the
Index of Industrial Production and
(IIP) Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
with an objective to present a more
realistic picture of the economy.
Who is heading this high-level
committee which recently submitted
its report? Saumitra Chaudhuri,
Member, Planning Commission and
Prime Ministers Economic Advisory
Council (The committee submitted
its report on the IIP and WPI during
last week of April 2014. The whole
exercise of recasting these indexes
was aimed at making the indices
reflect each other)

2) Which Islamist militant group
claimed responsibility for the bomb
explosion attack that rocked the
outskirts of the Nigerian capital,
Abuja on 2 May 2014? Boko
Haram (The explosion killed at
least 19 people and injured over 60.
This was the second explosion in
less than a month to have rocked
Abuja. The blast struck the same
Nyanya district that was hit by a car
bomb on April 14 which killed at
least 75 people. Boko Haram,
which means western education is
a sin in the Hausa language, has
been waging a violent campaign for
the past five years to impose
Shariah, or Islamic law, in Africas
biggest economy)

3) Which passenger train derailed
in Maharashtras Raigad district on
4 May 2014 killing more than 18
passengers and injuring over 150?
Diva-Sawantwadi Road
Passenger (This passenger train
derailed between Nagothane and
Roha stations in Raigad district.
Services on the Konkan Railways
line were suspended until evening


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causing a lot of inconvenience to
passengers)

4) Who was sworn in as the new
Prime Minister of Libya on 3 May
2014? Ahmed Matiq (He was
sworn in by the interim Libyan
Parliament despite a disputed vote.
Initially, only 113 lawmakers voted
for Ahmed Matiq, falling short of the
120 votes necessary to secure his
win)

5) A California jury on 2 May 2014
awarded Apple $119 million in a
patent battle with Samsung over
alleged copying of smart phone
features. This award was far less
than what Apple had demanded
and the jury made the victory even
smaller by finding that Apple
illegally used one of Samsungs
patents. How much award was
sought by Apple? $2.2
billion (During the month-long trial,
Apple argued that many of the key
functions and vital features of
Samsung phones were invented by
Apple. Samsung countered that its
phones operate on the Google
Android software system and that
any legal complaint Apple has is
with the search giant. The jury
found that Apple had infringed one
of Samsungs patents in creating
the iPhone 4 and

6) 30 people were killed within 36
hours in attack by Bodo militants in
lower districts of Assam on 2 and 3
May 2014. Which were the two
most-affected districts? Kokrajhar
and Baksa (Four districts
Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalgiri and
Chirang come under the proposed
Bodoland region in Assam. The
killings took place mainly in
Kokrajhar and Baksa districts. After
these killings curfew was imposed
in Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang.
The state government accused the


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Songbijit faction of the National
Democratic Front of Bodoland
(NDFB) of carrying out these
killings)

May 6-7, 2014

1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on 6 May 2014 issued the
guidelines allowing minors to
operate bank accounts
independently with a view to
promote financial inclusion and
bring uniformity in opening of such
accounts in banks. What is the
prescribed age for minors to
operate bank accounts, as
announced by the RBI in this
guideline? Above 10
years(According to the guidelines
issued by the RBI, minors above 10
years of age can open and operate
independently savings bank
account and use other facilities like
ATM and cheque books)

2) The Supreme Court on 6 May
2014 held that the government
cannot impose mother tongue on
linguistic minority for imparting
primary education. A bench of the
apex court gave this order while
hearing the government orders of
which state pertaining to this issue?
Karnataka (The bench comprising
of Chief Justice R.M. Lodha and
justices A.K. Patnaik, S.J.
Mukhopadhaya, Dipak Misra and
F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, was hearing
the issue which had come before


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the apex court as two Karnataka
government orders of 1994 making
mother tongue or regional language
compulsory for imparting education
from class I to IV, had come under
challenge)

3) Indias first aircraft carrier INS
Vikrant, which was headed for the
scrap yard, got another breather
from the Supreme Court on 5 May
2014 as it blocked the vessels
journey to ignominy. This order was
passed by the apex court on a
petition filed by a petitioner-activist.
Who is he? Kiran
Paigankar (Through the Save
Vikrant Committee, Paigankar and
other activists last month moved the
apex court in a bid to save the
vessel which saw action in the 1971
India-Pakistan war. The ship was
due at the scrapyard on 17 May
after it was sold for Rs.60 crore
through an e-auction to the
Mumbai-based IB Commercials Pvt
Ltd.)

4) Who was declared the winner of
Panamas presidential election held
on 4 May 2014? Juan Carlos
Varela, who is countrys Vice
President (Varela will assume office
on 1 July 2014. His win thwarted an
attempt by former ally President
Ricardo Martinelli to extend his grip
on power by electing a handpicked
successor)

5) Who was declared the President
of the Rajasthan Cricket
Association (RCA) on 6 May 2014,
hours after which RCA was
indefinitely suspended by the
BCCI? Lalit Modi (After
suspending RCA the BCCI also
appointed an ad-hoc body to run its
cricket affairs. The election for RCA
was conducted in December last
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following a Supreme Court
directive. After much deliberation,
the result was finally announced by
a court-appointed observer on 6
May. Modi won by a landslide
margin, polling in 24 out of 33
votes, while his opponent Rampal
Sharma earned just five)

6) Who defeated five-time world
snooker champion Ronnie
OSullivan to win the World Snooker
Championship on 6 April 2014?
Mark Selby (Selby defeated
OSullivan 18-14 to win the World
Championship for the first time.
OSullivan, bidding for a third
consecutive victory, crumbled under
pressure and failed to hold on to his
10-7 overnight lead as Selby won
five of the six frames in the third
session)
7) Pakistans National Assembly on
6 May 2014 approved a resolution
to lift a ban on video-sharing
website YouTube. YouTube has
been banned in Pakistan for how
many times? Three
times (YouTube was first banned in
Pakistan on 22 February 2008, by
the Pakistan Telecommunication
Authority (PTA) because of the
number of non-Islamic
objectionable videos. The ban was
lifted on 26 February 2008, after the
website removed the objectionable
content from its servers. YouTube
was banned for the second time in
2010 in a bid to contain
blasphemous material, but the
ban was lifted after removal of the
contents May 27, 2010. PTA
banned YouTube for the third time
after the website did not remove the
trailer the film Innocence of
Muslims which ostensibly insulted
Islam)


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May 8, 2014

1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
has put on hold its decision to make
Aadhaar-based biometric
authentication for transactions
mandatory. The Supreme Court
had earlier asked the government
not to link Aadhaar with any social
benefit schemes and subsidies.
What was the main reason for this
decision of the RBI? Huge time
taken for Aadhaars biometric
authentication and high set up
costs (In the testing phase,
biometric authentication took up to
30 seconds even on 3G
connections, as opposed to 5
seconds otherwise. Banks were
also worried about huge set-up
costs needed to enable the required
infrastructure for biometric
authentication)

2) Thailand went into a new phase
of uncertainty on 7 May 2014 as
countrys Constitutional Court
ordered Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra and several cabinet
ministers to step down. What was
the reason given by the court for
this harsh order? Yingluck
Shinawatra acted illegally while
transferring her national security
head (Yingluck had been accused
of abuse of power in improperly
transferring Thawil Pliensri, her
national security chief appointed by
the opposition-led administration, in
2011. The court felt that this
transfer benefitted a close relative
of Shinawatra)



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3) What major relief was
announced by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on 7 May 2014 for
takers of housing, auto and
personal loans? It directed all the
commercial banks not to levy any
penalty on pre-payment of loans
under floating rate scheme that
cover housing, auto as well as
personal loans (The RBI advised
that banks will not be permitted to
charge foreclosure charges/ pre-
payment penalties on all floating
rate term loans sanctioned to
individual borrowers, with
immediate effect. Floating loan
products include housing,
corporate, vehicle and personal
loans. Two years ago, RBI had
barred banks from levying
foreclosure charges or pre-payment
penalties on home loans on floating
interest rate basis)

4) Indian Naval Chief Admiral RK
Dhowan on 7 May 2014 announced
that Indias largest warship aircraft
carrier INS Vikramaditya is now
operationally deployed. The 44,500-
tonne aircraft carrier procured from
Russia at a cost of $2.33 billion had
arrived in India in January this year.
Where is the home-base of this
aircraft carrier situated? Karwar,
Karnataka (The aircraft carrier,
which does not have air defence
guns, is expected to get its
weaponry for protection against
aerial attacks at its scheduled first
refit)

5) What is the name of the founder
and former director of the scam-
ridden National Spot Exchange
Limited (NSEL), who was arrested
by the Mumbai police on 7 May
2014? Jignesh Shah (Shah was
arrested for his connection with the
nearly Rs. 5,600 crore payment
crisis. The Economic Offences
Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police
also arrested the Chief Financial


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Officer of Financial Technologies
India Ltd. (FTIL), Srikant Javlekar.
NSEL is owned by FTIL)

6) Which airline became the newest
to have won an operating permit for
airline services in India? AirAsia
India (The Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued the air
operator permit, the last approval
required to launch an airline, to
AirAsia India on 7 May 2014.
AirAsia India is a three-way venture
between the Malaysia-based low-
cost airline, the Tata Group and
investment firm Telestra
Tradeplace. Earlier plans to start
the airline in the last quarter of 2013
were delayed, pending DGCAs air
operator permit. India presently has
five operational national carriers
and one regional airline.
Competition had eased after the
grounding of cash-and-debt-
strapped Kingfisher Airlines in
October 2012)

May 9-10, 2014

1) What is the name of the first-ever
woman Additional Director of the
Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI), who was restrained from
discharging her duties by the
Supreme Court on 9 May 2014?
Archana Ramasundaram(Archana
Ramasundaram is a senior IPS
officer. On May 7 2014, she
received a letter from the Union
Governments Department of
Personnel and Training (DOPT),


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asking her to take charge
immediately, as high-level
supervisory rank post in the CBI
could not be kept vacant for long.
Following which, Ramasundaram
took charge as additional director in
CBI without in receipt of state
governments clearance but she
was consequently suspended by
the Tamil Nadu government on
charges of deserting office. The
apex courts order came on a
petition filed by senior journalist
Vineet Narain, challenging her
selection to the CBI)

2) N. Janardhana Reddy, who
passed away on 9 May 2014, was a
former Chief Minister of which
state? Andhra
Pradesh (Janardhana Reddy was
Chief Minister of AP between 1990
and 1992. He was also a member
of the Lok Sabha for three terms.
He was a senior member of
Congress and ban on Naxalite-outfit
Peoples War Group (PWG) was
imposed during his tenure)

3) The Supreme Court on 9 May
2014 order a CBI probe into the
Saradha Chit Fund scam case of
West Bengal. This order was seen
as a major set-back for Mamata
Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress
(TMC) government, as many of her
party colleagues are allegedly
involved in the multi-crore scam.
Which TMC MP is being bars and is
awaiting trial in this multi-crore
scam? Kunal Ghosh (Saradha
Group raised money from lakhs of
small investors through agents over
last several years in West Bengal
and adjoining states. Later, when
the company failed to return the
money, the scam came to fore and
eventually the company owners and
the top politicians were arrested.
Trinamool MP Ghosh is alleged to
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Sudipta Sen, the owner of the
tainted group)

4) The UN Security Council voted
unanimously on 8 May 2014 to
establish a U.N. medal for
exceptional courage in the name
of an unarmed U.N. peacekeeper
from Senegal, who lost his life after
saving hundreds of Rwandans from
death in the 1994 genocide. What
was the name of this peacekeeper
from Senegal? Captain Mbaye
Diagne (Mbaye Diagne went
against orders to save lives during
the 100-day slaughter. The
resolution, sponsored by Jordan,
created The Captain Mbaye
Diagne Medal for Exceptional
Courage to be awarded to U.N.
military, police, civilians and
associated personnel, who
demonstrate exceptional courage,
in the face of extreme danger)

5) African National Congress (ANC)
won the elections held on 7 May
2014 for the National Assembly.
Results for the same were
announced on 9 May 2014. ANC
won 62.2% votes, which is nearly
the same share it won in 1994, the
year it assumed power under
Nelson Mandela in the nations first
truly democratic election. This
victory is ANCs
.consecutive win in
national elections? 5th

6) Indias Adani Group got approval
for a $15.46 billion coal mine
development project in which state
of Australia recently?
Queensland (This approval would
enable Gautam Adani led Adani
Group to move to the next stage of
project, the final environmental
approval of the Federal
Government of Australia. The
Queensland Government approved


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the Adani mining project, worth
$15.46 billion, in the Galilee Basin)

7) IPL franchisee Delhi Daredevils
recently launched a co-branded
cricket credit card in partnership
with which commercial bank? The
Ratnakar Bank Ltd (This was the
first time that a commercial bank
and a leading cricket franchise
came together to launch a co-
branded cricket credit card. The
card brings to its cardholders
exclusive privileges like meeting
and greeting the Delhi Daredevils
team, personal and original
memorabilia, coaching camps, free
match tickets, talk shows, etc.)

May 11-12, 2014

1) A referendum for independence
was held in which two pro-Russian
eastern Ukrainian regions on 11
May 2014? Donetsk and
Luhansk(These two pro-Russian
regions held referendum for self-
rule, a move deemed illegal by the
Ukrainian government and the
West. According to the results
announced on 12 May, at least 89%
of the voters in Donetsk region cast
ballots in favour of independence in
the referendum. Despite Russian
President Vladimir Putins constant
urging to postpone the referendum,
the activists went ahead with it and
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hold a second round later to join
Russia)

2) An important ceasefire
agreement was reached in war-
ridden African country South Sudan
on 9 May 2014. This agreement
was reached between President
Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek
Machar to end five months of
hostilities. Which countrys Prime
Minister hosted and facilitated these
peace talks? Ethiopia (Ethiopian
Prime Minister Hailemariam
Desalegn also signed this ceasefire
agreement which was signed at
Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa)

3) West Indies all-rounder Darren
Sammy announced his retirement
from Test cricket, in a stunning
development after he was sacked
as the West Indies captain on 9
May 2014. Who replaced Sammy
as the new West Indian cricket
captain? Denesh
Ramdin (Sammy led West Indies in
30 of his 38 Tests, winning eight,
losing 12 and drawing ten matches,
and was credited for returning
discipline and stability to the team.
However, West Indies have
remained eighth in the Test
rankings and heavy defeats on the
tours of India and New Zealand last
year, placed Sammys 4-year long
stint as captain under fresh
scrutiny)

4) Caparo Group won the
International Business of the Year
award 2014 at the Asian Business
Awards Midlands in Birmingham on
9 May 2014. This group is founded
by which industrialist of Indian
origin? Lord Swaraj Paul (Lord
Paul arrived in London in 1966 in
search of a cure for his fourth child
Ambika, who was suffering from
leukaemia. As he emerged from the
trauma of her death, Lord Paul set


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up Caparo, which is today the
largest family-owned business in
Britain)

5) Who won the Spanish F1 Grand
Prix 2014 on 11 May 2014? Lewis
Hamilton of Great Britain (This was
Lewis Hamiltons fourth consecutive
victory in 2014 F1 season for his
team Mercedes. His team-mate
Nico Rosberg (Germany) was
second and third spot was claimed
by French driver Romain Grosjean
of Lotus team. It was also the fourth
consecutive one-two finish for
Mercedes)

6) According to the Sunday Times
Rich List published on 11 May
2014, who edged out steel-baron
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal to emerge the
richest people in the United
Kingdom? Hinduja
Brothers (London-based Srichand
and Gopichand Hindujas fortune
stood at 11.9 billion pounds and
they moved up from third position
last year to top the UKs billionaire
charts this year. The Hinduja
brothers run the multinational
Hinduja Group conglomerate with
interests across automotive, real
estate and oil sectors)

May 13, 2014

1) What is the aggregate polling
percentage for General Elections of
2014 which concluded on 12 May
2014 with the completion of ninth
and final phase of voting?
66.38% (The General Elections


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2014 for the constitution of 16th Lok
Sabha recorded a poll percentage
of 66.38%, which is the highest
ever polling percentage for Lok
Sabha elections. The last highest
record of poll percentage was
64.01% seen in 1984 general
elections when Congress leader
Rajiv Gandhi rode a sympathy
wave to come to power after the
assassination of his mother and
then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi)

2) Whose name was proposed by
the Union Governmentas the next
chief of the Indian Army on 12 May
2014? Lt. General Dalbir Singh
Suhag (The Union Government
proposed name of Lt. Gen. Suhag
after getting the approval of the
Election Commission due to the
Model Code of Conduct being
imposed due to General Elections.
Present Army chief General Bikram
Singh is due to retire on 31 July
2014)

3) What is the name of Mahatma
Gandhi University Vice-Chancellor,
who was dismissed from service on
12 May 2014 and thus became the
first Vice-Chancellor in Kerala to be
so removed by the Chancellor?
Dr. A.V. George (He was sacked
from service by Governor Sheila
Dixit, who is also the Chancellor of
the university. He was sacked for
allegedly misrepresentation of
information regarding his
qualifications to the selection and
search committee)

4) Which country was ranked as the
cheapest among the major world
economies in a latest report by
Germanys Deutsche Bank?
India(According to this recently
released report India is the
cheapest major economy on the
basis of prices of products
comparable across countries. The
report claimed that a weaker rupee


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has allowed India to remain the
cheapest major economy despite
the highest inflation. Australia was
ranked as the most expensive
major economy while the United
States was ranked as the cheapest
developed country. Brazil was
again listed as the most expensive
among developing countries)

5) According to a report by Prime
Database, the quantum of funds
raised by Indian companies from
the retail issuance of debt securities
or bonds hit a 10-year high of over
Rs. 42,000 crore in 2013-14. This is
the highest amount of funds raised
by companies through retail
issuance of debt securities since
2003-04. What was the main
reason for this spurt in fund raising
through debt securities? On
account of huge amount of tax-free
bond garnered by financial
institutions and PSUs (Around 86%
of total amount was collected
through tax-free bonds)

May 14, 2014

1) Shares of state-run banks rose
as much as 5% after an RBI panel
report said that the Government
should reduce the holdings in PSU
lenders to below 50%. Who headed
this panel? PJ Nayak, ex-
Chairman of Axis Bank (The report
was released on 13 May 2014 and
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sector banks to below 50%,
criticising the way in which the
lenders are being governed)

2) What is the name of Worlds first
ever electric aircraft that has
successfully taken its maiden
voyage recently? E-Fan (This
electric aircraft is the latest creation
of Toulouse (France) based Airbus.
The fact that its engines are
powered by electricity provides it a
low-noise, eco-friendly profile. This
successful voyage carves a new
path for the technologys potential
in aircrafts. The cost amounts to 16
dollars per hour to power providing
decent height of 220km/h with a
cruising speed of 160km/h on its
30kW engines)

3) Which car belonging to Maruti
Suzuki India (MSI) became the
second to reach the milestone of
2.5 million units sale recently?
Alto (MSI announced on 13 May
2014 that sale of Alto has crossed
25 lakh units and it became the
second car after Maruti 800 to
achieve this mark)

4) Mukul Sinha, a Gujarat High
Court lawyer who had made a
name for himself fighting cases on
behalf of the victims of riots that
tore through the state in 2002,
passed away in Ahmedabad on 12
May 2014. What is the name of the
NGO founded by him which
championed the cause of riot
victims and other harassed people
of the society? Jan Sangharsh
Manch (Sinha was a very fierce
critic of Gujarat Chief Minister and
BJP Prime Minister candidate
Narendra Modi and his governance
model)

5) Only two institutes from India
made it to the prestigious Top 50 in


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the QS Asian University rankings
that were released during May
2014. Which institutes are these?
IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay (These
rankings are based on criteria such
as academic reputation (30%);
reputation of university among
employers (10%), student/ faculty
ratio (20%); research by faculty
(15%), citations per paper (15%)
and proportion of international
faculty and students (5%) and
exchange programme students
(5%))

6) Which residence was ranked as
the most expensive billionaire home
in the world in Forbes list of the
most expensive homes in the
world? Antilia, Mukesh Ambanis
27-story, 400,000-square-foot
skyscraper home in Mumbai (Antilia
named after a mythical island in the
Atlantic, tops the Forbes list of the
most expensive homes in the world
for 2014. The house has six stories
of underground parking, three
helicopter pads, and reportedly
requires a staff of 600 to keep it
running. In second place on the list
is Villa Leopolda, the home of
Brazilian philanthropist and social
figure Lily Safra in France. The
third-most expensive billionaire
home-and the most expensive in
the United States, is the home of
American investor and
businessman Ira Rennert in
Sagaponack, New York)

May 15-19, 2014
1) Who was elected as the first
Chief Minister of the newly-formed
state of Telangana? K
Chandrasekhara Rao (He is the
president and founder of the
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)


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and TRS had won 63 of the 119
Assembly seats in the assembly
elections, results for which were
announced on 16 May 2014. The
Legislature party of the TRS elected
him as the first Chief Minister of
Telangana on 17 May 2014)

2) Who would take over as the first
Chief Minister of Seemandhra, the
residual state after carving out of
Telangana from Andhra Pradesh?
N. Chandra Babu Naidu (Naidu led
Telugu Desham Party (TDP) won
103 assembly seats from a total of
175 seats. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) won
67 seats while TDPs alliance
partner BJP won 2 seats.
Congress, which ruled for over four
decades in the 57 years of
existence of Andhra Pradesh, drew
a blank in the elections and the
party would not even have
representation in the Legislative
Assembly of residuary Andhra
Pradesh)

3) Navin Patnaik led Biju Janata Dal
(BJD) led Odisha state government
returned to power yet again by
winning the assembly elections of
2014. The results for the elections
were announced on 16 May 2014 in
which BJD claimed more than two-
third majority by winning 117 of the
total 147 seats. Navin Patnaik
would be Chief Minister of the state
for .which term?
Fourth (Patnaik had been the Chief
Minister of Odisha since 5 March
2000. BJD has now won assembly
elections under his helm in 2000,
2004, 2009 and now in 2014. He
was unanimously elected the BJD
legislature party leader on 18 May
2014)



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4) Who was sworn in as the
8
th
Chief Minister of Arunachal
Pradesh on 18 May 2014?
Nabam Tuki (Nabam Tuki is the
veteran Congress leader from the
state and this is his second
consecutive term. Congress had
won a clear majority in the
Assembly elections by winning 42
of the total 60 seats. BJP won 11
seats and was followed by Peoples
Party of Arunachal (PPA) with 5
seats. Remaining seats were
shared by independent candidates.
The results for states Assembly
elections were announced on 16
May 2014)

5) C.P. Krishnan Nair, who passed
away on 17 May 2014, was founder
of which famous hotel and resort
chain in India? Leela Palaces,
Hotels and Resorts (C.P. Krishnan
Nair started to build the Leela group
of hotels at the age of 65 by setting
up Hotel Leela Venture Ltd in 1983.
He had in 1987 launched the iconic
Leela Kempinski Hotel in Mumbai,
his first hotel. In a short span of 25
years, the Leela Palaces, Hotels
and Resorts has eight luxury
properties in New Delhi, Mumbai,
Bangalore, Gurgaon, Udaipur, Goa,
Chennai and Kovalam with new
hotels opening in Noida, Agra,
Jaipur and Lake Ashtamudi in
Kerala. On 7 February 2014, Nair
stepped down as chairman of his
company and his elder son Vivek
Nair was elevated to the position of
chairman and managing director,
while younger son Dinesh Nair was
appointed co-chairman and
managing director)

6) Russi Mody, who passed away
on 16 May 2014 at the age of 96,
headed which famous corporate
company of the country? Tata
Steel Ltd. (Tata Steel Ltd. was then
known as Tata Iron and Steel Co.
(TISCO). Russi Mody joined TISCO


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in 1939 and rose through the ranks
to become its Chairman. He retired
in 1993 leaving behind a legacy of
53 years, which won him and the
company international acclaim in
various fields especially in industrial
relations)

7) Which place of Turkey came to
limelight for countrys worst-ever
mine disaster of 13 May 2014 in
which more than 300 mine workers
were killed? Soma (The accident
took place at coal mines of Soma, a
town situated 480 km Southwest of
Istanbul. The mines were managed
by Soma Holdings. The accident
took place when an explosion sent
carbon monoxide gas into the
mines tunnels while 787 miners
were underground. This accident
resulted in fierce anti-government
protests starting at numerous
places of Turkey in which the Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
was criticized for appearing
insensitive in his reaction to the
disaster. At least 25 people were
arrested by Turkish police till 18
May 2014 for their negligence)

May 20, 2014

1) Who was named as Indian
captain for Hockey World Cup 2014
to be held in the Hague,
Netherlands from 31 May to 15
June 2014? Sardar Singh (The
18-member India squad was
announced by Hockey India (HI) on


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14 May 2014. Rupinder Pal Singh
was named Indian teams vice
captain. The selection trials for
national team were held on May 5-6
at Delhis Major Dhyanchand
National Hockey Stadium. Terry
Walsh is teams Head Coach while
Roelant Oltmans is the high
performance director)

2) Four West African countries on
17 May 2014 agreed to club
together to wage war on Nigerias
Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram.
The decision was made during a
summit hosted by French President
Francois Hollande in Paris, in which
the US, France, and the UK vowed
to help Nigeria with intelligence.
Which four West African countries
are these? Cameroon, Niger,
Chad, and Benin (These four
countries vowed to wage war on the
Islamist militant group, which they
say now has links to Al-Qaeda.
Boko Haram abducted 223
schoolgirls, Muslims and Christians,
from their hostel in northeast
Nigeria in April 2014)

3) The Supreme Court on 17 May
2014 constituted a new bench
comprising of two judges to hear
the Sahara case. This was done
after Justice J.S. Khehar rescued
himself from hearing the matter
while the other judge Justice K.S.
Radhakrishnan retired. Who are the
two judges who constitute this new
bench? Justice T.S. Thakur and
Justice A.K. Sikri (The previous
bench had upheld its order jailing
Subrata Roy)

4) Sir Jack Brabham, who passed
away on 19 May 2014 at the age of
88, was a legend of which sports?
Formula One (F1) car racing(Jack
Brabham, an Australian F1 driver,
won world championships in 1959,
1960 and 1966. During a F1 career
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Brabham competed in 126 grands
prix, winning 14. He is the only man
to have won the Formula One
drivers title in a car bearing his
name)

5) Which telecom and
communications company is to
acquire DirecTV, the top U.S.
satellite TV operator, for $48.5
billion, as announced on 18 May
2014? AT&T (AT&T has planned
this acquisition in a bid for growth
beyond an increasingly competitive
cellular market)

6) An Egyptian Islamic preacher
whose fiery sermons before and
after 9/11 attracted extremists to his
London mosque was convicted on
19 May 2014 in a trial that is
expected to provide justice for the
victims of a kidnapping in Yemen
more than a decade ago. What is
the name of this convict? Mustafa
Kamel Mustafa alias Abu
Hamza (Abu Hamza was found
guilty in federal court in Manhattan.
Attorney General Eric Holder
championed that verdict as a
triumph for civil courts. Mustafa was
accused of providing material
support to terrorist organisations by
enabling hostage takers in the
Yemen kidnapping to speak on a
satellite phone, by sending men to
establish an al-Qaeda training
camp in Bly, Oregon, and by
sending at least one man to training
camps in Afghanistan)





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May 21-22, 2014

1) For the first time, administration
will be standstill in Andhra Pradesh
for about a week from 25 May to 1
June 2014, during which a Zero
Week would be observed in the
state. Why is this Zero Week being
observed? To facilitate the
formation of two states of Andhra
Pradesh (Seemandhra) and
Telangana on 2 June 2014 (There
would be no transactions of any
kind at the State secretariat and
there would be neither clearance of
bills nor any administrative
decisions across the State. The
salaries of the state-government
employees in both the regions
would be paid on 24 May itself. In
the secretariat, employees will be
shifting to their respective blocks
allotted for the two States. On 2
June 2, the two separate
administrations will swing into
action)

2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on 21 May 2014 eased gold import
norms which were imposed during
July 2013. This was done following
representations from jewellers,
bullion dealers, banks, and trade
bodies. Whats the main provision
announced under this? Select
trading houses, in addition to
already permitted banks, have been
allowed to import gold (The RBI in
July last year had imposed severe
restrictions on gold imports in order
to check the burgeoning current
account deficit and sliding rupee.
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been allowed to import gold under
20:80 gold import scheme)

3) Chief Minister of which North-
Eastern state of India is on the way
to become the longest serving Chief
Minister in the country? Pawan
Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister
of Sikkim (Chamling-led Sikkim
Democratic Front (SDF) won a
record mandate in the assembly
elections, results for which were
announced on 16 May 2014. SDF
won 22 out of total 32 assembly
seats in the state. Pawan Kumar
Chamling has been states Chief
Minister since 12 December 1994.
He has won his fifth consecutive
term and would surpass Jyoti
Basus record of 23 years as Chief
Minister of West Bengal if he
completes his term. He was
administered the oath of office on
21 May 2014 for his fifth term)

4) Who was sworn in as the new
Chief Minister of Bihar on 20 May
2014? Jitan Ram Manjhi (Manjhi
was chosen as the successor of
Nitish Kumar as he had resigned
from his post on 17 May 2014
owning moral responsibility of his
party Janata Dal (United)s debacle
in the Lok Sabha Elections. JD(U)
had won just 2 seats from a total of
40 seats in the state. The combine
led by BJP had won 32 seats)

5) Who was selected as the new
Chief Minister of Gujarat on 21 May
2014 as Prime Minister (designate)
Narendra Modi resigned as states
Chief Minister? Anandiben
Patel (Anandiben Patel is presently
Revenue Minister of Gujarat and
will replace Narendra Modi, who
takes over as Indias new Prime
Minister on 26 May. She would thus
become the first woman Chief
Minister of Gujarat. Anandiben was
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Mandal constituency in Ahmedabad
district in 1998)

6) In an important development
Russia and China on 21 May 2014
signed a 30-year gas deal in which
China would purchase natural gas
of Russia. What is the total
estimated value of this huge deal?
$400 billion (Under the deal
Russia Gazprom will supply 38
billion cubic metres of gas annually
to China National Petroleum Corp.
The deal was signed on the
occasion of Russian President
Vladimir Putins two-day state visit
to China)

7) The RBI on 21 May 2014
permitted banks to give exporters
long-term export advance up to a
maximum period of 10 years. This
would be subject to exporters with a
minimum of three years satisfactory
track record. Banks were currently
allowed to provide loans to
exporters for what duration of time?
One year

May 23, 2014

1) Indian womens badminton
team scripted history on 22 May
2014 by reaching the semifinals of
the Uber Cup tournament for the
first time. Indian team defeated
which country by 3-0 in the
quarterfinals to achieve this
milestone? Indonesia(Indian


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badminton ace Saina Nehwal led
Indias charge with a 21-17, 21-10
win over Lindaweni Fanetri. Before
that P V won a hard-fought 21-16,
10-21, 25-23 victory over Bellaetrix
Manuputty. Commonwealth Games
gold medallist pair of Jwala Gutta
and Ashwini Ponnappa then sealed
the tie in Indias favour with a 21-
18, 21-18 win over Polii Greysia
and Nitya Krishinda Maheswari in
the first doubles)

2) Who took over as the new Chief
Information Commissioner in the
Central Information Commission
(CIC) on 22 May 2014? Rajiv
Mathur (Rajiv Mathur is a former
chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
He succeeded Sushma Singh, who
retired on 21 May. Mathur, who was
administered the oath of office by
President Pranab Mukherjee at
Rashtrapati Bhavan, is the 6
th
chief
of CIC)

3) Which south-eastern Asian
country witnessed a military coup
with an objective of seizing power
on 22 May 2014? Thailand (Thai
military launched the coup in the
country and was formally
announced by General Prayuth
Chanocha, the head of the Thai
Army. The coup came after the
introduction of martial law a day
before on 21 May and follows the
long history of military coups in
Thailand. All cabinet ministers were
asked to report to a military base in
capital Bangkok. The last coup in
Thailand was in 2006 and had been
followed by more than a year of
military rule)

4) Anandiben Patel, who took over
as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat
on 21 May 2014, is
Chief Minister of the
state? 15
th
(She also became the
first woman Chief Minister of
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Narendra Modi resigned from CMs
post on 21 May)

5) Indias largest online retail
company Flipkart.com on 22 May
2014 announced acquisition of
which fashion e-retailer?
Myntra.com(Flipkart.com
announced acquisition of
Myntra.com in the largest deal in
countrys e-commerce space.
Thought the two Bangalore-based
companies did not disclose the
merger amount, estimates of
leading analysts suggest the cash-
and-stock deal to be worth more
than $330 million. This acquisition
is also being seen as an early
phase of consolidation in the Rs.
62,000-crore e-commerce market.
Flipkart.com was set up in 2007 by
two ex-Amazon employees as an
online book retailing site)
6) The 23
rd
World Economic Forum
on East Asia summit started on 22
May 2014 at Manila, the
Philippines (Hundreds of
government, business and
academic leaders gathered in the
Philippines on 22 May to discuss
East Asias economic prospects
amid tensions in the South China
Sea and political instability in some
countries in the region. The summit
was held for the first time in Manila)

7) Which restive region of China
was targeted with serial explosions
killing 31 people and injuring over
100 in a violent terrorist attack on
22 May 2014? Xinjiang (A busy
marketplace in Urumqi, the capital
of Chinas Muslim-majority Xinjiang
region, was targeted with a series
of explosions. Xinjiangs capital was
the site of ethnic riots in 2009 that
left at least 197 people killed and
more than a thousand injured as
ethnic Uighurs clashed with majority
Han Chinese. The attacks were
thought to be carried out by Uighur
Islamist groups)


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May 24, 2014

1) Indian Consulate situated in
which province of Afghanistan was
attacked on 23 May 2014 by heavily
armed gunmen who were later
killed in operation by security
forces? Herat (Four gunmen
armed with machine guns and
rocket-propelled grenades opened
fire on the consulate early in the
morning on 23 May. The retaliatory
operation was conducted by Afghan
security forces and the jawans of
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Later all four gunmen were killed
while no casualty was reported from
the Indian Consulate. Herat is
situated around 800 km west of
Afghan capital Kabul)

2) Which Lok Sabha constituency
recorded the highest voter turnout
in the General Elections 2014?
Dhubri, Assam (According to the
data released by the Election
Commission of India (ECI),
Assams Dhubri recorded the
highest voter turnout of 88.22% in
the elections. Dhubri was followed
by Nagaland (87.82%), Tamlik,
West Bengal (87.59%), Bishnupur,
West Bengal (86.72%) and
Lakshadweep (86.61%). The
average voter turnout of the country
was 66.4%)

3) Which Lok Sabha constituency
recorded the lowest voter turnout in


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the General Elections 2014?
Srinagar, J&K (Srinagars voter
turnout stood at just 25.86% while
states Anantnag (28.84%) and
Baramulla (39.13%) followed it.
Maharashtras Kalyan was at the
fourth place as far as lowest voting
percentage is concerned with
42.88% voting and was followed by
Bihars Patna Sahib constituency
with 45.33% voting)

4) Who was appointed as the Chief
Minister of Nagaland following the
resignation of Neiphiu Rio from the
post on 22 May 2014? T R
Zeliang (Zeliang is a senior leader
of the Naga Peoples Front (NPF)
and had staked claim to form the
new government consequent upon
the resignation of incumbent Chief
Minister Rio, who won the lone Lok
Sabha seat in Nagaland on an NPF
ticket with a margin of over 4 lakh
votes. Zeliang had been holding the
charge of Minister for Planning and
Coordination and other
departments in the Rio government.
Rio is expected to take a prominent
role in central politics)

5) Which team ended Chinas
decade-long Thomas Cup reign on
23 May 2014 by defeating it the
semi-finals and made its maiden
entry into final of this prestigious
tournament? Japan (Japan pulled
off a huge upset with a 3-0 victory
in the semi-final of the mens team
event being played at Delhis Siri
Fort Sports Complex. It will now
meet Malaysia in its maiden final.
Malaysia comprehensively defeated
Indonesia 3-0 to march into the
finals. Thomas Cup is the most
prestigious mens team badminton
championship)

6) Which teams on 23 May 2014
entered the finals of Uber Cup 2014
being played at Delhis Siri Fort
Indoor Stadium? China and


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Japan(Japan defeating India 3-2 in
a close tie to make its entry into the
finals. Thus India won the bronze
medal in Uber Cup for the first time.
China on the other hand defeated
South Korea by 3-0 to enter finals.
Uber Cup is the most prestigious
womens team badminton
championship)

7) Madhav Mantri, who passed
away on 23 May 2014 at the age of
92, was a doyen of which sports?
Cricket (Mantri represented India in
four test matches and played 95
first-class matches. He was a
wicket-keeper batsman. But more
than cricket he was known for his
incredible knowledge of Indian
cricket and was often called a
walking compendium on Indian
cricket. He was also a maternal
uncle of Indias batting maestro
Sunil Gavaskar)

May 25-26, 2014

1) What is the name of the 13-year
old Indian girl, who on 25 May 2014
created history by becoming the
youngest ever woman to scale the
Mount Everest? Malavath
Poorna(She successfully scaled
worlds highest peak at 6 am on 25
May. Poorna, a dalit girl coming
from Telanganas Nizamabad
district was accompanied by 16-
year old Sadhanapalli Anand
Kumar, a Class IX student from the
Khammam district of Andhra
Pradesh. What makes their feat


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extra significant is that both come
from rural and economically
backward families, and are students
of state-run educational institutions
in what will soon be the state of
Telangana)

2) The iconic Ambassador car of
India is almost on its way to
become history as its owner
company the C.K. Birla Group-
promoted Hindustan Motors (HM)
on 24 May 2014 suspended work at
its oldest factory near Kolkota.
Where is this famous factory
situated? Uttarpara (The work was
suspended due to almost negligible
demand for Ambassador car, which
was once the lifeline of whole India.
Around 2,500 workers working in
the Uttarpara plant are facing the
risk of losing their jobs.
Ambassador was the first car to be
completely made in India some 6
decades back)

3) The name of a famous mango
cultivator from the famed mango
belt of Malihabad (Uttar Pradesh)
came to limelight after he
developed a new variety of mango
and named it Namo aam after
Prime Minister-designate Narendra
Modi. What is the name of this
veteran mango cultivator, who is
also popularly known as the
Mango King? Kalimullah
Khan (Kalimullah Khan named a
new hybrid variety of name after
Narendra Modi on 23 May 2014. He
had earlier earned global
acknowledgement by developing
300 different variants of the fruit on
one tree. He has also been
awarded the Padma Shree, Indias
fourth highest civilian honour)

4) Which country won the 2014
edition of badmintons Thomas Cup
on 25 May 2014? Japan (Japan
defeated Malaysia 3-2 in the finals
of the championship played at


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Delhi. Japan had earlier done a
sensational 3-0 rout of five-
time defending champions China on
23 May to enter the finals. This was
Japans maiden Thomas Cup title.
Malaysia, who won the last of their
five Thomas Cup titles in 1992,
had also lost in the final in 1994,
1998 and 2002. Thomas Cup is the
premier title for mens team
badminton)

5) Badmintons Uber Cup 2014 was
won by which country on 25 May
2014? China (China successfully
defended its title by scoring an
emphatic 3-1 win over Japan. It was
Chinas 13
th
Uber Cup title, the most
by any team. Uber Cup is often
known as the World team
championship for womens
badminton)

6) Who won the Monaco Formula 1
Grand Prix title for 2014 on 25 May
2014? Nico Rosberg (Germany)
for his Mercedes team (His
teammate Lewis Hamilton (UK) was
second and third place in the
winning podium was taken by
Australias Daniel Ricciardo for Red
Bull team. Force Indias Nico
Hulkenberg (Germany) claimed the
fifth place to get 10 points. With this
win Rosberg again took the lead
over Hamilton in the 2014 F1
season, which has been completely
dominated by Mercedes team)

7) Which team won the 2013-14
UEFA Champions League title on
24 May 2014? Real
Madrid (Spains premier football
club defeated Atletico Madrid by 4-1
to win its 10
th
UEFA Champions
League title, which is a record by
any team. This win also ended Real
Madrids driest Champions League
spell having last won the title in
2001-02)


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May 27, 2014

1) Narendra Damodardas Modi took
oath as 15
th
Prime Minister of India
on 26 May 2014. The swearing-in
ceremony was held in the forecourt
of the Rashtrapati Bhawan and
President Pranab Mukherjee
administered the oath of office and
secrecy to Modi and his council of
ministers. How many cabinet
ministers took oath along with
Narendra Modi? Twenty three (23
cabinet ministers, 10 Ministers of
State (MoS) with independent
charge and 12 MoS took oath. With
this Narendra Modis council of
ministers presently comprises of 45
ministers)
2) Arun Jaitley has been given
charge of the Finance Ministry. He
has been also given additional
charge of which important ministry?
Defence Ministry

3) Ravi Shankar Prasad was given
charge of the Law and Justice
Ministry. Which other charge was
also given to him? Telecom
Ministry

4) Who is the youngest Cabinet
Minister in Narendra Modis
cabinet? Smriti Zubin Irani, who is
38 years old and was given the
important charge of Ministry of
Human Resources Development
(HRD)

5) Who is the oldest Cabinet
Minister in Narendra Modis


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cabinet? Dr. Najma A. Heptullah,
who is 74 years old and was given
the charge of the Ministry of
Minority Affairs

6) How many women ministers
were inducted in Narendra Modis
council of Ministers?
Seven (Sushma Swaraj, Uma
Bharati, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi,
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Smriti Zubin
Irani, Dr. Najma A. Heptullah and
Nirmala Sitaramam. Of these
Nirmala Sitaramam was inducted
as Minister of State with
independent charge while other six
were inducted as cabinet ministers)

7) What is the average age of
Narendra Modis council of
ministers (including him)? 60
years

8) Which is the only Muslim to be
inducted into Narendra Modis
council of ministers? Dr. Najma A.
Heptullah (She is a Rajya Sabha
member of the BJP)

9) Which is the only Buddhist to be
inducted into Narendra Modis
council of ministers? Kiren
Rijuju (He has been elected as a
Member of Parliament in 16
th
Lok
Sabha from Arunachal West
constituency of Arunachal Pradesh
on BJP ticket)

10) Following are the portfolios all
23 Cabinet Ministers
- Rajnath Singh Home Minster
- Sushma Swaraj External Affairs
& Overseas Indian Affairs
- Arun Jaitley Finance Corporate
Affairs & Defence
- M. Venkaiah Naidu Urban
Development Housing and Urban
Poverty Alleviation & Parliamentary
Affairs


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- Nitin Jairam Gadkari Road
Transport and Highways Shipping
- D.V. Sadananda Gowda
Railways
- Uma Bharati Water Resources,
River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation
- Dr. Najma A. Heptullah Minority
Affairs
- Gopinathrao Munde Rural
Development, Panchayati Raj &
Drinking Water and Sanitation
- Ramvilas Paswan Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
- Kalraj Mishra Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises
- Maneka Gandhi Women and
Child Development
- Ananthkumar Chemicals and
Fertilizers
- Ravi Shankar Prasad
Communications and Information
Technology & Law and Justice
- Ashok Gajapathi Raju Civil
Aviation
- Anant Geete Heavy Industries
and Public Enterprises
- Harsimrat Kaur Badal Food
Processing Industries
- Narendra Singh Tomar Mines &
Steel Labour and Employment
- Jual Oram Tribal Affairs
- Radha Mohan Singh Agriculture
- Thaawar Chand Gehlot Social
Justice and Empowerment
- Smriti Zubin Irani Human
Resource Development
- Dr. Harsh Vardhan Health and
Family Welfare




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May 28, 2014

1) In its first major decision the
newly inducted Narendra Modi
government on 27 May 2014
approved the constitution of Special
Investigating Team (SIT) to
investigate large amounts of money
stashed abroad by evading taxes or
generated through unlawful
activities. This SIT was formed to
implement the earlier decision of
the Supreme Court of India. Who
has been appointed as the
chairman of this SIT? Justice M.B.
Shah, former Judge of the Supreme
Court (Justice Arijit Pasayat, former
Judge of the Supreme Court was
appointed as the Vice-Chairman of
the SIT. There are 11 other
members in the SIT. SIT will
prepare a comprehensive action
plan including creation of necessary
institutional structure that could
enable the country to fight the battle
against unaccounted money)

2) Which PSU company accorded
with the Navratna status suffered
losses for the third year in a row
and its Navratna status is in the
danger of being taken back?
Shipping Corporation of India
SCI(SCI is the countrys largest
shipping company.
The Navratna status, which
provides the company more
autonomy in capital expenditure,
investments, formation of joint
ventures and other corporate
decisions, was conferred on SCI in
2008. Hit by the bearish freight
market, SCI reported a loss of Rs.
274.66 crore for the year ended


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March 31, 2014. This is against the
loss of Rs. 114 crore in 2012-13
and Rs. 428 crore reported the
previous year. According to
the Navratna norms, the company
has to report profits for continuous
three years to be eligible for the
covetous status)

3) U.S. President Barack Obama on
27 May 2014 announced plans for
greatly reducing U.S. forces in
Afghanistan by the end of the year.
He also reiterated his commitment
about U.S. militarys complete pull-
out by the end of which year?
2016 (Obamas blueprint calls for
cutting the current U.S. force of
32,000 to 9,800 by the start of next
year and complete pull-out by 2016)

4) RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi
recently said that the bank is
proposing to permit opening of
small bank accounts by merely
filling up a form without any
document for address or identity
proof. This is being proposed in a
bid to increase access to banking
services. However, these proposed
small accounts would come with
some limitations. What are these
limitations?
These accounts will have limitations
on credit/debit balances
Will be available only at core
banking solution-enabled branches
No foreign remittances will be
permitted
Will be available only for 12 months
further extension on application
for officially valid document
The aggregate of all credits in a
financial year cannot exceed Rs. 1
lakh

5) What is the name of the the CEO
of Amway India who was arrested
on 27 May 2014 on the charge of
cheating and other financial fraud?
William Scott Pinckney (In his


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capacity, as the CEO of Amway
India, Pinckney, figured as the
second accused in a case that was
registered at Two Town Police
Station in Kurnool city (AP) in 2013
in response to a complaint by an
advocate Jagannatha Reddy.
Amway India however protested
against his arrest)

May 29-30, 2014

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 Ambanis
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


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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 Egypts
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


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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 banks
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 CEOs post, Srinivas exit has
raised eyebrows and increased
speculation over whether the
nominations committee had chosen
to overlook his candidature)



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May 31, 2014

1) The NDA-led Union Govt. on 30
May 2014 cleared the Department
of Industrial Policy and Promotions
(DIPP) draft seeking to hike foreign
direct investment (FDI) in the
Defence sector up to 100%. This
draft was released by the
Commerce Ministry and is aimed at
minimising defence imports in the
country and encouraging local
manufacturing. What is the
maximum FDI limit in the defence
sector presently? 26% (Last year
alone, India imported nearly $1.9
billion of military equipment from
the United States, making it the
biggest foreign buyer of US
weapons)

2) Who was appointed as the new
National Security Adviser to the
Prime Minister by the Union Govt.
on 30 May 2014? Ajit Kumar
Doval (Ajit Doval is a former chief of
the Intelligence Bureau (IB) during
the earlier NDA regime of Atal
Bihari Vajpayee. Doval replaces
Shivshankar Menon)

3) Curtains may be down on the UP
Stock Exchange (UPSE), Uttar
Pradeshs only trading platform, as
the deadline issued by the
Securities and Exchange Board of
India (SEBI) expired on 30 May
2014. The SEBI had fixed
conditions for UPSE according to
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exchange would have to be around


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Rs. 1,000 crore and its net-worth
should be at-least Rs. 100 crore. In
which city is the UPSE situated?
Kanpur (Kanpur-based UPSE
failed to meet any of the two
conditions prescribed by the SEBI)

4) Who resigned from the post of
President of Gujarat Cricket
Association on 29 May 2014?
Narendra Modi (Modi was first
elected unopposed as the head of
GCA in September 2009, when a
16-year Congress dominance at the
body ended. He had then replaced
Narhari Amin, who had remained at
the helm of GCA since 1993. Amin
is a member of the BJP now)

5) The logo for the upcoming
Government of Telangana was
released recently. The new state of
Telangana would come into
existence on 2 June 2014. Who
designed this logo which features
Charminar and decorated Gateway
from the Kakatiya dynasty?
Laxman Aelay(Aelay is a native
designer from Telangana region
and he has tried to capture the
essence of India, Telangana culture
and Hyderabadi tehzeeb with local
ethos in pleasing colours in the
logo)

6) Names of two Indian-American
school boys Ansun Sujoe and
Sriram Hathwar came to limelight
on 30 May 2014 in the U.S.
because They jointly won the
National Spelling Bee for 2014 and
thus became the first joint-winners
of this coveted trophy since
1962 (Ansun and Sriram scripted
history by becoming co-champions
of the famed Scripps National
Spelling Bee after a tense final to
end the duel in a tie for the first time
in 52 years. Scripps National
Spelling Bee is the most famous


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spelling competition for school students of the US)
















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