Daily Current Affairs Updates: 30 March 2014

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 30 March 2014

1) Hamilton wins Malaysian Grand Prix: Briton's Lewis Hamilton won the Malaysian Grand Prix with a pole-to-flag victory ahead of Nico Rosberg on Sunday in a first Mercedes one-two since they returned to Formula One as a works team in 2010. The 2008 Formula One world champion easily pulled away from his rivals on a dry track with a three-stop strategy to win the race by 17.3 seconds, his 23rd career victory and first in Malaysia at the eighth attempt.

2) Nepal to host 18th SAARC Summit on Nov 14: Nepal will hold the 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu on November 14, the third time the country is hosting the event since the establishment of eight-member regional grouping in 1985. A cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala decided to hold the summit on November 14 and directed authorities to make necessary preparations for the successful summit, according to cabinet sources. The date is subject to approval by SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) member states that include India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Nepal had last hosted the 11th SAARC Summit in January 2002 and 3rd Summit in November 1987. The 17th SAARC summit was held in Maldives in 2011.

3) India beat Australia by 73 runs in World Twenty20: India defeated Australia by 73 runs in their final Group-II match of the ICC World Twenty-20 at Dhaka on Sunday. Put in to bat, the Men in Blue posted a formidable 159 for 7 in the alloted 20 overs.Yuvraj Singh bucked bad form, as he scored a brilliant 43-ball 60 to take India past the 150-mark. Yuvraj's innings comprised 5 fours and 4 sixes.

4) Tibetan Communist leader ‘Phunwang’ dead: Phuntso Wangye, also known as ‘Phunwang’, a once influential former Tibetan Communist leader who later emerged as an unlikely — and outspoken — critic of Chinese rule in Tibet from within the establishment, died on Sunday. He was 92.

5) Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to win fourth Miami Masterscrown: Six-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic claimed his fourthMiami Masters crown with a dominating straight sets win over world number one Rafael Nadal on Sunday. Second seed Djokovic cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 win in the men's final of the combined ATP and WTA Tour hardcourt tournament.

6) Rajapaksa-led coalition retains key provinces: The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, retained the country’s Western and Southern provinces after the provincial council elections held on Saturday. In the Western Province — covering Colombo, Gampaha and Kaluthara districts — the UPFA secured 53.35 per cent of the votes, cornering 56 seats, including two bonus seats that the party securing highest share of votes gets as per Sri Lanka’s Proportional representation system.

NOBEL PRIZE IMPORTANT POINTS FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS

• Nobel Prize first given in 1901.
• Founder of Nobel prize was Alfred Nobel
• This award given in 6 Categories:- Physics, Chemistry, Medicine or Physiology, Literature, Peace and Economics. Each prize was worth of 8 million SEK ( US$ 1.2 million ).
• This award given on 10 December as Alfred Nobel died on this date.
• Nobel Prize for Physics and Chemistry given by The Royal Swedish Academy of Science.
• For Literature given by Swedish academy of Literature.
• For Economics by Bank of Sweden.
• For Peace by The committee of the Norwegian Parliament.
• For Medicine or Physiology by the Nobel assembly at Karolinska institutes.
• First Indian to receive Nobel was Rabinder nath tagore in 1913 for “Geetanjali” in Literature. So, India receive first Nobel award inLiterature and also first Asian to have this award.
• First Indian woman receive Nobel was Mother Teresa in 1979 in the field of Peace.
• Professor Abdul Kalam was only Muslim that get Nobel award.
• Amartya sen gets Nobel in 1998 in the field of Economics. 

General Knowledge for Postal / Sorting Assistant Exam

1.	The world smallest country is
	A. Canada B. Russia C. Maldives D. Vatican City

2.	The first Indian Satellite was
	A. Columbia B. Bhaskara C. Aryabhatta D. Rohinh

3.	The brighest planet is
	A. Mars B. Mercury C. Neptune D. Venus

4.	Satellite launching station is
	A. Pune B. Trombay C. Sriharikota D. Thumba

5.	The planet nearest to the Sun is
	A. Venus B. Mercury C. Jupiter D. Saturn

6.	D.D.T. was invented by
	A. Mosley B. Rudeolf C. Karl Benz D. Dalton

7.	Which is considered as the biggest port of India?
	A. Kolkata B. Cochin C. Chennai D. Mumbai

8.	The gas used for making vegetables is
	A. Oxygen B. Carbon dioxide C. Hydrogen D. Nitrogen

9.	The chief ore of Aluminium is
	A. Iron B. Cryolite C. Bauxite D. Haematite

10.	Sharavati projects is in
	A. Orissa B. Kerala C. Andhra Pradesh D. Karnataka

HEAD OF IMPORTANT OFFICES (TILL MARCH 2014) FOR EXAM

Dr. manmohan singh : Chairman, planning commission

Ms. Meira kumar : speaker, lok sabha

Mohammed hamid ansari : chairman, rajya sabha

Mr. P.J. Kurien : Deputy chairman, rajya sabha

Mr. karia munda : deputy speaker, lok sabha

Ms. Sushma swaraj : leader of opposition (lok Sabha)

Mr. Arun jaitley : leader of opposition (rajya sabha)

Dr. montek singh ahluwalia : Deputy chairman, planning commission

Dr. raghuram rajan : Governor, RBI

Mr. V.S. Sampath : Chief election commissioner

Mr. harishankar brahma : election commissioner

Syed nasim ahmad zaidi : election commissioner

Mr. shashi kant Sharma : comptroller and auditor-general of india

Mr. justice K.G. balakrishnan : chairperson, national human rights commission

Mr. justice vangala eswaraiah : chairman, national commission for backward classes

Prof. D.P. Agarwal : chairman, UPSC

Mr. S.C. sinha : Director-General, national investigation agency (NIA)

Syed Asif Ibrahim : Director, IB

Mr. Ranjit sinha : Director, CBI

Mr.  Alok Joshi : Director, (RAW research and analysis wing)

Mr. J.N. Choudhury : director-general, NSG

Mr. Dilip Trivedi : Director-general, CRPF

Mr. Subhash Joshi : Director-general, BSF

Mr. Arvind Ranjan : Director-general, CISF

Mr. P.K. Mehta : director-general, railway protection force (RPF)

Mr. Ajay Chaddha : Director-general, ITBP

Mr. Arun Chaudhary : Director-general, SSB

Prof. Ved Prakash : Chairman, UGC

Dr. Avinash Chander : Director-general, DRDO

Dr. K. Radhakrishnan : Chairman, space commission and ISRO

Dr. Ratan Kumar sinha : Chairman, Atomic Energy commission

Mr. Wajahat Habibullah : Chairperson, national commission for 

minorities

Mr. Amitava Bahattacharya : Chairman, SSC

Mr. C. chandramouli : Registrar-General and Census commissioner of India

Mr. Justice D.K. Jain : Chairman, Law Commission

Mr. Shailesh Gupta : Chariman, Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC)

Ms. Poonam Kishor Saxena : Chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

Ms. Mamta Sharma : Chairperson, national commission for woman

Dr. Y.V. Reddy : Chairman, 14^th Finance commission 

Latest Current Affairs: March 2014 for PA / SA Exam

Q1. World Water Day was observed on 22 March 2014 with the theme?

Ans. Water and Energy

Note: World Water Day is observed to preserve and ration consumption of water.

Q2. Who was selected for the 23rd G D Birla Award for scientific research for the year 2013?

Ans. Rajesh Gopakumar

Note: Gopakumar has been awarded for his important contributions on topics in Quantum Field Theory and String Theory. At present he is working as a theoretical physicist at Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad.

Q3. Name the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India who resigned on 20 March 2014, three months ahead of the completion of his term?

Ans. Dr KC Chakrabarty

Q4. Name the Malaysia Airlines flight which disappeared in the South China Sea on 8 March 2014?

Ans. MH370

Q5. Name the renowned author and journalist who died on 20 March 2014 at the age of 99 at his home in Sujan Singh Park in Delhi?

Ans. Khushwant Singh

Q6. Which team won the Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy 2013-14 by defeating Railways by four wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 16 March 2014?

Ans. Karnataka

Q7. Which country is the world’s largest arms importer as per report published by as Swedish Think Tank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on 17 March 2014?Visit:www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. India

Q8. Government of India divested its 9 percent stake in which private bank on on 21 March 2014?

Ans. Axis Bank

Note: The divestment resulted into generation of 5500 crore rupees.

Q9. Which day was was observed across the world on 21 March 2014 to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities?

Ans. World Poetry Day

Q10. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued notice to banks on 19 March 2014 to take measures to counter the threat expected to arise from discontinuation of Windows XP. From which date Windows will withdraw support for XP?

Ans. 8 April 2014

Q11. e-Commerce firm & online travel company ibiboGroup on 20 March 2014 announced to acquire Bangalore-based which startup to strengthen the offers in the bus travel space?

Ans. YourBus.in

Q12. Name the scheme extended recently by RBI to import gold to five private banks?

Ans. 80:20 scheme

Note: The five banks which have been allowed to import gold under the 80:20 scheme are HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank.

Q13. What was India's rank in a Microsoft report in the list of the countries sending out spam e-mails released by Microsoft on 28 February 2014?

Ans. Fourth

Q14. Name the World largest TV which was unveiled for the first time at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, US on 21 March 2014?

Ans. Big Hoss

Note: Big Hoss was recorded as world largest TV in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Q15. Name the Indian journalist who won digital activism award on 20 March 2014 for regional news service?Visit:www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Shubranshu Choudhary

Q16. Union health ministry on 19 March 2014 revoked the ban on which painkiller and anti-pyretic drug?

Ans. Analgin

Q17. Which day was observed on 20 March 2014 to create awareness about the House Sparrow?

Ans. World Sparrow Day

Q18. Who won in Women’s doubles final of the BNP Paribas Open by defeating Sania Mirza and Cara Black from Zimbabwe 7-6(5), 6-2 recently?

Ans. Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Peng Shuai

Q19. International Day of Forests was observed across the world on 21 March 2014 with the theme?

Ans. Celebrating Forests for Sustainable Development.

Q20. India has nominated which sites for UNESCO’s World Heritage Site Status for 2014?

Ans. Rani-ki-Vav located in Patan, Gujarat and the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Himachal Pradesh

Q21. Who has been selected for the 17th Gollapudi Srinivas National Award 2013 for his debut film as a director, The Good Road in Gujarati?

Ans. Gyan Correa

Q22. Who was unanimously elected as the first women President of Indian Journalists’ Association (IJA) in London?

Ans. Aditi Khanna

Q23. Name the former Brazilian international footballer who died on 21 March 2014?

Ans. Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini

Q24. Which country announced to lift state of emergency on 18 March 2014?

Ans. Thailand

Daily Current Affairs: 29 March 2014

1) Earth Hour 2014 observed: Millions across the world to turned off lights:People across the globe observed Earth Hour 2014 on Saturday after turning-off non-essential lights in their communities, households and businesses and joined millions others across the world. Earth Hour is organized by the World Wildlife Fund each year since 2007 and requests people to conserve energy and trim down its wastage. Since the first time the event has spread across 7,001 cities and towns in 152 countries. It was observed from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.

2) Jaswant Singh expelled from BJP for six years: The BJP on Saturday announced the expulsion of senior leader Jaswant Singh and Subhash Mahariya for six years. The decision comes in the wake of Mr. Singh’s decision to contest as an Independent from Barmer and Mr. Mahariya’s announcement to do the same from Sikar in Rajasthan. This is the secondtime the party has taken such action Mr. Singh. He was earlier expelled in 2009 for praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founding father.

3) Anurag Kumar is IISc. new director: The council of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) on Saturday selected, as its 20th director, Anurag Kumar, who is now the Chairman of the Electrical Sciences Division at the institute. IISc.’s present director, P. Balaram, retires on July 31 after an eight-year tenure.

4) Imran Masood arrested for hate speech: Congress Lok Sabha candidate Imran Masood was on Saturday arrested for his hate speech in which he allegedly threatened to “chop” Narendra Modi “into pieces”, remarks that had sparked an outrage.

  

5) Saudi King appointed half-brother Moqren as next heir to throne:Abdullah, the king of Saudi Arabia on 27 March 2014 appointed his half-brother Moqren (69) as the next heir to the throne. This step has paved a way for Moqren to become a future king of the world’s largest exporter of crude oil.

6) Heena Sidhu wins silver in ISSF World Cup: World number two air pistol shooter Heena Sidhu continued her impressive form as she clinched a silver medal at the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA, the feat taking her closer to the numero uno spot in her event. She now has the maximum medals in a World Cup by any Indian pistol shooter.

7) World Cup T20- South Africa enters semifinal: South Africa sailed into the World Twenty20 semifinals with a three-run victory over former champion England in their super-10 group-1 match in Chittagong on Saturday. England slumped out of contention for a place in the last four after falling short of a 197-run target in the face of some impressive bowling by Wayne Parnell (three for 31) and leg-spinner Imran Tahir (two for 27).

8) President re-promulgates SEBI Ordinance: President Pranab Mukherjee, on Saturday, cleared the re-promulgation of the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) Ordinance that had lapsed on January 15, since Parliament could not pass the Securities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013, in the winter session. The Ordinance empowers the SEBI Chairman to order searches and seizures and crack downs on Ponzi schemes. TheSecurities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013, seeks to empower SEBI to regulate all money pooling scheme worth Rs.100 crore or more, and also attach assets in cases of non-compliance.

9) Anand wins Candidates, sets up World Championship rematch with Carlsen:  Five-times world champion Viswanathan Anand proved all his critics wrong and won the Candidates Chess tournament after settling for a draw with Sergey Karjakin of Russia in the 13th and penultimate round. The tournament victory gives Anand winner`s cheque of 135000 Euros (a little over Rs 1 crore) and the right to a match against Magnus Carlsen of Norway who dethroned the Indian champion at Chennai in November last. This rematch will take place sometime in the last quarter of this year.

Previous year question paper - Postal/Sorting Assistant Exam GK with answer

1. Government of India has recently granted "Maharatna Status to two more Navratna Public Sector enterprises. Which are the these new companies joining the club of Maharatna public sector undertakings. (A) Steel authority of India Limited and National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (B) Bharat heavy Electrical Ltd and Gas authority of India Limited (C) Indian Oil Corporation and Coal India Limited (D) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Oil and Natural gas corporation  Ans: B

2. India's newly built and tested missile 'Astra' is meant for (A) Surface to surface strike (B) Air to Air Strike (C) Surface to Air Strike (D) Air to surface Strike Ans: B

3. The Governor General who adopted a policy of Europeanization of Bureaucracy and an exclusion of Indian from higher posts (A) Warren Hastings (B) Wellesley (C) Cornwallis (D) Dalhousie Ans: C

4. During which movement Bal Gangadhar Tilak was given the epithet Lokmanya and Gandhiji give the slogan 'swaraj in a year' respectively: (A) Home rule Movement and Non Cooperation Movement (B) Swadeshi Movement and Dandi March (C) Quit India Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement (D) Khilafat Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement Ans: A

5. Recently Dargah Muinuddin Chisti at Ajmer was in news due to visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Dargah Muinudding Chisti at Ajmer was built by: (A) Qutubuddin Aibak (B) Alauddin Khilji(C) IItutmish (D) Khijra Khan Ans: B

6. Bauxite is an ore of: (A) Zinc (B) Aluminum (C) Lead (D) Copper Ans: B 7. Which one of the following is the land area in the extreme south of India? (A) Indira Point (B) Rameshwaram (C) Cape Comorin (D) Puducherry Ans: A

8. The ozone layer lies in the: (A) Troposphere (B) Tropopause (C) Stratosphere (D) None of these Ans: C

9. In Union Budget 2013-14, "Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme" was launched by Government of India. This scheme is related to: (A) Service Tax (B) Commodity Transaction Tax (C) Income Tax (D) Securities Transaction Tax Ans: A

10. Economic Survey 2012-13 states that Non Performing Assets of increased from 2.36% to 3.57% in September, 2012. The description of Non performing Assets was with reference to which sector. (A) Telecom Sector(B) Human Resource Sector (C) Oil and Gas Sector (D) Banking Sector Ans: D

11. This is the rate at which Reserve Bank of India borrows money from commercial banks: (A) Reverse Repo rate (B) Statutory Liquidity ratio (C) Repo rate (D) Cash reserve ratio Ans: A

12. As per election commission of India, how many recognized national political parties are there in India? (A) 6 (B) 2 (C) 7 (D) None of these Ans: A

13. The present deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha is elected member of Parliament from which State of India? (A) Andhra Pradesh (B) Tamilnadu (C) Kerala (D) Karnataka Ans: C

14. The constitution of India was adopted on: (A) 26th January, 1950 (B) 15th August, 1947 (C) 26th November, 1949 (D) 26th January, 1951 Ans: C

15. The Present strength of Rajya Sabha members is ..... out of which..... are representatives of states and union territories of Delhi and Pondicherry and .... are nominated by president:(A) 250, 238, 12 (B) 247, 235, 12 (C) 245, 233, 12 (D) 248, 236, 12 Ans: C

16. Which of the following glands produces insulin in human body? (A) Pancreas (B) Spleen (C) Liver (D) Pituitary Ans: A

17. Which of the following is food poisoning organism (A) Clostridium botulinum (B) Streptomyces fecalis (C) Lacto bacillus (D) None of these Ans: A

18. Development of goiter (Enlarged thyroid gland) is mainly due to deficiency of: (A) Sodium (B) Calcium (C) Iodine (D) Iron Ans: C

19. The emission of which causes global warming? (A) Carbon dioxide (B) Carbon monoxide (C) Nitrogen (D) Hydrocarbon Ans: A

20. Who was adjudged player of the tournament by scoring most number of runs in the tournament in women's world cup cricket held recently:(A) Jess Cameron (B) Megan Schutt (C) Anya Shrubsole (D) Suzie Bates Ans: D

21. Who won the inaugural Hockey India League ended in Ranchi recently: (A) Ranchi Rhinos (B) Uttar Pradesh Wizards (C) Delhi Wave Riders (D) Mumbai magicians Ans: A

22. FIFA-2014 world cup is proposed to be held in: (A) Quatar (B) Brazil (C) Spain (D) Russia Ans: B

23. Wanchoo committee Dealt with: (A) Direct Taxes (B) Right to Information Reforms (C) Agriculture Prices (D) Parliamentary Reforms Ans: A

24. Kyoto Protocol is: (A) An international agreement for extradition of foreign enemy (B) An international agreement describing formula for conversion of foreign exchange (C) An international agreement to reduce green house gases (D) An international agreement to deal with International Terrorists organization Ans: C

25. India successfully completed its 101th space mission by launching Indo - Frenchsatellite SARAL recently. This satellite is for: (A) Preparation of a detailed and complete map of Antarctica (B) Study the climate on Mars (C) Oceanographic study (D) None of these is true Ans: C