WBCS Current Affairs 30/09/2014 to 16/10/2014

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1.The second India-Canada Strategic Dialogue was held in New Delhi on October 14. The dialogue was co-chaired by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. Baird who is on a five day visit, also met PM Modi and discussed various bilateral matters.
PM Modi is set to meet the Canadian PM Harper in Australia, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.
Strategic Dialogue
At the meeting, the two sides discussed a variety of bilateral issues including but not limited to defence, energy, nuclear cooperation, counter-terrorism, global and regional security. The two countries are also working towards early conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA).
The Strategic Dialogue between the two countries was first conceived in 2012 during the Canadian PM Harper’s visit to India. The first strategic dialogue was held in 2013 in Toronto
Nuclear Cooperation
As an outcome of the Strategic Dialogue, India and Canada are negotiating commercial contracts for the supply of uranium to Indian nuclear reactors. Also the two countries plan to cooperate in order to jointly build nuclear reactors with a higher capacity. Also, the two countries will jointly host a nuclear security workshop in India with around 15 countries. This is the first of its kind meeting that India would organize with another country
Skill Development
India will collaborate with Canada to improve its knowledge base in the arena of skill development. This cooperation would mostly be in the hydrocarbon and water management sectors.
Cooperation in oil and gas industry
The two countries agreed to cooperate in the fields of oil and gas. The investment opportunities in British Columbia, especially in natural gas, was highlighted by the Canadian side.
Delegations
During the visit, different Canadian delegations will target different areas of co-operation with India. Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast will lead a six day and three city trade mission to Mumbai, Delhi and Chandigarh to boost Indo-Canada trade and investment partnerships. The Canadian delegation is expected to be accompanied by representatives of 14 Canadian organizations, including small and medium sized enterprises, which are looking for opportunities to export to India.
Canadian Parliamentary Secretary Deepak Obhrai will lead a delegation of representatives of six Canadian organizations to Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mumbai to strengthen bilateral relations in regional security, education and trade.
Bilateral Trade
India is a priority market for Canada under its Global Markets Action Plan. Since 2010, Canada’s bilateral trade with India has increased 38% to $5.8 bn.

2.Pakistan has launched a project to build houses in Mannar in Sri Lanka. A cheque of $ 1 mn has been handed over to Sri Lanka by the Pakistan side to carry out the project.

3.The World Standards Day was celebrated in most countries across the globe on 14 October. World Standards Day is celebrated annually on 14th of October to mark the development of voluntary engineering and scientific standards.On October 14, 1946, representatives from 25 countries gathered in London for the first time with the aim of creating an international organization solely focused on facilitating standardization. The ISO was formed a year later in 1947. The first World Standards Day was celebrated on 14 October, 1970.

4.According to provisional estimates for the month of September 2014, WPI (Wholesale Price Index) based inflation has fallen to 2.38% which is a five year low. This is mainly attributed to the decline in food and fuel prices. Also, the decline was far greater than the 3.2% that was forecast by analysts.
Breakdown of Inflation for the month of September
Food inflation has fallen to nearly two and a half year low of 3.52%. Inflation in vegetables has fallen to 14.98%. Inflation in milk, eggs, meat and fish and showed a market decline. The food basket has been on a declining trend since May itself. However, in September, the prices of fruits and potatoes rose. Inflation in manufactured products fell to 2.84%. Overall WPI inflation has been declining for the fourth straight month. Inflation in fuel and power declined to 1.33%
Comparison with inflation of previous months and years
The 2.38% inflation rate is the lowest since 1.78% in October 2009. Wholesale price inflation stood at 3.74% in August and 7.05% in September 2013. Inflation in manufactured products and fuel and power segment stood at 3.54% and 4.54% in August 2014.
Change in rate by RBI
The RBI has maintained its key interest rate at the earlier level due to inflationary pressures. It is unclear whether this record low WPI inflation level will elicit a change in interest rate. The RBI primarily factors in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) rates while determining policy rates and even that saw a marked decline to 6.46% in September. Experts say that RBI’s CPI based inflation target of 6% to be achieved by January 2016, looks like it is possible if the current trend of declining inflation continues. RBI’s next bi-monthly monetary policy announcement is expected on the 2nd of December.

5.Global Handwashing Day (GHD) is celebrated on the 15th of October every year to motivate and mobilize people around the world to wash their hands with soap. The campaign is dedicated to propagating the benefit of washing hands with soap as a means of disease prevention.

6.The Man Booker Prize 2014 for fiction was awarded to Australian author Richard Flanagan, for his novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Flanagan’s book centers around the themes of love and war. It is set in the background of World War II, in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Flanagan worked on the novel for 12 years, and wrote five different versions before settling on the final one. The book is inspired by the personal experiences of Flanagan’s father, who was a prisoner-of-war.
Richard Flanagan
Flanagan was born in Tasmania in July 1961. He is the third Australian to win the Man Booker Prize. Flanagan’s previous novels, Death of a River Guide, The Sound of One Hand Clapping, Gould’s Book of Fish, The Unknown Terrorist and Wanting have been published in 26 countries.
Flanagan also directed a movie title The Sound Of One Hand Clapping in 1998.
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize is a literary award given to the best original novel in English, that has been published in the UK. It is presented by the Man Group, which is a British alternative investment management business. The Booker Prize was first awarded in 1969. It is generally presented in Guildhall, London. The award is open to all authors of English books, regardless of their nationalities.

7.The UK House of Commons passed a motion, voting overwhelmingly in favour of recognizing Palestine as a State. Significantly, this motion is not binding on the UK government even though the House voted 274-12 in favour of granting recognition. Therefore, the vote, though highly symbolic, is not expected to bring about any real change in the policy of the British government with respect to Palestine.

8.Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Radhakrishnan on 16 October 2014 announced that the Indian space agency will launch GSLV Mark-III within next 45 days. This launch of ISRO is one of the most awaited launches of 2014.
GSLV Mark-III will facilitate launch of four-tonne class of communication satellites to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. This launch of communication satellites will benefit all sections of the society, including remote and far-flung areas of the country.
The announcement was made by Radhakrishnan from the Mission Control Room in Sriharikota after the successful launch of IRNSS 1C.
Apart from this, another communication satellite GSAT 16 with 48 transponders will be launched on board Ariane 5 from the French Guyana in December 2014. ISRO would launch the next in the IRNSS series IRNSS 1D in December 2014.
GSLV-III or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III
The GSLV-III or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III is a launch vehicle being developed by the Indian Space Research Organization. GSLV Mk III is conceived and designed to make ISRO fully self reliant in launching heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class, weighing 4500 to 5000 kilograms. It would also enhance the capability of the country to be a competitive player in the multimillion dollar commercial launch market. The vehicle envisages multi-mission launch capability for GTO, LEO, Polar and intermediate circular orbits.

9.Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 16 October 2014 successfully launched third navigation satellite Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) 1C.
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C26 injected IRNSS 1C into the designated orbit from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This was the 27th consecutive successful flight of PSLV.
Initially, the satellite was injected into a sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit with a 282.56 km perigee (nearest point to Earth) and 20670 km apogee (farthest point from Earth). Later, it was lifted to a geo-stationary orbit.
IRNSS 1C is the third member of the seven satellite constellation of the IRNSS. The first two satellites in the series were IRNSS 1A and IRNSS 1B.
The fourth navigational satellite of the IRNSS segment will be launched in December 2014 and the project will be fully operational in 2015.

10.American actress Elizabeth Pena died on 14 October 2014 in Los Angeles following a brief illness. She was 55.

11.Well-known Telugu writer and former radio artiste Turaga Janaki Rani died on 15 October 2014 in Hyderabad after a prolonged illness. She was 80.Janaki Rani was popularly known as Radio Akkayya.

12.Switzerland on 15 October 2014 agreed to examine Indian requests for banking information on a priority basis and provide requested details in a time-bound manner.
This was revealed in a Swiss-Indian Joint Statement released after high-level meeting between the Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das and his Swiss counterpart State Secretary for International Financial Matters, Jacques de Watteville in Berne.

13.Exports from India increased 2.73 percent in September 2014 to 28.90 billion US dollar from 28.13 billion US dollar in September2013. This was revealed by Foreign Trade (Merchandise) data released by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 14 October 2014.
On the other hand, the value of imports increased to 43.15 billion US dollars in September 2014 from 34.25 billion US dollars in September 2013 representing a growth of 25.96 percent. Imports have increased mainly on account of growth of imports of Gold and Metalliferous Ores & Other Minerals.
As a result, trade deficit (Export value – Import value) in September 2014 stood at 14.24 billion US dollar which was 132.71 percent higher than the value of 6.12 billion US dollar in September 2013.
Cumulative value of Exports and Imports
The cumulative value of exports for the period April -September 2014 -15 stood at 163.7 billion US dollars as against 153.75 billion US dollars registering a growth of 6.47 percent.
The cumulative value of imports for the period April -September 2014 -15 stood at 234.09 billion US dollars as against 230.47 billion US dollars registering a growth of 1.57 percent.
As a result, trade deficit for April-September, 2014-15 stood at 70.39 billion US dollar which was lower than the deficit of 76.72 billion US dollars during April-September 2013-14.
Non-oil imports
Non-oil imports were estimated at 28.65 billion US dollar in September 2014, which was 36.2 percent higher than non-oil imports 21.04 billion US dollar in September 2013.
Non-oil imports during April-September 2014-15 were valued at 151.62 billion US dollar which was 0.8 percent higher than the level of such imports valued at 150.46 billion US dollar in April-September 2013-14.

14.India on 12 October 2014 pledged 4 million US dollar aid for reconstruction of Gaza Strip that was destroyed during the Palestine and Israel conflict which started in June 2014. The decision was announced by Sandeep Kumar, Joint Secretary of West Asia and North Africa, Ministry of External Affairs of India.
The decision was a part of National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza presented by the Palestinian Authority at Cairo International conference. The Conference was co-organised by Egypt and Norway.
Besides, India also committed to assist Palestine under the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Fund in Palestine.

15.Sadiq, a 10-year old terminally ill boy became Hyderabad Police Commissioner for a day. His long cherished dream to serve as Police Commissioner was fulfilled by Hyderabad Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy on 15 October 2014.

16.India and Norway on 14 October 2014 signed 13 agreements to promote bilateral relations. These include agreement between Defence sector of two countries and an agreement on exemption of visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and official passports.
The agreements were signed in Oslo in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg.
President Mukherjee was on a three day, from 12 to 14 October 2014, visit to the Scandinavian nation, Norway on the invitation of King Harald V. Mukherjee is the first Indian head to pay an official visit to Norway.

17.India and United Kingdom (UK) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Culture Cooperation over next five years on 15 October 2014. The MoU was signed by the Minister of State for Culture Shripad Naik and Sajid Javed, Secretary, Department of Culture, Media and Sport of United Kingdom.
The MoU was signed on Cultural Cooperation which will form the bulwark of the India-UK cultural relations for the period 2014 to 2019.

18.India's low-cost carrier IndiGo on 15 October 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to buy 250 A320neo Family aircraft worth 25.5 billion US dollars from Airbus Group. This agreement is Airbus single largest order by number of aircraft.
While Airbus did not provide the value of the IndiGo order, but its website shows the list price per A-320 neo aircraft as 102.8 million US dollars.

19.Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 16 October 2014 repositioned its Mars Orbiter, Mangalyaan as a precautionary step against the expected Comet Siding Spring that would fly by Mars, the red planet on 19 October 2014.

20.Union Finance Ministry on 14 October 2014 approved 25 FDI proposals with total investment of 1546 crore rupees.
The proposals were cleared by the Union Finance Ministry following rthe ecommendations for the same by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), a multi-department panel headed by Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram.
The proposals include six of single brand retail trade with multi-brand retail trading (MBRT) applications of Flemingo International (BVI) and Miami Perfume Junction, Inc, USA.
The single-brand retail trading proposals which have been cleared include that of Lush Ltd, UK; Austria Puma Dassier Gesellchaft m.b.H, Austria and Bestseller United (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Singapore.
These MBRT proposals relate to investment in setting up shop in duty free area and selling products on board on international flights.
It further include three pharma sector applications, one of Laurus Labs, has also been cleared.
The applicant had sought approval to increase foreign investment up to 100 per cent in its paid up capital and direct foreign investment in its subsidiaries. The proposal entails an investment of 1800 crore rupees.
About FIPB
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) is a national agency of Government of India, with the remit to consider and recommend foreign direct investment (FDI) which does not come under the automatic route. It provides a single window clearance for proposals on FDI in India.

21.Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on 14 October 2014 announced that it will invest 4 billion US dollar in the British Columbia province, Canada, to source liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the region.
The investment is biggest ever from IOC in Canada to secure natural gas for India.
IOC had signed a deal to buy 10 per cent stake in shale-gas assets and a linked liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in British Columbia in May 2014.
The deal marked the entry of IOC into North America.
As part of the transaction, IOC has also agreed to offtake 1.2 million tonnes (mt) of LNG per annum, which represents a 10 per cent of the LNG facility’s production, for a minimum period of 20 years.

22.Union Petroleum Ministry on 3 October 2014 set up a Panel headed by B.N.Talukar to inquire into the reasons for delay in developing gas discoveries in ONGC's Krishna Godavari basin KG-D5 block.
The three-member committee will be headed by B N Talukar, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, and will have the financial advisor and a director from the ministry.
The committee will submit its report by end of October 2014.
ONGC's KG-D5 is next to Reliance Industries (RIL) eastern offshore KG-D6 block in Bay of Bengal. Both blocks were awarded in the first round of auction under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 2000.
While RIL began oil production from its KG-D6 block in September 2008 and gas output in April 2009, ONGC has made 11 oil and gas discoveries in KG-D5 block and planned to begin production from the block in 2018 and the oil output in 2019.

23.Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) on 14 October 2014 launched Facebook-based funds transfer platform KayPay.
KayPay is a bank agnostic payment product for Facebook users to send money to each other.

24.Union Finance Minister on 12 October 2014 gave the green signal for the much awaited reforms in the monetary policy framework.
As per the new reforms, Union Government will specify the inflation targets for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to achieve. The RBI will set inflation as its top priority in its policy statements.
The decision is in contrary to the recommendation of an Urjit Patel Committee. Urjit patel committee was formed by RBI in 2013 to examine monetary policy.
The committee had recommended that the monetary policy decision-making should be vested with a monetary policy committee, chaired by the RBI Governor.
Present Status
Until now, the RBI has the sole power to regulate the monetary policy. RBI governor regulate the monetary policy with the help of deputy Governors of RBI.
Other recommendations of Urjit Patel Committee
Other recommendations were that the central Bank adopts the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) as the measure of the nominal anchor for monetary policy. And that the RBI set the target CPI inflation level at 4 per cent (+/- 2 per cent) to be achieved through its monetary policy tools.
Inflation target
Inflation targeting is an economic policy in which a central bank estimates and makes public a projected, or target inflation rate and then attempts to steer actual inflation towards the target through the use of interest rate changes and other monetary tools.
Because interest rates and the inflation rate tend to be directly related, the likely moves of the central bank to raise or lower interest rates become more transparent under the policy of inflation targeting.
World Approach
The world was rethinking if inflation targeting should be the gold standard for monetary policy makers. The European Central Bank, for instance, follows ‘eclectic’ monetary policy approach where growth and other macroeconomic goals are also objectives.

25. Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment on 13 October 2014 announced that a multi-sport Paralympic Games will be held in India in February 2015.
The games are scheduled to be held from 20 February to 26 February 2015. Athletes from India and abroad will participate in these games.
About Paralympic Games
All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games.
The summer paralympic games were held in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

26.Scientists’ in their study of the Karakoram region of the Himalayas revealed that the glaciers of the region were stable and is expanding at the time when the glaciers across the world are melting. The team said that in the region snowfall is increasing instead of decreasing. ‘
In their study, the scientists discovered an explanation for this stability and said that precipitation is increasing across the Himalayas; most of this moisture drops in the summer – except in Karakoram, the region where the snow dominates the scene. The study was reported in Discovery news on 13 October 2014.

27.A book titled Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar authored by writer-journalist Dilip D’Souza was released on 15 October 2014. The book has been published by Random House India and books forward has been written by Harsha Bhogle.
Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar is a close scrutiny of Tendulkar’s last Test played at the Wankhede in November 2013 in which he scored 74 in the only innings that he played in the match. India won the match against West Indies by an innings and 126 runs against West Indies.

28.he Vice President of India M Hamid Ansari on 14 October 2014 released a book entitled Untold Story of the Indian Public Sector authored by Dr UD Choubey, the Director General of SCOPE (Standing Conference of Public Enterprises).

29.An eminent Indian scientist Dr Sanjaya Rajaram on 16 October 2014 received the World Food Prize 2014 for his scientific research that led to a prodigious increase in world wheat production by more than 200 million tons building upon the successes of the Green Revolution.
Rajaram is credited with developing the Veery lines of wheat in the 1980s which were used to breed locally adapted high-yielding varieties in various wheat-growing countries.
PBW-343, a workhorse wheat variety grown in about 10 million hectares of India was based on the Veery material that was bred at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) under Rajaram.
The Veery lines resulted from a cross between a Russian winter wheat Kavkaz and a Mexican spring wheat Buho. These new lines showed improved resistance to stripe and leaf rust pathogens which helped create a second generation of high-yielding wheat.

30.Union government on 16 October 2014 launched Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram. The scheme is aimed at creating conducive environment for industrial development and doing business with ease.
Besides, it will also herald towards good governance, welfare and skill development of labour sector.
It was launched during a daylong Conference of Labour & Employment Ministers, Health Ministers and Vocational Training Ministers of State Governments on 16 October 2014 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Under the scheme, the following new initiatives are provided:
• Labours will be provided Unique Labour Identification number, Local Interconnect Network, to facilitate their online registration.
• Unified Labour Portal (Shram Suvidha) and a Transparent & Accountable Labour Inspection Scheme to facilitate ease of compliance http://efilelaboutreturn.gov.in to facilitate ease of compliance especially for four Central Government Organizations i.e. ESIC, EPFO, DGMS and CLC.
• Demand Responsive Vocational Training
• Apprentice Protsahan Yojana
• Portability through Universal Account Number for Employees’ Provident Fund Account Holders
• Implementation of Revamped Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) for the workers in the unorganized sector

31.World Food Day was observed across the world on 16 October 2014 with the theme Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth.
The UN General Assembly has designated 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming. This is a strong signal that the international community recognizes the important contribution of family farmers to world food security.

32.Union Government on 16 October 2014 appointed US-based economist Arvind Subramanian as Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) in the Union Finance Ministry. He has been appointed as the CEA for a period of three years on contract basis.
Subramanian is the third economist of international rapport to be appointed to the key post of CEA in the recent years. Other two internationally renowned economists who recently have served as CEA are Kaushik Basu (World Bank Chief Economist) and Raghuram Rajan (current RBI Governor and former IMF chief economist).

33.he Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) on 14 October 2014 banned the import of animals tested cosmetics in India. Earlier, it banned cosmetic animal testing within the country.
The ban came in the form of Rule 135-B that states no cosmetic that has been tested on animals after the commencement of Drugs and Cosmetics (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2014 shall be imported into the country. The ban will come into effect on 13 November 2014.

34.Salman Rushdie, the India-born Booker Prize winning author on 20 June 2014 was named as the winner of 2014 Pen Pinter Prize. Rushdie (67-year-old) was chosen for the prestigious award for his outstanding literary output and support for freedom of expression. He will be given the award at the British Library in London on 9 October 2014.

35.Kodela Siva Prasada Rao on 20 June 2014 was elected as the first Assembly speaker of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation.
Kodela of Telugu Desam Party was the only person to be nominated for the Speaker of Assembly. He is a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Sattenapalli constituency.

36.Institute for Economics and Peace released Global Peace Index (GPI) 2014 in London on 18 June 2014. The GPI 2014 measured peace for 162 countries on the basis of 22 indicators. Among these 162 countries, India has been ranked 143rd. In GPI 2013, India was ranked 141st.
In the GPI 2014, Syria displaced Afghanistan as the world’s least peaceful nation while Iceland maintained its status as the most peaceful country in the world.

37.Three Japanese-born researchers Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura on 7 October 2014 won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics.
They were honoured for inventing efficient blue Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) lamps that worked as a bright and energy-saving white light sources. These white LED lamps are seen as a boon in the fight against global warming and aiding people in poverty.
The winners will share the prize sum of 8 million Swedish kronor. As per the tradition, the laureates will receive their prize at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 2014 which marks the anniversary of Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.
In 2013, Nobel Prize for Physics went to Peter Higgs of Britain and Francois Englert of Belgium for the discovery of the God particle, the sub-atomic Higgs boson which gives mass to other elementary particles.Red and green diodes had been around for a long time but for the creation of white light, blue light was necessary. Despite considerable efforts, the blue LED had remained a challenge for three decades. However, the trio of Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura succeeded where everyone else had failed.
Akasaki and Amano working at Nagoya University and Nakamura working at the Nichia Corporation focussed on the compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) which could be ideal for creating blue LEDs. The trio used their high-quality p-doped GaN along with other GaN-based semiconductors in multilayer heterojunction structures and created the first high-brightness blue LED in 1993.
Their inventions were revolutionary. Where incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century, the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps invented by them.

38.Communication and aviation electronic solutions firm Rockwell Collins on 7 October 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement with the Hyderabad-based Zen Technologies to tap the Indian defence market.

39.Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on 8 October 2014 launched the ingeniously manufactured Broad Spectrum Confocal Microscope that generates 3D images of objects. This 3D microscope was launched in New Delhi.
The Confocal Microscope can be used to obtain three dimensional features at microscopic level and can play a vital role in scientific understanding of nano material and biological object. It can also do resonant scanning up to 1024x1024 pixels.

40.The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 7 October 2014 presented the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award 2014 for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management to Dr Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
Dr Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai was honoured for his outstanding contribution in the field of aerospace and missile technology.
The award carries cash price of 5 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.

41.The Supreme Court appointed high-powered committee headed by Professor NR Madhava Menon submitted its report to the court on 6 October 2014. The committee in its report has framed guidelines to regulate expenditure and contents of advertisements paid out of tax payers' money.
The three-member committee that also comprised TK Viswanathan, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar has recommended that names and pictures of political parties and their office bearers like presidents should not be mentioned in government advertisements. It supported its recommendation by stating that there had been misuse and abuse of public money on such advertisements.

42.Suresh Prabhu on 23 September 2014 was appointed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sherpa for the Group of 20 annual Summit 2014. He was selected by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The G-20 annual summit will be held in Brisbane from 15 November to 16 November 2014.
Suresh Prabhu will attend the G20 Sherpa’s meeting that is going to be held in Canberra, Australia from 30 September to 1 October 2014. Sherpa is a senior official responsible for preparing the agenda for leaders to consider during the summit.

43.CSIR on 26 September 2014 announced the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards 2014 for ten scientists in recognition of their work. The awards were announced by Director General of Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Dr. Paramvir Singh Ahuja during the CSIR’s 72nd Foundation day celebrations in New Delhi.

44.ICICI Bank on 20 March 2012, launched a new card product for the super rich class and the bank’s Wealth Management customers.
The card named ICICI Bank Sapphiro, is the third in the bank’s gemstone series of credit cards, after ICICI Bank Coral and ICICI Bank Rubyx.

45.Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda tabled a revenue surplus budget on 21 March 2012 in the Karnataka Assembly. The Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, made several provisions keeping the common man of the state in mind.
The chief minister who also presented a separate agriculture budget for 2012-13 in the assembly announced that rate of interest on short term crop loan of up to 1 lakh rupees would be reduced to zero from 2012-13 even as it earmarked 1660 crore rupees for agriculture and related allied activities.

46.Rajasthan on 3 October 2014 became the first state of India to start olive refinery. The refinery established at an expense of 3.75 crore rupees in Lunkaransar area of Bikaner was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
With this launch, the state government feels that the refinery would fulfill people’s demand of olive oil in coming years. Olive oil produced in the refinery will be marked under the brand name of Raj Olive Oil and would be made available in market after some time.

47.TN Suresh Kumar on 15 August 2014 became the first Indian to visit to the stratosphere, the second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. He traveled to an altitude of 17100 meters in MIG-29 from Sokol Airbase near Nizhny Novgorod in Russia. During the travel to reach the stratosphere in 48 minutes, the aircraft reached to a maximum speed of 1850 km per hour.
Kumar, a senior scientist working with the ISRO’s Master Control Facility in Hassan paid a sum of 15 lakh rupees for the travel.

48.Recently, Noble Prize was announced for the research in Brain Global Positioning System. The Nobel laureate John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser investigates with brain imaging techniques, as well as studies of patients undergoing neurosurgery.he Scientists have provided evidence that place and grid cells exist also in humans. In patients with Alzheimer´s disease, the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are frequently affected at an early stage, and these individuals often lose their way and cannot recognize the environment.
Knowledge about the brain´s positioning system may, therefore, help us understand the mechanism underpinning the devastating spatial memory loss that affects people with this disease.
The discovery of the brain’s positioning system represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of how ensembles of specialized cells work together to execute higher cognitive functions. It has opened new avenues for understanding other cognitive processes, such as memory, thinking and planning.

49.Himachal Pradesh government introduced Cage Culture Technique for fish farming

50.Apollo Hospitals tied up with pharma firm Sanofi

51.Google social network site–Orkut closed

52.Aral Sea dried: NASA’s Earth Observatory

53.EU Competition Commission approved Facebook – WhatsApp deal worth 19 billion US dollar

54.British aid worker Alan Henning beheaded by ISIS militants

55.Auto Portal Cardekho acquired Gaadi.com for 11 million US dollar

56.Kotak Mahindra Bank acquired 15 percent stake of FTIL in MCX for 459 crore rupees

57.President Pranab Mukherjee authorised Vigilance Commissioner Rajiv to act as CVC

58.Indo-US Combined military exercise Yudh Abhyas 2014 concluded in Uttarakhand

59.MC Mary Kom bagged her first Asian Games Gold Medal

60.Swachh Bharat Mission launched by Narendra Modi on 2.10.2014

61.Chennai Super Kings won 2014 Champions League Twenty20 title

62.Powerful typhoon Vongfong struck Japan on 13 October 2014. The typhoon made its landfall in Makurazaki on Kyushu Island with winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour.
Typhoon Vongfong that is the strongest storm to hit Japan in 2014 had injured more than 30 people and led to cancellation of more than 300 flights, while hundreds of thousands had to evacuate their homes. It brought heavy rain and fierce winds to the southern island of Okinawa with it.

63.Cyclonic Storm Hudhud struck the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on 12 October 2014. The cyclone carried heavy rains and winds of almost 155 to 190 kilometer per hour with it and killed at least eight people and left behind a trail of devastation.
Hudhud that made its landfall in Visakhapatnam known to locals as Vizag disrupted electricity and telecommunications services as well as road and rail traffic along the coast. It also damaged thousands of homes and uprooted several trees.

64.n Tennis, the 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer won his maiden ATP Shanghai Masters trophy. In the title clash played on 12 October 2014, Switzerland’s Federer defeated Frenchman Gilles Simon, 7-6, 7-6.

65.Bombay High Court on 10 October 2014 ruled in favour of Vodafone in 3200 crore rupees tax dispute case. The ruling was given by the division bench of the Bombay High Court, headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah.
In its ruling the court held that there was no question of imposing tax to the tune of 3200 crore rupees on Vodafone India Services Pvt. Ltd. (VISPL) as the case does not relate to transfer pricing.

66.Karnataka government on 10 October 2014 prohibited the ongoing strike at the auto component maker Bosch’s plant in Bangalore. The workers are on strike since 16 September 2014 in support of their demands pertaining to wages, benefits and regularisation of temporary workers.
The release from German automaker Bosch Ltd said prior to the order, the Labour Department had convened conciliatory meetings between the management and workers. However, the proceedings did not result in a mutually agreeable resolution.

67.President Pranab Mukherjee on 8 September 2014 presented the Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 at International Literacy Day Celebrations. The function was organized by Union Ministry of Human Resource Development at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
He gave away 11 Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 to State, Districts, Blocks, Gram Panchayats, State Resource Centre (SRC) and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) for their best performance in the field of adult education.

68.Tata Value homes on 13 October 2014 launched http://www.tatavaluehomes.com to sell homes online.

69.Khaled Bahah on 13 October 2014 was appointed as Prime Minister of Yemen. He was appointed by the President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. At the time of appointment Bahah was serving as permanent representative of the Republic of Yemen to the United Nations.

70.Olympic bronze medalist MC Mary Kom on 13 October 2014 was chosen as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of India’s Incheon Asian Games campaign at a felicitation of the medal winners by contingent sponsors, Samsung India.

71.Lok Sabha MP Kapil Krishna Thakur died on 13 October 2014 in Kolkata following a lung failure. He was 73.
He was the elder son of Binapani Debi Thakurani (Baroma), the leader of Matua community.

72.Noted lyricist Sameer on 13 October 2014 was honoured with the National Kishore Kumar Award for 2012-13. He was awarded during a function at the legendary singer's birth place Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh.
The award was handed over to Sameer by Madhya Pradesh Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah.

73.French economist Jean Tirole on 13 October 2014 won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Economics. Jean Tirole was awarded for his analysis of market power and regulation.
The award will be presented to him on 10 December 2014 which marks the death anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel.
The Nobel Prize in Economics is officially known as Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. It was established in 1968 and was not part of the original group of five awards established by the will of the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel in 1895.

74.India will host first leg of Asia Cup Archery Tournament in Delhi in January 2015. The announcement was made on 12 October 2014 by Archery Association India (AAI).
The Asia Cup will be held on the format of the annual World Cups. Asia Cup will replace the Asian GP.

75.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 21 September 2014 successfully installed and activated its first Earth-observing instrument ISS-RapidScat (ISS Rapid Scatterometer) on the International Space Station (ISS). It was launched aboard during the SpaceX CRS-4 mission.
The ISS-RapidScat will monitor ocean winds for climate research as well as weather predictions and hurricane monitoring.

76.India on 30 September 2014 signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The convention is named after the Japanese city Minamata that has become synonymous with deadly mercury contamination since 1950.
The Minamata Convention gives five years time to India to control and reduce emissions from new power plants and 10 years time for the already existing power plants.
Minamata Convention
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. It was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva, Switzerland on 19 January 2013.
The Minamata Convention is part of a cluster of agreements that include:
• Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal.
• Rotterdam Convention for managing international trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides.
• Stockholm Convention on the restriction and elimination of the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.

The major highlights of the Minamata Convention on Mercury include a ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones, control measures on air emissions, and the international regulation of the informal sector for artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
Mercury pollution in India
In India, Mercury pollution has not been a part of the environmental discourse. However, mercury pollution concerns have hit various places.

77.US Online store Amazon and retailer Future Group on 12 October 2014 signed a deal to jointly sell goods over the internet.
According to deal, Future group's portfolio of over 40 brands will be retailed exclusively through Amazon.in platform. The partnership will initially focus on Future Group's fashion brands and will subsequently cover all other categories.

78.Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) on the birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan on 11 October 2014. SAGY will be implemented under the overall supervision of Union Ministry of Rural Development.
The programme is an ambitious village development project under which each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility for developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019.

80.Gujarat government on 10 October 2014 set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to promote Vadodara as the cultural capital of Gujarat and encourage tourism in Vododara.
The SPV set up will be known as Vadodara International Art and Culture Festival Authority and it will be headed by State Tourism and Finance Minister Saurabh Patel.
Thus, Gujarat became the first state in India to set up the authority for promoting tourism.

81.Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on 10 October 2014 launched the National Mental Health Policy of India. It was the first ever Mental Health Policy of India which was launched on the occasion of first ever National Mental Health Day organised by the Union government.
The National Mental Health Policy has been prepared on the basis of the recommendations made by the Policy Group on Mental Health constituted by the Union Government in April 2011.

82.International Cricket Council (ICC) on 8 October 2014 banned the Zimbabwe bowler Prosper Utseya and Bangladeshi bowler Sohag Gazi from bowling in international cricket. They were banned after ICC found that both the off-spinners exceeded the 15 degree limit of arm extension in their bowling action.
In August 2014, Utseya was reported for a suspect bowling action following the third ODI against South Africa in Bulawayo.
Earlier, ICC had banned three other off-spinners. These were: Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan, Sachithra Senanayake of Sri Lanka and Kane Williamson of New Zealand.

83.The Post Sachar Evaluation Committee headed by Prof. Amitabh Kundu submitted its final report to the Union Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptullah on 9 October 2014.
The seven-member committee was setup by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs in September 2013 to review the implementation of the recommendations made by the Justice (retd) Rajindar Sachar Committee on the Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India.

84.Bollywood actor, director and producer Aamir Khan on 9 October 2014 was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in South Asia.
Aamir Khan will focus on supporting child nutrition to end stunting across the region. He became UNICEF Ambassador on the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

85.Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai and Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi on 10 0ctober 2014 won the Nobel Peace Prize 2014. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.
They were awarded for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.
The winners were selected from a list of 278 nominees, the highest number of candidates ever.

86.Swedish telecom gear firm Ericsson on 9 October 2014 signed a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or 4G network deal with Bharti Airtel. Airtel signed the deal with Ericsson for FDD-LTE network.
The signing of the deal will add to the existing 4G services offered by Bharti Airtel. The company is offering 4G services using TDD-LTE technology on 2300 Mhz band in Ludhiana, Mohali, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh and Panchkula.

87.French author Patrick Modiano on 9 October 2014 won the Nobel Prize for literature for the year 2014. The Nobel Prize for Literature is granted by the Swedish Academy.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2014 was awarded to Patrick Modiano for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation.
The award presented to the writer is worth eight million kronor.

88.Kalpana Morparia on 9 October 2014 was appointed as first woman director of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).

89.Leela Samson resigned as the Chairperson of Sangeet Natak Akademi on 30 September 2014. Her resignation has been accepted by Union Ministry of Culture.

90.Founder of social site Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg arrived in New Delhi on a two day visit from 9 October to 10 October 2014. His aim behind the visit is to take help of India in connecting people of the world.

91.Anoop Jain on 8 October 2014 won 2014 Waislitz Global Citizen Award. He was awarded for his exemplified values of a Global Citizen through his work in founding Humanure Power (HP) in Bihar in 2011 that builds community sanitation facilities in rural India.

92.Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on 1 October 2014 approved the appointment of Cramer Ball as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jet Airways.
He will serve for the next three-year till 2017. Earlier, he was serving as the acting CEO of the Jet Airways.

93.17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 was held in Incheon, South Korea from 19 September to 4 October 2014, featuring 439 events in 36 sports. It is officially called XVII Asiad. It is governed by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The theme of the 2014 Asian Games is Meet Asia’s Future.
The moscot of the Asian Games Incheon 2014 was three spotted Harbour Seal siblings named Barame, Chumuro and Vichuon meaning wind, dance and light in Korean language.
The logo of the Asian Games Incheon 2014 portrayed a huge wing consisting a string of A, the first letter of Asia, with a shining sun at its upper left, symbolizing the Asian people holding hands in the sky.
The Slogan of the Asian Games Incheon 2014 was Diversity Shines Here that represents and highlights the significance of Asia’s wonderful diversity in history, cultures, and religions.
To help English speaking visitors, mobile apps named WAZE and JiHaChul. Mobile app WAZE was provided to navigate on the routes of Incheon Asian games 2014 and JiHaChul provided maps of the routes in advance respectively.
Next Asian Games Incheon will be hosted by the Singapore in 2018.
Ranks of the countries in the Asian Games Incheon 2014
Rank
Country
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total
1
China
151
108
83
342
2
South Korea
79
71
84
234
3
Japan
47
76
77
200
4
Kazakhstan
28
23
33
84
5
Iran
21
18
18
57
6
Thailand
12
7
28
47
7
North Korea
11
11
14
36
8
India
11
10
36
57
9
Gold Medals for India
Names
Sport
Category
Jitu Rai
Shooting
Men's 50 metre pistol
Rajat Chauhan
Sandeep Kumar
Abhishek Verma
Archery
Men's team compound
Saurav Ghosal
Mahesh Mangaonkar
Harinder Pal Sandhu
Kush Kumar
Squash
Men’s team
Yogeshwar Dutt
Wrestling
Men's freestyle 65 kg
Seema Punia
Athletics
Women's discus throw
Sania Mirza
Saketh Myneni
Tennis
Mixed doubles
Mary Kom
Boxing
Women's 51 kg
Men’s hockey team
Field hockey
Men
Priyanka Pawar
Tintu Luka
Mandeep Kaur
M R Poovamma
Athletics
Women's 4 x 400 metres relay
Women's kabaddi team
Kabaddi
Women
Men's kabaddi team
Kabaddi
Men

94.The Mauritian parliament was dissolved on 6 October 2014 to pave the way for elections that could lead to changes in the country's constitution. The parliament was dissolved as the ruling Labour party wants to split powers between the president (now a largely ceremonial position) and the Prime Minister and this split requires certain changes in the Constitution.
The National Assembly in a statement said that Mauritian President Kailash Purryag has proclaimed and declared that parliament has been dissolved.

95.Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 6 October 2014 became the co-owner of the Indian Super League franchise Chennaiyin FC. The high-profile Indian Super League (ISL) is scheduled to start on 12 October 2014 and the final will be played on 20 December 2014.
Dhoni inked the deal to be a co-owner of Chennaiyin FC along with Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan who is the owner of the team. The announcement was made by Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dan.Dhoni is the fourth cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli to own a football team of the Indian Super League. Sachin is a co-owner of Kerala Blasters, while former captain Ganguly is a co-owner of Atletico de Kolkata. Vice-Captain of Indian cricket team, Kohli is the co-owner of ISL team FC Goa.
About Indian Super League (ISL)
Indian Super League (ISL) is a football event similar to Indian Premier League. The first edition of ISL has eight teams and each team is a mix of foreign and Indian talent. The eight teams of the league are
• Atlético De Kolkata
• Chennaiyin FC
• Delhi Dynamos FC
• FC Pune City
• FC Goa
• Kerala Blasters FC
• Mumbai City FC
• NorthEast United FC

96.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 October 2014 launched Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign in New Delhi. The Swachh Bharat campaign was launched on the occasion of 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and is aimed at making India clean by 2019, i.e. 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
On the occasion of launch of the campaign in Rajpath New Delhi, Modi administered an oath to a large gathering to keep their neighbourhoods clean. He asked people to donate (Shramdaan) 100 hours every year or two hours every week for cleanliness. After administrating the oath, he himself cleaned a police station and a scavengers’ colony, Valmiki Colony of New Delhi.

97.Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan on 4 October 2014 received Global Diversity Award 2014 at the Britain’s House of Commons. He was conferred the award by House of Commons speaker John Bercow for his outstanding achievements in the field of cinema and his involvement in philanthropic endevours.
Earlier, Shah Rukh has been honoured with several international awards, like Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (France's highest civilian award), Wissame Al Kafaa Al Fikria (Morocco’s highest honour), Malaysian title of Datuk (akin to the British knighthood) and others.

98.Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 4 October 2014 won the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) 2014 title of Cricket. CSK lifted the title by defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 8 wickets in the final match played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
To help Chennai Super Kings win the CLT20 title, Suresh Raina scored 109 off 62 balls with the help of six fours and eight sixes. His century came off only in 59 balls. With this century, Raina became the only player to score a century in T20 Internationals, IPL and CLT20 tournaments.

99.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 October 2014 addressed the countrymen over radio for the first time in his programme Mann Ki Baat. Mann ki Baat is a new initiative of Modi to reach out to maximum populace.