Download : Day To Day Current Affairs - 18th December 2014

Download : Day To Day Current Affairs - 18th December 2014

1. ISRO successfully launches GSLV Mark-III

i. ISRO successfully carries out human crew module experiment; module safely splashes down into Bay of Bengal off Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

ii. Also known as LVM3/CARE, this suborbital experimental mission was intended to test the vehicle performance during the critical atmospheric phase of its flight and this carried passive (non functional) cryogenic upper stage.

iii. With today’s successful launch, the vehicle has moved a step closer to its first development flight with the functional C25 cryogenic stage.

2. 26/11 trial: Pak court grants bail to Lakhvi

i. LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, one the seven Pakistani nationals accused of planning and abetting the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was granted bail on Thursday by the Anti-Terrorism Court.

ii. The seven accused — Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum — are facing trial at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

iii. Lakhvi and six others had filed bail applications on Wednesday even as lawyers were observing strike to condemn the terrorist attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that left 148 people, mostly children, dead.

3. Priyanka Chopra inks deal with American TV network

i. After launching her music career in the U.S., Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has now sealed a one-year TV development deal with ABC Television Studios.

ii. The ABC deal comes after Priyanka had a voice role in the animated feature ‘Planes’

iii. The actress’s first single, ‘In My City’, was also selected as the theme song to the 2013 season of the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football and her cover of Bonnie Raitt’s ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ was featured in a nationwide campaign for Beats By Dre.

4. ‘The Lunchbox’ honoured by Toronto film critics

i. Indian film director Ritesh Batra’s ‘The Lunchbox’ has been named best first feature at the 18th annual Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) awards in Toronto.

ii. It’s the only Indian movie to win a TFCA award, voted by the members of the association, which includes Toronto-based journalists and broadcasters who specialise in film criticism and commentary.

iii. The awards, to be hosted by Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival, will be presented at a gala dinner here Jan 6, next year, said their official site torontofilmcritics.com.

5. Twins at peak of mountaineering glory

i. By scaling Mount Vinson, Antarctica’s highest mountain at 4,892 metres, Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik from Dehradun have become the world’s first twins and siblings to climb the highest peaks on the seven continents.

ii. The 23-year-old twins accomplished their “Mission 2 for 7” on Tuesday night (IST) when they conquered the mountain.

iii. The mission, which they have dedicated to the cause of the Indian girl child, started by conquering Mt. Kilimanjaro in February 2012. The mission progressed as they conquered Mt. Everest in May 2013; Mt. Elbrus in August 2013; Mt. Aconcagua in January 2014; Mt. Carstensz Pyramid in March 2014; and Mt. McKinley in June 2014.

6. SC directed Union government to complete fencing along Indo-Bangladesh border in 3 months

i. The Supreme Court (SC) directed the Union Government to complete fencing work along Indo-Bangladesh border within three months.

ii. The direction was given to check cross-border influx of illegal Bangladesh nationals into Assam. It also asked the government to streamline the process to deport them back.

iii. The court also asked the Union government why even after 67 years of independence, the eastern border is left porous.

7. Former Olympic wrestling champion suspended for one year.

i. Former Olympic wrestling champion Steeve Guenot was suspended for one year on Thursday by the French anti-doping agency for missing doping tests.

ii. Guenot, who has been suspended until July 30, 2015, will not appeal the decision, meaning that he won’t be able to compete at the European Games in Baku next June.

8. AIBA bans Sarita Devi

i. Indian woman boxer L. Sarita Devi was on Wednesday handed a one-year ban by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) for refusing to accept her bronze medal at the Asian Games.

ii. But the punishment is unlikely to hurt her career too badly as she would be available to compete in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers.

iii. Sarita, who had refused to accept the medal to protest her controversial semifinal bout loss, has been banned retrospectively from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2015 and fined 1000 swiss francs.

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Download : GA Questions asked in IBPS Clerk – 13th November Morning Shift

GA Questions asked in IBPS Clerk – 13^thNovember Morning Shift

Here we are posting some of the questions of GK and computer section which was asked in today's IBPS Clerk Exam (Morning Shift).

• What is the full form of NAV? - Net Asset Value
• What is the use of KYC ? - Anti Money Laundring
• Richard Flanagan is the citizen of which country?- Australia
• What is the capital of saudi arabia? - Riyadh
• Narendra modi is the second prime minister who gave speech in Hindi in UN, first was ? - Atal Bihari Vajpayee
• What is the constituency of Nitin Gadkari?- Nagpur 
• Verge e mail provided by which company?- IBM
• What is the currency of Brazil – Real
• What is the full form of IPO? – Initial Public Offering
• Who is the Science and Technology Minister ? – Harsh Vardhan
• Air Force Day – 8th October
• UNDP Headquarter – New York
• Women Kabaddi Team got which medal in the recent Asian games? - Gold Medal
• Seema Poonia related to which sports? – Discus Throw
• Interest on Saving Account is given on ?– Daily basis
• Who won Nobel Prize in Literature 2014 ?- Patrick Modiano
• Tintu Luka related to which Sports? – Athletics
• Who topped in Asian Games medals tally?– China
• Which one is not a monetary tool? – Base Rate
• Gujarat govt. declared Vadodara as ?– State Cultural Capital
• What is the full form of GIGO? – Garbage In, Garbage Out
• What is the full form of PDF?- Portable Document Format
• MS DOS is – Command Based OS
• What is the full form of BIOS ? – Basic Input Output System
• What is the full form of ECS ? - Electronic Clearing System
• What is the option to go at the end of the page? - Ctrl + End
• Which of the following is an operating System ? - Windows 8
• Which is the option to go to the first line of the page ? - Ctrl + home
• What is the theme of SAARC smmit 2014?- 'Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity'

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Download Available - Day To Day Current Affairs : 12th December 2014

Day To Day Current Affairs - 12th December 2014

1. Anurag Jain appointed as joint Secretary. 
i. Senior IAS officer Anurag Jain was appointed as the Joint Secretary in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of India.

ii.A 1989 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, is presently working as Joint Secretary in Department of Financial Services under the Finance Ministry.
iii. He has held various posts in the state including Collector, Bhopal and Secretary to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

2. CBI arrests West Bengal Minister Madan Mitra in Saradha scam.
i.  Central Bureau of Investigation arrested West Bengal Transport Minster and senior Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra.
ii. CBI has arrested Madan Mitra, a Cabinet Minister in the Government of West Bengal on prima facie evidence of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation as well as deriving undue financial benefits from the Saradha Scam.
iii.Other than allegations of pressurising Saradha chairman and managing director Sudipta Sen, Mr. Mitra has publicly endorsed the Saradha group.

3.Tata Power acquired 540 MW thermal power plant for 3000 crore rupees.
i. Tata Power on acquired 540-megawatt (MW) thermal power plant in Maharashtra for 3000 crore rupees.
ii. The thermal plant was acquired from the promoters of IRB Infrastructure. With this deal, Tata Power aimed to increase its total capacity to 8885 MW.
iii. Tata Power used to be the nation's biggest private sector electricity producer but overtook by Adani power recently.

4.Delhi HC banned Xiaomi to sell phones in India over patent issue with Ericcson.
i. Delhi High Court on 10 December 2014 banned Xiaomi to sell phones in India over patent issue with Ericsson.
ii. The High Court ordered Xiaomi to not bring any new phones into India nor sell or advertise them here unless it resolves the legal issues surrounding its operations.

5. LS passes bill on coal block allocations.

i. Lok Sabha passed a bill which provides for fresh auction of 204 coal blocks de-allocated by the Supreme Court in September with the government allaying apprehensions of some parties that the legislation would lead to privatisation of the sector.

ii. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, which replaces and Ordinance promulgated in October, was passed by voice vote overcoming demands by some opposition parties it be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for closer scrutiny.

iii. The Bill provides for "allocation of coal mines and vesting of the right, title and interest in and over the land and mine infrastructure, together with mining leases, to successful bidders and allottees through a transparent bidding process.

6. 22 states, UTs support bill to prevent 'honour killings'.

i. As many as 22 states and Union Territories have supported a Law Commission recommendation to bring a bill to prevent 'honour killings', but govt on refused to fix a timeline to put in place a legal framework, saying a decision will be taken after due consultations.

ii. Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the policy decision to enact a legislation on the issue will be taken after considering the comments of all states and holding consultations with the stakeholders.

iii. In its 2001 report, the panel, then headed by Justice P V Redi, had recommended brining a bill "to provide for, in the interests of protecting individual liberty and preventing victimisation, prohibition of unlawful assemblies and other conduct interfering with the freedom of matrimonial alliances in the name of honour and tradition and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto."

7. Essar gets $1-bn loans, $8-bn crude.

i. Russian President Vladimir Putin, offered the Ruias-promoted Essar Group a $1-billion credit line and an $8-billion crude supply contract.

ii. The steel-to-oil Indian conglomerate signed two separate agreements with St Petersburg-based Vneshtorgbank (VTB) and Moscow-based Rosneft.

iii. Andrey Kostin, President and chairman of VTB Bank Management Board, signed a memorandum of understanding with Shashi Ruia, co-founder of Essar Group, to provide a credit facility of up to $1 billion.

iv. The financing follows the $1.2-billion successful transaction arranged in the first half of 2014 by VTB Capital.

8. India to face Pak in CT semifinal.
i. A cracker of a contest is on the cards when a confident India takes on a resurgent Pakistan in what promises to be a battle of attrition between the two traditional rivals at the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament.

ii. The match also provides India an opportunity to avenge their defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the bronze medal match in the last edition of the elite eight-nation tournament held at Melbourne in 2012.
iii. Going by present form and record, India definitely will enjoy an upper-hand over their neighbours.

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Day To Day Current Affairs - 11th December 2014

Day To Day Current Affairs - 11th December 2014

1.    Ebola fighters named Time's 2014 'Person of the Year'

i. The countless doctors, nurses and caregivers at the forefront of battling one of the worst ever outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus, were collectively named as Time magazine's 2014 'Person of the Year'.

ii. The 'Ebola fighters' have been awarded for their "tireless acts of courage and mercy" and for "risking, persisting, sacrificing and saving". 
iii. Time's editors unveiled the winner of the annual honour selecting the Ebola fighters from an initial list of 50 world leaders on Wednesday, business heads and record-breaking artists that was narrowed down to a shortlist of eight this week. 
iv. "Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and 'us' means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day. 
v. "The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defences, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time's 2014 Person of the Year," Editor Nancy Gibbs said explaining the publication's reasoning behind the choice. 
vi. Time had conducted a separate online poll in which it gave a chance to its readers to select who they think should win the title of Person of the Year. 

Note: The readers' poll was won by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had secured more than 16 percent of the almost five million votes cast. 

2.    Kailash Satyarthi, Malala Yousafzai receive Nobel Peace Prize

i. India’s Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 today, sharing it with Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel laureate, for their work on promoting child rights in the troubled sub-continent, where millions are deprived of their childhood and education.

ii. “Satyarthi and Yousafzai are precisely the people whom Alfred Nobel in his will calls ‘champions of peace’,” Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Thorbjorn Jagland said in his speech before awarding them the prize.

iii. “A young girl and a somewhat older man, one from Pakistan and one from India, one Muslim, the other Hindu; both symbols of what the world needs: more unity. Fraternity between the nations!,” he added.

iv. Satyarthi, 60, who gave up his job as an electrical engineer to run an NGO for rescuing children from forced labour and trafficking, and 17-year-old Malala, who survived a near-fatal Taliban attack two years ago with determination advocating education for girls, were named by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee for the prestigious award on October 10.

v. They received the Nobel medal which is 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold and weighs around 175 grams.

vi. They will share $1.1 million prize money.

3.    Russia agrees with India to construct 12 nuclear reactors

i. Russia's state-owned Rosatom said it would supply 12 nuclear energy reactors for India over 20 years, under an agreement aimed at boosting nuclear energy cooperation signed by the two countries during a summit in New Delhi on Thursday.

ii. A 1,000-megawatt reactor is operating at the Russian-built Kudankulam power station in India's Tamil Nadu district, with a second due to come on stream in 2015.

iii. Russian President Vladimir Putin had been pushing for Rosatom to increase the number of reactors it could supply to as many as 25.

iv. Indian officials say that a total of six reactors will be built at Kudankulam, with a further six to follow at a site that has not yet been determined.

4.    Global economy to grow over 3% in 2015, 2016:UN

i. The global economy will grow by more than 3 percent in 2015 and 2016 however the growth will be uneven in some regions, predicts the United Nations.

ii. The UN's annual economic report yesterday said that growth edged up in 2014 at an estimated 2.6 percent. The UN is forecasting 3.1 percent economic growth in 2015 and 3.3 percent growth in 2016.

iii. The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 report says business investment will be a major driver in the United States, growth in the world's least developed economies will exceed the global average, and strong household consumption will keep East Asia the world's fastest growing region.

iv. Among developed economies, the report says the United States will see 2.8 percent growth in 2015 and 3.1 percent in 2016. 

5.    India likely to improve economic growth to 6.3% in 2016: UN

i. A United Nations report has said that India's economic growth is expected to improve to 6.3 per cent in the next two years, with the country leading the economic recovery in the South Asian region.

ii. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects, WESP, 2015 report, released today says India is likely to make progress in implementing economic policy reforms and help in providing support to business and consumer confidence. This economic growth is despite the continuing financial crisis and the emergence of new challenges, including geopolitical conflicts such as in Ukraine, and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

iii. The report also says that India is estimated to record a 5.4 percent economic growth this year and its GDP will improve to 5.9 per cent next year and to 6.3 per cent in 2016.

6.    Bhutan became 181st member of MIGA, agency of World Bank

i. Bhutan on 8 December 2014 became the 181st member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

ii. MIGA is the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group.

iii. Bhutan has fulfilled all of its membership requirements to become the member of MIGA. 
 
Benefits of becoming a member

i. The move will allow the private sector and corporations of a country to explore external commercial borrowing (ECB).

ii. Once a member of MIGA, the private sector and corporations in the country will have the option of directly applying to MIGA for issuance of guarantee to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

iii. MIGA’s guarantee can help investors obtain access to ECB with improved financial terms and conditions.

7.    Pioneer of home video game console Ralph Henry Baer died

i. The pioneer of home video game console Ralph Henry Baer died on 6 December 2014 in Manchester following a brief illness. He was 92.

ii. He was famously known as the Father of Video Games due to his contributions to video game industry.

8.    Randhir Singh appointed as honorary member of IOC

i. Randhir Singh was appointed as an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He was appointed as the honorary member during the IOC session in Monaco held from 8 December 2014 to 9 December 2014.

ii. He was named for the honorary membership of the IOC after he served IOC as a full member from India from 2001 to 2014.

iii. Randhir Singh is the second Indian to become an honorary member of the IOC after Ashwini Kumar. Ashwini Kumar was also given the membership after serving as full IOC member from India.

9.    Pakistan beat Netherlands 4-2 in quarter-final of Champions Trophy Hockey

i. Pakistan becomes the first team to enter the semi finals of ongoing Hockey Champions Trophy tournament at Bhubaneswar. They beat The Netherlands 4-2 in the quarter finals.

ii. The quarter final match between Argentina and Australia is underway. Later in the evening, India will fight for a semi final spot as they take on Belgium in the quarterfinals.

iii. The match will begin at 7.30 pm. All India Radio will broadcast the live commentary of the match. In other quarter final fixtures, England will face Germany in the evening.

10.  Adelaide Test, Day 3: India in comfortable position; Kohli hits ton

i. On third day of the Adelaide Cricket Test, India gets into a comfortable position against Australia. At the stumps India were 369 for the loss of five wickets in the first innings and now trail Australia by 148 runs.

ii. Skipper Virat Kohli struck a superb century that cruised India from early hiccups. Kohli paved the way for his 7th Test Century before he succumbed to Mitchell Johnson's bouncer at 115 runs. 
iii. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane chipped in with half centuries. For Australia Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon picked 2 wickets each. Earlier, in the morning hosts had declared their first innings at 517 for 7.

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English Quiz - Reading Comprehension

English Quiz - Reading Comprehension

 Directions (Q. 1-14): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Man does not live by bread alone: he needs intellectual stimulus as well as spiritual ballast. Religions form the basis of ethical life. Without a sense of morality, social life becomes tenuous instead of being cohesive: political life crumbles under the weight of dishonesty, deceit, and corruption. Dr Carl Jung, the famous Zurich psychologist, wrote: “During the past 30 years, people from all civilized countries have consulted me. Among all my patients over thirty- five, there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life, and none of them has been really healed who did not regain his religious outlook.” Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) went one step further and declared: “The mainspring of strength of every race lies in its spirituality and the death of the race begins the day that spirituality wanes and materialism gains ground.”


\The question, however, arises: What kind of religion do we require? A religion that fosters love and lets peace and goodwill prevail on earth or a religion that is intolerant and puts back the clock of progress? Do we require a universal Religion or do we need harmony of all religions ? It would be unrealistic to think of a universal Religion, which is a Synthetic product of elements taken from all the world’s great religions. what the world needs today is the ‘soothing comfort ’ of religion, the different religions retaining their identity and their followers pursuing their different paths with an absolute sense of freedom. Inter-faith harmony and the consciousness of the essential unity of all religions are the sine qua non for a better world order.

1. Having a sense of morality
(1) makes one more intellectual
(2) makes one more acceptable in the society
(3) makes one unsuitable in the political field
(4) makes one dishonest in public life
(5) gives one an edge over others

2. What do you understand by the statement “Man does not live by bread alone: he needs intellectual stimulus as well as spiritual ballast”?
(1) Man cannot survive without intellectual stimulus.
(2) Spiritualism is essential for physical for the survival of man.
(3) Bread may be essential for physical development of man but the dose of intellect and spiritualism is necessary for the growth of his soul.
(4) Man can survive without bread also.
(5) None of these

3. What does the observation of Dr Carl Jung suggest?
(1) People below the age of thirty- five have little sense of religion.
(2) Religion finds little acceptance in the civilized countries.
(3) All religions lead to a single path.
(4) Having a religious outlook on life makes one mentally sound.
(5) None of these.

4. Why does the author not support the idea of universal religion?
(1) It will look like an artificial combination of different religions.
(2) It will spread intolerance among different religious sects.
(3) It will need a redefining of various religions.
(4) In such a case people will get confused.
(5) None of these.

5. How can inter-faith harmony be created in the world?
(1) by merging all the religions into a single body
(2) by delivering lectures on the finer aspects of every religion
(3) by making the world free of religions
(4) by having universal religion
(5) None of these

6. Which of the following is true in context of the passage?
(1) An idea of world religion can bear positive fruit.
(2) Immorality breeds corruption.
(3) In the present context religions are mixed with politics.
(4) Various religions are based on contradictory thinking
(5) None of these

7. According to Swami Vivekananda, Which of the following is true?
(1) Spiritualism is the lifeblood of any race.
(2) Materialism is not acceptable in any society.
(3) Man cannot live by materialism.
(4) Spiritualism is opposed to materialism
(5) None of these.

8. What is the central theme of this passage?
(1) No place for materialism in our society
(2) Man and culture
(3) Religion for harmony
(4) Adherence to morality
(5) Duties of a man

Directions (Q.9-11): Choose the word which is same in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage.

9. BALLAST
(1) foundation
(2) lesson
(3) awakening
(4) blending
(5) devotion

10. DECEIT
(1) anarchy
(2) plunder
(3) corruption
(4) disbelief
(5) emotional

11. SYNTHETIC
(1) sentimental
(2) artificial
(3) philosophical
(4) natural
(5) emotional

For (Q. 12-14): Choose the word which is opposite in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage.

12. COHESIVE
(1) weak
(2) distinct
(3) depart
(4) fragmented
(5) boring

13. WANES
(1) increases
(2) fades
(3) gains
(4) appears
(5) emerges

14. FOSTERS
(1) empowers
(2) bans
(3) discourages
(4) risks
(5) ignores



Answers:
1. 2
2. 3
3. 4
4. 2
5. 2
6. 2 
7. 1
8. 3
9. 1
10. 4
11. 2
12. 1
13. 1
14. 3

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