11 July 2014 Daily Current Affairs Updates

11 July 2014 Daily Current Affairs Updates

1) World Population Day 2014 observed: World Population Day was observed across the world on 11 July 2014. The theme of World PopulationDay 2014 was Investing in Young People. World Population Day is observed to bring awareness to people about importance of small families and living healthy lives. The day is celebrated with several programs that are initiated to educate people about family planning methods.

2) Puducherry Lt. Governor Virendra Kataria sacked: Another gubernatorial political appointee of the previous UPA regime is on the way out. On Friday (11 Jul 2014)  Puducherry Lt. Governor Virendra Kataria was sacked. A Rashtrapathi Bhavan communiqué said President Pranab Mukherjee directed that Mr. Kataria “shall cease to hold office of the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.” Lt. General (Retd.) Ajay Kumar Singh, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar islands, will be the interim Lt. Governor.

3) Bill on Polavaram project passed in LS amid protests: The controversial Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill was rammed through in the Lok Sabha on Friday through a voice vote despite stiff opposition. The Bill that paves the way for the shifting of seven mandals from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh for the Polavaram project was opposed on the grounds that the transfer of land was being done in an unconstitutional manner, violating Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution which mandate that the two State Assemblies have to be consulted.

4) Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman resigned: Mizoram Governor Vakkom B. Purushothaman has resigned.  Mr. Purushothaman's resignation comes in the wake of his transfer to Nagaland. Coming down heavily on the NDA government's decision to seek resignation of Governors appointed by the UPA, Mr. Purushothaman said Governors could not be shunted around like government servants. "This is a Constitutional post and must be accorded due respect," he said.

5) World's highest railway bridge over Chenab to be operational by 2016: Indian engineers are toiling in the Himalayas to build the world's highest railway bridge which is expected to be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower when completed by 2016. The bridge is expected to be 359 metres (1,177 feet) high when completed -- surpassing the world's current tallest railway bridge over the Beipanjiang River in China's Guizhou province, which stands at 275 metres high. The bridge will connect Baramulla to Jammu in the Himalayan state with a travel time of six-and-a-half hours, almost half the time it currently takes.

6) Air India joined Star Alliance: In a move with several benefits for the India globetrotter, Air India on 11 July 2014 joined Star Alliance, the world's largest network of airlines with 27 members. Now, AI flyers from Friday itself will be able to earn-and-burn miles on any member carrier, apart from enjoying seamless connectivity across the globe and having access to lounges at all airports.

7) Delhi now second most populous city in world: Delhi has become the world’s second most populous city after Tokyo, more than doubling its population since 1990 to 25 million, according to a UN report. The 2014 revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects launched on Thursday said India was projected to add the highest number of people to its urban population by 2050, ahead of China.

Current Affairs Questions from 04 and 05 July 2014

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4 July 2014 dedicated to the nation the newly constructed railway line between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Udhampur in which state?

(A) Uttarakhand

(B) Uttar Pradesh

(C) Punjab

(D) Jammu and Kashmir

2) Which team recently became the first team to reach four semi-finals in a row in the history of FIFA World Cup?

(A) Brazil

(B) Netherlands

(C) Germany

(D) Argentina

3) Name the nation's first 3D mobile game launched by Indian Air Force on Jul 3, 2014 to encourage youths to join the Air Force?

(A) Guardians of the Sky

(B) Sky Security

(C) The Protectors

(D) Bravo Indians

4) National Doctors’ Day is celebrated every year on?

(A) July 5

(B) July 4

(C) July 1

(D) July 3

5) Which state Government on 30 June 2014 declared Camel as its's State animal?

(A) Punjab

(B) Haryana

(C) Rajasthan

(D) Jammu Kashmir

6) The Bor Wildlife Sanctuary which has become the country’s 47th Tiger Reserve is in which state?

(A) Assam

(B) Maharashtra

(C) Madhya Pradesh

(D) Kerala

7) Michelle Howard recently became the first female four-star admiral in the Navy of which country?

(A) USA

(B) UK

(C) Canada

(D) Germany

8) Which country on 3 July 2014 decided to issue multiple entry visas for short term stay to Indians?

(A) China

(B) South Korea

(C) Bhutan

(D) Japan

9) Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will use the DTH platform of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to launch its TV channel on?

(A) July 1, 2014

(B) August 15, 2014

(C) September 13, 2014

(D) October 2, 2014

10) Who won the 2014 Liberty Medal on 30 June 2014?

(A) Barack Obama

(B) Stephen Hawkings

(C) Salman Rushidie

(D) Malala Yousafzai

Answers

1) Ans. (D) Jammu and Kashmir

2) Ans. (C) Germany

3) Ans. (A) Guardians of the Sky

4) Ans. (C) July 1

5) Ans. (C) Rajasthan

6) Ans. (B) Maharashtra

7) Ans. (A) USA

8) Ans. (D) Japan

9) Ans. (B) August 15, 2014

10) Ans. (D) Malala Yousafzai

Current Affairs : 01 July 2014

1) Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal granted bail by Supreme Court: The Supreme Court on 1 July 2014 gave regular bail to Tehelka founder editor Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting his junior colleague and warned him it could curtail his liberty if there was attempt to contact witnesses including the complainant of the case. A bench of justice HL Dattu and justice SA Bobde directed Tejpal not to seek any “unnecessary adjournments” in the case and fixed a deadline of eight months for the court in Goa to conclude the trial.

2) Google shutting down Orkut social network, to focus on more popular services: Orkut, Google's first social networking site, will cease to exist after September, with the Internet giant deciding to shut down the service launched 10 years ago. Google said it will shut down Orkut, which is very popular in India and Brazil, on September 30. The service, however, did not do so well in other parts of the world and lost sheen to rivals like Facebook. Orkut, which popularised posts or "scraps" between friends, did not disclose the number of users on the website. However, according to its website about 50.6 per cent of its users were from Brazil. Another 20.44 per cent came from India, while the US and Pakistan accounted for 17.78 per cent and 0.86 per cent, respectively.

"Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut's growth, we've decided to bid Orkut farewell," Google said in a post on the Orkut blog. Orkut was launched in 2004, the same year when Facebook was founded. Facebook is now the world's largest social network with 1.28 billion users.

3) SBI launched six digital banking branches: The State Bank of India on 1 July 2014 launched six digital branches across the country as part of its programme to offer next generation banking solutions to the growing mobile phone and internet savvy customer base. These branches, named sbiINTOUCH, will facilitate services such as instant account opening with personalised debit cards, instant loan approval for car and home, remote expert advisors available via video links, along with interactive walls and table displays. Besides Delhi, where sbiINTOUCH branch was inaugurated by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the other such branches are located in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

4) IDBI Bank launched mobile banking service: IDBI Bank on 1 July 2014 introduced mobile banking service for its customers. This facility enables the customer to meet all banking needs such as fund transfer, bill payments, visa money transfer, DTH/ mobile recharge and much more from any destination. To commemorate 50 years of its journey in the Indian financial sector, the public sector bank’s Chairman & Managing Director M.S. Raghavan also opened 50 new branches pan-India through e-inauguration. With the opening of these new branches, IDBI Bank now has 1,467 branches, and 2,535 ATMs spread across 1,046 geographical locations of the country.

5) India-England to play five-Test rubbers in future: From 2016 onwards an India-England series will always be a five-Test affair home and away. It would be a four-Test series against Australia and a minimum of three Tests against South Africa. The new FTP agreements and MOUs have been inked by all the ten full Test playing members of the revamped International Cricket Council at its annual meeting in Melbourne recently. As per the new FTP, India would have two home Test series every season between October and March unless they have to visit Australia which has retained the right to host the Boxing Day Test match at Melbourne, the BCCI official informed.

6) Jitu Rai becomes world's no. 1 pistol shooter: Jitu Rai's exploits at the recently-concluded editions of the World Cup in Munich and Maribor has seen him rise to World No. 1 spot in the men's 10m air pistol category, according to the ISSF rankings released on Tuesday.

7) President Pranab Mukherjee now on Twitter: President Pranab Mukherjee has joined the Twitter bandwagon, attracting thousands of followers on the website within an hour. He is the first serving president of India to join Twitter. Former president Abdul Kalam is already on Twitter with the handle @apj_abdul_kalam. President Mukherjee already has a Facebook page with over five lakh followers on the world's biggest social network.

8) New Zealand's Lou Vincent Gets Life Ban for Match-Fixing: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a life ban on disgraced former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent on Tuesday, just hours after the player admitted he was a "cheat" and had shamed his country and the sport by fixing matches.

9) Twitter buys Tap Commerce, a mobile ad retargeting startup: Twitter announced Monday that it has cut a deal to buy mobile ad firm Tap Commerce to bolster money-making tools at the popular one-to-many messaging service. San Francisco-based Twitter did not disclose how much it paid for Tap Commerce, which is located in New York City, but technology news website Recode.net reported the deal to be valued around $100 million.

10) Suresh Prabhu to head panel on power: The National Democratic Alliance government has appointed the former Cabinet Minister, Suresh Prabhu, as the head of a high-level panel on power revamp — “Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy.”

Current Affairs Questions & Answers: 28 to 30 June 2014

1) Vice President Hamid Ansari on 27 June 2014 left on a five-day visit to China where he will hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart Li Yuanchao and attend events to mark the 60th anniversary of Panchsheel agreement. Who was the last vice president to visit China?

(A) K R Narayanan

(B) A P J Abdul Kalam

(C) Dr. S Radhakrishnan

(D) Bhairon Singh Shekhawat

2) Which state on 27 June 2014 witnessed a gas pipeline blast of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) in which 16 people died?

(A) Bihar

(B) Karnataka

(C) Maharashtra

(D) Andhra Pradesh

3) Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal recently won which among the following Super Series badminton title after beating Spain's Carolina Marin in the summit clash on 29 June 2014?

(A) Singapore Open

(B) Indonesian Open

(C) Australian Open

(D) Indian Open

4) Laurent Fabius who was on a two-day official visit to India from 30 June 2014 to establish the first high-level contact with the Narendra Modi government is the foreign minister of?

(A) Singapore

(B) France

(C) Canada

(D) UK

5) Which former Indian player was recently named as the Batting Consultant of Indian Team for England Tour starting July 9?

(A) Saurav Ganguly

(B) Sachin Tendulkar

(C) Rahul Dravid

(D) V V S Laxman

 

6) What is the name of the ball which is being used in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2014?

(A) Jabulani

(B) Bossa Nova

(C) Teamgeist

(D) Brazuca

7) Indian cueist Pankaj Advani on 29 June 2014 created history by becoming the first player in the world to win world titles in the long and shorter formats of both billiards and snooker by pocketing the IBSF World 6-Red snooker Championship held in?

(A) Spain

(B) Egypt

(C) Mexico

(D) Belgium

8) India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ....... on 30 June 2014 successfully put five foreign satellites into orbit in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Indian Space Research Organisation’s spaceport in Sriharikota?

(A) PSLV C-23

(B) PSLV C-27

(C) PSLV C-21

(D) PSLV C-13

9) MK Narayanan who resigned on 30 June 2014 was the governor of?

(A) Nagaland

(B) West Bengal

(C) Karnataka

(D) Maharashtra

10) Seeking to boost household savings, the finance ministry is considering doubling the exemption limit for investments by individuals in financial instruments to Rs 2 lakh under ....... section?

(A) 80 C

(B) 80 B

(C) 80 E

(D) 80 A

Answers

1) Ans. (A) K R Narayanan

2) Ans. (D) Andhra Pradesh

3) Ans.  (C) Australian Open

4) Ans. (B) France

5) Ans. (C) Rahul Dravid

6) Ans. (D) Brazuca

7) Ans. (B) Egypt

8) Ans. (A) PSLV C-23

9) Ans. (B) West Bengal

10) Ans. (A) 80 C

29 June 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) Saina Nehwal wins Australian Open Super Series title: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal produced a dominating performance to lift her second title of the season, winning the $750,000 Star Australian Super Series after beating Spain's Carolina Marin in the summit clash on 29 June 2014. The sixth seeded Indian, who had won the India Open Grand Prix Gold earlier this year, prevailed 21-18, 21-11 in a 43-minute contest which left her richer by $56,000. The 24-year-old Saina, who enjoyed a 1-0 head-to-head record against Marin going into Sunday's match, logged the first point and displayed some deft net play against her rival, stroking in some delectably timed volleys to take a 5-2 lead in the opening game.

2) French foreign minister arriving on two-day visit, to meet Modi:French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will be on a two-day official visit to India from Monday to establish the first high-level contact with the Narendra Modi government. Fabius will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The French minister and Sushma Swaraj will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. A number of other engagements are envisaged during the visit, said an official statement.

3) Netherlands, Costa Rica Advance to World Cup Quarterfinals: Costa Rica and the Netherlands, both in dramatic fashion, have reached the quarterfinals of football's World Cup in Brazil. Already beating the odds by advancing out of one of the most difficult first round groups, Costa Rica shocked Greece in a penalty kick shootout Sunday in Recife. The teams ended regulation and in extra time tied a 1-1, and Costa Rica made all five of its kicks from the penalty spot to prevail 5-3. Earlier Sunday in Fortaleza, the Netherlands stunned Mexico with two late goals in a 2-1 victory. This is the first time Costa Rica has reached the World Cup quarterfinals.

4) Rahul Dravid Named Batting Consultant for England Tour: Rahul Dravid will assist chief coach Duncan Fletcher as Team India's batting consultant on the current tour of England. Dravid was the only successful Indian batsman when MS Dhoni's team were drubbed four-nil in the last Test series in England in 2011. Dravid, who is the coach of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, is regarded as a master tactician and his presence in a dressing room full of young players will come in handy. India play a five-Test series starting July 9. He will be with the team till the beginning of the first Test.

5) Pankaj Advani creates history in Egypt: Indian cueist Pankaj Advani Sunday created history by becoming the first player in the world to win world titles in the long and shorter formats of both billiards and snooker by pocketing the IBSF World 6-Red snooker Championship, in Sharm El-Shiekh, Eygpt.

Advani, India’s poster boy of cue sports, defeated Kacper Flilpiak of Poland in the final that lasted barely an hour to win his maiden 6-Red world title and ninth overall. He has now won both World snooker titles on debut — the IBSF World Snooker Championship, China and this one, the IBSF 6-Red World Snooker Championship in Egypt.

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 28 June 2014

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Jammu and Kashmir on July 4:Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a one-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir July 4, his first to the state after assuming office, official sources said. The prime minister will arrive in Jammu and then proceed to nearby Katra town to inaugurate the Katra-Udhampur train that would cover a 25-km distance between the two places, the sources told.

2) Sachin Tendulkar enjoyed Nadal match at Wimbledon: Sachin Tendulkar on 28 June 2014 took some time off to enjoy an afternoon at the Wimbledon watching Rafael Nadal in action. Tendulkar was seated in the Royal Box of the Centre Court where he watched the match between Rafael Nadal and Mikhail Kukushkin. Looking dapper in an ink blue suit with sky blue tie, Tendulkar sat alongside former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss while former football captain David Beckham sat just a row in-front.

3) Brazil and Colombia entered quarter finals of FIFA World Cup 2014: Hosts Brazil qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday after beating Chile 3-2 in a nail-biting penalty shootout. Paris Saint Germain bound David Luiz sent the home fans crazy on 18 minutes when he bundled in from close range for the opener – although Chile’s Gonzalo Jara appeared to get the final touch. In the last eight Brazil will meet Colombia after James Rodriguez scored twice to hand his nation a 2-0 win over Uruguay. Rodriguez sensationally fired Colombia into the lead on 28 minutes with arguably the finest goal of the tournament so far. The Monaco man controlled the ball on his chest, swivelled and then hammered in a left-footed dipping volley from 20 yards out.

4) Vice-President Hamid Ansari embarks on China visit: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Thursday left on a five-day visit to China where he will hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart Li Yuanchao and attend events to mark the 60th anniversary of Panchsheel agreement. This is the first visit of an Indian leader to China after the Narendra Modi government took over last month. It is also Ansari's first visit to China, and the first by an Indian Vice President since 1994. Then Vice President K R Narayanan had visited China in 1994.

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 27 June 2014

1) 15 killed as GAIL pipeline bursts in Andhra Pradesh: At least 15 people were charred to death and 18 suffered burns in a massive explosion in a GAIL-operated gas pipeline passing through Nagaram village in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. The victims include three women and three children. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu cut short his visit to Delhi and reached the accident site accompanied by Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

2) Pune's Fergusson College recognized the Third Gender in itsadmission forms: In a first, Pune’s Fergusson College has included the option of choosing “transgender” in its application forms for academic programmes beginning this year. The move that is both open minded and adhering to Supreme court’s ruling on April 15 earlier this year to recognize the third gender Pune’s Fergusson College has opened its gates for the transgender community by making a transgender option available in its admission application forms for the academic year 14-15. Activists and professors in the various colleges in the city welcomed the decision and have expressed the need for other colleges to take the cue.

3) Saina Nehwal marched Into Australian Open Semi-Finals: India's Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal marched into the women's singles semi-finals of the $750,000 Australian Badminton Open Super Series at the States Sports Centre, Sydney on 27 June 2014. The sixth seeded Hyderabadi needed only 47 minutes in the quarter-final to oust Japan's Eriko Hirose 21-18, 21-9 to level her career head-to-head to four-all.

4) Union Government granted Navratna Status to EIL and NBCC: The Union Government on 24 June 2014 granted Navratna status to Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC). Department of Public Enterprises under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises granted the navratna status to enhance the greater financial and operational autonomy.

5) Poland's Wroclaw city named 2016 World Book Capital: Poland’s Wroclaw city will be the World Book Capital (WBC) for 2016 in recognition of its promoting the publishing and bookselling industries, Unesco said. “Civic leaders in Wroclaw have developed an excellent programme that will promote reading among the wider public all through the year,” Unesco director general Irina Bokova said in a statement. Wroclaw — the largest city in western Poland — was selected “in light of the strong assets of its programme in terms of quality and variety” and in particular, “for its special focus on grass-root community involvement, as well as promotion of publishing, bookselling industries and libraries at regional and international levels”.

6) France to honour Shah Rukh Khan with 'Legion of France': France has decided to honour Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan with the 'Legion of France', one of its highest civilian awards. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will present the award to Khan next week. Fabius is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on June 29 to meet External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj.