From August 2014

Your Weekly Dose of Current Affairs (#9)

current affairsEvery week, we scour the newspapers for the articles which will help you become awesome in GK. Here’s the list of current affairs for last week.

1. Yogacharya BKS Iyengar passes away at 95

World renowned yoga exponent B.K.S. Iyengar passed away at a private hospital in Pune on early Wednesday morning.

More Details: The Hindu

2. Teenager Max Verstappen to be youngest Formula 1 driver in history

The teenager Max Verstappen will become the youngest Formula One driver in history next season after Toro Rosso announced the 16-year-old will replace Jean-Éric Vergne.

More Details: The Guardian

3. Muzaffar Ali to get Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award

Noted filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who had directed the Bollywood classic “Umrao Jaan”, has been selected for Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for his outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.

More Details: The Hindu

4. Irom Sharmila freed after 14 years as suicide charges dropped

Human rights activist Irom Sharmila who has been on hunger strike for the last 14 years in protest against alleged army atrocities walked free on Wednesday from a prison hospital where doctors had force-fed her to keep her alive.

More Details: Reuters

5. KV Thomas takes over as new PAC Chairman

Senior Congress leader K V Thomas on Wednesday took over as the new Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

More Details: Business Today

6. Thailand coup leader becomes Prime Minister

Thailand’s coup leader, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, was officially appointed the country’s 29th prime minister Monday, saying that he would appoint members of his new cabinet in September.

More Details: Wall Street Journal

7. INS Kamorta, India’s first indigenously built stealth warship commissioned

The Indian Navy on Saturday formally received the first fully ingeniously built anti-submarine warfare Corvette (ASW), INS Kamorta, at Visakhapatnam.

More Details: DNA

8. TCS, Bharti pledge Rs 200 cr to Modi’s Clean India drive

The corporate sector has responded positively to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day call that it build toilets in schools as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.

More Details: Business Standard

9. Ravi Shastri appointed as the Director of Indian Cricket Team

In a damage-control move, the BCCI has appointed former Test all-rounder Ravi Shastri Director of Cricket in the Indian team for the five-match ODI series against England, beginning August 25.

More Details: The Hindu

10. AFI President Sumariwala to be Chef-de-Mission for Asian Games

Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwala has been appointed the Chef-de-Mission of the Indian contingent for next month’s Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

More Details: The Hindu

Your Weekly Dose of Current Affairs (#8)

current affairsEvery week, we scour the newspapers for the articles which will help you become awesome in GK. Here’s the list of current affairs for last week.

1. PM Narendra Modi inducts India’s largest indigenously built warship INS Kolkata

Inducting the country’s largest indigenously built warship, INS Kolkata, into the Indian Navy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the defence forces will be modernised to ensure that “no one can dare challenge us”.

More Details: The Economic Times

2. Vijaywada to be ad hoc capital of Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to have an ad hoc capital at Vijayawada until the needed infrastructure and other projects for the new capital are completed.

More Details: The Hindu

3. Robin Williams, the Oscar winning comedian dies at the age of 63 in suspected suicide

Robin Williams, the comedian who evolved into the surprisingly nuanced, Academy Award-winning actor, imbuing his performances with wild inventiveness and a kind of manic energy, died on Monday at his home in Tiburon, Calif., north of San Francisco.

More Details: New York Times

4. Bimal Jalan to head Expenditure Commission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the constitution of the Expenditure Management Commission, which will be headed by former Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan. The other members of the commission are Sumit Bose, former Finance Secretary, and Subir Gokarn, former RBI Deputy Governor.

More Details: The Hindu Business Line

5. WHO approves experimental drugs as Ebola death toll tops 1000

The World Health Organisation on Tuesday authorised the use of experimental drugs in the fight against Ebola as the death toll topped 1,000 and a Spanish priest became the first European to succumb to the virus in the latest outbreak.

More Details: DNA

6. Tata-Singapore Airlines to sport Vistara brand, eyes October launch

Tata-SIA Airlines Limited (TSAL), the aviation joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines , said on Monday the brand name of its new airline will be Vistara.

More Details: Business Today

7. Archery World Cup: Indian Women win Gold, Men settle for Silver

There was mixed news for the Indian archery contingent at the World Cup stage 4 with the women’s recurve team clinching gold while the men’s recurve team settled for silver here on Sunday.

More Details: NDTV

8. Daroji Eeramma is no more

The legendary ‘Burra Katha’ exponent Daroji Eeramma died on Tuesday at a private hospital in Bellary. Ms. Eeramma had mastered the folk art form of storytelling based on mythological and social themes.

More Details: The Hindu

9. Himachal Pradesh selected to host First Para-gliding World Cup in India

After hosting the para-gliding pre-World Cup successfully last year, Himachal Pradesh is now gearing up to host the 2015 para-gliding World Cup.

More Details: Outlook

10. No Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna this year

The Arjuna Awards selection committee, headed by World Cup winning cricket captain Kapil Dev, couldn’t find a suitable candidate for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sports honour, and nominated cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin and pistol shooter Heena Sidhu, along with 13 others, for the Arjuna Awardsi.

More Details: The Economic Times

Your Weekly Dose of Current Affairs (#7)

Every week, we scour the newspapers for the articles which will help you become awesome in GK. Here’s the list of current affairs for last week.

1. Rosetta reaches comet 67P’s orbit

After a journey of 10 years, five months and four days through deep space, crossing a distance of 6.4 billion km, the Rosetta spacecraft arrived at its destination on August 6.

More Details: The Hindu, Time

2. Ebola outbreak in West Africa an international health emergency

Global health experts on Friday declared the Ebola epidemic ravaging West Africa an international health emergency that requires a coordinated global approach.

More Details: CNN

3. The Securities Laws Bill: Amendments and their legal implications

The Lok Sabha unanimously approved a landmark securities law last week, empowering the capital market regulator to search premises and seize assets of securities law offenders.

More Details: The Economic Times

4. Cartoonist Pran creator of iconic Chacha Chaudhary dead

Creator of the lovable comic character Chacha Chaudhary, cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma breathed his last on Wednesday.

More Details: The Hindu

5. India finish 5th in Commonwealth Games with 64 medals

Parupalli Kashyap broke a 32-year jinx to claim the men’s singles badminton gold, while the women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa as also the men’s hockey team clinched silvers to cap an creditable Indian showing at the 20th Commonwealth Games which closed om Sunday.

More Details: The Hindu

6. Chinese journalist, lawyer win Magsaysay Awards

A Chinese investigative journalist whose work has led to the ouster of corrupt officials and a Chinese environmental lawyer are among this year’s six recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, often regarded as Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize.

More Details: The Hindu

7. RBI proposes ‘anytime anywhere’ bill payment system

For the convenience of people to pay school fees and municipal taxes and utility bills through an integrated platform, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday proposed setting up an “anytime anywhere” bill payment system.

More Details: Times of India

8. Kapil Dev to head Arjuna Award selection committee

Former India cricket captain Kapil Dev will head the Arjuna Awards selection committee for choosing this year`s outstanding sportspersons of the country while former hockey skipper Ajitpal Singh is likely to be in charge of selecting the Dronacharya awardees.

More Details: Zee News

9. RBI keeps policy rate unchanged, sounds tough on inflation

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key policy repo rate unchanged on Tuesday as widely expected, and voiced a commitment to bringing down inflation that convinced many analysts that markets will have to wait until next year for the next cut in rates.

More Details: Reuters

10. Micromax pips Samsung as India’s leading mobile phone brand

Indian budget smartphone maker Micromax has ousted Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as the leading brand in all types of mobile phones in the April-June quarter, grabbing a 16.6 percent market share, a recent research report showed.

More Details: Reuters

Your Weekly Dose of Current Affairs (#6)

current affairsEvery week, we scour the newspapers for the articles which will help you become awesome in GK. Here’s the list of current affairs for last week.

1. Muzzafar Ali to get Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award

Noted filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who had directed the Bollywood classic “Umrao Jaan”, has been selected for Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for his outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.

More Details: The Hindu

2. Lt. Gen Dalbir Singh takes over as new Army Chief

Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose appointment as army chief had kicked up a row, will take over as the next head of the 1.3 million strong force succeeding Gen. Bikram Singh who is retiring.

More Details: NDTV

3.  Vincenzo Nibali wins Tour de France

Vincenzo Nibali put his lungs and legs to work one last time, marching up to the winner’s podium of the Tour de France and sighing deeply before the Italian anthem echoed over the Champs-Elysees.

More Details: ESPN

4. SS Mundra takes charge as RBI deputy governor

S.S. Mundra, former chairman and managing director of Bank of Baroda has taken over as deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) effective Thursday, the central bank said in a press release.

More Details: Mint

5. Neel Mukherjee longlisted for Man Booker Prize

Neel Mukherjee, a London-based writer whose recently published novel, The Lives of Others, won rave reviews, has been long-listed for the Man Booker prize 2014, which, for the first time, has admitted novels in English from across the globe.

More Details: Hindustan Times

6. International Tiger Day celebrated

International Tiger Day was celebrated on 29th July.

More Details: The Independent

7. PM Narendra Modi launches new website ‘MyGov’ for citizens

Prime minister Narendra Modi today launched a website MyGov that aims to help citizens contribute in governance by giving their opinions and views on important issues like clean Ganga or skill development.

More Details: Times of India

8. One Life is not Enough: Autobiography of Natwar Singh released

The autobiography of the former External Affairs Minister was released during the week.

More Details: Indian Express

9. Sierra Leone declares Ebola public health emergency

Sierra Leone’s president has declared a public health emergency to curb the deadly Ebola outbreak.

More Details: BBC, Vox

10. Indian E-commerce firm Flipkart raises eye-popping $1 billion

Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce firm, confirmed on Tuesday that it had raised $1 billion in its latest round of fund-raising, making it by far the largest venture investment ever received by an Indian Internet company.

More Details: NYTimes

Recommended Books for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

We have done 2 posts on recommended books so far. Find the one on Quant here and one on Verbal here. Here’s the final one of the series on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.

1. How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for the CAT: Arun Sharma

As with the other Arun Sharma books, watch out for the errors! That said, this is quite a good book to start off with and gives a lot of examples for practice.

Link: Arun Sharma

2. How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for the CAT: Arun Sharma

This is a decent book for logical reasoning. However, be sure to supplement the logical reasoning from other sources (test series, etc.) in addition to this book.

Link: Arun Sharma

3. Pearson Guide to Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT and Other MBA Entrance Examinations: Nishit Sinha 

This is quite comprehensive in its content and contains both DI and LR in the same book unlike Arun Sharma. Choose either this or the 2 books mentioned above.

Link: Nishit Sinha