From September 2014

General Knowledge

Your Weekly Dose of Current Affairs (#12)

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 the week.

1. PM Modi begins tour of US

Thousands of supporters are expected to throng midtown Manhattan on Sunday to greet India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi

More Details: Wall Street Journal

2. Mukesh Ambani tops the Forbes list of 100 richest Indian tycoons for eighth consecutive time

With a net worth of $23.6 billion, up $2.6 billion from last year, RIL Chief Mukesh Ambani topped the list for the eighth consecutive year.

More Details: Business Today

3. India PM Narendra Modi unveils ‘Make in India’ campaign

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched an ambitious campaign which aims to turn the country into a global manufacturing hub.

More Details: BBC

4. ISRO successfully places Mangalyaan in Mars’ orbit; India makes space history

ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Insertion is a resounding success, making India the first country to be successful on its maiden Mars mission.

More Details: DNAIndia

5. National award winning Liar’s Dice is India’s Oscar entry

The Film Federation of India has selected Geetu Mohandas’ Liar Dice as India’s official entry to the Oscars in the “Best Foreign language film” category.

More Details: Hindustan Times

6. SEBI notifies norms for REITs

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday notified the regulations on real estate and infrastructure investment trusts-REIT and InvIT.

More Details: Business Standard

7. Nalanda University reopens after 800 years, Sushma Swaraj inaugurates academic session

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Friday inaugurated the revived Nalanda University, renowned as a centre for learning till it was burnt down 800 years ago by an invading Turkish army.

More Details: Indian Express

8. IFC raises USD 100 mn in maiden onshore Maharaja Bonds

International Finance Corporation has completed its maiden onshore rupee bonds, the Maharaja Bonds, worth nearly $100 million from global and domestic institutional investors.

More Details: Business Today

9. Calcutta HC stays UBI’s wilful defaulter tag, says Kingfisher

Beleaguered carrier Kingfisher Airlines on Saturday said it has secured a stay from the Calcutta High Court on United Bank of India declaring the airline and its directors, including promoter Vijay Mallya, as wilful defaulters.

More Details: Business Today

10. Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa sent to jail in graft case

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was on Saturday sentenced to four years in jail in an 18-year-old corruption case and fined a staggering Rs 100 crore by a special court whose verdict unseats her from the post and could send her to political exile for 10 years.

More Details: Business Today

General Knowledge

Your Weekly Dose of Current Affairs (#11)

current affairsEvery week, we scour the newspapers for the articles which will help you become awesome in GK. Since we missed posting last week, here’s the list of current affairs for the last 2 weeks.

1. Asian Games kicks off in Incheon

Pop sensation Psy brought the housedown ‘Gangnam Style’ as Incheon laid out the red carpet for over 13,000 competitors from 45 countries with an exhilarating opening ceremony to launch the 17th Asian Games at the main stadium at Incheon on Friday.

More Details: Hindustan Times

2. Renowned Carnatic musician Mandolin Srinivas dies

India’s music fraternity woke up to the shocking news of the passing away of a child prodigy who grew into an inspirational Carnatic music icon – Uppalapu ‘Mandolin’ Srinivas — on Friday morning.

More Details: Hindustan Times

3. Scotland Rejects Independence in Vote

Voters in Scotland chose to stay in the U.K. by a convincing margin in a historic independence referendum, a major relief for a British government that offered big concessions to hold the 307-year-old union together.

More Details: Wall  Street Journal

4. Microsoft buys Mojang

Microsoft Corp. is hoping a cult videogame built around virtual blocks will help fix the company’s real-world problems, even if the brains behind the brand aren’t sticking around.

More Details: Wall Street Journal

5. HMT loses race against time, to be shut soon

HMT Watches, the iconic brand that evokes nostalgia in most Indians, will be shutting shop soon. The government has decided to wind up the company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HMT Ltd, which has been incurring losses since 2000 and has been unable to generate adequate resources to pay salaries to its employees.

More Details: Indian Express

6. Union Government clears stake sale 

The disinvestment programme for 2014-15 seems to have kicked off in right earnest with the Union Cabinet clearing the sale of government stake in three major public sector companies — Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Coal India (CIL) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).

More Details: The Hindu

7. Marin Cilic crushes Kei Nishikori to win US Open and first grand slam

Croatia’s Marin Cilic won his first Grand Slam title with a comprehensive straight-sets win over Kei Nishikori of Japan at the US Open.

More Details: BBC

8. Electrolux to Buy GE Appliances Business for $3.3 Billion

Electrolux has agreed to pay $3.3 billion to acquire General Electric Co. appliances business, a move that would put the Swedish group head-to-head with Whirlpool Corp. at the top of the U.S. market for white goods.

More Details: Wall Street Journal

9. ‘Hindi Diwas’ celebrated across the nation

On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday appealed for the popularization of Hindi, saying it has a special place among all the languages in India.

More Details: Mint

10. Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed NCW chairperson

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has appointed BJP national executive member Lalitha Kumaramangalam as the new chief of the National Commission for Women (NCW).

More Details: The Hindu

General Knowledge

Your Weekly Dose of Current Affairs (#10)

current affairsEvery week, we scour the newspapers for the articles which will help you become awesome in GK. Since we missed posting last week, here’s the list of current affairs for the last 2 weeks.

1. Actor Director Richard Attenborough passes away at 90

Oscar-winning British filmmaker Richard Attenborough, renowned for his critically-acclaimed biopic on Mahatma Gandhi, has died. He was 90.

More Details: Hindu Business Line

2. Nagpur gets India’s first ethanol run bus

Launching India’s first ethanol-run bus in the city on a pilot basis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that a Bill to make provision for running vehicles on bio-fuels and hybrid electric would be tabled in the Parliament in the next session.

More Details: DNAIndia

3. Union Government launches Dot Bharat domain

The government on Wednesday officially launched the .bharat domain name in Devanagari script covering eight languages including Hindi.

More Details: NDTV

4. Tata Value Homes and Snapdeal tie up to sell homes online

Tata Value Homes, a 100 percent subsidiary of Tata Housing, has entered into a strategic partnership with Snapdeal.com to allow consumers to purchase dream homes online.

More Details: Hindu Business Line

5. PM Modi launches Jan Dhan Yojana; 1.5 crore bank accounts opened

Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launched the government’s financial inclusion programme – the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. The project. which will help provide a bank account for every Indian household is widely seen as the first comprehensive financial inclusion scheme in the country.

More Details: Business Standard

6. PV Sindhu bags Bronze Medal in World Badminton Championship

PV Sindhu, who made history on Friday, had to be satisfied with bronze for the second successive year as she was beaten by Carolina Marin of Spain in the semifinals in Copenhagen.

More Details: New Indian Express

7. Abhishek Bachchan’s Jaipur Pink Panthers stun hosts Mumbai in the finals; clinch inaugural title of Pro Kabaddi League

The Jaipur Pink Panthers put up a fine display of their attacking prowess as they beat an off-guard U Mumba 35-24 to clinch the inaugural Pro Kabaddi League trophy here at the Sardar Patel indoor stadium, NSCI in Mumbai on Sunday.

More Details: DNAIndia

8. Justice HL Dattu to be next Chief Justice of India

President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday appointed Justice H.L. Dattu as the next chief justice of India, a press release from the government stated.

More Details: Livemint

9. Andhra Pradesh’s new capital will be in the Vijaywada region announces CM Chandrababu NaiduT

The new capital of Andhra Pradesh will be located in Vijayawada region, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced in the state assembly on Thursday, putting an end to months of speculation over the issue even as some ambiguity remained on the exact location.

More Details: Economic Times

10. India signs civil nuclear agreement with Australia

India will now be in a position to secure uranium from Australia to meet its energy requirements, with the two countries inking a bilateral civil nuclear agreement on Friday. The deal was announced by visiting Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, after talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Friday.

More Details: Hindu Business Line

11. Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares wins US Open mixed doubles title

Sania Mirza and Brazilian Bruno Soares won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title on Friday after defeating the American-Mexican side of Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez.

More Details: DNAIndia

11. United Bank of India declares Vijay Mallya a wilful defaulter

United Bank of India (UBI) has declared Vijay Mallya and three directors of Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) as wilful defaulters. The development was confirmed by the bank’s executive director Deepak Narang.

More Details: The Hindu