current affairs pdf june 2013 en

Current Affairs

A publication ofNirdeshak.com

June 2013

Current Affairs from June 1, 2013toJune 30, 2013

1 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs1 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs

1 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, Ajay Shirke resigns,Analgin Ban in India, Arvind Mahankali, Avinash Chander,Avinash Chander - New DG of DRDO,


1998 QE2, 2 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 2 June2013 Current Affairs, Asteroid 1998 QE2, Current Affairsof 2 June 2013, Daily Current Affairs,


12 minutes of advertising per hour of TV transmission, 3June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 3 June 2013 CurrentAffairs, Cap on TV commercials and ads, CURRENTAFFAIRS, Current Affairs India,


4 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 4 June 2013 CurrentAffairs, Arms Regulation Treaty, Arms Regulation Treatysigned by 62 countries, Charan Das Mahant,Chhattisgarh Congress Chief,


5 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 5 June 2013 CurrentAffairs, Annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities2013 Index, Current Affairs of 5 June 2013, Daily CurrentAffairs, Inflation indexed bonds released,


6 June 2013 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS, Amazonlaunches operations in India, amazon.in, amazon.inlaunched, CPSE to hold negotiations with employees,Current Affairs of 6 June 2013,


7 June 2013 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS, 7 June 2013Current Affairs, Current Affairs of 7 June 2013, DailyCurrent Affairs, DICCI SME Fund, first SEBI-registeredventure capital fund for Dalits,

8-9 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs8-9 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs

8 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 9 June 2013 - DailyCurrent Affairs, AFSPA reduced in Tripura, Current Affairsof 8 June 2013, Current Affairs of 9 June 2013, electronicsnooping,


10 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 10 June 2013Current Affairs, Canadian Grand Prix, Canadian GrandPrix 2013, Current Affairs of 10 June 2013, K. Srikanth,


11 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 11 June 2013 CurrentAffairs, BCCI Operation Clean-up, Current Affairs of 11June 2013, LK Advani, LK ADvani resignation,


12 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 12 June 2013Current Affairs, Current Affairs of 12 June 2013, ITCMarket Capitalization 2013, Linking of 2 Chinese rivers,Linking of Yangtze and Huang He,


13 June 2013, 13 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 13June 2013 Current Affairs, BJD Swabhiman SamaveshRally, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, BSNL telegramservice,


14 June 2013 - daily Current Affairs, 14 June 2013Current Affairs, Akbar Bugti, Akbar Bugti killing 2006,Cauvery Supervisory Committee, CURRENT AFFAIRS,


15 June 2013, 15 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 15June 2013 Current Affairs, Airbus A350, Ayesha Farooq,CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 15 June 2013,


16 June 2013, 16 June 2013 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS,16 June 2013 Current Affairs, 68th General Assembly ofUN, Ajay Maken, Balochistan Liberation Army,


17 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, Aligarh MuslimUniversity to raise fees after 15 years, CURRENTAFFAIRS FROM 1 June 2013, Current Affairs of 17 June2013, Daily Current Affairs, Empowered Committee ofState Finance Ministers on the GST,


18 June 2013 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS, 18 June 2013Current Affairs, Crime Rate India 2012, Crime Rate ofIndian States 2012, Current Affairs of 18 June 2013, DailyCurrent Affairs,


19 June 2013 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS, 19 June 2013Current Affairs, 39th Summit of G-8, Air Costa, BrazilProtests 2013, Current Affairs of 19 June 2013,


13th Amendment of Sri Lankan Constitution, 20 June2013 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS, 20 June 2013 CurrentAffairs, CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 20 June 2013, GrameenBank, Grameen Bank Restructuring,


147 Central Govt. schemes to be merged in 70, 147Centrally Sponsored Schemes, 147 Centrally SponsoredSchemes (CSS), 21 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 21June 2013 Current Affairs, Amol Rajan,


10.5 million tonnes of FCI foodgrain to be sold in openmarket, 22 June 2013, 22 June 2013 - Daily CurrentAffairs, 22 June 2013 Current Affairs, Average monthlyper capita expenditure (MCPE) of the poorest of the poor,Committee to examine aspects related indecentportrayal of women in mass media,

23 and 24 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs23 and 24 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs

23 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 23 June 2013Current Affairs, 24 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 24June 2013 Current Affairs, 6 Rajasthan Forts in UNESCOList, Current Affairs of 23 June 2013,


25 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 25 June 2013Current Affairs, 8th Tal Championship Chess 2013,


26 June 2013 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS, 26 June 2013Current Affairs, Angel Investors, Attack on Kabul

Current Affairs of 25 June 2013, Daily Current Affairs,Darren Lehmann - New coach of Australia,

Presidential palace, Current Affairs of 26 June 2013, DailyCurrent Affairs,


12 river basin authorities, 27 June 2013 CURRENTAFFAIRS, 300 LIC Mini offices, Banihal-Qazigund,Banihal-Qazigund Railway Section, CURRENT AFFAIRS -DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS,


C. Rangarajan Panel on Natural Gas Pricing,Chandrapada, Director General - National DisasterResponse Force and Civil Defence, First White Label ATMin India, ICE-NYSE-Euronext, Indian Business Leader ofthe Year 2013,


16th Round of Negotiations of Border Dispute betweenIndia and China, 29 June 2013 - Daily Current Affairs, 29June 2013 Current Affairs, Amarnath Yatra 2013, Analgin,Analgin Banned,


100th Tour de France, 40th Chief Justice of India, 40thChief Justice of India - P. Sathasivam, first South Asiancountry to impose a ban on testing of cosmetics and itsingredients on animals, Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC),Neyveli Lignite Corporation Disinvestment,


1)1) Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad cleared a proposal to ban a commonly used pain-killer 36 years after this drug was banned in the US. What is the name of this drug, which isusually sold over the counter even though it is a prescription drug? – AnalginAnalgin (Analgin isknown to cause a severe fall in the number of white blood cells and is banned in a largenumber of countries including not only developed ones such as the US, Canada, Australia andNew Zealand but also in Nepal, Vietnam, Morocco, Nigeria, the Philippines and Yemen. TheHealth Ministry also decided to ban anti-diabetic drug Pioglitazone, which is believed toincrease risks of bladder cancer and heart failure over a long period)

2)2) Basic trainer aircraft Pilatus, PC-7 Mk-II, was inducted as a trainer aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) at the Air ForceAcademy (AFA) in Dundigal, Hyderabad on 31 May 2013. PC-7 Mk-II will replace the HJT-16 Kiran aircraft, which has been areliable training aircraft for the IAF for ages. This new training aircraft has been procured from which country? – SwitzerlandSwitzerland(First formal flight of PC-7 Mk-II was also conducted at AFA on this day. The aircraft would be used for basic training of all IAFpilots, in addition to those of the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard)

3)3) A seven-member Task Force was constituted on 31 May 2013 by the HRD Ministry, which will prepare a blue print forcreating a special purpose vehicle to take forward the concept of National Testing Agency (NTA). Who has been madeChairman of this task force? – Sanjay Govind DhandeSanjay Govind Dhande , former Director of IIT, Kanpur (This task force will haverepresentatives from CBSE, UGC, NCERT, AICTE and from the Ministry. NTA is a proposed new agency which would beassigned the task of conducting NET (National Eligibility Test) and GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering). Therationale for setting up the NTA lies in ensuring that multiplicity of entrance examination leading to stress on the students bereduced)

4)4) Who was appointed as the new Director General of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) on 31 May2013? – Avinash ChanderAvinash Chander (Chander is the main architect of India’s long range missile programmes including Agni.Chander was also appointed as the new scientific advisor to Defence Minister)

5)5) Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s secretary and treasurer on 31 May 2013 tendered their resignationapparently opposing BCCI President N. Srinivasan. What are the names of these two office-bearers of BCCI, whoseresignations have further worsened Srinivasan’s position in the board? – Sanjay Dagdale (Secretary) and Ajay ShirkeSanjay Dagdale (Secretary) and Ajay Shirke(Treasurer)(Treasurer)

6)6) Who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest on 30 May 2013, an annual US test to check spelling power, brainpower, knowledge of vocabulary and composure? – Arvind MahankaliArvind Mahankali , a 13-year old Indian-American (With Arvind’s win,children from the Indian-American community have scripted history by winning this contest six times in a row since itsinception in 2008)

7)7) What was the growth rate of GDP for Indian economy for 2012-13 as per the data released by the Central Statistics Office(CSO) on 31 May 2013? – 5%5% (This is the lowest annual rate of growth in a decade. However, economy staged a feeblerecovery in the fourth quarter (Jan-Mar) of 2012-13 during which the GDP growth stood at 4.8% as against 4.7% in theprevious quarter (Oct-Dec 2012)

8)8) What was India’s fiscal deficit during 2012-13 as announced by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on 31 May2013? – 4.9%4.9% (This is lower than the targeted deficit of 5.2%. The Centre’s fiscal deficit stood at Rs. 4,89,890 in 2012-13 asagainst the budgeted deficit of Rs. 5,20,925 crore. This is the first time in over two years that the Centre’s fiscal deficit wasbelow 5% and was achieved through higher revenues and a compression in expenditure. Fiscal deficit in 2011-12 was arecord 5.9%)

http://www.nirdeshak.com/1-june-2013-daily-current-affairs.html

http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/analgin.jpg

http://www.nirdeshak.com/hi/test


http://www.nirdeshak.com/india





1)1) What is the name of a new defence procurement policy that was brought into force by theDefence Ministry from 1 June 2013 and which aims at enhancing transparency and probity inmilitary purchases? – The Defence Procurement Procedure 2013 – DPP-13The Defence Procurement Procedure 2013 – DPP-13 (This policyhas been formulated and implemented in the backdrop of scams such as the VVIP chopperdeal. An important feature of DPP-13 is that it gives first right of refusal to Indian vendors topromote indigenous industry)

2)2) The ambitious scheme for direct transfer of cash subsidy on cooking gas was kick-started in how many districts of thecountry on 1 June 2013? – 1818 (Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Veerappa Moily formally launched the scheme at Tumkur(near Bangalore) in Karnataka. Under this scheme consumers will be paid Rs 435 directly in their bank accounts. AllAadhaar-linked domestic LPG consumers will get an advance in their bank account as soon as they book the first subsidisedcylinder before delivery)

3)3) What was the name of an asteroid which passed relatively close from the edge of the Earth on 31 May 2013 and whichwas powerful enough to wipe out the whole civilization of Earth, if collided? – 1998 QE21998 QE2 (This asteroid passed some 6million kms from the edge of the Earth, a distance presumed to be relatively close in astronomical terms. 1998 QE2 had adiameter of 2.7 km and had its moon along with it, which was 600 m wide)

4)4) Infosys founder NR Narayan Murthy was reappointed as Chairman of the company, as announced by the company on 1June 2013. What is the name of Mr. Narayan Murthy’s son who was also included in the reconstituted board of Infosys andwho would function as Executive Assistant to Narayan Murthy? – Rohan MurthyRohan Murthy (With Narayan Murthy’s reappointment, thecurrent chairman K.V. Kamath would step down from his position as Chairman of the Board and will take up the position ofLead Independent Director)

5)5) Who was the commissioner of Indian Premier League (IPL), who resigned from his post on 1 June 2013? – Rajiv ShuklaRajiv Shukla(He became the third top official of the BCCI to step down in 24 hours following resignations of BCCI secretary SanjayJagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke)

6)6) State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) plans to open how many new branches in the current fiscal, which is the goldenjubilee year of the bank? – 100100 (Jaipur based SBBJ is a subsidiary of State Bank of India (SBI) and had 1,037 branches as on31 March 2013)

7)7) Banking operations of ICICI Bank was hit for a few hours on 1 June 2013 due to some technical problems in ‘Finacle’, theplatform on which ICICI Bank’s online operations are carried out. Which company is the developer of Finacle? – InfosysInfosysLimitedLimited


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Defence-Procurement-Procedure-2013.jpg



1)1) What was total inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) during 2012-13 as announced inthe pertaining data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)? –$22.42 billion$22.42 billion (FDI inflow declined by 38% as compared to 2011-12, during which theseinflows stood at $35.12 billion

2)2) Which sector attracted highest inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) during 2012-13? –Service sectorService sector , which attracted $4.83 billion worth of FDI (Service sector was followed byhotel and tourism ($3.25 billion), metallurgy ($1.46 billion), construction ($1.33 billion),

automobiles ($1.53 billion) and Pharmaceuticals ($1.12 billion))

3)3) From which country India received highest inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) during 2012-13? – MauritiusMauritius , $9.49billion (Mauritius was followed by UK ($7.87 billion), Singapore ($5.25 billion), Japan ($2.97 billion) and United States ($1.11billion))

4)4) Who was named as the interim president of BCCI on 2 June 2013 after N.Srinivasan agreed to step aside from president-ship till the probe in IPL betting scam is over? – Jagmohan DalmiyaJagmohan Dalmiya (While Srinivasan will remain BCCI President,Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and a former president of the BCCI and ICC, willtake over executive power in the interim. This decision was taken in an emergency meeting of BCCI held at Chennai)

5)5) Who became the first person from minority community in Pakistan to enter the Punjab provincial assembly? – RameshRameshSingh AroraSingh Arora (Ramesh Singh belongs to the Sikh community and he became the first person from minority community torepresent in the assembly of Punjab province since Pakistan’s independence in 1947. He was nominated to a seat reservedfor minority community by the PML-N, which formed govt. at the centre as well as in Punjab province)

6)6) What are the main suggestions of a high level advisory panel on power, which was constituted by the minister of state forElectricity Jyotiraditya Scindia and was led by him? –

i. A transnational electricity transmission network should be set up that will connect A transnational electricity transmission network should be set up that will connect IndiaIndia with various fuel with various fuelresource rich nations like Iran and Tajikistanresource rich nations like Iran and Tajikistan

ii. This project should be funded through pooling of resources of central transmission utility, private sectorThis project should be funded through pooling of resources of central transmission utility, private sectortransmission and commercial banks/financial institutionstransmission and commercial banks/financial institutions

7)7) What is the statutorily recommended cap for showing advertisements and promotional clips on television programmes,which was recommended by broadcasting regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and which will come intoeffect from October 2013? – Maximum 12 minutes of adver tising per hour of TV transmissionMaximum 12 minutes of adver tising per hour of TV transmission (This recommendationwas incorporated into a law almost 8 years ago but it is being implemented from Oct 2013. This cap would be enforced so asto make TV watching more pleasurable)

8)8) Arvind Kejriwal is to take on which Congress leader in the coming Delhi assembly elections, as announced by him on 2June 2013? – Shiela DikshitShiela Dikshit , Delhi Chief Minister (However, the final ratification of Kejriwal’s candidature will come after aprocess which includes collecting 100 signatures from people in constituency and interviews with screening committee andPolitical Affairs Committee of his party Aam Aadmi Party (AAP))


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/FDI-2012-13.jpg





1)1) How many countries on 3 June 2013 signed the world’s first internationally binding agreementto regulate the trade in conventional weapons at the United Nations headquarters in New York? –62 (This treaty will regulate the sales of battle tanks, large-calibre artillery systems, combataircraft, attack helicopters, warships and small arms and light weapons. It includes top armexporting countries like the UK and France. United States, the world’s largest arm exportingcountry, and Germany announced that they will sign the treaty soon. The treaty was adopted bythe UN in April 2013 after a vote of 154 to 3)

2)2) In a landmark decision, the Central Information Commission (CIC) on 3 June 2013 announced that political parties arepublic authorities under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The CIC subsequently directed all national parties to appointinformation officers and provide information sought under the act within six weeks. Which are the six national parties thatcome under the ambit of this decision? – Congress, BJP, CPM, CPI, BSP and NCPCongress, BJP, CPM, CPI, BSP and NCP (This CIC ruling, which had been keptreserved since 1 November 2012, was delivered on the complaints filed by RTI activist Subhash Agarwal and Anil Bairwal ofthe Association of Democratic Reforms)

3)3) Union Law Ministry is all set to bring to the Cabinet a proposal to replace the existing collegium system for appointment ofjudges for the Supreme Court and high courts. What is the main provision of the present collegium system, which the LawMinistry is seemingly adverse to? – Under the present collegium system, the recommendations of the collegiumUnder the present collegium system, the recommendations of the collegiummade up of SC judges and the Chief Justice are final though the Centre can raise objections. The objections,made up of SC judges and the Chief Justice are final though the Centre can raise objections. The objections,however, are not binding on the collegiumhowever, are not binding on the collegium (The ministry has already circulated a Cabinet note for setting up a seven-member judicial appointments commission that will be headed by the Chief Justice of India and include the Law Minister asa member)

4)4) Who was appointed as the acting president of Chhattisgarh Congress on 3 June 2013? – Charan Das MahantCharan Das Mahant , Unionminister of state for Agriculture and Food Precessing (He was appointed eight days after party’s state president Nand KumarPatel was killed in a barbarious Maoist attack in Bastar)

5)5) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the time to set up new banks in India, under which the promoter group has toset up a non-operative financial holding company (NOFHC) and the bank. However, the deadline for submission ofapplication has been unchanged and remains 1 July 2013. By how much time the above said extension has been provided? –Six monthsSix months (Now promoters will get 18 months of time to set up NOFHC from the date of in-principle approval for bank fromthe RBI. Earlier 12 months were given by the RBI. With this extension the promoters will now get more time to operationalisethe banking business)

6)6) Which leading IT company of the country recently bagged a Rs. 1,100 crore 6-year contract from India Post (Indian postaldepartment) for modernizing its technology infrastructure? – Tata Consultancy Services – TCSTata Consultancy Services – TCS (The six-year deal wouldmake TCS accountable for overall implementation of ‘India Post 2012’, a multi-faceted IT automation programme announcedby the Department of Posts (DoP) three years ago)

7)7) Who was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Palestine by President Mahmoud Abbas on 2 June 2013? – RamiRamiHamdallahHamdallah (Hamdallah, who is the president of Najah National University in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, willreplace former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. He would have three weeks to put together a new government)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/UN-Treaty-for-Arm-Regulatio.jpg







1)1) What is the name of the real estate bill that was approved by the union cabinet on 4 June2013, which seeks to provide a uniform regulatory environment to the real estate sector in thecountry? – The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013 – (This billproposes to set up a regulator for the real estate sector and provides for provisions for a jailterm for the developer for putting out misleading advertisements about projects. The bill alsointends to make it mandatory for developers to launch projects only after acquiring allstatutory clearances from relevant authorities)

2)2) What is the name of the first issue of the 10-year inflation indexed bonds (IIBs), which were auctioned on 4 June 2013 bythe govt. and which were oversubscribed by four times? – “10 Years Inflation Indexed Government Stock, 2023” “10 Years Inflation Indexed Government Stock, 2023” (167competitive bids worth Rs. 4,616 crore were made of which only 26 amounting to Rs 985.94 crore were accepted. Remaining8 non-competitive bids worth Rs 14.06 crore were accepted from retail and mid-segment investors. IIBs have been issuedmainly to give an investment option to investors with a view to guarding their savings against inflation and dissuading themfrom buying gold. The IIBs will now be issued on last Tuesday of every month)

3)3) The United States on 4 June 2013 slapped new sanctions on Iran for the third time in a week. But it was for the first timethat the US targeted the Iranian currency. What are the specific sanctions which will affect Iranian currency Rial? – TheseThesesanctions includes penalties on anyone facilitating significant transactions in Rial or holding significant amount ofsanctions includes penalties on anyone facilitating significant transactions in Rial or holding significant amount ofthis currency outside Iranthis currency outside Iran

4)4) Which African country on 2 June 2013 passed a bill, in which gay marriages were declared as criminal offence attracting ajail sentence of up to 14 years of prison? – NigeriaNigeria (Country’s lower house, the House of Representatives, displayed harmonywith the upper house, the Senate, in passing the bill. However, it was not very clear whether President Goodluck Jonathanwould pass the bill by signing upon it)

5)5) Which former Bangladesh cricket captain was suspended from all forms of cricket on 4 June 2013 after he confessed hisinvolvement in fixing matches? – Mohammad AshrafulMohammad Ashraful (He was suspended by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, which actedupon allegations of match-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty-20 tournament of the country. TheInternational Cricket Council (ICC)’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) has been probing these allegations)

6)6) For the first time, an Asian city was put on top of the Annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities 2013 Index, a list of themost popular cities globally in terms of inbound international visitors. Which city is this? – Bangkok, ThailandBangkok, Thailand (Bangkok wasfollowed by London, Paris, Singapore, New York, Istanbul, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Barcelona on the 2013 editionof this prestigious list)

7)7) What was the original name of Jiah Khan, the film actress who committed suicide on 3 June 2013 at her Juhu residence inMumbai? – Nafisa KhanNafisa Khan (Her name was changed to Jiah before making her film debut in Ram Gopal Varma’s Nishabd in2007, in which he starred opposite Amitabh Bachchan. Her last role was in Sajid Khan’s multi-starrer comedy Housefull in2010)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Real-Estate-Bill-2013.jpg


1)1) E-commerce giant Amazon recently entered the Indian market, with the launch of itsmarketplace amazon.in. This marketplace will provide Indian customers with a shoppingdestination to purchase products from third-party sellers, which initially includes books,movies and television shows. Before launching this marketplace, Amazon had tested Indianmarket with its price-comparison site, which is still functioning. Which site is this? –junglee.comjunglee.com

2)2) Nawaz Sharif was formally elected as the new prime minister of Pakistan on 5 June 2013by an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly. How many votes were polled in hisfavour? – 244 out of a total of 342 votes244 out of a total of 342 votes (Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the candidate of thePakistan People’s Party that led the previous government, got 42 votes while Imran Khan’s

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party’s candidate Javed Hashmi got 31 votes. The election results were announced by Speaker AyazSadiq. Later Nawaz Sharif was sworn-in for a historic third-term)

3)3) In an important approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 4 June 2013, how many CentralPublic Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) were allowed to start wage negotiations with their employees? – 260260 (In this approval theemployees of these 260 CPSEs who had chosen five years of wage settlement with effect from 1 January 2007, can go forthe wage negotiation for 5 years with effect from 1 January 2012. This approval is expected to impact around 4 lakhemployees of CPSEs)

4)4) Demonstrations have been going on in Turkey since 31 May 2013 and the protests, which started as demonstrationsagainst a planned Istanbul building project but later turned into a wider opposition movement against country’s mildlyIslamist govt. Who is the Prime Minister of Turkey, whose govt. is the main target of these protests? – Recep TayyipRecep TayyipErdoganErdogan (Protestors are opposing Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian leadership style and efforts to introduce morerestrictive laws, such as ones regulating alcohol consumption)

5)5) US President Barack Obama’s top national security adviser Tom Donilon is resigning from his post according toannouncements made by the White House on 5 June 2013. Who will replace him? – Susan RiceSusan Rice , U.S. ambassador to theUnited Nations

6)6) What were the results of the bypolls for 4 Lok Sabha seats, results for which were declared on 5 June 2013? – BJP-2,BJP-2,RJD-1, TMC-1RJD-1, TMC-1 (BJP won Porbandar and Banaskantha Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) won the prestigious Maharajgunj Lok Sabha seat in Bihar while Mamta Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) won theHowrah Lok Sabha seat. BJP also won 4 out of 4 assembly seats in Gujarat, Congress won Yavatmal assembly seat inMaharashtra while Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajawadi Party (SP) won the Handia assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh)

7)7) Former Australian Test player Tim May on 5 June 2013 resigned as Chief Executive of an association of cricketers fromseven of the ten major cricket playing countries (excluding India). What is the name of this association? – Federation ofFederation ofInternational Cricketers’ Association – FICAInternational Cricketers’ Association – FICA (He resigned against International Cricket Council (ICC)’s alleged inaction onimportant issues including former India international Laxman Sivaramakrishnan’s victory over May for a place as a playerrepresentative on the ICC’s Cricket Committee amid allegations of vote fixing)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/amazon.in_.jpg





1)1) India’s first SEBI-registered venture capital fund for Dalits was launched by Union FinanceMinister P. Chidambaram on 6 June 2013. What is the name of this fund? – DICCI SME FundDICCI SME Fund(This venture fund has been initiated by the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry(DICCI). It aims to raise Rs. 500 crore over 10 years and finance dalit entrepreneurs to set upbusinesses. The fund was launched with an initial contribution of Rs. 10 crore by the SmallIndustries Development Bank of India (SIDBI))

2)2) The State Bank of India (SBI) recently wrote to the union govt. opposing any move to allow Captain GR Gopinath to launcha national airline permit on the grounds that a cargo airline he led hasn’t repaid its loans. What is the name of this cargoservice? – Deccan 360Deccan 360 (Gopinath had earlier founded low-cost carrier Air Deccan in India, which was later acquired byKingfisher Airlines. He later started an air cargo service by the name of Deccan 360)

3)3) Who was appointed as India’s new High Commissioner for Pakistan on 6 June 2013? – T.C.A. RaghavanT.C.A. Raghavan , who is India’sAmbassador to Singapore (Raghavan is a 1982-batch IFS officer and he will replace Sharat Sabharwal)

4)4) Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on 6 June 2013 sought the status of mega cities for two cities of the state,which are part of the NCR. Which cities are these? – Gurgaon and FaridabadGurgaon and Faridabad (These demands were put at the ChiefMinisters’ Conference on Internal Security at New Delhi)

5)5) The women’s singles final of the French Open 2013 is to be played between which two players? – Maria Sharapova ofMaria Sharapova ofRussia and Serena Williams of the USRussia and Serena Williams of the US (Maria Sharapova defeated Victoria Azarenka by 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 while SerenaWilliams defeated Sara Errani by 6-0, 6-1 in the semi-finals)

6)6) Miss World, this year’s contest of which is to be held during September 2013, has axed the famous bikinis round from thepageant mainly due to hard-line attitude towards this round in the host country of the contest. 2013’s edition of Miss World isto be hosted in which country? – IndonesiaIndonesia (The contest will be held in Bali and Sentul, an area near the Indonesian capitalJakarta. Bikinis round will be replaced with a round in which contestants will wear Indonesia’s long sarongs. Indonesia is theworld’ most populous Muslim country)

7)7) Who was appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) on 6 June2013? – Paul MarshPaul Marsh (He replaced Tim May, who resigned a day ago. Ian Smith was appointed as the Chief OperatingOfficer (COO) of the federation, which is an association of cricketers from seven of the ten major cricket playing countries(excluding India))

8)8) Who is the new secretary of the BCCI, announcement about whom was done by the BCCI Working Group’s chiefJagmohan Dalmiya on 6 June 2013? – Sanjay Patel Sanjay Patel (Patel takes place of Sanjay Jagdale, who resigned recently in the wakeof match-fixing and betting charges associated with the IPL)


http://i2.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Dalit-Venture-Capital.jpg








8-9 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs8-9 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs

1)1) Who replaced Ms. Aruna Roy in the 12-member National Advisory Council (NAC), an advisorybody led by Sonia Gandhi? – Virginius XaxaVirginius Xaxa , an eminent sociologist (Xaxa has immenseexperience in the field of tribal welfare and is a professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.The reconstituted NAC now includes A K Shiv Kumar, Anu Aga, Ashis Mondal, Deep Joshi, FarahNaqvi, Mihir Shah, Mirai Chatterjee, Narendra Jadhav, N C Saxena, Pramod Tandon and VirginiusXaxa, in addition to chairperson Sonia Gandhi)

2)2) After stopping airlines from charging passengers extra charges for choosing window and aisle seats, the civil aviationministry has decided that it will define the number of seats for which airlines can charge more as part of the unbundledservice system. What is the maximum number of preferential seats that a flight can have in a normal flight, such as Airbus320 or Boeing 737? – 1212 (Aviation ministry also decided that even a middle row seat can be among the 12, something it hadobjected to earlier)

3)3) Union govt. recently reduced the number of areas under the Armed Forces Special Power Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in the stateof Tripura in view of decline in cases of insurgency in the state. How many police station areas are now under AFSPA afterthis reduction? – 3232 (Now AFSPA will be effective fully in 25 police station areas and partly in 7. AFSPA was first put intoeffect in 40 of the total 70 police station areas in the state in February 1997, when the conflict between the insurgents andsecurity forces was at its peak)

4)4) According to a figure presented at an international conference in Geneva on 7 June 2013, the United Nations is launchingits biggest ever humanitarian appeal, seeking $5.2 billion to fund relief operations in a country afflicted with civil war foryears. Which country is this? – SyriaSyria (This figure of %5.2 billion is a sharp increase from the $3 billion the UN had previouslyestimated it would need this year)

5)5) United States Govt. recently confirmed that it had been secretly collecting communication information from national andinternational communication traffic through its security agency National Security Administration (NSA). This process is knownas electronic snooping and it includes huge variety of private and public data secretly accumulated from computer andtelephone networks. Which country is the largest target of US electronic snooping, according to a report of British newspaperThe Guardian? – IranIran (NSA collected more than 14 billion reports from Iran. Iran is followed by Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt andIndia in this list. The extent of NSA’s surveillance of Indian communication traffic is greater than its electronic snooping effortsin China, Russia and Saudi Arabia)

6)6) What is the name of the CEO of Jet Airways, who resigned from his post recently? – Nikos KardassisNikos Kardassis (Kardassisresigned in an effort to facilitate restructuring of top management in the company following its deal with Etihad)

7)7) Who won the women’s title of French Open 2013 on 8 June 2013? – Serena Williams of the USSerena Williams of the US (She defeated Russia’s

Maria Sharapova by 6-4, 6-4 to claim 16th Grand Slam title of his career. This was Serena’s second French Open title)

8)8) Which two important portfolios were retained by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as his cabinet took the reins ofPakistan recently? – Defence and Foreign AffairsDefence and Foreign Affairs

http://www.nirdeshak.com/8-9-june-2013-%e2%80%93-daily-current-affairs.html

http://i2.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Virginius-Xaxa.jpg



1)1) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was on 9 June 2013 was given an important chargeat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s National Executive Meeting held in Panaji, Goa. What is thischarge/designation, which has increased Modi’s influence in the party tremendously? –Head, Lok Sabha Poll Campaign Panel (for upcoming General Elections for Lok SabhaHead, Lok Sabha Poll Campaign Panel (for upcoming General Elections for Lok Sabhain 2014)in 2014)

2)2) North and South Korea held their first official talks for more than two years on 9 June 2013.Where was this meeting, comprising of working-level delegations of the two countries, held? –

At PanmunjomAt Panmunjom, the border truce village, where the armistice ending the 1950-53 Korean was signed

3)3) Where was the summit meet of US President Barack Obama and his Chinese compatriot Xi Jinping held during 8-9 June2013? – Rancho MirageRancho Mirage , the desert resort in California (The summit was largely successful on issues such as thedenuclearisation of North Korea and tackling climate change, but seemed to stumble on the controversial issue of cybersecurity)

4)4) Which Indian badminton player won the Thailand Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament on 9 June 2013, making himthe first Indian man to win a major badminton title outside India after P. Gopichand’s All England Championship title in 2001?– K. SrikanthK. Srikanth (This 20-year old player from Andhra Pradesh defeated world no. 8 Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand 21-16, 21-12in the finals. He is being coached by P. Gopichand)

5)5) Spain’s Rafael Nadal won his record 8th French Open singles title on 9 June 2013, taking his total Grand Slam titles to 12.He defeated which player in the finals? – David FerrerDavid Ferrer , Spain (Nadal defeated Ferrer in straight sets by 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Nadalpreviously won the French Open titles in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Roger Federer of Switzerland haswon the maximum 17 Grand Slam titles while Pete Sampras of the US has won 14 titles. Nadal is now tied with Roy Emerson,both of whom have won 12 Grand Slam titles)

6)6) Who won the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix held at the Montreal racing circuit on 9 June 2013? – Sebastian VettelSebastian Vettel(Germany) of Reb Bull team (Vettel started the race from pole position and finished ahead of Fernando Alonso of Ferrariteam. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished the race at third spot. Formula 1 champion Vettel is at present the leading racerfor this year’s edition)

7)7) What is the name of India’s proposed multi-agency body, which will carry out real-time assessment of cyber securitythreats and generate actionable reports/alerts for proactive actions by law enforcement agencies? – National CyberNational CyberCoordination Centre – NCCCCoordination Centre – NCCC (This proposed agency would be a multi-agency body under Department of Electronics andIT and would be set up at a cost of around Rs. 1,000 crore. The NCCC will collect, integrate and scan Internet traffic data fromdifferent gateway routers of major ISPs at a centralised location for analysis and will aggregate international gateway trafficand domestic traffic separately)

8)8) How much increase in cost inflation index (CII) has been specified for year 2013-14 by the Central Board of Direct Taxes?– 10.2%10.2% (CII is a measure used to calculate long-term capital gains on sale of assets. It helps in reducing the inflationarygains and hence reducing the long-term capital gains tax-payout for the tax-payer. The index for 2013-14 stood at 939 asagainst 852 in 2012-13)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Narendra-Modi.jpg


http://www.nirdeshak.com/andhra-pradesh.html



1)1) What is the name of a new skill development scheme launched in 24 Naxal-affected districtsof the country by the Ministry of Rural Development recently, which aims to provide trainingand employment to an anticipated 50,000 youth in the 10-35 years age group, for a period ofthree years? – RoshniRoshni (This scheme was launched on 7 June 2013 in Chattisgarh andJharkhand. This scheme is a 100-crore project and is funded by union and state governments,with the union providing 75% of the funding)

2)2) How much penalty was imposed on ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank by the Reserve Bank of India on charges ofviolating several RBI norms? – Penalty of Rs. 5 crore on Axis Bank, Rs. 4.50 crore on HDFC Bank and Rs. 1 crore onPenalty of Rs. 5 crore on Axis Bank, Rs. 4.50 crore on HDFC Bank and Rs. 1 crore onICICI BankICICI Bank (RBI imposed this penalty after investigating allegations on these three top private banks alleged bycobrapost.com, which had also charged these banks of indulging in money laundering. However, RBI didn’t reveal any primafacie evidence of money laundering)

3)3) Senior BJP leader LK Advani on 10 June 2013 resigned from 3 important posts he held in the party, in apparentopposition to Narendra Modi’s elevation to head of the Lok Sabha Poll Campaign Panel of the party a day ago. Which arethese three posts? – The National Executive, the Parliamentary Board and the Election CommitteeThe National Executive, the Parliamentary Board and the Election Committee

4)4) Which Yorkshire cricketer became the youngest player to play an English County match, by featuring in a match on 10June 2013? – Matthew FisherMatthew Fisher (Fisher, aged 15 years and 212 days, played against Leicestershire and took one for 40 fromseven overs as well as scoring 10 runs off four balls. He broke the 1922 record set by Glamorgan’s Royston Gabe-Jones in1922, by 62 days)

5)5) BCCI on 10 June 2013 suspended Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra from cricketing activities after holding anemergency meeting of the working committee in New Delhi. BCCI also unveiled a 12-point “Operation Clean-up” in a bid torestore the credibility of IPL. A two-member panel, which is currently investigating into Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) GurunathMeiyappan and CSK, was also given the task of also investigating into affairs of Raj Kundra and his team Rajasthan Royals.Who are the two members of this panel? – Justice T Jayaram Chouta and Justive R BalasubramaniamJustice T Jayaram Chouta and Justive R Balasubramaniam


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Naxalite-Rehabilitation.jpg



1)1) China recently achieved an incredible breakthrough in diverting river water to its arid areasby linking two mighty rivers. Which are these two rivers? – Yangtze and Huang HeYangtze and Huang He (The firstphase of a five-decade project to integrate the waters from the mighty Yangtze and Huang Herivers was completed recently. Water from the lower reaches of the Yangtze, which is Asia’slongest river, flowed through the lower reaches of Huang He, which is also called the Yellow

River. This river diversion project was conceived by Mao Zedong in 1952, and approved by the State Council in December2002)

2)2) The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 11 June 2013 approved the merger of Mahindra Satyam with Tech Mahindra whiledismissing the petitions of some shareholders seeking to stall the proposal so as to safeguard their financial interest. This

merger, when completed, will lead to creation of country’s ………largest software services firm. – 55thth (Mahindra Satyam(MSat) was earlier known as Satyam Computer and was taken over by the Mahindra Group following alleged fraudscommitted by company’s former Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju. Mahindra Group now plans to merge MSat with TechMahindra, which is an IT firm established by the group in 1986)

3)3) Senior Congress leader and former union minister Vidya Charan Shukla died on 11 June 2013 at Medanta Hospital inGurgaon, where he was undergoing treatment since 26 May 2013. He sustained serious injuries in the Maoist attack of 25May 2013 in Chhattisgarh, in which almost all top state leadership of Congress was wiped out. Shukla was son of whichlegendary Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh, who was the first Chief Minister of the re-organised Madhya Pradesh? –Ravishankar ShuklaRavishankar Shukla (VC Shukla was a 9-time Lok Sabha member and was union minister under two former PrimeMinisters – VP Singh and Narasimha Rao)

4)4) Which present Congress MP was accused of alleged cheating and graft by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in itsfresh First Information Report (FIR) in the coal scam, which was filed on 11 June 2013? – Naveen JindalNaveen Jindal (Former Minister ofState for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao was also accused in this report. Rao, a former Congress Rajya Sabha MP, held position ofMinister of state for Coal between 2004 and 2008)

5)5) What is the name of China’s fifth manned space mission that was launched into space on 11 June 2013, that will be thelongest manned mission till-date comprising of 15-days? – Shenzhou-10Shenzhou-10 (The spacecraft will dock with the Tiangong spacelaboratory module and it carried three Chinese astronauts, including China’s second female astronaut)

6)6) Which company on 11 June 2013 surpassed state-run energy giant ONGC to become the county’s second most valuedfirm in terms of market valuation (capitalisation)? – ITCITC (ITC’s market capitalisation stood at Rs. 2,64,908 crore on 11 June,which was about Rs 972 crore more than ONGC’s Rs. 2,63,936 crore value. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) continued toremain highest capitalised Indian company on bourses with a market capitalisation of Rs. 2,93,318 crore)

7)7) What is the name of the whistleblower who exposed the US Government’s internet spy program and who is being wantedby the CIA presently? – Edward SnowdenEdward Snowden (Snowden is a former employee of US investigation agency CIA. He also workedas a contractor for National Security Agency (NSA). He later disclosed details of classified NSA programme to the press,which also included top secret NSA programmmes including the PRISM surveillance program involving electronic snoopingof various countries)

8)8) What is the name of a new film production house jointly promoted by producer Anurag Basu and actor Ranbir Kapoor,which would be started soon? – “Picture Shuru Productions”“Picture Shuru Productions” (Ranbir acted in Anurag Basu’s acclaimed film “Barfi” and theduo is featuring together in another film “Jagga Jasoos”, which will be released through this newly proposed productionhouse)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Linking-of-Yangtze-and-Huang-He.jpg



1)1) State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) announced closure of its 160-yeartelegram service due to continuous losses being incurred to operate this service and lack ofenough volume. From which date all circle offices of BSNL will stop booking telegrams? – 1515July 2013July 2013 (In India, the first telegraph message was transmitted live through electrical signalsbetween Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Diamond Harbour, a distance of about 50 km, on 5November 1850; and the service was opened for the general public in 1953, when separatedepartment for telegraphs was first established. However, formal telegraph services

commenced in 1885, with enactment of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885)

2)2) Which global rating agency on 12 June 2013 revised India’s sovereign credit outlook from negative to stable, thus bringingcheer to the union govt.? – FitchFitch (The rating agency cited the measures taken by the government to contain the budgetdeficit, including the commitments made in the 2013-14 Union Budget and progress in addressing some of the structuralimpediments to investment and economic growth)

3)3) A high-powered committee on “Rationalisation of Investment Routes and Monitoring of Foreign Portfolio Investments”,recently suggested doing away with registration of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) with market regulator SEBI andreducing the know-your-customer (KYC) process for well regulated entities. Who is the chairman of this high-poweredcommittee? – KM ChandrasekharKM Chandrasekhar , former Cabinet Secretary (This committee was set up in December 2012. Thecommittee in its set of recommendations also called for merging FIIs and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) into one class –Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) and has proposed to keep the aggregate investment limit for FPIs at 24% and 10% for NRIs)

4)4) Which pain killer drug’s production, sales and distribution was banned in India by the union govt. on 12 June 2013? –DextropropoxypheneDextropropoxyphene (Dextropropoxyphene, an opioid analgesic, was suspended under Section 26A of the Drugs andCosmetic Act, 1940. The drug was under the scanner of authorities for quite sometime after it was banned in variouscountries, including the US and the UK)

5)5) Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Naveen Patnaik-led ruling party in Odisha, organized a huge rally on 12 June 2013 in Delhi toprotest against the Centre’s apathy towards the State’s demand for the special category status. What was the name of thisrally in which around 30,000 people from Odisha took part? – Swabhiman Samavesh RallySwabhiman Samavesh Rally

6)6) The first aircraft of Boeing’s range of humanitarian and strategic aircrafts was transferred to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on11 June 2013 by the company at Long Beach, California. What is the name of this aircraft? – Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIBoeing C-17 Globemaster III (Boeing is on track to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and five in 2014)

7)7) Australian batsman David Warner was dropped from the team’s match against New Zealand, which was held on 12 June2013 in the ongoing Champions Trophy in England and Wales. Warner was dropped on charges of physical altercation withan English player during a match held on 9 June 2013. Which English player was this? – Joe RootJoe Root

8)8) Which Israel-based traffic app was acquired by Google recently, in which drivers share information on traffic and roadconditions? – WazeWaze (Google’s competitors like Facebook and Apple were also in the race to acquire this very popular app,which uses input from some 50 million users to provide data about road conditions and routes)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/BSNL-Telegram.jpg





1)1) What is the total length of Mumbai’s Eastern Freeway, which was thrown open to the publicon 13 June 2013 by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan? – 13.59 KM13.59 KM (This freewaywas being built for last 5-years with an objective of reducing travel time for cars betweensuburbs and South Mumbai. This project includes a 550-metre twin tunnel (the first such inurban India) and a 9.29 km elevated road which is the second longest in urban settlementanywhere in the country)

2)2) Which train was attacked by a group of around 200 Naxalites on 13 June 2013 in Bihar,resulting in death of 3 persons including two security personnel? – Dhanbad-Patna intercity expressDhanbad-Patna intercity express (This incident tookplace at Balui halt in Jamui district of Bihar. One RPF jawan and one police jawan was killed in this incident. The Balui haltfalls in the Naxal-dominated districts of Jamui and Lakhisarai)

3)3) How much stake of union govt. was divested in stake-sale of public-sector enterprise Minerals and Metals TradingCorporation (MMTC) on 13 June 2013, which was oversubscribed by 1.33 times? – 9.33%9.33% (Union Govt. garnered over Rs 567crore with this divestment. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on disinvestment, headed by Finance Minister PChidambaram, on 12 June 2013 cleared the 9.33 crore shares, or 9.33 per cent, stake sale of the trading giant through theOffer For Sale (OFS) route)

4)4) Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was on 13 June 2013 formally arrested on charges of murder of whichpopular leader of Balochistan during 2006? – Akbar BugtiAkbar Bugti (Bugti was killed in August 2006 during a military operationordered by Musharraf, who was President and army chief at the time. Akbar Bugti headed an armed insurgency to press forprovincial autonomy and a greater share of profits from Balochistan’s natural resources. Bugti’s death resulted in widespreadand violent protests in the province)

5)5) What was the name of a painting by Indian abstract artist Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, which was sold for £ 698,500 on 11 June2013 in an auction of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art by Sotheby’s, which is the highest price this season for theauction house’s South Asian art sale? – ‘Painting No. 1’ ‘Painting No. 1’ (‘Painting No. 1’ is the first of a series of works Gaitonde produced in1962)

6)6) The Cauvery Supervisory Committee, which met on 12 June 2013, did not find feasible the demand of the Tamil Nadugovernment for directions to Karnataka for release of Cauvery waters as per the award of the Cauvery Water DisputesTribunal. Who headed this committee? – S.K. SarkarS.K. Sarkar , Union Water Resources Secretary (The Supervisory Committee hasbeen formed on the directions of the Supreme Court)

7)7) Who was appointed new CEO of Jet Airways on 13 June 2013? – Gary Kenneth ToomeyGary Kenneth Toomey (The appointment followed theresignation of Nikos Kardassis on 7June 2013 after he served two terms as CEO between1993-1999 and again fromOctober 2009 till May 2013. Toomey is an Australian national and has previously served as President & CEO of the Air NewZealand Group and later as CEO of Airlines PNG in Papua New Guinea)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Mumbai-Eastern-Freeway.jpg



1)1) Toulouse (France) based Airbus Industrie successfully tested its latest jetliner on 14 June2013, that is expected to step up its battle with its arch-rival Boeing for sales of a newgeneration of sleek, light-weight passenger aircraft. What is the name of this new aircraft fromthe Airbus stable? – Airbus A350Airbus A350 (Airbus reportedly spent nearly $15 billion in developingthis aircraft. Airbus A350 is expected to take Boeing’s Dreamliner 787 head-on, which isfacing numerous problems since its launch last year)

2)2) The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on 14 June 2013 put off a decision on clearing the deal between JetAirways and Etihad, in which Abu Dhabi-based Etihad acquired 24% stake in India’s Jet. What was the reason for thisdeferment? – FIPB is seeking more clarifications over the control and ownership of Jet after this deal comes intoFIPB is seeking more clarifications over the control and ownership of Jet after this deal comes intoeffecteffect (The issue of effective control of the airline was also raised earlier by India’s market regulator SEBI, which hadexpressed concern over Etihad’s right to nominate three directors on the board and also take decision in appointment of theCEO)

3)3) Voting was held in Iran on 14 June 2013 to elect a new President, who will succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. How manycandidates are there in this election? – SixSix (However, out of the six candidates, four are seen as the most likely to win:conservatives Ali-Akbar Velayati and Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, reformist candidate Hassan Rowhani and hardlinerSaeed Jalili)

4)4) Who on 14 June 2013 was appointed as the new Chairman of Life Insurance of India (LIC)? – SK RoySK Roy (Roy was appointedLIC’s Managing Director (MD) last month and he was also in the race for the post of chairman. He has now succeeded DKMehrotra, whose term ended on 31 May 2013)

5)5) The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation fell to 4.7 per cent in May 2013, which is the lowest in over three years.WPI-based inflation stood at 4.89% in April 2013. What is the main reason of this decline despite increase in price of foodarticles? – Declining prices of manufactured itemsDeclining prices of manufactured items

6)6) What is the forecasted population of the World in years 2025 and 2050, which was mentioned in a latest report on Worldpopulation prepared by the United Nations and released on 13 June 2013? – It was forecasted that World populationIt was forecasted that World populationwould touch 8.1 billion in 2025 and 9.6 billion in 2050would touch 8.1 billion in 2025 and 9.6 billion in 2050 (The present World population stands at 7.2 billion. The reportsaid that most of the population growth will occur in developing regions which are projected to increase from 5.9 billion in2013 to 8.2 billion in 2050)

7)7) The Union Cabinet on 13 June 2013 cleared the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 that makes access to mental health care aright of all persons. The bill proposes to make mental health services affordable, of good quality and made available to allcitizens without discrimination. The Mental Health Care Bill decriminalizes which tendency, which is very closely related withmental health? – SuicideSuicide (Under the provisions of the Bill, government has an obligation to provide half way homes,community caring centres and other shelters for mentally ill people. This has been planned under the District Mental HealthProgramme in the 12th Plan)

8)8) What is the targeted literacy rate that the Union Govt. proposes to achieve by the year 2017, as announced on 12 June2013? – 80%80% (The present literacy rate in the country stands at 74%. Govt. wants to make the Saakshar Bharat Programmethe main instrument to increase literacy and ensure empowerment in the country)

9)9) What is the name of India’s first regional navigation satellite, which was slated to be launched on 12 June 2013 through thePSLV-C22 rocket, but will now be launched on 1 July 2013? – IRNSS-1A satelliteIRNSS-1A satellite (This satellite will offer motion and locationinformation over the sub-continent just as the popular U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS, has done across the world forseveral years. Its launched was rescheduled due to a faulty component in the PSLV-C22 rocket)

10)10) Who recently became the first female fighter pilot of Pakistan? – Ayesha FarooqAyesha Farooq (Ayesha is one of 19 women who havebecome pilots in the Pakistan Air Force over the last decade. There are 5 other female fighter pilots but unlike Ayesha theyare yet to take the final tests to qualify for combat role in Pakistan Air Force)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Airbus-A350.jpg






1)1) Who scored a decisive victory in the Iranian Presidential elections held on 15 June 2013? – HassanHassanRowhaniRowhani (Rowhani is a moderate cleric and he will succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He got just over50% of the vote required to avoid a runoff poll. Rowhani’s victory delighted reformers who have beendesperate for Iran’s return to the forefront of politics after eight acrimonious years under Ahmadinejad.Rowhani, who favours a policy of political openness, as well as re-establishing relations with the West,is likely to soothe international tension)

2)2) Which union minister tendered his resignation on 15 June 2013, before an expected cabinetreshuffle and changes in organizational structure of Congress? – Ajay MakenAjay Maken , who was minister forHousing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

3)3) Which oraganisation claimed the responsibility for the attack on the Jinnah residency (Quaid Azam Residency) in Ziarat inPakistan on 15 June 2013? - The Balochistan Liberation Army – BLA The Balochistan Liberation Army – BLA (This attack gutted an historic summer retreat usedby Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the resource-rich province of Balochistan. Jinnah stayed in the Quaid AzamResidency as he tried to recover from a lung disease in 1948, a year after his successful campaign to separate Pakistan fromIndia. He died in Karachi soon after. The building is now a national heritage site)

4)4) Who was elected as the President of the forthcoming 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly? – John W.John W.AsheAshe , the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN

5)5) Which country recently became the first European and NATO member country to make military services obligatory formales as well as the females? – NorwayNorway (Norwegian Parliament (called Storting), on 14 June 2013 passed a resolution in thisrespect. Under this resolution, Norway would recruit women in armed forces and will make military services obligatory forwomen also)


http://i2.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Hassan-Rowhani.jpg



1)1) Janata Dal – United (JD(U)) on 16 June 2013 broke its 17-year alliance with the BJPopposing the elevation of Gujarat Chief Narendra Modi to chief of BJP’s election campaigncommittee. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Governor DY Patil and requested him toconvene a special session on 19 June 2013 for him to seek a vote of confidence. 11 BJPministers in Bihar cabinet were also removed from their posts. JD(U) national presidentSharad Yadav resigned as the convener of BJP led alliance, the National Democratic Alliance(NDA). After JD(U)’s exit from NDA, NDA now comprises of how many parties? – ThreeThree (BJP,Akali Dal and Shiv Sena)

2)2) After JD(U)’s parting of ways with the NDA, Sushil Kumar Modi, who was deputy ChiefMinister of Bihar till now, decided to resign from the post of an important empowered committee at the Centre. Whichcommittee is this? – Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on the Goods and Services Tax – GSTEmpowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on the Goods and Services Tax – GST (AsGST committee chief, Modi held parleys with state finance ministers for implementation of the uniform tax regime. He hadassumed the post after the then GST committee chairman Asim Dasgupta, finance minister of West Bengal resigned afterthe CPI(M)-led Left Front lost the elections in the state in 2011)

3)3) The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), a prestigious central university of the country, recently decided to increase the feesof several under-graduate and post-graduate courses citing inflation in the recent years. AMU is going to increase fees afterhow many years? – 15 years15 years

4)4) Which park situated adjacent to Istanbul’s famous Taksim Square came to news recently, where demonstrators protestingagainst the present Turkish Govt. led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, organized a sit-in for a fortnight till they wereforcibly cleared by security forces on 15 June 2013? – Gezi ParkGezi Park (Turkey’s riot police swept through the park and TaksimSquare and forcibly removed thousands of peaceful protesters)

5)5) Who was appointed as Chief Advisor to the board of low-cost carrier AirAsia’s Indian venture? – Ratan TataRatan Tata , Chairmanemeritus, Tata Group (AirAsia’s Indian venture is a joint-venture between Malaysia-based AirAsia, India’s Tata Group andTelstra Tradeplace)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Nitish-Kumar.jpg



1)1) Which state topped in the list of crime rate for Indian Penal Code offences in the countryduring 2012, data pertaining to which was released during June 2013? – KeralaKerala (Keralarecorded 455.8 cases for every 1,00,000 persons, which was the highest amongst any statein the country. It was followed by Madhya Pradesh (298.80) and Tamil Nadu (294.80). But interms of total number of IPC cases registered, Madhya Pradesh topped with 2,20,335 casesregistered in 2012. It was followed by Maharashtra (with 202700 IPC cases registered) andTamil Nadu (200474 cases))

2)2) Indian telecom regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) on 17 June 2013 announced reduction in thenational mobile phone roaming charges and conditional free national roaming plans, a move that will bring down cellphoneroaming charges in the country. From which date these changes will come into effect? – 1 July 20131 July 2013 (TRAI has also reducedceilings for national roaming calls and SMS and instituted a new regime for providing flexibility to telecom service providersto customise tariffs for national roamers through STVs (Special Tariff Vouchers) and Combo Vouchers)

3)3) An endangered flying bird species of the world, which belongs to India, will soon be tracked by satellite by the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to understand the movement of this rare bird and its preferred habitat. WII has recentlybeen granted permission for satellite tracking of this bird, which is amongst one of the largest flying bird species found in theworld today. Which bird is this? – The Great Indian BustardThe Great Indian Bustard (The tracking through satellite will help researchers understandthe movement of this rare bird, which is now largely found in the Kutch region of Gujarat, and parts of Rajasthan)

4)4) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on 17 June 2013 announced her party’s support toCPI candidate D. Raja in the Rajya Sabha polls. She had earlier expressed her inability to support Mr. Raja when the CPIleaders met her in Delhi and sought her support. Which AIADMK leader will withdraw his candidature with a view toaccommodate Raja for these polls? – K. ThangamuthuK. Thangamuthu (He had filed his papers as 5th candidate from AIADMK)

5)5) Department of Heavy Industries suspended S.G. Sridhar, the Chairman and Managing Director of a public-sectorundertaking with effect from 14 June 2013. His suspension was done after a probe uncovered extensive evidence of thebooks having been dressed up, resulting in substantial losses to the company. Which public sector undertaking was Sridharheading? – HMT LtdHMT Ltd (The action was based on the findings of an internal inquiry into the running of the Tractor Division ofthe company at Pinjore (Haryana) earlier this year. HMT Ltd. is engaged in manufacture of tractor, machine tools andwatches)

6)6) Who was appointed the new Railway Minister in the cabinet reshuffle done on 17 June 2013? – Mallikarjun KhargeMallikarjun Kharge (Hewas earlier heading Labour and Employment Ministry. Altogether four cabinet ministers were inducted in the Union cabinet.Labour and Employment would now be headed by senior Congress leader Sis Ram OlaSis Ram Ola . K. Sambasiva RaoK. Sambasiva Rao was given thecharge of Textile Ministry while Girija VyasGirija Vyas was given charge of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation)

7)7) What are the names of four ministers of state, which were inducted into the union council of ministers in the cabinetreshuffle of 17 June 2013? – Manikrao Gavit (Social Justice & Empowerment), Santosh Chowdhary (Health & FamilyManikrao Gavit (Social Justice & Empowerment), Santosh Chowdhary (Health & FamilyWelfare), EMS Natchiappan (Commerce & Industry) and JD Seelam (Finance))Welfare), EMS Natchiappan (Commerce & Industry) and JD Seelam (Finance))

8)8) What is the semi-final line up for Cricket’s Champions Trophy, which is being held in England and Wales? – IndiaIndia vs. Sri vs. SriLankaLanka and England vs. South AfricaEngland vs. South Africa

9)9) Which senior Tata executive was appointed as the Executive Chairman of AirAsia India, the Indian venture of Malaysia-based airlines – AirAsia? – S. RamadoraiS. Ramadorai (He headed TCS from 1996 to 2009 and was responsible for making thecompany one of the most renowned names in IT industry. He is currently Vice Chairman of TCS)

10)10) Who has been appointed as the captain of Indian Under-19 cricket side, which will play a tri-series in Australia soon? –Vijay ZolVijay Zol (He will captain India in the tri-series featuring India, New Zealand and hosts Australia)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/IPC-Crimes-2012.jpg









1)1) What was the name given to an operation launched by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to rescuestranded pilgrims in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh? – “Operation Rahat”“Operation Rahat” (Heavy rainsand flash floods of 15 and 16 June brought havoc to these two Himalayan states, especiallyUttarakhand. Thousands of pilgrims on the sacred Char Dham Yatra were left stranded afterheavy rains in Uttarakhand. The Kedarnath shrine was effected the most. Hundreds of peopleare expected to be killed in these floods. “Operation Rahat” is being administered from Air

Force Station Sarsawa and helicopters are being brought from Air Force Stations of Hindon and Bhatinda)

2)2) The 39th Summit of G-8 (Group of Eight Developed Nations) was held on 17 and 18 June 2013 at – Northern Ireland’sNorthern Ireland’sEnniskillenEnniskillen (G8 includes 8 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the US, the UK and European Council.In a major development on the sidelines of this summit, the United States and Russia agreed to end violence in Syria despitehaving different stances to solve this problem)

3)3) What is the name of a new airline promoted by Vijayawada-based construction group LEPL, which is expected to start itsoperations from next month? – Air CostaAir Costa (Air Costa will launch the airline with a fleet of three E jets from Embraer and willoffer short-haul connectivity services between tier-II and tier-III cities with the major metros. The airline will have itsmaintenance based and headquarters at Vijayawada)

4)4) What is the name of the Chinese supercomputer, which was listed as world’ fastest computer in the latest TOP500 listingof the world’s fastest supercomputers? – Tianhe-2Tianhe-2 (This supercomputer has been developed by China’s National Universityof Defense Technology. Tianhe-2’s speed of 33,860 trillion calculations per second (33.86 petaflops per second) is doublethe speed of the U.S. Energy Department’s Titan machine)

5)5) Which ancient monument of Iran was recently removed from the UNESCO list of “World Heritage in Danger”? – TheTheancient Citadel of Bamancient Citadel of Bam (This historic citadel was almost completely destroyed in a major earthquake of 2003. But this sitewas taken-off the danger list due to improvements in the site’s management and conservation)

6)6) Which South American country witnessed tens of thousands of protestors taking part in marches and demonstrations inlarge cities of the country on 17 June 2013? – BrazilBrazil (These protests were the largest and the most resonant since thenation’s military dictatorship ended in Brazil in 1985. The protests were held in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, Rio de Janeiro,Salvador, Belem, Curitiba and Brasilia, the capital of the country. These protests initially started as small agitations againstbus-fare increases but later evolved into a broader movement against issues such as country’s high cost of living and lavishnew stadium projects)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Uttarakhand-Floods-Operation-Rahat.jpg


1)1) Which administrative division of the country has recorded no rape of minors since 2007, asstated in data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released recently? –LakshdweepLakshdweep (According to this data of NCRB, 8,441 minors were raped in the country in2012)

2)2) According to the recently released UN report “World Population Prospects – 2012”, bywhich year India would surpass China to become the most populous country in the World? –20282028

3)3) For the first time the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum’s (WEF) India chapter will be held in South India, which willbe the 29th edition of this chapter. Which South Indian city will host this annual meeting? – KochiKochi (The meeting will be heldon 8-9 November 2013. Till now 27 of the 28 annual meetings of WEF’s India Chapter have been held in New Delhi while onewas organized in Mumbai. First such meeting was held in India in 1984)

4)4) What was the total foreign tourist arrival in India during 2012, as stated in the latest tourist immigration data of the Bureauof Immigration? – 6.57 million6.57 million (This was about 4.5% more than arrivals recorded during 2011, when 6.3 million foreigntourists visited India. The United States was the leading source of foreign tourist arrivals, with almost 1 million US touristsvisiting India in 2012)

5)5) How much financial assistance was provided to Uttarakhand Govt. to undertake relief and rebuilding process in wake ofhuge damage due to recent flash-floods and landslides? – Rs. 1,000 croreRs. 1,000 crore (Relief worth Rs. 145 crore was providedimmediately by the Centre)

6)6) Nitish Kumar won the vote of confidence in Bihar Assembly on 19 June 2013. How many votes were polled in favour of hisgovt.? – 126126 (MLAs of Congress (4) and CPI (1) in addition to 4 independents voted in his favour. 91 BJP MLAs along-with 1MLA of Ram Vilas Paswan led RJP walked-out of the assembly and did not participate in the poll. However, twenty-two MLAsfrom Lalu Prasad’s RJD and two Independents voted against the motion)

7)7) A Bangladeshi commission has proposed the Government takeover or split of the famous Grameen Bank into how manyparts, which attracted criticism from several quarters? – 19 Par ts19 Par ts (Grameen Bank founded by Nobel Laureate MuhammadYunus is to be broken up into 19 separate organisations to decentralise the bank’s operations and management as proposedby a Bangladeshi commission, which was formed to suggest steps to restructure the bank. The commission also suggestedthat Grameen’s legal status be amended with the government owning at least 51 per cent. Grameen Bank has been indispute with the Bangladesh Govt. Founded as a statutory body under a law offering ownership to its client members,Grameen lent more than USD 11 billion to millions of people – mainly women – to help them gain financial independencefrom poverty cycles)

8)8) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently expressed his dismay over reports suggesting that the Govt. of Sri Lankaplanned to dilute certain key provisions of the 13th Amendment ahead of elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).The 13th Amendment of Sri Lankan Constitution is related with which provisions associated with India? – The 13thThe 13thAmendment is one of the key points of the 1987 Amendment is one of the key points of the 1987 IndiaIndia-Sri Lanka pact brokered by the then Prime Minister Rajiv-Sri Lanka pact brokered by the then Prime Minister RajivGandhi and his Sri Lankan counterpar t J. R. JayawardeneGandhi and his Sri Lankan counterpar t J. R. Jayawardene (Under the agreement, Sri Lanka is committed to devolvingpowers to the provinces, including in the Tamil-dominated North and East, to give a sense to the people in these regions thatthey have a say on most matters related to their governance. Since the end of the military conflict in early 2009, Colombohas reiterated many a time to New Delhi that it was committed to implementing the 13th Amendment in letter and spirit.However, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been hedging on it, triggering misapprehensions among Tamils in Sri Lanka andIndia)

9)9) In one of the most stringent pro-life bills to be passed by the US Congressional chamber in a decade, US House ofRepresentatives has approved a legislation to ban abortion after how many weeks of pregnancy? – 20 weeks20 weeks (However,this bill is unlikely to see the light of the day given the veto threat by the White House and the opposition to it by the rulingDemocratic Party, which has a majority in the Senate. The bill was passed in the US House of Representatives, whereopposition Republican Party has the majority)

10)10) Which team became the first to qualify for the finals of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2013? – EnglandEngland (HostsEngland defeated South Africa by 7 wickets in the first semi-final played at the Oval, London on 19 June 2013)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Lakshadweep.jpg













1)1) The government on 20 June 2013 approved Planning Commission’s proposal to merge the147 Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and bring it down to 70 across various sectors foreffective implementation and monitoring of the 12th Five Year Plan. During last month, aGroup of Ministers (GoM) headed by Sharad Pawar had approved merging of 147 CSS into70 schemes. The merger proposal is in line with recommendations of which committee? –Chaturvedi CommitteeChaturvedi Committee (For better utilisation of funds under CSS, the panel of ministers hadapproved transferring of funds from the central government to the state consolidated funds

and not directly to the implementing agencies. The Chaturvedi Committee had suggested bringing down CSS to 59 from 147to avoid overlap)

2)2) What is the name given to Indian Army’s initiative to rescue thousands of people stranded in various places ofUttarakhand due to the recent flashfloods in the state? – “Operation Ganga Prahar”“Operation Ganga Prahar” (More than 8,500 army personnelwas pressed into service in this operation, which is one of the largest rescue operations launched in India)

3)3) Andhra Pradesh Assembly on 19 June 2013 passed a bill titled “Andhra Pradesh Bangaru Talli Girl Child Promotion andEmpowerment Bill, 2013”, which will provide cash benefits on birth of a girl-child and will also offer cash benefits exceedingRs. 1 lakh if a girl passes intermediate. How much money is to be given on birth of a girl child in this scheme? – Rs. 2,500Rs. 2,500(Sex ratio in Andhra Pradesh has been on a downslide from 975 in 1991 to 943 in 2011. This newly launched scheme willensure annual financial assistance to girl children of BPL families to live a healthy life and pursue education besides a lumpsum amount depending on completion of 10+2 and graduation)

4)4) Sensex plunged by over 500 points on 20 June 2013 to record its biggest intra-day fall since March 2012. What was themain reason for this huge fall? – Huge decline in the value of Indian Rupee against the US dollarHuge decline in the value of Indian Rupee against the US dollar (Rupee slumped toall-time low of 60 per dollar. Rupee’s fall and weak market sentiments were linked to concerns that investments to emergingmarkets like India might decline after the US Federal Bank initiates its stimulus programme later this year. BSE’s 30-scripindex – Sensex went below 19,000 mark while NSE’s 50-scrip Nifty fell by over 150 points)

5)5) Who recently became the first Hindu in 16 years, to be nominated as a member in the Provincial Assembly of Pakistan’sPunjab? – Kanji RamKanji Ram (He emulates Seth Bharta Ram, who was also nominated as a member in the assembly in 1997. A fewdays ago Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora became the first Sikh representative in Punjab assembly since Pakistan’s birth in 1947.Both Kanji Ram and Arora have been nominated by Nawaz Sharif ’s PML-N for seats reserved for non-Muslims)

6)6) Which India-born person recently became the first non-white journalist to run a UK national newspaper? – Amol RajanAmol Rajan(He became Editor of “The Independent” on 17 June 2013. 29-year old Amol Rajan is also second youngest editor of a majornewspaper after Piers Morgan, who became editor of the “News of the World” in 1994 at the age of 28. Rajan was born isKolkata and he moved to London at the age of three)

7)7) The final of ICC Champions Trophy 2013 will be played between India and England. India qualified for the finals bydefeating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the second final played at Cardiff on 20 June 2013. What was the last time that India hadqualified for finals of ICC Champions Trophy? – 20022002 (The final between India and Sri Lanka was washed-out and both theteams were declared winners in 2002. This year’s final will be played on 23 June 2013)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Central-Govt.-schemes.jpg












1)1) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 21 June 2013 approved Ministry ofFood and Supplies’ proposal of selling how much quantity of FCI foodgrains in the openmarket? – 10.5 million tonnes10.5 million tonnes (The decision to sell Food Corporation of India (FCI)’s food-grain stock in open market has been taken with a view to control retail prices of foodgrains. 10million tonnes of wheat and 0.5 million tonnes of rice will be made available for sale under theOpen Market Sale Scheme (OMSS))

2)2) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 21 June 2013 approved theproposal to allow power producers to pass on higher cost of imported coal to consumers, which is expected to result in anincrease in power tariff for consumers by a minimum of 15 to 17 paise per unit. This pass through mechanism will beapplicable for thermal power plants commissioned after which year? – 20092009 (Capacity of power plants commissioned after2009 is approximately 78,000 megawatts

3)3) What was the average monthly per capita expenditure (MCPE) of the poorest of the poor in the country, as stated in areport of 68th round of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) released on 20 June 2013? – Rs. 521.44 in rural areas andRs. 521.44 in rural areas andRs. 700.50 in urban areasRs. 700.50 in urban areas (This report also stated that these poorest of the poor persons constitute roughly about 5% ofthe total population of the country. This effectively means that the poorest of the poor survive on just Rs. 17 per day in ruralareas and Rs. 23 a day in urban areas. NSSO’s 68th round of survey is based on samples consisting of 7,496 villages in ruralIndia and 5,263 urban blocks except some remote areas, during July 2011-June 2012)

4)4) Which financial services company became the first company in the country to suspend gold sales across all itsbusinesses? – Reliance CapitalReliance Capital (According to a statement made by the company on 21 June 2013, the companysuspended sale of gold coins and gold in all other available forms, including as an investment product across all itsbusinesses and subsidiaries. Of late there have been growing concerns over huge gold imports hurting the country’seconomic strength)

5)5) Who was appointed as the head of a newly constituted committee to examine aspects related indecent portrayal ofwomen in mass media, which was constituted on 19 June 2013 by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development? –K RatnaprabhaK Ratnaprabha (She is the Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Mission for Empowerment of Women. Thiscommittee was in view of very large number of complaints related to indecent portrayal of women in mass media)

6)6) According to announcement made by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 19 June 2013, the commoditiestransaction tax (CTT) is to be imposed on derivative contracts of non-agricultural commodities which are traded onrecognized commodity bourses from 1 July 2013. How many agricultural commodities are exempted from this tax by theCBDT? – 2323 (The agricultural commodities on which the tax will not apply include almond, barley, cardamom, castorseed, channa, copra, coriander, cotton seed and cotton, pepper, potato, mustard seed, red chilli, soya bean, turmeric andwheat. All processed agricultural items including sugar, soya oil and guar gum will be subject to CTT on their futures contracts.The levy of CTT, at a rate of 0.01 per cent on contract price, may impact turnover in the commodity bourses. This is because ahigher transaction cost may squeeze day traders’ margins)

7)7) Which university was placed first in a list of World’s Top Universities which are less than 50 years old, published in an elitelist of universities titled “The One Hundred Under Fifty”? – Pohang University of Science and Technology, South KoreaPohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea(This Korean university was placed at first place in 2012 list also. No Indian university was listed in this elite list published byLondon based TSL Education Limited)

8)8) Which team won the NBA (National Basketball Association) title for 2013? – Miami HeatMiami Heat (Miami Heat defeated SanAntonio Spurs by 95-88 in the NBA Finals playoff played on 20 June 2013. The match went to a decisive seventh game. Thisis Miami Heat’s third NBA title)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/FCI-Foodgrains.jpg



23 and 24 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs23 and 24 June 2013 – Daily Current Affairs

1)1) Which are the six forts of Rajasthan which were included in UNESCO’s World Heritage SitesList on 21 June 2013? – Amber For t (Jaipur), Chittorgarh For t (Chittorgarh), GagaronAmber For t (Jaipur), Chittorgarh For t (Chittorgarh), GagaronFort (Jhalawar), Jaisalmer For t (Jaisalmer), Kumbhalgarh For t (Kumbhalgarh) andFort (Jhalawar), Jaisalmer For t (Jaisalmer), Kumbhalgarh For t (Kumbhalgarh) andRanthambhore For t (Sawai Madhopur)Ranthambhore For t (Sawai Madhopur) – This announcement was made at the 37thAnnual Session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Phnom Penh, Cambodiaon 21 June. This distinction for Rajasthan forts was achieved after several missions of theInternational Council of Monuments and Forts (ICOMOS) visited Rajasthan, since 2011 to

discuss for the nominations of the Forts. The ICOMOS discussed the nominations in great details, with the Indian AdvisoryCommittee on World Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) and State ArcheologicalDepartment. ICOMOS is advisory body to the UNESCO

2)2) India won the ICC Champions Trophy for 2013 on 23 June 2013 by defeating the hosts England by 5 runs in the finalplayed at Edgbaston. Who was awarded the Golden Bat for his consistent performance throughout the series? – ShikharShikharDhawanDhawan (Dhawan scored 363 runs in the tournament with the help of 2 centuries and one fifty. Ravindra Jadeja wasadjudged “Man of the Match” of the final for his fine all round performance. With this win Indian skipper Mahendra SinghDhoni became the first skipper to win all major titles of different cricket formats – the ICC World Cup, ICC T-20 World Cupand ICC Champions Trophy)

3)3) The final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which was played on 23 June 2013 between Indian and hosts England, wasdedicated to the highly successful HIV awareness partnership campaign between the ICC, UNICEF and the Joint UnitedNations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). What is the name of this campaign? – THINK WISETHINK WISE (During the final, players ofboth the teams, along with match officials, ICC and ECB staff, wore red ribbons to raise awareness about the stigmasurrounding people living with HIV)

4)4) Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, who leaked confidential agency documents,was charged with which allegations by the US authorities recently? – Violation of Espionage Act and stealing govt.Violation of Espionage Act and stealing govt.proper ty for disclosing classified informationproper ty for disclosing classified information (These charges were filed on 14 June 2013 by Federal prosecutors in theEastern District of Virginia. Snowden however left Hong Kong after the authorities rejected the extradition requests made bythe US authorities)

5)5) Tripura’s first gas-based power plant was commissioned on 21 June 2013 by President Pranab Mukherjee. Where inTripura is this plant situated? – PalatanaPalatana (This project is being developed by ONGC and is named Palatana Gas BasedPower Project. The plant will have total production capacity of 726.6 MW, out of which production of 363 MW has alreadystarted from project’s first unit. An important feature of this plant is that it is the first company in India to be awarded with theClean Development Mechanism by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for plant’sclean production mechanism. The project was also registered on 15 May 2013 with the United Nations as the World’s biggestProject that uses Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) following the guidelines of Kyoto Protocol. Electric power generatedfrom this plant is to be distributed among the seven northeastern states, with Assam getting the largest chunk of power of240 MW. Tripura will get 196 MW of power followed by Meghalaya (79 MW), Manipur (42 MW), Nagaland (27), ArunachalPradesh (22 MW) and Mizoram (22 MW))

6)6) Who was nominated as the next Director of US investigative agency – the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)? – JamesJamesComeyComey (He was nominated by US President Barack Obama on 21 June 2013 and his final appointment needs confirmationfrom the US Senate)

7)7) Who was appointed as the Nodal Officer for relief and rescue operations in the rain-ravaged Uttarakhand by the UnionGovernment on 21 June 2013? – VK DuggalVK Duggal, former Union Home Secretary (Duggal’s main task will be to ensurecoordination between different agencies involved in relief and rescue operations and the Centre)

8)8) Which public-sector finance and investment company recently launched its first Infrastructure Debt Fund recently with anobjective of mobilizing funds from sectors like insurance and pension funds? – IndiaIndia Infrastructure Finance CompanyInfrastructure Finance CompanyLimited (IIFCL)Limited (IIFCL) – This newly launched fund is to invest in debt securities or securitised debt instruments of infrastructurecompanies, infrastructure capital companies or infrastructure projects, SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle).

http://www.nirdeshak.com/23-and-24-june-2013-daily-current-affairs.html

http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/UNESCO-List-Rajasthan-Forts.jpg




http://www.nirdeshak.com/arunachal-pradesh.html



1)1) Which terrorist organisation took responsibility for two terrorist attacks of 24 June 2013 inSrinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), in which 8 security personnel were killed? – HizbulHizbulMujahideenMujahideen (These attacks were done on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visitto the state)

2)2) How many World Heritage Sites are there in India at present with inclusion of a group of 6forts of Rajasthan in this prestigious list? – 3030 (This list includes 1) Ajanta Caves 2) ElloraCaves 3) Khajuraho Temples 4) Elephenta Caves 5) Hampi Monuments 6) Pattadkal

Monuments 7) Sanchi Monument 8) Qutub Minar and adjoining monuments 9) Sun Temple of Konark 10) Keoladeo NationalPark 11) Mahabalipuram Temples 12) Agra Fort 13) Fatehpur Sikri 14) Taj Mahal 15) Group of Chola Temples 16) ChampanerPavagarh Complex 17) Churches and Convents of Goa 18) Red Fort Complex 19) Mahabodhi Temple 20) Humayun’s Tomb21) Kaziranga National Park 22) Manas National Park 23) Rock Temples of Bhimbetka 24) Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus 25)Jantar Mantar (Jaipur) 26) Nanda Devi National Park and Valley of Flowers 27) Mountain Railways of India (comprising ofDarjeeling Railway, Nilgiri Moutain Railway and Kalka-Shimla Mountain Railway) 28) Western Ghats 29) Sunderbans NationalPark and 30) Hill Forts of Rajasthan. However, there are 46 heritage monuments/sites in this list, if each monument/site iscounted individually)

3)3) On 23 June 2013 who became the first person to successfully cross the Grand Canyon on a tightrope? – Nik WallendaNik Wallenda(Wallenda crossed the 1400 foot long tightrope about 1500 feet over Little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon. Hiswalk was telecasted by Discovery Channel. He took 23 minutes to cross the tightrope)

4)4) What is the name of the Israeli firm which recently announced that it has successfully established cloud-based systemthat will allow users of simple phones to access smartphones apps? – VascoDeVascoDe (The system developed by the VascoDecompany allows users to obtain apps with the firm’s cloud-based system that requires no downloads and uses the text-basedUnstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), similar to the Short Message Service (SMS). The USSD system does notallow access to the internet, but rather it uses the API (Application Programming Interfaces) from pages like Facebook, Gmail,and the like)

5)5) Which is India’s fastest supercomputer according to the recently released TOP500 list of World’ Fastest Supercomputers?– iDataPlexiDataPlex (This computer belongs to Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and was placed at 36th place in thislist. C-DAC’s Param Yuva-II was placed at 69th position in this list, in which China’s Tianhe-2 was given the top position)

6)6) Cricket Australia on 24 June 2013 sacked national coach Mickey Arthur after team’s disastrous performance in therecently concluded ICC Champions Trophy. Who was appointed new coach, just 16 days before the start of the Ashes series?– Darren LehmannDarren Lehmann , Former Test batsman

7)7) Which senior journalist was appointed as the interim Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by Prime Minister NawazSharif? – Najam SethiNajam Sethi (Sethi’s appointment came after the Islamabad High Court directed the government to appoint aninterim Chairman after it had suspended Zaka Ashraf from working as Chairman of the Board over allegations ofunconstitutional process followed in the PCB elections held in May 2013)

8)8) Who won the 8th Tal Chess Championship 2013, which concluded on 23 June 2013 at Moscow? – Boris GelfandBoris Gelfand ofIsrael, who accumulated 6 points (Magnus Carlsen of Norway got second position with 5.5 points, while India’s VishwanathanAnand finished the tournament with a disappointing rank of 9 out of 10 players. He got 3.5 points)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Terrorist-Attack-24-June-2013.jpg



http://www.nirdeshak.com/downloads





1)1) On 25 June 2013 software firm Mahindra Satyam was formally merged with TechMahindra to create the fifth largest software services company in the country. Who wasappointed as the new Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of the combined entity? – Milind KulkarniMilind Kulkarni(The board of Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam had approved the merger on 21 March2012. After an approval from the Mumbai High Court, the merger had been awaitingclearances from the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which gave the nod on 11 June 2013. Thecombined company will be called Tech Mahindra. Part of the $16 billion Mahindra group, TechMahindra purchased Satyam in a government-backed auction in 2009 after the founder of

the Hyderabad-based company admitted to one of India‘s biggest accounting frauds)

2)2) Which latest acquired helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Gaurikund on 25 June 2013, while ferryingrescue personnel from the temple town of Kedarnath? – Mi 17 V5Mi 17 V5 (This helicopter is the very latest in the inventory of theIAF. At least 9 people, including 5 crew members on board, were expected to have died in this crash)

3)3) UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on 25 June 2013 laid foundation stone of which hydro power project in Kishtwar district ofJammu & Kashmir, which will have total production capacity of 850 MW of electricity? – Rattle Hydro Power ProjectRattle Hydro Power Project

4)4) Which organisation claimed responsibility for attack on Presidential Palace in Kabul’s ultra-secure area on 25 June 2013?– TalibanTaliban (Suicide attackers blew up a car bomb and battled security forces outside Afghanistan’s Presidential Palace afterinfiltrating into the area. The palace is in a large fortified area of downtown Kabul that also includes the U.S. Embassy and theheadquarters for the NATO-led coalition forces and where access is heavily restricted. All terrorists were killed in this attack)

5)5) What is the name of Qatar’s ruler Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s son, who was given reign of the country on 25 June2013? – Crown Prince Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al ThaniCrown Prince Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (It is widely believed that Sheik Hamad is suffering from healthproblems, which resulted in this power transition. Sheik Tamim became the next in line to rule in 2003 after his older brotherstepped aside)

6)6) A new international rating company is expected to provide some balance to the industry and give a slight amount ofcompetition to the big three rating companies – Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. What is the name this new ratingagency, which will be headquartered at Hong Kong? – Universal Credit Rating GroupUniversal Credit Rating Group (This new rating agency is beinglaunched by Dagong, RusRating and U.S.-based Egan-Jones Ratings in an equal shared venture. The big three establishedagencies have of-late come under fire for giving high ratings to complex pools of mortgages and other debt)

7)7) What was the rate of suicide in India for year 2012, as announced in statistics released by the National Crime RecordsBureau (NCRB) recently? – 11.2 cases of suicide for a population of 1 lakh people11.2 cases of suicide for a population of 1 lakh people (Total number of suicides in thecountry stood at 1,35,445 during year 2012, excluding West Bengal, which did not provide classified information. Tamil Nadutops the list with 16,927 suicides followed by Maharashtra with 16,112 suicides and Andhra Pradesh with 14,328 suicides.Among the cities of the country, Chennai topped with 2,183 cases)

8)8) Indian security market regulator SEBI on 25 June 2013 approved the amendments of rules to permit listing of start-upsand SMEs in Institutional Trading platform (ITP) without having to make an IPO and also declared new rules for angelinvestors. What are the new rules for angel investors? – Angel investors would be allowed to put in their money in onlyAngel investors would be allowed to put in their money in onlyfirms incorporated in firms incorporated in IndiaIndia and that are not more than three years old and that are not more than three years old (The minimum amount for trading orinvestment on the ITP will be Rs. 10 lakh. Such companies would also be exempted from the requirements of having to offerup to 25% of its shareholding to public through an offer document in order to get listed. On the other hand, angel funds arerequired to have a corpus of at least Rs. 10 crore and minimum investment by an investor should be Rs. 25 lakh. Angelinvestors are affluent individuals who provide capital for business start-ups, usually in exchange for equity ownership orconvertible debt in the start-up)

9)9) SEBI on 25 June 2013 approved new set of rules, making it mandatory for the companies to buyback at least 50% of theirrepurchase offers with the objective of safeguarding the interest of public shareholders. What was the existing limit of themandatory buy-back? – 25%25% (SEBI also changed the period of buyback and from now buyback is to be completed in 6months against existing norm of 12 months)

10)10) The Centre on 24 June 2013 unveiled the draft of its contentious National Water Framework Bill, which seeks to provide“Right to Water”, while stating that water allocation and pricing should be based on economic principles. What is the minimumquantity of potable water per individual per day that has been described as essential in this bill? – 25 Litre


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Tech-Mahindra-Mahindra-Satyam.jpg







1)1) The 18 km Banihal-Qazigund section of the ambitious Jammu-Srinagar mountainBanihal-Qazigund section of the ambitious Jammu-Srinagar mountainrailway networkrailway network was inaugurated on 26 June 2013 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh andUPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. This railway section incorporates in it, the longest railwaytunnel in the country. Which tunnel is this? – Pir Panjal TunnelPir Panjal Tunnel, which is 11 km long (TheBanihal-Qazigund section, which reduces the 35 km distance by road to half, was constructedat a cost of about Rs 1,700 crore. The Udhampur-Katra-Banihal section, which will connect theKashmir valley with the rest of the country’s rail network, is expected to be completed by2017)

2)2) Union Govt. on 25 June 2013 came up with the Draft River Basin Management BillDraft River Basin Management Bill , withan objective of setting 12 river basin authorities in the countries to settle numerous water-sharing disputes and tackling theproblem of pollution in inter-state rivers of the country. This draft, which was put in the public domain by the Water ResourcesMinistry, is being proposed to amend which act pertaining to river water? – The River Boards Act, 1956The River Boards Act, 1956

3)3) Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was ousted as the leader of the ruling Labor Par tyJulia Gillard was ousted as the leader of the ruling Labor Par ty on 26 June 2013. Whoousted her in a vote of party legislators? – Kevin RuddKevin Rudd , her predecessor (Gillard was defeated in the polls by 57 votes to 45.The defeat was mainly to avoid a huge defeat of Labor Party in the upcoming elections as Gillard is presently very low inpopularity. This win makes Rudd leader of the Labor Party but he is not yet Prime Minister and may not get the job iflegislators abandon Labor’s ruling coalition)

4)4) How many mini LIC officesmini LIC offices were inaugurated by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 25 June 2013? – 300300 (Theseoffices would provide facilities for premium collection and other policy related services. These 300 mini offices wereinaugurated through video-mode)

5)5) Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital on 26 June 2013 announced its plan for making a foray into the banking sector, forwhich applications are needed to be submitted by 1 July 2013 with the RBI. Reliance Capital is to partner-up with which twoleading banking entities of Japan for the proposed banking venture? – Sumitomo Mitsui Trust BankSumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and NipponNipponLife InsuranceLife Insurance (Both these entities would take 4 to 5% stake in the proposed venture. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank is one ofthe largest banks in Japan, while Nippon Life Insurance is among Asia’s largest financial services company and already hasstrategic stakes in Reliance Capital’s life insurance and mutual fund units. With this announcement Reliance Capital joinsentities such as Religare Enterprises, JM Financial Srei, Aditya Birla Group, TFCI, Magma Fincorp, etc, who are expected to lineup before the RBI for banking licenses)

6)6) Indian rupee sank to an all time low on 26 June 2013 against the dollar in mid-session trade. What was the lowest markrecorded by rupee on this day, which was the lowest ever? – 60.35 rupees for 1 dollar60.35 rupees for 1 dollar (This all time low mark was recordedat 15:35 hrs on the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange market mainly due to increased buying by banks and oil importers)

7)7) What is the name of the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) launched by Ford India on 26 June 2013? – EcoSportEcoSport (Themuch awaited EcoSport is available in both petrol and diesel versions and prices start from 5.59 lakh ex-showroom Delhi.Ford India is seeing this SUV as the game changer for company)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/PirPanjal-Tunnel.jpg




1)1) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister ManmohanSingh approved Oil Ministry’s proposal to price all domestically produced natural gas as per aformula suggested by a panel. This resulted in near doubling of natural gas prices to $8.4from 1 April next year, a move which will cause power tariffs, urea costs and CNG prices to goup. This approval was based on suggestions of a panel headed by – Dr. C. RangarajanDr. C. Rangarajan ,Prime Minister’s Economic Advisor (This pricing formula for natural gas would come intoeffect from 1 April 2014, just when Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)’s KG-D6 formula of

$4.2/mmBtu runs out. The Rangarajan formula would be applicable for 5 years)

2)2) India’s first ever white label ATM was started at Chandrapada, a rural village in Thane district near Mumbai on 27 June2013. This ATM was started by Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd. (TCPSL), a subsidiary of Tata Communications.What is the brand name of this range of white ATMs? – IndicashIndicash (Last year, the Reserve Bank of India, had allowedcorporates to set up white label ATMs to increase the penetration of ATMs in several areas of the country. These ATMs are tobe operated by non-banking corporates and organisations and will provide ATM services to customers of all banks)

3)3) Who was sworn in as new Prime Minister of Australia on 27 June 2013, a day after he defeated his predecessor JuliaGillard for the post of chief of Labor Party? – Kevin RuddKevin Rudd (The 55-year-old Rudd was sworn in as Prime Minister byGovernor-General Quentin Bryce at the Government House in Canberra. The leadership change comes ahead of the 14September general elections, which surveys suggest the Labor is set to lose)

4)4) Who on 27 June 2013 became the oldest woman to reach the third round of Wimbledon since the Open era started in1968? – Kimiko Date-KrummKimiko Date-Krumm, the 42-year old Japanese player, who defeated Alexandra Cadantu of Romania by 6-4, 7-5(The 42-year-old Date-Krumm took a 12-year break from tennis before returning in 2008. Earlier Martina Navratilovareached second round of Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 47)

5)5) Sanjiv Goenka, who was given the 2013 “Indian Business Leader of the Year” award on 25 June 2013 at the 2013 GlobalIndia Business Meeting held at Belfast UK, is heading which business group? – The RP-Sanjiv Goenka GroupThe RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group , which isworth about Rs. 14,000 crore (The award was given in recognition of the success of Sanjiv Goenka’s business enterprise andto acknowledge his position as an outstanding entrepreneur in India)

6)6) Who on 24 June 2013 was appointed as Director General, National Disaster Response Force and Civil Defence recently? –Krishna ChaudharyKrishna Chaudhary (He will remain at this post until his superannuation on 30 June 2017 or till further orders)

7)7) The European Commission on 26 June 2013 approved the takeover of NYSE-Euronext, a conglomerate which owns theNew York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and London-based Liffe, Europe’s second-largest derivatives market. Which financial entityis taking over NYSE-Euronext? – Inter Continental Exchange or ICEInter Continental Exchange or ICE (ICE had proposed to takeover NYSE-Euronext for astock-and-cash deal worth $8.2 billion in December 2012. ICE is basically a commodity exchange conglomerate based inAtlanta, US. After this deal ICE- NYSE-Euronext combine will become the third-largest exchange group globally, behind HongKong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEC) and the CME Group)

8)8) Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer was defeated in the second round of Wimbledon 2013 on 26 June 2013.Who defeated him to end his dream of eighth title? – Ukraine’s Sergiy StakhovskyUkraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky , who defeated Federer by 6-7(5) 7-6(5)

7-5 7-6(5) (Stakhovsky is ranked 116th in the ATP rankings. Maria Sharapova was also ousted in the third round by MichelleLarcher de Brito of Portugal by 6-3, 6-4)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Natural-Gas.jpg






1)1) What are the important points in the announcements made for country’s infrastructure sector,which were made at a meeting on this sector, held under chairmanship of Prime MinisterManmohan Singh on 28 June 2013?

i. Infrastructure sector of the country to be upgraded through public-private-par tnershipInfrastructure sector of the country to be upgraded through public-private-par tnership(PPP) mode by the end of this calendar year(PPP) mode by the end of this calendar year

ii. Total investments of Rs. 1.15 lakh crore to be made for infrastructure projectsTotal investments of Rs. 1.15 lakh crore to be made for infrastructure projectsiii. Rs. 45,000 to be spent on railway projectsRs. 45,000 to be spent on railway projectsiv. Rs. 40,000 crore to be sent on power projectsRs. 40,000 crore to be sent on power projects

v. Rs. 10,000 crore to be spent on accelerating E-DFC (Eastern-Dedicated Freight Corridor) projectRs. 10,000 crore to be spent on accelerating E-DFC (Eastern-Dedicated Freight Corridor) projectvi. 50 new low-cost airpor ts to be set up in the country by Airpor ts Authority of 50 new low-cost airpor ts to be set up in the country by Airpor ts Authority of IndiaIndia (AAI) (AAI)vii. Bhubaneswar and Imphal airpor ts to be upgraded to international status at a cost of Rs 20,000 croreBhubaneswar and Imphal airpor ts to be upgraded to international status at a cost of Rs 20,000 croreviii. Two new major por ts to come up at Durgarajapatnam (Two new major por ts to come up at Durgarajapatnam (Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh) and Sagar (West Bengal)) and Sagar (West Bengal)ix. Elevated rail corridor (ERC) project in Mumbai to be provided Rs. 30,000 croreElevated rail corridor (ERC) project in Mumbai to be provided Rs. 30,000 crorex. Airpor t operations and maintenance through PPP contracts to be introduced at airpor ts at Chennai, Kolkata,Airpor t operations and maintenance through PPP contracts to be introduced at airpor ts at Chennai, Kolkata,

Lucknow, Guwahati, Jaipur and AhmedabadLucknow, Guwahati, Jaipur and Ahmedabad

(The above announcements were made at a meeting called by the Prime Minister to finalise infrastructure projects for 2013-14. It was attended by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwaliaand ministers of power, coal, railways, roads, shipping and civil aviation)

2)2) The annual Amarnath Yatra started on 28 June 2013 from two base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal. This arduous yatra,comprising a distance of 45 Km from Pahalgam and 13 Km from Baltal will go on for how many days this year? – 55 Days55 Days(For the first time, the access control agencies are carrying out thorough checks of the pilgrims and their documentationbefore allowing them to proceed. The yatra ends with holy darshan of the natural snow shivling of Lord Shiva located in acave shrine, 3,880 m above sea level in south Kashmir Himalayas)

3)3) Who is China’s Special Representative on the boundary dispute, who met India’s National Security Adviser ShivshankarMenon on 28 June 2013 for 16th Round of Negotiations of Border Dispute between the two countries held in Beijing? – YangYangJiechiJiechi (Jiechi took over as the Special Representative (SR) earlier this year following his promotion as State Councillor or thetop diplomat. The talks have assumed particular significance following this year’s leadership transition in China and therecent strains along the disputed border following the 15 April incursion by Chinese troops in Depsang, in Ladakh)

4)4) Which anti-diabetes drug was banned on 26 June 2013 by the Union Health Ministry due to serious side-effects of thedrug? – PioglitazonePioglitazone (It was widely reported that use of pioglitazone can lead to fluid retention that precipitates or worsenscongestive heart failure (CHF) among patients. However, domestic generic drug manufacturers protested against theministry’s move, saying that it would force patients to buy expensive drugs. Pioglitazone was banned along with Analgin, apopular pain reliever. It is interesting to note that Analgin has been banned for sale in the US for over three decades whereasPioglitazone, of the rosiglitazone family, is banned only in France. An anti-depression drug named Deanxit, was also bannedalong with Pioglitazone and Analgin. Deanxit has been banned in its country of origin – Denmark)

5)5) The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill was passed by the Senate of the United States on 27 June 2013, which isexpected to prove a boon for millions of illegal immigrants in the country. How many votes were polled in favour of thislandmark bill, which will now be tested in the House of Representatives? – 8888 (32 votes were polled in opposition of this bill.The most important provision of this bill is that it provides 13-year path to citizenship to millions of illegal migrants residing inthe country. The bill also talks about heightened security measures with Mexico)

6)6) Market Regulator SEBI on 25 June 2013 changed some of the rules governing the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) withan objective of easing their operations in India. This step of easing rules for FIIs was done on recommendations of whichcommittee? – K M Chandrasekhar Committee on Unifying FIIsK M Chandrasekhar Committee on Unifying FIIs (SEBI announced its decision to merge FIIs and QualifiedForeign Investors (QFIs) into one class called Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI), which is expected to simplify foreign investorsentry into the Indian capital market)


http://i0.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/infrastructure-Sector.jpg





7)7) The proposal of which private sector bank to raise Rs 2,650 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) fromoverseas was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 27 June 2013? – YES BankYES Bank (YES Bankproposes to increase the foreign equity participation upto 60 per cent through a QIP of its equity shares to eligible non-resident investors. The proposal was cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in April, but since theinvestment was of more than Rs 1,200 crore, a CCEA nod was required which was given on 27 June)

8)8) The United States on 27 June 2013 suspended trade preferences for Bangladesh after a building collapse killed morethan 1,100 Bangladeshi garment workers in April. This decision is expected to result in negative impact on Bangladesh’stextile exports to the US. What is the name of a preferential trade system of US, which allowed Bangladesh to export to theUnited States nearly 5,000 types of items without paying import tariffs? – Generalized System of Preferences – GSPGeneralized System of Preferences – GSP(GSP allowed Bangladesh zero or reduced tariffs on some imported products)


1)1) Who will be the 40th Chief Justice of India? – P. SathasivamP. Sathasivam (He will take place of present ChiefJustice Altamas Kabir, who retires on 18 July 2013. President Pranab Mukherjee recently approvedappointment of Sathasivam, who is a judge of the Supreme Court at present)

2)2) India became the first South Asian country to impose a ban on testing of cosmetics and itsingredients on animals. The decision to impose this ban was taken in a meeting of whichorganization on 28 June 2013? – Bureau of Indian Standards – BISBureau of Indian Standards – BIS (BIS’ Cosmetics SectionalCommittee, chaired by the Drugs Controller General of India took this decision after payingattention to appeals from several quarters. Any cosmetic product which carries out animal testingwill face action as per provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Animal Cruelty Act.

Violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act by any person or corporate manager or owner is liable for punishment for a termwhich may extend from 3-10 years and shall also be liable to fine which could be Rs.500 to Rs.10,000, or with both. 27member countries of the European Union and Israel have implemented both testing and sales bans to bring an end toanimal suffering in their respective jurisdictions)

3)3) Tour de France, which kicked-off on 29 June 2013 from France’s Corsica Island, completed how many years of itsexistence? – 100 years100 years (Tour de France is a high endurance cycling event that was first held in 1903 and has been heldevery year except the World War years. The race is approximately 3,200 km long and takes 23 days to complete. It is held inFrance and adjoining countries)

4)4) The Reserve bank of India on 28 June 2013 announced setting up of a committee to study issues relating to financial-benchmarking and examine if they have become obsolete and need changes. Who has been appointed as the head of thiscommittee? – Vijay BhaskarVijay Bhaskar , Executive Director, RBI (The committee will study all major financial benchmarks in India toassess their relevance, fallback mechanisms if a benchmark becomes obsolete, suggest inclusion of new benchmarks orexclusion of some of the existing ones. The committee, which will have representation from select market participants,Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL), and academia, has been asked to submit its report by 31 December 2013)

5)5) How much govt. stake is to be disinvested in Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), which has been opposed by several labourunions of NLC? – 5%5% (The Union Cabinet on 21 June 2013 cleared government’s 5 % stake sale in NLC, which would helpgarner around Rs. 466 crore for the exchequer. The Tamil Nadu-headquartered firm is facing stiff protests over thedisinvestment decision and 17 trade unions representing its 17,000 employees have already announced they would go onindefinite strike from the midnight of July 3, 2013 till the decision of disinvestment is withdrawn)


http://i1.wp.com/www.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/P.-Sathasivam.jpg







current affairs pdf june 2013 en

Documents

daily current aairs

daily current affairs

current aairsof

current aairs6

current aairs7

current aairs4

current aairs5

current aairs10