Daily GK Quiz 5th March 2015

Q. : 1   The Odisha govt started the process for constitution of a State Legislative Council recently. Which of the following states has/have State Legislative Council as of now?

1) Bihar

2) Uttar Pradesh

3) Karnataka

4) Maharashtra

5) All the above

Q. : 2   The Arkavathi land denotification scam, which was in news recently, is associated with which of the following states?

1) Tamil Nadu

2) Karnataka

3) Maharashtra

4) Madhya Pradesh

5) Kerala

Q. : 3   Which of the following countries adopted Europe’s single currency Euro on 1 Jan 2015? It is the 19th member of the eurozone.

1) Ukraine

2) Estonia

3) Lithuania

4) Belarus

5) None of these

Q. : 4   Who among the following has been appointed the Vice Chairman of the recently set up NITI Aayog which has replaced the Planning Commission?

1) Arvind Subramanian

2) Arvind Panagariya

3) TN Srinivasan

4) Pravin Krishna

5) Jagdish Bhagwati

Q. : 5   Who among the following has won the ATP World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi?

1) Stanislas Wawarinka

2) Rafael Nadal

3) Novak Djokovic

4) Andy Murray

5) None of these

Q. : 6   Omar Karami, who died recently, was the former Prime Minister of which of the following countries?

1) Indonesia

2) Thailand

3) Malaysia

4) Cambodia

5) Lebanon

Q. : 7   Veteran Indian-origin JY Pillay was reappointed as the top advisor to President of which of the following countries recently? He will exercise the functions of the President’s office in the absence of President.

1) Fiji

2) Trinidad and Tobago

3) Singapore

4) Suriname

5) None of these

Q. : 8   The French economist Thomas Piketty turned down country’s top award, the Legion D’Honneur recently. He is the other of which of the following best-selling books?

1) Capital in the 21st Century

2) The Big Switch - Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google

3) When Corporations Rule the World

4) The History of the World

5) None of these

Q. : 9   The UN will hold no meeting in its headquarters on Diwali and GurPurab. The UN headquarters is situated in

1) New York

2) Washington DC

3) Prague

4) Hague

5) Geneva

Q. : 10   The Padmashree awardee Vasant Gowarikar passed away recently. He was a renowned

1) author

2) scientist

3) politician

4) actor

5) dancer

1. (5) All the above
2. (2) Karnataka
3. (3) Lithuania
4. (2) Arvind Panagariya
5. (4) Andy Murray
6. (5) Lebanon
7. (3) Singapore
8. (1) Capital in the 21st Century
9. (1) New York
10. (2) scientist

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Daily GK Update - 4th March 2015

Apple regains No.1 slot in smartphone sales

(i) Worldwide sales of smartphones had a record growth in fourth quarter of 2014 with an

increase of 29.9 percent as against the same period last year to reach 367.5 million units, said IT research and advisory company Gartner.

(ii) In 2014, sales of smartphones totaled 1.2 billion units, up 28.4 percent from 2013 and represented two-thirds of global mobile phone sales.

(iii) "The availability of smartphones at lower prices has accelerated the migration of feature phone users to smartphones, pushing the smartphone market to double-digit growth in countries like India, Russia and Mexico," added Gartner.

BCCI’s image will change

(i) Asserting that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will no longer be perceived as being run by one person, the board's secretary Anurag Thakur assured cricket fans that “total transparency and credibility” in the BCCI's functioning are high on his agenda.

(ii) Mr. Thakur was elected secretary of the Board, defeating incumbent Sanjay Patel, who was backed by the former BCCI president N. Srinivasan, in the elections held in Chennai on Monday.

(iii) Mr. Thakur, who rose to become president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association at 25, has had 15 years of experience with the Board.

RBI cuts interest rate by 25 basis points

(i) In a surprise move, the Reserve Bank of India has cut the key policy rate by 25 basis points, setting the tone for a reduction in lending rates by banks. This will prod banks to drop interest rates on home and car loans.

(ii) The policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) is cut by 25 basis points to 7.5 per cent from 7.75 per cent. The reduction will come into effect immediately.

(iii) The RBI has, however, kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). 

(iv) It has said that it will continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate and liquidity under seven-day and 14-day term repos of up to 0.75 per cent.

(v) It has also decided to continue with daily variable rate repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.5 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate to 8.5 per cent.

SAARC yatra: Foreign Secretary Jaishankar meets Afghan CEO Abdullah

(i) Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to hold talks with the Afghan leadership as part of his “SAARC Yatra” aimed at firming up India’s ties with members of the grouping while reviewing regional and bilateral cooperation.

(ii) Mr. Jaishankar, who flew into Kabul from Islamabad amid light snow in Kabul, was received by senior Afghan officials and Indian High Commissioner Amar Sinha at the airport.

(iii) Mr. Jaishankar began his meetings soon after his arrival.

(iv) He first called on Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah.

(v) He will also hold talks with his Afghan counterpart and discuss regional and bilateral issues and later call on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

(vi) Mr. Jaishankar, who started his trip on Sunday with Bhutan and visited Bangladesh and Pakistan, will round off the first leg of his “SAARC Yatra” with Afghanistan.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen finds sunken warship Musashi

(i) Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen said he’s found a massive Japanese World War II battleship off the Philippines near where it sank over 70 years ago.

(ii) The apparent discovery of the wreckage of the Musashi, one of the largest battleships in history, comes as the world marks the 70th anniversary of the war’s end.

(iii) Mr. Allen’s publicity agency Edelman said in a statement on Wednesday that Mr. Allen and his research team aboard his superyacht M/Y Octopus found the ship over the weekend, more than eight years after their search began.

(iv) Mr. Allen called the Musashi an “engineering marvel,” saying that as an engineer at heart he appreciated its technology and construction.

(v) The Musashi sank in October 1944 in the Sibuyan Sea during the battle of Leyte, losing half its 2,400 crew members.

World’s oldest person celebrates her 117th birthday

(i) The world’s oldest person says 117 years doesn’t seem like such a long time.

(ii) Ms. Okawa, born in Osaka on March 5, 1898, was recognized as the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records in 2013. 

(iii) She’s slowed down in recent months and is having trouble hearing, but she still eats well and remains in good health, according to her Osaka nursing home.

(iv) Ms. Okawa married her husband, Yukio, in 1919, and they had three children two daughters and a son. She now has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1931.

Spectrum auction begins; govt eyes over Rs. 80,000 crore revenue

(i) The much awaited spectrum auction, wherein 8 companies are bidding to acquire airwaves in four bands, started on Wednesday.

(ii) The auction is the biggest ever sale of 2G and 3G airwaves which may fetch the government over Rs. 82,000 crore.

(iii) A total of 380.75 MHz of spectrum in three bands — the premium 900 MHz band, 1,800 MHz and 800 MHz — is put on sale besides 5 MHz in the 2,100 MHz band across 17 out of 22 telecom areas in the country.

(iv) Based on the reserve price, the government is estimated to garner over Rs. 82,000 crore. Most of the spectrum put up for auction is presently held by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Telecom. Their licences are expiring in 2015-16.

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RBI Cuts Interest Rate By 25 Basis Points

It may be recalled that in its statement on monetary policy of January 15, 2015 the Reserve Bank reduced the policy repo rate by 25 basis points and indicated that ““Key to further easing are data that confirm continuing disinflationary pressures. Also critical would be sustained high quality fiscal consolidation…”.While maintaining the interest rate stance in its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement of February 3 in the absence of new developments on inflation or on the fiscal outlook till then, the Reserve Bank indicated that it will keenly monitor the revision in the consumer price index (CPI) with regard to the path of inflation in 2015-16 as well as the Union Budget for 2015-16.

To summarise, softer readings on inflation are expected to come in through the first half of 2015-16 before firming up to below 6 per cent in the second half. The fiscal consolidation programme, while delayed, may compensate in quality, especially if state governments are cooperative. Given low capacity utilisation and still-weak indicators of production and credit off-take, it is appropriate for the Reserve Bank to be pre-emptive in its policy action to utilise available space for monetary accommodation.

Consequently, it has been decided to:

1. reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 7.75 per cent to 7.5 per cent with immediate effect;
2. keep the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL);
3. continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate and liquidity under 7-day and 14-day term repos of up to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions; and

continue with daily variable rate repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity.

Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.5 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 8.5 per cent with immediate effect.

The need to act outside the policy review cycle is prompted by two factors: First, while the next bi-monthly policy statement will be issued on April 7, 2015 the still weak state of certain sectors of the economy as well as the global trend towards easing suggests that any policy action should be anticipatory once sufficient data support the policy stance. Second, with the release of the agreement on the monetary policy framework, it is appropriate for the Reserve Bank to offer guidance on how it will implement the mandate.

Going forward, the RBI will seek to bring the inflation rate to the mid-point of the band of 4 +/- 2 per cent provided for in the agreement, i.e., to 4 per cent by the end of a two year period starting fiscal year 2016-17.

The guidance on policy action given in the fifth-bi-monthly monetary policy statement of December 2014 is largely unchanged. Further monetary actions will be conditioned by incoming data, especially on the easing of supply constraints, improved availability of key inputs such as power, land, minerals and infrastructure, continuing progress on high-quality fiscal consolidation, the pass through of past rate cuts into lending rates, the monsoon outturn and developments in the international environment.

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Brawl (Noun)

Definition:

nasty fight

Synonyms:

Fracas, Altercation, Feud, Melee, Ruckus, Quarrel

Antonyms:

Harmony, Peace, Calm

Example Sentence:

There was a brawl in parliament when the pact was debated.

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Daily GK Dose - 4th March 2015

1. FICCI ropes in Arvind Virmani as economic mentor. He will now mentor Ficci’s public policy & economic work. Arvind Virmani, served as the country’s Chief Economic Advisor and Principal Advisor in the Planning Commission. Virmani’s association as Economic Mentor to Ficci will spur the growth agenda for the Indian economy.

2. The Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank have agreed to inflation rate targeting under which the apex bank will aim to lower retail inflation to 6 per cent by January 2016 and further to around 4 percent by March 2017. The monetary policy framework agreement as signed to "primarily maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth".

3. Online Taxi-service aggregator Olacabs acquired Bengaluru-based rival TaxiForSure in a cash and equity deal worth 200 million US dollars. This is the first major acquisition in the taxi-aggregator space in India.

4. Hifikepunye Pohamba, outgoing Namibian President won the Mo Ibrahim prize for achievement in African leadership for year 2014. Established in 2007, the Ibrahim Prize recognises and celebrates excellence in African leadership.

5. Country’s third largest software services firm Wipro has partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to develop a cyber value-at-risk (VAR) framework. This will allow organisations to assess threat landscape, the nature of assets needed protection and quality of defences. As per the Forum’s estimates, the resultant new cyber regulations and restrictive policies could hurt innovation by about $3 trillion by 2020.

6. Zakir Naik, president of the Islamic Research Foundation in India, was one of five recipients of the King Faisal International Prize for 2015 from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. Indian Islamic scholar and comparative religion expert Dr. Zakir Naik was honoured for being one of the most renowned non-Arabic speaking promoters of Islam. It is one of the most prestigious awards of Saudi Arabia.

7. Spanish tennis ace, Rafael Nadal won the Argentina Open title of Tennis. In the summit clash, Nadal defeated Juan Monaco of Argentina in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 in Buenos Aires. This was the 65th career title for Nadal. It is Nadal's first title in 2015.

8. The government appointed former Panchajanya editor Baldev Sharma as the new chairman of the National Book Trust, cutting short the term of incumbent A. Sethumadhavan — better known by his pen name `Sethu’ — by six months.

9. Mukesh Ambani has retained his position as the richest Indian for the eighth year in a row with a networth of $ 21 billion, while moving up one place on the global rich list that has been topped once again by software czar Bill Gates. Among the 90 Indians on the Forbes Rich List 2015 Ambani (39th globally) is closely followed by pharmaceuticals business tycoon Dilip Shanghvi (44th rank with networth of $ 20 billion) and Azim Premji (48th with $ 19.1 billion).

10. Government has given additional charge of Managing Director and CEO of Bank of Baroda to Ranjan Dhawan, the senior most executive director at the bank. Dhawan has been entrusted the additional charge for a period of three months.

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Boost GK Question And Answer On Union Budget 2015-16

1. What is the name of the proposed micro and SME development finance unit that was announced in the Budget? – MUDRA Bank
2. How much allocation has been made for the proposed MUDRA Bank, which has been proposed for giving boost to micro and SME sectors? – Rs. 20,000 crore
3. Which regulator is proposed to be merged with the SEBI as announced in this budget? – Forward Markets Commission – FMC (FMC is the regulator of the commodities market in India)
4. The service tax has been hiked from present 12.36% to – 14%
5. 100% tax deduction has been allowed for contribution to which two important central govt. schemes in this budget? – Swachh Bharat Fund and Namami Gange Fund
6. Which tax has been abolished with a cess in this budget? – Wealth Tax (It has been replaced with a 2% cess on super rich individuals. The super rich individuals are those with an annual income of over Rs. 1 crore)
7. The establishment of a new film production centre (Centre for Film Production and Animation) in which Northeastern state has been proposed in the budget? – Arunachal Pradesh
8. What is the name of the new scheme to empower and enable minority youths, announcement for which was made in the budget? – “Nayi Manzil” (This scheme was announced to enable minority youth to obtain school leaving certificate and gain better employment)
9. The corporate tax will be reduced from present 30% to 25% as announced in the Budget. This reduction, however, will be done across how many years? – 4 years
10. What is the name of the new insurance scheme announced in the Budget under which insurance coverage of Rs. 2 lakh will be provided with a daily premium of Re.1? –“Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana”
11. How much additional allocation for MGNREGA was announced in the Budget, which had made this year’s MNREGA allocation the highest ever? – Rs. 5,000 crore (Total allocation stands at Rs. 34,699 crore)
12. The Budget proposed what status to the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) registered with RBI with corpus above Rs. 5,000 crore? – Financial Institutions
13. Establishment of how many Ultra Mega Power Plants (UMPPs) with capacity of 4,000 MW each has been proposed in the Budget? – Five (Total investment of Rs. 1 lakh crore has been proposed for establishment of these 5 UMPPs)
14. How many years deferment for General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) was announced in the Budget? – 2 years (GAAR is a general set of rules enacted to limit tax avoidance. It was proposed to be effective from April 2015. But with this announcement it has now been deferred to April 2017)
15. What is level of fiscal deficit for 2015-16 as proposed in the budget? – 3.9% of GDP

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Daily GK Quiz 4th March 2015

Q. : 1 Hifikepunye Pohamba has won the Mo Ibrahim award for African leadership. He is the present President of

1) South Africa 

2) Namibia

3) Botswana 

4) Swaziland

5) Angola 

Q. : 2 Bangalore has emerged as the cheapest city to live in along with Karachi in the ‘Worldwide Cost of Living Report 2015’ compiled by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU). The costliest city to live in as per the report is

1) Singapore 

2) Mumbai

3) London 

4) New York

5) Tokyo 

Q. : 3 Which of the following taxi aggregating firms has acquired TaxiForSure in a $200-million (Rs 1,200 crore) cash and equity arrangement recently?

1) Uber 

2) Meru Cabs

3) Ola Cab 

4) Easy Cabs

5) None of these 

Q. : 4 The President signed into law the legislation of which of the following states banning beef recently? Anyone selling beef or in possession of it can be jailed for up to five years and fined Rs 10,000.

1) Bihar 

2) Uttar Pradesh

3) Andhra Pradesh 

4) West Bengal

5) Maharashtra 

Q. : 5 According to the latest Forbes rich list for the year 2015, which of the following countries is the home to the largest number of billionaires across the world?

1) India 

2) Germany

3) China 

4) US

5) None of these 

Q. : 6 The Finance Minister in the General Budget for FY16 announced some new schemes. Which of the following is one of them?

1) Nayi Manzil 

2) Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation (Setu)

3) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana 

4) Atal Pension Yojana

5) All the above 

Q. : 7 A new insurance scheme has been proposed in the General Budget for FY16 which will cover accidental death risk of Rs 2 lakh for just Rs 12 per year premium. Name the scheme.

1) Atal Bihari Suraksha Bima Yojana 

2) Syama Prasad Suraksha Bima Yojana

3) Madan Mohan Suraksha Bima Yojana 

4) Sansad Kosh Suraksha Bima Yojana

5) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana 

Q. : 8 The Finance Minister has proposed MUDRA bank to refinance Micro finance institutions in the General Budget for FY16. The term MUDRA stands for

1) Member Units Distribution Refinance Agency 

2) Micro Units Development Refinance Agency

3) Member Units Development Refinance Agency 

4) Micro Units Designating Refinance Agency

5) None of these 

Q. : 9 Which of the following facts is NOT correct with respect to targets for 2022 related to renewable energy sector as mentioned in the General Budget for FY16?

1) 100K MW in solar 

2) 100K MW in small hydro

3) 10K MW in biomass 

4) 60K MW in wind

5) None of these 

Q. : 10 Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding budget proposals related to banking sector for FY16?

1) To promote cashless transactions to curb black money. 

2) To amend RBI Act this year for monetary policy committee.

3) Autonomous bank board bureau to determine PSU bank heads. 

4) To appoint two more deputy governors in the RBI.

5) None of these 

Answer :-

1. (2) Namibia
2. (1) Singapore
3. (3) Ola Cab
4. (5) Maharashtra
5. (4) US
6. (5) All the above
7. (5) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
8. (2) Micro Units Development Refinance Agency
9. (2) 100K MW in small hydro
10. (4) To appoint two more deputy governors in the RBI.

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Daily GK Quiz 3rd March 2015

Q. : 1 With an aim to fund an ambitious infrastructure development programme, the govt on 1 Jan raised the excise duties on petrol and diesel by ________a litre.

1) Rs 1

2) Rs 1.5

3) Rs 2

4) Rs 2.5

5) None of these

Q. : 2 Who among the following has been appointed non-executive chairperson of HDFC Bank Ltd with immediate effect for a three-year term starting 2 Jan?

1) Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty

2) Shyamala Gopinath

3) Anand Sinha

4) Subir Gokarn

5) Usha Thorat

Q. : 3 The govt has raised the solar investment target to __________over seven years (by 2022) to boost India's solar energy capacity by 33 times to 100,000 megawatts (MW).

1) USD 100 bn

2) USD 160 bn

3) USD 180 bn

4) USD 200 bn

5) USD 220 bn

Q. : 4 Which of the following companies has bagged a Rs 3,810 cr contract from Telangana for setting up the newly formed state's first thermal power project?

1) Reliance Power

2) Tata Power

3) Adani Power

4) BHEL

5) None of these

Q. : 5 The govt has set up NITI Aayog to replace the Planning Commission. What is the expanded form of the term NITI?

1) New Initiative for Transforming India

2) National Initiative for Transforming India

3) National Institution for Transforming India

4) National Institution for Taking Initiative

5) None of these

Q. : 6 Which of the following is NOT correct with respect to NITI Aayog which has replaced Planning Commission?

1) It will be headed by the PM and will have all CMs/ Lt. Governors as members.

2) It will have a Vice Chairperson and a CEO in addition to five full-time members and two part-time members.

3) Four union ministers would serve as ex-officio members.

4) Four Regional Councils will be formed headed by the four union ministers to address issues impacting more than one state or a region.

5) The new body has been set up by a resolution of Union Cabinet as done in case of Planning Commission which was established on 15th Mar 1950.

Q. : 7 The 60th National School Games kick-started on 2 Jan in which of the following cities?

1) Mumbai

2) Ahmedabad

3) Chennai

4) New Delhi

5) Bhopal

Q. : 8 The PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the five-day 102nd session of Indian Science Congress (ISC) in which of the following cities on 3 Jan?

1) Mumbai

2) Bengaluru

3) Hyderabad

4) Kanpur

5) None of these

Q. : 9 The govt has decided to accept the recommendations of the Bezbaruah Committee that was set up to look into the safety and security of people from North East India. Which of the following is NOT one of its recommendations?

1) Delhi police will recruit 20 police personnel, (10 male - 10 female) each from North East States.

2) The cases of NE people will be referred to the existing fast track courts for early decision.

3) A special helpline No.1093 for NE people is being synchronized with helpline No.100.

4) A special scholarship scheme for students of North East Region 'Ishan Uday' has been launched.

5) None of these

Q. : 10 Who among the following has been selected for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award for his contribution to society as a Gujarati?

1) Kiran Desai

2) Shashi Deshpande

3) Kishwar Desai

4) Lord Meghnad Desai

5) None of these

Answer :-

1. (3) Rs 2
2. (2) Shyamala Gopinath
3. (1) USD 100 bn
4. (4) BHEL
5. (3) National Institution for Transforming India
6. (4) Four Regional Councils will be formed headed by the four union ministers to address issues impacting more than one state or a region.
7. (4) New Delhi
8. (1) Mumbai
9. (5) None of these
10. (4) Lord Meghnad Desai

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IBPS SO - IV Score Card Out

Good Morning Readers,

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection activated the link for the Score Card for all those who couldn't clear the IBPS CWE SO this time.

Please enter your Registration Number or Roll No. and Password or Date of Birth.

Click Here To View The Score Card

IBPS has also released Roll number wise list of the candidates who are shortlisted for the Interviews.

Click Here To View The List

Remember that "Failure" is not the opposite of "Success",  but  it is a part of it!!

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Daily GK Update 3rd March 2015

Lok Sabha passed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015

(i) The Lok Sabha on 2 March 2015 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice

vote. The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 which regulates the acquisition and determination of citizenship and details registration of Overseas Citizens of India and their rights.

(ii) The Lok Sabha on 2 March 2015 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote. The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 which regulates the acquisition and determination of citizenship and details registration of Overseas Citizens of India and their rights.

Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba won 2014 Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership

(i) Hifikepunye Pohamba, outgoing Namibian President, on 2 March 2015 won the Mo Ibrahim prize for achievement in African leadership for year 2014. 

(ii) Established in 2007, the Ibrahim Prize recognises and celebrates excellence in African leadership.

Pohamba was awarded for serving the country since its independence and his leadership has renewed people’s trust in democracy. 

(iii) He is a role model for the African continent.

Forbes magazine released Global Billionaire’s 2015 annual list

(i) Forbes magazine on 3 March 2015 released Global Billionaire’s 2015 annual list. Bill Gates co-founder of Microsoft topped the global billionaires list of Forbes magazine with worth of 79.2 billion US dollars for the 16th time.

(ii) The United States topped the list with 536 rich people, followed by China at 213 rich people, Germany at 103 rich people and India at 90 rich people.

(iii) Carlos Slim Helu from Mexico telecommunications mogul ranked second with worth 77.1 billion US dollars and Warren Buffet, chief of Berkshire Hathaway Inc was ranked third with 72.7 billion US dollars.

IAS officer Kewal K Sharma appointed as Delhi Chief Secretary

(i) IAS officer Kewal K Sharma was on 3 March 2015 appointed as Chief Secretary of Delhi. His appointment was approved by Union Home Ministry.

(ii) At present, Sharma is the chief secretary of Goa. Sharma was appointed as the Goa chief secretary on 1 January 2015. 

(iii) Before becoming the Goa chief secretary, Sharma served as an advisor to the Union Territory administrator of Chandigarh from 2011 to 2014. He also served as Principal Secretary (PWD) of Delhi from 2009 to 2011.

Foreign Secretary discusses Teesta, LBA in Dhaka

(i) Visiting Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar discussed a wide range of topics including SAARC, Bimstec and other bilateral issues with his Bangladesh counterpart, M. Shahidul Haque.

(ii) After a 45-minute discussion with Mr. Haque at the Foreign Office on Monday, he said: “We had a very good discussion.”

(iii) He parried a question on whether they discussed Teesta, on which a bilateral deal was stalled in 2011 because of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s opposition. 

Mufti remarks rock Parliament

(i) A day after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was sworn in as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir at the head of a PDP-BJP government, his remark that Pakistan, the Hurriyat and militants had created a conducive atmosphere for elections in the State, rocked both Houses of Parliament, with Opposition parties demanding an explanation from an embarrassed Centre.

(ii) In the Lok Sabha, the Opposition stormed out of the House, expressing dissatisfaction with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s response to a Congress-sponsored adjournment motion on the subject. 

Budget shows commitment to keep fiscal deficit low: S&P

(i) India's budget for 2015/16 highlighted the government's commitment to keeping the fiscal deficit low, ratings agency Standard and Poor's said, adding that the country's debt burden and subsidy bill could constrain its ratings.

(ii) India's 2015-2016 budget highlights the government's commitment to keeping the fiscal deficit low despite lower-than-expected revenue growth," S&P said in a statement on Monday.

(iii) This commitment moderates the drag on sovereign credit support posed by the relatively heavy general government debt burden in India," it added. "Nevertheless, the debt burden and large budgetary subsidies could constrain the speed of improvements in India's credit metrics.

Baldev Sharma appointed as chairman of National Book Trust

(i) The government on Monday appointed former Panchajanya editor Baldev Sharma as the new chairman of the National Book Trust, cutting short the term of incumbent A. Sethumadhavan — better known by his pen name `Sethu’ — by six months.

(ii) Officially, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) was filling a vacancy that fell open on February 25. 

(iii) According to sources, Mr. Sethumadhavan had been called to the Ministry on February 25 and told by a joint secretary to put in his papers as the government wanted to appoint someone else in his position.

Nadal wins first title of 2015 at Argentina Open

(i) Spanish top seed Rafael Nadal defeated local player Juan Monaco to win the Argentina

Open, lifting his first title in 2015.

(ii) Mr. Nadal defeated Monaco in a match that lasted one hour and 27 minutes on Sunday with a score of 6-4, 6-1. 

(iii) While the Spaniard broke the Argentine on four out of nine occasions the former did not face a break point on his own serve, Xinhua reported.

(iv) The match, played at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, was delayed for two hours because of the rain.

(v) The Spanish tennis star now has collected 65 titles to rise to the fifth position in the Open Era for the most titles. He now stands behind Jimmy Connors (109), Ivan Lendl (94), Roger Federer (84) and John McEnroe (77).

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