Current Affairs Updates for 25 September 2015

1) Saurav Ganguly appointed President of Bengal Cricket Association:

--> Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was appointed the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, ending the suspense on who will take over the state cricket body following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya.

--> The announcement of Saurav Ganguly was made by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in presence of senior CAB officials and state government ministers at the state secretariat building.

--> Ganguly was a joint secretary of the state association till now and after his elevation, Dalmiya's son Avishek took over the post. 

2) 14 Indians among 717 killed in Haj stampede in Saudi Arabia:

--> At least 717 people, including 14 Indians, were killed and over 860 injured in a stampede on 24 Sept. 2015 during Hajj in Mina, in the second worst ever tragedy to hit the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed deep sorrow at the loss of lives in the stampede.

--> Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who chairs the Saudi Hajj committee, ordered the probe into the stampede.

3) Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s birth anniversary celebrated:

--> The 100th birth anniversary of the great philosopher, thinker, sociologist and organiser par excellence Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was celebrated on 25 September 2015.

--> In his tribute on Twitter, PM calls him a beacon of selfless service and an excellent organiser.

--> Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya has been organised at Nehru Memorial Museum & Library in New Delhi.

4) India’s Mars mission completes one year:

--> India's globally acclaimed Mars mission has completed one year on 25 Sept. 2015 with Indian Space Research Organisation releasing the Mars Atlas to mark the feat of the Orbiter whose life is now expected to last many more years.

--> It was on this day last year that India scripted space history when it successfully placed its low-cost Mars spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet on its very first attempt, breaking into an elite club of three nations.

--> The space probe entered the Mars orbit on September 24, almost a year after its launch, and made its home around the Red Planet.

5) EPFO gets Skoch Awards for Smart Governance Initiatives:

--> The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has been awarded SKOCH Award for Smart Governance.

--> It has been bestowed with this award for its initiatives on UAN Programme and Transformation of Social Security Agenda in India.

6) Stuti Narain Kacker appointed NCPCR chairperson:

--> National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) got a new chief on 23 September 2015.

--> Stuti Narain Kacker, a 1978 batch IAS officer, was appointed the Head of the child rights panel by Women and Child Development Ministry.

--> Kacker retired as Secretary from Disability Affairs, in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

7) PM Narendra Modi visited Ireland & creates history:

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi became 1st PM to visit Ireland in last 59 years.

--> Jawahar Lal Nehru visited Ireland in the year 1956.

--> The Prime Minister of Ireland is Enda Kenny.

8) Volkswagen names Porsche chief Matthias Mueller as new CEO:

--> German carmaker Volkswagen on 25 Sept. 2015 named Matthias Mueller, head of its luxury sports car brand Porsche, as its new chief executive.

--> Mueller, 62, will take over with immediate effect, replacing Martin Winterkorn who stepped down two days earlier.

9) Facebook has rebranded Internet.org as 'Free Basics':

--> Social networking giant Facebook is rebranding its Internet.org programme, which was in the midst of a controversy over alleged violation of net neutrality, to 'Free Basics'.

--> The announcement comes days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Facebook's campus in California on September 27.

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24 September 2015 Current Affairs Daily Updates

1) Chaitanya Tamhane's 'Court' is India's official entry to Oscars 2015:

--> Chaitanya Tamhane's critically acclaimed film 'Court' will be India's official entry this year at the Academy Awards.

--> The first time director's Marathi film 'Court' has been lauded by critics and masses alike and has even fetched National Award earlier this year.

--> Veteran actor-filmmaker Amol Palekar was heading the jury for choosing the entry this year. 

2) Mukesh Ambani is Richest Indian for 9th Year in a Row:

--> Mukesh Ambani was on 23 Sept. 2015 named India's richest for ninth year in a row with a net worth of USD 18.9 billion, while ecommerce giant Flipkart's founders made their  debut on the country's top 100 rich list of the Forbes magazine.

--> As per the magazine's latest list released tonight, Mr Ambani was followed by Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi as second richest with a net worth of USD 18 billion, while Wipro's Azim Premji retained his third place with USD 15.9 billion.

--> Flipkart's co-founders Sachin and Binni Bansal made their debut at 86th position with a net worth of USD 1.3 billion each.

3) Arvind Panagariya replaces Suresh Prabhu as G20 sherpa:

--> Government has decided to appoint NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya as the Sherpa for G-20 talks, replacing Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

--> As per the practice, the Deputy Chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission used to be the Sherpa for G-20 talks.

--> The next G20 Leaders' Summit is scheduled on November 15-16 at Antalya in Turkey in November.

4) Uninor re-brands itself as Telenor in India:

--> Telecom service provider Uninor on 23 Sept. 2015 announced it has rebranded itself as Telenor in India.

--> Norway-based Telenor entered India in 2009.

--> Initially it had a joint venture with realty major Unitech, which however exited in 2012.

--> The company subsequently started operating with the name of Telewings, and in 2014 Telenor bought 100 per cent stake in the company.

5) PM Narendra Modi arrives at New York on second leg of his two nation visit:

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New York on 24 Sept. 2015 on the second leg of his two nation visit.

--> The Prime Minister was received at the airport by Indian Ambassador Arun K Singh.

--> During his five-day US visit, the Prime Minister will address world leaders at a landmark UN sustainable development summit and interact with top CEOs and the Indian diaspora in Silicon Valley.

6) Alexis Tsipras sworn-in as Prime Minister of Greece:

--> Alexis Tsipras of left wing Syriza party has sworn in as the Prime Minister of Greece.

--> He was administered oath to the office by the President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

--> It is second time, Alexis Tsipras has sworn in as the PM of Greece.

--> Earlier in January 2015, he had sworn in for first becoming youngest PM of Greece since 1865 at the age of 40.

7) NCC cadets' Yoga Day feat enter Limca Book of Records:

--> National Cadet Corps (NCC) has been presented the certificate by Limca Book of Records for the “Largest Yoga performance” simultaneously by a single uniformed youth organisation (NCC) at multiple venues on International Day of Yoga on 21 Jun 2015.

8) Robert Lewandowski makes history with five goals in nine minutes:

--> Substitute Robert Lewandowski made Bundesliga history on 22 Sept. 2015 after scoring five goals in the space of nine minutes as Bayern Munich came from behind to rout Wolfsburg, 5-1, in Berlin and move atop the standings.

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 23 September 2015

1) Govt withdraws draft encryption policy:

--> Narendra Modi government on 22 September 2015 withdrew the controversial draft encryption policy that proposed to make it mandatory for every citizen to save all digital communications, including emails and chats, for a period of 90 days.

--> Reiterating that the Government respects freedom of social media, Union Telecom Minister Ravishankar Prasad said the government has asked Department of Electronics and IT to withdraw and rework the draft. 

2) Government clears Military helicopters deal with US aviation giant Boeing:

--> Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared a multi-billion dollar deal for 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers with American aviation giant Boeing.

3) 24th Vyaas Samman conferred on eminent Hindi writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goenka:

--> Eminent Hindi writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goenka was conferred with 24th Vyaas Samman for the year 2014 on 22 September 2015. He was awarded for his work 'Premchand ki Kahaniyon ka Kaal Kramanusaar Adhyayan'.

--> Goenka's work is a critical analysis of the work by Hindi literature's towering giant Munshi Premchand.

4) India to hold Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Los Angeles:

--> With a view to further increase people-to-people contacts between India and the United States, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced that India will be holding a regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Los Angeles in November this year.

5) Hyderabad to host 19th International Children’s Film Festival:

--> The 19th International Children’s Film Festival (ICFF) will be conducted between November 14th -20th, 2015 in Hyderabad, the permanent venue for the event.

--> Sunil Arora, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, said that the next film festival should be more entertaining, interactive, informative and fun for the children.

6) UIDAI control shifted from Niti Ayog to IT ministry:

--> The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues Aadhaar cards, has been shifted to the administrative control of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology from Niti Aayog.

--> Earlier, UIDAI was the part of Planning Commission.

7) Indra Nooyi, Shobhana Bhartia presented with USIBC global leadership award:

--> Hindustan Times Group chairperson Shobhana Bharatia and PepsiCo Chairman Indra Nooyi have been awarded 2015 Global Leadership Award of the US-India Business Council (USIBC).

--> They were honoured with this award for their roles as top women leaders in the Business world and their commitment to driving a more inclusive global economy.

8) Union Cabinet gives nod to set up India Sign Language Research and Training Centre:

--> The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC).

--> ISLRTC will be set up as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and initially will be located at the Institute for Physically Handicapped, New Delhi.

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17 November 2014 Current Affairs Quiz Questions

1) Sachin Tendulkar, a Rajya Sabha MP has adopted Puttamrajuvari Kandrika village under the 'Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana' programme on 16 November 2014. It is in which state?

(A) Maharashtra

(B) West Bengal

(C) Madhya Pradesh

(D) Andhra Pradesh

2) Which country was on 16 November 2014 selected to host the G-20 Summit in 2016?

(A) India

(C) China

(C) Turkey

(D) Canada 

3) Saina Nehwal won the women's singles title of China Open Badminton championship on 16 November 2014. Which Indian won the men's single title of this tournament?

(A) Kidambi Srikanth

(B) Parupalli Kashyap

(C) Sourabh Verma

(D) R. M. V. Gurusaidutt

4) According to an announcement made by the Union Finance Ministry recently, which is the state apart from Kerala to achieve 100% banking inclusion under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)?

(A) Mizoram

(B) Goa

(C) Delhi

(D) Jammu & Kashmir

5) Who won this year's ATP World Tour finals on 16 November 2014 after Roger Federer withdrew from the title clash due to a back injury?

(A) Rafael Nadal

(B) Andy Murray

(C) Stanslas Wawrinka

(D) Novak Djokovic

6) India won the 5 match ODI series against Sri Lanka on 16 November 2014 winning all 5 matches. Who was adjudged the Man of the Series?

(A) Rohit Sharma

(B) Axar Patel

(C) Virat Kohli

(D) Shikhar Dhawan

7) National Press Day was celebrated across the country on 16 November 2014 to commemorate the starting of Press Council of India. In which year Press Council of India started functioning?

(A) 1966

(B) 1996

(C) 1886

(D) 1976

8) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a bronze made 2.5-metre long statue of Mahatma Gandhi at which city of Australia on 16 November 2014?

(A) Melbourne

(B) Brisbane

(C) Sydney

(D) Canberra

9) World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and which other day was observed across the globe on 16 November 2014?

(A) International Habitat Day

(B) International Nurses Day

(C) International Day for Tolerance

(D) International Cancer Day

10) The 2014 summit of G-20 nations which concluded at Brisbane (Australia) on 16 November 2014 was the ........ meeting of the G-20 heads of government?

(A) 10th

(B) 9th

(C) 8th

(D) 7^th

Answers

1) Ans. (D) Andhra Pradesh

2) Ans. (C) China

3) Ans. (A) Kidambi Srikanth

4) Ans. (B) Goa

5) Ans. (D) Novak Djokovic

6) Ans. (C) Virat Kohli

7) Ans. (A) 1966

8) Ans. (B) Brisbane

9) Ans. (C) International Day for Tolerance

10) Ans. (B) 9th

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Latest Current Affairs Questions: 16 November 2014

1) G20 summit 2014 began at which city on 15 November 2014?

(A) Sochi, Russia

(B) Brisbane, Australia

(C) Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

(D) Suva, Fiji

2) Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has recently decided to use which as a third language in schools of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KVs) in place of German language?

(A) Hindi

(B) Spanish

(C) Sanskrit

(D) Urdu

3) Which Indian was inducted on board of the INTERPOL Foundation on 15 November 2014 to contribute to two new global initiatives aimed at combating organised crime and terrorist activities?

(A) Ratan Tata

(B) Shashi Tharoor

(C) APJ Abdul Kalam

(D) None of these

4) Three day National Children's Film Festival (NCFF) began on 14 November 2014. Which city is hosting the event?

(A) Hyderabad

(B) Thiruvananthapuram

(C) Pune

(D) New Delhi

5) In a bid to attract more viewers, public broadcaster Doordarshan is relaunching its national channel with a tagline called?

(A) "Desh ka Apna channel"

(B) "Dekh ka Apna channel"

(C) "Bharat ka Apna channel"

(D) "Hamara channel"

6) Central government has launched a modified Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme in total how many districts across 11 states starting November 15, 2014?

(A) 43

(B) 18

(C) 54

(D) 58 

7) Which Bollywood actor-director was on 14 November 2014 became the first man in UN Women’s history to be appointed its Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia?

(A) Aamir Khan

(B) Bomman Irani

(C) Karan Johar

(D) Farhan Akhtar

8) Which country has recently launched a remote sensing satellite named Yaogan-23?

(A) Argentina

(B) China

(C) Japan

(D) France

9) India has successfully test-fired it’s nuclear-capable which ballistic missile from a naval ship off the Odisha coast on 14 November 2014?

(A) Nirbhay

(B) Agni

(C) Dhanush

(D) Prithvi

10) Who is the only cricketer in the history of ODI cricket to hit two double centuries?

(A) Virendar Sehwag

(B) Sachin Tendulkar

(C) Suresh Raina

(D) Rohit Sharma

Answers

1) Ans. (B) Brisbane, Australia

2) Ans. (C) Sanskrit

3) Ans. (A) Ratan Tata

4) Ans. (D) New Delhi

5) Ans. (A) "Desh ka Apna channel"

6) Ans. (C) 54

7) Ans. (D) Farhan Akhtar

8) Ans. (B) China

9) Ans. (C) Dhanush

10) Ans. (D) Rohit Sharma

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15th November 2014 Daily Current Affairs Updates

1) PM Modi meets world leaders on sidelines of G20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 November 2014 carried on with his hectic international diplomacy holding parleys with world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, over bilateral meetings and informal discussions on the fifth day of his whirlwind three-nation 10-day tour. More meetings are on the anvil during the remaining days in Australia and Fiji, where hewill be making a day-long visit. 

2) Saina stormed into summit clash of China Open: Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal stood just one win away from clinching her maiden China Open title after she stormed into the finals of the USD 700,000 Super Series Premier tournament on 15 Nov 2014. In her sixth appearance in the prestigious tournament, Saina continued her rampaging run as she produced another good show to outclass World No.1 Liu Xin of China 21-17 21-17 in the women's singles semifinals that lasted 47 minutes at the Haixia Olympic Sport Center.

3) Farhan selected UN Women’s first male Goodwill Ambassador: Bollywood actor-director Farhan Akhtar has become the first man in UN Women’s history to be appointed its Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia. In his new role, the 40-year-old actor will serve as an advocate for UN Women’s newly-launched HeForShe initiative for gender equality and women’s empowerment. UN Women’s other Goodwill Ambassadors include British actor Emma Watson, Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman and Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand.

4) Children's film fest began in New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the National Children's Film Festival (NCFF) at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. It is organized by the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI). The three-day festival aims at showing children's films which are either made or shot in India. The festival, that has been organised by CFSI every alternate year, will conclude on Sunday. The central theme of this year's NCFF has been declared as Swachhta and keeping this in mind, there will also be a workshop on how to make the best stuff out of waste products.

5) Ratan Tata inducted on board of the INTERPOL Foundation: Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata was inducted on the board of Interpol Foundation to contribute to two new global initiatives aimed at combating organised crime and terrorist activities by the international police organisation.

6) DD National to be relaunched as 'Desh Ka Apna Channel': In a bid to attract more viewers, public broadcaster Doordarshan is relaunching its national channel as "Desh ka Apna channel" with a slew of new programming. Apart from new programmes, the channel will be repackaged in new colours - purple and pink. "We want that Doordarshan be the preferred channel of the people. So from November 17, a repackaged channel with fresh content will be beamed to viewers across the country," an official said.

7) Union Ministry of HRD decided to use Sanskrit as 3rd language in KVs : Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has decided to use Sanskrit as a third language in schools of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KVs) in place of German language. The decision to discontinue German was taken after the meeting of Board of Governors of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) on 27 October 2014. The meeting was headed by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani.

8) Dhanush missile successfully test-fired: India has successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile from a naval ship off the Odisha coast on Friday night. The surface-to-surface Dhanush, a naval variant of India's indigenously-developed 'Prithvi' missile, was test fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal at around 7.40 PM by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force. "The missile launch was part of an exercise by the armed forces and the missile reached the designated target with high precision," Director of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) M V K V Prasad said. 

9) Government launched modified DBTL scheme in 54 districts: For the benefit of lakhs of households, the Central government has launched a modified Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme in 54 districts in 11 states starting November 15, 2014 whereby LPG consumers who have not yet availed the benefit will be able to get cash subsidy amount transferred into their accounts to buy Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders at market price. This scheme will be implemented in the rest of India on January 1, 2015.

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