Current Affairs February 2014 RATHNAKUMAR R. Email address: [email protected] © 2014 www.gktoday.in Price: Rs. 50/- Published by: GKToday (www.gktoday.in ) Disclaimer While all care has been taken in the preparation of this material, no responsibility is accepted by the author(s) for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies. The material provided in this resource has been prepared to provide general information only. It is not intended to be relied upon or be a substitute for legal or other professional advice. No responsibility can be accepted by the author for any known or unknown consequences that may result from reliance on any information provided in this publication Current Affairs Compendium February 2014 Contents Chinese New Year 2014 – “Year of the Horse”............................................................................................. 5 Chinese scientists invented ‘Water-jet’ printer ............................................................................................ 6 56th Grammy Awards 2014 ........................................................................................................................... 6 National Waqf Development Corporation Limited (NAWADCO) inaugurated by Prime Minister ....... 6 India ranked lowest in US chamber’s global IP index ................................................................................. 7 Uniform tax rate for foreign portfolio investors ......................................................................................... 7 MoU signed between Union Ministry of Rural Development and Digital Green ................................... 8 TCS set to replace Genpact as top BPO ........................................................................................................ 8 India suffered worst ODI series defeat against New Zealand .................................................................. 8 Officers of IAS, IPS & IFS to spend minimum of 2 Years at each posting ................................................ 9 IAMAI: India to have 243 million internet users by June 2014 .................................................................. 9 Indian Rupee to be legal tender in Zimbabwe ......................................................................................... 10 Ms. Kiwi Kathy Cross: First woman in ICC umpire’s panel ...................................................................... 10 Hero MotoCorp unveiled diesel concept motorcycle .............................................................................. 10 Founder of Super30 bestowed with the prestigious Ramanujan Mathematics award ..................... 10 Butterfly Bacteria Study revealed certain surprises about Metamorphosis ....................................... 11 Govt. suspended LPG subsidy transfer scheme and hiked cylinder quota ......................................... 11 India became world’s No.3 crude importer .............................................................................................. 11 Agriculture Ministry Issues DetailedRATHNAKUMAR Guidelines R. Email address: for [email protected] NMOOP ................................................................. 12 India and Fiji inkedd DTAA (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement) .................................................. 12 India’s first monorail inaugurated in Mumbai .......................................................................................... 12 After Delhi, Rajasthan became 2nd state to withdraw approval for FDI in multi-brand retail ......... 13 US warned China against move to declare new ADIZ over South China Sea ...................................... 13 Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) .......................................................................................... 13 New Maharashtra law for recovery of bad loans..................................................................................... 14 Justice B.N.Srikrishna Committee recommendations to be reviewed by a 9-member IRDA panel . 14 Sahara group claims to create 56,000 jobs ............................................................................................... 15 FATF released report on Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing ...................................................... 15 Chinese warships hold rare exercises in Indian Ocean .......................................................................... 16 Ms. Silverine Swer: Meghalaya’s first Padma Shri awardee, passed away ........................................... 16 National Mission on Libraries(NML) – an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, launched .................. 16 Harish Rawat sworn-in as new CM of Uttrakhand ................................................................................... 17 Kashmir Solidarity Day: Pakistan invited India for dialogue on Kashmir ............................................. 17 Indian-born Mr. Satya Nadella appointed as the new Microsoft CEO .................................................. 18 Bill Gates “Founder and technology advisor”; John Thompson new Chairman of Microsoft ............ 18 101st Indian Science Congress ................................................................................................................... 19 Yahoo email account passwords stolen .................................................................................................... 19 Aishwarya Rai Bachchan voted fourth most beautiful woman of the world ....................................... 19 President Pranab Mukherjee conferred Bharat Ratna on Prof. C N R Rao and Sachin Tendulkar .. 20 Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur Committee: 7th Pay Central Commission constituted ........................ 20 Govt. launched ‘National Cloud’ Under ‘MeghRaj’.................................................................................... 21 RGGVY: Evaluation Studies Show a Positive Impact on Women and Education in Rural India ......... 21 © 2014 www.gktoday.in 2 | Page Current Affairs Compendium February 2014 New Criteria for National Sports Awards .................................................................................................. 22 Muthoot Finance launched its first White-Label ATM ............................................................................. 23 Govt. allows FIIs, NRIs to invest in insurance sector................................................................................ 23 ‘NACH-ready payments services’ hub for India, launched by Polaris Financial Technology ............. 24 Apple India re-launched production of iPhone 4 ..................................................................................... 25 K.V. Thomas Committee: ............................................................................................................................. 25 Bezbaruah Committee: To address concerns of Northeastern people ............................................... 25 Indian CEOs leading major companies in the world ............................................................................... 26 Delhi Nagar Swaraj Bill 2014 ....................................................................................................................... 27 India and Germany inked pacts on financial and tech co-operation .................................................... 27 World Children’s Prize (Children’s Nobel Prize) Nominees 2014: Malala, John Wood and Indira Ranamagar..................................................................................................................................................... 28 Chip-and-PIN cards ....................................................................................................................................... 29 National Green Tribunal (NGT) bans on burning tyres in Public Places ............................................... 29 DRDO developing UAVs to track down Maoists ....................................................................................... 30 RBI released draft Report on Enabling PKI in Payment System Applications ...................................... 30 Google doodle celebrated Sarojini Naidu’s 135th birthday or National Women’s Day of India ....... 31 Production of iconic Maruti 800 stopped by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) ....................................... 31 DRDO developing UAVs to track down Maoists ....................................................................................... 31 Ms. Arunima Sinha bagged Amazing Indian Award 2014 ....................................................................... 32 Sitaram Yechury committee report: Revisit Aircraft Act 1934 and bring out comprehensive bill .... 32 RATHNAKUMAR R. Email address: [email protected] CCEA approved National Programme on Prevention & Management of Burn Injuries (NPPMBI) ... 32 Dr. Marco Lambertini: New Director-General of WWF International .................................................... 33 Mr. Vishwanath Tripathi honored with the Vyas Samman 2013 ........................................................... 33 Sushil Koirala: Nepal’s new PM ................................................................................................................... 33 “SMSS J031300.36-670839.3”: Oldest known star in the Universe discovered .................................... 34 RBI allowed FIIs to purchase 30% shares in Dabur ................................................................................. 34 “Two additional attempts” for all categories of candidates