GENERAL AWARENESS OCTOBER 2016 Vol. 5, Issue 04 A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD. SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH Contents NATIONAL NEWS AUGUST 2016 CURRENT AFFAIRS 01-34 JUNE TO AUGUST 2016 MYANMAR PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN INDIA BULLET NEWS 35-53 MARCH 2016 TO MAY 2016 LATEST 100 GK MCQs 54-60 IBPS PO MODEL TEST 61-77 CURRENT GK BYTES 78-100 FIGURES TO REMEMBER REPO RATE (05.04.2016) 6.50% REVERSE REPO RATE 6.00% MARGINAL STANDING 7.00% FACILITY RATE STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 21% CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.00% U Htin Kyaw, President of Myanmar came to India on a four-day visit to step up BANK RATE 7.00% overall bilateral engagement with a major focus on ensuring better BASE RATE(s) 9.30 to management of Indo-Myanmar border. (of various banks) 9.70% INDIA 7TH IN INDIVIDUAL WEALTH INDIA’s RANK IN A study by the New World Wealth to assess the wealth held by the individuals in a country, India with a total individual wealth of $5,600 billion was ranked th World Risk Index 77 7th, ahead of Canada ($4,700 billion), Australia ($4,500 billion). USA topped the Human Capital Index 105th list with total wealth $48,900 billion. Sustainable Development Goals 110th Networked Readiness Index 91st ‘MISSION MILLION BOOKS’ The Alibaba Group, e-commerce giant from China has launched the ‘Mission Global Retail Development Index 02nd Million Books’, jointly with Crossword and Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust in Ranking in Total Wealth 07th India, a drive to collect textbooks and educational material from public for Ranking in Attracting FDI 10th distributing the same to the underprivileged. Global Peace Index 141st Good Country Index 70th INDIA IMPROVES IN INNOVATION As per the Global Innovation Index, India has improved its ranking to 66 this Renewable Energy Index 3rd year from 81 in 2015. The index measures the performance of 128 countries in World Press Freedom Index 133rd terms of innovation, and is based on 82 sub-indices. The index is topped th Rank in Manufacturing Countries 6 by Switzerland followed by Sweden, United Kingdom. World Happiness Index 118th Intellectual Property Index -2016 37th RAHMAN PERFORMS AT UNGA Overall Growth Prospectus 5th Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman enthralled a packed audience at the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 89th iconic UN General Assembly hall with his renditions of Indian Carnatic legend M Nuclear Security Index 21st S Subbulakshmi’s music, Sufi songs and the foot-tapping ‘Jai Ho’ at a concert to Ease of Doing Business (Forbes) 97th mark India’s 70th Independence Day here. Human Development Index 130th Rahman became only the second Indian artist after Subbulakshmi to perform in ICT Development Index 131st the General Assembly hall. GENERAL AWARENESS – OCTOBER 2016 1 NO RAILWAY BUDGET FROM 2017-18 Tourism Ministry has decided that it will make Prime Minister Narendra Modi the face of the Incredible India campaign. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017 will be held in Bengaluru in Jan, 2017. First BRICS film festival will be held in New Delhi from Sept. 2 to 6. A two-day meeting of BRICS women parliamentarian's forum was held in Jaipur India has provided $ 1 million grant to Zimbabwe to fight the drought disaster in the country. The United States Postal Service (USPS) on 23 August 2016 announced to commemorate the joyous Hindu festival of Diwali with the launch of Forever stamp. The Finance Ministry has accepted Railway minister Suresh Prabhu's proposal to merge the Railway Budget JULY 2016 with the Union Budget, ending the 92-year-old practice of presenting a separate Rail Budget from 2017-18 ANSARI VISITS MONGOLIA fiscal. INDIANS STRUCK IN SAUDI ARABIA Thousands of Indian workers have been facing extreme financial hardships in Saudi Arabia. They have lost their jobs due to slowdown in Saudi economy, triggered by low oil prices and cut in government expenditure. Over 7,700 affected Indian workers are living in 20 camps organised by the Indian Embassy. Indian government has sent its Minister of State for External Affairs, V K Singh to Saudi Arabia to arrange for return of stranded Indians. MORE SOPS FOR AFPAK MINORITIES Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari visited Government has allowed the Long Term Visa (LTV) Mongolia to attend the 11th Asia -Europe Meeting at holders of minority communities of Afghanistan, Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia. He also unveiled a Bangladesh and Pakistan to open bank account and stone statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Pethub Monastery in purchase property for self occupation. It also decided to the Capital. issue driving licence, PAN card and Aadhar number to them. PM VISITS 4 AFRICAN COUNTRIES Prime Minister made a five days visit to four-nations - ‘PAVA’ TO REPLACE PELLET GUN Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. The Government plans to avoid use of pellet guns in J&K due visit aimed at shoring up economic ties, firm up to their damaging lethal effect and instead use the maritime security and counter balance China’s growing “PAVA” munition. PAVA or Pelargonic Acid influence in the resource-rich continent. Vanillylamide is an organic compound found in natural chilli pepper. A deal was signed with Mozambique to import 1lakh Once fired, the shells burst out to temporarily immobilise tonnes of pulses. A set of 30 SUVs was handed over to and paralyse the target (protesters) in a more effective them for their local use. way than a teargas shell or pepper spray and are much With South Africa four MoUs were signed for bilateral less lethal than pellets. cooperation in information and communication technology, grass root innovation and tourism, arts and INDIA 77TH IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT culture. The World Risk Report 2016 released by the United A Line of Credit of US$ 92 million was agreed for Nations to assess the risk of natural disasters in 171 Tanzania for strengthening of the water resources system countries, has placed India at 77th rank in the World in Zanzibar. Risk Index. This means that India is ahead of 76 Seven pacts were signed with Kenya in the field of defence countries in effective handling of natural disasters. and security and avoidance of double taxation. GENERAL AWARENESS – OCTOBER 2016 2 WORLD BANK’s PROJECT FOR YOUNG GIRLS MODI RESHUFFLES COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Prime Minister Modi expanded his Council of Ministers by inducting 19 new ministers in the government. The new Ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by the President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Now there are total 78 ministers in the government of which 27 are of Cabinet rank. PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic energy; Department of Space; and all important policy issues, and all The World Bank has approved a $ 63 million support for other portfolios not allocated to the project Tejaswini: Socioeconomic Empowerment of any Minister Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Jharkhand. It is CABINET MINISTERS the first World Bank project in India that is solely Rajnath Singh Home affairs focused on the welfare of adolescent girls and young Sushma Swaraj External affairs women. Arun Jaitley Finance and Corporate Affairs Venkaiah Naidu Urban Development and Housing; INDIA GETS 3 SITES IN HERITAGE LIST Urban Poverty Alleviation; The ruins of ancient Nalanda Mahavihara known as old Information and Broadcasting Nalanda University of Bihar, Chandigarh’s Capitol Nitin Jairam Road Transport and Highways; Complex and Sikkim’s national park, home to the Gadkari Shipping world’s third highest peak Mount Khangchendzonga, are Manohar Parrikar Defence the three sites that have been included in the list of Suresh Prabhu Railways UNESCO's World Heritage Site. DV Sadananda Statistics and Programme Gowda Implementation INDIA’s FIRST DIGITAL COURT Uma Bharati Water Resources, River Giving a kick-start to digital judicature, the first Development and Ganga paperless e-court of India was inaugurated in Rejuvenation Hyderabad High Court. The court will use digitised case Ramvilas Paswan Consumer Affairs, Food and Public records thereby minimising the usage of man power. Distribution Kalraj Mishra Micro, Small and Medium LARGEST ‘CHARKHA’ AT DELHI AIRPORT Enterprises A 17 ft tall and 30 ft long 4-tonnes Charkha made from Maneka Sanjay Women and Child Development high-quality Burma teak wood was installed at the Gandhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Largest Ananth Kumar Chemicals and Fertilizers; of its kind in the world, it aims to promote the rich Parliamentary Affairs cultural heritage of India. Ravi Shankar Law and Justice; Electronics and IT Prasad OP. ‘SANKAT MOCHAN’ IN SOUTH SUDAN Jagat Prakash Health and Family Welfare Govt launched ‘Operation Sankat Mochan’ by sending Nadda two C-17 Globemaster aircrafts to Juba, capital of South Ashok Gajapathi Civil Aviation Sudan to evacuate Indians from the war-torn country. Raju Pusapati The operation was headed by the State Minister of Anant Geete Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises External Affairs, Gen. (retd) V K Singh. Harsimrat Kaur Food Processing Industries Badal NOT MUCH INDIAN MONEY IN SWISS BANKS Narendra Singh Rural Development; Panchayati As per the data released by the Swiss National Bank, Tomar Raj; Drinking Water and Sanitation India has slipped to 75th place in terms of money held by Chaudhary Steel its citizens with banks in Switzerland, accounting for Birender Singh hardly 0.1 per cent of total foreign deposits of around $ Jual Oram Tribal Affairs 1.45 trillion with SNB. U K is the top depositor with 25