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1. Ibrahim Mahlab was sworn in as new Egypt Prime Minister.
2. Dinesh Sarraf appointed as next CMD of Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation.
3. Harish Rawat was appointed as the 8th Chief Minister of
Uttarakhand. He succeeded Vijay Bahuguna. Harish Rawat was a Union Minister for
Water Resources.
4. Manoj Vaish took
charge as the MD and CEO of Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd.
5. United Nation appointed India based Vivek Lall as special
advisor on cyber security.
6. Poonam Khetrapal Singh took charge as the Regional
Director of World Health Organisation South-East Asia Region.
8. M Teresa kho was appointed as Asian Development Bank’s
new Country Director for India.
9. Satya Nadella was appointed as CEO of Microsoft. Satya
Nadella will succeed Steve Ballmer as the third CEO of the Microsoft firm. Bill
Gates is the founder and first CEO of Microsoft. Nadella is the first Indian to
head the Microsoft in its 38-year history.
10. WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) appointed Marco
Lambertini as Director-General of the WWF International.
11. Matteo Renzi sworn-in as Italy’s Prime Minister replacing
Enrico Letta, who resigned from the office.
12. Pakistan appointed Abdul Basit as Pakistan’s high
commissioner to India. He will replace Salman Bashir.
13. Justice Mukul Mudgal was appointed as the chief of the
Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC).
14. Vinod Sawhny was appointed as CEO of Reliance
Communications.
15. Jatinder Bir Singh was appointed CMD of Punjab and Sind
Bank.
16. R.K.Tiwari was appointed as the new chairman of Central
Board of Direct Taxes.
17. N Ramachandran was elected President of Indian Olympic
Association.
18. Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the noted Gandhian environmentalist
and social activist won the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2013. Bhatt was one
of the pioneers of the Chipko movement.
19. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor was awarded with
Israel’s highest civilian honour, the Israeli Presidential Medal of
Distinction.
20. Killa, a Marathi film won the Crystal Bear (Glasernen
Bar) for the best film award by the Children’s jury in Generation Kplus section
at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.
The film has been directed by Avinash Arun.
21. Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India presented the
International Gandhi Award for the year 2013 to Dr. Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre
(VV Dongre) and Prof. Guocheng Zhang.
22. The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee was conferred
Award of Honour for the leadership he has provided and the India’s victory over
Polio. The award was presented by Ron Burton, President of Rotary
International.
23. Bangladesh’s Kamar Ahmad Simon’s documentary Are You
Listening won the Golden Conch Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival
for Documentary, Short and Animation Films.
24. Arunima Sinha received Amazing Indian Award. She was
awarded for scaling Mount Everest despite being physically challenged.
25. Vishwanath Tripathi, the eminent Hindi writer has been
selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013. He has been chosen
for his memoir 'Vyomkesh Darvesh' that is a biography of the noted Hindi
scholar Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi.
26. Malala Yousafzai was nominated for the World Children’s
Prize in Sweden for championing education rights for girls.
27. Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour was conferred
on cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist Prof CNR Rao by the
President of India. Sachin became the first youngest and sportsperson to be
conferred with the honour of Bharat Ratna. Prof CNR Rao (Chintamani Nagesa
Ramachandra Rao) is the third scientist who has been conferred with the award.
He received the honour after CV Raman andAPJ Abdul Kalam, the former President
of India. Rao is recognized international authority on solid state and
materials chemistry.
28. Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station awarded a gold shield
for its meritorious performance in 2013-14.
29. Indian Navy Chief Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi resigned
taking moral responsibility of the accident on INS Sindhuratna in Mumbai.
30. Rishang Keishing the oldest Parliamentarian of India
decided to retire. He is 94. He joined politics as the member of the first Lok
Sabha in 1952 after being elected from Socialist Party. He had served the nation
for seven decades. He joined Congress in 1962.
31. Archana Bhargava CMD of the Kolkata-based United Bank of
India resigned.
32. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned
from the post. He also quitted from the membership of the State Assembly and
the Congress Party as a protest to the decision to bifurcate the Andhra Pradesh
State.
33. The Telangana Bill, splitting Andhra Pradesh and forming
Telangana as 29th State was passed by the Lok Sabha on 18 February 2014 with
Congress and BJP coming together on the issue. The Bill will be passed in Rajya
Sabha on 19 February 2014.
34. Italy Prime Minister Enrico Letta resigned.
35. Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi resigned.
He resigned following his government failure to muster the support over whether
the Jan Lokpal Bill should be presented before the House or not. 42 MLAs voted
against the bill whereas only 27 members favoured it.
36. Vijay Bahuguna, the Chief Minister of Uttrakhand
submitted his resignation to the Governor.
37. Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India released a
commemorative postage stamp in the honour of Maulana Hasrat Mohani who was a
freedom fighter and an eminent poet.
38. The Parliament of Nepal elected Sushil Koirala as next
Prime Minister of Nepal. Sushil Koirala is a veteran Nepali Congress leader.
39. President of Israel Shimon Peres set a new Guinness
World Record. He delivered the largest online civics class in the world.
40. President of Zanzibar, Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein is on an
official visit to India from 1 to 9 February 2014.
41. Save the Children, UK-based NGO released a Report that
claimed India alone accounts for a 29 percent of the global deaths of newborns
on their very first day of birth.
42. India was ranked 8th in the list of ten countries in
terms of digital governance. The list was topped by Singapore.
43. G-4 Director Generals for UNSC reform met on 11 February
2014 in New Delhi. G-4 members are Brazil, Germany, India and Japan.
44. The World famous Khajuraho Dance Festival began at Khajuraho,
Madhya Pradesh. The Dance Festival will be celebrated from 20 to 26 February
2014.
45. 103 persons were killed in Algeria when a military
aircraft C-130 Hercules crashed in the mountains of Algeria.
46. India successfully test-fired indigenously developed
surface-to-air Akash Missile with a range of 30 Km from the Integrated Test
Range at Chandipur in Odisha coast. The missile that was launched targeted a
floating object that was supported by Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) Lakshya.
47. Indian Navy kicked off its largest exercise with both
the western and eastern fleets in the Bay of Bengal for intensive combat
maneuvers.
48. 8th Defence Expo was organized at Pragati Maidan in New
Delhi from 6 February 2014 to 9 February 2014.
49. Defence Research and Development Organization said that
it is in the process of developing Unmanned Arial Vehicles to track down
Maoists in naxal hit states including Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The vehicles
will be used by the Central Reserve Police Force to track the locations of the
Maoists in even the forests.
50. Central Government constituted one-man expert committee
headed by G K Pillai to examine the demand of a separate Bodoland state, which
will be carved out from Assam.
51. Union Cabinet approved the setting up of an Equal
Opportunities Commission. The proposal for EOC was made by the Union Ministry
of Minority Affairs on the recommendations of the Justice Sachar Committee on
Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslim Community in India.
52. The speaker of Lok Sabha, Meria Kumar referred the
pepper spray incident in the Lok Sabha to the Privileges Committee. The 15
member Committee headed by senior Congress leader P C Chacko has power to take
punitive measures.
53. A music album entitled Raunaq based on the songs
composed by music maestro AR Rahman and written by Kapil Sibal was launched.
54. Prime Minister of India inaugurated Indira Paryavaran
Bhawan in New Delhi. This Bhawan will house the Ministry of Environment and
Forest and is India’s first on site Net Zero Building built by the adoption of
Solar Passive design and energy efficient building material.
55. IRCTC launched E-Wallet Scheme in the second week of
February 2014. The scheme was launched to make payment process fast and to reduce
transaction failures due to bank payment related problems.
56. The G-20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors held at Sydney, Australia. The official theme of the meeting is
restoring global growth. The G20 nations set the target to increase global
growth by at least two percentage points over the next five years that is by
2019. The annual G20 summit will be held in November 2014 in Brisbane.
57. Corporate social responsibility will take effect from 1
April, under which Indian companies and foreign companies registered in India
would need to spend a minimum 2 per cent of net profit for the benefit of the
society. They will apply to companies with at least Rs 5 crore net profit, or
Rs.1,000 crore turnover or Rs.500 crore net worth.
58. Japan-based Mt Gox, which was the world's largest
bitcoin exchange filed for bankruptcy. Mt Gox has admitted to have lost 7.5
lakh bitcoins of its customers and one lakh of its own.
59. India is home to the fifth largest group of billionaires
in the world and Mukesh Ambani is the country's richest man with a personal
fortune of USD 18 billion. According China-based research firm Hurun's 2014
global rich list, Mukesh Ambani was ranked 41st in the list that was topped by
Bill Gates with USD 68 billion.
60. India is the second-most cyber attacks on mobile devices
prone country with a major chunk of these intrusions designed for phishing and
stealing banking details, a report by security software maker Kaspersky said.
Russia topped the list.
61. Government increased the workdays under MNREGA from 100
to 150 for tribals from 1 April. Those tribals who have received land rights
under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 will be eligible for additional 50 days of
wage employment.
62. India's GDP growth rate fell under expectations at 4.7
per cent in October-December. GDP had expanded 4.8 per cent in the
July-September quarter and 4.4 per cent in April-June. Growth in the first nine
months (April-December) was 4.6 per cent.
63. G-20 members in Sydney meeting agreed to start automatic
sharing of tax information by end 2015.
64. India's Current Account Deficit (CAD) is expected to be
around two per cent of GDP during the current fiscal, Prime Minister's Economic
Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan has said. Finance Minister P
Chidambaram had said while tabling the interim budget that CAD will be
contained at USD 45 billion this financial year, well below the USD 88 billion
level in FY'13.
65. IMF estimated India's GDP growth at 4.6% for FY14 and at
5.4% for FY15.
66. The government cleared Rs 6,400 crore FDI proposal of
global healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline to acquire additional 24.33 per cent
stake in its India arm.
67. Chief Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat is all set to
have a World Trade Centre at Gandhinagar.
68. Government said there is a noticeable decline in below
poverty line population in the country between 2004 and 2012. Percentage of
population below poverty line in urban areas has declined from 25.5 per cent in
2004-05 to 13.7 per cent 2011-12.
69. Remittances from overseas Indians touched USD 67.6
billion in 2012-13, up from USD 66.1 billion the previous fiscal.
70. Connaught Place in Delhi slipped four notches to become
the world's eighth most expensive office location as rentals, said property
consultant Cushman & Wakefield. London’s West End emerged as the world's
most expensive office market.
71. Finance Minister P Chidambaram retained the 10 per cent
surcharge on those earning over Rs 1 crore annually. The government also
decided to continue a 5 per cent surcharge on domestic companies with total
annual income of more than Rs 1 crore but less than Rs 10 crore. Those with
income exceeding Rs 10 crore will pay a surcharge of 10 per cent.
72. The government's dependence on debt has come down from
27 paise in the previous Budget to 25 paise in the coming year. On the
expenditure side, central plan allocation has been reduced sharply from 21
paise to 10 paise in 2014-15. However, the interest payment would go up to 20
paise as compared to 18 paise in the 2013-14. Defence allocation has been
maintained at 10 paise. As the single largest source of revenue income, the
collection from corporate tax has been maintained at 21 paise as a percentage
of every rupee earned.
73. Finance Minister P Chidambaram proposed to infuse Rs
11,200 crore in public sector banks to enhance their capital in the next
financial year.
74. Defence Ministry was allocated Rs 2,24,000 crore by FM
P. Chiambaram's interim Budget 2014, marking a 10 per cent increase over the
last Budget.
75. Finance Minister announced a reduction in excise duty to
10 per cent from 12 per cent on a range of goods till June 30.
76. India's exports are expected to grow by 6.3 per cent to
USD 326 billion during the current fiscal.
77. Finance Minister P Chidambaram allocated an additional
Rs 1,000 crore to the Nirbhaya Fund for the safety and empowerment of women. In
January, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a Rs 1,405-crore
project to track and monitor public transport. The project involves setting up
closed-circuit television (CCTVs) and GPS in public transport vehicles. The
government set a deadline of February 20, 2014.
78. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram while presenting Budget
2014 said the fiscal deficit for the current financial year will be contained
at 4.6 per cent of GDP.
79. Wholesale Price Index inflation in January eased to an
eight-month low of 5.05 per cent, helped by a moderation in food prices.
80. The central board of trustees (CBT) of the Employees’
Provident Fund Organisation endorsed a comprehensive amendment to the EPF Act
to hike the wage ceiling for mandatory PF coverage to R15,000 per month from
R6,500 and guarantee a minimum pension of R1,000 per month.
81. The number of poor in the country declined to 27 crore
in 2011-12, from 40.74 crore in 2004-05. As per the estimates, Uttar Pradesh
had the highest number of poor people living below the poverty line at 5.98
crore in 2011-12, followed by Bihar at 3.58 crore.
82. The Bimal Jalan panel, which scrutinised applications for
new bank licences submitted its report along with shortlisted entities to the
Reserve Bank of India. The last day for applications was July 1. The RBI
received 27 applications and subsequently, Tata Sons Ltd and Value Industries
Ltd withdrew. At present India have 27 public sector banks, 22 private sector
banks and 56 regional rural banks.
83. RBI has given in-principle approval to setting up of a
new payment system that will facilitate fund transfers from bank account
holders to those without accounts through automated teller machines (ATMs)
84. Several small and mid-size public sector banks (PSBs)
are expected to face capital adequacy trouble in the near future as bad loans
surge and profits fall. In the December quarter, United Bank posted a net loss of
Rs 1,238.08 crore. The bank's net worth declined and its capital adequacy ratio
(CAR) fell to a little over 9%.
85. RBI has removed the 26% cap on the interest rate that a
microfinance company can charge its borrowers. RBI has said that MFIs can
arrive at their lending rate by calculating their cost of funds and adding the
prescribed margin.
86. In a major setback to gay rights activists, the Supreme
Court declined to review its December 11 judgment, holding that homosexuality
or unnatural sex between two consenting adults was illegal.
87. The Aam Aadmi Party Government recommended an audit of
the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) by the Comptroller and
Auditor- General of India.
88. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov tendered his resignation
in order to facilitate “peaceful settlement” of the political crisis.
89. The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a
resolution allowing European troops to use force in the Central African
Republic.
90. The Aam Aadmi Party Government in Delhi announced its
intentions to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the 1984
anti-Sikh riots.
91. The latest Education For All Global Monitoring Report
(GMR) — released worldwide by the UNESCO — acknowledges that India currently
has the largest population of illiterate adults in the world with 287 million.
This is 37 per cent of the global total.
92. A former Norwegian Minister nominated whistleblower
Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize.
93. The Indian Railways is gearing up to roll out next-
generation e-ticketing from April this year, marking a ‘paradigm shift’ in
technology, customer-friendliness and speed.
94. Three Australians of Indian origin Sadanandan Nambiar,
Radhey Shyam Gupta and Pratish C. Bandopadhayay have received one of the most
prestigious honours for their contribution to Australian society.
95. The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Central
List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to include or delete 115 castes from 13
States and three Union Territories.
96. The U.S. economy grew at a 3.2 per cent annual rate in
the October-December quarter.
97. The Supreme Court stayed the execution of Devender Pal
Singh Bhullar, sentenced to death for a bomb attack on former Indian Youth
Congress president Maninderjeet Singh Bitta in 1993, and decided to examine his
case afresh.
98. Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh submitted his
resignation to the State Home Department as he plans to explore a career in
politics.
99. The family of the late Chief Justice of India, Justice J.S.
Verma, has declined to accept the Padma Bhushan conferred on him.
100. The government said the economy might have expanded by
4.5 per cent in 2012-13, compared with the earlier estimate of 5 per cent.
However GDP growth in 2011-12 has been revised upwards to 6.7 per cent from 6.2
per cent. At current prices, the gross national income in 2012-13 is estimated
at Rs.92.70 lakh crore. Per capita net national income at factor cost in real
terms is estimated to have risen by 2.1 per cent to Rs.38,856 in 2012-13.
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