Entertainment Awards (Advertisement)

S.No.	Awards & Honours	Purpose/Objective	First Held in country/year	Name of Body/Institution/ Government
1	Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival (held yearly)	To celebrate the best of creativity in brand communication, discuss industry issues and network with one another.	Venice, Itlay, 1954	International Advertising Festival, the team behind Cannes Lions, Dubai International Advertising Festival and Spikes Asia
2	Clio Awards (held annually)	to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication.	1960	Prometheus Global Media
3	Design and Art Direction (D & AD)	Benchmarking and rewarding great ideas that are well executed and appropriate	1963	---
4	Effie Award	To honor the most effective marketing communications ideas	1968	Effie Worldwide, Inc., a non-profit organization
5	The Advertising Club of New York Award	focuses efforts on advertising industry self-regulation, professional training and good fellowship.	1915	The Advertising Club of New York
6	Summit International Awards	This award is for the pioneers who are leaders, innovators and visionaries in this exciting new realm of advertising.	----	SIA Organization
7	OBIE Awards (annual awards)	creative excellence in the world of advertising.	1956	The Village Voice newspaper
8	Cresta Awards	To honor an absolute standard of creative excellence in the international advertising and marketing communications industry.	1993	Creative Standards International, in partnership with the International Advertising Association

Business And Management Awards

S.No.	Awards & Honours	Purpose/Objective	First Held in country/year	Name of Body/Institution/ Government
1	Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards	To enhance the awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship amongst the general public and in turn, stimulate the growth of local and regional brands and enterprises both locally and regionally.	Malayasia	Kuala Lumpur-based regional NGO, Enterprise Asia
2	Deming Prize For Quality	To reward companies for major advances in quality improvement	Japan, 1950	Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE)
3	E. H. Harriman Award (Presented annually)	To encourage safe operating practices and safety enhancements.	1913	E.H. Harriman Memorial Awards Institute
4	European Business Awards	To recognise and promote excellence, best practice and innovation in the European business community.	First awarded in 2007, launched in 2006	HSBC
5	European IST Grand Prize	For groundbreaking products that represent the best of European innovation in Information Society Technologies.	2006	Euro-CASE
6	Henry Laurence Gantt Medal	For distinguished achievement in management and service to the community.	1929	American Society of Mechanical Engineers
7	Jake Award (Presented annually)	To recognize outstanding safety achievements in the short line railroad industry, which had gone unrecognized before.	1995	Rail transport industry group American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
8	Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award	To recognize U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence.	1987	President of the United States
9	Railroader of the Year (Awarded annually)	To recognize the railroads' commitments to customer service and innovation in the industry.	1964	Trade journal Railway Age
10	Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership	To recognize companies for the exemplary quality of their relationships with employees and communities.	1997	The Conference Board, a non-profit organization
11	Train Operator of the Year	To recognize excellence among train operating companies of the United Kingdom	1997	As part of the HSBC Rail Business Awards
12	Woodrow Wilson Awards (Awarded annually)	Awarded to those who have shown an outstanding commitment to President of the United States Woodrow Wilson's dream of integrating politics, scholarship, and policy for the common good.	----	Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

List of Jnanpith Award Winners (1965–2014)

Jnanpith Award is being given for the best creative literary writing by any Indian citizen in any of the languages included in the VIII Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The Award is the brain-child of late Smt. Rama Jain, the first President of and the moving spirit behind the Bharatiya Jnanpith since its inception. It has become the most prestigious literary award of the country. This awards inlude sum of Rs. 5 lakhs including citation.

Year : Name – Works (Language)
1965 : G. Sankara Kurup – Odakkuzhal [Flute] (Malayalam)
1966 : Tarashankar Bandopadhyaya – Ganadevta (Bengali)
1967 : Kuppali Venkatappagowda Puttappa (Kuvempu) – Sri Ramayana Darshanam (Kannada)
1967 : Umashankar Joshi – Nishitha (Gujarati)
1968 : Sumitranandan Pant – Chidambara (Hindi)
1969 : Firaq Gorakhpuri – Gul-e-Naghma (Urdu)
1970 : Viswanatha Satyanarayana – Ramayana Kalpavrikshamu [A resourceful tree:Ramayana] (Telugu)
1971 : Bishnu Dey Smriti – Satta Bhavishyat (Bengali)
1972 : Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' – Urvashi (Hindi)
1973 : Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre – Nakutanti [Naku Thanthi (Four Strings)] (Kannada)
1973 : Gopinath Mohanty – Paraja (Oriya)
1974 : Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar – Yayati (Marathi)
1975 : P. V. Akilan – Chitttrappavai (Tamil)
1976 : Ashapurna Devi – Pratham Pratisruti (Bengali)
1977 : K. Shivaram Karanth – Mookajjiya Kanasugalu [Mookajjis dreams] (Kannada)
1978 : Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan 'Ajneya' – Kitni Navon Men Kitni Bar [How many times in many boats?] (Hindi)
1979 : Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya – Mrityunjay [Immortal] (Assamese)
1980 : S. K. Pottekkatt – Oru Desathinte Katha [Story of a land] (Malayalam)
1981 : Amrita Pritam – Kagaj te Canvas (Punjabi)
1982 : Mahadevi Varma – Yama (Hindi)
1983 : Maasti Venkatesh Ayengar – Chikkaveera Rajendra [Life and struggle of Kodava King Chikkaveera Rajendra] (Kannada)
1984 : Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai – Kayar [Coir] (Malayalam)
1985 : Pannalal Patel – Maanavi Ni Bhavaai (Gujarati)
1986 : Sachidananda Rout Roy (Oriya)
1987 : Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar (Kusumagraj) – Natsamrat (Marathi)
1988 : Dr.C. Narayana Reddy – Vishwambhara (Telugu)
1989 : Qurratulain Hyder – Akhire Shab Ke Humsafar (Urdu)
1990 : V. K. Gokak (Vinayaka Krishna Gokak) – Bharatha Sindhu Rashmi (Kannada)
1991 : Subhas Mukhopadhyay – Padati (Bengali)
1992 : Naresh Mehta (Hindi)
1993 : Sitakant Mahapatra – "for outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Indian literature, 1973-92" (Oriya)
1994 : U. R. Ananthamurthy – for his contributions to (Kannada) literature (Kannada)
1995 : M. T. Vasudevan Nair – Randamoozham [Second Chance] (Malayalam)
1996 : Mahasweta Devi – Hajar Churashir Ma (Bengali)
1997 : Ali Sardar Jafri (Urdu)
1998 : Girish Karnad – "for his contributions to (Kannada) literature and for contributions to (Kannada) theater (yayati)" (Kannada)
1999 : Nirmal Verma (Hindi)
1999 : Gurdial Singh (Punjabi)
2000 : Indira Goswami (Assamese)
2001 : Rajendra Keshavlal Shah (Gujarati)
2002 : D. Jayakanthan (Tamil)
2003 : Vinda Karandikar – Ashtadarshana (poetry) (Marathi)
2004 : Rahman Rahi – Subhuk Soda, Kalami Rahi and Siyah Rode Jaren Manz (Kashmiri)
2005 : Kunwar Narayan (Hindi)
2006 : Ravindra Kelekar (Konkani)
2006 : Satya Vrat Shastri (Sanskrit)
2007 : O. N. V. Kurup (Malayalam)
2008 : Akhlaq Mohammed Khan 'Shahryar' (Urdu)
2009 : Amar Kant (Hindi)
2009 : Shrilal Shukla (Hindi)
2010 : Chandrashekhara Kambara – for his contributions to Kannada literature (Kannada) 

2011 : Pratibha RayYajnaseni (Oriya)

2012 : Ravuri Bharadhwaja - For his notable contribution to Telugu literature (Telugu)

2013 :   Kedarnath Singh - For his notable contribution to Hindi literature. ‘Abhi bilkul abhi’ and ‘Yahan se dekho’ are among his prominent works (Hindi)

2014 : Bhalchandra Vanaji Nemade (Marathi)

‘Abhi bilkul abhi’ and ‘Yahan se dekho’ are among his prominent works - See more at: http://www.onlinegk.com/current-affairs/current-affairs-june-2014#sthash.QTmHJyfr.dpuf

Religions in India

Religion and Dharma System	Religion/ Dharma	Founded	Holy Book	Holy Cities, Pilgrimage sites	Founder of Religion	Diviner / Incarnations of God
Hinduism	Dharma	500 C.E.	BHAGAVAD GITA, VEDA, Upanishad	Kasi, Ayodhya, Mathura, etc.	None	Rama, Krishna, Buddha
Hinduism refers to the beliefs and practices of Hindus as expressed in its doctrines i.e., BHAGAVAD GITA, VEDA, Upanishad, sacrament, narrative, and epic. It is the main religion of India and Nepal which includes the worship of several gods and belief in REINCARNATION. Hinduism is practiced by over 700 million people.
Ancient Sanatana Dharma	Dharma	4000 B.C.E.	-	Kasi, Ayodhya, Madhupura (Mathura)	None	Rama, Krishna
The term Sanātana Dharma translates to approximately “eternal law”, is notion of great importance to Hinduism. Those preferring sanatana dharma emphasize a more catholic tradition of belief and practice. “Speak the truth, speak the truth that is pleasant. Do not speak the truth to manipulate. Do not speak falsely to please or flatter someone. This is the quality of the Sanatan Dharma“.
Zoroastrianism	Religion	1800 B.C.E.	Zend Avesta (Gathas)	Yazd, Pasargade, Persepolis, Kernan, Tehran	Zarathushtra	Zarathushtra
It is a religion started in ancient Persia by Zoroaster that teaches that there is one God and a continuing struggle in the world between forces of light and darkness. Zoroastrianism originated in ancient Persia (now Iran). The sacred texts of Zoroastrianism are collectively called the Avesta.
Buddhism	Dharma	600 B.C.E.	Dhammapada	Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Kapilavastu, Saranath	Gautam Siddhartha	Gautam Siddhartha
Buddhism is an Asian religion based on the teaching of Gautama Siddhartha (or Buddha). Buddhism played a central role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of the Eastern world and, during the twentieth century, spread to the West.
Jainism	Dharma	650 B.C.E.	Akaranga Sutra	Palitana, Kashi/Varanasi, Parasnath,etc.	Mahavira	Mahavira
Jainism is one of the three most ancient of India’s religious traditions still in existence. Jainism teaches a path to spiritual deliverance through a strict code of conduct based on non-violence to all living creatures. The name Jainism derives from the Sanskrit verb root ji (to conquer). Jainism originated around the seventh-fifth centuries BC in the Ganga basin of North India. Jainism often employs concepts similar to Hinduism and Buddhism
Judaism	Religion	1600 B.C.E.	Tanakh (Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim)	Jerusalem	Abraham	Abraham, Moses
Judaism is the religion of the Jews, a monotheistic religion discerned in patterns of action, social order, and culture. God is viewed as the divine “Giver of Torah*” – in its broadest traditional sense, supported by the Hebrew Scriptures. Jews believe that they are chosen by the God to receive divine guidance. Abraham was the founder of Judaism. * the law of God as given to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Bible
Christianity	Religion	30 C.E.	Bible	Bethlehem, Vatican City, Jerusalem	Yah’shua (Jesus)	Yahshua, Abraham
Christianity is the religion that is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the belief that he was the son of God. Christians number more than 1.7 billion and can be divided among three principal groups: the Roman Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Protestant churches.
Islam	Religion	650 C.E.	Quran	Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem	Muhammad	Muhammad, Yahshua, Abraham
It is the Muslim religion, based on belief in one God and REVEALED through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah. The term islam, literally means “surrender”. In Islam Allah is viewed as the sole God – creator, sustainer, and restorer of the world. The most sacred place for Muslims is the Ka’aba, a cube-shaped building in Mecca.
Sikhism	Dharma	1450 C.E.	Guru Granth Sahib	Amritsar	Guru Nanak	Guru Nanak
Sikhism was founded in the late fifteenth century by Guru Nanak. The word sikh is derived from the Pali sikkha or Sanskrit sisya (follower). Historically Sikhism is associated with Punjab, India, a region that connects southern Asia with the Middle East. The Adi Granth is the canonical scripture of the Sikhs.
Bahaism	Religion	1850 C.E.	Qitab I Aqdas	Haifa, Israel	Baha’ullah	Many from many faiths
Bahaism is a religion founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Mirza Hoseyn ‘Ali Nuri, who is known as Baha` Ullah (Arabic: “Glory of God”). The principal Baha`i doctrines are the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity. The Baha`is use a calendar in which the year is divided into 19 months of 19 days each, with the addition of 4 intercalary days (5 in leap years).
Confucianism*	Dharma	550 B.C.E.	Confucian Canon	Nanjing and Wuxi, China	Kung Fu-Tze	Kung Fu-Tze
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious. It has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia. It is considered as a state religion of some East Asian countries.
Taoism*	Dharma	640 B.C.E.	Tao te Ching	Jinhua and Guangdong, China	Lao Tze	Lao Tze
Taoism (or Daoism) refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions that have influenced Eastern Asia for more than two millennia. It have had a notable influence on the western world particularly since the 19th century. Taoism has never been a unified religion, but has rather consisted of numerous teachings based on various revelations.
* Though Confucianism and Taoism are not religions; but listed here for informational purposes.

Republic Day Chief Guest Full List (1950-2015)

Year – Guest Name (Country)

2015 – Barack Obama (President, United States of America) 

2014 – Shinzo Abe (Prime Minister, Japan) 

2013 – King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (King of Bhutan, Bhutan)

2012 – Yingluck Shinawatra (Prime Minister, Thailand)

2011 – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (President, Indonesia)

2010 – Lee Myung Bak (President, Republic of Korea)

2009 – Nursultan Nazarbayev (President, Kazakhstan)

2008 – Nicolas Sarkozy (President, France)

2007 – Vladimir Putin (President, Russia)

2006 – King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (King, Saudi Arabia)

2005 – King Jigme Singye Wangchuck (King, Bhutan)

2004 – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (President, Brazil)

2003 – Mohammed Khatami (President, Iran)

2002 – Cassam Uteem (President, Mauritius)

2001 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika (President, Algeria)

2000 – Olusegun Obasanjo (President, Nigeria)

1999 – King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (King, Nepal)

1998 – Jacques Chirac (President, France)

1997 – Basdeo Panday (Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago)

1996 – Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso (President, Brazil)

1995 – Nelson Mandela (President, South Africa)

1994 – Goh Chok Tong (Prime Minister, Singapore)

1993 – John Major (Prime Minister, United Kingdom)

1992 – Mário Soares (President, Portugal)

1991 – Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (President, Maldives)

1990 – Anerood Jugnauth (Prime Minister, Mauritius)

1989 – Nguyen Van Linh (General Secretary, Vietnam)

1988 – Junius Jayewardene (President, Sri Lanka)

1987 – Alan García (President, Peru)

1986 – Andreas Papandreou (Prime Minister, Greece)

1985 – Raúl Alfonsín (President, Argentina)

1984 – King Jigme Singye Wangchuck (King, Bhutan)

1983 – Shehu Shagari (President, Nigeria)

1982 – King Juan Carlos I (King, Spain)

1981 – José López Portillo (President, Mexico)

1980 – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (President, France)

1979 – Malcolm Fraser (Prime Minister, Australia)

1978 – Patrick Hillery (President, Ireland)

1977 – Edward Gierek (First Secretary, Poland)

1976 – Jacques Chirac (Prime Minister,France)

1975 – Kenneth Kaunda (President, Zambia)

1974 – Josip Broz Tito (President, SFR Yugoslavia); Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (Prime Minister, Sri Lanka)

1973 – Mobutu Sese Seko (President, Zaire)

1972 – Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (Prime Minister, Mauritius)

1971 – Julius Nyerere (President, Tanzania)

1970 – 

1969 – Todor Zhivkov (Prime Minister, Bulgaria)

1968 – Alexei Kosygin (Prime Minister, USSR); Josip Broz Tito (President, SFR Yugoslavia)

1966, 1967 – 

1965 – Rana Abdul Hamid (Food and Agriculture Minister, Pakistan)

1964 – 

1963 – King Norodom Sihanouk (King, Cambodia)

1962 – 

1961 – Queen Elizabeth II (Queen, United Kingdom)

1960 – Kliment Voroshilov (President, USSR)

1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 – 

1955 – Malik Ghulam Muhammad (Governor General, Pakistan)

1954 – King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (King, Bhutan)

1951, 1952, 1953 –

1950 – Sukarno (President, Indonesia)

Current Affairs 2014 at a glance

❖ Latvia adopted the Euro currency on January 1, 2014 and became the 18th member of the Eurozone.

❖ Corey Anderson of New Zealand scored the fastest century in One Day International cricket history on January 1, 2014. He scored a hundred in just 36 deliveries against the West Indies. He beat the previous record of 100 off 37 balls set by Shahid Afridi of Pakistan in 1996.

❖ Sheikh Hasina was sworn in on January 12, 2014 for the third time as Bangladesh's Prime Minister. Her party is Awami League.

❖ India's first monorail service was started in Mumbai on February 2, 2014.

❖ Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist CNR Rao were conferred the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India on February 4, 2014. The award was announced on November 16, 2013.

❖ Harish Rawat was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on February 1, 2014.

❖ 'Chronicles of a Corpse Bearer' is a book written by Cyrus Mistry, which won the DSC Prize for

South Asian Literature at the Jaipur Literary Festival 2014. This award in 2013 was won by Jeet Thayil for his novel 'Narcopolis'.

❖ Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat Spain's Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open men's singles tennis title. Li Na of China won the women's singles title by defeating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

❖ The prestigious Padma Awards for 2014 were announced which includes Padma Vibhushan for two individuals, Padma Bhushan for 24 and Padma Shri for 101 people. Out of 127 awardees 27 are women. Padma Vibhushan awardees are Raghunath Mashelkar (Science & Engineering) and yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar.

❖ Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese Prime Minister to be the chief guest at India's 65th Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2014.

❖ Janet Yellen is the first woman ever to head the United States central bank Federal Reserve.

❖ Sub-Inspector K. Prasad Babu was conferred the Ashok Chakra posthumously on the 65th Republic Day by the President Pranab Mukherjee. K. Prasad Babu was from Andhra Pradesh. He was given this award for an anti-Maoist operation near Andhra Pradesh- Chhattisgarh border. Ashok Chakra is India's highest peacetime gallantry award.

❖ Matteo Renzi became the youngest Italian Prime Minister in February 2014. He is 39 years old.

❖ Sushil Koirala assumed office as the Prime Minister of Nepal on February 11, 2014. He is also the President of the Nepali Congress Party.

❖ N.Ramachandran was elected the new President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in February 2014. He is also the World Squash Federation President.

❖ Satya Nadella, an Indian American, was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft on

February 4, 2014. He succeeded Steve Ballmer.

❖ Former Supreme Court judge Ashok Kumar Mathur has been appointed the Chairman of the

7th Pay Commission.

❖ Eminent Gandhian and environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt was selected for the 2013 Gandhi Peace Prize. He is one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement. He was awarded the Ramon

Magsaysay Award in 1982.

❖ Famous Hindi writer Vishwanath Tripathi has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013 for his memoir 'Vyomkesh Darvesh'. Vyas Samman is a literary award given by

the K.K. Birla Foundation.

❖ Odia became the sixth language to get classical language status after Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu,

Kannada and Malayalam.

❖ The Expert Committee to Revise and Strengthen the Monetary Policy Framework, headed by RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel suggested the central bank to adopt the new consumer price index for anchoring the monetary policy.

❖ Facebook announced its acquisition of WhatsApp Inc. for $19 billion. WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by Brian Acton and John Koum. It is an instant messaging app for smartphones.

❖ The Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia in February 2014. Russia topped the medals table with13 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze. It won a total of 33 medals. India did not win any medal. Next Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang in South Korea in 2018.

❖ Michelle Bachelet was sworn in as the President of Chile on March 11, 2014. She already served as the President once from 2006 to 2010.

❖ The third edition of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) was held in The Hague, Netherlands in March 2014. The NSS aims to prevent nuclear terrorism by reducing the amount of dangerous

nuclear material in the world.

❖ Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra was selected for the Saraswati Samman for the year 2013 for his book "Dhool Paudho Par". He is the second Hindi author to receive the honor after the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991.

❖ ESPN cricinfo presented the Cricketer of the Generation award to Sachin Tendulkar.

❖ The International Women of Courage Award 2014 was presented by the US first lady Michelle Obama to Laxmi, a Delhi acid attack survivor.

❖ Mortal remains of about 282 Indian soldiers of 1857 mutiny were exhumed from a well at Ajnala

in Amritsar district of Punjab in March 2014.

❖ The Reserve Bank of India had extended the deadline for Indian banks to meet capital requirements under the Basel III norms by a year to March 31, 2019.

❖ Mizoram defeated Railways to win the 68th Santosh Trophy Football championship in Siliguri in

March 2014. It is the maiden Santosh Trophy title for Mizoram.

❖ Viswanathan Anand won the World Candidates chess tournament title at Khanty Mansisyk, Russia.

❖ Khushwant Singh, a renowned author, passed away on March 20, 2014. He authored books such as 'Train to Pakistan', 'With Malice towards One and All', 'The Sunset Club', 'Truth, Love and a Little Malice', etc.

❖ Eminent film lyricist Gulzar was chosen for the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2013. This award is the highest film award in India.

❖ The people of Crimea voted to become part of Russia in a referendum in March 2014. The leaders of Group of Eight (G8) countries suspended Russia from the group on the issue of annexation of Crimea by Russia. Crimea was separated from Ukraine.

❖ The third Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in March 2014. India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand are the seven members of this group. Sumith Nakandala of Sri Lanka is the Secretary General. The Secretariat of BIMSTEC is established in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

❖ Assam is the first State in India to observe Child Protection Day to secure the future of children

on March 4, 2014.

❖ The armies of Nepal and India held a joint military exercise named Surya Kiran VI in Nepal.

❖ Admiral Robin K. Dhowan assumed office as the Chief of Naval Staff on April 17, 2014. He succeeded Admiral D.K. Joshi.

❖ R. Gandhi has been appointed as a Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India. RBI has four deputy governors.

❖ The 2014 Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded to Ramesh Agrawal of Chhattisgarh.

❖ Koyal Rana won the Miss India 2014 crown.

❖ India - born poet Vijay Seshadri won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for his collection of poems "3 Sections".

❖ Ex-coal secretary P.C. Parakh released his book titled "Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and Other Truths".

❖ Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian novelist, died on April 17, 2014. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. His major books include One Hundred Years of Solitude, Autumn of the Patriarch, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Love in the Time of Cholera.

❖ Renowned cinematographer V.- K. Murthy passed away. He won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2008. He shot India's first cinemascope movie 'Kagaz ke Phool'.

❖ RBI gave approvals to IDFC Ltd and Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited to start new banks. IDFC is an infrastructure finance company based in Mumbai and Bandhan is a micro lender based in Kolkata.

❖ Sun Pharmaceuticals will buy Ranbaxy Laboratories.

❖ Sri Lanka won the World Twenty 20 title for the first time defeating India by six wickets in Mirpur, Bangladesh in April 2014.

❖ Australian women cricket team won the Women's World Twenty 20 Cup 2014 by defeating England in the final in Mirpur, Bangladesh. This is the third successive Women's World Twenty20 title for Australia.

❖ Narendra Damodardas Modi was sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister of India on May 26, 2014.

The swearing in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan was attended by the heads/ representatives of eight SAARC nations. Along with Modi 44 Ministers also took oath.

❖ The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the first party in 30 years to win a majority on its

own in the Lok Sabha. In the 16th Lok Sabha elections it won 282 seats. Indian National Congress won 44 seats.

❖ Anandiben Patel became the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat in May 2014. Sikkim Democratic Front leader Pawan Chamling was sworn in as the CM of Sikkim for a record fifth consecutive term. Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik was sworn in as the CM of Odisha for the fourth consecutive term. Congress leader Nabam Tuki became the CM of Arunachal Pradesh for the second consecutive time.

❖ Jitan Ram Manjhi succeeded Nitish Kumar as the new CM of Bihar. TR Zeliang succeeded Neiphiu Rio as the CM of Nagaland.

❖ 13 - year-old Malavath Purna became the youngest female climber to scale the Mount Everest on May 25, 2014.

❖ Dalia Grybauskaite was re-elected as the President of Lithuania in May 2014. She is the first female President of Lithuania.

❖ Salvador Sanchez Ceren took office as the President of El Salvador on June 1, 2014. Luis Guillermo Solis became the President of Costa Rica on May 8, 2014. Juan Carlos Varela assumed office as the President of Panama on July 1, 2014.

❖ Peter Mutharika assumed office as the President of Malawi on May 31, 2014.

❖ Major General Kristin Lund of Norway is the first-ever woman to serve as the head of a UN peacekeeping operation.

❖ Nripendra Mishra was appointed as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is

the former Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

❖ Former United States Secretary of the State Hillary Rodham Clinton launched her book 'Hard Choices'.

❖ 'RuPay', India's own card payment network, was launched by the President Pranab Mukherjee. It was developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The RuPay card is accepted at all ATMs.

❖ Justice B. S. Chauhan was appointed the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

❖ Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has been included in the second schedule to the RBI Act, 1934.

Now BMB becomes eligible for loans from RBI on bank rate.

❖ RBI made it mandatory for banks to install talking ATMs with Braille keypads from July 2014

onwards. It is for the benefit of persons with disabilities.

❖ P.J. Nayak Committee appointed by the RBI recommended the reduction of government stake in public sector banks to less than 50 percent.

❖ Japan won the Thomas Cup men's badminton title for the first time. Japan defeated Malaysia in the final in New Delhi in May 2014. China won the Uber Cup women's badminton title for the

13th time by defeating Japan in the final in New Delhi. India won a bronze medal for the first time in Uber Cup.

❖ Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the Indian Premier League- 7 title by defeating Kings XI Punjab at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on June 1, 2014. It is KKR's second IPL trophy.

❖ Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekar Rao was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, the 29th State of India, on June 2, 2014. Telugu Desham Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu took over as the first Chief Minister of bifurcated Andhra Pradesh on June 8, 2014.

❖ The Supreme Court appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee to probe the 2013 IPL spot fixing allegations.

❖ Manuel Santos won the Presidential elections of Colombia for the second time in June 2014.

❖ Reuven Rivlin succeeded Shimon Peres as the new President of Israel in June 2014.

❖ Former army chief Abdel Fattah el Sisi was sworn in as the President of Egypt in June 2014.

❖ Mukul Rohatgi was appointed the Attorney General of India in June 2014. Ranjit Kumar is the new Solicitor General.

❖ N. Srinivasan is the first Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

❖ Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as the President of Ukraine.

❖ Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a third term in office in June 2014.

❖ Sumitra Mahajan became the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha in June 2014. She represents Indore Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh.

❖ Former Intelligence Bureau chief Ajit Doval was appointed the National Security Adviser (NSA). He is the first police officer to be decorated with Kirti Chakra, a gallantry award given during peacetime.

❖ Kedarnath Singh was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honor and is the 49th recipient of Jnanpith award.

❖ The 2013 Moortidevi award was given to Malayalam writer C. Radhakrishnan. He is a scientist

turned writer.

❖ France announced to honor Shah Rukh Khan with Officer of the Legion of Honour for his contribution to cinema.

❖ Former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland is the first recipient of the Tang Prize

for sustainable development. She is the former Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

❖ India-born plant scientist Sanjay Rajaram was chosen for the World Food Prize for 2014. He is a renowned wheat scientist.

❖ Irish author Eimear McBride won the 2014 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction for her debut

novel 'A Girl is a Half-formed Thing'. This prize was earlier known as Orange Prize.

❖ The autobiography of Hindi actor Dilip Kumar 'The Substance and The Shadow' was launched.

❖ The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was test-fired. It is an Indo-Russian missile with a range of 290 km.

❖ Okavango Delta in Botswana became the 1000th site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.

❖ Rani-ki-Vav, an 11th century stepwell in the Patan area of Gujarat and the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Himachal Pradesh were accorded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

❖ The government has accepted the report of Arvind Mayaram Committee on rationalizing definitions of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).

❖ Salman Rushdie, the India born UK author was named the winner of 2014 Pen Pinter Prize.

❖ Saina Nehwal won the Australian Open Super Series badminton title defeating Spain's Carolina Marin.

❖ Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the World Rapid Chess Championship and also the World Blitz

Chess Championship, both in Dubai in June 2014.

❖ Australia retained the men's Hockey World Cup title by outplaying Netherlands in the final in

The Hague, Netherlands in June 2014. Netherlands defeated Australia to win the women's title.

❖ Rafael Nadal of Spain clinched the 2014 French Open tennis men's singles title beating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the final. It is Nadal's 9th French open title. Maria Sharapova of Russia won

her second French Open women's singles title by defeating Simona Halep of Romania.

❖ Two Indian Americans Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe became the co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest held in USA.

● Two Indian Americans Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe became the co-champions of the

Scripps National Spelling Bee contest held in USA.

● The Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) headed by Parthasarathi Shome suggested

abolition of the post of Revenue Secretary and merger of CBDT and CBEC.

● The 40th G7 Summit was held in Brussels, Belgium in June 2014. This Summit was held without Russia.

● Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari visited China to celebrate the 60th anniversary of signing of the Panchsheel in June 2014.

● Indian-origin V.K. Rajah was appointed the Attorney-General of Singapore.

● General Dalbir Singh Suhag succeeded General Bikram Singh as the 26th Chief of Indian Army on July 31, 2014. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha took over as the Chairman of the

Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) on July 30, 2014.

● Shashi Kant Sharma, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) became a Member

of the United Nations Board of Auditors for a term of six years.

● The President appointed new Governors for six States in July 2014. They are: Kaptan Singh

Solanki - Haryana, Balramji Das Tandon- Chhaatisgarh, Keshari Nath Tripath- West Bengal, Ram

Naik- Uttar Pradesh, Padmanabha Acharya - Nagaland and Om Prakash Kohli - Gujarat.

● S.S. Mundra is the fourth Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He will have tenure of 3 years.

● Former External Affairs Minister and a senior Congress Party leader K.Natwar Singh released his

autobiography 'One Life is Not Enough'.

● Out of 187 countries, India is ranked 135th in the 2014 UNDP Human Development Index. Norway is the topper

● Germany won the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It beat Argentina in the final played at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 13, 2014. It is Germany's 4th World Cup Football title.

● Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland in Wimbledon men's singles tennis final. In the Wimbledon women's singles final Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic beat Eugenie Bouchard of Canada.

● The 6th BRICS Summit was held in July 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil. The leaders signed a document to create the $100 billion New Development Bank. Its headquarters will be in Shanghai, China and the first President will be from India for a six year term. It is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first Summit.

● Sadananda Gowda presented the Railway Budget on July 8, 2014. Union Finance Minister Arun

Jaitley tabled the Economic Survey 2013-14 in Parliament on July 9, 2014 and presented his maiden Budget on July 10, 2014.

● Harry Potter fame actress Emma Watson was appointed Goodwill Ambassador by UN Women. Tennis player Sania Mirza is the brand ambassador for Telangana State.

● Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the new President of Turkey and Ahmet Davutoglu is the new Prime Minister of Turkey.

● General Prayuth Chan-ocha took over as the Prime Minister of Thailand in August 2014.

● In August 2014 four more States got new Governors. Rajasthan - Kalyan Singh, Maharashtra - Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, Karnataka- Vajubhai Vala and Goa- Mridula

Sinha.

● Congress leader K.V. Thomas is the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament.

● Former Chief Justice of India Justice P. Sathasivam was appointed the Governor of Kerala in September 2014.

● Daman Singh, the daughter of the former Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, has written a book "Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan".

● Narendra Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) on August 28, 2014. The aim of the scheme is the financial inclusion of all Indians.

● Manjul Bhargava, a mathematician of Indian origin won the Field Medal. He was conferred

the award at the International Congress of Mathematicians held

in Seoul, South Korea in August.

● Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan was appointed the Chairman of the Expenditure Management Commission.

● Jaipur Pink Panthers beat U Mumba to emerge champion of the inaugural STAR ProKabaddi League in Mumbai on August 31.

● The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics were held from August 16 to 28, 2014 in Nanjing, China.

China topped the medals tally with 65 medals, including 38 Gold. India got two medals. Weightlifter Ragala Venkata Rahul bagged a silver medal and Atul Verma won a bronze in Archery.

● Shah Rukh Khan was appointed the ambassador of 'Turn Back Crime' campaign of Interpol. Amitabh Bachchan is Maharashtra's horticulture ambassador.

● India and Australia signed a civil nuclear agreement on September 5, 2014. The deal was signed during the visit of the Australian

Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

● The 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games was held from July 23 to August 3, 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. England topped the medal chart with 174 medals. India bagged 64 medals

and finished fifth.

● Marin Cilic of Croatia defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan to win the 2014 US Open men's singles tennis title. Serena Williams of USA won women's singles title beating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the final. The mixed doubles title was won by India's Sania Mirza and Brazil's Bruno Soares.

● The 17th Asian Games were held in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 to October 4, 2014. China topped the medals tally with 342 medals. India won 57 medals and took the 8th position.

● Chennai Super Kings won the Champions League T20 title, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders

in the final in Bangalore on October 4, 2014.

● Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on the birth anniversary of Mahatma

Gandhi on October 2, 2014. The Mission aims to make India clean by October 2, 2019, Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.

● Ancient Nalanda University was inaugurated after 800 years on September 19, 2014 by External

Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Bihar. The Chancellor is Amartya Sen and the Vice Chancellor is Gopa Sabharwal.

● The Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban and rural poor on September 25, 2014.

● The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit was held in Wales, UK on September 4-5, 2014.

● Ashraf Ghani was sworn in as the new President of Afghanistan on September 29, 2014.

● John Key was re-elected the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

● O.Pannerselvam became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu succeeding Jayalalithaa.

● Justice H.L. Dattu became the 42nd Chief Justice of India on September 28, 2014.

● Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award 2014 was presented to A. Sivathanu Pillai, an eminent missile scientist.

● October 31 was celebrated as National Unity Day. It is the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first Home Minister.

● Devendra Fadnavis became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Manohar Lal Khattar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Haryana in October 2014. Both are from BJP. Laxmikant Parsekar of BJP is the new Goa Chief Minister.

● India was reelected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the period of 2015 to 2017.

● Dilma Rousseff was re-elected for her second four-year term as the President of Brazil.

● Australian author Richard Flanagan won the 2014 Man Booker Prize for his novel "The Narrow Road to the Deep North".

● Pakistani girls' rights activist Malala Yousafzai shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with India's Kailash Satyarthi. She also won the World's Children's Prize given by Sweden and America's Liberty Medal.

● Former Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg became the 13th Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on October 1, 2014.

● Arvind Subramanian is the new Chief Economic Adviser and Rajiv Mehrishi is the new Finance Secretary of India.

● Indian Prime Minister attended the 9th G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia in November 2014.

● The 18th SAARC Summit was held in November 2014 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

● Anil Kumar Sinha is the new Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Rajinder

Khanna is the new Chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Prakash Mishra is the

new Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

● The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2014 is given to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

● Rolene Strauss of South Africa was crowned Miss World 2014 in London on December 14, 2014.