Monday, 1 December 2014

Daily GK update 1st December 2014

1. UN climate summit begins in Peru

i. Officials from over 190 nations, including India, on Monday converged in Lima at the UN climate summit to negotiate on a new ambitious and binding deal to cut global carbon emissions, in the last chance to reach on a historic deal to be signed next year in Paris.

ii. Negotiations have been ongoing for 20 years, as the UN continues to bring its member countries together to help curb the damaging effects of coal burning and gasoline use, among other sources of pollution.
iii. During the 12-day summit in the Peruvian capital, countries will put forward what they plan to contribute to the 2015 pact in the form of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) by the first quarter of 2015, well in advance of the Paris conference in December.
iv. The Lima conference needs to provide final clarity on what the INDCs need to contain, including fordeveloping countries who are likely to have a range of options from, for example, sector-wide emission curbs to energy intensity goals.
v. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar leads India's 17- member delegation to negotiate terms for the final agreement to be signed in Paris, which will take effect in 2020.

2. Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas won Uruguay Presidential Election 2014

i. Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas on 30 November 2014 won the 2014 presidential elections of Uruguay extending the decade-long rule of a leftist coalition. Vazquez belongs to the leftist Broad Front coalition party of Uruguay.
ii. Vazquez won comfortably with 52.8 percent votes support while his centre-right challenger Luis Lacalle Pou of the National Party trailed on 40.5 percent votes.
iii. He will succeed President Jose Mujica who was barred by law from running for a second consecutive term.

3. Modi dedicates Tripura power plant to nation

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated to the nation the second unit of the 726 MW gas-based power plant at Palatana in Tripura. A host of dignitaries from India and Bangladesh, which facilitated transportation of heavy machineries to the plant, were present on the occasion.

ii. Senior advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Minister of State for power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, as well Indian Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan graced the inauguration of the plant owned by ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC). ONGC CMD D.K. Sarraf and the Union Petroleum Secretary were also present.

iii. Mr. Modi commissioned the second unit by pushing a button in the plant control room at 2.40 p.m. He also addressed the gathering at the site.

4. PM announces Rs 28,000 cr for new rail projs in Northeast

i. Focusing on improving connectivity to the Northeast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Centre would provide Rs 28,000 crore for laying new railway lines in the region and develop the untapped tourism potential of the area.

ii. The Prime Minister also said that the Centre has sanctioned Rs 5000 crore to provide 2G mobile coverage in this area for comprehensive telecom development plan of the northeast region.

iii. As energy is a lifeline for development, Rs 5000 crore has been sanctioned for the northeastern region power system improvement project for six states, including Nagaland, the Prime Minister said.

iv. The Prime Minister said his government has decided to set up a National Sports University in Manipur and the people of the region will be great beneficiaries.
v. The NE region could be the organic capital of the country, Modi said, adding that the Centre has decided to set up six new agriculture colleges in this area.

5. The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence announced

i. The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence was announced on 30 November 2014.

The awards were announced in the following category:

ü Business Leader of the Year – Dilip Shanghvi

ü Company of the Year – Tata Consultancy Services

ü Emerging Company of the Year – Adani Ports & SEZ

ü Global Indian of the Year – Satya Nadella

ü Startup of the Year – Zomato

ü Business Reformer of the Year – UK Sinha

ü Corporate Citizen of the Year – Tata Steel

ü Lifetime Achievement – Yusuf Hamied

ü Entrepreneur of the Year - Dhiraj Rajaram and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

About ET Awards: i. ET awards are the awards conferred by The Economic Times in the field of business, corporate and government policies, economies in India.

ii. It is an annual award. The award was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank. Since 2012, Standard Chartered Bank has been the presenting sponsor of The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence.

6. Egypt court declared Islamic State of Iraq and Syria a terrorist group

i. An Egyptian court on 30 November 2014 declared the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group as a terrorist organization and banned it in the country.
ii. The court in its ruling added that it considers all of the Islamic State's affiliates to be terrorist organizations as well.

iii. This jihadi group regularly attacks Egyptian security forces and has declared responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks.

7. Former Arunachal Pradesh CM Jarbom Gamlin passes away

i. Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin has died.

ii. He was 53. Gamlin was suffering from liver thrombosis. His family said he passed away last night at a hospital at Gurgaon in Haryana.

iii. His body will be flown to Aalo in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday. Gamlin is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

8. ICC names SAP as analytics and cloud partner for 2015 World Cup

i. The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced an innovative new partnership with SAP SE, a worldwide leader in enterprise application software services, as its exclusive Analytics and Cloud Partner for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

ii. In addition, SAP will provision cloud-based services to host the ICC’s historical ICC Cricket World Cup statistics database, incorporating match data for its flagship ODI event.

iii. Our partnership with the ICC will allow SAP to continuously develop technology that can be adapted for infinite use cases. In this instance, our technology provides the ICC the ability to engage fans with insightful and user-friendly solutions, bring them closer to the action on the field and keep them informed about their favourite matches.”

9. UAE captain Khurram Khan became the oldest player to score a century in ODI

i. United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Khurram Khan became the oldest player to score a century in the One-Day International (ODI). He scored the winning century against Afghanistan in Dubai on 30 November 2014.

ii. He achieved the feat at an age of 43 years and 162 days thus breaking the record held in the name of Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka. Jayasuriya scored 107 against India in 2009 when he was 39 years old.
iii. Khan smashed 17 fours to score unbeaten 132 run and he also put on a 160 run third wicket partnership with Mohammad Shadzad.

10. Mascot for the 2016 European football championship named Super Victor

i. The mascot for the 2016 European football championship has been named Super Victor.

ii. The announcement was made on 30 November 2014.The name for the cartoon character boy dressed as a footballer in blue and white with a red cape and number 16 jersey was preferred to Driblou and Goalix.

iii. The mascot made its first appearance on the pitch of Marseille`s new Velodrome stadium before kickoff of France`s 1-0 friendly victory over Sweden. In 1984, the mascot for the European Championships organised in France was Peno, and the 1998 World Cup mascot was called Footix.

iv. Euro 2016 will take place in France from 10 June 2016 to 10 July 2016.

11. Baichung Bhutia conferred with AFC 'Hall of Fame' Award

i. Former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia has been conferred with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Hall of Fame Award.

ii. He received the award in Manila, Philippines yesterday on the occasion of afc's 60th anniversary. FIFA President Sepp Blatter presented the award to Baichung, the only Indian in the AFC's Hall of Fame.
iii. All India Football Federation President Praful Patel and a host of dignitaries from all over the football world were present on the occasion.
iv. After receiving the award, Baichung said the award was not solely for him, but for football, for India and for all Indian footballers who have to struggle against all odds to prove themselves every single day.

12. Adelaide to host 1st India-Australia Test

i. The first cricket Test between India and Australia will be held here from December 9 after the four-match series’ schedule was revised on Monday in the wake of young player Phillip Hughes’ tragic death which left the home team distraught.

ii. “Revised Schedule: 1st Test (Dec 9-13), 2nd Test (Dec 17-21), 3rd Test (Dec 26-30) and 4th Test (Jan 6-10). Venues: 1st Test (Adelaide), 2nd Test (Brisbane), 3rd Test (Melbourne) and 4th Test (Sydney) #AUSvsIND,” the BCCI said on its official twitter handle.

iii. Hughes’ funeral would be held in Macksville on Wednesday.

Sunday, 30 November 2014

November 30 th current affairs

Daily GK update 30th November 2014

1. Institution to replace Planning Commission likely to be unveiled in Dec

i. Work has moved into top gear for finalising the name and structure of the new institution that will replace the 64-year-old Planning Commission and the same may be unveiled this December.
ii. “The Prime Minister has convened a meeting of the Chief Ministers on December 7 to seek their view points on the structure of the institution which would ultimately replace the Planning Commission,” an official source said.

iii. The Commission has received many suggestions regarding the name and role of the new body. Some of the suggested names are Sustainable Development Commission, National Development Agency, SocialEconomic Development Commission or Bharat Pragati Lakshya. Besides, there have been reports about the new body being named Niti Aayog or Policy Commission.

iv. The new institution, which is likely to be headed by the Prime Minister as was the case with the Planning Commission, may have four divisions — an Inter-State council, plan evaluation office, UIDAI and DBT. All the divisions would have experts from the Centre and State governments as also experts from the industry.

2. Modi slips to second spot in TIME's 'Person of the Year' poll

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slipped to the second place in the Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' poll with the Ferguson protesters surging ahead of him in a vote by the readers.

ii. As per latest reports, Modi is leading second with 9.8 per cent of the total votes polled so far while the Ferguson protesters are leading with 10.8 per cent of the votes. Joshua Wong, face of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, is placed third.
iii. Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai (5.3 per cent) and Russian President Vladimir Putin are placed fourth and fifth respectively.
iv. US President Barack Obama is placed at a distant 11th position with just 2.4 per cent of the total votes. The annual poll, which is currently underway, is scheduled to end on December 6 and the poll's winner will be announced on December 8.
v. However, it is the TIME's editors who will choose the Person of the Year, which is scheduled to be announced on December 10.

3. Theatre personality Veenapani Chawla passes away

i. Veenapani Chawla, acclaimed theatre personality and founder of the Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Arts and Research near Auroville, passed away on Sunday, following a sudden heart attack. She was 67.

ii. Her funeral is expected to be conducted on Monday at Karuvadikuppam in Puducherry.

iii. Winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puruskar for her contribution to Indian theatre as a director, Chawla was considered a pioneer of experimental theatre in India.

iv. She established Adishakti in 1981 and was also its Managing Trustee and Artistic Director. Having directed most of Adishakti’s performances and scripted half of them, her work has toured India and abroad.

4. Leviatha wons best film at IFF, Goa

i. Russian film “Leviathan” by Andrey Zvyagintsev won the best film award comprising Golden Peacock and Rs.40 lakh at the 45th International film Festival of India, which ended in Goa on Sunday.

ii. Mr. Alexey Serebryakov from the “Leviathan” also shared the best male actor award in the Cimena of the World competition.

5. Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla

i. Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla was published by Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books on 15 October 2014.

ii. The book contains Jawaharlal Nehru letters as Prime Minister of India to the heads of the country’s provincial governments which he kept a tradition till 1963.

6. Mumbai, Kolkata most vulnerable to loss of life, properties due to coastal flood: un

i. India's populous coastal cities Mumbai and Kolkata are most vulnerable to loss of life and properties due to coastal flooding in the second half of the century.

ii. Quoting a UN report, the government has said India is among the top 20 countries and regions most at risk based on analysis of climate risk and coping ability.

iii. The statement assumes significance at a time when representatives of governments are scheduled to meet in Lima from tomorrow for the Climate Change Conference to lay the foundation for an effective, new and universal climate change agreement in Paris in 2015.

iv. With climate change impacts worsening and affecting the poor and most vulnerable, governments urgently need to scale up adaptation to climate change, says the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

7. IOC to set up greenfield refinery on West coast

i. Country's biggest oil company Indian Oil Corporation is looking at setting up a greenfield refinery on the West coast as part of its expansion plans.
ii. Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Indian Oil Corporation Chairman B Ashok said, with the growth in the economy, there is a need for green field refinery by 2021-22.
iii. After setting up of Paradip Refinery in East coast, focus is now on setting up of a refinery in West coast region, for which suitable state and place is being looked into.

8. Dubai to invest $32-billion to build world’s largest airport

i. To further secure its position as the world’s aviation hub, Dubai Airports is building a whopping USD 32—billion greenfield airport at the upcoming Dubai World Central, 30 km off the present international airport which already is the second busiest in the world.

ii. The proposed new airport will become the world’s largest aviation facility on completion and will have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible with a length of 4.5 km each.

iii. On completion, the new airport will be the world’s largest airport, with each concourse the size of seven football fields and have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible,” Mr. Baumann said.

iv. The other features include 200 aircraft stands for wide bodied aircraft, four concourses connected via six airport trains to two terminals, which in turn will be linked to the city’s metro network.

Note: The Dubai International Airport is the world’s second busiest airport after the London Heathrow and is on course to become the global aviation hub, thanks to its geographical location and the availability of cheap fuel.

9. Gas price in India to dip to $5 in 3 years: Goldman Sachs

i. The new natural gas price of USD 5.61, which is already among the lowest in Asia Pacific, is likely to drop to around USD 5 per unit in three years due to the variables included in the formula, Goldman Sachs has said.

ii. “While the Indian government introduced a new gas price regime in October, we believe clear direction is needed on gas pricing for higher—cost projects, such as deepwater, to induce more E&P capex,” the global financial major said in a report.

iii. Stating that Indian prices for new projects are among the lowest in Asia Pacific, Goldman said China pays explorers USD 11.9 per mmBtu (million British Thermal Unit) rate for new projects while Indonesia and the Philippines price the fuel at USD 11 and USD 10.5 respectively.

iv. Gas from offshore fields in Myanmar, where Indian firms ONGC and GAIL have stake, are sold to China for USD 7.72.

v. Thailand prices gas from new projects at USD 8.2 per mmBtu.

vi. The only nations with lower rates are Vietnam (USD 5.2) and Malaysia (USD 5), it said.

10. Sindhu bags Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Title

i. PV Sindhu today bagged the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton title for the second consecutive time.

ii. In the final, second seed Sindhu defeated Korean Kim Hyo Min, 21-12, 21-17. This was Sindhu's first title this season.

iii. In the semi-finals yesterday, second seed Sindhu had defeated Busanan Ongbumrungpan of Thailand 21-14, 21-15.
iv. In the Men's Singles, HS Prannoy had lost the semi-final. He went down fighting against Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent, 16-21, 21-16, 12-21.

11. Israeli cricket umpire dies after being struck by ball

i. In Israel, Hillel Oscar, 55, an umpire and former captain of Israel's national cricket team died yesterday after being hit in the jaw by a ball in the southern port city of Ashdod, the country's cricket association said.
ii. His death comes just two days after Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died of a severe head injury after being hit by a bouncer in a New South Wales match in Sydney.
iii. Israeli police ruled out foul play in the incident that led to the death of the umpire. He was an international umpire.

12. Abhishek wins 76th Junior National & Youth TT boys’ singles title

i. Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, PSPB's Abhishek Yadav has won the boys' singles title in the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships.

ii. In the final of the event at Alappuzha, Kerala, today, he beat his team mate Sudhanshu Grover by Four games to One.
iii. In the youth girls singles, Manika Batra of the PSPB retained the crown. Manav Thakkar of the PSPB Academy emerged champion in the Junior Boys' section. Thus, it was a rare hat-trick of titles for the PSPB.

Saturday, 29 November 2014

Financial and bank abbrevations

Financial Abbreviations

The following list of financial abbreviations will include abbreviations for business, banks, finance, and some of the abbreviations from the stock market.

Financial Abbreviations

There are some abbreviations and acronyms that refer to financial matters in general. Others are used more by businesses and accountants. Following are lists of both of these.
First are general financial abbreviations and acronyms:

AIR - Assumed Interest Rate
APR - Annual Percentage Rate
ARM - Adjustable Rate Mortgage
CD - Certificate of Deposit
EFT - Electronic Funds Transfer
ETF - Exchange Traded Funds
FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FOREX - Foreign Exchange
FRB - Federal Reserve Board
GNP - Gross National Product
IRA - Individual Retirement Account
LOI - Letter Of Intent
MMKT - Money Market
NAV - Net Asset Value
NYSE - New York Stock Exchange
PSP - Profit Sharing Plan
REIT - Real Estate Investment Trust
SEC - Securities Exchange Commission
TSA - Tax-Sheltered Annuity
YTM - Yield To Maturity

Banking Acronyms and Financial Abbreviations

CAGR - Compound annual growth rate
CAPEX - Capital Expenditures
COB - Close of Business
EPS - Earnings per share
LLC - Limited Liability Company
MTD - Month-to-Date
NAV - Net Asset Value
NCND - Non-Circumvent and Non-Disclosure
NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement
P&L - Profit and Loss
P/E - Price-to-earnings ratio
QTD - Quarter-to-Date
ROA - Return on assets
ROCE - Return On Capital Employed
ROE - Return on Equity
ROI - Return on Investment
ROIC - Return on Invested Capital
RONA - Return on net assets
ROS - Return on Sales
SIV - Structured Investment Vehicle
TSR - Total Shareholder Return
WC - Working capital
YTD - Year-to-date

Lastly, here are some abbreviations for people whose jobs are in business and finance:

CAO - Chief Accounting Officer
CFA - Chartered Financial Analyst
CFM - Certified Financial Manager
CFO - Chief Financial Officer
CIA - Certified Internal Auditor
CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor
CMA - Certified Management Accountant
CMO - Chief Marketing Officer
COO - Chief Operating Officer
CPA - Certified Public Accountant
CPP - Certified Payroll Professional
CSO - Chief Security Officer
CTO - Chief Technology Officer

Stock Market Abbreviations

ADTV - Average Daily Trading Volume. It is the average of the amount of stock traded during a certain amount of time during a day.
AMEX - American Stock Exchange. It is the third largest in the United States. It has more than 700 companies in it and is headquartered in New York City.
CB - Current Bid. It is the amount of the bids at the current time.
CMP - Current Market Price. It is the price at which the stock is currently being traded. This figure is between the asking price of the stock and the bidding price.
DJIA - Dow Jones Industrial Average. The average is taken from 30 of the top traded securities. It was first calculated by the founder and editor of the Wall Street Journal Charles Dow.
IPO - Initial Public Offering. This occurs the first time a stock is offered to the public.
IRA - Individual Retirement Account. It provides tax breaks for people who are saving for retirement and invests in the stock market.
NASDAQ - National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation. Over 3,000 companies are traded on it and it is the second largest in the United States.
PFD - Preferred stock. This is stock which has a higher priority than common stock.
QTE - Quote. It refers to a stock’s last price it was traded for on its exchange.

Friday, 28 November 2014

Daily GK update 28th November 2014

1. RBI issues final norms for payment, small banks; Floor capital set at Rs 100 crore

i. The Reserve Bank of India has issued final norms for payment banks and small finance banks that would allow mobile firms and supermarket chains, among others, to enter the banking arena to cater to individuals and small businesses. The move aims at deepening financial inclusion and boost saving habits.

ii. The RBI aims to push financial inclusion by setting up these niche outfits — small finance banks that can have all-India operations and payments banks, which can accept more deposits.

iii. The guidelines open up an window of opportunity for entities which did not bag new bank licences in April.

iv. Shriram Capital, Janalakshmi Financial Services, Magma Fincorp and Muthoot Finance, among others, are expected to throw their hats into the ring to set up small banks.

v. The Department of Posts, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Tata Teleservices, Western Union and online digital payment players such as Paytm, Oxigen and MobiKwik have expressed interest in floating payment banks.

vi. Companies will have to apply by January 16, 2015, for licences in both categories, and the central bank said it would consider more applications at a later stage.

Note: The minimum paid-up equity capital for both small and payment banks has been pegged at Rs 100 crore.

Who are eligible?

i. Eligible promoters for a small bank include resident individuals/professionals with experience in banking and finance; and companies and societies.

ii. Existing non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), microfinance institutions and local area banks can also opt to convert into a small bank.

iii. The RBI said proposals from large public sector entities and industrial and business houses, including NBFCs promoted by them, will not be entertained to set up small banks.

iv. A promoter/promoter group can have a joint venture with an existing scheduled commercial bank to set up a payment bank, subject to the stake holding complying with the Banking Regulation Act.

Key activities
i. The small bank will primarily undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to un-served and under-served sections, including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

ii. Small banks will be required to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio of 15 per cent of the loans on a continuous basis.

iii. In the draft guidelines, the RBI had suggested that small banks would have a restricted area of operations (possibly contiguous districts in a homogenous States). However, in the final guidelines, these restrictions have been removed. The small bank will be required to extend 75 per cent of its credit to the priority sector

Payment Banks:

i. Payments banks can accept deposits — current and savings bank — from individuals, small businesses and other entities but cannot provide loans.. However, they cannot accept non-resident Indian deposits.

ii. The payment bank will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs1 lakh per individual customer.

iii. While the bank can issue ATM/debit cards, it cannot issue credit cards.

iv. It can contract outside liabilities (deposits) but not exceeding 33.33 times (against 20 times in the draft guidelines) its net worth.

2. Economic growth declines to 5.3% in July-Sept quarter

i. Country's economic growth has declined to 5.3 per cent during July to September, from the previous quarter's 5.7 per cent.

ii. According to an official release, the manufacturing sector, which accounts for about 15 per cent of India's gross domestic product rose by 0.1 per cent during the quarter from the previous period's 3.5 per cent. Agriculture sector growth declined to 3.2 percent against 3.8 percent.

3. India, Mozambique ink MoU for cooperation in oil, gas sector

i. India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Mozambique for cooperation in the field of oil and gas. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi.
ii. It seeks cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream oil and gas sector. Participation of Indian energy companies in the project will facilitate access to Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG for the growing Indian gas market.
iii. Mozambique has emerged as a significant hydrocarbon rich nation following offshore gas discoveries in two adjacent offshore blocks. The country is strategically located near India and is ideally suited for bringing natural gas at market determined price.

4. Anoop Mishra appointed as new Secretary General of Lok Sabha

i. Former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Anoop Mishra was on 26 November 2014 appointed as new Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. He was appointed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
ii. He will hold the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary with effect from 1 December 2014 up to 30 November 2016 or until further orders.

iii. As an accomplished civil servant of 1978 cadre, Mishra has held several important positions at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.
iv. He was the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh for a year with the overall responsibility of the state administration, superintendence of law and order and developmental and infrastructure schemes in Uttar Pradesh.

5. Historian Tapan Raychaudhuri died

i. Tapan Raychaudhuri, a distinguished historian of modern India’s economic and social history, died on 26 November 2014 at his home in Oxford, England. He was 88.
ii. Raychaudhuri died of a series of strokes. He was bedridden for a year before his death. He is survived by his wife Pratima Raychaudhuri and daughter Sukanya Wignaraja.

iii. He was an Indian historian specialising in British Indian history, Indian economic history and the History of Bengal

6. Namsai became the 18th district of Arunachal Pradesh

i. Namsai on 25 November 2014 officially became the 18th district of Arunachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Nabam Tuki made the declaration.

ii. The Chief Minister exhorted the officials to prepare a master plan for the new district and the state government would extend all possible help.

iii. The State Legislative Assembly passed the District re-organisation Bill on 20 March 2013 for creation of Namsai district and notification was issued on 15 July 2013. The formal announcement was made during the 68th Independence Day celebration on 15th August 2014.

7. EU parliament votes to break up Google

i. European Union lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a motion on Thursday urging anti-trust regulators to break up Google, the latest setback for the world's most popular internet search engine.

ii. Google has been in the EU's regulatory sights since 2010, and is also grappling with privacy issues, requests to scrub search results to comply with a court ruling, copyright concerns and tax controversies.

iii. The non-binding resolution in the European Parliament is the strongest public signal yet of Europe's concern with the growing power of US tech giants. It was passed with 384 votes for and 174 against.

iv. Google declined to comment. European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said she will review the case and talk to complainants before deciding on the next step.

v. Her predecessor rejected three attempts by the company to settle complaints that it unfairly demoted rival services and stave off a possible fine of up to $5 billion.

vi. The resolution did not mention Google or any specific search engine, though Google is by far the dominant provider of such services in Europe with an estimated 90 per cent market share.

vii. The lawmakers called on the Commission to consider proposals to unbundle search engines from other commercial services.

8. Book titled Your Dreams Are Mine Now: She Showed him What Love was released

i. The book titled Your Dreams Are Mine Now: She Showed him What Love was authored by Ravinder Singh was released on 20 November 2014.
ii. The novel Your Dreams are Mine Now is a powerful and poignant love story that explores the romantic relationship between Rupali and Arun. They are complete opposites and have nothing in common when it comes to their interests and priorities in life.

iii. Rupali is a small town girl and an idealist, whereas Arun is a Delhi guy with keen interest in youth politics. A major scandal on the college campus brings them together and somewhere along the line they fall in love with each other. But their fight against evil comes at a heavy price which becomes the ultimate test of their lives.

9. Book titled Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 released

i. The book titled Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 authored by Sandeep Unnithan was released on 23 November 2014.
ii. Sandeep Unnithan in his book puts together a blow-by-blow account of the 26 November 2011 terrorist attack in Mumbai and how the siege of Mumbai was thwarted by India's security forces.
iii. The 26/11 attack is widely regarded as the world's first hybrid terrorist attack. The attackers achieved through this long-drawn siege what Al Qaeda did through the high-visibility mass-casualty attack on the World Trade Centre of USA on 11 September 2001.

10. Crime novelist PD James died at the age of 94

i. Crime novelist Phyllis Dorothy James on 27 November 2014 died at the age of 94 in Oxford, UK.

ii. She was best known for her series of detective novels starring the policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.

iii. Her novels include The Children of Men, The Murder Room and Pride, and Prejudice spin-off Death Comes to Pemberley.