13 DECEMBER CURRENT AFFAIRS

1.What is the name of the Islamist leader and convicted war criminal who was executed by Bangladesh government on the night of 12 December 2013? – Abdul Quader Mollah

2. Who took over as the new Chief Justice of Pakistan on 12 December 2013 replacing the very famous Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry? – Tassaduq Hussain Jillani

3.Who was appointed as the new Managing Director and CEO of state-owned IFCI on 12 December 2013? – Malay Mukherjee

4.Which public sector bank is the only Indian bank to have a branch in Bangkok (Thailand) and it recently received the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval for opening a second branch here? – Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) 

5.Which Qatar-based private commercial bank has recently been granted licence to commence banking operations in India and has been permitted to open a branch in Mumbai to provide full-scale banking services? – Doha Bank

6.During December 2013 India’s first heritage transport museum was opened at – Taoru, Gurgaon (Haryana)

12 DECEMBER CURRENT AFFAIR

12 DECEMBER CURRENT AFFAIRS
1). In a major setback to gay activists, the Supreme Court
on 11 December, 2013 held that homosexuality or
unnatural sex between two consenting adults would be an
offence and this provision did not suffer from any
constitutional infirmity. Which section of Indian Penal
Code (IPC) was held constitutional by the Supreme Court
in this ruling? – Section 377
2).Who took over as the new Lokayukta of Gujarat on 11
December, 2013? – Justice (Retired) DP Buch
3).Who was appointed as the new Finance Secretary of
India on 10 December, 2013? – Sumit Bose
4).Which country is on its way to become first country in
the world to have a national market for legal marijuana? –
Uruguay
5). Who was selected as Person of the Year 2013 by Time
magazine? – Pope Francis
6) A remote region in East Antarctica has set a new record
for the coldest place on Earth, with temperatures dipping
to a bone-chilling minus 93.2 degrees Celsius. This
announcement was made by NASA scientists on 10
December 2013. This record lowest temperature of minus
136 Fahrenheit (minus 93.2 C) was recorded in several
hollows of a high ridge in Antarctica on the East Antarctic
Plateau. That is several degrees colder than the previous
low of minus 128.6 F (minus 89.2 C), set in 1983 at the
Russian Vostok Research Station in East Antarctica. When
was this lowest temperature recorded? – On 10 August,
2010
7). Who was appointed as the new CEO of General Motors
(GM) to become the first woman to head any major car
company? – Mary Barra

11 DECEMBER UPDATES

11 DECEMBER UPDATES

1)    A memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela was held on 10 December, 2013 in which heads of state from over 100 countries including Indian President Pranab Mukherjee took part. This service was held in which township of Johannesburg, which was a stronghold of support for the anti-apartheid struggle that Mandela embodied? – Soweto (This service was held at Soweto’s open-air football stadium – FNB Stadium 

2)  The draft regulations on power tariff issued by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) recently are likely to reduce electricity rates for consumers but the power producers would have to increase efficiency to recover better revenues. These tariff rules would be mandatory for all power plants selling electricity under norms set by CERC cost-plus mechanism. The draft regulations of CERC are to come into effect from – 1 April, 2014 

3)  State-run Indian Oil Corp has emerged as the country’s biggest company in terms of annual revenue, followed by Mukesh Ambani-led private sector giant Reliance Industries at the second place, as per an annual list of Fortune 500 companies in India in Fortune magazine’s Indian edition. Among the top ten companies in this list, the highest number of companies is from which sector? – Energy Sector

4)  Top 30 loan defaulters of public sector banks (PSBs) account for more than one-third of total gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of state-run lenders. This information was given in the Parliament on 10 December, 2013. According to this information what is the ratio of top 30 NPAs as a percentage of gross NPAs, in respect of public sector banks, as on September 2013? – 35.5% 

5)  The price of the LPG cylinder was hiked by Rs 3.46 per cylinder on 10 December, 2013. What was the reason for this increase? – Due to the increase in the commission of the LPG dealers

6)  Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, who passed away on 10 December 2013, was the last scion of which royal family of Karnataka? – The Mysore Royal Family

10 DECEMBER UPDATES

10 DECEMBER UPDATES
1) Which version of the legendary Mig-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force, which was also the first supersonic aircraft of the IAF, is being de-commissioned from service during December, 2013? – Mig-21 FL

2) Which entity would replace Sahara as the title sponsor of the Indian cricket team with effect from 1 January, 2014? – Star India

3) The Standing Committee on Finance headed by Yashwant Sinha has recently given what suggestion to the Union Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the issue of new bank licenses? – It has suggested to desist from giving new bank licences to industrial houses

4) The Congress powered to a two thirds majority in the Mizoram Assembly elections snapping up 33 of the 40 seats, while the opposition MNF secured four. The results for Assembly elections of state were announced on 9 December, 2013. With this win Congress leader and Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla is all set for his ………….term as Chief Minister – 5th

5) Which private sector bank recently joined hands with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCIL) to introduce eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) norms in its branches? – HDFC Bank

6) Which two former cricketers will be inducted into the ICC’s Hall of Fame as announced by the ICC on 9 December, 2013? – Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis and ex-Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist

7) Who was appointed as the Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo India by the company on 9 December, 2013? – D. Shivakumar