current affairs december 2014

Govt appoints Shailesh Nayak as ad hoc Chairman of ISRO[31/12/2014]

The government has appointed Shailesh Nayak, secretary in the ministry of earth sciences, as the ad-hoc chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Four State owned banks get new head[31/12/2014]

The Ministry of Finance appointed new head of four state owned bank - R Koteeswaran MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank, P. Srinivas MD and CEO of United Bank of India, Animesh Chauhan MD and CEO of Oriental Bank of Commerce, and Kishore Sansi MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank.

The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) bill [31/12/2014]

The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) bill passed by Parliament in August this year has received President's assent, official sources said. The new law facilitates the setting up of a commission for appointment of judges, replacing the 20-year-old collegium system, which has been under severe criticism. The bill, 124th amendment to the Constitution, grants Constitutional status to the NJAC and its composition which will be headed by the Chief Justice of India. Besides the CJI, the judiciary would be represented by two senior judges of the Supreme Court. Two eminent personalities and the Law Minister will be the other members of the body.

Raghubar Das sworn in as Jharkhands first non tribal CM[28/12/2014]

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raghubar Das became the first non-tribal to take oath on 28th December 2014 as the chief minister of Jharkhand.

Ganguly and Kiran Bedi new Clean India ambassadors[27/12/2014]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi nominated former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi and stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma as brand ambassadors for the “Clean India” campaign.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malviya chosen for Bharat Ratna award[24/12/2014]

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and educationist Madan Mohan Malviya were chosen for the country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna. "The President has been pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya (posthumously) and to Atal Bihari Vajpayee," a press communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Japan parliament reelects Shinzo Abe as prime minister [24/12/2014]

Japan’s parliament re-elected Shinzo Abe to serve another term as Prime Minister after his party won a snap election earlier this month. Mr. Abe won 328 votes out of the 470 cast by lawmakers in a special session of the lower house. Since the ruling Liberal Democrats hold only two lower house seats, two other lawmakers also cast votes for Mr. Abe.

S Bhattacharya appointed as CMD of Coal India Ltd[24/12/2014]

Senior IAS officer S Bhattacharya has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Ltd(CIL). The coal major was without a full time chief for the past six months.

New Heads for Central Reserve Police Force and RAW[21/12/2014]

Shri Prakash Mishra, presently working as Special Secretary (IS), Ministry of Home Affairs, is appointed as Director General, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) with effect from the date of his joining of the post.

Shri Rajinder Khanna, is appointed as Secretary, Research & Analysis Wing, for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge.

India launches largest rocket and unmanned capsule[18/12/2014]

The 630-tonne Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (MK III) blasted off from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The new rocket will be able to carry heavier satellites into space. India has successfully launched lighter satellites in recent years, but has faced problems sending up heavier payloads. The new rocket is capable of carrying communication satellites weighing 4,000 kg, reports say, meaning India will not have to rely on foreign launchers to do so. The rocket's main cargo was an Indian-made capsule capable of carrying two to three astronauts into space.

Miss World 2014[18/12/2014]

Rolene Strauss representing SOUTH AFRICA has been crowned as the 64th Miss World in 2014.

Ghanta Chakrapani is first TSPSC Chairman[18/12/2014]

Academician, journalist and political commentator Ghanta Chakrapani has been appointed as the first Chairman of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC).

Pratibha Ray gets Kalinga Ratna award[17/12/2014]

Eminent litterateur and Jnanpeeth award winner Pratibha Ray received the prestigious Kalinga Ratna award given by Sarala Sahitya Sansad.

Jairam Ramesh appointed as a member of UNEPs International Advisory Board[14/12/2014]

Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh has been appointed as a member of a board which provides strategic policy advice to a key UN agency on environmentally-sound technologies for developing nations. The International Advisory Board (IAB) which gives strategic policy advice to the Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the programmatic direction of International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC). The IETC, based in Osaka, Japan, was established with the mandate of providing support to developing countries in transition with environmentally-sound technologies.

Dineshwar Sharma appointed new Intelligence Bureau chief[13/12/2014]

Dineshwar Sharma, Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, was appointed as the agency's new chief and will take charge on 1st January succeeding Syed Asif Ibrahim. A 1979 batch IPS officer from Kerala cadre, Sharma, who has been working with the agency for the past 23 years, will have a two-year tenure.

DRDO Wins Innovation Excellence Award [13/12/2014]

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), has been once again awarded the prestigious Thomson Reuters India Innovation Award- 2014 in category of “Research Institutions”. Shri Avinash Kumar, Additional Director (IPR), DRDO HQ received the award on behalf of DRDO at a function held in Mumbai. The award was adjudged on the basis of patents filed, efficiency and effectiveness of research, the impact of innovations as measured by patent citations and international competitiveness. DRDO had also won the Thomson Reuters India Innovation Award- 2011 in the category of "Hi-Tech Academic & Government".

Pragati Scholarship for Girls [13/12/2014]

To provide encouragement and support to Girl Child to pursue technical education "Pragati Scholarship" has been launched by the Government from the year 2014-15.

Richard Rahul Verma is appointed as US ambassador to India[10/12/2014]

The United States senate confirmed by a voice vote the nomination of Richard Rahul Verma as the next US ambassador to India. Mr. Verma (46) is the first Indian-American to be the U.S. ambassador to India.

Current account deficit widens to $10.1 billion in second quarter[09/12/2014]

India’s current account deficit (CAD) increased to $10.1 billion (2.1 per cent of GDP) in the second quarter of this fiscal from $7.8 billion (1.7 per cent of GDP) in the preceding quarter and $5.2 billion (1.2 per cent of GDP) in the same quarter of 2013-14. "The increase in CAD was primarily on account of higher trade deficit, contributed by a deceleration in export growth and increase in imports," a press release by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8th December.

Indian Communication Satellite GSAT-16 Launched Successfully [07/12/2014]

India's communication satellite, GSAT-16, was successfully launched on December 7, 2014 by the Ariane-5 launch vehicle VA221 of Arianespace from Kourou, French Guiana. Ariane-5 precisely placed GSAT-16 into the intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), after a flight of 32 minutes and 20.4 Seconds duration. GSAT-16 is an advanced communication satellite weighing 3181.6 kg at lift-off and is being inducted into the INSAT/GSAT system. It is configured to carry a total of 48 communication transponders, the largest number of transponders carried by a communication satellite developed by Isro so far, in normal C band, upper extended C band, and Ku band.

Meghalaya get railway after 60 years of Independence[05/12/2014]

Meghalaya was recently added to the country's railway map with Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging off a first passenger to the northeastern state. With the commissioning of this line, Meghalaya, which was the only state among the seven sisters of the Northeast not having any railway line, has been brought into the Railway Map of India. The Dudhnoi - Mendipathar railway line passes through Goalpara district of Assam. Out of the total length of 19.75 km of the line, 10.26 km falls in Assam and 9.49 km in Meghalaya.

PM Narendra Modi named Asian of the Year by Singapore daily[05/12/2014]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was named "Asian of the Year" for being development-focused leader of India by editors of Singapore's leading daily, The Straits Times.

Shri Anil Kumar Sinha, New CBI Director[02/12/2014]

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Anil Kumar Sinha, IPS as Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge of the post vice Shri Ranjit Sinha, IPS consequent on completion of his tenure on 02.12.2014.

Baichung Bhutia conferred AFC Hall of Fame Award[01/12/2014]

Former Indian national football team captain Baichung Bhutia was honoured with the AFC Hall of Fame Award on occasion of the Asian Football Confederation's 60th anniversary on 30th November at Manila. FIFA president Sepp Blatter presented the award to Baichung.

PM announces Rs 28,000 crore for new rail projects in northeast[01/12/2014]

Focusing on improving connectivity to the northeast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces Rs 28,000 crore for laying new railway lines in the region and develop the "untapped" tourism potential of the area.