genesis-january 2014 issue ii

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www.endeavorcareers.com January 2014-Issue-II THE GENESIS

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The Genesis January 2014-Issue-II

Big Stories

Ten years of Manmohan Singh’s rule: A mixed legacy 3

Current Affairs

India 6

World 17

Sports 19

Business & Economy 21

Data Mine: India: Major events of 2013 15

Cyber buzz 25

Science & Technology 26

People

Faces: Chetan Bhagat 16

Business Biography: Marissa Mayer 24

Knowledge Corners

Book Review: ‘Reimagining India’ by McKinsey 27

GD: Ganguly’s resignation is appropriate 28

Crossword 29

Sudoku 29

Do you remember? 30

Corporate Knowledge Quiz 35

Point‐Counterpoint 48

10 years of Singh: 3

Manmohan Singh’s press conference, his only his third in his close to decade-long tenure as Prime Minister, came when the ruling UPA coalition is at its lowest point, battered by a slowing economy, beset by scams and scandals, and coming …

GSLV-Soaring success 26

The GSLV-D5, powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine, effortlessly put the 1,982-kg GSAT-14 communication satellite into a perfect orbit after 17 minutes of flight following its launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in …

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– Samuel Johnson



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Ten years of Manmohan Singh’s rule: A mixed legacy Manmohan Singh’s press conference, his only his third in his close to decade-long tenure as Prime Minister, came when the ruling UPA coalition is at its lowest point, battered by a slowing economy, beset by scams and scandals, and coming off humiliating defeats in Assembly elections in four states

A report card titled ‘10 Years of Progress and Growth’ that highlights achievements of the UPA government was released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a press conference in New Delhi on January 3, 2014. Here is a look at the issues raised by Singh in his interaction with the media and a report card of his ten years as Prime Minister: The highs and lows of PM Manmohan Singh’s political career: Highs Manmohan Singh steered the Indo-US civil nuclear

energy deal amidst stiff opposition from the Left parties even risking the UPA-I government.

Rights based laws enacted - Right to Information, Right to Education, MNREGA Employment Guarantee scheme.

Economic boom: India recorded over 9% GDP growth in first four years of UPA.

UPA-II came to power with Manmohan Singh as Congress PM.

Food bill and Lok Pal acts passed. FDI in multi-brand retail despite Trinamool Congress

walking out of coalition in 2012.

Lows Manmohan Singh’s image declines as UPA-II

embroiled in scam after scam - PM lambasted as ‘silent’ PM.

Coal scam, 2G telecom scam, taking alongwith it several Union ministers.

Rail minister Pawan Bansal and Law minister Ashwani Kumar, both considered close to Manmohan Singh, forced to resign undermining PM’s clout in the Cabinet.

Declining value of the rupee instills fear of economic collapse.

Galloping food inflation and price rise and failure of the government to arrest it.

Rahul Gandhi as Congress Vice President trashes Cabinet’s ordinance on tainted netas as “nonsense”, undermining PM’s authority. Government retracts ordinance.

Congress politically decimated in last four assembly polls largely attributed to UPA’s poor performance.

Economy

The Prime Minister drew satisfaction from the point that India’s economy grew faster on average during his time in office than ever before in recorded history.

As finance minister 22 years ago, Singh deftly ushered in reforms of a state-shackled economy that helped launch years of rapid growth. The past decade has seen a decisive change in the economic landscape of the country. Six years of high growth, which helped fuel a record spending spree on social sector schemes, have seen a dramatic and real reduction in poverty.

India’s average economic growth rose to 7.7 per cent in the 10-year (2004-05 to 2013-14) regime of the UPA government despite two global slowdowns in this period. Growth recorded in the previous decade was 6.2 per cent.

Agriculture growth rate has been rising consistently and the sector expanded by 2.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent during the 10th and 11th Five Year Plans, respectively. Rural wages have tripled in the last year and thus improving the purchasing power of majority of people in villages.

The country’s GDP at the current price has increased almost three times to Rs 100.28 lakh crore during the last nine years from Rs 32.42 lakh crore in 2004-05.

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Rahul as Prime Ministerial candidate

The highlight of his press conference was the declaration that will open the way for the Congress to name party vice-president Rahul Gandhi its prime ministerial candidate who he said, had “outstanding credentials” for the job, adding that he had earlier requested him to join the government. Top Congress leaders have gone on record in recent days asserting that Rahul’s nomination will make of mar Congress’s prospects in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. The Prime Minister has clearly concurred. Earlier, some within the Congress had argued that it would be inappropriate to name Rahul as the party’s candidate when Singh was at the helm; the Prime Minister has now cleared the decks. Brickbats for Modi

The generally soft-spoken Prime Minister also had unusually strong words of criticism for the man Rahul will be taking on — Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi. Pointing to Modi’s stewardship of Gujarat during the 2002 communal pogrom, the PM said it would be “disastrous” for India to have him as Prime Minister — a frontal attack of the kind many within the Congress had long waited for him to mount.

Singh claimed that UPA’s re-election for the second term showed that the voters absolved his government of corruption allegations in the first term. According to an editorial in the Business Standard he failed to apply the same logic to BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. In asserting that someone who had presided over the incidents of 2002 could not or should not be prime minister, he seemed to forget that Modi had thrice won the mandate of the people of Gujarat after that pogrom. Indeed, Modi did better than the Congress by winning thumping majorities.

If sins of commission and omission were washed away by such electoral mandates, then surely the washing had been done by Gujarat’s voters far more than the national electorate had done for the UPA. In Sonia’s shadow

Singh’s two terms as prime minister will never be free from the shadow of the Congress President. The impression endures that she was always looking over his shoulder. Through this unnatural division of power and responsibility, the credibility of the UPA fell as if into a bottomless pit. Singh watched as a man more sinned against than sinning. The context could become an alibi for his miserable showing as a prime minister in his second term. But it will never provide a full answer as to why Singh as Prime Minister Singh did not assert himself more, and why, in his second term, he allowed his loyalty to an individual to override his responsibility to the job he held. The ascent & the descent

The prime minister believes that history will judge him better than the way contemporaries have done. Singh came to the top job ten years ago with a tremendous amount of goodwill behind him because of his integrity and because of his achievements as a finance minister under P.V. Narasimha Rao. That first term was an important one, marked as it was by the Indo-US nuclear deal. It was the momentum of the first term that brought the United Progressive Alliance to power for a second term. And since then it was downhill all the way. The prime minister lost his decision-making capacity; his government became embroiled in sordid corruption cases. His goodwill plummeted and he gave the impression that he was a prisoner of circumstances. The growing impression was that he had given up on running the country.



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Current Affairs: India NSSO survey on amenities

The NSSO released the key indicators of drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition in India on December 24, generated from the data collected in its 69th round survey during July 2012 to December 2012. Housing is a basic necessity of human well-being. Along with the need for a shelter, other facilities in the micro-environment of housing, e.g. type of dwelling unit, drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, etc., constitute vital components of overall quality of life of the population. The objective of the survey on ‘Drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition’ was to collect information on the different aspects of living conditions of Indian population necessary for decent and healthy living, and also to develop suitable indicators to assess the situation. Some salient findings of the survey are as follows:

Among rural households, 85.8 percent had sufficient drinking water and for urban India the corresponding figure was 89.6 percent.

Percentage of households who got drinking water facilities within premises was 46.1 percent in rural India and 76.8 percent in urban India.

About 62.3 percent of rural households and 16.7 percent of urban households did not have any bathroom facility.

59.4 percent and 8.8 percent households in rural India and urban India respectively had no latrine facilities.

Among the households having latrine facilities, 31.9 percent and 63.9 percent households in rural India and urban India respectively had access to its exclusive use.

80.0 percent of rural households and 97.9 percent of urban households had electricity for domestic use.

65.8 percent of rural households and 93.6 percent of urban households lived in a house with pucca structure whereas 24.6 percent of rural households and 5.0 percent of urban households lived in a house with semi-pucca structure during 2012.

26.3 percent and 47.1 percent households in rural India and urban India respectively had dwelling units with ‘good ventilation’.

31.7 percent of rural households and 82.5 percent of urban households had ‘improved drainage’ facility in the environment of their dwelling units.

In rural India 32.0 percent households had some garbage disposal arrangement, whereas in urban areas the corresponding figure was 75.8 percent.

Only 10.8 percent of urban dwelling units were situated in slum.

While the survey reveals improvements in availability of basic facilities such as sanitation and drinking water in urban India, rural India is still a disaster. Almost 60 per cent of rural households had no access to a latrine at all. This is a reminder of the sustained failure of the Indian state to make rural sanitation a priority. The health outcomes of this alone are disastrous. Open defecation in an area contaminates the water supply and causes diseases. This can lead to the symptoms of malnutrition, including stunting, as well as loss of work and the corresponding fall into destitution. Much has been achieved, but more remains to be done.

NSSO survey on urban slums

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and

Programme Implementation on December 24, 2013 released the key indicators of urban slums in India, generated from the data collected in its 69th round survey during July 2012 to December 2012. The last survey on

slums was conducted as part of the 65th round of NSS (July 2008- June 2009). Slums are part of urban environment and they are identified by the presence of features of living conditions



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that are undesirable viz. overcrowding, lack of hygiene and sanitation, inadequacy of drinking water, and poor construction, etc. Any compact settlement with a collection of poorly built tenements, mostly of temporary nature, crowded together, usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities in unhygienic conditions, provided at least 20 households lived there, was considered a slum for the survey. Some of the salient findings of the survey are as follows: Maharashtra, with an estimated 7723 slums, accounted

for about 23% of all slums in urban India, followed by Andhra Pradesh, accounting for 13.5%, and West Bengal, which had a share of about 12%.

An estimated 8.8 million households lived in urban slums

38% of slum households of urban India were estimated to be living in Maharashtra, and 18% in Andhra Pradesh

The average slum size was estimated at 263 households.

44% of slums were located on private land. In 60% of all slums, the majority of houses had pucca

structures. 71% of all slums had tap as major source of drinking

water Only 6.5% of all slums had no electricity In about 66% of all slums, the road within the slum

used by the dwellers as main thoroughfare was a pucca road.

About 31% of all slums had no drainage facility 27% of all slums had no garbage disposal arrangement In an estimated 32% of all slums, the approach road to

the slum usually remained waterlogged due to rainfall The survey reveals improvements in availability of basic facilities such as sanitation and drinking water in slums. The implications of this fact are considerable. It indicates that governments - at central, state and even local levels - are beginning to see the importance of those who live in slum areas as more than just areas for electioneering. Clearly, they are important voters now - indeed, the Aam Aadmi Party’s strong showing in Delhi elections recently was partly due to its success in reaching out to aspirational residents of slums, according to several observers. The government must build on this success and take it further - see slums, or former slums, as areas of aspiration, entrepreneurship and innovation that must be

given facilities and support structures, rather than as eyesores to be removed.

Judicial Appointments Bill

The government on December 27 decided to grant constitutional status to a proposed commission for appointment and transfer of judges to the higher

judiciary, to ensure that its composition cannot be altered through ordinary legislation. The

Judicial Appointments Commission Bill defines the establishment of the proposed body to recommend appointment and transfer of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts. Law Minister Kapil Sibal said that the bill with official amendments will be tabled in the Lok Sabha now. While a constitutional amendment bill requires two-third majority for passage in a House, a normal legislation just needs a simple majority. The chief justice of India (CJI) will be the head of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). The JAC will consist of the law minister, two of the senior most judges of the Supreme Court, the law secretary and two persons of eminence to be selected by the Prime Minister, the CJI and leaders of the Opposition in both Houses of Parliament. This structure of membership guarantees that the JAC would have within it enough checks and balances.

The appointment of judges of the Supreme Court should not, in an ideal world, be subject to any kind of controversy. But in India, where things are far removed from the ideal, there is controversy about the issue. Article 124 of the Constitution states that “every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts as the President may deem necessary.” The judiciary took this to mean that judges would appoint judges without any interference from either the executive or the legislature. This situation was questioned in 1998 by the then president of India, K.R. Narayanan. There has thus been an ongoing attempt to find a different method of appointing judges. The outcome is the JAC which the cabinet instituted and has now decided to make into a constitutional body. Once this happens, there will be greater openness in the way judges are appointed and much less criticism of the judiciary being a self-appointing body.

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Telangana, comprising 10 districts including Hyderabad, will be the 29th state in India. The governor, who will be assisted by two advisors to be appointed by the central government, will have the

responsibility with regard to matters such as law and order, internal security and security of vital installations, and management and allocation of government buildings in the common capital area. By mooting the ideas of common capital and powers to the governor with regard to law and order in Hyderabad, the central government has tried to allay the apprehensions of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra) people living in Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh will have a new capital after 10 years. An expert committee will be constituted within 45 days from the enactment of the bill, to study various alternatives and make recommendations regarding the new capital. The bill proposes that central government will assist the successor states to raise additional police forces. The training centre of Greyhounds, the elite anti-Maoist police force, in Hyderabad will serve as a common centre for both the state for 10 years. After the expiry of this period, it will become the training centre for Telangana. The central government will assist Andhra Pradesh to set up a similar state-of the-art training centre. The central government will also provide financial assistance to the successor states in setting up new

operational hubs for Greyhounds “at such locations as the successor States may by order notify”. The Greyhound and OCTOPUS (anti-terror wing of the police) forces of the existing state shall be distributed between the successor states after seeking options from the personnel. The existing high court located in Hyderabad will be the common high court for both the states till a separate high court is constituted for Andhra Pradesh. In an attempt to allay the apprehension of students from Seemandhra who come to Hyderabad for higher education, the bill proposes that the existing admission quotas in all government or private, aided or unaided, institutions of higher, technical and medical education should continue along with the existing common admission process for 10 years. Sexual harassment act in effect

The law to check sexual harassment at work place which prescribes strict punishment, including termination of

service, for the guilty and similar penalties in case of a frivolous complaint has come into effect from December 2013, said Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath in the Lok Sabha. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,

Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 makes it mandatory for all offices with 10 or more employees to have an internal complaints committee to address grievances in a stipulated time or face penalty.

Sexual harassment cases at workplace, including against domestic help, will have to be disposed of by in-house complaint committees within 90 days failing which a penalty will be imposed and repeated non-compliance of the provisions of the law can even lead to cancellation of licence or registration of the organisation.

Sexual harassment at work place may lead to termination of service of the accused, withholding of promotions and increments, and payment of reasonable compensation to the complainant. According to the rules, if allegations against the accused turn out to be false and after inquiry, are found to be made with a malicious intent, the complainant may face similar penal provisions as listed for the accused.



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Current Affairs: India Briefs

Bureaucrats set to face trial in Adarsh scam: Making a major U-turn, the Maharashtra Cabinet has decided to accept the recommendations of a judicial commission’s report on the Adarsh Housing Society scam, albeit partially, two weeks after rejecting it. However, the Cabinet gave clean chits to the politicians indicted in the report. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on January 2 said, though the report had charged four former chief ministers of the state — Ashok Chavan, Late Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Shivajirao Nilangekar Patil — of giving political patronage to the project, no criminality could be established, so no action was required, against them. The State Cabinet had on December 20 rejected the 670-page report given by a two-member judicial

commission headed by retired Justice J. A. Patil. The Cabinet also decided to initiate cancellation of flat allocation done in 22 benami transactions. Bharat Rang Mahotsav organised: The Bharat Rang Mahotsav, the annual theatre festival organised by the National School of Drama (NSD), is back with its 16th edition and will showcase 71 plays from 17 Indian states and 6 countries. The festival was organised in New Delhi from January 4 to 19, 2014. “This year we are aiming at reviving the identity of Indian theatre. We want quality over big names,” said Ratan Thiyam, Chairperson, NSD. As a parallel festival, Bharat Rang Mahotsav, for the first time travelled to North East with six plays. Three international plays from Israel, Japan and Sri Lanka and three Indian plays were performed in Imphal and Guwahati from January 9-16.

Justice Ganguly resigns as West Bengal Rights Panel Chief: Bowing to growing pressure following allegations of sexual assault levelled against him by a law intern, Justice (retd) A K Ganguly on January 6, 2014 stepped down from the post of chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. The intern has alleged that Ganguly sexually harassed her at a five star hotel in Delhi in December 2012. A three-member panel of apex court judges probing the allegations had earlier indicted Ganguly of “unwelcome behaviour”. Known as an upright judge during his 18-year tenure with various high courts and then the Supreme Court, Ganguly had given a number of landmark verdicts including the cancellation of 122 2G licences granted by then telecom minister A.

Raja in 2008 due to financial irregularities. CCTVs, GPS in public transport for women’s safety: Stepping up measures for women’s safety across the nation, the government on January 2 approved a Rs 1,405-crore project to track and monitor public transport and provide alarm buttons for alerting authorities in 53 cities with more than a million in population. The project involves setting up of closed circuit television (CCTVs) and using global positioning system (GPS) to ensure safety and security of women and girls in distress. This is the first project to be approved since setting up of the Nirbhaya Fund for women safety.

Government approves 58 new medical colleges: The government on January 2 cleared a proposal to set up 58 new medical colleges in states with central assistance as well as upgradation of district hospitals. This will lead to the creation of 5,800 more MBBS seats. At present, there are a total of 381 medical colleges in the country with 49,918 MBBS seats registered with the Medical Council of India, the apex medical regulator. The step is aimed at providing more doctors and increasing the doctor-patient ratio which is currently low.

Shah Commission indicts Odisha for illegal mining: There was large scale illegal mining in Odisha from 2008-11, during which the government machinery “collapsed and looked ineffective and helpless”, the Justice M B Shah Commission said on January 3. Expressing lack of confidence in state police for carrying out a fair investigation, the Commission has recommended that all cases pertaining to such mining be handed over to the CBI. In its 5-volume report, the Commission has asked the state government to recover over Rs 59,203 crore from miners for “unlawful extraction of iron and manganese ores” as early as possible.

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12

EAG states have shown improvements on MMR: The eight Empowered Action Group (EAG) States, which traditionally had very bad health indicators, have shown remarkable achievements on maternal mortality ratio (MMR). Among these, Rajasthan has shown an annual decline of 16 per cent, with its figures falling from 318 to 255. Bihar/Jharkhand stands at 219 from 261, while 292 women still die in Uttar Pradesh from pregnancy-related deaths for every 1,00,000 live births. This figure is 230 in Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh as against 269 in the 2007-09 survey. The Centre has launched several schemes under the NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) for improving reproductive and child health, including Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, free transportation and focusing on adolescent health.

Exams for state civil services officers for promotion to IAS: State civil services officers will now have to face a Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) written test and interview for their promotion to the three All India Services. Till now, the selection of state services officers into the three All India Services (IAS, IPS and IFoS) was being done on the basis of review of their seniority and Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs). “A final merit list shall be prepared taking into account all the marks obtained in four components – ‘written examination’, ‘length of service’, ‘assessment of ACR’ and ‘interview’ by all the candidates in the zone of consideration,” said the new rules released on December 24, 2013.

Congress ruled states to enact new Lokayukta legislation: Congress-ruled states will enact Lokayukta legislations on the lines of the Centre’s Lokpal by February-end, a resolve aimed at positioning the party strongly in the fight against corruption ahead of elections. It marks a significant step in erecting anti-graft framework in states where, unlike the Centre, there has been no pressure like the Anna Hazare agitation to force the hand of local governments. At a meeting with chief ministers called by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi to discuss the issue of corruption on December 27, all state heads agreed to bring the Lokayukta legislation mirroring Lokpal bill by February 28. While the Lokpal bill passed by Parliament gives one year to states to bring their Lokayukta legislation, it leaves the states free to decide on the nature of the ombudsman they want to have. Congress is in power in Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, Karnataka, AP, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala and Meghalaya.

PM lays foundation stone of Punjab cancer hospital: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 30, 2013 laid the foundation stone of the Rs. 450-crore Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Mullanpur of Mohali district in Punjab that will be run on the lines of Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital. In Haryana’s Jhajjar district, the PM laid the foundation stone of National Cancer Institute on January 3. Also at Jhajjar, Singh laid the foundation stone of the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership where research would be conducted on study and use of various aspects of atomic energy.

Indigenous cervical cancer screening device launched: India on December 23 launched its first indigenously developed device for screening and early detection of cervical cancer, which kills over 74,000 women in the country every year. Launching the low-cost “AV-Magnivisualiser” device developed by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said it will help in early detection of cervical cancer among adolescent girls and women, thus helping in save many lives.

CVC-led system to check corruption goes online: An information sharing system developed by the Central Vigilance Commission to ensure global cooperation in checking black money and initiating anti-corruption measures has gone online in December 2013. The Information Sharing and Analysis Against Corruption (ISAAC), a knowledge management system, will facilitate exchange of information about anti-corruption organisations, systems, procedures, practices and experiences among member organisations across the world. It will also help in dealing effectively with transnational crimes and check illegal proceedings or black money.



13

Chairs to be set up in varsities after Nobel laureates: The government has announced creation of chairs in the name of Nobel laureates in universities in the country to inspire the younger generation excel in their area of work. The chairs will be named after Rabindranath Tagore, C V Raman, Hargobind Khorana, Mother Teresa, C Chandrasekhar, Amartya Sen and V Ramakrishnan, said HRD Minister M. M. Pallam said at the diamond jubilee celebration of UGC in New Delhi on December 28, 2013. The Chairman of the UGC, Dr. Ved Prakash, said the Commission is taking several steps to ease the constraints caused by the paucity of quality faculty by engaging Recharge Programs and appointing contractual faculty. In other events, the 37th Indian Social Science Congress-2013 was organised at the Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh from December 27 to 31.

AAP wins floor test in Delhi State Assembly: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) passed the floor test on a confidence motion in the Delhi State Assembly on January 2. Arvind Kejriwal took oath as Chief Minister in New Delhi on December 28, promising a corruption-free government and new style of governance without arrogance of power. A former revenue service official, 45-year-old Kejriwal, who broke from Anna Hazare’s campaign for Lokpal and helped AAP make a stunning debut in electoral politics winning 28 of the 70 seats, took the oath of office and secrecy at a public ceremony in the historic Ramlila Maidan, the fast venue of the anti-graft campaigners more than two years ago. Along with Kejriwal, six others took oath as ministers administered by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

Tharoor is PETA’s ‘person of the year’: Union Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor has been chosen as the “Person of the Year” by animal rights campaigner PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for initiating steps for animal protection. Tharoor used the power and prestige of his office to advocate for the protection of animals, a PETA release said in Thiruvananthapuram on December 27. Tharoor’s efforts to help animals included writing a letter to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad urging him to implement non-animal methods of teaching in medical courses.

German mathematician presented Indian Mathematics award: The SASTRA-Ramanujan Award 2013 was presented to Peter Scholze, 25, from Mathematics Institute, University of Bonn, Germany, at the Srinivasa Ramanujan Centre of the Shanmugha Arts Science Technology and Research Academy (SASTRA) University, at Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu on December 22. “The award was given to him for his path-breaking contribution that lies at the interface of arithmetic algebraic geometry and the theory of automorphic forms, and especially in the area of Galois Representation,” said a citation. The prize aimed at recognising exceptional talent in

mathematics is given to mathematicians below 32 years. OTHER AWARDS: Mammen Mathew, Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama, was conferred with the Lokmanya Tilak National Award for Excellence in Journalism, instituted by Kesari-Mahratta Trust, in Pune on January 4. President Pranab Mukherjee gave the first Sunil Gangopadhyay Memorial Award for excellence in Bengali literature to poets Nirendranth Chakravarty and Sankha Ghosh for the years 2012 and 2013 respectively in Kolkata on January 11.

Environment Minister Natarajan resigns: Minister of State with independent charge of Environment and Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on December 21. Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily will hold additional charge of the Environment Ministry. The resignation triggered speculation whether her exit was related to the party work or due to reported complaints from industry that her ministry was holding up environmental clearances to projects. The view gained further ground when Rahul Gandhi shared the industry’s concerns at a FICCI meet.



14

Bimal Gurung takes oath as GTA chief: Setting aside separate statehood demand in Darjeeling, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Bimal Gurung on December 26 took oath as the new Chief Executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), from where he had resigned in July 2013. The GJM had been agitating for a Gorkhaland state carved out of West Bengal following the Centre’s decision to create Telangana. But police crackdown on its supporters and dissent among the people of the hills over regular shutdowns called by Gurung forced the Morcha to backout from the stir.

Moolam Thirunal is new head of Travancore royal family: Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, nephew of late Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma who passed away in December at the age of 91, was installed as the new head of the Travancore royal family and the custodian of the Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple in Thiruvananthapuram on January 3. Known as ‘Sreepadmanabha Dasas’, the royal family and Padmanabha Swamy temple were in news with the discovery of jewellery worth crores of rupees in the temple vaults in 2011.

New DGs appointed at NSG, CISF: Senior IPS officer J. N. Choudhury was appointed as Director General of National Security Guard (NSG) while Arvind Ranjan took over as the DG of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The NSG has specific tasks of undertaking special counter-terror and counter-hijack operations. The CISF guards vital government installations including airports and nuclear and aerospace facilities in the country. In Manipur, former Union Home Secretary V K Duggal was sworn in as the new governor in Imphal on December 31 in the presence of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

Captain Gopinath joins Aam Aadmi Party: Exemplifying growing political activism of top professionals and corporate figures, Captain Gopinath, who pioneered the low-cost airline business in the country, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Bangalore on January 3. Stating that he had always been politically active, Gopinath, who founded companies like Air Deccan, Deccan Charters and Deccan 360, reminded that he had contested and lost 2009 Lok Sabha elections as an Independent candidate.

Yuvraj to spread cancer awareness in schools: India discard Yuvraj Singh is organising a cancer awareness programme for school children across the country through his initiative YouWeCan. The campaign by the left-handed batsman, who himself had recovered from cancer in 2012 to play for the country again, would cover over 2,000 schools across 26 towns and cities. YouWeCan is an initiative of the Yuvraj Singh Foundation (YSF) in association with Khelnama, a community for sports lovers.

Farooq Sheikh passes away: Veteran actor Farooq Sheikh, best known for his memorable performances in films like ‘Garm Hawa’, ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’, ‘Chashme Buddoor’, ‘Umrao Jaan’ and ‘Bazaar’, passed away in Dubai on December 28, 2013 at the age of 65. Born in Amroli in Vadodara, Sheikh was trained as a lawyer but took to acting after failing to relate to his profession in law. Theatre was something that he was already doing in college. Sheikh made his debut in Bollywood with M S Sathyu’s 1973 Partition drama ‘Garm Hawa’ where he played the youngest son of Balraj Sahni. The movie is considered to be a pioneer of a new wave of Hindi art cinema. There was no looking back for Sheikh after that as he created a space for himself in active parallel cinema world of that time with his nuanced performances.

Obituaries: Urdu journalist Ishrat Ali Siddiqui passed in Lucknow on January 2 at the age of 94. Senior leader of the CPI (M) and former Left Front Minister Sailen Sarkar (73) passed away in Malda district on December 31. T.C. Narendran, internationally known insect taxonomist and recipient of the E.K. Janaki Ammal National Award of the Ministry of Environment and Forests passed away in Kozhikode on December 31 at the age of 69. Renowned Kannada poet, writer and researcher G S Shivarudrappa, 87, recipient of the Central Sahitya Akademi award, died in Bangalore on December 23. Veteran journalist and former editor of The Statesman Pran Chopra passed away on December 22 at the age of 92.

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16

Faces Chetan Bhagat: The revolution man His light-hearted fiction set in urban India in easy to understand language may not have received critical acclaim but have brought enormous fame to the author.

Whether you have read his books or ignored them, chances are, you must have bought one. The New York Times calls him the ‘the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history’. Chetan’s very first novel ‘Five Point Someone’ took him to the heights of fame and popularity. The book depicted the story of an IIT student who considers himself to be below average than all the other students in IIT. Today he is author of five blockbuster novels – ‘Five Point Someone’ (2004), ‘One Night @ the Call Center’ (2005), ‘The 3 Mistakes of My Life’ (2008), ‘2 States’ (2009) and ‘Revolution 2020’ (2011) and a non-fiction book. ‘What Young India Wants’ (2012) is the only non-fiction book authored by him. The book is a compilation of his speeches and essays on various topics ranging from society, politics and the youth. The book revolves around Bhagat’s thoughts and innovations on how to improve the Indian economy through social reforms. Bhagat also writes op-ed columns for newspapers, including the The Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar, focusing on youth, career and issues based on national development Bhagat’s books have been adapted into successful films as well. “3 Idiots” adapted from the novel ‘Five Point Someone-What not to do at IIT’ while “Hello” is based on the book ‘One night @ The Call Center’. “Kai Po Che” based on the book ‘The 3 Mistakes of My Life’. His ‘2 States’ is also being turned into a Bollywood Drama film directed by Abhishek Varman. The film, scheduled for release in 2014, stars Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in lead roles and is being produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar. Chetan Bhagat (born 1974) graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi in 1995 and completed his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad in 1998. Chetan then went to Hong Kong along with his family and worked as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs. He quit his international investment banking career in 2009, to devote his entire time to writing. With almost five million books sold since his first paperback blockbuster came out, almost everyone owns a

copy of at least one of Bhagat’s five bestsellers. So what makes Chetan so popular?

He might not be a literary critic’s favourite author, but Bhagat has made India sit up and notice him. What more, Bhagat has made India read. His fan base is so large it overwhelms the haters by the sheer size of numbers. Critics call his books devoid of any literary merit but sales figures reveal they are popular. Simple things are making his books work, and work well.

Light, believable plotlines, fairly surmountable problems, underdog heroes and girls-next-door make up almost every Chetan Bhagat book. There is, of course, the question of pricing. Books are more expensive than ever before, and the more beautiful, hard bound wonders are nearly unaffordable for most students and youngsters. Choosing which books to read is no longer only a question of choice and preference, but also a financial consideration. And then we have Chetan Bhagat’s books available at an easy Rs. 95, much lower than most paperbacks lining the shelves. While this cannot be quoted as the only reason for his success, it definitely encourages sales, allowing even the non-readers to pick up a copy without thinking twice.

Some critics accuse Bhagat’s books of having almost identical characters and elementary plotlines. Every book is basically a love story. The romantic plotlines have definitely worked for him so far. At the same time, he also weaves in contemporary urban issues in each of his books, touching upon the problems of coaching institutes, call centres, student suicides, corruption and misplaced ambition. His books deal with urban cities and urban issues; inter-caste marriages, parental pressures, career choices. In each of his books, there’s the almost certain possibility of the reader finding at least one character to relate to.

The language too is familiar and you won’t need a dictionary by your side while reading Bhagat’s books. Before authors like Chetan Bhagat, English fiction was rendered unapproachable to a majority of people. Now, even the non-readers don’t mind an occasional quick read, and if a book can get even the non-readers reading, it must be doing something right.



17

Current Affairs: World Briefs Japan PM Abe visits Yasukuni war shrine: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe went to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine near Tokyo on December 26, in a move certain to roil troubled relations with Japan’s Asian neighbours. The visit came exactly one year after he took power and is expected to further inflame already-tense relations with China and South Korea, both of which are embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan. The shrine is the believed repository of around 2.5 million souls of Japan’s war dead, most of them common soldiers, but also including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II, who were enshrined in the 1970s. South Korea and China see it as a symbol of Tokyo’s unrepentance and say it represents a misguided view of its warmongering past. Latvia becomes 18th member of eurozone: Latvia on January 1 became the 18th member of the eurozone. Valdis

Dombrovskis, Latvia’s acting prime minister, said it was an opportunity for the country’s economic development as a member of the world’s second largest currency. Tens of thousands of Latvians gathered at a square in capital Riga to celebrate the New Year and the adoption of the euro. The euro and Latvia’s national currency lat have been simultaneously in circulation for two weeks, and the lat will cease to be legal tender Jan 15. Latvia is the second Baltic Sea country to adopt the euro, following Estonia in 2011. The eurozone, officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 18 European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency. The eurozone currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,

Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Five new nations join UNSC as members: Five new countries joined the UN Security Council (UNSC) as non-permanent members starting from the January 1 while Jordan on January 2 assumed the rotating presidency of the Council for January 2014. Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania and Nigeria have begun their two-year term, replacing Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo. Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zedi Al-Hussein, the permanent representative of Jordan to the UN, took over the rotating council presidency from Gerard Araud, the French UN ambassador who held the council presidency for the month of December in 2013. The monthly UNSC Presidency rotates among council members in the English alphabetical order of their names.

Obama signs bipartisan budget deal, annual defence bill: President Barack Obama on December 26 signed a compromise budget that reduces the risk of another government shutdown. The two-year US budget agreement, negotiated by Congress, and the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2104 were among seven pieces of legislation signed by Obama. The US Senate passed the budget deal on December 18 to ease automatic spending cuts and reduce the risk of a government shutdown. The budget accord set federal government spending levels for two years. It ended, at least for the time being, three years of bitter bipartisan warfare over spending,

taxes and Obama’s healthcare law that twice brought the nation to the brink of defaulting on its debt. China loans Pakistan USD 6.5 billion for nuclear plants: China has agreed to grant Pakistan USD 6.5 billion for two nuclear power plants being constructed in Karachi as part of efforts to deepen bilateral civil nuclear cooperation. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, during a special cabinet meeting held in Islamabad on January 1 said China was providing a concessionary loan for creating a generation capacity of 2,117 megawatts. China’s nuclear trade and cooperation with Pakistan has caused significant concern in India and the West who believe the new plants will free Pakistan’s older reactors to produce uranium for weapons.



18

Rajaonarimampianina wins Madagascar election: Former finance minister Hery Rajaonarimampianina has won Madagascar’s first presidential election since a coup in 2009 but his closest rival said the vote was rigged, raising concerns the island could remain mired in political turmoil. The electoral commission said on January 3 that Rajaonarimampianina, the candidate backed by outgoing president Andry Rajoelina, who spearheaded the coup nearly five years ago, won 53.5% of the vote on 20 December. He beat Jean Louis Robinson, who ended up with 46.5% and has demanded a recount.

China’s 1st aircraft carrier completes sea trials: China’s first aircraft carrier has successfully completed a series of tests and training programmes in the South China Sea. The newly-commissioned ‘Liaoning’ returned to its homeport in north China on January 2. The Liaoning is China’s lone aircraft carrier in operation. It was refitted based on an unfinished carrier of the former Soviet Union. The news comes amidst mounting rising tensions over Beijing’s territorial claims in the region, with China and Japan squaring off over a chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. In November 2013, China declared air defence rights over much of the sea. Besides, China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea.

Israel successfully tests missile defence system: Israel says it has carried out another successful test of its advanced missile defence system designed to intercept long-range missiles. The Defence Ministry said in a statement that the test conducted on January 3, 2014 is a “major milestone” in the development of the Arrow 3. It is designed to strike targets outside the atmosphere, intercepting missiles closer to their launch sites. It is part of a multilayered system Israel is developing to protect itself from a range of missile threats, from short-range rockets in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon to longer-range threats from Iran. It is being jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing of US.

America’s first marijuana stores open in Colorado: America’s first retail stores selling marijuana open for business in Denver, Colorado on January 1, putting the western state in the vanguard of the country’s evolving attitudes on legalising the drug. State officials anticipate that marijuana sales will generate some USD 67 million in annual tax revenue. It will also have an impact in that marijuana sales will be brought out of the shadows and the black market. South Sudan government agrees to end hostilities: South Sudan’s government has agreed to end hostilities,

regional leaders said at the end of a crisis summit, raising hopes for a potential breakthrough in efforts to cease violence that has displaced more than 120,000 people in the world’s newest country. East African leaders meeting in Kenya under a bloc called IGAD said in a statement in Nairobi on December 27, 2013 that they “welcomed the commitment by (South Sudan’s government) to an immediate cessation of hostilities.” But former Vice President Riek Machar, the political rival of President

Salva Kiir, who is accused of orchestrating a failed coup, was not represented at the summit. Russia’s Kalashnikov, designer of AK-47, dies: Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of fabled AK-47 automatic rifle, died on December 24 at the age of 94. He designed a weapon that became synonymous with killing on a sometimes indiscriminate scale but was seen in the Soviet Union as a national hero and symbol of Moscow’s proud military past. AK-47’s name stands for “Kalashnikov’s Automatic” and the year it was designed, 1947. More than 100 million Kalashnikov rifles have been sold worldwide and they are wielded by fighters in such far-flung conflict zones as Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. But their inventor, a World War II veteran, has barely profited financially from them and lived modestly in Izhevsk, an industrial town 1,300 kilometres east of Moscow.



19

Current Affairs: Sports R. Ashwin wins Polly Umrigar Award: Former India Captain Kapil Dev was honoured with the C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by the BCCI at its seventh annual awards ceremony on January 11. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was bestowed with the Polly Umrigar Award for being the best international cricketer in 2013-13 season during which he claimed 43 wickets, inclusive of four 5WI and one 10WM, and scored 263 runs, inclusive of two 50’s from 8 Tests, besides grabbing 24 wickets from 18 ODIs, and three wickets from four T20 Internationals. The Polly Umrigar Award comprises a trophy and a cheque for Rs 5 lakh.

Abhishek Nayar wins Lala Amarnath Award: Mumbai’s Abhishek Nayar received the BCCI’s Lala Amarnath Award, for being the best all-rounder in the 2012-13 edition of the Ranji Trophy. He scored 966 runs at 96.6, inclusive of three centuries and eight fifties, and 19 wickets at 22.8, inclusive of one 5WI, from eleven matches, in the tournament. The award comprises a trophy and a cheque for Rs 250,000. The Mumbai Cricket Association collected the trophy for the Best Overall Performance in the 2012-13 Season. The various teams representing the MCA won the Ranji Trophy, the Under-25 C K Nayudu Trophy, the Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, the Women’s Under-19 Inter-State tournament, and finished 2nd in the Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy.

Rohit Sharma gets Dilip Sardesai Award: Rohit Sharma received BCCI’s Dilip Sardesai Award, for being India’s best cricketer in the recent home Test series against the West Indies. He scored hundreds in both Tests, and accumulated an aggregate of 288 runs. The award comprises a trophy and a cheque for Rs 5 lakh. Other awardees: Madhavrao Scindia Award for highest scorer in Ranji Trophy 2012-13: Jiwanjot Singh Chouhan (Punjab) - Trophy and cheque for Rs 2.5 lakh. Madhavrao Scindia Award for highest wicket taker in Ranji Trophy 2012-13: Ishwar Pandey (MP) - Trophy and cheque for Rs 2.5 lakh.

New Zealand’s Anderson hits fastest ODI century: New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson cracked the fastest century in one-day international history at Queenstown, New Zealand on January 1, reaching three figures in just 36 deliveries against the West Indies. The previous record was held by Shahid Afridi, who took 37 balls to reach his ton playing for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in 1996. Anderson, who finished the New Zealand innings unbeaten on 131, hit 14 sixes in his whirlwind assault, the 3rd highest number of sixes in an ODI innings after Rohit Sharma (16) and Shane Watson (15).

South Africa beat India by 10 wickets, clinch series 1-0: South Africa defeated India by 10 wickets in the second cricket Test to clinch the two-match series 1-0, in Durban on December 30. Brief Scores: India: 334 and 223 all out in 86 overs. South Africa: 500 and 59 for 0 in 11.4 overs. Dale Steyn was Man of the match while AB de Villiers was Man of the Series. The first Test played at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg had ended in a draw on December 22.

Kallis retires from Test cricket: South Africa’s Jacques Kallis retired from Test Cricket at the end of the home series with India at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban on December 30. Ever since turning out for the Proteas in 1995, Kallis, 38, has done enough to be billed as being equal to Sir Garfield Sobers, cricket’s finest all-rounder. Kallis made 13,289 runs in 166 Tests at an average of 54.47 with 45 centuries and 58 fifties. In terms of runs he ended third behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) and Ricky Ponting (13,378) while in terms of centuries has 45 with only Tendulkar (51) being ahead of him. Kallis scored 115 in his final innings, becoming the first to end his career with a century among those players who have played more than 100 Test matches. He also took 292 wickets and 200 catches in his test career.



20

Zaheer enters 300-wicket club in Tests: 35-year-old Zaheer Khan became the fourth Indian bowler to claim 300 wickets in Test cricket on December 22, 2013 when he dismissed Jacques Kallis on the fifth and final day of the opening cricket Test against South Africa in Johannesburg at the Wanderers Stadium. The left-arm pacer joined Kapil Dev (434), Anil Kumble (619) and Harbhajan Singh (413) in the elite list. Plagued by injuries and lack of form, Zaheer lost his place in the national team for most part this year but he worked hard on his fitness and bowling and regained his position in the squad. Zaheer used to generate 140 plus kmph pace early in his career. As his speed came down over the years, he added more teeth to his bowling by adding reverse swing to his

arsenal. Zaheer was the highest wicket-taker for India in the 2011 World Cup. Swann calls time on England career: England spinner Graeme Swann, 34, announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket with immediate effect in Melbourne on December 22, 2013. Swann, who took 255 wickets in 60 Tests in just five years and is sixth on the list of Test wicket-takers for England, said defeat in the third test of the Ashes series at Perth had cemented his decision to call it a day. The off-spinner had been under pressure to keep his place in the squad after taking just seven wickets at an average of 80.00 in the three Tests in Australia.

Simpson, Hockley to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame: Former Australia captain Bob Simpson and ex-New Zealand women cricketer Debbie Hockley were inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in a special function held in Sydney on January 2. Hockley became the fourth female player and second cricketer from NZ after Richard Hadlee to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Simpson will overall become the 72nd male and 20th from in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

India win Under–19 Asia Cup Cricket: India Under-19 took home yet another piece of silverware, this time claiming the Asia Cup by beating arch-rivals Pakistan Under-19 by 40 runs in a high-scoring final in Sharjah on January 4. Centuries by Man of the Match Vijay Zol and Sanju Samson powered India to 314 and Pakistan, in their reply, failed to keep with the asking rate. SCORES: India Under-19 314 for 8 in 50 overs (Zol 100, Samson 100) beat Pakistan Under-19 274 for 9 (Kamran Ghulam 102, Aslam 87*) by 40 runs. Kamran Ghulam (Pakistan) was the Player of the series. Sami Aslam (Pakistan) was Batsman of the series while Karamat Ali (Pakistan) was Bowler of the series.

France win Hopman Cup tennis: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga guided France to the Hopman Cup title at the Perth Arena on January 5. France won the mixed-teams event for the first time, beating Poland 2-1. In the first match, Tsonga beat Grzegorz Panfil 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the men’s singles before Agnieszka Radwanska levelled the tie with a 6-3 6-7 (9-7) 6-2 win over Alize Cornet. Tsonga and Cornet then won the mixed doubles 6-0 6-2 seal the title for France. Meanwhile at Abu Dhabi, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won his 3rd straight World Tennis Championship title with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Spaniard David Ferrer on December 28.

OTHER SPORTS: Soccer giants Bayern Munich topped a memorable 2013 season by lifting the Club World Cup after beating Moroccan champions Raja Casablanca 2-0 in Marrakech on December 22. Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta won the Al-Ain Classic International Open Chess tournament that concluded at Al Ain, UAE on December 29. Anirban Lahiri took top honours at the Rs. 1.35 crore McLeod Russel Tour Championship at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) in Kolkata in December 29.



21

Current Affairs: Economy

RBI cautions users of virtual currencies

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 24 cautioned the users, holders and traders of Virtual currencies (VCs), including Bitcoins, about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to. The Reserve Bank has mentioned that it has been looking at the developments relating to certain electronic records claimed to be “Decentralised Digital Currency” or “Virtual Currency” (VCs), such as, Bitcoins, litecoins, bbqcoins, dogecoins etc., their usage or trading in the country and the various media reports in this regard. The creation, trading or usage of VCs including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority. No regulatory approvals, registration or authorisation is stated to have been obtained by the entities concerned for carrying on such activities. As such, they may pose several risks to their users. VCs being in digital form are stored in digital/electronic media that are called electronic wallets. Therefore, they are prone to losses arising out of hacking, loss of password, compromise of access credentials, malware attack etc. Since they are not created by or traded through any authorised central registry or agency, the loss of the e-wallet could result in the permanent loss of the VCs held in them. Payments by VCs, such as Bitcoins, take place on a peer-to-peer basis without an authorised central agency which regulates such payments. As such, there is no established

framework for recourse to customer problems / disputes / charge backs etc. There is no underlying or backing of any asset for VCs. As such, their value seems to be a matter of speculation. Huge volatility in the value of VCs has been noticed in the recent past. Thus, the users are exposed to potential losses on account of such volatility in value. VCs, such as Bitcoins, are being traded on exchange platforms set up in various jurisdictions whose legal status is also unclear. Hence, the traders of VCs on such platforms are exposed to legal as well as financial risks. There have been several media reports of the usage of VCs, including Bitcoins, for illicit and illegal activities in several jurisdictions. The absence of information of counterparties in such peer-to-peer anonymous/ pseudonymous systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws. While authorities and experts are becoming worried about its potential money laundering risks, concerns have also been raised about this new phenomenon snowballing into an ‘e-ponzi’ or an electronic version of investor fraud, given the growing promotion of Bitcoin as investments without any enabling regulations for them. Pressure has increased on regulatory and enforcement agencies in India after latest moves by other economies on this front. The fact remains that regulators are scrambling for ways to regulate this entire gamut of digital currency, as it is a totally new concept in India and even the jurisdiction is not clear as yet on who should regulate them.

While the US has declared that all prevailing money laundering laws would apply to Bitcoins, China has asked its banks and other financial institutions not to deal in Bitcoins and the public has been asked to do so at their own risk. At the same time, the experts are also raising concerns about cyber security issues, given the huge scope of money laundering and other illegal activities through use of an unregulated digital currency concept.

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24

Business Biography Marissa Mayer: Tech diva Mayer led the development of Google’s most successful products for more than 10 years and was appointed CEO of Yahoo in 2012, at the age of 37.

Marissa Mayer, born on May 30, 1975, in Wausau, Wisconsin, was appointed CEO of Yahoo in 2012. Prior to joining Yahoo, she spent 13 years at Google, where her work in production development largely contributed to the site’s unique look and feel. At the time of Mayer’s Yahoo appointment, she was one of only 20 female CEOs in charge of a Fortune 500 company. Born in Wausau, Wisconsin, on May 30, 1975, Marissa Ann Mayer has described her early years as a small-town childhood, complete with ballet lessons, ice skating, Brownies and debate team competitions. The daughter of an engineer and an art teacher, Mayer demonstrated an early affinity for math and science. While at Wausau West High, she worked at a local grocery store, where she memorized the prices for hundreds of items in order to streamline the checkout process.

Although she grew up thinking she would be a doctor, while at Stanford University, Mayer developed a passion for computers and went on to earn both a Bachelor of Science degree in symbolic systems and an Master of Science degree in computer science with a specialization in artificial intelligence. During her studies, Mayer taught undergraduate courses in computer programming, earning two teaching awards for her contribution to undergraduate education. But it was perhaps her research internships at Stanford University and the Union Bank of Switzerland’s research lab in Zurich that helped her net 14 job offers fresh out of grad school.

Mayer’s 14th job offer came from Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who quizzed her on artificial intelligence while sitting at a ping-pong table that the company used for conferences. In 1999, Google wasn’t yet an Internet search giant. In fact, the company had only 19 employees. Upon accepting an offer to lead Google’s user interface and Web server teams, Mayer became the company’s 20th employee and its first female engineer.

Her tenure at Google involved work on some of the company’s most recognizable and successful products, including Google Maps, Google Earth, Street View, Google News and Gmail. Known as a fashionista with an eye for design, Mayer is widely credited for the unique look and feel that has come to characterize the Google experience. For example, she was responsible for approving each “doodle” (the custom logos commemorating holidays and events) appearing on the Google home page. Mayer spent more than a decade at Google accumulating accolades for her

work ethic, eye for detail and vision. In a 2008 interview, however, she seemed to be looking ahead to her next act. “I helped build Google,” Mayer said, “but I don’t like to rest on [my] laurels. I think the most interesting thing is what happens next.”

What happened next for Mayer captured tremendous interest both in Silicon Valley and around the world. In July 2012, she was appointed president and CEO of Yahoo, a company besieged by declining stock prices, layoffs and slowing ad revenue. Tasked with course-correcting the company, Mayer is the fifth CEO hired by Yahoo in the past five years.

In September of 2013, Mayer was ranked number one by Fortune magazine in its annual “40 Under 40” list of business leaders. She is also one of only 20 women running a Fortune 500 company. As a female technology CEO, Mayer follows in the footsteps of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. And many believe that she just may have what it takes to turn Yahoo around. Soon after taking the top job, Mayer launched a major overhaul of Flickr, the site’s photo-sharing service, followed by a home-page redesign and a string of acquisitions, including $1.1 billion for blogging platform Tumblr and $30 million for story-shortener Summly. Her target is to modernize the pioneer portal with 700 million monthly users.



25

Cyber buzz

ISPs can favour high-paying surfers

A US federal appeals court has rejected rules intended to prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from prioritising certain types of content.

Net neutrality is the principle that ISPs should not block web traffic for customers who pay less to give faster speeds to those who pay more. The US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) adopted the rules in 2010. They were challenged by ISP Verizon, which claimed the FCC was overstepping its legal authority. The court agreed.

Supporters of net neutrality said the ruling was a major threat to how people use the internet. The rules were designed to ensure that small or start-up organisations had as much chance of reaching an online audience as a large, established company. But broadband providers argue that some traffic-heavy sites - for example, YouTube or Netflix - put a strain on their infrastructure. They say they should be able to charge such content providers so that users who pay more can get faster access to those sites than other customers. As a consequence, companies who did not pay would find that access to their services could be slower for customers. Verizon had said in September 2013 that if it were not for net neutrality rules they would be looking at different pricing models.

In a statement released after the ruling Verizon said that the court’s decision will allow more room for innovation, and consumers will have more choices to determine for themselves how they access and experience the internet.

Those opposed to the court’s decision warned that the court’s decision would be a major threat to innovation, free speech and ‘the internet as we know it.’ They fear this ruling will consolidate ISPs’ powerful role as arbiters of culture and speech. The FCC said it would consider appealing. Chairman Tom Wheeler said: “We will consider all available options, including those for appeal, to ensure that these networks on which the internet depends continue to provide a free and open platform for innovation and expressions.” Google to acquire Nest Labs

Google has announced plans to buy thermostat maker Nest Labs for $3.2bn, continuing a string of recent acquisitions. California-based Nest Labs was founded by two former Apple executives.

It produces a thermostat capable of learning user behaviour and working out whether a building is occupied or not, using temperature, humidity, activity and light sensors. The firm will continue to be run by chief executive Tony Fadell and maintain its own distinct identity. Fadell was head of Apple’s music division until he left the firm in 2008.

He is known as the “father of the iPod” for his work on the first 18 generations of Apple’s music player and was also involved in the hardware design of the original iPhone.

Google’s purchase of Nest Labs follows its acquisition of military robot-maker Boston Dynamics last month and of human-gesture recognition start-up Flutter in October.

The biggest deal in Google’s history to date was its acquisition of mobile phone firm Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn in August 2011.



26

Science & Technology

GSLV-D5 launch places India in elite league

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5), powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine, effortlessly put the 1,982-kg GSAT-14 communication satellite into a perfect orbit after 17 minutes of flight following its launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on January 5. The Rs. 350-crore mission marks India’s entry into the multi-billion dollar commercial launcher market on a fully indigenous large rocket. The precision of the cryogenic upper stage was such that it put the GSAT-14 into an orbit with a perigee of 179 km, against the target of 180 km, and the apogee achieved was off by a mere 50 km for a target of 36,000 km. Cryogenic engines, using liquid hydrogen and oxygen as fuel, are crucial for putting large payloads into space. The mission’s success means India now has the ability to put satellites weighing more than two tonnes in orbit, joining the elite club of the U.S., Russia, France, Japan and China who have mastered this perilous technology of using cryogenic propellants -- liquid oxygen at minus 183 degrees Celsius and liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees’ Celsius. The mixture of the two elements results

in an explosive chemical reaction, imparting thrust as it creates water. For over 20 years, the cryogenic technology was denied to India by Russia under pressure from the US. The January 5 launch defies that denial regime and marks the coming of age of India’s indigenous space technology. Now, India seeks to attract foreign satellite launches due to its competitive cost. “I am proud to say that ISRO has done it,” ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan announced. The GSLV program had suffered twin back-to-back failures three years ago and its last launch was aborted minutes before lift-off. On August 19, 2013, a major mishap was averted and the launch of the GSLV was aborted 74 minutes before lift-off after ISRO scientists found that about 750 kilograms of highly inflammable and explosive fuel had leaked out in the second stage. ISRO has announced that GSLV will be the launch vehicle for India’s next moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, in 2016. Just the beginning

The successful launch is a remarkable breakthrough for ISRO which can now launch heavier satellites of up to 2,500 kilogrammes (GSAT-14 weighed 1,980 kg). Cryogenic engines, using liquid hydrogen and oxygen as fuel, are crucial for putting large payloads into space. Before this, India’s technological capability was limited to polar satellite launch vehicles (PSLVs). The PSLVs have the capacity for launching only smaller payloads, typically below one tonne, and used for remote sensing, experimental and navigational purposes. Experts say ISRO must rapidly build on this success and scale up quickly. The commercial market revolves around the launch of satellites weighing 4,000 kg plus. The GSLV-D5 cannot service those needs. Until ISRO succeeds in developing cryogenic engines with more thrust, it will remain a fringe player in the commercial market and India’s own heavy satellites will continue to depend on external launches. ISRO has stayed behind the curve in meeting market demand; to become anything other than a niche player, it must speed its movement up the technological ladder.

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Group Discussion Justice Ganguly’s resignation is appropriate

FOR

Justice (retd.) A.K. Ganguly has done the right thing by resigning from his position as chairperson of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. Although belated, his resignation will help preserve the dignity of his office, which was seriously undermined after he was accused by a law intern of making improper sexual advances. It will also protect the dignity of the Supreme Court, of which he was a respected judge for some years.

After a three-member committee of the Supreme Court said it was of the considered view that the intern’s statement prima facie disclosed “unwelcome verbal/non-verbal conduct of sexual nature” on his part, the honourable thing for him to do must have been to stay away from public office. His continuance in office had become untenable, and resignation was the only rational course of action. The West Bengal Chief Minister wrote to the President demanding action against him, Members of Parliament asked for his resignation, and excerpts from the intern’s affidavit were made public, but none of this had a chastening effect on him. Ganguly chose to stay on in office and insinuated that there was a political conspiracy to tarnish his image. Ultimately, the Union Cabinet’s decision approving the terms of a Presidential Reference to the Supreme Court, preparatory to his formal removal from office, got him to quit. By instituting an inquiry as soon as the allegation surfaced and by disclosing the panel’s findings, the Supreme Court showed welcome sensitivity and transparency in its functioning. While routine legal processes may be required for determining guilt or innocence, or for removing someone from office, the preservation of institutional integrity must be achieved through quick decisions based on moral principles. The judiciary must set higher standards for itself and not seem to take shelter behind protracted probes; nor should it give the impression that it is letting matters drift when it comes to dealing with its own members.

The lawyer who accused Ganguly of misconduct has ensured that it is possible to pursue and ensure accountability, regardless of the status and position of those facing such charges.

AGAINST

“Innocent till proven guilty” is one of the pillars of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence and, thereby, of the Indian legal system. Yet in the matter of the former Supreme Court judge, Ashok Ganguly, the man is being treated as if he is guilty even before formal charges against him have been framed. An allegation is not a proof of guilt. Ganguly quit following an intense campaign to make him resign or to have him removed from his position. There are some allegations existing against him; no formal charges have been filed, no cases have been registered. Ganguly said that he put in his papers to preserve his dignity against the “hostile attitude” of the state government. The latter has been proceeding on the assumption that Ganguly is guilty even before anything has been proved against him. His innocence has not been assumed but his guilt. This is contrary to the philosophical premise on which the rule of law is based in India. Under the circumstances, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that Ganguly has been at the receiving end of a vendetta. What is equally important is that there have been so few voices raised to say that Ganguly has practically being declared to be guilty without a proper trial. The three-judge committee set up by the Supreme Court pronounced a view on the matter without hearing Ganguly’s version of the incident. What is distinctly odd is that police/legal processes have not been initiated in the matter: there is no first information report, there is no investigation and, therefore, no case. All that exists is a letter, followed by outpourings in a blog. Ganguly’s role as a judge and the chairman of the WBHRC was commendable. He was both an alert and an independent chairman. Some of his verdicts and observations did not show up either the Central or the state government in a very good light. Within the political class there has been a growing sense of alarm at the activism displayed by the judiciary. It is possible that Ganguly was made a convenient target by politicians to hit back at the judiciary. His resignation and the tarnishing of his image silence one more source of dissent and independence.



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Mind Games: Crossword (Answers on page 33)

ACROSS

2. Ex-coach of Indian cricket team (4, 7) 7. Lady ___: Prince Charles’ wife, alas no more? (5) 8. An ant “met me” anagram? (5) 9. Percussion instrument (7) 13. Popular tourist destination in SE Asia (9) 15. Tropical plants - “plaster me” anagram? (4.5) 18. Persuaded or induced (5) 20. They may be enjoying a dip in the pool? (7) 21. Lucknow is the capital of this Pradesh (5) 22. Ex-England captain Alec _(7) 25. Sexually loving (7) 27. Watered down (7) 28. Persian monarch, __the Great (5) 32. Make-believe or imitate (5) 35. Becomes septic, rots or stagnates (7) 40. City near New York (7) 41. News (7) 42. Open to view (5) 43. Friendly or agreeable (7) 44. Contest or event (5)

ACROSS 45. Exalting or glorifying; raising (9) 49. Current Minister of External Affairs (1,1,7) 53. Slow____: don’t expect them to move speedily (7)

ACROSS 54. Curtsied, yielded or conceded (5) 55. Approaches or comes closer (5) 56. Where those tents are or were pitched, in a way? (7, 4)

DOWN 1. __Raikkonen: 2007 F1 World Champion (4) 2. Israel’s Strip (4) 3. Belgian river (4) 4. Hard drive interface (4) 5. A small-tailed amphibian like a salamander or eft (4) 6. ____ Sampras: tennis champion form the US? (4) 9. _____ National Park: where tourists can see the tiger in UP.? (7) 10. One-piece garment (7) 11. Pertaining to or having the shape of a ball? (7) 12. An ___ ___ cast: what a movie with very many big names acting in it has? (3.4) 23. Nintendo gaming console (3) 24. More uncouth or boorish (5) 26. J&K’s ___ Mohd. Sayeed (5) 29. ___ Lanka (3) 30. Royal city in Karnataka (6)

DOWN 31. A small addition to a big house or building added at a later date (6) 32. Sensed or touched (4) 33. Pertain to Mohammed’s religion (7) 34. Panamanian soldier and dictator till December 1989 (7) 35. Restore to freshness of appearance (7) 36. Takes off one’s clothes and runs in public (7) 37. Type of mild Dutch cheese (4) 38. Slang word for “steal” (6) 39. Respiratory disorder (6) 46. Spoils for a pirate, perhaps (4) 47. Current types (2-2) 48. Exploding sun (4) 50. Sounds like a cat (4) 51. ‘Last Days of Pompeii’ role (4) 52. Not one, in old English? (4)

Mind Games: Sudoku (Answers on page No: 33)

SUDOKU I

SUDOKU II



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Do you remember? (Answers on page No: 34)

1. The Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members. What proportion of these shall be judicial members (25%/50%/75%/No such condition)?

2. The Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members. What proportion of these shall be from among SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and women (25%/50%/75%/No such condition)?

3. The 5-member Selection Committee of Lokpal will not have which of these – Prime Minister/Lok Sabha Speaker/Rajya Sabha Speaker/Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha/Chief Justice of India?

4. What does the abbreviation CEMILAC stand for, in context of LCA Tejas that received operation clearance recently?

5. Which MNC is supplying the engines used in LCA Tejas that received operation clearance recently?

6. LCA Tejas received operation clearance recently. What is the indigenous engine, still at the development stage, named?

7. LCA Tejas received initial operation clearance recently. It will be known as (Tejas Mark I/Tejas Jet I/Tejas IAF 1/Tejas Hawk I):

8. LCA Tejas received initial operation clearance recently. What will it be known as after receiving final operational clearance?

9. Who named India’s Light Combat Aircraft as Tejas? 10. Which is the ruling party in Bangladesh and which is

the largest opposition party led by Khaleda Zia? Awami League & Bangladesh National Party (BNP)

11. Where did Nandan Nilekani work before founding Infosys with Narayan Murthy?

12. Aam Admi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal and his six Cabinet colleagues were administered the oath of office by Delhi Lieutenant-Governor _____ on December 28.

13. Who was sworn in as Chief Minister of Mizoram on December 14?

14. Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for the _______ (2nd/3rd/4th/5th) consecutive time in Bhopal on December 14.

15. Which is the only party other than BJP and Congress to win seats in recent MP Assembly elections?

16. Vasundhara Raje sworn in as Chief Minister of Rajasthan on December 13. Who is the Governor?

17. Who took over as new Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee on December 31, 2013 (Ranjit Sinha/Admiral Sushil Kumar/Air Marshal Arup Raha/General Bikram Singh)?

18. Who took over as the Vice-Chief of Army Staff on December 31, 2013?

19. Which Minister in Manmohan Singh Cabinet died on December 15?

20. Addition charge of which portfolio was given to Road Transport & Highways Minister Oscar Fernandes in December 2013?

21. Which party was recently joined by ex-Union Home Secretary R. K. Singh who had retired in June 2013?

22. Which post was held by Devyani Khobragade before she was transferred to India’s Permanent Mission at the United Nations?

23. Which dynasty ruled Mysore from 1399 to 1950 (Chola/Pandya/Zamorin/Wodeyar)?

24. Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma passed away on December 16. He was the head of royal family in which princely state (Cochin/Kozhikode/Travancore/Malabar)?

25. Aniruddha Bahal is a well-known journalist associated with which portal in news recently for a sting operation that caught 11 MPs willing to issue letters of recommendation to promote a fictitious foreign company for a fee ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 50 lakh?

26. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got recognised as a ‘state party’ and reserved symbol of broom in Delhi by the Election Commission recently. The recognition is given to a party that has won at least _____ % (3/4/5/6) of valid votes polled in the previous assembly election.

27. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got recognised as a ‘state party’ and reserved symbol of broom in Delhi by the Election Commission recently. The recognition is given to a party that has won at least _____ % (3/4/5/6) seats in the assembly election.

28. ‘In pursuit of Truth’ – A film directed by award winning filmmaker Zafar Hai – is on which government organisation (Lokpal/CVC/CAG/CBI)?

29. The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry and ______ (Times Now/Prasar Bharati/Star TV/NDTV) have decided to launch 50 educational channels on DTH by May 1, 2014.

30. Who has launched an ‘In-Residence’ programme for writers and artists to stay at his/her residence for a month recently (Prime Minister/President/SC Chief Justice/Lok Sabha Speaker)?

31. Which aircraft was retired from the Indian Air Force in a ceremony held at Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal in December (Mirage–2000/Jaguar/MiG–21/Chetak)?



31

32. Which Cabinet Minister (Kapil Sibal/Shashi Tharoor/Salman Khursheed/Oscar Fernandes) has written the lyrics of the music album “Braveheart” brought out by Dr. Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust recently?

33. Which state observed its Liberation Day on December 19, 2013?

34. What is the township in Singapore in news for rioting by Indian workers on December 20 called?

35. Which African country was plunged into a civil war because of fighting between Dinka and Nuer tribes (Togo/Guinea/Central African Republic/South Sudan)?

36. Which country and India have raised the currency swap arrangement limit to $50 billion recently?

37. Abbreviation JIMEX stands for: 38. Conakry is the capital of which African nation

(Togo/Guinea/Central African Republic/South Sudan)?

39. Which African country released Indian Merchant Navy Captain Sunil James recently, after five months of imprisonment on charges of aiding pirates (Togo/Guinea/Central African Republic/South Sudan)?

40. Mridula Garg was selected for this year’s Sahitya Akademi Award recently. She is a well-known (Poet/Novelist/Playwright/Dancer)

41. Javed Akthar was selected for this year’s Sahitya Akademi Award for his compilation of 55 Urdu poems titled (Watan/Lava/Chirag/Aman)?

42. Name the Nobel Chemistry Prize winner among the 25 recipients of the NDTV Living Legend awards in New Delhi on December 14?

43. Syed Haider Raza is a well-known (painter/poet/playwright/sculptor):

44. Anish Kapoor is a well-known (painter/poet/playwright/sculptor):

45. S. S. Badrinath was among the 25 recipients of the NDTV Living Legend awards in New Delhi on December 14. Which well-known philanthropic healthcare institution was founded by him?

46. Yusuf K. Hamied is associated with (Wockhardt/Lupin/Cipla/Hamdard):

47. Which state won the award for ‘Best Governance’ at the India Today State of the States Awards recently?

48. Which are the three Maharashtra ex-CMs named in Adarsh scam report by a 2-member commission headed by retired high court judge J. A. Patil?

49. Whose killing in August 2013 prompted the passage of Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori

Practices and Black Magic Bill, commonly known as the Anti-Superstition Bill, recently?

50. Pussy Riot punk band was recently released from prison in (USA/Iran/Russia/Spain):

51. What is the cut in US Federal Reserve’s bond buying program from January 2014 known as (Shredding/Tapering/Rollback/Calibrating?

52. Which nation was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council UNSC) for a 2-year term recently, filling a seat that Saudi Arabia had declined to accept?

53. Which is the first country in the world to legalise production and sale of marijuana recently?

54. Which missiles were deployed by Russia on its borders with NATO-member countries recently (Iskander/Invar/Topol/ Semyorka)?

55. Rossiya Segodnya is the new _____ (defence/news/tourism/film production) agency set up by the Russian government recently.

56. Who is the President of Ukraine? 57. Which UN agency is in charge of updating the

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity?

58. Which of these well-known embroidery patterns (Zardozi/Kalamkari/Jamdani/Cashmere) is native to Bangladesh?

59. Washoku is a cooking method native to (China/Japan/Korea/Thailand):

60. Sankirtana is a folk dance native to (Manipur/Meghalaya/Arunachal Pradesh/Nagaland):

61. France has sent its Army to restore order in which former colony (Togo/Guinea/Central African Republic/South Sudan)?

62. Asian students topped rankings in all subjects in the PISA Test conducted by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 65 countries recently. Abbreviation PISA stands for Program for_______:

63. China’s yuan eclipsed the euro as the second-most used currency in trade finance, global transaction services organisation SWIFT said in December 2013. SWIFT is an abbreviated form of:

64. China launched its first lunar rover mission named ‘Jade _____’ (Dragon/Rabbit/Tiger/Eagle) recently.

65. Which Central American country restricted its 50-year ban on car imports recently?

66. United Nations _________Day was observed on December 10, 2013.

67. The United Nations has designated October 31 as the World _ (Cities/Transportation/Urbanisation/Villages) Day from 2014.



32

68. World _____ (Spanish/French/Chinese/English/ Arabic) Language Day was observed by UNESCO on December 18, 2013.

69. Who was elected new President of Chile recently? 70. Chile is world’s top exporter of

(silver/zinc/copper/platinum): 71. Helmut Kohl and Konrad Adenauer were well-known

German (scientists/politicians/actors/economists): 72. Which beauty pageant was won by Venezuela’s Alyz

Henrich recently (Miss Universe/Miss World/Miss Earth/Miss Americas)?

73. Who was named Time Person of the Year recently? 74. Which European country has new President every year

(Switzerland/Albania/Cyprus/Iceland)? 75. Jeh Johnson has been appointed as the new head of

DHS by the Obama administration recently. DHS is: 76. Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, Biram Dah Abeid of

Mauritania, Hiljmnijeta Apuk of Kosovo, Liisa Kauppinen of Finland, Khadija Ryadi of Morocco and Mexico’s Constitutional Court were recently named winners of 2013 ______ (EU/US/UN/Amnesty International) Human Rights Prize, which is conferred every five years.

77. Which BJP leader was honoured with the Order of Friendship by the Russian President recently?

78. Lokesh Chandra, Director of the International Academy of Indian Culture, was awarded the _____ (Chekov/Tolstoy/Chopin/Pushkin) Medal by the Russian President recently.

79. Peter O’Toole, Audrey Totter and Joan Fontaine achieved fame as (actors/singers/cartoonists/authors):

80. Who was best known as undercover agent Brian O’Connor in the ‘Fast and Furious’ action movies?

81. Who was selected for the 2013 Col C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award by the BCCI recently?

82. Which two former Australian and Pakistani cricketers were inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame recently?

83. Who was named as the winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year recently?

84. Who was named ICC Test Cricketer of the Year recently?

85. Who was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year recently?

86. Who was named ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year? 87. Australia won the Test series with England recently

after losing the previous ____ (1/2/3/4) Ashes series. 88. Who won the ICC Intercontinental Cup recently? 89. Who broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most

unbeaten centuries in tests recently? 90. Which West Indian bowler was suspended for suspect

bowling action recently?

91. Who equalled Brian Lara’s record of making most runs in an over in test matches recently?

92. Who was named the 2013 AIFF Player of the Year by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) recently?

93. Who won the Club World Cup in the final played in Morocco recently (Liverpool/Bayern Munich/Inter Milan/Barcelona)?

94. Shiva Keshavan, Nadeem Iqbal, Hira Lal and Himanshu Thakur will represent India in which sports event in 2014?

95. Jesse Owens achieved fame as a (footballer/swimmer/athlete/wrestler):

96. Lee Chong Wei of ______ (Malaysia/Thailand/China/Taiwan) won the Men’s Singles event at the ending BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Superseries Finals in Kuala Lumpur recently.

97. Who won the Hero Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup organised in New Delhi recently?

98. Who won the London Chess Classic recently? 99. Which state hosted the 2013 Admiral’s Cup yachting

regatta recently? 100. 2013 Force India driver Adrian Sutil has switched to

which team for 2014 Formula 1 Season? 101. Who has joined Nico Hulkenberg at Force India for

the 2014 Formula 1 Season? 102. Who (Tata/L&T/AV Birla/IDFC) withdrew its

application for banking license recently? 103. The new stricter insider trading norms launched by

SEBI recently are based on the report of a committee headed by:

104. Which of these (Repo rate/Cash Reserve Ratio/Bank Rate/None) was changed by the RBI in its Mid-Quarter Monetary Policy Review on December 18?

105. Natural gas pricing in 2014 will be done on the basis of ______ (Chidambaram/Subbarao/Jalan/Rangarajan) formula.

106. The government recently allowed Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries to increase the price of natural gas sold by (25%/50%/75%/100%) ___ from April 1, 2014.

107. “Invest India” is a joint venture between DIPP and____ (FICCI/CII/ASSOCHAM/PHDCCI) to promote foreign investment in India.

108. What is the fund being set up by the government for promoting grassroots innovations coupled with social and economic returns named?

109. Who was imposed a fine of 17.7 billion rupees by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abusing its dominant position and imposing unfair conditions in fuel supply agreements with customers recently?



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110. The government has launched PA&PFMS for better monitoring of central plan schemes recently. M in PA&PFMS stands for (Management/Monitoring/Median/Mentoring):

111. Which regulator (SEBI/RBI/CCI/FMC) has directed commodity exchanges to register their warehouses with WDRA by March 2014?

112. Which government-owned energy company (NTPC/PGCIL/NPCIL/ONGC) was in news for follow-on-public offer (FPO) in December 2013?

113. The government approved a scheme of 6,600 crore rupees interest free loans to mills in which agri-sector (jute/coir/cotton/sugar)?

114. India held ______ USD (60/40/80/100) billion worth US government securities by the end of October 2013 while China remained the largest holder with USD 1.30 trillion.

115. December 14, 2013 was observed as the National ________ Day.

116. The software BOSS released by the government is: 117. The Institute for Human Development (IHD) released

the ‘India Labour and Employment Report 2014’ recently. IHD is based in:

118. Which industry chamber (CII/ASSOCHAM/FICCI/PHDCCI) organised the 9th

International Corporate Governance Summit on December 20?

119. Where was the 28th Indian Engineering Congress organised by the Institution of Engineers (India) in December 2013?

120. Which industry chamber (CII/ASSOCHAM/FICCI/PHDCCI) organised the Global PSE Summit in collaboration with Department of Public Enterprises (DIPP) in December 2013?

121. Who was appointed new Chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) recently?

122. Who was appointed new MD & CEO of IFCI Ltd recently?

123. Who was appointed new Chairman of India Infrastructure Finance Corporation recently?

124. Who was appointed the new Asia-Pacific head of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), making him the first Indian to hold the prestigious position, recently?

125. Who are the co-authors of ‘Driven: Memoirs of a Civil Servant Turned Entrepreneur’?

126. Which cosmetics brand was founded by Graham Wulff?

127. Who was the first Indian actress to model for Lux?

Mind Games: Answers

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU I

SUDOKU II



34

Do you remember? Answers

1. 50% 2. 50% 3. Rajya Sabha Speaker 4. Centre for Military

Airworthiness and Certification 5. General Electric (GE) 6. Kaveri 7. Tejas Mark I 8. Tejas Mark II 9. Former Prime Minister Atal

Behari Vajpayee 10. Awami League & Bangladesh

National Party (BNP) 11. Patni Computer Systems 12. Najib Jung 13. Pu Lalthanhawla 14. 3rd 15. BSP 16. Margaret Alva 17. General Bikram Singh 18. Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag 19. Sis Ram Ola 20. Labour and Employment 21. BJP 22. Deputy Consul General 23. Wodeyar 24. Travancore 25. Cobrapost 26. 6% 27. 3% 28. CBI 29. Prasar Bharati 30. President 31. MiG–21 32. Salman Khursheed 33. Goa 34. Little India 35. South Sudan 36. Japan 37. Japan-India Maritime Exercise 38. Guinea 39. Togo 40. Novelist 41. Lava 42. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan 43. painter

44. sculptor 45. Sankara Nathralaya 46. Cipla 47. Andhra Pradesh 48. Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil

Kumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan 49. Narendra Dabholkar 50. Russia 51. Tapering 52. Jordan 53. Uruguay 54. Iskander 55. News 56. Viktor Yanukovych 57. UNESCO 58. Jamdani 59. Japan 60. Manipur 61. Central African Republic 62. International Student

Assessment 63. Society for Worldwide Inter-

bank Financial Telecommunications

64. Rabbit 65. Cuba 66. Human Rights 67. Cities 68. Arabic 69. Michelle Bachelet 70. copper 71. politicians 72. Miss Earth 73. Pope Francis 74. Switzerland 75. Department of Homeland

Security 76. UN 77. Murli Manohar Joshi 78. Pushkin 79. actors 80. Paul Walker 81. Kapil Dev 82. Adam Gilchrist and Waqar

Younis 83. Michael Clarke

84. Michael Clarke 85. Kumar Sangakkara 86. Cheteshwar Pujara 87. 3 88. Ireland 89. Shivnarine Chanderpaul 90. Shane Shillingford 91. George Bailey 92. Sunil Chhetri 93. Bayern Munich 94. Winter Olympic Games 95. athlete 96. Malaysia 97. Germany 98. Hikaru Nakamura 99. Kerala

100. Sauber 101. Sergio Perez 102. Tata 103. N. K. Sodhi 104. None 105. Rangarajan 106. 100% 107. FICCI 108. India Inclusive Innovation Fund 109. Coal India Ltd 110. Management 111. FMC 112. PGCIL (Power Grid Corporation

of India Ltd) 113. Sugar 114. 60 115. Energy Conservation 116. Bharat Operating System

Solutions 117. Delhi 118. CII 119. Chennai 120. CII 121. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala 122. Malay Mukherjee 123. Santosh Nayar 124. Arun Mishra 125. Jagdish Khattar & Suveen Sinha 126. Oil of Olay 127. Leela Chitnis

Gross National Happiness (GNH), first proposed by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan in 1972, is being considered by international organisations, economists and business leaders as an alternative to GDP (Gross Domestic Product)



35

Corporate Knowledge Quiz Directions for Qs. 1 – 50: Choose the correct answer from the four options (Answers on page No: 38)

1. Which Indian tyre company’s proposed $2.5 billion acquisition of U.S.-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. was terminated in December 2013? a) Apollo Tyres b) JK Tyres c) CEAT d) MRF 2. Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of which well-known author? a) JK Rowling b) Stieg Larsson c) John Grisham d) Sydney Sheldon 3. Which public sector bank appointed V. Kannan as its new CMD from January 1, 2014? a) Canara Bank b) Vijaya Bank c) Syndicate Bank d) Union Bank of India 4. Chocolate brand was founded by Surbaya Bhat who passed away in January 2014? a) Melody b) Nutrine c) Campco d) Parry 5. Which is the most liveable city in India on the Liveability Index 2013 released by the Institute for Competitiveness in January 2014? a) Panaji b) Delhi c) Chennai d) Mumbai 6. Which of the following ushered in 2014 with more than half a million fireworks spectacle, breaking the Guinness world record for the largest such display ever, on January 1, 2014? a) Dubai b) London c) Sharjah d) Kuwait City 7. Which petroleum sector company’s first commercial power project started production on December 31, 2013? a) IOC b) ONGC c) HPCL d) BPCL 8. Which of the following appointed former Walmart India MD & CEO Raj Jain as its CEO in January 2014? a) Reliance Retail b) Future Group c) Bharti Retail d) Shoppers Stop 9. Which of the following launched the RS 7 Sportback, priced at Rs 1.28 crore in India in January 2014? a) Fiat b) Audi c) Ford d) Toyota

10. Which is the first general insurance company to launch ‘all-women branch’ in India in January 2014? a) Reliance General Insurance b) Future Generali India Insurance c) ICICI Lombard General Insurance d) Bajaj Allianz General Insurance 11. Which of the following appointed Shankar Venkateswaran as Chief of its Sustainability Group in January 2014? a) Tata b) AV Birla c) Vedanta d) Reliance 12. Which brand signed Ranbir Kapoor as its brand ambassador in January 2014? a) Lay’s b) Kurkure c) Bingo d) Cheetos 13. Which of the following has launched ‘Stay New’ ownership plan that offers consumers 18-month EMI scheme as well as an option to upgrade to newer models? a) LG b) Samsung c) Karbonn d) Micromax 14. Manoj Vaish was appointed as the CEO of which of the following stock exchanges in January 2014? a) BSE b) NSE c) MCX d) ASE 15. Who among the following ex-Infosys employees was in news for joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in January 2014? a) V. Balakrishnan b) TV Mohandas Pai c) Nandan Nilekani d) Phaneesh Murthy 16. Which Indian infrastructure company sold off its stake in Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (ISG) airport in December 2013? a) GVK b) GMR c) L&T d) Gammon 17. Which of the following has discontinued its mobile phone file sharing apps Bump and Flock in Jan 2014? a) Apple b) Yahoo! c) Google d) Microsoft 18. Which of the following became 100% owner of US automobile company Chrysler in January 2014?



36

a) Fiat b) Ford c) Toyota d) Hyundai 19. Which of the following has launched a service called HomeChat that allows users to send SMS to household appliances and instruct tasks? a) LG b) Philips c) Samsung d) Panasonic 20. Which of the following was established by at Bangalore by the Government under the Ministry of Defence in 1954 to meet the specialised electronic needs of the Indian defence services? a) EIL b) BEL c) ECIL d) BHEL 21. Which sector’s Export Promotion Council (EPC) is headed by A. Sakthivel? a) Apparel b) Engineering c) Pharmaceuticals d) Gem and Jewellery 22. Which government-owned financial services company appointed V. P. Baligar as its new Chairman and Managing Director in January 2014? a) LIC b) NABARD c) SIDBI d) HUDCO 23. ‘Toni & Guy’ is a professional hair products brand owned by: a) L’Oreal b) Unilever c) Revlon d) Proctor & Gamble 24. Which of the following is being sued by the Authors Guild for scanning and digitizing millions of books without copyright holders’ permission? a) Microsoft b) Amazon c) Google d) Facebook 25. Who developed Big Brother, the format on which India’s Bigg Boss reality TV show is based? a) CBS b) Sky TV c) Endemol d) Bertelsmann 26. Which of the following has launched as mobile application for women’s safety called Guardian in December 2013? a) TCS b) Google c) Microsoft d) Facebook 27. Which MNC has approached the London Court of International Arbitration to settle its dispute with Indian JV partner Vikram Bakshi in January 2013?

a) Pizza Hut b) Starbucks c) McDonald’s d) Domino’s Pizza 28. Which is the most expensive retail destination with a monthly rental of Rs 1,250/sq ft a month according to Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) in December 2013? a) Khan Market, Delhi b) Linking Road, Mumbai c) Nariman Point, Mumbai d) Connaught Place, Delhi 29. Which Indian IT company has acquired Opus Capital Markets Consultants for $75 million in December 2013? a) TCS b) Wipro c) Infosys d) Cognizant 30. Which of the following launched commercial version of India’s low-cost Aakash tablet computer – UbiSlate 7Ci – in UK in December 2013? a) Wipro b) Milagrow c) Karbonn d) DataWind 31. Where was ‘BookMark’ – a brand new initiative to develop and promote the Indian publishing industry launched in January 2014? a) Times Literary Carnival b) Jaipur Literature Festival c) Kolkata Literature Festival d) Mumbai Literature Festival 32. Which of the following runs the cafe & dining chain Au Bon Pain in India? a) Future Group b) AV Birla Group c) Jubilant Foodworks d) RP Sanjeev Goenka Group 33. What is ‘Club Samsung’ launched by Samsung? a) Retail stores b) Facebook Page c) Customer loyalty scheme d) Digital entertainment store 34. Who was signed as brand ambassador by QMobile, the largest selling mobile phone brand in Pakistan, in December 2013? a) Saina Nehwal b) Anushka Sharma c) Kareena Kapoor d) Katrina Kaif 35. Which of the following has launched the mRupee mobile wallet service? a) Bharti Airtel b) Idea Cellular c) Tata Teleservices d) Reliance Communications 36. Which of the following has acquired the schemes of Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund India in December 2013?



37

a) UTI MF b) HDFC MF c) Reliance MF d) Birla Sun Life MF 37. Which of the following has launched Z1000 and Ninja 1000 motorcycles in India? a) Kawasaki b) Yamaha c) Ducati d) Harley Davidson 38. Which country’s Parliament recently passed a new tax on web advertising, called “Google tax,” which will require Internet companies to sell advertisements from locally- registered companies, instead of from units based in havens such as Ireland, Luxembourg and Bermuda? a) UK b) USA c) Italy d) Germany 39. Who among the following is the co-founder of Twitter? a) Biz Stone b) Tom Anderson c) Chris DeWolfe c) Geoffrey Arden 40. Which of the following was in news recently for its ‘Joy of Gifting’ advertising campaign? a) Titan b) HMT c) Timex d) Maxima 41. Which of the following launched the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom in partnership with the Heritage Foundation in January 2014? a) Time b) Forbes c) The Economist d) Wall Street Journal 42. What was Business Standard Motoring renamed as in January 2014? a) Car World b) Speed World c) Motoring World d) Automobile World 43. Which of the following has introduced Tab Banking, a mobile application that offers consumers an easy alternative to the otherwise tedious process of opening a new bank account? a) Axis Bank b) Yes Bank c) ICICI Bank d) HDFC Bank

44. Mango Sip is mango drink brand marketed by: a) Dabur b) Parle Agro c) CavinKare d) Manpasand 45. Which of the following is in news for its “Thank You, Mom” advertising campaign? a) P&G b) Johnson & Johnson c) GSK d) Unilever 46. Which of the following has launched an advertising campaign titled ‘Live to tell the Tale’ showcasing products designed to help adventurers survive the harsh outdoors? a) Nike b) Adidas c) Reebok d) Woodland 47. Which of the following was in news for its interactive digital campaign, called Best Fitness Friend (BFF), in which consumers receive a daily morning wakeup call from brand ambassador Nargis Fakhri? a) Nike b) Adidas c) Reebok d) Woodland 48. Which of the following has launched the second edition of ‘Brain Hunt - Challenge your Imagination’ – a nation-wide contest to stimulate and encourage the imagination of young minds? a) Amar Ujala b) Dainik Jagran c) Dainik Bhaskar d) Rajasthan Patrika 49. Which of the following has launched a new series ‘7 Race Course Road’ presented by well-known author and columnist Chetan Bhagat from January 2014? a) Aaj Tak b) ABP News c) Times Now d) CNN–IBN 50. Which of the following has launched a contest for independent software vendors (ISVs) and technology start-ups in India to create over 100 applications (apps) and solutions for businesses and governments in the next six months? a) TCS b) Google c) Microsoft d) Facebook

Bank without locks: India’s first lock-free bank branch was opened by UCO Bank at Shani Shinganapur in Maharashtra. The village which takes its name from the god ‘Shani’ is known for the trust its people repose in the god. The people’s belief in the power of their divine protector is so strong that most houses in the village have no doors and those that do, don’t lock them. UCO seems to be banking on the same faith.



38

General Knowledge Quiz: Answer Key

1. a 2. a 3. b 4. c 5. d 6. a 7. b 8. c 9. b 10. d

11. a 12. a 13. b 14. c 15. a 16. b 17. c 18. a 19. a 20. b

21. a 22. d 23. b 24. c 25. c 26. c 27. c 28. b 29. b 30. d

31. b 32. d 33. d 34. c 35. c 36. d 37. a 38. c 39. a 40. a

41. d 42. c 43. c 44. d 45. a 46. d 47. c 48. c 49. b 50. c

Corporate Knowledge quiz: Detailed Answers Answer 1: Cooper Tire terminates $2.5 billion sale to Apollo Tyres: U.S.-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. on

December 30, 2013 said it was terminating a proposed $2.5 billion sale to Apollo Tyres Ltd. Cooper Tire said it was walking away after being informed by the Indian tyre maker that financing was no longer available for a takeover. Cooper added it would pursue legal steps to protect the company. Apollo responded by saying it was “disappointed” that Cooper had prematurely ended the agreement, and that it would pursue legal remedies of its own.

The dispute is likely to focus on whether either company is liable to pay a break-up fee. Under the deal terms, Apollo would have been liable to pay a $112.5 million fee, while Cooper could be held responsible for break-up fee of $50 million. Expectations the deal would unravel rose after a court in Delaware in November ruled the Indian tyre maker had not breached its obligations, delivering a setback to Cooper’s attempt to compel Apollo to close the deal. Apollo has blamed Cooper for its difficulties in securing financing for the deal. At the heart of the dispute has been Apollo’s failure to reach contract agreements with unions at Cooper plants in Ohio and Texas as mandated by a U.S. arbitrator in September. At the same time, Chengshan Group, Cooper’s partner in China, has opposed any merger with Apollo, filing a lawsuit against the U.S. tyremaker to dissolve their joint venture. Apollo has said these two developments were not expected at the time of the deal, but Cooper maintains the issues are a result of the merger and says Apollo was aware of the risks. Answer 2: Lawyer fined for exposing Rowling as author of crime novel: The lawyer who leaked that Harry

Potter creator JK Rowling was the author of a crime novel penned under a pseudonym was slapped with a 1,000 pounds fine and a written rebuke in January 2014 for breaking confidentiality rules. ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ was published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith but later it emerged that Rowling was the author of the popular novel. Rowling, 48, was left “dismayed and distressed” after Christopher Gossage leaked her name as the author of her novel. ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’, about a war veteran turned private investigator called Cormoran Strike, had sold 1,500 copies before it was leaked that Rowling was its author. Within

hours, the novel rose more than 5,000 places to top Amazon’s sales list. The book was published by Sphere, part of the Little, Brown Book Group, which published her foray into writing novels for adults, ‘The Casual Vacancy’.



39

Answer 3: V. Kannan takes over as CMD of Vijaya Bank: V. Kannan on January 1, 2014 assumed charge as Chairman & Managing Director of Bangalore-based public sector Vijaya Bank. The Bank was founded on 23rd October 1931 by late Shri A.B. Shetty and other enterprising farmers in Mangalore, Karnataka. The objective of the founders was essentially to promote banking habit, thrift and entrepreneurship among the farming community of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka State. The bank became a scheduled bank in 1958. Vijaya Bank was nationalised in April 1980. The bank has built a network of 1500 branches, 48 Extension Counters and 1500 ATMs, that span all 28 states and 4 union territories in the country..

Answer 4: Campco founder Subraya Bhat dead: Varanashi Subraya Bhat, 86, founder of the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd, died in Dakshina Kannada district on December 27, 2013. Bhat was instrumental in bringing stability into the market when the arecanut market crashed drastically in 1972. This provided a new lifeline to farmers in the region. He organised farmers of Karnataka and Kerala to form a cooperative that was registered on July 11, 1973. Through Campco, Subraya Bhat made efforts to bring down difference in consuming and selling markets, and made efforts to bring down the menace of middle men in the industry. This led to the revival of the arecanut market. Bhat was also instrumental in starting a chocolate factory in cooperative sector in 1984 when there was no buyer for the cocoa grown as an intercrop in arecanut plantations. Answer 5: Mumbai tops Liveability Index 2013: Mumbai has emerged as the most liveable city in India followed by Chennai and Hyderabad on the Liveability Index 2013 released by the Institute for Competitiveness, India on January 2, 2014. The fourth issue of Liveability index has unveiled the list of 50 livable Indian cities studied by the Institute for Competitiveness every year.

The index is based on a framework, which is an evolved adaptation of the world-renowned diamond model of Michael E Porter, a Bishop William Lawrence Professor at Harvard University. The model is based on eight core pillars that are demographic, education, health and medical standards, safety, housing option, socio-cultural-natural environment, economic environment, and planned environment. According to liveability index, a city is livable when it directly offers favourable living environment to its citizenry and indirectly benefits as well as attracts the visitors. Here, the favourable

environment includes various measurable factors such as, strong infrastructure setup, presence of quality education and health institutions, safety of its citizenry, planned environment, proficient governance, job o etc. The bottom five cities on the liveability index 2013 are Agra, Raipur, Asansol, Kanpur and Patna, signifying that they are the least liveable cities among the selected 50 Indian cities and need to take timely action in order to become prosperous in the future. Answer 6: Dubai 2014 fireworks display breaks Guinness world record: Dubai has ushered in 2014 with more than half a million fireworks spectacle, breaking the world record for the largest such display ever, Guinness World records said in Dubai on January 1, 2014. The display lasted around six minutes, with Guinness adjudicators on hand to confirm that a new record had been set. Covering a distance of over 94km of the city’s seafront, the display incorporated some of Dubai’s top landmarks, including Palm Jumeirah, World Islands, the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab, Guinness said. Organisers had been aiming to beat a record set in 2012 during a display to mark Kuwait’s golden jubilee anniversary which saw a total of 77,282 fireworks launched. “The scale of this record attempt is truly impressive and will ensure all eyes are on Dubai,” Alistair Richards, Global President of Guinness World Records, said.

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Answer 17: Google shuts down mobile file sharing apps Bump & Flock: Bump and Flock, the file sharing apps Google acquired in 2012, were shut down by the end of December 2013 and set for removal from Google Play and the App Store on January 31, 2014. Bump let users tap phones together to share contacts and other files. It enjoyed high download rates, but failed to monetize successfully as other easy, mobile-friendly ways to share information were developed, most notably Apple’s AirDrop for iOS 7. Flock is a collaborative photo-sharing app Bump Technologies released in 2012.

Answer 18: Fiat strikes $4.35 billion deal to buy rest of Chrysler: Italian carmaker Fiat SpA struck a $4.35 billion deal to gain full control of Chrysler Group LLC, ending more than a year of tense talks that have obstructed Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne’s efforts to combine the two automakers’ resources. The agreement, announced on January 1, 2013, cements Marchionne’s reputation as the industry’s consummate dealmaker about a decade after he took the helm of Fiat as a car business newcomer. But it remains to be seen whether a merger will be enough to cut Fiat’s losses in Europe. Marchionne’s plan to shore up Fiat depends on the ability to share technology, cash and dealer networks with Chrysler, the No. 3 U.S. automaker. Fiat will acquire the 41.46 percent stake in Chrysler it did not already own from a retiree healthcare trust affiliated with the United Auto Workers union.

Answer 19: Now, SMS daily tasks to your appliances with new LG app: LG Electronics has partnered with free messaging app to create a service that allows users to send SMS to LG compatible appliances and instruct tasks. The service, dubbed HomeChat, relies on Natural Language Processing (NLP) to send the text messages and works on Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Nokia Asha, and Windows Phone devices as well as OS X and Windows computers. Users can also communicate with a single appliance, as needed, for example, asking Hom-Bot Square, ‘When did you last clean?’ and the device would tell how long it’s been since the user last ran the vacuum.

Answer 20: S. K. Sharma takes charge as BEL CMD: Navaratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) on January 1, 2014 said S K Sharma has taken charge as the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the company. Sharma, who joined BEL in 1978, has served in various capacities at BEL’s Bangalore, Ghaziabad and Hyderabad Units, the company said in a release in Bangalore. He was responsible for the successful execution of large land-mobile Electronic Warfare projects and induction of advanced Naval ESM (electronic support measures) systems for the armed forces, it added. BEL was established at Bangalore by the Government under the Ministry of Defence in 1954 to meet the specialised electronic needs of the Indian defence services. Over the years, it has grown into a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-unit company servicing the needs of customers in diverse fields in India and abroad.

Answer 21: Sakthivel is chairman of apparel skill development body: Apex garments industry body Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A. Sakthivel was on January 1, 2014 appointed the first chairman of NSDC’s apparel, made-ups and home furnishing sector skill council. The Sector Skill Council (SSC) is mandated to develop a skills repository, standards, evaluation criterion and accreditation system for creating employability in the vital sector, which employs over 12 million. The body was set up as per the mandate of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a public-private partnership. The SSC would have representation from apparel, knitwear, SME, hosiery, fashion design, home furnishing, academia and domestic apparel industry. The main task of the SSC would be to undertake skill gap study, set up national occupational standards, assessment and certification framework development, accreditation

framework development, training and labour market information system.



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Answer 22: Baligar appointed HUDCO CMD: Senior IAS officers V. P. Baligar and Satyanarayan Mohanty have been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of HUDCO and Director General of Directorate General of Supplies & Disposals (DGS&D) respectively, a release issued by Ministry of Personnel said in New Delhi on January 1, 2014. The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) was established in 1970 as a sectoral institution for comprehensively dealing with the problems of growing housing shortages, rising number of slums and for fulfilling the pressing needs of the economically weaker section of the society was one of the significant steps in the series of initiatives taken by Government.

Answer 23: Audrey Hepburn’s beehive hairdo listed as most iconic hairstyle: Audrey Hepburn’s beehive hairdo, which gained popularity in classic romantic film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, has been named as the most iconic hairstyles by a hairdressing company Toni and Guy, a Unilever brand, featured Elvis Presley’s jet black quiff on the second position, followed by Bob Marley’s dreadlocks, the Daily Express reported in London on December 31, 2013. The fourth position was taken by Jennifer Anniston’s ‘Rachel’ haircut in the hit series F.R.I.E.N.D.S., while Amy Winehouse’s beehive hairdo completed the top 5 memorable hairdos.

Answer 24: Authors Guild to fight Google Books copyright suit ruling: The trade association for authors has appealed to a U.S. judge’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit against Goggle for scanning and digitizing millions of books without copyright holders’ permission on December 31, 2013. The Authors Guild has alleged that Google’s scanning and digitizing of all or portions of books and publishing them on the Web in its Google Print Library Project was a ‘massive’ copyright infringement. These texts are searchable on Google Books where the Web giant is also able to sell advertisements.

Answer 25: Gauhar Khan wins Bigg Boss7: Model-turned-actress Gauhar Khan won the seventh season of reality show ‘Bigg Boss’, pipping co-contestant Tanishaa Mukherjee in Mumbai on December 28, 2013. Gauhar, who won Rs 50 lakh in cash and a trophy, stayed in the house for 104 days. Bigg Boss follows the Big Brother format, which was first developed by Endemol in the Netherlands. Endemol was founded in 1994 by a merger of television production companies owned by Joop van den Ende and John de Mol, the name deriving from the combination of their surnames. Answer 26: Microsoft launches ‘Guardian’ for women’s safety: Microsoft India on December 26, 2013 said it

has introduced Guardian, a new safety application (app), available exclusively for Windows phone users in India. Guardian enables users to switch on a ‘track me’ feature in the app that lets friends and family track them in real time using Microsoft Windows Azure cloud services and Bing Map APIs. Guardian users can call for help through an ‘SOS’ alert button and also connect to security agencies, police and hospitals easily via this app in times of distress. To use Guardian effectively, users need to add the names of friends, family members and security groups to the settings and in an emergency situation, the app can be used to alert

them, via the SOS button. Guardian can help security authorities and medical teams track the user. Answer 27: Exercised our right by opting for UK arbitration – McDonald’s: US food major McDonald’s on December 18, 2013 told the Company Law Board (CLB) that it has exercised its right by approaching the London Court of International Arbitration to settle its dispute with Indian JV partner Vikram Bakshi. The CLB was hearing a petition filed by Vikram Bakshi challenging his removal as the Managing Director of the joint venture. On November 28, McDonald’s had terminated its joint venture agreement with Bakshi by sending a notice and had simultaneously moved to the London Court of International Arbitration. Incorporated in June 1995, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd (CPRL) is an equal joint venture between McDonald’s Corporation and Vikram Bakshi and it has been running fast food outlets in North and East India.



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Answer 28: Mumbai’s Linking Road is India’s most expensive retail spot – JLL: Mumbai’s Linking Road and Delhi’s Connaught Place have emerged as the topmost expensive retail destinations across India, according to a recent report by Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) on December 10, 2013. According to the JLL retail index report on Asia Pacific, Linking Road recorded rents of $ 1,548 per sqm a year, while Connaught Place recorded $ 1,444 per sqm a year for the third quarter of this year. However, a recent report by another international consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield had put Khan Market in Delhi as the most expensive retail location with a monthly rental of Rs 1,250/sq ft a month. While Mumbai’s Linking Road (Rs 750/sq ft a month) had

emerged as the second most expensive retail location followed by Connaught Place and South Extension for the second quarter this year. Answer 29: Wipro to acquire Opus Capital Markets Consultants: Azim Premji-promoted Wipro, India’s third largest information technology services company, December 2, 2013 signed an agreement to buy Opus Capital Markets Consultants for $75 million (Rs 467 crore). Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, US, Opus provides risk management solutions to the mortgage industry in that country. It has 490 employees, including 315 loan underwriters, spread across five cities in the US.

Answer 30: Datawind launches commercial version of Aakash in UK: A commercial version of India’s low-cost Aakash 2 tablet computer was launched in Britain at a cost of 30 pounds on December 16. The UbiSlate 7Ci, made by UK-based Datawind, is based on Aakash 2, which is mainly used by students in India and was designed to provide cheap internet access to help improve education. Analysts said British customers buying the tablet and comparing it with others on the market may be disappointed. The 7 inch Android tablet has Wi-Fi connectivity, 512MB of RAM, a microUSB connection and 4GB of storage. When the Aakash was launched in India in 2011 it was dubbed the “world’s cheapest touch-screen tablet” and was aimed at schools and colleges. The first version was not well received by critics, but an upgraded version, the Aakash 2, fared better. Suneet Singh Tuli, who founded Datawind, said getting online was all about affordability.

Answer 31: Jaipur to debut publishing event BookMark: Home to an annual literature jamboree, Jaipur is now set to host a brand new initiative to develop and promote the Indian publishing industry. Beginning January 16, the Pink city is bringing together publishers, agents, rights holders and literary content producers from across the world at the inaugural initiative – the Jaipur Book Mark. The three-day event is born of huge interest shown by the international publishing industry in the Jaipur Literature Festival and is scheduled to run in parallel to the main Jaipur Literature Festival at the Narain Niwas Palace, organisers said in a statement in New Delhi on December 24, 2013. Jaipur BookMark 2014 has tied up with Norway as the official country partner with supported from NORLA, (Norwegian Fiction and Non-Fiction Abroad). NORLA is a government-funded, non-commercial foundation which promotes Norwegian literature to other countries.

Answer 32: Spencer’s to expand Au Bon Pain chain: The RP Sanjiv Goenka group, continuing to expand in the retail space, is targeting to invest Rs 70 crore over the next 12 months in spreading cafe and dining chain Au Bon Pain in India. “Our primary focus for the next 12 months is to have a total of 70-72 stores across Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. The expansion will see investment of around Rs 70 crore,” Group Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said in Kolkata on December 23, 2013. Au Bon Pain started as small urban cafe in USA in 1978 and now has expanded to 385 outlets worldwide. The cafe chain was brought into India by Goenka and the first store was opened in Bangalore in 2009.



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Answer 33: Samsung launches dual-SIM Galaxy Grand-2: South Korean mobile handset-maker Samsung on December 23, 2013 launched its latest offering ‘Galaxy Grand 2’ in a price range of Rs 22,990 to Rs 24,990. The dual-SIM smartphone runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and is a dual-SIM device with support for GSM+GSM. It also features a 5.25-inch HD TFT display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. Samsung has also introduced a single destination - Club Samsung - for its Indian infotainment content. The Club Samsung digital entertainment store features 4 lakh songs, 5,000 movies, 500 gigs and

live TV with over 90 channels all optimised for high-quality display on Samsung devices. Answer 34: Kareena Kapoor to endorse Pak mobile brand QMobile: Bollywood’s Kareena Kapoor is all set to star in Pakistan’s most expensive mobile ad by a leading handset company in Islamabad. The 33-year-old actress, who is the brand ambassador of the company, has been signed up by QMobile, the largest selling mobile phone brand in Pakistan, in December 2013.

Answer 35: Tatas to expand mobile wallet service: The Tata group has given up its plans to start a bank but Group Company Tata Teleservices on December 28, 2013 unveiled plans to expand coverage of its mobile payments retail service. The company obtained the licence for its mRupee mobile wallet service from the RBI and started a pilot project in 2011. Mobi Wallet Payments Systems is the fully owned subsidiary of Tata Teleservices that runs

mRupee in Mumbai. Unlike Airtel Money and Vodafone’s mpaisa, mRupee is not limited by the operator. A user with any network’s connection can use mRupee. Answer 36: Morgan Stanley sells India MF assets to HDFC MF: HDFC Mutual Fund, the country’s largest asset management company, on December 24, 2013 said it has acquired the schemes of Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund India. The acquisition — HDFC Mutual’s first in over a decade — will add Rs 3,290 crore to its assets under management (AUM) of Rs 1.03 lakh crore. The MF sector has assets of about Rs 8 lakh crore. Morgan Stanley launched its Indian MF business in 1994, the first foreign fund to set up operations here. Its equity scheme, Morgan Stanley Growth Fund (MSGF), was a hit among investors, who expected the foreign fund house to manage the product differently from the dominant UTI. Morgan Stanley is the second foreign AMC, after Fidelity, in many years to shut its Indian MF business. Fidelity sold its India’s business to L&T MF in March last year.

Answer 37: Kawasaki India launches Z1000, Ninja 1000 at Rs 12.5 lakh: India Kawasaki Motors (IKM) on December 23, 2013 launched two motorcycles in India, Z1000 and Ninja 1000 at Rs 12.5 lakh ex-showroom Pune and Delhi. The bikes are imported in as direct imports, Completely Built Units or CBU models from Japan. Both the models will initially be available in Pune and a new Kawasaki dealership in Delhi.

Answer 38: Italy’s House approves ‘Google tax’: Italy’s Parliament on December 23, 2013 passed a new tax on web advertising, called “Google tax,” which will require Internet companies to sell ads from locally- registered companies, instead of from units based in havens such as Ireland, Luxembourg and Bermuda. The tax has stirred controversy, with some lawyers saying it probably violates European Union laws regarding non-discrimination over commercial activity and could be subject to legal challenges. In July, at the request of the Group of 20 nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development proposed a blueprint to fight strategies used by companies such as Google Inc, Apple Inc and Yahoo! Inc to shift taxable profits into havens. Italy is the first major European government to pass legislation to combat the problem of moving corporate taxable earnings into havens.



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Answer 39: Twitter co-founder Biz Stone launches ‘Jelly’: One of the creators of Twitter Inc unveiled a new mobile service called ‘Jelly’ in January 2014. The smartphone app seeks to improve the way people search for and find information, by querying people instead of Internet search engines. “Everyone is mobile, everyone is connected. So if you have a question, there’s somebody out there that knows the answer,” said Biz Stone, CEO and cofounder of Jelly. Stone was among the team that, in 2006, created Twitter. He left Twitter in June 2011. Among the backers of the new company are Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams, venture

capital investor Reid Hoffman, as well as U2 frontman Bono and former US Vice-President Al Gore. Answer 40: Titan launches ‘Joy of Gifting’ campaign: Titan, the iconic watch brand, has been synonymous with gifting. Echoing the familiar tune, Titan has made a comeback into the minds of consumers with a new campaign from December 24, 2013 that redefines the ‘Joy of Gifting’. The television commercial has been conceptualised by Ogilvy India and showcases a playful and warm situation set in a college classroom. What initially appears to be routine mischief in an otherwise regular lecture turns into a heartening group effort by the students to thank their teacher. A rendition of Titan’s classic signature melody is recreated by the students by thumping on desks, classroom stationery and their own voices. While the teacher looks on, a student walks up to him and hands him a book. After flipping the pages, he finds a Titan watch embedded within the pages. Answer 41: India 120th on Economic Freedom Index: The 2014 Index of Economic Freedom was launched by

think-tank Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal on January 14, 2014. The index evaluates countries in four broad areas: rule of law; regulatory efficiency; limited government; and open markets. Asia’s financial capital Hong Kong maintained its title as the world’s freest economy for the twentieth consecutive year. Singapore, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada were placed in second through sixth place respectively. The world’s most-improved country is Burma, thanks to improvements in its investment, business and labour freedom scores. Finally, and not surprisingly, the hermit kingdom, North Korea has retained its

position as the least free economy. Despite its much-touted economic ‘reforms’, India continues to languish near the bottom of the table in ease of doing business and is ranked 120th globally Answer 42: Business Standard Motoring renamed Motoring World: Business Standard Motoring, the auto magazine acquired by Delhi Press in April, 2013, has been rebranded as Motoring World. Starting January 2014, Delhi Press-owned BS Motoring has been rebranded as Motoring World. For the record, the magazine was formally acquired by Delhi Press on April 16, 2013 from Business Standard after 18 years of its association with the paper. The change in the name is a part of repositioning done by the group for the magazine. Delhi Press was established in 1939 and today publishes 36 magazines in 10 languages, including The Caravan, Woman’s Era, Grihshobha, Champak, and Saras Salil. Answer 43: ICICI Bank launches ‘Tab Banking’ for opening accounts: ICICI Bank has developed a mobile

banking strategy that offers consumers an easy alternative to the otherwise tedious process of opening a new bank account: Tab Banking. This allows a potential customer the convenience of opening a new bank account from the comfort of his/her home or office. Here’s how: Using a tablet equipped with mobile connectivity, the bank’s executive comes over and fills out the required information, clicks a picture of the customer, and takes the relevant

KYC (Know Your Customer) documents, thereby doing away with the need for the customer to visit a physical branch. A TVC, released on January 3, 2014, informs consumers about this service.



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Answer 44: Sunny Deol to endorse Mango Sip: Vadodara-based Manpasand Beverages on January 13, 2014 said it has signed up Hindi film actor Sunny Deol as the brand ambassador for its flagship brand ‘Mango Sip’. Its flagship brand Mango Sip was established by first generation entrepreneur Dhirendra Singh. Manpasand feels that the Hindi film action star with a strong fan following amongst the urban and rural masses gels well with Manpasand’s Mango Sip brand which has a strong presence amongst the masses across the country.

Answer 45: P&G launches ‘Thank You Mom’ campaign: P&G has launched its new instalment of the “Thank You, Mom” campaign on January 5, 2014. Conceptualised by advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy, the commercial is released as a sequel for February’s Sochi Winter Olympics. The campaign titled “Pick Them Back Up” portrays the stories of four moms of athletes from around the world, and shows their journey to achieve their dreams and the important role moms play along the way. P&G owns brands such as Ambi Pur, Ariel, Duracell, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers,

Pantene, Tide, Vicks and Whisper, among others.

Answer 46: Woodland launches ‘Live to tell the Tale’: Woodland, the Canada-headquartered outdoor wear brand from Aero Group, on January 15, 2014 launched a campaign to promote its new range of ‘survival gear’ churned out by what it calls its ‘innovation lab’. Titled ‘Live to tell the Tale’, a self-explanatory name, the campaign showcases items designed to help adventurers survive the harsh outdoors.

Answer 47: Reebok launches Best Fitness Friend: Have you been avoiding your morning workouts because you have no one to wake you up and accompany you? Reebok India has launched an interactive digital campaign, called Best Fitness Friend (BFF) featuring actor Nargis Fakhri, to fill this vacuum on December 27, 2013. As a

part of Reebok’s BFF campaign, every consumer who registers online (http://reebokbestfitnessfriend.com/) receives a daily morning wakeup call from Fakhri, who then helps them plan their daily workout, diets and fitness regimen. Answer 48: Dainik Bhaskar launches second edition of ‘Brain Hunt’: Dainik Bhaskar Group on December 19, 2013 launched the second edition of ‘Brain Hunt - Challenge your Imagination’. Brain Hunt is a nation-wide initiative of the Bhaskar Champs Club and the Dainik Bhaskar Group to stimulate and encourage the imagination of young minds.

Answer 49: ABP News launches ‘7 Race Course Road’: ABP News has launched a new series ‘7 Race Course Road’, which seeks to project India’s future. To be presented by well-known author and columnist Chetan Bhagat, the series premiered on January 11, 2014. ‘7 RCR’ will present a picture of how India will appear in the near future. Today, the biggest question before the country is that who will form the government and who will take on the mantle of Prime Minister after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections? In such a scenario, ‘7 RCR’ will profile all those who could become contenders for this position.

Answer 50: Microsoft to create over 100 commercial apps in 6 months: Microsoft on December 19, 2013 launched a contest for independent software vendors (ISVs) and technology start-ups in India to create over 100 applications (apps) and solutions for businesses and governments in the next six months. The contest, Code for Honour, is supported by a panel of organisations including the National Informatics Centre (NIC), IT-ITeS industry body NASSCOM, TiE, Nokia, Nokia App Campus, Intel and BarrierBreak. Launching the contest, Microsoft Corporation (India) Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik said that the ISVs and start-ups can develop apps and solutions in four broad categories on enterprise apps and solutions (HR, Finance, Marketing and Sales), micro, small and medium enterprise apps and solutions, government enablement and citizen services.



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Point-Counterpoint

“Shinde prevented the Delhi Police from interrogating a businessman in connection with an IPL match-fixing case. Agencies suspect this man of having links with Dawood.”

– R. K. Singh, ex-Home Secretary who recently joined the BJP, saying the Home Minister shielded a businessman close to India’s most wanted man Dawood Ibrahim.

“His charges are extremely serious and if he kept quiet then he is guilty also of not fulfilling his assigned responsibility.” – Digvijay Singh, Congress, rubbishing the allegations made by former home secretary R K Singh, who recently joined the BJP, against home minister Sushilkumar Shinde

“We had heard of income, sales and excise taxes but for the first time, we heard about a Jayanthi tax in Delhi without which nothing was moving.”

– Narendra Modi, CM, Gujarat, alleging that no file was cleared at the office of recently resigned Union Environment Minister Jayanti Natarajan’s office without greasing of palms

“It is a targeted personal attack. I totally deny what he says. It is completely baseless. There are major green violations in Gujarat.”

– Jayanthi Natarajan, saying she was targeted by Modi since as the environment minister she had stoutly opposed destruction of environment in Gujarat

“Many people I spoke to have asked me what Nandan (Nilekani) has done for Bangalore. While Nandan has done (unique identity number) Aadhaar, I don’t know what he has done for Bangalore.”

– T. V. Mohandas Pai, ex-Infosys CFO & VP of the Bangalore Political Action Committee, on Nandan Nilekani’s wish to contest LS polls from Bangalore seat

“(It’s) not worth it to react. As Indira Gandhi told Natwar Singh: In politics you need a thick skin.”

– Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder & Chairman, UIDAI, responding to Pai

“Don’t agree with the decision of the Maharashtra cabinet; it should be reconsidered. There is no question of protecting anyone.”

– Rahul Gandhi, Congress Vice-President, on Maharashtra government’s rejection of Adarsh scam report

“If Shri Gandhi feels so strongly on the Adarsh issue, the guilty must be prosecuted and certainly not be the country’s Home Minister.”

– Arun Jaitley, BJP, referring to Sushilkumar Shinde who has been faulted for his decisions as Maharashtra Chief Minister by the inquiry into the Adarsh scam

“One of the big industrialists of our country helped make a deal between Arvind Kejriwal and some senior Congress leaders at a big hotel in Delhi.” – Nitin Gadkari, BJP, alleging that a deal was brokered between AAP and Congress by an industrialist to “stop BJP at any cost” from coming to power in Delhi

“It is sad to note that a senior leader like Gadkari is talking nonsense. If he is making claims, then he should also give evidence.”

– Arvind Kejriwal, Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader & Delhi CM

“I understand that a politician’s visit or a minister’s visit to the shrine is a matter of his or her personal belief.”

– Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister, Japan, on China’s anger at PM Shinzo Abe’s visit to Yasukuni shrine that honours Japanese martyrs of World War II

“Their hands are covered with the blood of the victimized peoples. They are fascists. They are the Nazis of Asia.” – Qin Gang, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, calling those revered by the Japanese at Yasukuni as war criminals

genesis-january 2014 issue ii

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