Materials for Latest Current Affairs April 2014 - 1st Week

Q1. Who was crowned as the new Miss India in the 51st Femina Miss Indiacontest on 5 April 2014 at Mumbai?

Ans. Koyal Rana

Note: With this win, Rana will represent India at the Miss World International beauty pageant 2014. Rana, who was born in Jaipur but raised in Delhi, was crowned at Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai. She was crowned by Navneer Kaur Dhillion, the 2013 winner of Femina Miss India title and Megan Young, the Miss World 2013.

Q2. Which country lifted the T20 cricket world cup 2014?

Ans. Sri Lanka

Note: It was the maiden ICC Twenty20 World Cup title for Sri Lanka. They won title after defeating Indian cricket team by six wickets in the final match at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Q3. Which country won the ICC T-20 Women’s World Cup 2014?

Ans. Australia

Note: Australian women cricket team on 6 April 2014 won the Women’s World Twenty20 Cup 2014 cup defeating England in the final match in Mirpur, Dhaka.

Q4. Name India’s 2nd regional navigational satellite launched on 4 April 2014 by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)?

Ans. IRNSS 1B

Note: The launch of IRNSS series would enable India to have its own reliable and independent navigational resources for itself.  The satellite was lifted off by the Polar Satellite Vehicle (PSLV) C24 at 5.14 pm. IRNSS (Indian Regional navigational satellite) was injected by the launch vehicle after four stages of 19 minutes of its take off from Sriharikota. This launch of IRNSS 1B is the 25th successful launch of the PSLV series by ISRO. This launch of the satellite had brought India close to join the group of selected nations namely US, Russia, China, Japan and European countries.

Q5. Who was appointed as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on 3 April 2014 for a period of three years?

Ans. R Gandhi

Note: His appointment came into effect from 3 April 2014. Before being elevated to the position of Deputy Governor, he was serving the Reserve Bank as its executive director. He has been appointed as the successor of Anand Sinha, who retired from the office on 20 January 2014.

Q6. Who was appointed as the new Director General of BSF on 2 April 2014?

Ans. D K Pathak

Note: BSF is country's largest border guarding force. His name for the post of DG was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Mamohan Singh. He is expected to continue till February, 2016.

Q7. Which entity on 3 April 2014 received the Most Efficient Navratna  Award for the year 2013?

Ans. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)

Note:  It received the award at the 5th Dalal Street Investment Journal Awards ceremony held in New Delhi. The award was collected by the Chairman of HAL, Dr. R K Tyagi.

Q8. Reserve Bank of India on 1 April 2014 adopted which index as the key measure of Inflation?Visit:www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Note: It was adopted in the first bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2014-15. It was adopted on the basis of recommendations of Urjit R Patel Committee report on Revising and Strengthening the Monetary Policy Framework.

Q9. Election Commission (EC) confirmed whom as its national icon for the Lok Sabha elections 2014 on 1 April 2014?

Ans. Amir Khan

Note: He is the fifth national icon selected by the EC.  The EC recorded a video and audio campaign which shows Amir Khan urging people to vote ethically. The other four national icons were President A P J Abdul Kalam, cricketer M S Dhoni, badminton star Saina Nehwal and boxer Mary Kom.

Q10. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 1 April 2014 decommissioned which Communication Satellite?

Ans. INSAT-3E

Note: The satellite was decommissioned after it completed ten and half years in orbit as it had stopped working on 29 March 2014.

Q11. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 2 April 2014 granted in-principle approvals to which entities to start new banks in India?

Ans. IDFC Ltd and Bandhan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd

Note: These approvals have been granted under the guidelines on licensing of new banks in the private sector. The two have been granted the permission to set-up banks from a field of 25 aspirants. The two applicants received the in-principle approval following the recommendation of High-Level Advisory Committee (HLAC) set up by RBI that claimed these two as suitable. Since 2004, these two entities became the first one to be issued new bank licence. Kotak Mahindra Bank and YES Bank were given a licence in 2004.  

Q12. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its first Bi-monthly Monetary Policy statement 2014-15 announced on 1 April 2014, has kept the policy repo rate unchanged at ...........%?

Ans. 8.0

Note: In the first bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2014-15, the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan decided to pause and not disturb status quo. The repo rate and the rate at which RBI lends money to banks remained at 8 per cent.

Q13. Who was appointed as the next prime minister of France on 31 March 2014?

Ans. Manuel Valls

Note:  Manuel Carlos Valls is a Spanish-born French Socialist Party politician. He was the Mayor of Évry from 2001 to 2012 and a Member of the National Assembly since 2002. Valls replaced PM Jean-Marc Ayrault whose administration lost the confidence of the French in the recently concluded Municipal elections.

Q14. Earth Hour was observed across the world on 29 March 2014. The pledge of Earth Hour 2014 was?

Ans. Switch to energy efficient bulbs.

Note: India launched the Earth Hour to bring individuals, organisations, governments together to take action on climate change in 2009. Every year different celebrities supported the Earth Hour and this year. Actor Arjun Kapoor was the brand ambassador of the Earth hour in India for 2014.

Q15. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India was forecasted to rise to ........... percent in 2014-15, according to  Asian Development Outlook report 2014?

Ans. 5.5

Q16. Union Sports Ministry on 1 April 2014 derecognized which federation with an immediate effect after its refusal to comply with its directives?

Ans. Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF)

Q17. World Autism Awareness Day 2014 was celebrated across the world on?

Ans. 2 April

Note: This year was the seventh World Autism Day. The day is celebrated to raise fund and to create awareness about autism.

Q18. Qatar based Doha Bank announced on 3 April 2014 that it will be opening its first branch at which city in India?

Ans. Mumbai

Note: The branch in Mumbai will be opened as a full-fledged bank in May 2014. Initially, branch will offer retail and corporate banking solutions with emphasis on off-branch banking.

Q19. Who was sworn-in as the President of Malta on 4 April 2014?

Ans. Marie-Lousie Coleiro Preca

Note: She is the ninth President of the Malta. Coleiro, 55, is the youngest-ever President of Malta and will hold office for five years. Coleiro belongs to Labour Party and has served as minister for social policy. With her appointment, the total number of female heads of a country in the world now stands at 21.

Q20. International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) imposed a transfer ban at both national and international level on 2 April 2014 on which Spanish club?

Ans. FC Barcelona

Note: This ban will last for one year. Apart from this ban, FIFA also imposed financial penalty on FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. In 2013, FIFA conducted an investigation in which it found that both Barcelona and the Real Madrid guilty of making illegal transactions.

Q21. Name the Pulitzer Prize winning female journalist who was shot dead in Afghanistan on 4 April 2014?Visit:www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. Anja Niedringhaus

Note: She was shot dead by a policeman in Afghanistan. She was 48. She was killed while covering the 2014 presidential election in Afghanistan.

Q22. Europe on 3 April 2014 launched which satellite designed to monitor Earth for climate change and environmental damage and help disaster relief operations?

Ans. Sentinel-1A

Q23. International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on 2 April 2014 rejected the call of US senators to ban which country from 2014 World Cup in response to Kremlin’s position on Ukraine?

Ans. Russia

Note: At present, Russia is building a large scale project of sports facilities and necessary infrastructure to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Q24. Union Ministry of Civil Aviation on 2 April 2014 approved the Tata and Singapore Airlines (SIA) joint venture called?

Ans. Tata SIA Airlines Ltd

Note: The joint venture got the approval within a time period of little more than four months. Tata and SIA first got the clearance from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in November 2013.

Q25. Which country started its first official census in 30 years on 30 March 2014?

Ans. Myanmar

Q26. What was India's rank out of 132 countries on the Social Progress Index (SPI) published by the US-based non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative on 3 April 2014?

Ans. 102

Note: The top five countries are New Zealand, Switzerland, Iceland, Netherlands and Norway. These countries, which are relatively small in terms of populations, score strongly across all dimensions.

Q27. Amazon launched an internet-connected TV set-top box or video streaming device called .......... on 2 April 2014?

Ans. Fire TV

Note: It will allow consumers to stream content from Amazon's library, as well other video-on-demand services, directly to their TVs.

Q28. Who won special jury award of Times Now NRI Awards 2014?

Ans. Zubin Mehta

Note: He was renowned music director and concert conductor. Times Now NRI Awards 2014 is to recognize the successful Indians globally and to celebrate their achievements.

Q29. Who won the United Kingdom’s 2014 Asian Award for outstanding achievement in Sports?Visit:www.currentaffairs4examz.com

Ans. MS Dhoni

Note: Dhoni is widely regarded as one of the greatest finishers in limited over cricket tournament and in 2013 he emerged as the first captain to win all three ICC trophies. Under the Forbes list of highest paid athletes, Dhoni is ranked at the 16th position.

Q30. Election Commission of India (ECI) approved on 3 April 2014 the appointment of whom as Directorate General of Police (DGP) of Punjab?

Ans. Suresh Arora

Q31. President Barack Obama on 4 April 2014 nominated whom as the next US Alternate Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?

Ans. Sunil Sabharwal

Q32. Who was named as the new Prime Minister of Kazakhstan on 2 April 2014?

Ans. Karim Massimov

Note: His appointment came following the resignation of Serik Akhmetov from the post, which was accepted by the President as per the Constitutional provision.

Q33. Who was appointed as the chairman of retail arm Trent on 31 March 2014?

Ans. Noel Naval Tata

Q34. Name the Indian- American Cardiologist who was chosen for Prestigious Simon Dack Award?

Ans. Dr. Sumit Chugh

Note: This award will be given to him in recognition of his contributions to the organisation’s peer-reviewed medical journals.