General Knowledge for Preparing Various Exams in India Chapter 5

61. The UN passed Arms trade treaty (ATT) to better regulate the international sale in weapons. It was passed in the General Assembly with 154 members voting ‘Yes’; three — Iran, Syria and North Korea — voting no; and 23, including India, abstaining.

62. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak dissolved Parliament in preparation for a general election.

63. Reliance Power (RPower) said it had received the first disbursement of Rs.2,550 crore ($470 million) from U.S. Exim Bank and offshore commercial banks. The disbursement is part of $2 billion loan. It forms part of the overall financing for Reliance Power’s 3,960 MW Ultra Mega Power Project at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh.

64. Softening its stand towards Pakistan, India has commenced the visa-on-arrival facility for senior citizens (above 65 years of age) of the neighbouring nation from April 1.

65. Karnataka has emerged top performer in the country in management of rural drinking water

schemes and devolution of powers to panchayat raj institutions (PRIs) in 2012-13 and received an incentive of Rs. 241.1 crore from the Union government.

66. The government has drawn up plans to launch the LPG cylinder subsidy scheme under the Direct Benefit Transfer component from July 1 in at least 45 districts. The consumers are likely to get around Rs.4,000 per annum from the government.

67. Representatives from Iran and the six global powers (P-5: America, Britain, France, Russia and China + Germany) have concluded the first day of talks at Almaty, Kazakhstan.

68. Malala Yousafzai has announced the first grant of $45,000 from the Malala Fund for girls’ education to an unnamed organisation in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. 15-year-old announced it in a video message for the Women in the World summit in New York. The video was introduced by Hollywood star and U.N. special envoy Angelina Jolie, who also pledged a donation of $200,000 for the fund.

69. USA had agreed for returning to Japan the land near Kadena Air Base on the southern island of Okinawa.

70. Reserve Bank of India has decided to let authorised money changers (AMCs) to sell Indian rupees to foreign tourists / visitors against international credit/debit cards.

71. According to the RBI directive, Amanath Cooperative Bank can conduct a financial transaction of not more than Rs. 1,000 per account a day. Besides, the bank has been stopped from accepting deposits till further orders.

72. Activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal ended his 15-day-long fast with a spirited attack on the Sheila Dikshit-led Delhi government for its “inability” to provide power and water.

73. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army successfully test-fired Agni-II (Range – 2000 Km) ballistic missile from Wheeler Island Odisha.

74. Having successfully completed two polio-free years, India is preparing to receive the crucial polio eradication certificate from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The certificate is issued on completion of incident-free three years.

75. Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first woman Prime Minister who led the Conservative party, died following a stroke.