51. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has been named the regional brand ambassador by the UNICEF to promote its Total Sanitation Campaign in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
52. Iran has invited U.N. inspectors to visit its Arak heavy-water plant, in tune with the spirit of the Geneva agreement signed which promises a détente between Tehran and the West. During the Geneva talks, Iran’s interlocutors — United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — wanted Tehran to halt all work on the facility related to the production of plutonium that can be used to develop an atomic bomb.
53. NASA is planning to grow plants and vegetables — such as turnip and basil — on the Moon, by 2015, to understand whether humans can live and work on the Earth’s natural satellite.
54. The Argentinian government has dramatically increased the pressure on British companies
drilling for oil off the disputed Falkland Islands by passing laws that could impose 15-year jail sentences on their executives.
55. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) relaxed norms for long-term foreign investors eligible to put money into Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF), as part of efforts to attract more overseas investments into the country.
56. Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a young colleague.
57. China’s official Xinhua news agency reiterated Beijing’s territorial claims on Arunachal Pradesh, coinciding with President Pranab Mukherjee’s two-day visit to the State.
58. In the wake of the collapse of the Ponzi scheme run by the Saradha Group in West Bengal, the Chhattisgarh government is setting up a registration authority to control non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
59. India is once again among a small list of nations that qualifies for an exception from unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington on nations importing oil from Iran, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.
60. The U.S. will destroy the most dangerous of Syria’s chemical weapon stockpile on a ship at sea, said the world’s chemical weapons watchdog Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
61. Debit card holders will from 1 December be required to punch in their PIN numbers every time they use the card
62. The Current Account Deficit (CAD) of the country has narrowed down sharply to $5.2 billion, or 1.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for the second quarter — July to September — in the current financial year.
63. The West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution demanding withdrawal of the Union Petroleum Ministry’s decision to link subsidies on LPG cylinders to Aadhaar cards.
64. Chaloka Beyani, U.N. special envoy on human rights of internally displaced persons arrived in Sri
Lanka to examine the status of people rendered homeless by the country’s three-decade civil war.
65. French nuclear energy conglomerate Areva SA, which is the technology provider for the proposed nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, said it was working with Nuclear Energy Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to bring down the cost of the project so that power could be supplied at cheaper rates.
66. The Supreme Court directed all States to put in place by March 31, 2014 draft rules for regulating sale of acids and other corrosive substances.
67. The the Army successfully test-fired the surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile from the Integrated Test Range near Balasore, Odisha. The missile, which can travel 250 km-350 km, can carry a nuclear warhead weighing 350 kg.
68. India, an aspirant to next month’s international conference on Syria in Geneva, has offered the services of its experts to help in destruction of Damascus’ chemical weapons arsenal. In addition, it has offered to contribute $1 million towards this effort by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
69. All the three Service chiefs have agreed to having a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) as per the recommendations of the 14-member Naresh Chandra Task Force on undertaking reforms in the defence management.
70. China’s yuan currency overtook the euro in October, becoming the second-most used currency in trade finance, global transaction services organisation SWIFT said. The market share of yuan grew to 8.66 per cent in October. The yuan now ranks behind the U.S. dollar, which remains the leading currency with a share of 81.08 per cent.
71. Federal Bank said it had appointed Abraham Koshy as its part-time Chairman.
72. Telecom operators will not be penalised for up to 50 complaints received against them in a week for pesky calls and SMSes originating from their networks.
73. Breaking all previous records, Delhi registered more than 65 per cent polling on 4th December.
74. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that the ongoing amnesty scheme voluntary compliance encouragement scheme (VCES) for service tax evaders, which ends on December 31, would be the ‘last chance’ for them to comply with tax regulations.
75. Cyprus has said the Indian government had agreed to withdraw a notification that suspended tax benefits on investments from the island nation.
76. Over one million people will benefit from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-supported flood control programme along the Brahmaputra river, the first tranche of which is likely to be completed by May 2014.
77. The Union Cabinet night approved a bill for the creation of a Telangana. Some of the highlights of the bill are: Telangana will have 10 districts and the rest of Andhra Pradesh will have 13 districts; Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area will remain the common capital for both states for a period not exceeding 10 years.
78. Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar recommended a financial package to Sugar millers, which includes an interest-free loan of Rs. 7,500 crore to pay off arrears. The loan can be repaid in five years with a moratorium of two years.
79. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy openly defied the Congress high command again when he vowed to oppose every aspect of the A. P. State Reorganisation Bill in the Assembly.
80. While in Chhattisgarh, 3.07 per cent of the valid votes went to NOTA — the highest among the four States for which results were declared in Delhi, it was 0.63 per cent.
81. Bharti Airtel and Relaince Jio Infocomm announced a comprehensive arrangement under which they will share their telecom infrastructure.
82. In a major setback to gay rights activists, the Supreme Court held that homosexuality or unnatural sex between two consenting adults under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is illegal and will continue to be an offence.
83. Pope Francis has been named Person of the Year 2013 by Time magazine for changing the
perception of the Catholic Church within just nine months.
84. The Supreme Court pulled up the Sahara group for issuing public advertisements accusing SEBI of being a sarkari gunda (a government goon) for not refunding Rs. 20,000 crore to duped investors.
85. The Supreme Court has directed all the States to drastically restrict the number of VIPs using the red beacon in their cars, and give the facility only to heads of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary and those holding constitutional posts.
86. The Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) panel, headed by former chief justice of India N. K. Sodhi, has suggested that trades by promoters, employees, directors and their immediate relatives would need to be disclosed internally to the company.
87. The Reserve Bank of India said it would infuse an additional Rs.10,000 crore into the system to ease the tight liquidity situation, ahead of commencement of advance tax payments.
88. In ‘Operation Falcon Claw’ Investigative website Cobrapost claimed to have exposed 11 Members of Parliament from different political parties who allegedly showed willingness to issue recommendation letters and lobby with the Union Ministry for Petroleum for a fictitious foreign oil company seeking exploration and digging rights in the northeast.
89. The Supreme Court expressed serious concern at media reports of death of over 50 children in relief camps for victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots, and directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide them with relief.
90. President Vladimir Putin has ordered the military to step up its presence in the Arctic after Canada signalled it planned to claim the North Pole and surrounding waters.
91. South Korea and Japan have carried out a naval drill in the East China Sea, deploying destroyers and maritime helicopters in a region where both countries are involved in a dispute with China. A biennial naval drill took place in a part of the sea that lies within China’s newly established Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
92. On the back of rising food prices, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew at the rate of 11.24 per cent in November.
93. Doha Bank has been granted licence to commence banking operations in India, and has been permitted to open a branch in Mumbai to provide full-scale banking services.
94. India has indicated its disagreement with American pressure on Afghanistan to sign the bilateral security agreement (BSA), which will limit the number of western troops in the war-torn country after 2014.
95. In a relief to Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the fodder scam case in which he was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for five years by a trial court in Jharkhand.
96. The Union Cabinet approved the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill. It will replace the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995. The Bill provides for five per cent reservation in public sector jobs and makes the private sector more accountable for creating a disabled-friendly environment.
97. C. V. R. Rajendran took charge of Andhra Bank Chairman and Managing Director.
98. A Bill to set up an independent coal sector regulator Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2013 with the task of conserving resources and charting methodology for price fixing was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
99. U.S. retail giant Walmart announced the appointment of Krish Iyer as the President and CEO of its India unit.
100. India and Afghanistan have agreed to deepen defence and security cooperation to increase the operational capabilities and mobility of the Afghanistan National Security and Defence Forces (ANSDF).
52. Iran has invited U.N. inspectors to visit its Arak heavy-water plant, in tune with the spirit of the Geneva agreement signed which promises a détente between Tehran and the West. During the Geneva talks, Iran’s interlocutors — United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — wanted Tehran to halt all work on the facility related to the production of plutonium that can be used to develop an atomic bomb.
53. NASA is planning to grow plants and vegetables — such as turnip and basil — on the Moon, by 2015, to understand whether humans can live and work on the Earth’s natural satellite.
54. The Argentinian government has dramatically increased the pressure on British companies
drilling for oil off the disputed Falkland Islands by passing laws that could impose 15-year jail sentences on their executives.
55. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) relaxed norms for long-term foreign investors eligible to put money into Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF), as part of efforts to attract more overseas investments into the country.
56. Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a young colleague.
57. China’s official Xinhua news agency reiterated Beijing’s territorial claims on Arunachal Pradesh, coinciding with President Pranab Mukherjee’s two-day visit to the State.
58. In the wake of the collapse of the Ponzi scheme run by the Saradha Group in West Bengal, the Chhattisgarh government is setting up a registration authority to control non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
59. India is once again among a small list of nations that qualifies for an exception from unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington on nations importing oil from Iran, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.
60. The U.S. will destroy the most dangerous of Syria’s chemical weapon stockpile on a ship at sea, said the world’s chemical weapons watchdog Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
61. Debit card holders will from 1 December be required to punch in their PIN numbers every time they use the card
62. The Current Account Deficit (CAD) of the country has narrowed down sharply to $5.2 billion, or 1.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for the second quarter — July to September — in the current financial year.
63. The West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution demanding withdrawal of the Union Petroleum Ministry’s decision to link subsidies on LPG cylinders to Aadhaar cards.
64. Chaloka Beyani, U.N. special envoy on human rights of internally displaced persons arrived in Sri
Lanka to examine the status of people rendered homeless by the country’s three-decade civil war.
65. French nuclear energy conglomerate Areva SA, which is the technology provider for the proposed nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, said it was working with Nuclear Energy Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to bring down the cost of the project so that power could be supplied at cheaper rates.
66. The Supreme Court directed all States to put in place by March 31, 2014 draft rules for regulating sale of acids and other corrosive substances.
67. The the Army successfully test-fired the surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile from the Integrated Test Range near Balasore, Odisha. The missile, which can travel 250 km-350 km, can carry a nuclear warhead weighing 350 kg.
68. India, an aspirant to next month’s international conference on Syria in Geneva, has offered the services of its experts to help in destruction of Damascus’ chemical weapons arsenal. In addition, it has offered to contribute $1 million towards this effort by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
69. All the three Service chiefs have agreed to having a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) as per the recommendations of the 14-member Naresh Chandra Task Force on undertaking reforms in the defence management.
70. China’s yuan currency overtook the euro in October, becoming the second-most used currency in trade finance, global transaction services organisation SWIFT said. The market share of yuan grew to 8.66 per cent in October. The yuan now ranks behind the U.S. dollar, which remains the leading currency with a share of 81.08 per cent.
71. Federal Bank said it had appointed Abraham Koshy as its part-time Chairman.
72. Telecom operators will not be penalised for up to 50 complaints received against them in a week for pesky calls and SMSes originating from their networks.
73. Breaking all previous records, Delhi registered more than 65 per cent polling on 4th December.
74. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that the ongoing amnesty scheme voluntary compliance encouragement scheme (VCES) for service tax evaders, which ends on December 31, would be the ‘last chance’ for them to comply with tax regulations.
75. Cyprus has said the Indian government had agreed to withdraw a notification that suspended tax benefits on investments from the island nation.
76. Over one million people will benefit from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-supported flood control programme along the Brahmaputra river, the first tranche of which is likely to be completed by May 2014.
77. The Union Cabinet night approved a bill for the creation of a Telangana. Some of the highlights of the bill are: Telangana will have 10 districts and the rest of Andhra Pradesh will have 13 districts; Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area will remain the common capital for both states for a period not exceeding 10 years.
78. Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar recommended a financial package to Sugar millers, which includes an interest-free loan of Rs. 7,500 crore to pay off arrears. The loan can be repaid in five years with a moratorium of two years.
79. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy openly defied the Congress high command again when he vowed to oppose every aspect of the A. P. State Reorganisation Bill in the Assembly.
80. While in Chhattisgarh, 3.07 per cent of the valid votes went to NOTA — the highest among the four States for which results were declared in Delhi, it was 0.63 per cent.
81. Bharti Airtel and Relaince Jio Infocomm announced a comprehensive arrangement under which they will share their telecom infrastructure.
82. In a major setback to gay rights activists, the Supreme Court held that homosexuality or unnatural sex between two consenting adults under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is illegal and will continue to be an offence.
83. Pope Francis has been named Person of the Year 2013 by Time magazine for changing the
perception of the Catholic Church within just nine months.
84. The Supreme Court pulled up the Sahara group for issuing public advertisements accusing SEBI of being a sarkari gunda (a government goon) for not refunding Rs. 20,000 crore to duped investors.
85. The Supreme Court has directed all the States to drastically restrict the number of VIPs using the red beacon in their cars, and give the facility only to heads of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary and those holding constitutional posts.
86. The Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) panel, headed by former chief justice of India N. K. Sodhi, has suggested that trades by promoters, employees, directors and their immediate relatives would need to be disclosed internally to the company.
87. The Reserve Bank of India said it would infuse an additional Rs.10,000 crore into the system to ease the tight liquidity situation, ahead of commencement of advance tax payments.
88. In ‘Operation Falcon Claw’ Investigative website Cobrapost claimed to have exposed 11 Members of Parliament from different political parties who allegedly showed willingness to issue recommendation letters and lobby with the Union Ministry for Petroleum for a fictitious foreign oil company seeking exploration and digging rights in the northeast.
89. The Supreme Court expressed serious concern at media reports of death of over 50 children in relief camps for victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots, and directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide them with relief.
90. President Vladimir Putin has ordered the military to step up its presence in the Arctic after Canada signalled it planned to claim the North Pole and surrounding waters.
91. South Korea and Japan have carried out a naval drill in the East China Sea, deploying destroyers and maritime helicopters in a region where both countries are involved in a dispute with China. A biennial naval drill took place in a part of the sea that lies within China’s newly established Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
92. On the back of rising food prices, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew at the rate of 11.24 per cent in November.
93. Doha Bank has been granted licence to commence banking operations in India, and has been permitted to open a branch in Mumbai to provide full-scale banking services.
94. India has indicated its disagreement with American pressure on Afghanistan to sign the bilateral security agreement (BSA), which will limit the number of western troops in the war-torn country after 2014.
95. In a relief to Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the fodder scam case in which he was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for five years by a trial court in Jharkhand.
96. The Union Cabinet approved the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill. It will replace the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995. The Bill provides for five per cent reservation in public sector jobs and makes the private sector more accountable for creating a disabled-friendly environment.
97. C. V. R. Rajendran took charge of Andhra Bank Chairman and Managing Director.
98. A Bill to set up an independent coal sector regulator Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2013 with the task of conserving resources and charting methodology for price fixing was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
99. U.S. retail giant Walmart announced the appointment of Krish Iyer as the President and CEO of its India unit.
100. India and Afghanistan have agreed to deepen defence and security cooperation to increase the operational capabilities and mobility of the Afghanistan National Security and Defence Forces (ANSDF).
