Government Jobs Current Affairs 2014 Gk Updates 2014

Government Jobs Current Affairs 2014 Gk Updates 2014


West Bengal government on Tuesday agreed to hold the panchayat elections in four phases instead of three phases for which poll preparations are already on, following a Calcutta High Court's suggestion that the rural polls be held in five phases due to paucity of armed forces.

The court on Tuesday heard the case filed by the state election commission seeking details of forces deployment for the elections. 

The court observed that the polls should be held in five phases, instead of three, as the state did not have adequate force and the Centre had refused any help.

AMUL becomes a $3.2bn brand in 2012-13

dairy brand Amul marketed by the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation became a $3.2 bn brand in 2012-13. 

Results of the apex body of dairy cooperatives in Gujarat were declared on Tuesday during the 39th Annual General Meeting of GCMMF noted that unprecedented 20% growth in milk procurement during the year 2012-13, enabled it to handle 16.6 million kg of milk during peak days of flush winter months.

While GCMMF closed the year with a turnover of Rs 13735 crores, 18% higher than the turnover of Rs 11668 crores, achieved in 2011-12, products sold by GCMMF and its constituent member unions, representing unduplicated turnover of all products sold under Amul brand, was Rs 19,100 crores or $ 3.2 bn.

Amul was a $2.5bn brand in 2011-12.

Railways revise rail ticket refund rules, to be effective from July 1

NEW DELHI: Railway Ministry today revised its refund rules comprehensively under which passengers will have to present their confirmed tickets at least 48 hours before the journey instead of existing 24 hours to get the maximum refund.

To get a refund with cancellation charges of 25 percent of the fare, passengers will now have to cancel their confirmed tickets within 48 hours and at least six hours before the train's departure against the existing four hours, the ministry said.

The existing window of time for the same amount of fare deduction is between 24 hours to four hours before the train's scheduled departure. 

Under the new rules, the time for filing of refund claims has been reduced from existing 90 days to 10 days of the train's departure in case of unforeseen circumstances like strike or any natural causes like floods. 

Present rules allowed passengers to travel longer distance if they surrendered their tickets 24 hours before the train's scheduled departure. 
Under the new rules, such passengers would have to present their tickets 48 hours before the journey.

If the ticket is presented for cancellation within six hours before the train's scheduled departure of the train and upto two hours after its actual departure, the cancellation charge would be 50 percent of the fare subject to a minimum of the charge.

Oil India, OVL agree to buy stake in Mozambique gas field for $2.47 billion

ONGC and Oil India (OIL) have signed a $2.48-billion deal to acquire 10% stake from Videocon in a giant gas project in Mozambique, which may help ship an estimated 6 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India.

Videsh (OVL), the overseas arm of the state explorer, said the deal marks its entry into a world-class project with significant upside potential, and would help it achieve long-term production targets of 20 million tonnes of oil equivalent by 2018 and 60 million tonnes by 2030.

This is ONGC's third significant global acquisition since it bought Hess Corp's 2.7% stake in Azerbaijan's largest oil field and an associated pipeline for $1 billion. 

It also signed a deal to buy ConocoPhillips's 8.4% stake in Kazakhstan's Kashagan project for $5 billion last November, but the deal is facing obstacles from China.

NTPC and CIL to sign fuel-supply agreements; other cos too may ink pacts

NTPC's board has approved the fuel pact, setting the stage for other firms to sign similar agreements. 

Many producers were waiting for NTPC to resolve the issues with Coal India, because the state utility, being a large customer, has much stronger negotiating power than others over quality and payment terms, and agreed to sign fuel-supply agreements with the state monopoly a year after the deal was first offered.

NTPC had two major issues with respect to the fuel-supply agreement that was prepared for units which came up after March 2009, and had resisted signing the agreements. 

One was with respect to maintaining two sets of FSAs for thermal power stations which have units built before 2009 and those that came up subsequently. The second was with respect to coal quality.

The NTPC board has also agreed to CIL's decision to put in place systems for third-party sampling and analysis at the loading end before September 30, 2013. 

CIL will also put back in operation auto mechanical samplers wherever they are installed but are non-functional.

Tech Mahindra completes Satyam merger, becomes 5th biggest IT firm

Satyam brand has been consigned to history by acquirer Tech Mahindra which said its main focus now will be to take steps to mitigate the impact from impending changes to work visa rules in the United States. 

Tech Mahindra acquired Satyam Computer Services through a government-mediated auction in April 2009 after Raju admitted to cooking the company's books to the tune of Rs 7,000 crore. 

After close to a year of hearings, the Andhra High Court approved the merger of the two BSE-listed companies. 

Satyam shareholders will get two shares of Tech M for every 17 shares of Satyam.

Tech Mahindra has six development centres in the US. 

The proposed changes in immigration law in the US, in the form of higher fees and more restrictive rules, could make it costlier for Indian IT companies with a majority of their US staff on visas. 

Soni said that company would consider expanding in so-called nearshore centres such as Canada and Mexico to cater to US clients.

With $2.7 billion (Rs 16,000 crore) in sales, Tech Mahindra is India's fifth-largest software exporter. It employs 84,000 staff, has 540 clients, and operates in 46 countries. 

The company's aim is to clock $5 billion in sales by 2015.

Su-35: Russia's latest version of Sukhoi fighter jet

e latest version of Russia's Sukhoi-35 fighter jet wowed crowds with gravity-defying demonstrations at the Paris Air Show as the aircraft made its first appearance outside Russia.

Russia is the only country to fly it for now, having ordered 48 copies, but Moscow is seeking to to sell it to Brazil, China and India. 

It is a multi-role combat jet that weighs 17 tonnes and can fly at up to 2,500 km/h (1,500 mph) at high altitudes and at up to 1,400 km/h (870 mph) at low altitude, with a ceiling of 18,000 metres (59,000 feet). 

The climb rate is 18,000 metres/minute and its range of 3,500 kilometres (2,200 miles) can be extended to 6,500 kilometres (4,000 miles) with aerial refueling.

Navigation satellite launch work picks up steam

Hectic activity is on at Sriharikota for the lift-off of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C22) at 11.41 p.m. on July 1, which will put the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, IRNSS-1A into orbit. 

A PSLV-XL version, which uses six powerful strap-on booster motors, will put the 1,425-kg IRNSS-1A into orbit.

ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan

The IRNSS will have a constellation of seven satellites and the IRNSS-1A is the first of the seven regional, satellite-aided navigation systems built by ISRO. 

Dr. Radhakrishnan said ISRO was gearing up for a tough schedule in 2013 with the launch of INSAT-3D slated for July 26 by Ariane-5 vehicle of the Arianespace from Kourou, French Guiana; the lift-off of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) with an indigenous cryogenic engine in August to put a communication satellite, 

GSAT-14, in orbit; the launch of GSAT-7 from Kourou in August; and the orbiter mission to Mars in October/November. INSAT-3D had already reached French Guiana.

Serena, Djokovic safely through

Serena Williams racked-up her 32nd successive win on Tuesday to reach the second round at Wimbledon, and her men’s counterpart Novak Djokovic followed suit.

World No.1 and defending champion Williams, chasing a sixth Wimbledon title and 17th major, cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella, while Djokovic had a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win over Florian Mayer.

Victory was also her 75th in her last 78 matches — a run that stretches back to her shock first-round departure at Roland Garros in 2012, the worst Grand Slam exit of her career.

Nik Wallenda: First man to cross Grand Canyon on a tightrope

US daredevil Nik Wallenda became the first man to cross Grand Canyon on a tightrope. The 34-year-old, who walked across the Niagara Falls last year, said winds were higher than expected as he crossed a Canyon tributary gorge some 1,500 feet (457 meters) above the Little Colorado River in eastern Arizona. 

Wallenda said before the crossing that his greatest concern was the unpredictable wind gusts that are prone to buffet the site in a remote section of the Grand Canyon's watershed on the Navajo Nation. 

Wallenda, the self-described "King of the High Wire," took 22 minutes and 54 seconds to walk 1,400 feet (427 metres) across the crimson-hued canyon with just the distant ribbon of the Little Colorado River beneath him. The event was broadcast live around the world

5th International junior shotgun cup: Priyanshu traps gold

Priyanshu Pandey beat Juho-Pekka Maunula of Finland 23-21 in the double trap final of the fifth International junior shotgun cup in Orimattila, Finland.

Priyanshu qualified for the knock-out in fourth place with a score of 102. 

He topped the semifinal with 24 and clinched gold with 23. He shot 18, 20, 19, 24 and 21 in qualifying.

The results: Junior men double trap: 1. Priyanshu Pandey 23 (24) 102; 2. Juho-Pokka Maunula (Fin) 21 (23)2 (94); 3. 

Lorenzo Belei (Ita) 28 (23)1 (119); 6. Sanjay Rathore 20 (105); 7. Ahvar Rizvi 93.

ITF women’s tennis: Ankita thumps Treta

Ankita Raina booked her place in the second round of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament after administering a straight-set dismantling of qualifier Treta Bhattacharya at the DLTA Complex here on Tuesday. 

The second seed won 6-1, 6-0.

Ankita, the highest-ranked Indian in the draw, looked in perfect shape for the match with her serve and forehand proving too lethal for her opponent. 

Treta’s inclination to regularly serve to the second seed’s forehand further weakened her position.

Ankita broke the 21-year-old in the very first game and went on to establish a 4-0 lead. 

Treta made far too many errors from her backhand, a weakness well exploited by her opponent.

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