Science and Technology 2014

World’s First Solar Battery Developed By US Scientists
Scientists at Ohio State University, US developed the world’s first solar battery which recharges itself using air and light. The developed solar battery is in fact a hybrid device that is party rechargeable battery and part solar cell.

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Japan Launches Weather Satellite ‘ Himawari-8 ‘
Japan successfully launched the nation’s next-generation Himawari-8 weather satellite on 7 October from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H-2A rocket.

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ISRO’s PSLV-C26 Successfully Launched India’s Third Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1C
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India’s third navigation satellite, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System -1C ( IRNSS-1C), into the space. The satellite was launched through ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C26 (PSLV-C26) rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 16 October 2014. PSLV-C26 injected the IRNSS-1C satellite, weighing 1425 kg, into the designated orbit.This was the 27th consecutive successful flight of PSLV.

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Researchers Develop World’s Thinnest Electric Generator
Researchers from Columbia Engineering and the Georgia Institute of Technology report on 15 October that they have made the first experimental observation of piezoelectricity and the piezotronic effect in an atomically thin material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), resulting in a unique electric generator and mechanosensation devices that are optically transparent, extremely light, and very bendable and stretchable.

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Argentina Successfully Launches Its First Communication Satellite
Argentina successfully launched its first geostationary communications satellite named ‘ARSAT-1′ from the spaceport near Kourou in French Guyana on 16 October.

Sports and Games 2014

Chennai Super Kings Won Champions League Twenty-20
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) 2014 title of Cricket. CSK lifted the title by defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 8 wickets in the final match in Bengaluru on 4 October. P.Negi of the Chennai Super Kings was named the Player of the Match.This is the second Champions League win for the Chennai Super Kings, who won earlier in 2010.

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India Finish Incheon Asiad In 8th Place
India ended the 17th Asian Games – 2014 with 57 medals to finish in eighth place. India won 11 gold, 10 silver and 36 bronze but failed to emulate their 2010 exploits at Guangzhou, where they won 65 medals – 14 gold, 17 silver and 34 bronze.  China has topped the medal table for the ninth successive times in the 17th Asian Games. With a total of 342 medals including 151 gold, 108 silver and 83 bronze, China dominated the medal tally in the 17th edition of Asian Games. Hosts South Korea were second with 79 golds while Japan finished third with 47 gold medals. The 17th Asian Games also known as XVII Asiad, was held from 19 September 2014 to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. The theme of the 2014 Asian Games is “Meet Asia’s Future”. “Diversity Shines Here” was the motto of 17th Asian Games.The moscot of the Asian Games Incheon 2014 was three spotted Harbour Seal siblings named Barame, Chumuro and Vichuon meaning wind, dance and light in Korean language.The 2019 Games will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Here are all the Gold Medal Winners from India:-

* Jitu Rai – Men’s 50 metre Pistol Shooting

* Sandeep Kumar, Rajat Chauhan, Abhishek Verma – Men’s compound team Archery

* Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, Mahesh Mangaonkar, Kumar Kush – Men’s team squash

* Yogeshwar Dutt – Men’s Freestyle 65 kg Wrestling

* Seema Punia – Women’s Discus throw athletics

* Sania Mirza, Saketh Myneni – Mixed doubles Tennis

* M.C. Mary Kom – Women’s 48-51 kg Boxing

* Priyanka Panwar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur, M. Poovamma – Women’s 4X400m relay athletics

* Indian team – Men’s Hockey

* Indian team – Women’s Kabaddi

* Indian team – Men’s Kabaddi

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India Won Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 Hockey Title
India on 19 October successfully defended its Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) Under-21 Hockey title at Taman Daya Hockey Stadium, Johor Bohru, Malaysia. In the finals, Indian team defeated Great Britain, 2-1. With this win, India became the first team to win the title twice since the inception of the tournament in 2011. India won its first title in 2013.

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Pankaj Advani Won World Billiards Point Format Championship
Indian player Pankaj Advani won the World Billiards Point Format Championship on 24 October. This was Advani’s 11th World title and third of the year in different formats of the game. In 2014, Advani has won three different world titles – the IBSF World 6 – Red Snooker, World Team Billiards and World Billiards Championship (point format), which is an unprecedented record in itself.

Sports and Games 2014

Central Zone Won Duleep Trophy 2014-15
Central Zone won the 2014-15 Duleep Trophy title on 2 November. They won by defeating South Zone in the finals played at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi with 9 runs. This was the first Duleep title for Central zone in ten seasons and the narrowest win in the tournament’s history, in terms of runs. K Rahul was adjudged as the Man-of-the-match for his knocks of 185 and 130 in the final.

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Salgaocar FC Won Durand Cup 2014
The 2014 Durand Cup , the 127th edition of the Durand Cup which is the third oldest association football competition in the world, was won by the Salgaocar FC. Salgaocar FC defeated Pune FC in the final by 1-0 to claim their 3rd Durand title.They were Durand Cup champions in the year 1999 and 2003 as well. 127th Durand Cup played at the Raia Sports Complex, Goa.

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India Won 3rd SAFF Women’s Championship
India won the 2014 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Championship at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad on 21 November. Indian team won 6-0 over Nepal to register their first series win on Pakistan soil.With this win, the Indian team has won all the three SAFF women finals against Nepal.

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Magnus Carlsen Won FIDE World Chess Championship 2014
Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the FIDE World Chess Championship 2014 on 23 November at Sochi (Russia). He defeated Viswanathan Anand of India with a score of 6.5 – 4.5. Out of a total of 12 games played, he won the Game 2, Game 6 and Game 11. With this he retained the FIDE World Championship which he had won in Chennai in 2013.

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Karnataka Won Vijay Hazare Trophy
Karnataka won the Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy on 25 November by defeating Punjab by 156 runs in the final at Ahmedabad.Karnataka had won the title earlier this year in March 2014 to complete a historic treble (Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy) under R Vinay Kumar.

Awards and Honours 2014

Indian American Thomas Won US National Medal of Science
Thomas Kailath, a Pune educated Indian-American engineering professor at Stanford University, is one of the recipients of the US National Medal of Science announced by President Barack Obama on 3 October.

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Nobel Prize Winners 2014 Announced
The Nobel Prize winners of 2014 in the different categories were announced in the month of October 2014. Nobel Prizes are announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences every year in the memory of Alfred Nobel.The categories were the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the Nobel Prize in Physics, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, The Nobel Literature Prize and The Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel Prize Winners of 2014 in the different categories were as follows:-

* Physiology (or) Medicine :-  U.S.-British scientist John O’Keefe and Norwegian couple May-Britt Moser, Edvard Moser won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering the “inner Global Positioning System (GPS)” that helps the brain navigate through the world.

* Physics :- Three Japanese-born researchers Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics. They were honoured for inventing efficient blue Light-Emitting Diodes(LED) lamps that worked as a bright and energy-saving white light sources.

* Chemistry :- American scientists Eric Betzig and William Moerner and Germany’s Stefan Hell won the 2014 Nobel prize for chemistry. The trio of Betzig, Moerner and Hell were conferred for their contribution in the area of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy which helped in bringing optical microscopy into the nano-dimension.

* Literature:- The Nobel Prize in Literature 2014 was awarded to French author Patrick Modiano for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation. He is the 14th French writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature (one, Jean Paul-Sartre, declined to accept it).

* Peace :- Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai have been jointly awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

* Economics :- French economist Jean Tirole won the 2014 Economics Nobel Prize for his analysis of market power and regulation.It was the second Nobel Prize for a French national this year after author Patrick Modiano won the literature award.

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Australian Author Richard Flanagan Won 2014 Man Booker Prize
Australian author Richard Flanagan was on 15 October awarded the 2014 Man Booker Prize for his wartime novel “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”. The novel narrates story of a love and war during the construction of the Thailand Burma Death Railway in World War II. Flanagan is the third Australian to win the prize after Thomas Keneally and Peter Carey.

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Malala Won 2014 World’s Children Prize
Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan won the 2014 World’s Children Prize on 29 October 2014 after a global vote involving millions of children. She received the prize at a ceremony in Mariestad near Stockholm. World Children’s prize was created in 2000 and is run by the World’s Children’s Prize Foundation (WCPF), based in Mariefred, Sweden.

Science and Technology

India Successfully Test Fired N-capable Agni-I Missile
India on 11 September successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear-capable surface -to-surface Agni-I missile from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.The Agni I has a range of 700–1250 km.

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NASA Unveils World’s Largest Welder To Build World’s Most Powerful Rocket
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden officially unveiled the world’s largest welder to start construction of the world’s most powerful rocket – NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket – at NASA’s Michoud’s Vertical Assembly Center (VAC) on 12 September.

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Nasa’s Maven Spacecraft Successfully Enters Mars Orbit
Nasa’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft on 22 September 2014 entered orbit around Mars, completing an interplanetary journey of 10 months and 442 million miles (711 million kilometers). Maven is a space probe designed to study the Martian atmosphere while orbiting Mars. Mission goals include determining how the Martian atmosphere and water, presumed to have once been substantial, were lost over time.

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ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft Successfully Inserted into Mars Orbit
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan “Mars-craft” is a Mars orbiter launched into Earth orbit on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was successfully inserted into Mars orbit on 24 September 2014. It is India’s first interplanetary mission and ISRO has become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and the European Space Agency. This was also India’s first attempt to reach Mars orbit — historically, only Europe’s ESA made it to Mars on its first attempt.

November 2014 Science and Technology

Russia Successfully Test Fired Topol-M Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Russian Strategic Missile Troops (RVSN) on 1 November successfully test fired a ‘Topol-M’ Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) to test its technical features. The Topol-M, a silo-based ICBM, was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Russia’s northern Arkhangelsk region.

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Nuclear Capable Agni-II Missile Successfully Test Fired
India on 9 November successfully test-fired its medium-range nuclear-capable Agni-II missile with a strike range of more than 2000 km from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the army.The 20-metre long Agni-II missile is a two-stage, solid-propelled ballistic missile. It has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of more than 2,000 km.

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Pakistan Successfully Test Fires Shaheen-II and Shaheen 1A
Pakistan has successfully test fired Shaheen-II (Hatf-VI) Ballistic Missile on 13 November 2014. Shaheen-II Missile is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 1500 kilometers.

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China Launched Yaogan-23 Remote Sensing Satellite
China launched remote sensing satellite Yaogan-23 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre on 15 November. This satellite was carried by the Long March 2-c rocket. This is the 198th mission of the Long March rocket project. The Yaogan-23 will be deployed mainly for scientific experiments, crop yield estimates, national resource surveys and disaster relief.

Current Affairs 2014

Question 11

Mixed Doubles trophy of US Open was won by ____.

a) Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares

b) Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez

c) Cara Black and Leander Paes

d) Abigail Spears and Santiago González

Answer : a) Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares

Question 12

Author of the book "Grandmaster Repertoire - 1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor" is ____.

a) Yashwardhan Shukla

b) Partap Sharma

c) Parimarjan Negi

d) Tuhin Sinha

Answer : c) Parimarjan Negi

Question 13

US Open was won by Serena Williams for ____ consecutive time.

a) Fifth

b) Third

c) Sixth

d) Fourth

Answer : b) Third

Question 14

China Book Award was given to ____.

a) Abhijit Roy

b) Vaishali Pai

c) Yasmin Wankhede

d) Priyadarsi Mukherji

Answer : d) Priyadarsi Mukherji
Note : He is a Professor at JNU & was honoured for his long-term contribution to the translation and publication of Chinese works.

Question 15

India's First Coral Garden is to be set in ____ by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL).

a) Odisha

b) Kerala

c) Gujarat

d) Goa

Answer : c) Gujarat

Current Affairs 2014

Question 1

First Indian State to launch Health Adalat is _____.

a) Karnataka

b) Punjab

c) Rajasthan

d) Bihar

Answer : a) Karnataka

Question 2

A method called RT-LAMP, developed by Japan researchers to detect _____.

a) Rabies virus

b) Ebola Virus

c) Measles virus

d) Hepatitis virus

Answer : b) Ebola Virus

Question 3

Former Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam was appointed as the new Governor of _____.

a) Goa

b) Bihar

c) Chhattisgarh

d) Kerala

Answer : d) Kerala
Note : He is the first Chief Justice of India to be appointed to the post of a Governor of a State.

Question 4

Eight Commemorative Postage Stamps was released by President on ____.

a) Indian Sportman

b) Indian Actors

c) Indian Musicians

d) Indian Crafts Persons

Answer : c) Indian Musicians
Note : The musicians are Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, D.K. Pattammal, Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, Gangubai Hangal, Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Ustad Vilayat Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Question 5

In Asian Games 2014, Indian Women's Hockey team will lead by ____.

a) Surinder Kaur

b) Ritu Rani

c) Rajani Etimarpu

d) Jaspreet Kaur

Answer : b) Ritu Rani

Current Affairs 2014

Question 11

Cardless Cash Withdrawal service is launched by ____.

a) Axis

b) SBI

c) PNB

d) ICICI

Answer : d) ICICI

Question 12

The new MD & CEO of Tata Technologies is ____.

a) Patrick McGoldrick

b) Warren Harris

c) N Chandrasekaran

d) OP Bhatt

Answer : b) Warren Harris

Question 13

The youngest sailor at the Asian Games 2014 is _____.

a) Sandip Jain

b) Pankaj Kumar

c) Brijraj Verma

d) Chitresh Tatha

Answer : d) Chitresh Tatha

Question 14

Rays Power to set up 50 MW solar park in _____.

a) Tamilnadu

b) Karnataka

c) Andhra Pradesh

d) Kerala

Answer : c) Andhra Pradesh

Question 15

Bangladesh and Timor-Leste honoured with Excellence in Public Health by _____.

a) WHO

b) UNICEF

c) UNESCO

d) UNO

Answer : a) WHO

Current Affairs 2014

Question 1

Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 was presented by President on ____.

a) International Literacy Day

b) International Charity Day

c) Engineer's Day

d) Teacher's Day

Answer : a) International Literacy Day

Question 2

Author of the book "50 years of man in space" is ____.

a) Garik Israelien

b) Brian May

c) David J Eicher

d) All the above

Answer : d) All the above

Question 3

Asian games is to be held in ____.

a) Guangzhou, China

b) Busan, South Korea

c) Incheon, South Korea

d) Bangkok, Thailand

Answer : c) Incheon, South Korea

Question 4

Uttarakhand Government declared Sep 9 as _____.

a) Hindi Diwas

b) Himalya Diwas

c) Mahila Diwas

d) Ganges Diwas

Answer : b) Himalya Diwas

Question 5

First Indian to visit stratosphere is _____.

a) Joseph Kittinger

b) Felix Baumgartner

c) TN Suresh Kumar

d) None of these

Answer : c) TN Suresh Kumar

Current Affairs 2014

Question 11

China's New Ambassador to India is _____.

a) Wei Wei

b) Xu Feihong

c) Le Yucheng

d) Yin Hengmin

Answer : c) Le Yucheng

Question 12

The new chairperson of National Commission for Women is _____.

a) Lalitha Kumaramangalam

b) Mamta Sharma

c) Poornima Advani

d) Girija Vyas

Answer : a) Lalitha Kumaramangalam

Question 13

The new US envoy to India is ____.

a) Nisha Biswal

b) Rashad Hussain

c) Richard Rahul Verma

d) None of these

Answer : c) Richard Rahul Verma

Question 14

Textiles Ministry approved for setting up of ____ textile parks.

a) 8

b) 10

c) 4

d) 13

Answer : d) 13

Question 15

China's Grand Slam winner who announced retirement is _____.

a) Peng Shuai

b) Li Na

c) Yan Zi

d) Li Ting

Answer : b) Li Na

Question 16

Vintage Dakota aircraft was gifted by Indian Air Force to _____.

a) Nepal Air Force

b) Malaysian Air Force

c) Taiwan Air Force

d) Bangladesh Air Force

Answer : d) Bangladesh Air Force

Question 17

Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry launched News SMS Service in ____ Indian languages.

a) 3

b) 5

c) 7

d) 9

Answer : b) 5

Current Affairs 2014

Question 1

FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 was won by _____.

a) USA

b) Brazil

c) Serbia

d) Lithuania

Answer : a) USA

Question 2

International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on _____.

a) Sep 12

b) Sep 16

c) Sep 19

d) Sep 23

Answer : b) Sep 16

Question 3

G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial meet was held at _____ .

a) Berlin, Germany

b) Ottawa, Canada

c) Beijing, China

d) Melbourne, Australia

Answer : d) Melbourne, Australia

Question 4

SEBI's deadline to appoint atleast one women director on board is till ____.

a) 28 Feb

b) 18 Nov

c) 31 Mar

d) 30 Dec

Answer : c) 31 Mar

Question 5

Tata Group company Croma tied up with ____ to sell electronics items online.

a) Flipkart

b) Snapdeal

c) ebay

d) Shopclues

Answer : b) Snapdeal

Current Affairs 2014

Question 11

Suresh Prabhu selected as PM’s Sherpa for _____.

a) SAARC

b) G20 Summit

c) BARC

d) None of these

Answer : b) G20 Summit

Question 12

Swachh Bharat Mission is launched for _____.

a) Rural areas

b) Urban areas

c) Tier I Cities

d) Tier II Cities

Answer : b) Urban areas

Question 13

The 3rd meeting of SAARC Ministers of Culture was held in New Delhi from ____.

a) 20 Sep to 25 Sep

b) 23 Sep to 27 Sep

c) 24 Sep to 25 Sep

d) 24 Sep to 28 Sep

Answer : c) 24 Sep to 25 Sep

Question 14

Union Minister Nitin Katkari launched ______ yojana for rural development.

a) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya

b) Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan

c) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar

d) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima

Answer : a) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya
Note : Earlier this Yojana was known as Aajeevika Skills Development Programme (ASDP)

Question 15

According to Forbes India, first position in 100 richest Indian is _____.

a) Pallonji Mistry

b) Lakshmi Mittal

c) Mukesh Ambani

d) Kumar Birla

Answer : c) Mukesh Ambani

Current Affairs 2014

Question 1

Govind Mishra received Saraswati Samman 2013 for his novel _____.

a) Dhool Paudhon Par

b) Lal Peeli Zameen

c) Pratinidhi Kahaniyan

d) Parto Ke Beech

Answer : a) Dhool Paudhon Par

Question 2

Ehsaas-e-Kashmir concert to raise funds for Kashmir was organised by _____.

a) England Embassy

b) China Embassy

c) German Embassy

d) US Embassy

Answer : c) German Embassy

Question 3

RBI released report on "Capacity Building in Banks and non-Banks" submitted by _____.

a) Vijaya Bhaskar Committee's

b) Gopalakrishna Committee

c) Nachiket Mor Committee

d) Usha Thorat Committee

Answer : b) Gopalakrishna Committee

Question 4

The head coach of Sri Lankan cricket team is ____.

a) Arjuna Ranatunga

b) Roshan Mahanama

c) Hashan Tillakaratne

d) Marvan Atapattu

Answer : d) Marvan Atapattu

Question 5

ICC World Cricket League Division is to be hosted in ____.

a) Kuala Lumpur

b) Singapore

c) Sri Lanka

d) Delhi

Answer : a) Kuala Lumpur

Current Affairs 2014

Question 11

2014 Champions LeagueTwenty20 title was won by _____.

a) Kolkata Knight Riders

b) Chennai Super Kings

c) Perth Scorchers

d) Lahore Lions

Answer : b) Chennai Super Kings

Question 12

Who has received Global Diversity Award 2014?

a) Aishwarya Rai

b) Jackie Chan

c) Lewis Hamilton

d) Shah Rukh Khan

Answer : d) Shah Rukh Khan

Question 13

Swachh Bharat Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ______ .

a) 1 Oct 2014

b) 2 Oct 2014

c) 29 Sep 2014

d) 4 Oct 2014

Answer : b) 2 Oct 2014

Note: Its main aim to clean India by 2 Oct 2019, 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Question 14

World's first rechargeable solar battery was developed by Ohio State University Scientists on ____.

a) 1 Oct 2014

b) 7 Oct 2014

c) 3 Oct 2014

d) Non of these

Answer : c) 3 Oct 2014

Question 15

World's first womb-transplant baby was born in ______.

a) Swedish

b) Paris

c) Peru

d) London

Answer : a) Swedish

Current Affairs 2014

Question 1

Gunners Day or Raising Day was celebrated on _____.

a) 29 Sep 2014

b) 28 Sep 2014

c) 18 Sep 2014

d) 10 Sep 2014

Answer : b) 28 Sep 2014

Question 2

World Heart Day was observed on _____.

a) 1 Oct 2014

b) 27 Sep 2014

c) 29 Sep 2014

d) None of these

Answer : 29 Sep 2014

Note : Theme 2014 is - Heart Choices NOT Hard Choices

Question 3

______ became 42nd Chief Justice of India on 28 Sep 2014.

a) Rajendra Mal Lodha

b) Altamas Kabir

c) H. L. Dattu

d) S. Rajendra Babu

Answer : c) H. L. Dattu

Question 4

Which country has won the 40th Ryder Cup on 28 Sep 2014 held at Gleneagles, Scotland?

a) Eroupe

b) China

c) Germany

d) Kenya

Answer : a) Eroupe

Question 5

World Tourism Day was celebrated on _______.

a) 28 Sep 2014

b) 29 Sep 2014

c) 27 Sep 2014

d) 15 Sep 2014

Answer : c) 27 Sep 2014

Note : Theme 2014 is - Tourism and Community Development