Planning Commission renamed "Neeti Ayog"

India's Planning Commission will be renamed "Neeti Ayog" as part of a plan to restructure the institution that the government believes has run its course.

The name, replacing "Yojana (planning)" with "Neeti (policy)" will be announced in an amended resolution for the new plan body today, sources said.

Earlier this month, PM Modi held discussions with chief ministers on replacing the Soviet-style body with a 'Team India' concept that would give states a greater role in developing Asia's third largest economy.

The Planning Commission had suggested to a group chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that its replacement body should be structured to meet the need of changing economic paradigm and comprise sectoral experts and states' representative. The restructured plan panel could be a combination of three or four divisions.

In his first Independence Day speech in August 2014, PM Modi had indicated that the 64-year-old Commission had lost its relevance. Later, he tweeted asking for public feedback on what shape the institution should take.

It was India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a socialist who admired Joseph Stalin's drive to industrialize the Soviet Union, who in 1950 set up - and chaired - the Planning Commission to map out a development path for India's agrarian economy.

A government-backed report suggested replacing the Planning Commission with a think tank more in line with a US-style Council of Economic Advisors.

However, the opposition Congress has criticised the plan, calling it "shortsighted and dangerous".

Some Tit - Bits on Planning Commission:

The Planning Commission is an institution in the Government of India, which formulates India's Five-Year Plans, among other functions. It is located at Yojana Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi. It was established in accordance with article 39 of the constitution which is a part of directive principles of state policy.

The composition of the Commission has undergone considerable changes since its inception. With the Prime Minister as the ex officio Chairman, the committee has a nominated Deputy Chairman, who is given the rank of a full Cabinet Minister. Presently the post of Deputy Chairman of the Commission is vacant, after the new Government in the Center.

Present ex officio members of the Commission, are the Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister, Home Minister, Health Minister, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister, Information Technology Minister, Law Minister, HRD Minister and Minister of State for Planning.

The Planning Commission's functions as outlined by the Government's 1950 resolution are following:

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CURRENT AFFAIR | Daily GK Update 31 DECEMBER 2014

1. Palestinian statehood resolution fails at UNSC

i. The UN Security Council has failed to adopt a Palestinian statehood resolution that set a deadline for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian territories by 2017.

ii. The long-anticipated draft tabled on Tuesday night drew the support of eight countries -- Argentina, Chad, Chile, China, France, Jordan, Luxembourg, Russia -- just one shy of the nine needed to pass a resolution in the absence of a veto by any of the Council’s five permanent members.

iii. The United States and Australia opposed the resolution while the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Korea, Rwanda and Lithuania abstained.

2. Kudankulam commercial power: SEBs to pay more per unit

i. The significance of commercial generation of power from the first unit at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project is that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) will start charging money from the State Electricity Boards (SEBs) to which it sells the electricity.

ii. Kudankulam-1 has been declared a commercial unit from the midnight of December 31, 2014. “We are working out the tariff per unit that we will be charging from the SEBs,” a top NPCIL official said.

iii. R.S. Sundar, Site Director, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, said Kudankulam-1 had been generating its full power of 1,000 MWe from December 10, 2014.

3. Ronaldo voted Europe’s top footballer

 

i. The results of the survey showed 89 of the 144 reporters queried named the Real Madrid forward as the region’s top player,

ii. Portuguese football phenomenon Cristiano Ronaldo was voted by European sports reporters Europe’s best football player for the second year in a row.

iii. The results of the survey, carried out by Uruguay’s El Pais daily, showed 89 of the 144 reporters queried named the Real Madrid forward as the region’s top player.

iv. German goalie Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (Barcelona) came in distant second and third places, with 19 and 16 votes, respectively.

4. Gmail blocked in China, Great Firewall suspected

i. Inc’s Gmail was blocked in China after months of disruptions to the world’s biggest e-mail service, with an anti-censorship advocate suggesting the Great Firewall was to blame.

ii. Almost all of Google’s services have been heavily disrupted in China since June this year, but until last week Gmail users could still access e-mails downloaded via protocols like IMAP, SMTP and POP3. These had let people communicate using Gmail on apps like the Apple iPhone’s Mail and Microsoft Outlook.

iii. The Google disruption began in the run-up to the 25th anniversary of the government’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.

5. Lupin’s HIV drug gets USFDA nod

i. Drug firm Lupin has received tentative approval from the U.S. health regulator to market a generic version of Prezista tablets, used in treating HIV infection.

ii. The company has received tentative approval from the United States Food and Drugs 

Administration (FDA) to market its Darunavir Ethanolate tablets in multiple strengths in the American market, Lupin said in a statement.

iii. Last week, the company had received USFDA approval to market a generic version of ViiV Healthcare’s Epivir Tablets, used in treating HIV infection, in the American market.

6. IRDA renamed to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

i. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was renamed as Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India on 30 December 2014.

ii. The change in name came in to effect after the promulgation of Insurance Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014, by the President of India on 26 December 2014.

iii. The amendment was done to the Insurance Regulation and Development Act, 1999 by inserting the words India after Development Authority in Section 105 of the Ordinance amends section 2 (1)(b) of the IRDA Act.

7. Union Government signed 75 million dollar loan deal with ADB for KIUWMIP

i. Union Government on 30 December 2014 signed a loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 75 million dollar and 1.8 million dollar grant for Karnataka Integrated Urban Water Management Investment Program (KIUWMIP).

ii. The funds will be used to improve water resource management in three towns of Karnataka, namely Byadagi, Davanagere and Harihar in the Upper Tungabhadra sub-basin.

iii. This project will help increase water treatment capacity by 15000 cubic meters per day.

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QUANT QUIZ | Competitive Exam Practice Set of Quant

1. An orange vendor makes a profit of 20% by selling oranges at certain price. If he charges Rs.     1.2 higher per orange he would gain 40%. Find the original price at which he sold an orange.

a) RS. 5.6

b) Rs. 7.2

c) Rs. 4.8

d) Rs. 8

e) None of these

2. If difference between CI and SI on a certain sum of money is Rs. 72 at 12% p.a. for 2 years then find the amount.

a) RS.6000

b) Rs.5000

c) Rs. 5200

d) Rs. 4900

e) None of these

3. Rs. 3000 is distributed among A,B and C such that A gets 2/3rd of what B and C together gets and C gets  ½  of what A and B together gets. Find C’s share.

a) Rs.750

b) Rs. 1000

c) Rs. 800

d) Rs. 1200

e) None of these

4. 8 men can do a piece of work in 12 days while 20 women can do it in 10 days. In how many days 12 men and 15 women complete the same work.

a) 4

b) 5

c) 6

d) 7

e) 8

5. A fair coin is toss repeatedly. If head appears on first 4 tosses then what is probability of appearance of tail in fifth toss-

a) 1/5

b) 2/5

c) ½

d) 4/5

e) None

6. Walking at ¾ of his usual speed a man is 16 min late for his office. the usual time taken by him to cover that distance is

a) 48  minutes

b) 60 minutes

c) 42 minutes

d) 62 minutes

e) None

7. A, B and C can do a work in 24, 32 and 60 days respectively. They start working together. A left after 6 days B left after 8 days. how many more days are  required to complete the whole work?

a) 30

b) 25

c) 22

d) 20

e) None of these

8. The price of 2 oranges, 3 bananas and 4 apples is Rs. 15. The price of 3 oranges, 2 bananas and 1 apple is Rs. 10. What will be price of 3 oranges, 3 bananas and 3 apples?

a) Rs. 10

b) Rs. 8

c) Rs. 15

d) Can’t be determined

e) None of these

9. The difference between the time taken by two cars to travel a distance of 350 km is 2 hours 20 minutes. If the difference between their speeds is 5 km/hr., what is the speed of faster car in km/hr.?

a) 30

b) 35

c) 40

d) 45

e) 50

10. The sum of circumference of a circle and perimeter of a square is 210 cm. The diameter of the circle is 21cm. What is the sum of area of circle and square?

a) 1158.4 sq. cm

b) 1058.2 sq. cm

c) 1642.5 sq. cm

d) Can’t be determined

e) None of these

For Answers:- CLICK HERE

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ENGLISH QUIZ | FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS PRACTICE

Directions(1-10): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

In economics, the term recession generally describes the reduction of a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for at least two quarters. A recession is ...(1)... by rising unemployment, increase in government borrowing, ...(2)..., of share and stock prices, and falling investment. All of these characteristics have effects on people. Some recessions have been anticipated by stock market declines. The real – estate market also usually ...(3)... before a recession. During an economic decline, high ...(4)... stocks such as financial services, pharmaceuticals and tobacco ...(5)... to hold up better. However, when the economy starts to recover growth, stocks tend to recover faster. There is significant disagreement about how health care and utilities tend to ...(6)...  In 2008, an economic recession was suggested by several important indicators of economic downturn. These ...(7)... high oil prices, which led to ...(8)... high food prices due to a dependence of food production on petroleum, as well as using food crop products such as ethanol and biodiesel as an ...(9)... to petroleum; and global inflation; a substantial credit crisis investment blanks as well ...(10)... as commercial banks in various, and signs of contemporaneous economic downturns in major economics of the world, a global recession.

1.

(1) imagined

(2)depict

(3) shown

(4) visualized

(5) characterized

2.

(1) Increase

(2) variance

(3) more

(4) decrease

(5) abundance

3.

(1) weakens

(2) intiates

(3) awakens

(4) strengthens

(5) volatile

4.

(1) maintained

(2) yield

(3) heavy

(4) result 

(5) payment

5.

(1) are 

(2) want

(3)tend

(4) yearn

(5) made

6.

(1) distribute

(2) recover

(3) wait

(4) increased

(5) fight

7.

(1) meant 

(2) show

(3) numbered

(4) included

(5) encompass

8.

(1) fearful 

(2) dangerous

(3) abnormally

(4) healthy 

(5) nutritious

9.

(1) alternative

(2) variant

(3) substitute

(4) element 

(5) integral

10.

(1) wealthy

(2) costly

(3) stand

(4) created 

(5) established

ANSWERS -

1. 5

2. 4

3. 1

4. 2

5. 3

6. 2

7. 4

8. 3

9. 1

10. 5

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CURRENT AFFAIR | 29-DECEMBER-2014

Here we post the CURRENT AFFAIR on the DAILY BASIS .....

1. Congress marks 130th Foundation Day

i. The Congress celebrated its 130th Foundation Day on Sunday as the party marked the occasion in a low-key manner.

ii. Party president Sonia Gandhi unfurled the party flag at its 24, Akbar Road headquarters in the presence of many senior leaders.

iii. Established in 1885, the Congress has seen its political fortunes slide this year. After facing a rout in the Lok Sabha elections, the party has lost a string of assembly elections.
  

2. US marks end of war in Afghanistan

i. The longest war in American history has come to a “responsible conclusion” with the withdrawal US and NATO combat forces from Afghanistan.

ii. NATO’s war in Afghanistan, fought for 13 years, came to a formal end on Sunday with a flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul that marked the transition of the fighting from US-led combat troops to the country’s own security forces.

iii. In the 13 years since US forces landed in Kabul post 9/11 to throw out Taliban out of power, some 2,200 US troops lost their lives in the war against terror in Afghanistan.

iv. From January 1, the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission, will be replaced by a NATO “training and support” mission.

3. Tata Coffee names Sanjiv Sarin as CEO designate

i. The board of directors of Tata Coffee Ltd. has informed Bombay Stock Exchange that it has approved the appointment of Sanjiv Sarin as the ‘CEO designate’.

ii. Tata Coffee said Mr. Sanjiv Sarin will assume charge as Managing Director and CEO of Tata Coffee Ltd. after the retirement of Hameed Huq, the current MD and CEO.

iii. Hameed Huq will retireretired on March 31, 2015 and has been with Tata Coffee for over 15 years and held the position of Managing Director since 2010.

4. AirAsia QZ8501: Indonesia plane 'at bottom of sea'

 i. The missing AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 is likely to be at the bottom of the sea, the head of Indonesia's search-and-rescue agency has said.

 ii. The search is continuing for the aircraft, a day after it disappeared with 162 people on board, but no trace has been found so far.

iii. Based on the co-ordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea.

5. L&T Hydrocarbon bags Rs 894 cr offshore contract from ONGC

i. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today said it has bagged an offshore contract worth Rs 894 crore from Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for additional development of the Vasai East project.

ii. The Rs 2,500 crore project will result in incremental oil production of 1.83 million metric tonne (MMT) and incremental gas production of 1.971 billion cubic metres (BCM) by 2030.

iii.  L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) has bagged the contract from ONGC to improve recovery factor of Vasai East field where production started in 2008, and it is scheduled to be completed by April 2016.

6. PM chairs high-level meeting on 'Smart City' initiative

i. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on Monday chaired a high-level meeting with Government officials on the Smart City initiative.

ii. The Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Urban Development to convene a workshop of all central and state Urban Development Authorities at the earliest.

iii. He said one of the aims of the smart city initiative should be to improve the quality of urban governance, thereby lending greater strength to the overall governance processes of the country.

7. Black money: Over 1,000 entities under Sebi scanner

i. At least 1,000 individuals and companies have come under the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) scanner for allegedly using stock markets to evade taxes and launder money through companies mostly existing on paper.

ii. A large number of over 1,000 entities currently under scanner - which include individuals and 'shell' companies created by them - are actually related to those already facing action by Sebi or other regulators including in some major scams that have come to the fore in the recent past.
  

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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Here we are providing you the latest GK Questions asked in Currently held Government exams..........

So, there is the list of questions that you all must read so that you can easily learn the pattern that the exam follows.....

BEST OF LUCK

• 2019 cricket World Cup venue - England
• Childrens Prize 2014 - Neha Gupta
• UN Childrens Day - 20 November
• Harsimrat Kaur Badal Constituency - Bhatinda
• AIDS Day - 1st Dec
• ATM transactions reduced not applicable for - Private Banks
• Mary Kom autobiography - Unbreakable
• Skill Development program name - Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhayay Shramev Jayate
• APEC Headquarter - Singapore
• Austria capital - Vienna
• Indonesia Currency - Rupiya
• Commonwealth Games 2018 will be held in-Australia
• GPRS full form - General Packet Radio Service
• Interpol headquarters - Lynn (France)
• International Children Award - Malala yousafzai
• G5 plus country - Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa
• Green index launched by? - BNP Paribas
• Asian goodwill women ambassador? - Farhan Akhtar
• Open market operations - RBI
• Ways and means advance - RBI TO GOVT
• NABARD regualate - RRBs and Cooperatives
• CIBIL related to-Credit Risk
• ARC- asset reconstruction company
• 7th time powerful woman? Angela Merkel
• Who regulates bank insurance? - IRDA
• Malala of which place-Pakistan
• PV Sindhu IN Macau Open defeated Kim Hyo Min of which country?-South Korea
• GIRO fullform-"Government Internal Revenue Order"
• 2019 ICC World Cup Venue-England and Wales
• Recently tested cruise missile-Nirbhay
• India's first Indigeneous aircraft carrier launched-Vikrant
• Accounts have been started for children above 10 years, they can avail all banking facilities except-Cheques
• Under PMJDY, which type of Insurance of 1 lakh is provided -Accidental, Life, General, Health  

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ENGLISH QUIZ

For ques (1-5): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence, the letter of that part will be the answer. If there is no error, mark (E) as the answer. (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.)

1. The merchant counted (1) / the number of pearls (2) / to make sure that (3) / none of them were missing. (4) / No error (5)

2. When deep sea diving, (1) / one should always take care (2) / that oxygen cylinder is (3) / tied to the back tightly.(4)/  No error (5)

3. As the salary (1) / did not match (2) / his expectations, he did not (3) / accept the job. (4)/  No error (5)

4. The reason behind his success (1) / in the recent past (2) / is due to hard-work (3) / and presence of mind. (4)/  No error (5)

5. No sooner did the students (1) / seen the principal approach (2) / than they ran (3) / from the playground. (4)/  No error (5)

Direction (6-10): Which of the phrases (1), (2) (3) and (4) given below each statement should replace the phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct ? If the sentence is correct as it is given and ‘No correction is required’, mark (5) as the answer.

6. Many students waits anxiously at the college gate to know their results—

(1) student waited anxiously

(2) students waiting anxiously

(3) students waited anxiously

(4) students waited anxious

(5) No correction required

7. Through a fortuitous circumstance Rakhi met her childhood friend on the bus in which she was travelling.

(1) she was travelled

(2) she did travel

(3) she has travelling

(4) she were travelling

(5) No correction required

8. The opposition party has alleged that the prices of essential commodities are soaring like never before on the last three decades—

(1) before on the next

(2) before in the last

(3) before at the last

(4) previously in the next

(5) No correction required

9. The salaries and the perks of the employees in this institution are not in according with the rest of the industry—

(1) are not in accordance

(2) is not in accordance

(3) are not according

(4) is not on accordance

(5) No correction required

10. The soldiers deployed in the town were instructed exercising restraint and handle the situation

peacefully.

(1) was instructed to exercising

(2) were instructed for exercise

(3) were instructed to exercise

(4) was instructing to exercising

(5) No correction required

Directions (11-15): Rearrange the following sentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) to make a meaningful paragraph and then answer the questions which follow—

A. The only way in which this problem can be solved is by making artificial blood which has remained a distant dream for science.

B. Donation of blood is considered to be the most noble of all the charities.

C. If they succeed, it would be noted as one of the most important inventions in the history of mankind.

D. This is because this donated magic potion can give life to another person in an emergency.

E. A group of scientists, however, has dedicated themselves towards making this a reality.

F. A growing problem however is that the requirement for safe blood is increasing whereas the number of donors is decreasing.

11. Which of the following sentence should be the FIRST after rearrangement?

(1) A

(2) B

(3) C

(4) D

(5) E

12. Which of the following sentence should be the SECOND after rearrangement?

(1) A

(2) B

(3) C

(4) D

(5) F

13. Which of the following sentence should be the THIRD after rearrangement?

(1) A

(2) D

(3) C

(4) E

(5) F

14. Which of the following sentence should be the FIFTH after rearrangement?

(1) A

(2) B

(3) C

(4) E

(5) F

15. Which of the following sentence should be the SIXTH (LAST) after rearrangement?

(1) A

(2) B

(3) C

(4) D

(5) E

ANSWERS

1. 4

2. 1

3. 2

4. 3

5. 2

6. 3

7. 5

8. 2

9. 1

10. 3

[B]-[D]-[F]-[A]-[E]-[C]

11. 2

12. 4

13. 5

14. 4

15. 3

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QUANT QUIZ

Directions What should come in place of question marks (?) in the following questions?

1. 1/8 + 1/6 = ?

(1) 5/22 

(2) 7/24  

(3) 3/26

(4) 9/28 

(5) None of these

2. √(?) ÷ 16 × 24 = 186

(1) 14884

(2) 13924

(3) 15376

(4) 15876

(5) None of these

3. (?)^2 ÷ (0.04)^2 x 5.6 = 117740

(1) 33.64

(2) 6.2

(3) 38.44

(4) 5.4

(5) None of these

4. √(?) + 28 = √1681

(1) 13

(2) 225

(3) 216

(4) 14

(5) None of these

5. 1587 + 2277 = ? × 69

(1) 49

(2) 64 

(3) 73

(4) 56

(5) None of these

6. 3674 ÷ 44 = ?

(1) 85

(2) 83.5 

(3) 79.75

(4) 73

(5) None of these

7. (105)^2 = ? + 929 ×3

(1) 8282

(2) 2838

(3) 8238

(4) 3882

(5) None of these

8. 680% of ? = 290360

(1) 43800

(2) 42700

(3) 41900

(4) 42500

(5) None of these

9. 59% of 693 + ? = 630

(1) 221.13

(2) 234.84

(3) 256.78

(4) 288.97

(5) None of these

10. 1471 + √(?) = 167 x 9

(1) 1646

(2) 1432

(3) 1024

(4) 1208

(5) None of these

 Directions (Q.Nos 9-55) What approximate value should come in place of the question mark (?) in the following questions? (Note you are not expected to calculate the exact value)
 

11. 8000 =?

(1) 89

(2) 76

(3) 97

(4) 58

(5) 70

12. 7984.986 + 2541.005+ 127.996 =?

(1) 10654 

(2) 16500

(3) 15600 

(4) 11280

(5) 14650

13. 839.999 ÷ 48.007 = ?

(1) 17.5

(2) 23.5 

(3) 9.5

(4) 11.5

(5) 28.5

14. 18.001 x 22.999 x 9.998 =?

(1) 5920 

(2) 5080

(3) 4140

(4) 4560

(5) 6290

15. 99999 ÷ 99 ÷ 9 = ?

(1) 221 

(2) 121

(3) 222 

(4) 112

(5) 211

ANSWERS

1. (2)

2. (3)

3. (5)

4. (5)

5. (4)

6. (2)

7. (3)

8. (2)

9. (1)

10. (3)

11. ---

12. (1)

13. (1)

14. (3)

15. (4)

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List of Important Organizations and their Headquarters

Hey there is the List of Important Organizations and their Headquarters , which were being asked in various competitive exams now a day  . This list will be helpful for your upcoming competitive exams . We sorted the names based on the Headquarters so that it will be more easier for you to remember . This list will helpful  in your upcoming Competitive Exams . Happy Reading

  

United Nation Organisation	New York
United Nation Childrens Fund(UNICEF)	New York
United Nation Population Fund(UNFPA)	New York
United Nation Conference on Trade and Development	Geneva
World Health Organization	Geneva
International Labour Organization	Geneva
International Committee of the Red Cross	Geneva
World Trade Organization	Geneva
World Meteorological Organization	Geneva
World Intellectual Property Organization	Geneva
International Telecommunication Organization	Geneva
World Bank	Washington D.C
International Monetary Fund(IMF)	Washington D.C
International Court of Justice	The Hague
International Criminal Police Organization	Lyon
International Atomic Energy Agency	Vienna
International Civil Aviation Organization	Montral
Amnesty International	London
International Maritime Organization	London
Common Wealth of Nations	London
World Tourism Organization	Spain
Universal Postal Union	Berne
Food and Agriculture Organization	Rome
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC)	Kathmandu
Transparency International	Berlin
International Renewable Energy Agency	Abu Dhabi(UAE)
United Nations Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO)	Vienna

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