1)
Which are the two recipients of India’s second highest civilian award -
Padma Vibhushan for 2014, as announced by the Union Government on 25
January 2014? - B.K.S. Iyengar, the renowned Yoga guru and R.A. Mashelkar,
former chief of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR) – B.K.S. Iyengar (95), who founded the Iyengar School of Yoga
that has millions of followers across the globe including in China, was
once named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential persons
in the world. The 71-year-old Mr. Mashelkar has played a significant
role in evolving science and technology policies in post-liberalised
India. A chemical engineer, he is also a former head of the Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
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2) How many Padma awards were announced by the Union government on the eve of Republic Day on 25 January 2014? – 128 (This includes 2 Padma Vibhushans, 25 Padma Bhushans and 101 Padma Shri Awards)
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3)
India and China on 24 January 2014 launched a special year to mark the
coming year of exchanges in the field of economy, culture and
people-to-people cooperation between the two countries. What is the name
given to this year? – ‘Year of Friendly Exchanges’
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4) Leading Indian drug manufacturer Ranbaxy Laboratories' plant in Toansa
(Punjab), which had recently received Form 483 from the US Food and
Drug Administration (USFDA), was put under import alert on 24 January
2014. With this, all products manufactured at Toansa would now remain
banned from the US. This is Ranbaxy's fourth Indian plant to receive an
import alert from the USFDA, which means that sale of all Ranbaxy drugs
manufactured in India have been banned in the US. Which were the three
plants which were banned by the USFDA earlier? - Ponta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh), Dewas (Madhya Pradesh) and Mohali
(Punjab) - The USFDA’s inspection of the Toansa facility, which
concluded on 11 January 2014, identified significant CGMP violations.
According to the USFDA findings, the staff at Toansa facility were
retesting raw materials and intermediate drug products and also
finishing API that had earlier failed analytical testing and
specifications.
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5) Who won the women’s singles title of Australian Open on 25 January 2014? – Li Na of China
(She defeated Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (3), 6-0 to win her maiden
Australian Open title. She also became the oldest woman to clinch the
title in the Open era. Li, who turns 32 next month, lost Australian Open
finals to Kim Clijsters in 2011 and to Victoria Azarenka last year. In
between, she won the 2011 French Open to become the first Chinese woman
to win a major)
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6)
V.P. Agarwal, the Chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI) was on
23 January 2014 removed from his post as the Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC) did not clear his name for an extension. He was
replaced by whom? – Alok Sinha
(Sinha is the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and he
was given the post of AAI Chairman as an additional charge. AAI is in
the middle of a major investment programme to develop 50 low cost
airports in the country and also privatise the running of major airports
including Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Ahmedabad)
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7)
What is the name of the new mascot of Hockey India League (HIL), which
was launched on 23 January 2014 for HIL’s second edition? – ‘Gaurav’,
the tiger (The introduction of mascot “Gaurav” will be a new and
refreshing chapter in the HIL. The mascot is designed to arouse the
interest for hockey in the country and to connect all hockey fans with
the game in a completely redefined manner)
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8)
The ‘fastest ever’ broadband speeds of 1.4 terabits per second have
been achieved in a test in London recently, raising hopes of more
efficient data transfer via existing infrastructure. This astonishing
speed is enough to send 44 uncompressed HD films a second. Which
companies collaborated in this test? - Alcatel-Lucent (France) and British Telecom – BT (Britain)
- The test was conducted on a 410km (255-mile) link between the BT
Tower in central London and Ipswich. This breakthrough is being seen as
highly important for internet service providers (ISPs), as it means a
greater amount of information can be sent through existing broadband
infrastructure, reducing the need for costly upgrades. However, it may
be many years before consumers get services at this speed)
