General Awareness for MBA : 3 February to 9 February

Economy

1. Union Government on 7 February 2015 decided to infuse 6990 crore rupees in nine Public Sector Banks to enhance their capital and meet global risk norms. The capital infusion was decided on the basis of performance of each bank.
2. Union Government on 30 January 2015 divested 10 percent of its stake in Maharatna Coal India Limited (CIL). With this, government’s share in CIL came down to 79.65 percent.
3. CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) on 5 February 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL).

News

1. MO Garg was on 5 February 2015 appointed as the Director General of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). Prior to his present posting, he was Director in CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun.
2. Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Studio resigned on 5 February 2015. She resigned after her private mails were leaked. However, Sony Studios has not announced any name to take over the post yet.
3. The 77th annual convention of presiding officers, speakers and secretaries of legislative assemblies and councils was held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The four-day convention was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on 31 January 2015.
4. Hindi novelist Mithileshwar was on 31 January 2015 awarded with Shrilal Shukla Sahitya IFFCO Award 2014. He is the fourth recipient of this literary award.

Corporate

1. Tata Communications Ltd on 6 February 2015 signed a 20 million US dollars multi-year deal with Germany-based KION Group to provide global Wide Area Network (WAN) services to the 280 sites of KION across 30 countries.
2. Tata Communications Ltd on 6 February 2015 signed a 20 million US dollars multi-year deal with Germany-based KION Group to provide global Wide Area Network (WAN) services to the 280 sites of KION across 30 countries.
3. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on 5 February 2015 bagged a Defence contract of 1090 crore rupees for supplying 14 Do-228 aircrafts to Indian Air Force (IAF) along with six reserve engines, one flight simulator and associated equipment.
4. Homegrown handset maker, Micromax took over Korean electronics giant Samsung and became India’s biggest smartphone vendor and third largest in the world. This was revealed by a report released by research firm Canalys on 4 February 2015.
5. Mumbai-based drug major Lupin Limited on 2 February 2015 announced that it had received final approval from US Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA) for its vancomycin hydrochloride capsules used for treating diarrhea.
6. Microsoft on 3 February 2015 launched Outlook app for iOS, Android users. The new app is a replacement for email startup Acompli.  The app is available for download on iPhone and iPads for free.
7. Prasanth Kumar was on 1 February 2015 appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MindShare APAC South Asia with effect from 1 March 2015. He will succeed the current CEO Ravi Rao.
8. S Lakshminarayanan was on 29 January 2015 appointed as Chairman of Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd (STFC), India’s largest truck financing company.

National

1. President Pranab Mukherjee on 4 February 2015 presented Visitor’s Awards for Central Universities in the categories of Best University, Innovation and Research for the year 2015. The awards were presented at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
2. JK group Chairman Gaur Hari Singhania died on 4 February 2015 following a heart attack in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He was 80. He was the president of JK Organisation and a promoter director of JK Cement Ltd since its inception in 1994.
3. Madhusudhan Prasad was on 3 February 2015 appointed as the Secretary in the Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). Earlier, he served as Special Secretary in the Union Ministry of Commerce.
4. Union Government on 4 February 2015 appointed LC Goyal as Union Home Secretary. At the time of his appointment was serving as Union Rural Development Secretary.
5. Madhya Pradesh on 2 February 2015 won the 10th National Award for excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA).
6. Nandita Chatterjee was on 2 February 2015 appointed as the Secretary in the Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA).
7. Ashok K Agarwal was on 1 February 2015 appointed as General Manager of Southern Railway, Chennai with immediate effect. His appointment was approved by Union Ministry of Railways.

International

1. President Pranab Mukherjee on 4 February 2015 presented Visitor’s Awards for Central Universities in the categories of Best University, Innovation and Research for the year 2015. The awards were presented at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
2. Sergio Mattarella was sworn-in as the President of Italy on 3 February 2015. He is the 12th President of Italy since the country became a Republic after World War II.
3. Bangladesh Cabinet on 2 February 2015 approved the draft of National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy, 2015. The draft seeks establishment of a transparent and accountable government through ICT expansion to enhance the standards of citizen service.
4. 13th meet of the Foreign Ministers of India, Russia and China was held in Beijing, China on 2 February 2015.

Sports

1. Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams won the men’s and women’s single title, respectively in Australian Open 2015 played in Melbourne, Australia. Indo-Swiss pair Leander Paes and Martina Hingis was the winner in mixed category.
2. Vijay Kumar on 3 February 2015 won the Gold in 25 metre centre fire pistol event under men’s category in shooting competitions of the 35th National Games in Kerala.
3. Saloni Dalal, a school girl of Karnataka became the youngest medal winner in the ongoing 35th National Games in Kerala on 3 February 2015. The 12-year-old, Saloni won a Bronze medal in the 200 meter breast stroke swimming event.
4. Australia won the tri-nation Carlton Mid Series on 1 February 2015. It won the series by defeating England by 112 runs in the final played at Perth, Australia.