General Awareness 15 September

National News

1. Engineer's Day: 15 September

i. Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya's birthday is celebrated on 15 September as Engineer's Day. Fondly referred to as Sir MV, M Visvesvaraya was a world-renowned civil engineer who was a master of irrigation design. He was also referred to as the father of engineers by many.
ii. The bridge, among M Visvesvaraya's most notable projects, is a representation of the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and dam (in Karnataka). In 1924, Sir MV designed the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and dam, the largest reservoir in India at the time, and oversaw the construction of the project. The dam is known to have provided drinking water for several cities.

2. Festival of Nuakhai being celebrated in Odisha

i. The festival of Nuakhai is being celebrated in Odisha. During this harvest festival of western Odisha, new produce Nabannis offered to presiding deities. After offering the Nabann, people relish different types of delicacies prepared from the newly harvested crop.
ii. The Nuakhai Juhar is a major ritual of the festival, during which greetings are exchanged with friends, relatives, and well-wishers. 

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 

• Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor of Odisha: Professor Ganeshi Lal

3. PM Launches Swachhata Hi Seva Movement 

i. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ Movement, to boost nationwide public participation in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and catalyse the fulfilment of Bapu’s dream of a Clean India.
ii. The Swachhata Hi Seva movement aims at generating greater public participation towards Swachhta. It is being organized in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission, on October 2nd, 2018, which will also mark the commencement of the 150th year celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

International News

4.  Vice President 3 Nation-Visit: India, Serbia Signed Agreements on Various Fields 

i. India and Serbia signed agreements on cooperation in plant protection and plant quarantine and on-air services, following the talks between Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. 
ii. The two sides also agreed to expand their bilateral cooperation, especially in the areas of economic and cultural relations and join hands to fight terrorism. India and Serbia are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them. 

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 

• Serbia Capital: Belgrade, Currency: Serbian dinar. 

5. International Day of Democracy: 15 September 

i. The International Day of Democracy is observed globally on 15th September. It provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. The theme for IDD is 'Democracy under Strain: Solutions for a Changing World'.
ii. The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly through a resolution in 2007 to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy. The day was observed for the first time in 2008. 

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 

• Antonio Guterres is the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
• The UN Headquarters in New York, United States. 

Economy News

6. Wholesale inflation drops to four-month low of 4.53% in August

i. Inflation based on wholesale prices eased to a four-month low of 4.53% in August on softening of prices of food articles, especially vegetables. The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation stood at 5.09% in July and 3.24% in August last year.

ii. Data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed a 4.04% decline inflation in food articles in August compared with a 2.16% fall in July. The wholesale price index is an index that measures and tracks the changes in the price of goods in the stages before the retail level.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 

• CPI: Consumer Price Index 
• WPI: Wholesale Price Index 

7. Government Announces Measures To Check Rising Current Account Deficit 

i. The government has announced an array of steps to check the rising Current Account Deficit (CAD), and the fall in rupee.
ii. The government has decided on a number of steps to contain CAD, which widened to 2.4% of the GDP in the first quarter of 2018-19. 

iii. The steps to be taken by the government to attract dollar inflows into the country include:

• Reviewing of mandatory hedging condition for infrastructure loans. 
• To permit manufacturing sector entities to avail of External Commercial Borrowing (ECBs) up to $50 million with minimum maturity of one year, instead of the earlier limit of three years. 
• Removing restrictions with respect to FPI exposure limit of 20 per cent in corporate bond portfolio to a single corporate group or company or entity and 50 per cent of any issue of corporate bond. 
• Removal of withholding tax on rupee-denominated bonds known as Masala bonds issued till March 2019. 
• Removing restrictions on Indian banks, market making in masala bonds, including restrictions on underwriting of masala bonds. 
• Relaxation for Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and curbs on non-essential imports. 

8. RBI to Buy G-Secs in Open Market

i. The Reserve Bank to purchase government securities (G-secs) worth Rs 10,000 crore on September 19, a move aimed at inducing liquidity in the system. The purchase of the government securities will be done through Open Market Operations (OMO).

ii. When the RBI thinks there is excess liquidity in the market, it resorts to the sale of securities, thereby decreasing the rupee liquidity. Similarly, when the liquidity conditions are tight, it may buy securities from the market, thereby increasing liquidity in the market.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 

• Urjit Patel- 24th Governor of RBI, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 1st April 1935, in Kolkata.

9. RBI Released India's Foreign Trade: August 2018 

i. India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-August 2018-19 (as per the RBI Press Release) are estimated to be USD 221.83 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 20.70% over the same period last year.
ii. Overall imports in April-August 2018-19 are estimated to be USD 269.54 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 21.01% over the same period last year.

Awards

10. Union Minister of Textiles Presents ‘Shilp Guru’ & National Award to Master Craft Persons 

i. Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani presented ‘Shilp Guru’ and National Award to Master craft persons at a function held at Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. Eight ‘Shilp guru’ and 25 National awards were presented for the year 2016. 

ii. Shilp Guru’ is the highest award in the Handicraft sector in India. The handicraft export has witnessed a year-on-year growth and in the last four years, handicraft items worth Rs. 1 lakh 26 thousand crores had been exported from India. 

Sports News

11. Former Indian Hockey Captain Sardar Singh Announces Retirement 

i. Sardar Singh has announced his retirement from international hockey. He made the decision after a disappointing Asian Games where India failed to defend their title and had to settle for a Bronze medal. 

ii. The 32-year old player made his senior debut for India against Pakistan in 2006, and since then played over 350 international matches, captaining the team for eight years. 

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 

• Sardar Singh has received the Arjuna Award in 2012 and Padma Shri in 2015. 

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Reasoning Questions for IBPS RRB and IBPS PO Mains 2017

Directions (1-5): Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given below. 

Eight boxes namely P, R, S, T, U, M, N and O are placed from top to bottom but not necessarily in the same order. They contain different types of books among Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Math, Science, Physics, Chemistry and Civics. Boxes are of different colours among red, green, black and yellow colour. Exactly two boxes are there of each colour. Consider top as 1st position and so on. The following information is known about them. There is
There is gap of one box between the box T which is green colour and box R and both are in the top 4 positions when boxes are arranged from top to bottom. The box containing Math book is kept immediately below black colour box and is of same colour as T. Box S is kept somewhere between N and O. Box O is below S. The two yellow boxes are kept vertically adjacent to each other. Sanskrit book is kept exactly between M and the box containing Physics book. O doesn’t contain Hindi book. There is gap of one box between the box U and box N, which is kept immediately below the box containing Math book. Box U is below the box N. The box containing Civics book is placed at even numbered place but is not placed at the bottom. The red colour box which is kept at top either contains Hindi or Chemistry book. Box U is not of yellow colour. Box M which contains Science book is of black colour. The box containing English book is of black colour. S doesn’t contain any of Hindi or Civics book. 

Q1.Which box contains English book? 

(a) P 

(b) R 

(c)T 

(d)O 

(e)S 

Q2. Which box is of black colour? 

(a)S 

(b)O 

(c)U 

(d)P

(e)T

Q3.Which box is placed at top? 

(a)The box which contains Chemistry book 

(b)R 

(c)U 

(d)O 

(e)P 

Q4. Which box is placed at 8th position? 

(a)P 

(b)R 

(c)S 

(d)O 

(e)T

Q5. Which subject book does box N contain? 

(a)Chemistry

(b)Physics 

(c)Sanskrit 

(d)Math 

(e)Civics

Directions (6-10): Study the following information and answer the given questions:

Nine people – P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, and X live on separate floors of a 9-floor building. Ground floor is numbered 1, first floor is numbered 2 and so on until the topmost floor is numbered 9. Each one of these is travelling to a different city of India viz. Noida, Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Meerut,Varanasi, Pune, Patna, and Mumbai but not necessarily in the same order. 

Only five people live above the floors on which P lives. Only one person lives between P and the one travelling to Varanasi. U lives immediately below the one travelling to Delhi. The one travelling to Delhi lives on an even numbered floor. Only three people live between the ones travelling to Varanasi and Agra. T lives immediately above R. T is not travelling to Agra. Only two people live between Q and the one travelling to Meerut. The one travelling to Meerut lives below the floor on which Q lives. W is travelling to Patna and lives on floor no. 8.The one travelling to Noida does not live immediately above or immediately below Q.S does not live immediately above or immediately below P. X travelling to Mumbai and lives immediately above W. V does not travel to Kanpur. 

Q6.Which of the following is true with respect to V as per the given information? 

(a)The one, who lives immediately below V, is travelling to Delhi. 

(b)V lives on floor no. 7. 

(c)V lives immediately below T. 

(d)V lives on the lowermost floor. 

(e)V is travelling to Varanasi. 

Q7.Who amongst the following lives on floor no. 3 ? 

(a)The one travelling to Kanpur 

(b)The one travelling to Meerut 

(c)R 

(d) V 

(e) T 

Q8.Who lives on the floor immediately above T ? 

(a) P 

(b) Q 

(c) S 

(d) V 

(e) U 

Q9.Which of the following cities is S travelling? 

(a)Delhi 

(b) Varanasi 

(c) Agra 

(d) Meerut 

(e) Kanpur 

Q10.How many people live between the floors on which S and the one travelling to Mumbai live? 

(a) None 

(b) Two 

(c) One 

(d) More than three 

(e) Three

Directions (11): Each question below is followed by three arguments numbered I, II and III. You have to decide which of the arguments is a ‘strong’ argument and which is a ‘weak’ argument.

Q11. Statement: Should there be only few banks in place of numerous smaller banks in India?

Arguments:

I. Yes. This will help secure the investor’s money as these big banks will be able to withstand intermittent market related shocks.

II. No. A large number of people will lose their jobs as after the merger many employees will be redundant.

III. Yes. This will help consolidate the entire banking industry and will lead to healthy competition.

(a) None is strong

(b) Only I and II are strong

(c) Only II and III are strong

(d) Only I and III are strong

(e) All are strong

Q12. Statement: The army has been alerted in the district following floods triggered by incessant rains.

Courses of Action:

I. Relief to flood-affected people should be arranged.

II. Supply of food articles should be arranged.

III. Adequate medical facilities should be arranged.

(a) None follows

(b) Only I follows

(c) Only II follows

(d) All follow

(e) Only III follows

Q13. Statement: Many students of the local school fell ill for the fourth time in a row in the last six months after consuming food prepared by the school canteen.

Courses of action:

I. The school management should immediately terminate the contract of the canteen and ask for compensation.

II. The school management should advise all the students not to eat food articles from the canteen.

III. The owner of the canteen should immediately be arrested for negligence.

(a) None follow

(b) Only II follow

(c) Only III follow

(d) Only I and II follow

(e) Only II and III follow

Directions (14-15): In each question below is given a statement followed by two conclusions numbered I and II. You have to assume everything in the statement to be true, then consider the two conclusions together and decide which of them logically follows beyond a reasonable doubt from the information given in the statement.

Give answer 

(a) if only conclusion I follows;

(b) if only conclusion II follows;

(c) If either I or II follows;

(d) if neither I nor II follows; and

(e) if both I and II follow.

Q14. Statement: The standard of education in private schools is much better than Municipal and Zila Parishad-run schools.

Conclusions:

I. The Municipal and Zila Parishad should make serious efforts to improve standard of their schools.

II. All Municipal and Zila Parishad schools should be closed immediately.

Q15. Statement: In a recent survey, it has been stated that those who undertake physical exercise for at least half an hour a day are less prone to have any heart ailments.

Conclusions:

I. Moderate level of physical exercise is necessary for leading a healthy life.

II. All people who do desk-bound jobs definitely suffer from heart ailments.

IBPS RRB PO Cut Off 2017

IBPS RRB 2017 Result, Notification and Exam Dates

IBPS RRB 2017 RESULT, ADMIT CARD & NOTIFICATION

IBPS RRB PO Cut Off 2017

• Reasoning: 8.25
• Quantitative Aptitude: 7.00

Overall State-wise cut off of IBPS RRB PO Prelims 2017:

State	Cut Off (Gen)
Madhya Pradesh	49.75
Himachal Pradesh	52.25
Punjab	54
Odhisa	52
Jharkhand	52
Telangana	45.50
Rajasthan	52
Maharashtra	46.25
Chattisgarh	47.50
Gujrat	48.50
Uttar Pradesh	50.25
West Bengal	51.25
Bihar	52.25
Uttarakhand	56
Haryana	55
Karnataka	41.75
Tamil Nadu	42
Jammu and Kashmir	46.75
Andhra Pradesh	47.25

Current Affairs: Daily GK Update 15th October 2017

1. Direct Tax Collections in First Half of Current Financial Year rise 15.8 percent

i. The Direct Tax Collections in the first half (April-September) of the current fiscal (2017-18) shows growth of 15.8 percent. According to the Finance Ministry, the provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to September 2017 show that net collections are at 3.86 lakh crore rupees which is higher than the corresponding period of last year. Net Direct Tax collections represent 39.4 percent of the total budget estimates of Direct Taxes for the financial year 2017-18.

ii. An amount of 1.77 lakh crore rupees has been received as Advance Tax up to 30th of September this year, reflecting a growth of 11.5 percent over the corresponding period of last year.

Must Do Takeaways from the above News:

• Gross collections, before adjusting for refunds, increased 10.3% to Rs. 4.66 lakh crore during April to September 2017.
• Refunds worth Rs. 79,660 crore have been issued during that period.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) provides inputs for policy and planning of direct taxes in India and is also responsible for the administration of direct tax laws through the IT Department.

2. PM lays Foundation Stone for Infrastructure Projects in Bihar

i. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for four sewerage projects under the Namami Gange programme; and four National Highway projects, at Mokama in Bihar. The total outlay of these projects is over Rs. 3700 crore. 

ii. The four sewerage projects include Sewage Treatment Plant at Beur, Sewerage System with Sewer Network at Beur, Sewage Treatment Plant at Karmalichak and STP and Sewer Network at Saidpur. These projects together will create new STP capacity of 120 MLD and upgrade the existing 20 MLD for Beur. 

Must Do Takeaways from the above News:

• Nitish Kumar is present Chief Minister of Bihar.
• Satya Pal Malik is the current Governor of Bihar. 
• As of the 2011 census, population density 1,106 people per sq km making Bihar India's most densely-populated state.

3. Rajasthan Assembly First in India to Call Motions Online

i. Going digital, the Rajasthan assembly has become the first in India to call attention and adjournment motions and proposals online from legislators to send them to the state government. Speaker Kailash Meghwal has inaugurated the new system by sending a call for an attention motion to the state government with a click of the mouse.

ii. The system is expected to save time, labour and use of paper in the functioning of the assembly, and also help legislators in bringing attention to urgent public issues.

Must Do Takeaways from the above News:

• Vasundhara Raje Scindia is present Chief Minister of Rajasthan since 2013; previously she served in the same post from 2003 to 2008.
• Rajasthan with an area of 342,239 sq km is the largest state in India. Before the formation of Chattisgarh as a separate state in the year 2000, Madhya Pradesh was the largest Indian state in terms of area.
• Kalyan Singh is the present Governor of Rajasthan.

4. 15th October: International Day of Rural Women

i. The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15th October 2008. This new international day, established by the UN General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 of 18th December 2007, recognizes “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”

ii. In agriculture, climate change exacerbates the existing barriers to gender equality faced by women farmers. Globally, women comprise 43 percent of the agricultural workforce and play a critical role in supporting the household and community food security.

Must Do Takeaways from the above News:

• 2017 Theme: “Challenges and opportunities in climate-resilient agriculture for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.
• The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945.  It is currently made up of 193 Member States.
• The current Secretary-General of the United Nations and the ninth occupant of the post is Mr Antonio Guterres of Portugal, who took office on 01st January 2017. 

5. New Guinness Record at IISF Chennai 2017

i. Day two of the India International Science Festival (IISF) in Anna University campus at Chennai saw the making of a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Biology Lesson. One thousand forty-nine (1049) students participated in the record-breaking session. Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Science, Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that PM Narendra Modi to encourage and promote science and the Govt. of India has launched many Flagship Programmes in this regard. 

ii. World Record attempts have been a key part of India International Science Festival since 2015, which leads to encouragement and popularizing of Science through public participation. In IISF 2015, students took a successful shot at the Guinness World record for the world’s largest science Lesson at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. 

Must Do Takeaways from the above News:

• India International Science Festival has inaugurated by Dr Harsh Vardhan.
• The 1st IISF was held at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi in December 2015.
• Y Sujana Chowdary is present Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.

6. Roger Federer Cruises to Shanghai Masters Title

i. Roger Federer has brushed aside world number one Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-3 to win the Shanghai Masters and register his fourth victory of the year over his Spanish rival. The Swiss world number two beat Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open and Miami Masters and in the last 16 at Indian Wells earlier this year, and never looked like losing to his long-time rival in Shanghai, firing 10 aces as he cruised to victory.

ii. Federer, the only man who can still stop Nadal ending the year as number one, took an hour and 12 minutes to claim his sixth title of the year and his second Shanghai crown with a clinical performance.

Must Do Takeaways from the above News:

• Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player, currently ranked World Number 1 in men's singles.
• Roger Federer has also won a record eighth Wimbledon title & became the tournament’s oldest champion with a straight-sets victory over Marin Cilic. Federer claimed his 19th Grand Slam title in Wimbledon title 2017.