DECEMBER 2013

Name the person who on 4 December 2013 was re-appointed as the OPCW
Director-General at the 18th Session of the Conference of State Parties -
Ambassador Ahmet Uzumcu

Name the body that on 6 November 2013 declared that the Category 3 (unfilled)
munitions of Syrian Government have been destroyed was named - Organization
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

Park Geun-hye, the President of South Korea on 6 December 2013 agreed to
join hands to denuclearize North Korea (DPRK) with - the Vice President of US,
Joseph Biden
An informal Group of Ministers headed by the Union Agriculture Minister,
Sharad Pawar on 6 December 2013 recommended a bailout package to - Sugar
Industry

Sri Lankas Board of Investment on 5 December 2013 announced plans to start
how many export processing and industrial zones across the country eight

Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid revolutionary of South Africa died on 5
November 2013. He was also known - as Madiba in South Africa

The Union Cabinet on 5 December 2013 approved the Telangana draft Bill.
Telangana will have - 10 districts

Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act
2013 came into force on - 6 December 2013

The Supreme Court of India has favoured punishment of life imprisonment to
people indulging in production and marketing of - adulterated milk

The country that was elected as a non-permanent member of United Nation
Security Council (UNSC) - Jordan

Armed Forces Flag Day was observed across India on - 7 December 2013

Who was crowned with the pageant of Miss Earth 2013 at the Versailles Palace,
Philippines -Miss Venezuela Alyz Henrich

The government has modified the FDI policy allowing unlisted companies to
directly list on - stock exchanges abroad

Indian freestyle grapplers bagged seven gold, four silver and three bronze
medals and has won the team title in the category in the - 2013 Commonwealth
Wrestling Championships in Johannesburg

World Trade Organization (WTO) today issued a revised draft of the Bali
package that would address India's concerns on food security and take through
the - Trade Facilitation Agreement

The Supreme Court of India on 5 December 2013 said that politicians and
businessmen heading sports bodies are causing harm to the games and should
leave their running to - Sport persons

Committee to formulate a Policy document on Corporate Governance on 6
December 2013 submitted its report to the Union Government of India. The
Committee was constituted on 7 March 2012 under - the Chairmanship of Adi
Godrej.

Name of the Vice President of Sudan, who resigned to pave way for the new
Government - Ali Osman Taha

Insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has decided to stop selling as
many as - 34 policies

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 8 December 2013 won the state assembly
elections in - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

The members of the opposition party (Democrat Party) of a country resigned en
masse from the Parliament on 8 December 2013 to protest a Government
claimed by them as illegitimate Thailand

The scientists has decoded the oldest DNA from ever found 400000 year old
thigh bone of human family found at - a burial site Sima de los Huesos in Spain's
northern Sierra de Atapuerca highlands

His Imperial Majesty Akihito, Emperor of Japan and Imperial Majesty Michiko,
Empress of Japan were on a visit to India after 1989

7346 crore rupees for the relief and rehabilitation of flood-hit Uttarakhand was
sanctioned by the Cabinet Committee on Uttrakhand that was headed by- Prime
Minister of India, Manmohan Singh

Indian National Congress on 9 December 2013 emerged as the winner in the
Mizoram Assembly election by winning - 33 seats in the 40 member house

Human Rights Day was observed across the world on 10 December 2013 to
bring to light the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a theme - 20 Years
Working for Your Rights

The Union Cabinet on 9 December 2013 approved the finalization of the reserve
price for the auction of spectrum in - 1800 MHz band for all service areas

Ranjan Mathai, the former Foreign Secretary of India on 9 December 2013 took
over as the - India's High Commissioner to UK

The Supreme Court of India on 10 December 2013 ordered red beacons to be
provided only on the vehicles of high dignitaries and the people, who hold -
Constitutional posts

Alstom T&D India on 9 December 2013 bagged two contracts of 151 crore
rupees from - Gujarat Energy Transmission Company Ltd (GETCO).

Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister of State for Environment & Forests inaugurated a
workshop to discuss the Role of Bamboo and Rattan in Pro-Poor Green
Development - Asia Regional Workshop on Bamboo and Rattan at New Delhi

The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) is an
intergovernmental organization established in 1997 with its headquarters -
Beijing, China.

A US commission has asked Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel to explain the
exclusion of Sikhs from the American armed forces for adhering to their religious
beliefs, the name of the person who asked this is - Martin R Castro, he is the
Chairman of the Commission on Civil Rights

India has welcomed the inking of the first disarmament treaty at the - Biological
Weapons Convention in Geneva

President of India, Pranab Mukherjee visited South Africa in Memorial service of
its - anti-apartheid icon and former South African President Nelson Mandela

The US has called on China to release the jailed Nobel Peace prize winner five
years after he was first detained - Liu Xiaobo

US Senate on 9 December 2013 approved the 10 years extension of ban on
plastic guns, because it is - invisible to metal detectors

The Supreme Court of India on 10 December 2013 set a fresh four month
deadline to make functional all the - 22 CBI courts across the country for the
Centre and States

ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural
Gas Corp (ONGC) on 9 December 2013 signed an agreement to evaluate - E&P
opportunities in Ecuador

Scientists in the first week of December 2013 in their report claimed that the
super volcano lying beneath - Yellowstone National Park in US

The first Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) of Spacecraft of India's maiden
interplanetary mission to Mars was carried out successfully on 10 December 2013
and the TCM was fired by - 22 Newton Thrusters

The Chairman of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) on 10
December 2013 announced his retirement from active politics - Panruti S.
Ramachandran

Tech Mahindra Ltd on 10 December 2013 launched its Global Center of
Excellence (CoE) with - Hewlett Packard (HP) in Bangalore

The World Innovation Summit for Health-2013 (WISH-2013) began in Doha,
Qatar on 11 December 2013 with an aim of - practical, innovative and
sustainable health solutions

The High Level Committee to Review the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading)
Regulations, 1992 was constituted under the Chairmanship of - Justice N.K. Sodhi

Person who in December 2013 was named as the Person of the Year 2013 by
Time Magazine - Pope Francis

Waqar Younis, the former captain of Pakistan cricket team was inducted into
the - ICC Crickets Hall of Fame

A Bank that has been granted the license to start its banking operations in
India Doha Bank

The West Bengal Assembly on 12 December 2013 adopted a fresh Bill to tackle
illegal activities of - Chit Funds in the State

India and UAE has signed a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection
Agreement that would accelerate - fresh capital investments of UAE in India

The European Union has granted GSP - Plus status to Pakistan.

British-based Sahara Force India on 12 December 2013 signed - Sergio Perez as
race driver for the team in 2014 and beyond

Islamist leader Abdul Kader Mullah of Bangladesh was executed on 12
December 2013. His execution was done at - Dhaka Central Jail

The Indian cricketer and a Rising Test batsman on 13 December 2013 bagged
the Emerging Cricketer of the Year trophy at the ICC Annual awards announced in
Dubai was - Cheteshwar Pujara

The Uttar Pradesh Government on 13 December 2013 set-up a high-level
committee to look into the issue of deaths of children in relief camps set after
the - Muzaffarnagar riots

The Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra on 13 December 2013 passed the
much - awaited Anti Superstition Bill.

A person has sworn in as the Chief Minister of Mizoram for the second
successive term on 14 December 2013 is - Lal Thanhawla of Congress party

Darmar Murugensan, the former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court will be the
next Chairman of the - Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC)

The former footballer of India, who died on 14 December 2013 died at a
hospital in Guwahati, Assam after a prolong illness was - Babul Phukan

An Indian actor, who won the best actor award for his brilliant performance in
his film The Lunchbox at the 10th edition of Dubai International Film Festival
(DIFF) is - Irrfan Khan

The Interim President of Egypt, Adly Mansour on 14 December 2013 announced
14-15 January 2014 as the date for - national referendum on the new draft of the
constitution

The first lunar rover of China which was carried by an unmanned remotely
piloted spacecraft Chang'e-3 was deployed successfully on moon on 14 December
2013. The lunar rover that landed on mood was named - Jade Rabbit (called Yutu
in Chinese)

India defeated Pakistan 48-39 on 14 December 2013 in the World Kabaddi Cup
in the finals played at - Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab

The Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) met on 12 December 2013
at - Kolkata.

International Migrants Day observed on - 18 December 2013 across the world

Eminent historian Bipan Chandra on 17 December 2013 was awarded Itihas
Ratna from - Asiatic Society Bihar.

Proposals of Irans President Hassan Rouhani on fight against extremism and
violence were put on the agenda of the - United Nations General Assembly to be
ratified as a UN resolution

The International Cricket Council today inducted Australia's legendary
wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist into its - Hall of Fame during the ongoing
third Ashes Test

Iranian negotiators halted the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna with P5+1 group
of nations Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany - the
move came after Washington blacklisted a dozen companies and individuals for
evading US sanctions.

Russia is to increase its arms exports worth 50 billion dollars - by 2020

India has rejected to the reference made on Jammu and Kashmir by the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in its recently held - session in
Guinea

The Bengaluru International Airport will be renamed after - Nadaprabhu Kempe
Gowda, who founded Bengaluru in 16th century

South Indias first high altitude cricket stadium was inaugurated at - Krishnagiri
in Waynad district of Kerala

President Vladimir Putin announced a plan to buy 15 billion dollar of Ukrainian
bonds and - slashed Kiev's bill for Russian gas imports

The US has appealed to India to uphold the Vienna Convention principles and
ensure - safety and security of its diplomats stationed in the country

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was inked in 1961 and is an
international accord and defines - a framework for diplomatic relations between
independent countries

Indias deputy consul in New York, Devyani Khobragade was transferred to
Indias Permanent Mission in United Nations in New York - to boost her
diplomatic immunity

Saab, the Swedish manufacturer won a 4.5 billion dollar contract to supply 36
Gripen NG fighter jets to - Brazil by 2020

The Sahitya Akademi Awards 2013 was announced by Sahitya Akademi and -
poetry writers have dominated the awards announced in 2013

Odisha Administrative Tribunal quashed the provision of 27 percent reservation
under Odisha Reservation of Posts and Service (Socially and Educationally
Backward Classes) Act, 2008 for - Socially and Educationally Backward Classes
(SEBC) candidates in public employment

Kuwait will host the Second edition of the Syria Donors conference in the
capital Kuwait city in January and it will be chaired by - UN Secretary General Ban
Ki Moon

India's first World Cup winning captain, Kapil Dev will be conferred with the -
Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award for the year 2013

The Ariyalur plant of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited in Tamil Nadu has been
honoured with the - National Energy Conservation Award for the year 2012-13
by the Ministry of Power, Government of India

Europe on 19 December 2013 launched the Gaia satellite one of the most
ambitious space missions in the history